Can't Buy Me Love

 




Can't Buy Me Love was released into theaters on August 14th, 1987. Filming locations include Tucson, Az. It was directed by Steve Rash. The original title for the film was Boy Rents Girl. The male lead of Ronald Miller, was played by Patrick Dempsey. The female lead of Cindy Mancini, was played by Amanda Peterson. Peterson was only fifteen years old at the time of filming. Sadly, she passed away on July 3rd, 2015. Some of the songs featured in the movie include Can't Buy Me Love by The Beatles, Dancin' with Myself by Billy Idol and Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys. The score was composed by Robert Folk. The films first DVD release was on August 13th, 2002.


Mancini house - 3050 N. Hill Farm Dr. Tucson, Az. 85712

The "Hill Farm Home" was designed by architect Josias Joesler and has been there since at least 1980. It serves as the Hill Farm community clubhouse. 


All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.





Miller house - 4250 N. Camino Arco Tucson, Az. 85718

The 3,856 square foot house was built in 1963.

I'd like to thank PaulH of Halloween Filming Locations for finding this location.


All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.








High school - 400 N. 2nd Ave. Tucson, Az. 85705
(Tucson High Magnet School)

It's the oldest operating public high school in Arizona. The building was constructed in 1924. The west entrance to the school, is shown in the screenshots. 


All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.



Mall - 4500 N. Oracle Rd. Tucson, Az. 85705
(Tucson Mall)

The mall opened on March 22nd, 1982. The scenes in the film took place at the west end of the mall, right in front of the Sears. Sears was one of the anchor stores of the mall, it closed in April of 2020. The Prime Lens Optical store, as seen in the movie, was an Animal Kingdom at the time of my visit.


All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.





Scoops - Between* 2902 & 2910 E. Speedway Blvd. Tucson, Az. 85716

The structure was demolished at some point between 1992 & 1996.


2020


Wurman house - 3324 N. Christmas Ave. Tucson, Az. 85716

The 2,691 square foot house was built in 1965.


2020


Cindy & Ronald arrive at the airplane graveyard - N. Edith Blvd. and E. Navajo Pl. Tucson, Az. 85716

In actuality, this isn't a wall bordering the airplane graveyard. Rather, it borders the east side of Diversified Design & Construction. The precise spot where it shows their point of view peering over the wall into the airplane graveyard is thirteen miles southeast of this location.

I'd like to thank Scott of Scott On Tape for sharing this location.


2021

What they actually would've been looking at.


Cindy & Ronald look over the wall - E. Irvington Rd. and S. Pantano Rd. Tucson, Az. 85730
(Davis-Monthan Air Force Base)

The airplane graveyard is located on the grounds of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. It covers 2,600 acres with nearly 4,400 aircraft, making it the largest aircraft boneyard in the world. The location is ideal for aircraft storage due to the low humidity, infrequent rainfall, alkaline soil and high altitude of 2,550 feet, reducing rust and corrosion. The aircraft seen in the screenshot were rearranged and moved to different areas of the boneyard in the late 80's.


2021

8 comments:

  1. I'm in town from Austin Texas and planning to hit these spots today! Thank you for posting this! 6/3/2021.

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  2. The last location reminds me of the music video for Two Silver Trees by Calexico.

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  3. The building that housed Scoops was not demolished, it is the building on the left in the photo. It is a Mexican restaurant today. The parking lots on both sides of Scoops were in several scenes in the movie. The other building on the right in the photo was the arcade. The scenes with Ronald and Cindy walking among the planes and sitting in the helicopter moongazing was filmed at the Pima Air and Space Museum across the street from the "boneyard".

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    1. Your theory on Scoops is incorrect. The building on the right side is the same one seen in the movie, Scoops was directly next to that building. It would've been located in between the two structures that are currently there. Scoops was demolished at some point between 1992 & 1996 and the current building on the left was erected during that time span.

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  4. I was in the States (Tucson) in 2000 from Sydney Australia and went looking for "The Wraith" movie locations as well as those from "Can't Buy Me Love". Nobody had heard of "Scoops" or anything that I seeking out. It was quite sad though I did get to the front of the High School which was a treat and made the trip worth it. I also checked out Sabino Canyon (The Wraith) and had a guided tour of the Air Base. Maybe now in 2022 with the assistance of GPS etc it would have been easier. Thanks for the great photos. One day would like to come back and see Cindy's home first hand!

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  5. amazing, a movie I remember fondly from the 80's, along with many others on your blog, fantastic website!

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  6. Thank you for finding Ronald's house. I've been curious (and searching) for 15+ years.

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