History of Dedham, Massachusetts in television and film

Poster advertising the 1919 film Anne of Green Gables.

Part of a series on the
History of Dedham
Main articles
1635–1792 1793–1999 2000-present TV and film
People
Fisher Ames Nathaniel Ames Louis Brandeis Samuel Dexter Henry B. Endicott Jonathan Fairbanks Jason Fairbanks Horace Mann Sacco and Vanzetti Richard Everett Samuel Nicholson Edward Dowse
Places
Fairbanks House Mother Brook Old Avery Oak Tree Endicott Estate
Organizations
Historical Society Horse Thief Society St. Mary's Church Dedham Pottery

Dedham, Massachusetts has been featured on both television and film screens.

• William Desmond Taylor's 1919 silent film Anne of Green Gables was filmed in Dedham.^[1] It was the favorite role of star Mary Miles Minter but no copies of the film are known to have survived. The film also starred Paul Kelly.^[2]
• The 1973 film The Friends of Eddie Coyle was filmed in Dedham and starred Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, and Alex Rocco.^[3]
• In the 1980s the Endicott Estate was featured in an episode of Spencer for Hire.^[4][5]
• The 1982 cult classic Pieces was filmed mainly in Madrid, but also included the same Dedham Square robbed in ‘Eddie Coyle.’^[6]
• The 1998 film Urban Relics was filmed in Dedham.^[3]
• A neighborhood in Riverdale was shown in the 1998 film A Civil Action for which the people of Dedham received a "special thanks" in the closing credits.^[7] The scene was filmed in the month of December and several houses included in the scene had Christmas lights strung up on them. The owners of the houses each received $100 to remove the lights until the shot was completed.
• The Endicott Estate was also featured in the 2000 film The Perfect Storm.^[4]
• The award winning 2000 film State and Main was filmed in Dedham^[3] and Alec Baldwin's character slept in the Endicott Estate.^[5]
• The 2002 film Advice and Dissent was filmed in Dedham.^[3]
• The 2003 film Discharge was filmed in Dedham.^[3]
• In a 2004 episode of The Practice viewers learned that Alan Shore grew up in the town and numerous references to the Sacco and Vanzetti trial were also made.^[8] Images of Dedham Square, the Dedham Historical Society building and the courthouses were shot on location. In addition, "extremely rare" interior and exterior photos of the courthouses from the turn of the 20th century were shown.^[9]
• Dedham was mentioned by Leonardo DiCaprio in two movies by Martin Scorsese. In the 2006 film The Departed, he mentions the Dedham Mall.^[10] The 2010 thriller Shutter Island, a film partially filmed in Dedham,^[11] has several mentions of the Dedham Jail.
• The 2014 film The Judge was filmed partly in Dedham Square,^[12] showing the Norfolk Superior Court and First Church.
• An as yet untitled Detroit project directed by Kathryn Bigelow was filmed inside the Dedham District Court.^[13]

References