Billy Bathgate

[Marty Hamrick]

My fiance lived in the small town of Vankleek Hill,Ontario during the time the film Billy Bathgate was in production.She says there were plans to shoot there for a couple of weeks (I haven't seen the movie,so I'm not sure about the scene that was planned).She tells me the location was all scouted out and extras,mostly children between the ages of 7 and 10 were hired from the town and everyone was excited about.All of a sudden,though,production in Vankleek Hill was cancelled because the leading actor,Dustin Hoffman,didn't want to work there so they cancelled,dissapointing the people of the town,many of them these small children who had gotten their hopes up only to be sadly dissapointed.My understanding is that they opted to shoot the scene in a small town outside of New York instead.Anyone know the story here?

Marty