The Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West, Florida, is one of the city’s most famous historic houses. The Spanish Colonial-style property was built in the 19th century and became Hemingway’s home during the 1930s, when he wrote or worked on several of his best-known books. Today the house is a museum, known for its shaded gardens, upstairs writing studio, swimming pool and the many six-toed cats associated with the property. Its connection to Hemingway gives the place a strong literary identity, while its location in the heart of Key West has also made it a useful screen location.
The Ernest Hemingway Home has appeared in films including “Licence to Kill” (1989) and “The Leisure Seeker” (2017). In both films, the house is used as itself rather than disguised as another location. “Licence to Kill” uses the site during the Key West opening section of the James Bond film, while “The Leisure Seeker” makes the house the emotional destination of a long road trip to Florida. The house is listed as a Key West location for “Licence to Kill”, and “The Leisure Seeker” is specifically described as using the Hemingway House in Key West.
In “Licence to Kill” (1989), the Ernest Hemingway Home is where James Bond is brought after going rogue in pursuit of Franz Sanchez. M confronts Bond at the house and orders him to abandon his personal vendetta, but Bond refuses. The scene is especially memorable because Bond resigns from the Secret Service at the former home of Ernest Hemingway, ending the exchange with the line “A farewell to arms”, a direct nod to Hemingway’s novel. The balcony and exterior areas of the house make the location easy to recognise for Bond fans visiting Key West.
In “The Leisure Seeker” (2017), the Ernest Hemingway Home is the final destination for John and Ella Spencer, played by Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren, after their road trip from Massachusetts to Florida. John, a retired English teacher with a deep love of Hemingway, has long wanted to visit the house, and the location gives the film one of its most personal and reflective moments. The scene uses the real museum setting as a place of memory, literature and farewell, making the house more than just a tourist stop in the film’s journey south.
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill was shot entirely outside the United Kingdom, making it the first Bond film not to use Britain for principal photography.
Key West Lighthouse
Key West Lighthouse is most closely connected to "Licence to Kill" (1989), where it appears during the Key West section of the James Bond film.
The Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea
The Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea is best known to film fans from Licence to Kill, where it appears during the opening section of the James Bond film.
The Moorings Village
The Moorings Village is best known as the Rayburn family inn in "Bloodline" (2015–2017). The Netflix series was filmed largely in the Upper Florida Keys.
Caribbean Club
Caribbean Club is best known for its connection to "Key Largo" (1948). Decades later, the bar also appeared in "Bloodline" (2015–2017).
CVS Miama Beach
In Scarface (1983), 728 Ocean Drive is used for the Sun Ray Apartments, now a CVS, where Tony Montana and Manny Ribera go to make a drug deal.
Colony Hotel
Colony Hotel has appeared in productions including Miami Rhapsody, Dexter and Bad Boys for Life. It is also strongly connected to the Scarface.
The Carlyle
The Carlyle has appeared in several productions, including Scarface (1983), Miami Vice, The Birdcage, Pronto, Random Hearts and Bad Boys II.
Fontainebleau Miami Beach
Fontainebleau Miami Beach appears in Goldfinger (1964), Scarface (1983), The Bodyguard (1992), Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988), and many more.
Swifty Laundromat
In Striptease, Swifty Laundromat is used for one of the scenes showing Erin Grant’s everyday life away from the club world that dominates much of the film.
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