Films made in and of Beacon
Beacon is picturesquely nestled between the Hudson River and Mt. Beacon, with a bustling Main Street and block after block of friendly, tree-lined neighborhoods. You also simply can’t miss the relics of its long, storied industrial past. DW Griffith producing silent films at the turn of the 20th century to Paul Newman idling along East Main Street in Nobody’s Fool, to more recent movies and series being filmed in the area, Beacon has a rich cultural past. Adding more soon, check back often!
Films of Beacon by Maxwell Bernstein
Maxwell Bernstein, a Beacon Main Street merchant and amateur filmmaker, documented the departure of Beacon draftees going off to service during World War II. From 1943 through 1945, Bernstein with his 16mm movie camera filmed these young men mainly at several Beacon locations: at the Elk’s Club, where draftees enjoyed a farewell picnic supper, at the Beacon train station where the young men boarded trains to boot camp, and by his store on upper Main Street when these men returned home on furlough. Bernstein, himself a veteran of World War I, took on this project as an act of patriotism and a demonstration of local community pride. Today, his films are in the collections of the New York State Library in Albany.
Films of Beacon 1942 - 1946: Part 1
Films of Beacon 1942 - 1946: Part 2
Films of Beacon 1942 - 1946: Part 3
D. W. Griffith
Mary Pickford in The Song of the Wildwood Flute. Photo by Harry Van Tine in the collection of the BHS.
Did you know that D. W. Griffith filmed three silent movies on Mt. Beacon: Redman’s View (1909), The Fugitive (1910) and The Song of the Wildwood Flute – featuring a young Mary Pickford (1910). Recordings are available at the Beacon Historical Society.
Nobody’s Fool
Nobody’s Fool, starring Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, and Bruce Willis, was filmed in Beacon in 1994. Main Street stores were made-over to become businesses in the fictional town of North Bath. Beaconites played small roles against the backdrop of St. Luke's Cemetery, the fictional Tip Top Construction company on Tioronda Avenue and a number of local homes. In the clip featured here, Paul Newman and Pruitt Taylor Vince sit on a stoop on Beacon’s North Street, with a great shot of 1 East Main Street.