{"id":15952,"date":"2019-03-28T10:48:10","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T14:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=15952"},"modified":"2020-07-02T10:06:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T14:06:19","slug":"bed-breakfast-and-a-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/bed-breakfast-and-a-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Bed, Breakfast, and a Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"issuuembed\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px;\" data-configid=\"37604829\/68737030\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/e.issuu.com\/embed.js\" async=\"true\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">April 2019 | view full story as .pdf<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">These resorts <b>welcomed stars<\/b> and became a part of <b>Hollywood history<\/b>.<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>By Olivia Gunn Kotsishevskaya and Catherine Bart<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Screamcation<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15972\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/apr19-Movie-inns-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Operator holding clapperboard, studio light with claps on background. Filmmaker background\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/apr19-Movie-inns-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/apr19-Movie-inns-200x134.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/apr19-Movie-inns.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">O<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><i>n an abandoned island off the coast of Maine\u2026 <\/i>This alone is promise for a most chilling storyline. Cue fog, crashing waves, and John Carpenter-esque intro synths and you\u2019ve got yourself a horror film (or a Mainer\u2019s dream vacation). On fictional Tucker Island in <b>Tess Gerritsen\u2019s<\/b> <em>Island Zero<\/em>, the characters\u2019 cozy ocean life turns nightmare when they find themselves \u201ccut off from the outside world\u201d and neighbors begin to disappear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Shot in and around Camden and Rockport, the 2018 film was directed by the bestselling author\u2019s son, <b>Josh Gerritsen<\/b>, who says location was key. To maintain the film\u2019s eerie, aged aesthetic, they needed \u201clocations that gave a sense of history and soul.\u201d Two midcoast inns, <b>Swan House<\/b> and <b>Victorian By The Sea<\/b>, \u201cfit the bill perfectly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Camden\u2019s Swan House B&amp;B, an 1870 Victorian, got its fill of action during shooting. \u201cWe needed a room that felt rustic and large enough to allow multiple actors to move around the space,\u201d Josh says. \u201cWe staged a big fight scene there that required more room than the average inn offered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">As for the romantic, coastal gem Victorian By The Sea in Lincolnville, guests were delighted to learn the bright, airy inn was chosen for the horror film. At the time, it was owned by Robert and Jeanne Short.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIt gave us just what we were looking for: an entrance that had a fireplace and a grand staircase,\u201d Josh says. \u201cThese components were crucial for a big, gruesome scene, and they had just what we needed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">C<\/span><span class=\"s1\">aroline Cole, who bought the inn after production finished, has yet to view the final product. \u201cI really don\u2019t see those kinds of films. I\u2019m an alternative health practitioner, and I try to keep a sense of zen. In fact,\u201d she says, \u201ca film producer came to me a few months ago about filming, and I actually declined. That energy is not for me. The entire breakfast room looks over the ocean, and the place is filled with light. It almost does an injustice to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">The contrast between the inn\u2019s reality and what we see in <em>Island Zero<\/em> is stark. Luckily for Cole and her visitors, the film\u2019s cleanup crew did a spectacular job. It\u2019s a testament to the magic of filmmaking\u2014we can be whisked away to an alien invasion right here on our romantic coast of Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Crawford\u2019s Spring of Youth<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s somewhat of a town legend now.<i> Hollywood high priestess <\/i><b>Joan Crawford<\/b><i> storms through Poland Spring, Pepsi Colas in her wake <\/i>(did anyone offer her a Moxie?). <b>Wolf Cove Inn<\/b> would be marked for eternity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">In 1963, the 11-room estate, a former summer retreat built in 1894, existed as Lobster-Land on the Lake. It would be the set for an episode of the TV show <em><b>Route 66<\/b><\/em>, which followed two young men finding themselves as they road tripped across the country. An episode guest-starring Crawford would have a scene shot on the property. But why not hear the story from someone who was there? Portland\u2019s beloved arts critic and actress <b>Fritzi Cohen<\/b> remembered \u201cMama Crawford\u201d well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201c\u2026I worked briefly with superstar Joan Crawford at Poland Spring, Maine, in \u2018Same Picture, Different Frame,\u2019 an episode of the television series <i>Route 66<\/i>. At the time, Ms. Crawford was married to the Pepsi Cola magnate and she was Lady Bountiful, dispensing Pepsi to the peons on the set. I played a librarian in a scene with <b>Patrick O\u2019Neal<\/b>. The scenario is that he sees me and remembers Crawford in the same setting years before. There\u2019s a dissolve, and I become Joan in his mind. I\u2019d had my hair done, lots of makeup\u2014the works. The word came down that Ms. Crawford needed no competition, so my makeup was removed and my hair was pulled back off the face and dowdy. Only then was the star pacified.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Shh\u2026 Can\u2019t you hear it? The crisp crack of a soda can among the whispers of pines along the shore of Tripp Lake.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Summer Sizzle Reel<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I<\/span><span class=\"s1\">n June 1957, crews started filming <em><strong>Peyton Place<\/strong><\/em>, the salacious story of a proper New England town overflowing with scandal. They\u2019d take over the towns of Camden and Belfast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">In Camden, it was the highlight of the summer. \u201cOther towns had turned them down flat because they didn\u2019t want to be associated with <em>Peyton Place<\/em>. It was a pretty racy, steamy novel,\u201d librarian Ken Gross says. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cLooking back, it was almost like a carnival-type atmosphere,\u201d says Todd McIntosh, one of the locals you can see on screen in a James Dean-style red jacket. \u201cThe producers, directors, they allowed a lot of townspeople to mill around the locations. And when we were told, \u2018Quiet on the set,\u2019 we quieted down. People were allowed to kind of mingle in and out and talk with some of the stars and the production crew.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Adapted from the best-selling novel by <b>Grace Metalious<\/b>, the film was directed by <b>Mark Robson<\/b> and starred <b>Lana Turner<\/b>, though she never visited Camden. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">O<\/span><span class=\"s1\">ne local star, however, was ready for her closeup. <b>Whitehall<\/b>, known as Whitehall Inn at the time of filming, overlooks High Street, not far from the harbor. It\u2019s been operating as a hotel since the early 1900s when it was expanded from the original 1834 sea captain\u2019s house. You can spot our silver screen queen almost two hours in when Allison, <b>Diane Varsi<\/b>, stops at a local bar upon returning to Peyton Place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">General manager Gwen Clemens says that although the inn\u2019s part in the movie is small, it\u2019s not insignificant. \u201cWe still get tourists who come by because they recognize the inn from the film,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s an integral part of Camden. That\u2019s probably why they picked it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Besides <em>Peyton Place<\/em>, Whitehall can be spotted in the 1996 adaptation of <b>Stephen King\u2019s<\/b> horror novel <em>Thinner<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sleep Like a Star<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">An affair, a body, and the beauty of glistening Phippsburg beaches\u2014turns out it\u2019s the perfect equation for a forty percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Released in 1996, starring <b>Cameron Diaz<\/b> and <em><b>Harvey Keitel<\/b>, <b>Head Above Water<\/b><\/em> is a dark comedy that takes place in a private cottage on Lincoln Beach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sebasco Harbor Resort<\/b> owner Bob Smith took over a year after the film was released. \u201cAll of the underwater scenes were shot in the big pool at Sebasco. They threw seaweed in there to make it murky and look like a lagoon. But it was fall and chilly. Apparently, Cameron Diaz came close to turning blue from so many takes. I guess it looked like they were shooting a Martian movie.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">The majority of scenes were shot in a temporary cottage built for the film, but Smith says a lot of filming took place around the beaches near the resort. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">T<\/span><span class=\"s1\">urned out, <i>Head Above Water<\/i> producer Jim Wilson took a liking to the area. <em><strong>Message in a Bottle<\/strong><\/em> would start filming in town a year later starring <b>Kevin Costner<\/b>, <b>Robin Wright<\/b>, and <b>Paul Newman<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cSome of the crew for that movie stayed here,\u201d Sebasco Harbor Resort\u2019s Bob Smith says. \u201cPaul Newman showed up with his daughter. He wanted to have dinner, but we\u2019d already closed. The security guard at the time fashioned himself as kind of an actor\u2014he\u2019d been in a senior film. He told Newman, \u2018I think they closed.\u2019 Newman said, \u2018I wouldn\u2019t normally do this, but can you let them know it\u2019s Paul Newman.\u2019 The guard looked right at him and said, \u2018Yeah, and I\u2019m Kevin Costner!\u2019 His eyes almost bugged out of his head when he realized about two seconds later.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>Well, did Cool Hand Luke get his meal?<\/em> \u201cAre you kidding me? You can\u2019t say no to Paul Newman.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These resorts became a part of Hollywood history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[335,328,325,326,327,127,126],"class_list":["post-15952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-april-2019","tag-bed-and-breakfast","tag-getaways","tag-hotels","tag-inns","tag-maine","tag-portland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15952"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18934,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15952\/revisions\/18934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}