Faneuil Hall is a small meeting room with a really big painting ("Webster's Reply To Hayne"), which produces a telescopic effect -- this makes it a favorite with underdogs of all stripes. The Republican candidate for Governor, Charlie Baker, is running a TV ad presently that shows him lecturing from this stage, as shot from toe-level, which feels a bit heavy handed.

It's not uncommon for movies about Boston to open windows onto this city's foul underbelly. That said; while there is no doubt a rich history of organized crime here, the majority of real-life perps are into much more mundane hustles, like scalping Red Sox tickets.

In his feature-length passion project Scalpers - which premieres this Wednesday on Lansdowne Street (info below) - Boston-born actor Jay Giannone (Three Kings, "Entourage," Gone Baby Gone) marries his experiences from growing up bad in Beantown with behind-the-scene lessons learned from working in Los Angeles.