Who knew the diverse film history of the QCA?

Most people know that the 1989 movie Field of Dreams was filmed in nearby Dubuque and Dyersville, Iowa, but you may not know that many other films also had filming locations in and around the QC.

A lot of people might immediately think of Tom Hank's 2002 film Road to Perdition, which was about a Rock Island gangster. But, surprise! Road to Perdition was primarily filmed in Chicago and Geneva, IL. not even in the QCA at all.

Not all of them are cinematic classics, but it's still pretty interesting to know that the QCA has served as a backdrop for so many different types of films.

Children of the Corn (TV Version)

Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay
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Who knew there was a remake of the 1984 Stephen King horror classic? Well, apparently there is, and it aired on the Sci Fi channel in 2009. The film's director, Donald Borchers, received a recommendation from the Iowa Film Office in the State Department of Economic Development saying that the Quad Cities were ideal for filming the remake. Davenport was the primary filming location, and we can only imagine that the movie features some of Davenport's finest, well, corn. Other scenes were filmed in the town of Tipton, about 30 miles away from the QC.

Sugar

HBO Films
HBO Films
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Sugar is the 2008 story of a young Dominican baseball player named Miguel Santos (nicknamed Sugar) who is assigned to the Class A team 'The Swing' in the fictional town of Bridgetown, Iowa. In reality, the Swing was the name the River Bandits held from 2003-2007. Filming mainly took place in Burlington and Davenport. The movie poster for Sugar actually shows the Centennial Bridge in the background behind the main character.

Bix

Duea Film, Union P.N.
Duea Film, Union P.N.
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Everyone knows that musician Bix Beiderbecke was one of the most well-known people from the Quad Cities. This 1991 biopic was written and director by Italian filmmaker Pupi Avati, and was mainly filmed in Davenport and Rock Island. Some of the shoot actually took place at Bix's childhood home, 1934 Grand Ave in Davenport. The movie was entered into the Cannes Film Festival, and won several awards in Italy.

Pennies from Heaven

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Okay, so Galena isn't actually a part of the QC, but we still think it's pretty cool that this 1981 Steve Martin/Christopher Walken musical was filmed so close by. The film is set during the Great Depression, and some of Main Street Galena was used as a backdrop, most likely due to its abundance of historical buildings.

Beauty Queen Butcher

Alternative Cinema
Alternative Cinema
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Undoubtedly the most bizarre film on the list, this 1991 comedy/horror movie follows the tale of Phyllis Loden, a lonely, overweight teen who goes on a murderous rampage after her cat is murdered by some beauty queen bullies. It sounds and looks completely ridiculous, but it might be worth a watch to capture glimpses of Davenport, Rock Island, Moline and East Moline.

 

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