tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post3094699956992786059..comments2024-03-24T07:04:47.303-07:00Comments on Dear Old Hollywood: Sunset Boulevard - Film LocationsRobby Cresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00535820211830339224noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-55715149290327976392016-02-01T10:16:55.032-08:002016-02-01T10:16:55.032-08:00Full story of 10086 Sunset/641 S Irving is here:
...Full story of 10086 Sunset/641 S Irving is here:<br /><br />http://wilshireboulevardhouses.blogspot.com/2013/02/641-south-irving-boulevard-please-see.htmlHistoric Los Angeleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08842215438383020993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-68641750551271800532011-03-07T07:54:31.675-08:002011-03-07T07:54:31.675-08:00I just noticed a typo in my previous post. I mean...I just noticed a typo in my previous post. I meant to say, "Soon after Rebel Without a Cause (1955) was filmed", NOT "Sunset Blvd" (1950).<br /><br />The Getty Oil building was built in 1956.tovangar2https://www.blogger.com/profile/10420616447094676200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-47081004699076168262011-03-06T21:21:15.749-08:002011-03-06T21:21:15.749-08:00I think John Paul Getty retained title of the hous...I think John Paul Getty retained title of the house. That property was part of a valuable package he owned bordering Wilshire Blvd at the junction with Crenshaw Blvd. Soon after "Sunset Blvd" was filmed Getty had the land cleared for the world headquarters of the Getty Oil Company. The new building was designed by famous Los Angeles architect Claud Beelman who also designed the Thalberg Building on the MGM lot (see Beelman's wikipedia page). <br /><br />I don't think Getty placed much value on a recent movie location, especially when it was in the way of some very valuable and prominent commercial property.tovangar2https://www.blogger.com/profile/10420616447094676200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-28988793615856132352011-02-10T21:44:19.264-08:002011-02-10T21:44:19.264-08:00It's kind of sad that more historic Hollywood ...It's kind of sad that more historic Hollywood sites have not been preserved. They would certainly be tourist draws today (Brown Derby, Schwabs, etc.) instead of strips malls and parking lots.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13657767374110055967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-27005758349635613432011-01-28T14:20:52.495-08:002011-01-28T14:20:52.495-08:00I worked at Paramount in the 1980s. There was a ha...I worked at Paramount in the 1980s. There was a hang-out cafe out the back [artists] gate, and I've forgotten the name of it. Does anyone know which one I'm talking about? I'd really love to recall its name. If you know it, please let me know at collector47@att.net. Thanks!K.J. Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07901619019305026455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-76586872282994722112009-07-10T21:48:17.293-07:002009-07-10T21:48:17.293-07:00One of my top 5 of all time flicks.
Don't fo...One of my top 5 of all time flicks. <br /><br />Don't forget to show a pic of Perino's on Wilshire, you can see it through the Men's Store window.<br /><br />The corner of Sunset and the Bel Air gates too where Gillis gets tagged.<br /><br />The Palace theater parking lot where his car is stashed.Dr Bitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15292579927503536511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-72380320671146410842009-05-18T13:48:00.000-07:002009-05-18T13:48:00.000-07:00NCeddie - Thanks for dropping by. To answer your q...NCeddie - Thanks for dropping by. To answer your question, the studio built the pool on the property for the scene where Holden ends up face down in the pool. However, when they built the pool they did not build it so that the pool could properly circulate water. Because of this it sat empty. In fact you can see this empty swimming pool when it was filmed again a few years later for Rebel Without a Cause.<br /><br />You're very right, when it comes to Hollywood lore, it is difficult to find where the Truth lies!Robby Cresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00535820211830339224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-16028535157741399422009-05-18T05:27:00.000-07:002009-05-18T05:27:00.000-07:00Enjoyable post!
I am, however, confused by your s...Enjoyable post!<br /><br />I am, however, confused by your statement regarding the pool on the "Desmond mansion" grounds as not being actually built in a way for practical use.<br /><br />The IMDB trivia entry for "Sunset Blvd. has this to say:<br /><br />— The "Desmond mansion" had been built by a William Jenkins in 1924 at a cost of $250,000. Its second owner was Jean Paul Getty, who purchased it for his second wife. Mrs. Getty divorced her millionaire husband and received custody of the house; it was she who rented it to Paramount for the filming. The "fee" for renting the Getty mansion was for Paramount to build the swimming pool, which features so memorably.—<br /><br /><br />Why would Mr' Getty's ex-wife want a pool built on her property as a payment of a rental fee if the pool would be unusable to her?<br /><br />The IMDB goes on to say:<br /><br />SPOILER: Originally opened and closed the story at the Los Angeles County Morgue. In a scene described by director Billy Wilder as one of the best he'd ever shot, the body of Joe Gillis is rolled into the Morgue to join three dozen other corpses, some of whom - in voice-over - tell Gillis how they died. Eventually Gillis tells his story, which takes us to a flashback of his affair with Norma Desmond. The movie was previewed with this opening, in Illinois, Long Island, New York, and Poughkeepsie, New York. Because all three audiences inappropriately found the morgue scene hilarious, the film's release was delayed six months so that a new beginning could be shot in which police find Gillis' corpse floating in Norma's pool while Gillis' voice narrates the events leading to his death. Distortion caused by water meant that this scene had to be filmed via a mirror placed on the bottom of the pool. —<br /><br />According to this, the pool shot was a last-minute alteration to the completed script. So, then, upon rental of the house, it seems that Paramount would have built a functional pool as payment for the use of the house, both to satisfy the owner's wishes, and as there were originally no plans to use it in the film anyway.<br /><br />When it comes to Hollywood lore, it is difficult to find were the Truth actually lies.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10140908799973946640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-887888367167007342009-04-01T08:56:00.000-07:002009-04-01T08:56:00.000-07:00Good gravy-- Norma Desmond's mansion was on Irving...Good gravy-- Norma Desmond's mansion was on Irving?? <BR/><BR/>And I just adore the Bronson Gate ... it's one of the prettiest spots in town, in my opinion, and one of the few places that has remained thoroughly untouched by time (or the city of Los Angeles bulldozer ...)<BR/><BR/>This is a terrific post, Robby (as usual) and I appreciate the hard work-- Sunset Blvd is in my all time top 3. When I first moved to Hollywood I actually was determined to live in the Alto Nido apartments ... only, well, yeah ... slightly more expensive than when Joe Gillis lived there ... ;)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16024413656459519171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-90697393292572283592009-03-02T02:37:00.000-08:002009-03-02T02:37:00.000-08:00Interesting!I didn't know that Norma Desmond's man...Interesting!<BR/>I didn't know that Norma Desmond's mansion had been torn down. Looking at the asphalt jungle were it once stood feels just sad.<BR/>It's amazing how little has change at the Paramount Studios though! As if you just added colour to Sunset Blvd.<BR/><BR/>Great post and great comparison between the past and the present!Lolita of the Classicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03596876234508882958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-43514533998801955472009-01-19T02:02:00.000-08:002009-01-19T02:02:00.000-08:00Really swell photos of Paramount Pictures. The di...Really swell photos of Paramount Pictures. The director wanted MAE WEST to star as Norma Desmond. However, Mae refused to play the role of a washed-up and forgotten actress.<BR/><BR/>Come up and see Mae - - MaeWest.blogspot.comMae West NYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10429691535206284217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943857813487857438.post-29212442248477574932009-01-16T07:22:00.000-08:002009-01-16T07:22:00.000-08:00Great post Robby! This is one of the greatest fil...Great post Robby! This is one of the greatest films. I didn't know the mansion was near Paramount. When I took the Paramount Tour a few years ago, it was as if you were in the film- hadn't changed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com