Saturday, January 28, 2012

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) - Film Locations

Dean Martin at grand opening for Market Basket

Originally, I was going to post part two of The Big Fix (1978) film locations, but I decided to push that back to next week to make way for the swingin', crooning, Italoamericano, Dean Martin

In the film Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) Martin plays a doctor on a popular television show, particularly popular with female audiences. He is engaged to cute art teacher, Melissa Morris (Elizabeth Montgomery) who wants to get married but who is upset with Martin for delaying their wedding plans. Things get worse when all of the wives of Martin's poker playing friends, confusing Martin for his television persona, start coming to him for advice on their marital doldrums. Each encounter with his friends' wives makes Martin even more disenchanted with the idea of marriage and he decides to break his engagement with Melissa. With the help of her friend Stella (Carole Burnett), Melissa comes up with a plan to get Martin to propose to her again.

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) may not be one of Dean Martin's best films, but it does have some funny moments, especially a couple with a scene stealing Carole Burnett appearing in her film debut. Other notable stars supporting Martin include Jill St. John and Richard Conte. The film also features a few interesting film locations, including scenes at Paramount Studios, a Market Basket supermarket, and the Beverly Hills Hotel swimming pool.

The film starts with Dean Martin appearing as the celebrity TV doctor at the grand opening of a Market Basket supermarket. This was a grocery chain and the location used in the film was one that was once located at 11315 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, California. Interesting to note is that this Studio City location had its grand opening in 1963, the same year as this film. The Market Basket supermarket is now gone and today the building is used as a Bally Total Fitness.

A crowd gathers at the Market Basket for the grand opening.
11315 Ventura Blvd, Studio City

11315 Ventura Blvd, Studio City
The Market Basket is now Bally Total Fitness

A view of the Market Basket parking lot.

The parking lot as it appears today.

Another view of the parking lot as seen in the film.

After Martin makes his appearance at the Market Basket grand opening we see Martin take off in his car. While driving, Martin leaves Studio City behind and gets on the 405 freeway heading south. In the next comparison below, Martin is on the 405 freeway with a view of Sherman Oaks in the background.

Martin driving on the 405 Freeway. Sherman Oaks in background.

A present day view looking down the 405 towards Sherman Oaks.

The 405 freeway looking towards Sherman Oaks.

The 405 freeway looking towards Sherman Oaks.

Stella arranges a phony wedding for Melissa, hoping it will make Martin jealous. The scene takes place at the pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel, located at 9461 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California. The pool area looks much different today. The hotel has expanded since the 1960s.

The Beverly Hills Hotel Pool as seen in the film.

An old photograph of the pool maybe from the 1960s.

The pool as it appears today.


Burnett & Martin at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool.

There are a few scenes that take place on the Paramount Studios lot. It's at this studio where Martin's character films his television medical drama. All of the scenes were shot on what is known as "Avenue P" of the Paramount lot.

Dean  Martin exits Stage 18 on Avenue P.

Stage 18 on the Paramount Studios lot.

It's this same area of the Paramount Studios lot that was so famously used in the classic film Sunset Boulevard (1950). Stage 18 is the same stage where in Sunset Boulevard Gloria Swanson goes to visit Cecil B. Demille. 

In the next comparison below, Martin's studio co-workers and poker buddies are seen standing on Avenue P of the Paramount Studios lot. The palm trees in the background are sticking up from Hollywood Forever Cemetery which borders the backside of the Paramount lot. The two story building seen of the left is the "Dreier" building, the same building used by William Holden in Sunset Boulevard  as the writers building.

Martin's studio co-workers and poker buddies.

Looking down Avenue P as it appears today.

The next comparison is still of Avenue P but looking the other direction, away from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery border. On the left is the Medical Services building and straight ahead is the Lubitsch building.

The Paramount Studios Medical Services building as
seen in Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)

Paramount's Medical Service building and Lubitsch 
building as they appear today.

Dean Martin signs autographs outside Stages 5 & 6.

Stage 5 & 6 as they appear today.

This last comparison shows the beginning of Paramount's Avenue P, just past the historic Bronson Gate. Stage 4 can be seen straight ahead and Stage 2 and the Edith Head building can be seen on the right.

Looking towards Paramount's Stage 4 as seen in the film.

Looking towards stage 4 as it appears today.

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) is another Swinging Sixties sex comedy, similar to a couple other films I've covered here on Dear Old Hollywood: Sex and the Single Girl (1964) starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Lauran Bacall, and Mel Ferrer and Bachelor in Paradise (1961) starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner.

Thanks to my friend Chris Cottle for the photos at Paramount.

All StreetView images (c) 2011 Google.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

The Big Fix (1978) - Film Locations Part One


Imagine all those detective films from the 1940s with Humphrey Bogart, but instead its the 1970s and Bogart is a dope smoking, counter-culture has-been nostalgic for the radical days of protests and fighting for 1960s liberal causes. That's kind of how the film The Big Fix feels. Instead of Bogart and his Sam Spade/Philip Marlowe characters we have Richard Dreyfuss playing private eye Moses Wine. Where Bogart had a tough guy presence - I mean you wouldn't be surprised to see him throw a punch at a guy that had it coming, the Moses Wine character is not a tough guy, but a Berkeley schooled academic rebel more familiar with protesting or arranging sit-ins.

In the film, Moses is a divorced father of two, just barely getting by financially, when his old college friend Lila (Susan Anspach) hooks him up with a job. Lila wants Moses to work for Milles Hawthorne, a candidate running for governor of California, to investigate who has been trying to sabotage his campaign. Although Moses doesn't agree with Hawthorne's policies, it seems like all the other 1960s radicals have sold-out, so why shouldn't he? Besides, he needs the money. Moses takes on the task but the deeper he gets in his investigation, the stranger and more dangerous things become.

Although there are some holes in the plot, The Big Fix is still an interesting story with an excellent performance by Richard Dreyfuss. The supporting cast is great too, particularly F. Murray Abraham playing an Abbie Hoffman like character. Seeing John Lithgow in a full beard in what was one of his first film roles was also interesting too.

The Big Fix was filmed all over Los Angeles, from downtown LA to the beachside boardwalk in Venice. This post is part one of two which features many of those filming locations. You will have to check back next week for part two.

Hawthorne Campaign Headquarters
Corner of Wilshire Blvd and Shatto Place

Looking at the corner of Wilshire and Shatto Place.

The Hawthorne campaign headquarters are located at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Shatto Place (see comparisons above and below). The building has since been demolished and the site is now a vacant lot. The whole area has changed quite a bit since 1978, with old buildings torn down and replaced by new developments.

John Lithgow looks at Dreyfuss and Anspach out of
the campaign headquarters window facing Shatto Place.

The vacant lot where the headquarters once stood
as seen from Shatto Place near Wilshire Blvd.

Lithgow looking across Shatto Place from inside the 
headquarters. A Wells Fargo can be seen across the street.

The Wells Fargo building on Shatto Place is still 
there but its no longer a Wells Fargo.

Looking south down Shatto Place towards Wilshire Blvd.

Looking south down Shatto Place towards Wilshire Blvd.
The strip mall in the background is now gone and a new condo
development stands in its place.

Dreyfuss, with kids, gets in car parked on Shatto Place.
Wilshire Blvd in background.

Looking from Shatto Place across Wilshire Blvd.

Early in the film Dreyfuss and Anspach pay a visit to the University of California Los Angeles. In the scene below Dreyfuss and Anspach are first seen walking down the outside hallway of Royce Hall and then entering the UCLA Humanities Building.

Dreyfuss and Anspach walking down Royce Hall at UCLA.

Anspach and Dreyfuss enter the UCLA Humanities Building.

In another scene Anspach and Dreyfuss visit the Hall of Justice building located in downtown Los Angeles at 210 West Temple Street. Ever since the 1994 Northridge earthquake this 1925 building has been sitting vacant. This landmark is where Robert Mitchum served time after being charged with marijuana possession and was also the location where the autopsies of Marilyn Monroe and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy took place. To see how the interior of the Hall looks today visit the website of Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. The exterior photo of the Hall of Justice building is one I took. 

Anspach and Dreyfuss walk inside the Hall of Justice.

An exterior look at the Hall of Justice building.

While on the hunt for his suspect, Dreyfuss goes to the Rainbow Club Casino. According to an old advertisement I found the address was listed as 13915 South Vermont Street, Gardena California. The building as seen in the screenshot also has an address number of 13915. There is no casino located at this  address anymore. Now its a tract with small homes.

Rainbow Club Casino, 13915 S. Vermont Ave, Gardena, Ca

13915 S. Vermont Ave, Gardena, Ca as it appears today.

In the next scene Dreyfuss visits an electronics shop located at 905 S. Vermont Avenue where he expects to find more about his suspect.

Dreyfuss exits car parked at 905 S. Vermont Ave.
9th Street is the cross street in the background.

Looking down Vermont Ave from 9th Street.

Dreyfuss outside the electronics shop at 905 S. Vermont Ave.

The view looking from the electronics shop today.

Dreyfuss outside the electronics shop on Vermont Ave.

There still is an electronics shop at 905 S. Vermont Ave!

Anspach's character lives in the Harper House apartment building located at 1336 Harper Avenue in West Hollywood. In the scene below Dreyfuss is seen walking up to the Harper House apartment.

Looking from the entrance of the Harper House as seen in the film.

The view in front of the Harper House. 1336 Harper Ave.

Dreyfuss walks up the stairs of the Harper House.

The Harper House building as it appears today.

The last few comparisons involve a car chase scene that takes place in downtown Los Angeles.

Flower Street at 2nd Street as seen in the film.

Flower Street at 2nd Street as it appears today.

Dreyfuss in VW bug on 7th Street near Hope Street.

Looking down 7th Street towards Hope Street.

Looking down 6th Street from Flower Street.

Looking down 6th Street at Flower Street today.

Looking down 7th Street from Hope Street.

Looking down 7th Street from Hope Street today.

Looking down Wilshire Blvd from S. Figueroa Street.

Looking down Wilshire Blvd from S. Figueroa Street today.

Entering the tunnel at 2nd Street and Hill Street.

Looking towards the tunnel at 2nd Street and Hill Street.

The ramp to 1st Street from S. Figueroa Street.

Looking at the ramp to 1st Street from Figueroa St

I don't believe The Big Fix (1978) is available on DVD but it is currently available as a Watch Instantly title on Netflix and has been released on VHS.

To read part two of the filming locations for The Big Fix (1978) click here.

Your thoughts?

Except for the Hall of Justice image, all Street View images (c) 2011 Google. 

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails