Week 40: Rhode Island

"You,
 You come from Rhode Island,
 And little old Rhode Island
 Is famous for you..."
 - 'Rhode Island is Famous for You',
 Blossom Dearie

Ooh. That's a lovely song to greet us upon arrival in Rhode Island. The whole point of it is that every state has something it is known for: copper from Arizona, peaches from Georgia, pencils from Pennsylvania etc etc. And then we have Rhode Island - little old Rhode Island. What can the smallest state in the Union possibly be famous for?

 

And I'm glad that Blossom Dearie decided that it was famous for "you". Because what else is there? Quite possibly only the Rhode Island Red chicken. The cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn was a Rhode Island Red. I say - I say - I say, Foghorn Leghorn was a Rhode Island Red. And speaking of cartoons, Family Guy is set in the Rhode Island town of Quahog. Obviously Quahog is fictional, as you might expect from a ridiculous name like that. Towns in Rhode Island have much more sensible names. Like Quidnick, or Quidnessett, or Quonochontaug.

 

 

I'm not overly expecting many chickens to make it onto screen this week. Rhode Island is, essentially, the city of Providence and a bit of spare land scattered to the west of the island-speckled Narragansett Bay. As I say, it is the smallest of America's fifty states. Which means that it is even smaller than Delaware, where I had all kinds of trouble getting hold of movies set in that state. So will I have the same issues with Rhode Island?

 

Seemingly not. Little old Rhode Island seems to have a bit more going for it than corporate tax-haven Delaware. I've managed to pull together a film list without too many problems. This week I shall mostly be watching:

• The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
• Me, Myself and Irene (2000)
• High Society (1956)