Homes on screen

Gone with the Wind, Psycho, Home Alone and Jumanji are just a few examples of box-office hits where much of the action takes place inside a character’s home. Who could forget the scene where Mammy laces Scarlett O’Hara into her corset, the motel shower where Janet Leigh meets a grisly end, the antics of Kevin McCallister left to fend for himself in an upscale Chicago residence or the young leads’ fantastical adventures in Jumanji?

These homes, most of them real properties, have witnessed some of cinema’s most iconic moments and classic tales. Many attract fans from all over the world, who come to pay tribute to their all-time favourites. Others were built especially for the production and later demolished – including the elegant southern mansion where Forrest Gump pined after Jenny, and the home of Norman Bates in Psycho, now displayed in a famous theme park in Los Angeles.

Some survive to this day, such as the suburban villa featured in the classic horror saga Poltergeist. Now a regular California family home, its current owners have taken great care to preserve the exterior just as it appears in the film.

True to the series, the modest abode of Breaking Bad’s Walter White and his luckless family can be found in a suburb of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Home to the teacher-turned-drug lord, it was the setting for some of the show’s most memorable scenes, including the one where Walter throws a pizza onto the roof.

The apartment occupied by Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), star of Sex and the City, is now one of the city’s top tourist attractions. A private residence, its actual address is 66 Perry Street in Greenwich Village.

Cinematic connections

Here in Spain, we have our fair share of extraordinary properties with a cinematic past. Take a look through our collection at The Singular Space, and you may find a few that look familiar. For a start, check out these three homes with fascinating links to the world of film, either through their owners or as stars in their own right.

First up is this dazzling white California-style Bauhaus villa. An idyllic coastal getaway in Mallorca, it once belonged to legendary film photographer Bruno Bernard, aka ‘Bernie of Hollywood’, who takes the credit for some of the most famous portraits of Marilyn Munro and other stars of Hollywood’s golden age. It was the immortal image of Marilyn standing over a subway grate that catapulted him to international fame.