45 Films & TV Shows Set In New England During The 19th Century
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Little Women
Massachusetts The 1860sTHRILLS OF YOUNG LOVE! — Louisa May Alcott's autobiographical account of her life with her three sisters in Concord Mass in the 1860s. With their father fighting in the civil war, the sisters: Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth are at home with their mother - a very outspoken women for her time. The story is of how the sisters grow up, find love and find their place in the world.
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The Kissing Bandit
Massachusetts The 19th CenturyThe Boldest Spectacle Ever Told in Song, Spectacle and Technicolor! — Ricardo, the milquetoast son of a Mexican bandit, would rather lead a quiet life in Boston. But the family would rather that he follow in his father's footsteps and become "The Kissing Bandit".
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The Sainted Sisters
Maine The 1890sTwo female con artists from New York City, fleeing the law with loot from their latest scam, hide out in a small Maine town, near the Canadian border. However - the residents of this small town aren't quite as unsophisticated as the girls think they are.
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Mourning Becomes Electra
New England The 1860s...Mother and daughter in love with the same man ... rivals in ruthlessness even to murder! — Near the end of the Civil War, the proud residents of Mannon Manor await the return of shipping tycoon Ezra Mannon and son Orin. Meanwhile Ezra’s conniving wife Christine and daughter Lavinia vie for the love of a handsome captain with a dark secret while well-meaning neighbor Peter sets his sights on Lavinia.
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The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
Massachusetts The 1870sA Merry Escapade! Scandalous! Joyous! — In the late 1800s, Miss Pilgrim, a young stenographer, or typewriter, becomes the first female employee at a Boston shipping office. Although the men object to her at first, she soon charms them all, especially the handsome young head of the company. Their romance gets sidetracked when she becomes involved in the Women's Suffrage movement.
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Dragonwyck
New England The 1840sSecret thoughts... That led to secret love... That led to rapture and terror! — For Miranda Wells, moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas, seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish. She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter, to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.
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The Strange Woman
Maine The 1820s The 1830sIsaiah, a 19th-century businessman, has his eye on the beautiful and very young Jenny. Finally of age, she accepts his marriage proposal, but their love affair quickly turns sour. Ephraim, Isaiah's college-age son, comes for a visit, immediately striking up a chemistry with Jenny. She promises marriage -- if he murders his father first. But Jenny also swoons for John, the fiancé of her best friend, Meg.
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Two Years Before the Mast
Massachusetts The 1830sThe world famous novel on the screen at last! — In 1834, Charles Stewart (Alan Ladd), the spoiled, dissolute son of a shipping magnate, is shanghaied aboard the Pilgrim, one of his father's own ships. He embarks upon a long, hellish sea voyage under the tyrannical rule of Captain Francis Thompson (Howard Da Silva), assisted by his first mate, Amazeen (William Bendix). One of his crewmates is Richard Henry Dana Jr. (Brian Donlevy).
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The Great John L.
Massachusetts The 1890s The 1880sPortrait of legendary fighter John L. Sullivan, aka "The Boston Strong Boy", and his meteoric rise to become the first gloved World Heavyweight Champion. But the famed boxer is no match for the two women with holds on him, love struck actress Kathy Harkness and the real love of his life, beautiful but unyielding Anne Livingstone.
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The Great Moment
Massachusetts The 19th CenturyParamount's escapist laugh tonic! Hilarious as a whiff of laughing gas! — The biography of Dr. W.T. Morgan, a 19th century Boston dentist, during his quest to have anesthesia, in the form of ether, accepted by the public and the medical and dental establishment.
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The House of the Seven Gables
New England The 1820s The 1840sAN ANCIENT HOUSE! A MURDER SECRET! A HIDDEN TREASURE! — In 1828, the bankrupt Pyncheon family fight over Seven Gables, the ancestral mansion. To obtain the house, Jaffrey Pyncheon obtains his brother Clifford's false conviction for murder. Hepzibah, Clifford's sweet fiancée, patiently waits twenty years for his release, whereupon Clifford and his former cellmate, abolitionist Matthew, have a certain scheme in mind.
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The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Massachusetts England The 1870sDarryl F. Zanuck's Entertainment gem will take its place in the Hall of Fame ! — Alexander Graham Bell falls in love with deaf girl Mabel Hubbard while teaching the deaf and trying to invent means for telegraphing the human voice. She urges him to put off thoughts of marriage until his experiments are complete. He invents the telephone, marries and becomes rich and famous, though his happiness is threatened when a rival company sets out to ruin him.
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Dancing Pirate
California Massachusetts The 1820sThe first dancing musical in 100% new Technicolor — Jonathan Pride is a mild-mannered dance instructor in 1820 Boston. En route to visit relatives, Jonathan is shanghaied by a band of zany pirates and forced to work as a galley boy. When the pirate vessel arrives at the port of Las Palomas, Jonathan, clad in buccaneer's garb, makes his escape. Everyone in Las Palomas, including Governor Alcalde (Frank Morgan) and fetching senorita Serafina (Steffi Duna), assumes that Jonathan is the pirate chieftain, leading to a series of typical comic-opera complications.
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Little Women
New York Massachusetts The 1860sLittle Women is a coming-of-age drama tracing the lives of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. During the American Civil War, the girls father is away serving as a minister to the troops. The family, headed by their beloved Marmee, must struggle to make ends meet, with the help of their kind and wealthy neighbor, Mr. Laurence, and his high spirited grandson Laurie.
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Abraham Lincoln
New England The 1860sThe wonder film of the century, about the most romantic figure who ever lived! — A biopic dramatizing Abraham Lincoln's life through a series of vignettes depicting its defining chapters: his romance with Ann Rutledge; his early years as a country lawyer; his marriage to Mary Todd; his debates with Stephen A. Douglas; the election of 1860; his presidency during the Civil War; and his assassination in Ford’s Theater in 1865.
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Moby Dick
Massachusetts The 1840s The 1830sThar she blows! — Herman Melville's mad Capt. Ahab (John Barrymore) spends years hunting the white whale that got his leg.
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The Yankee Clipper
New England The 19th CenturyA race between a British clipper ship and an American ship of a new design will determine the right to transport Chinese tea.
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Down to the Sea in Ships
Massachusetts The 19th CenturyStory of the lives of the people in a small Quaker community and the adventures of a whaling ship.
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A Sister of Six
New England California The 1860sA young woman and her five little brothers and sisters are left orphans by the murder of their father over gold found on his ranch. Together the seven offspring fight against their greedy neighbors to keep what is rightfully theirs.
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The Courtship of Miles Standish
Massachusetts The 1850s The 17th CenturyA short silent film based on the poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow