Friends (1994) Season 1, Episode 21

Even popular TV shows have mentioned Scranton in the past. One of the best examples was in the first season of the long-running sitcom Friends. In the episode "The One With The Fake Monica," one of the side stories involved Ross' monkey Marcel, who has to be put in a zoo because he's "in heat."When Ross (played by David Schwimmer) is unable to put Marcel in a zoo in Scranton, PA:

ROSS

We didn't get into Scranton. That was like our safety zoo. They take, like, dogs and cows.

*

Thanks to Michele Murphy for this quote.

"Home Alone" (1990)

This perennial holiday blockbuster stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin, an 8 year old boy left home alone when his large family forgets to take him on holiday. He uses his ingenuity to defend his home and himself from two bumbling burglars.

The following exchange is between Kevin's mother (played by Catherine O'Hara) and an airport ticket agent (played by Alan Wilder):

KATE MCCALLISTER

I have been awake for almost 60 hours. I'm tired and I'm dirty. I have been from Chicago to Paris to Dallas to... where the hell am I?

AIRPORT TICKET AGENT

Scranton.

Later, John Candy tells Kate, "You're in Scranton, ma'am."

Home Alone is available to borrow on DVD and VHS from the Lackawanna County Library System. If you'd like to reserve the DVD, click here; for the VHS, click here instead.

"For The Boys" (1992)

Bette Midler and James Caan star as USO performers that laugh, fight, and entertain throughout three major wars (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam).

In the scene in Korea, while on the road, they stop to help victims of a military attack. Midler and Caan ride with a mortally wounded Marine to a military hospital. As the marine, played by Thom Adcox-Hernandez is bleeding and moaning in pain, he and Eddie Sparks (played by James Caan) have the following brief exchange:

EDDIE SPARKS

So where ya from, kid?

MARINE:

(winces in pain) Wilkes-Barre.

EDDIE SPARKS:

I played Wilkes-Barre.

I remember seeing this movie at a theatre in Wilkes-Barre when it was first released in 1992, and the entire audience collectively gasped at the above dialogue.

For the Boys is available on both DVD and VHS from the Lackawanna County Library System. To make a reservation for the DVD, click here; click here if you'd rather borrow the movie in VHS.

"The Ladykillers" (2004)

This is a 2004 remake of a 1955 classic that starred Alec Guiness and Peter Sellers. The remake stars Tom Hanks and was written and directed by the Coen Bothers (Fargo, The Big Labowski).

J.K. Simmons, who plays Garth Pancake, says the following in a heated exchange:

PANCAKE

I'm gonna tell you how I came downto Mississippi. Wasn't born here,you know. I'm from Scranton,Pennsylvania...

(Abruptly, he stares off into space)

...Nnnff!

GAWAIN

Huh?

PANCAKE

(eyes regain their focus)

...Scranton, Pennsylvania. Came down here in 1964. Greyhound Bus. With the Freedom Riders. You know who the Freedom Riders were, MacSam?

The Ladykillers is available on DVD from the Lackawanna County Library System. To place a hold, click here.

All About Eve (1950)

Ah, the classic 1950 Best Picture winner (tied with Titanic for the film with the most Academy Award nominations ever with 14).

The director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, was born in Wilkes-Barre and has written and/or directed several classic movies, including Guys & Dolls, No Way Out, Cleopatra, and, of course, All About Eve.

Below is a section of dialogue, near the end of the film, in which Margo Channing (played by Bette Davis) mentions Wilkes-Barre:

MARGO

There goes Eve. Eve evil, Little Miss Evil. But the evil that men do - how does it go, groom? Something about the good they leave behind - I played it once in rep in Wilkes-Barre...

BILL

You've got it backwards. Even for Wilkes-Barre.

All About Eve, the film in VHS and DVD formats, and the original screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is available to borrow from libraries throughout the Lackawanna County Library System. To place a hold on the DVD, click here; to reserve the VHS, click here. To reserve the original published screenplay by Wilkes-Barre native Joseph L. Mankiewicz, click here.