In what state does "Raising Arizona" take place?

“Raising Arizona” takes place in the state of Arizona. The film follows ex-convict H.I. McDunnough and former police officer Edwina McDunnough as they build a life together in the Arizona desert and become involved in the kidnapping of one of the Arizona quintuplets.

The 1987 comedy was written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Its setting is woven into the story through desert landscapes, Southwestern scenery, local speech, and references to places around the Phoenix metropolitan area. The opening establishes H.I. meeting Ed after repeated arrests in Tempe, Arizona, and the couple later lives in a desert mobile home.

Much of the movie’s principal photography also took place in Arizona, including Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe. That helps give the film its distinctive wide-open, sunbaked visual style, although some scenes and production work were completed elsewhere.

The title can cause a small misunderstanding: “Arizona” refers to Nathan Arizona, the furniture magnate whose baby is kidnapped, as well as the state where the story unfolds. It is both a character name and a strong geographic clue.