A few weeks ago my wife and I watched The Departed on DVD, and I made the shocking discovery that it is, on second viewing, even better than the first time around. But I had to check myself, knowing I naturally award bonus points for any film based in Massachusetts. I concluded that not only is it a great movie, but it’s one of the best ever to take place in our state. Skipping over some of the more obvious candidates (Good Will Hunting, Fever Pitch, Mystic River—yech), here are a handful of other great Massachusetts movies.

The Boston Blackie Series (1941–1948)

See if you can catch any of this fast-moving mystery series on Turner Classic Movies. I watched my first not long ago; it was an unexpected delight. Chester Morris plays the one-time-crook gone straight. He looks like a meaner version of Frederick March, but offsets it with cheerful wisecracks, a knack for disguises, and very good sleight-of-hand (he was an amateur magician). His comic support is ably provided by George E. Stone as a little runt named, appropriately, Runt. So what if not a lick of it was shot in Massachusetts. Remnants of an age when little B movies ran 61 minutes and barely varied from case to case, the Boston Blackie series is a chance to see Hollywood at its backlot best.

Henry Fonda and Tony Curtis in The Boston Strangler. (Courtesy photo)

The Boston Strangler (1968)

I’m not sure why this movie isn’t held in higher esteem. Tony Curtis gives a performance no one saw coming as Albert De Salvo, the normal-seeming family man who murdered 13 women in the early 1960s. Director Richard Fleischer, a former documentarian, employs a documentary style in following the painstaking investigation. The result is a cold, uncomfortable movie that is like few films before it. At its best moments, The Boston Strangler feels decades ahead of its time. Heading up a strong cast that includes Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, and a very young Sally Kellerman, Curtis received much acclaim for his work. But Fleischer (Compulsion, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) has remained one of Hollywood’s most under-appreciated directors.

Starting Over (1979)

Burt Reynolds goes soft as a recently divorced man who falls for quiet school teacher Jill Clayburgh while constantly being lured back by vain, flighty ex-wife Candice Bergen. This was the first feature screenplay by longtime TV writer James L. Brooks (The Mary Tyler Moore Show). It shows much of the same sly attention to the details of relationships as later Brooks films (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News). But the Brooks cuteness is held in check by one of the best, most austere directors of the 1970s, Alan J. Pakula (Klute, All the President’s Men). This is the wistful Neil Simon comedy that Neil Simon could never match. The supporting cast is a dream come true—Charles Durning, Frances Sternhagen, Austin Pendleton, Wallace Shawn, Mary Kay Place—and the starring three are all at their most appealing.

Hope Davis stars in Next Stop Wonderland. (Courtesy photo)

Next Stop, Wonderland (1998)

This one is a real gem. Director Brad Anderson (Happy Accidents) has a feel for his native New England, because no movie I’ve seen better captures Boston. When too-smart nurse Hope Davis is jilted by her activist boyfriend (Philip Seymour Hoffman in six hilarious minutes), her mother sneaks an ad for her into the personals. She is forced into date after painful date, while the perfect mate (Alan Gelfant) orbits her unknowingly. Davis proved herself as a sexy, brainy, unconventional leading woman, and Gelfant got the part of a lifetime amidst a long career of minor supporting roles. With a lovely soundtrack—who knew the iconic sound of Boston was the Brazilian love song?—and loving cinematography, Next Stop, Wonderland is my favorite of all Boston movies.

Stuck on You (2003)

Forget The Departed, Good Will Hunting, or School Ties—this is the great Matt Damon Massachusetts movie. OK, so only a little is actually shot in Martha’s Vineyard. But native sons Bobby and Peter Farrelly merit recognition for their overall contribution to local filmmaking. They shot Fever Pitch here and use Boston actors (and family friends) in every movie they make. The ads for Stuck on You made it look like another tired grossout movie. In fact, this story of Siamese twins with big dreams is as sweet as it is funny. Damon and Greg Kinnear do some amazing, physically demanding work as loving brothers who are attached at the hip—literally. Eva Mendes supplies charming support, as does a very deadpan Cher. Even in their worst films, the Farrelly brothers champion outcasts in their own way. And even in their best movies the quality can seem, at times, one step above an amateur production. But if you’re looking for a funny, good-natured surprise, try Stuck on You. And make sure you don’t miss Meryl Streep’s cameo.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California, and works for the Cartoon Network. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.