Maps of Movies

Reds (1981)

Where Reds says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

Moscow refused the crew a permit, so snowy Helsinki and a London palace played revolutionary Russia

Scenes and places

The lecture where Louise first sees Jack (1915)

Louise, a married journalist, hears the radical reporter Jack Reed speak and is drawn to his idealism. She seeks him out for an interview that lasts all night. It is the start of her break from a life that has been holding her back.

Set in Portland, Oregon — A city lecture hall where Louise Bryant first hears John Reed speak. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A Portland meeting room in 1915, built in the film from an engineers' institution in London.

Filmed at Institution of Civil Engineers, One Great George Street (Westminster, London, United Kingdom) — The Smeaton Room stood in for the Portland Liberal Club meeting room. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Next to Westminster; the building is a working institution, so check public access before going.

The Greenwich Village circle (1916)

Louise follows Jack to Greenwich Village and meets its anarchists, writers and playwrights, among them Emma Goldman and Eugene O'Neill. She finds a community that takes her ideas seriously. Her own writing begins to get noticed.

Set in Greenwich Village, New York City — The New York neighbourhood where Louise joins Jack among activists and artists. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Lower Manhattan's bohemian neighbourhood, a centre for artists and radicals in the 1910s.

Writing by the sea (1916)

Louise and Jack leave the city to write, and get drawn into the local theatre scene. Louise is now known as a feminist and radical in her own right, while Jack grows restless and is pulled toward labor strikes.

Set in Provincetown, Massachusetts — A Cape Cod town where the couple concentrate on their writing and join the local theatre scene. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A fishing and arts town at the tip of Cape Cod, known for its theatre circle.

Filmed at Frensham Ponds, Surrey (Frensham Common, Surrey, United Kingdom) — The ponds stood in for Provincetown (coordinate is the Frensham Common area). Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Frensham Common near Farnham, Surrey; the car park is on the A287.

The house at Croton-on-Hudson (1917)

After a secret marriage, Louise and Jack make a home together, but their wishes still pull in different directions. When Jack admits his own infidelities, Louise decides to sail to Europe as a war correspondent.

Set in Croton-on-Hudson, New York — The Hudson Valley home where Louise and Jack settle after marrying in secret. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A small Hudson River town north of New York City; the film's house was a built set plus an English cottage.

Inside the Winter Palace (1917)

Louise and Jack, reunited as professionals, reach Russia and are swept up in the fall of the czarist regime. The Winter Palace is where the old power falls, and the two reporters are there to see it.

Set in Winter Palace, Petrograd — The former imperial palace in the Russian capital during the 1917 revolution. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The Tsars' former residence on the Neva, in Petrograd in 1917.

Filmed at Lancaster House, London (St James's, London, United Kingdom) — The interior of Lancaster House stood in for the Winter Palace interior. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: St James's, London; usually open only on special open days.

Filmed at Säätytalo (House of the Estates), Helsinki (Kruununhaka, Helsinki, Finland) — Played the exterior of the Winter Palace in Petrograd. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Next to Senate Square in central Helsinki.

The streets of the October Revolution (1917)

Louise and Jack are on the streets as the revolution unfolds. For Jack it becomes the experience that shapes his later writing; for Louise it is a time when their shared passion returns.

Set in Palace Square, Petrograd — Petrograd's streets and squares during the revolution. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A real Finnish city dressed as snowy Petrograd.

Filmed at Senate Square, Helsinki (Kruununhaka, Helsinki, Finland) — The October Revolution sequence was filmed on Senate Square, Aleksanterinkatu, Katariinankatu, Helenankatu, Snellmaninkatu, Annankatu and the Esplanadi park. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Central Helsinki, a few minutes' walk from the cathedral.

Louise before the Overman Committee (1919)

Back in the United States, Jack writes his account of the revolution while Louise is called to testify in front of the Overman Committee. Their politics are now a matter for the government.

Set in Washington, D.C. — Where Louise is called to testify before the Overman Committee.

The US capital, where the Senate committee investigated Bolshevik propaganda.

Sneaking toward Russia through Finland (1919)

With travel to Russia now illegal, Jack goes to Finland and sneaks over the border. He is set on getting official recognition for his party, whatever Louise says about it.

Set in Finland–Russia border — Where Jack sneaks across the border into Russia.

Snowy northern Finland, which the film used as the Soviet frontier.

Filmed at Otalampi railway area, Vihti (Otalampi, Vihti, Finland) — One of six Finnish locations (Otalampi station, Kemijärvi, Rovaniemi, Ivalo, Porttipahta, Pelkosenniemi); the sources do not say which scene was where. Coordinate is the Otalampi village. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Otalampi is in Vihti, about 50 km west of Helsinki.

The Comintern headquarters (1919)

Jack asks the Comintern to recognise his party as the true Communist Party of the United States. His endorsement is rejected, and Zinoviev tries to keep him in Russia instead of letting him go home.

Set in Comintern headquarters, Moscow — Where Jack seeks official recognition for his party. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The Comintern was the Soviet-led organisation for communist parties worldwide.

Filmed at Presidential Palace, Helsinki (Kruununhaka, Helsinki, Finland) — Played the Comintern's Moscow headquarters. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: On Market Square in central Helsinki; the exterior can be seen from the street.

The Finnish prison (1919)

Trying to leave Russia and return to Louise, Jack is caught at the border and imprisoned in Finland. Louise cannot get help from the US government, which has indicted him in his absence.

Set in Prison in Finland — Where Jack is held after being caught at the border.

A sea fortress on islands off Helsinki, built in the 18th century.

Filmed at Suomenlinna, Helsinki (Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland) — The island fortress was used for scenes; the story has Jack sent to a prison at Suomenlinna. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Ferry from Helsinki Market Square; Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Characters

• John Reed — An American radical journalist who covers the Russian Revolution.
• Louise Bryant — A writer and feminist who joins Reed and becomes a radical voice of her own.