4 Florida Towns Where Famous Movies Were Filmed
For as long as there has been a film industry, Florida has played a part in making movie magic. Still one of America’s most productive filming locations, the state’s subtropical weather and long stretches of coastline have drawn filmmakers for over a century.
During a brief stretch in the 1920s, places like Jacksonville and St. Augustine were so busy with production work that they became known as the “World’s Winter Film Capital.” And it wasn’t only the scenery that attracted early crews. Film cameras of the era needed strong light and open skies to operate well, and the “Sunshine State” delivered both in abundance.
From the underwater lairs of classic movie monsters to settings used in spy adventures, here are four Florida towns with film histories worth knowing.
Ocala
Although now best known for its equestrian attractions and farms, Ocala has enjoyed many moments in the movie spotlight. One of the most memorable came in 1954 at Silver Springs State Park, where crews filmed the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. The clear, consistently warm waters made an ideal setting for underwater sequences in two James Bond films as well: Thunderball in 1965 and Moonraker in 1979.
Hop aboard one of the park’s Glass Bottom Boat Tours, and you can see the exact spots where scenes from the Bond films and Creature from the Black Lagoon were captured. The captains point out locations used for close-up underwater shots during Thunderball’s climactic fight sequence.
You also pass the spot where Roger Moore’s 007 wrestled with a snake in Moonraker. Sean Connery filmed aquatic scenes here as well for 1983’s Never Say Never Again.
Operating since the 1870s and considered Florida's oldest tourist attraction, these tours also explain how Silver Springs became the backdrop for six early Tarzan films starring Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller. Other film and TV connections include Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges and Ridley Scott’s fantasy film Legend with Tom Cruise.
St. Augustine
St. Augustine’s colonial architecture began attracting filmmakers as early as the 1900s. With the film industry still in its early days and soundstages not yet common, the city’s old stone houses, narrow cobbled streets, and preserved Spanish fortifications served as ready-made backdrops for silent movie scenes set in places like Spain, France, and Italy.
Between 1906 and 1926, more than 120 silent films were shot in and around St. Augustine. Crews used the City Gates, the Castillo de San Marcos fortress, and the courtyard of the Hotel Ponce de Leon, now Flagler College, which still offers tours.
Rudolph Valentino filmed a fistfight scene at the hotel for the 1920 movie Stolen Moments. Local beaches were also used as stand-ins, with sand dunes doubling for the Sahara Desert and tropical surroundings representing African jungles.
The 1955 sequel to Silver Springs’ Black Lagoon was filmed here as well. Revenge of the Creature included scenes shot at Marineland, then called Marine Studios, whose large tanks portrayed the fictional Ocean City Oceanarium. A young Clint Eastwood appeared briefly as a lab technician in what became his film debut.
Sarasota
No visit to Sarasota feels complete without some time at the Ringling estate. Once the waterfront home of circus impresario John Ringling and his wife Mable, the Venetian-style mansion Ca' d'Zan became a filming location for the 1998 modernization of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.
Starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert De Niro, the film transformed Ca’ d’Zan into the decaying mansion of the Miss Havisham character, renamed Ms. Dinsmoor and played by Anne Bancroft.
Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth, starring Charlton Heston and James Stewart, was also filmed in Sarasota. Because the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus kept its winter headquarters here, the parade sequence shot on Main Street between Central Avenue and South Orange Avenue became a key part of the production.
The Ringling museum complex includes tours of Ca' d'Zan and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Built to house the couple’s collection of Old Masters, the museum features galleries arranged around a large sculpture courtyard.
Key West
James Bond returned to Florida more than once. After the underwater sequences filmed in Silver Springs, the 1989 movie Licence to Kill was filmed partially in Key West. Positioned at the end of the Florida Keys, the southernmost city within the continental United States became the setting for Timothy Dalton’s second and final turn as 007, with several familiar landmarks appearing on screen.
The film's opening scenes, set around CIA agent Felix Leiter's wedding, were filmed at locations visitors can still see today. The Basilica of St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic Church appeared as the exterior where Bond and Leiter parachuted to the ceremony, while a private home on South Street served as Leiter's house for the reception scenes.
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum also appeared in the film. It portrayed spy boss M’s temporary headquarters, where Bond’s licence to kill was revoked, and a later scene included the Key West Lighthouse across the street functioning as an armed guard post. Both sites remain popular stops for visitors.
The Bottom Line
As these towns show, Florida’s movie history stretches across more than a century of filmmaking. Silent-era productions took shape in and around St. Augustine, while the state’s spring-fed waters set the stage for classic creature features and James Bond adventures. Locations such as Silver Springs, Marineland, Sarasota, and Key West still hold traces of the scenes filmed there, reflecting the range of film activity that developed across the state. From early studios to coastal landmarks used in major productions, these communities continue to highlight Florida’s long relationship with the movies.
