New York City is one of the most visited--and filmed--cities in the world. The TCM Classic Film Bus Tour, together with On Location Tours, offers a guided sightseeing trip through the Big Apple that provides an insider's view of movie locations and history. On this evening, TCM offers a review of some of the films that featured location shooting in NYC and produced some of the most iconic views of the city's landscapes.

King Kong (1933), in its classic original version, has the giant ape meeting his famous end atop the Empire State Building. Located at 350 Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th Street, this legendary landmark was the first building to have 100 floors, and its observation deck is still one of the most popular attractions for visitors to Manhattan. For both the 1933 film and the 2005 remake, the building was recreated on soundstages in California, but rest assured that the bus tour visits the real thing!

The Producers (1967), Mel Brooks' original comic take on a producer and his accountant deliberately planning a Broadway flop, was shot in New York City and utilizes many Manhattan landmarks with help from cinematographer Joseph F. Coffey. Among these shots are the fountain at Lincoln Center (where Gene Wilder exclaims "I'll do it!" as the water shoots dramatically into the air), the Empire State Building and the Broadway and Cort theatres. Wilder and costar Zero Mostel also ride the carousel in Central Park during a scene in which their characters are taking a lunch break.

On the Town (1949), the MGM musical starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra and based on the stage hit about sailors on leave in New York City, had a few days of location filming in Manhattan. Among the sites the busy sailors visit are the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty at the New York Harbor, Washington Square Gardens in Greenwich Village, Rockefeller Center, Columbus Circle and Central Park West. Harold Rosson was the cinematographer.

North by Northwest (1959), Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller starring Cary Grant as a victim of mistaken identity, was the first movie to feature location shooting at Manhattan's Plaza Hotel. Prior films that appeared to have been shot there utilized Hollywood backdrops. North by Northwest was also among the first movies to shoot inside Grand Central Station, although earlier films had included footage of the exterior. The United Nations reportedly refused permission for Hitchcock to film on location at its building, but the director got around this by using a hidden camera to show Grant entering the U.N. as any pedestrian might. The interior scenes had to employ a matte painting to represent the facility. Robert Burks served as the film's cinematographer.

The Eddy Duchin Story (1956), a biopic of the band leader/pianist directed by George Sidney and starring Tyrone Power and Kim Novak, utilizes picturesque widescreen views of Manhattan in telling its tearjerker romantic story. These include several beautiful locations in Central Park, the Waldorf-Astoria hotel on Park Avenue, the Tavern on the Green restaurant and areas around 5th Avenue and East 91st Street. Harry Stradling Sr. received an Oscar® nomination for his cinematography in this CinemaScope film.

To plan your TCM Bus Tour click here: The TCM Classic Film Bus Tour

By Roger Fristoe