Did you know there’s a connection between a Hallmark movie and a little village near Seneca Lake, New York? In this episode of the History and Mysteries of Seneca Lake, I’m going to give you the backstory of Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery. We’ll find out what notable Seneca Lake area landmarks appear in the movie and how you can see them yourself.
Hallmark Movies
I have a little confession to make: I like Hallmark movies. What can I say? There’s comfort and predictability in those 90 minutes.
In the first 30 minutes, the main characters don’t like each other. In the second 30 minutes, everybody realizes they’re perfect for each other. About 80 minutes in, there’s a conflict, a fight, or a misunderstanding—and it looks like things aren’t going to work out. And in the last five minutes, they kiss and live happily ever after.
Mild-Mannered Murder Mysteries
However, I want you to know that not all Hallmark movies are like that. They actually have a subchannel series of mild-mannered murder mysteries. One night a while ago, I was all cozied up with the clicker and I almost fell off the couch when I saw a drone image of Montour Falls as the opening scene.
As the movie opened, the drone then flew over two or three blocks of the downtown area past all of these beautiful brick buildings and historic landmarks. It then moved up to what they call the Glorious T, where there is a 165-foot drop waterfall called Che-qua-ga Falls.
Dead Over Heels
These scenes are featured in the movie Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery, released in 2017 as part of a series. Aurora Teagarden is the fictitious lead character and heroine of these movies, a beautiful red-headed librarian. She’s smart, she’s a crime solver, and she’s perpetually 27 years old.
Aurora—or “Roe” as she’s known to family and friends—lives in the fictional town of Lawrenceton, Washington (which is a long way from upstate New York). Ro and her friends are members of the Real Murderers Club, a group that delves into true crime mysteries at their book club meetings. The plot thickens as she goes on to solve actual murders.
In Dead Over Heels, Ro never looked so good as victims dropped like flies around her and she almost became a victim herself. She ends up saving the day and solving the mystery.
Candace Cameron Bure
Aurora Teagarden is played by the actress Candace Cameron Bure, a beautiful and adorable woman who started out as the oldest daughter in the TV series Full House. She grew up as a Hollywood actress and has starred in many TV shows and movies, including about 30 Hallmark movies.
Candace is the lead for all the Aurora Teagarden murder mysteries, dyeing her hair red to fit the role. In real life, Candace Cameron Bure leads what appears to be a very wholesome life—much like the characters she portrays in all of the Hallmark movies. In 1996, she married this hot Russian NHL hockey player, and they’re still married today, creating a lovely family. The actress has also appeared on Dancing with the Stars and is a published author of four books.
Ro’s mom in these movies is played by Marilu Henner, another actor with a long career in TV and film who I’ve admired since her Taxi days. This series of Hallmark movies are based on books written by an author named Charlaine Harris, and Hallmark produced 19 of these murder mysteries based on her books. They’re pretty mild-mannered without a lot of blood and gore, which suits me just fine.
Visit Montour Falls
These Hallmark movies are not super high budget, and it must be because of this that film editors found stock video footage for the Montour Falls opening scene. In other words, the film crew wasn’t actually in Montour Falls; they just use this eight-second clip to open the movie to show the title and opening credits.
After that, the movie has nothing to do with Montour Falls. Most of the actual filming took place in British Columbia—but I won’t spoil the plot for you. You’ll have to search out the movie and watch it for yourself. For those who plan to visit Seneca Lake for the wineries, the waterfalls, the lake, or the racetrack, you have to make a stop in Montour Falls and see where this drone footage took place.
I found a comment about this clip online at worldofwaterfalls.com that sums it up perfectly. Someone posted: “as soon as I saw the waterfall, I had to pause the TV. I called my husband in to look at it with me and it took my breath away. I asked him, do you really think such a place exists? We both concluded it was too perfect looking and had to have been CGI or something.”
I’m here to tell you that no, it wasn’t CGI; it really is that beautiful! If you want to discover more interesting places in and around Seneca Lake, make sure you subscribe to my channel so you never miss an episode of the History and Mysteries of Seneca Lake.
Stay tuned to see what I feature next!