While not as well-represented as New York or Los Angeles in film and TV, St. Louis has played a part in some well-known movies.
Can you see the house from Meet Me in St. Louis? This 1944 Judy Garland classic uses St. Louis and the 1904 World’s Fair as its backdrop. The musical is based on stories written for The New Yorker magazine by St. Louisan Sally Benson. She wrote of events at her childhood home at 5135 Kensington Avenue, which is a few blocks north of MADE (a satellite location of the Magic House) on Delmar.
The large Victorian house from Meet Me in St. Louis is not really in St. Louis. It was actually just an MGM Studio set. And sadly, the real house on Kensington—which was not quite as grand—was torn down in 1994 after years of neglect.
What about where The Exorcist took place? Making the rounds in articles every Halloween is a St. Louis connection to the real story behind The Exorcist. The boy in question (in the movie, it was a girl played by Linda Blair—who was coincidentally born in St. Louis!) was originally from Maryland but came to live with relatives at 8435 Roanoke Drive in Bel-Nor. His exorcism was performed at Alexian Brothers Hospital, which no longer exists.
While the house on Roanoke draws the curious, it is not the house that was featured in the film! That home is in Georgetown, Washington D.C.
Sticking to the topic of horror films, did you know that Vincent Price was born and raised in St. Louis? His family lived at 5227 Washington Place in the Central West End until he was 12. In 1923 they moved to 6320 Forsyth, across from Washington University. Both of these homes still stand today.