College Coach (1933) - Film Locations

College Coach (1933)

What is college football without a few scandals? It seems like every football season a few more scandals pop up. Just this year eight players for the University of Miami are in trouble for accepting illegal gifts. But this is nothing new. Illegal gifts, phony entrance exams, dirty money and other illegal affairs have long been a part of college sports and this was even the premise for the 1933 film, College Coach.

In College Coach, Pat O'Brien plays the title character, a shady coach willing to do anything to win, even if it means buying players for his team and getting them into classes they can pass. This is a far stretch from the real life coach, Knute Rockne, that O'Brien would play a few years later. As coach Gore, O'Brien is hired by Calvert University,  a school looking to turn their football team into a winning team in order to attract more money for their school. 

The film doesn't mention where the story takes place, but the film was made in and around Los Angeles. Here are a few of the filming locations from College Coach.

For the fictional Calvert University, filming was done at Millspaugh Hall which was once located at 855 N. Vermont Ave. Millspaugh Hall was built in 1914 and was the main administration building for the University of California, Southern Branch which would eventually come to be known as University of California, Los Angeles or UCLA. By 1929, UCLA moved to their new campus in Westwood. Millspaugh Hall has since been demolished.

Calvert University as seen in College Coach (1933)

Millspaugh Hall, 855 N. Vermont Ave

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Public Library

855 N. Vermont Ave. Now the site of Los Angeles City College.

In one scene, after Pat O'Brien has accepted the job at Calvert University, he goes to meet his wife at the train station. O'Brien's wife, played by the attractive Ann Dvorak, is coming to join her husband in the new town where he will be coaching. The train station that was used in the film was the former Santa Fe Depot in South Pasadena. In the film we get a glimpse of the depot as well as the Graham and Mohr Opera House, another historic building that has since been demolished.

O'Brien standing across from the Graham and Mohr Opera House

El Centro Street, South Pasadena

The Graham and Mohr Opera House (demolished)

Photo Credit: South Pasadena Library

Santa Fe Depot on Left. Opera House on Right

El Centro Street, South Pasadena

Photo Credit: "South Pasadena" by Rick Thomas

El Centro Street, South Pasadena as it appears today.

In another scene we see the Calvert University football team arriving in town for a game. Signs welcome the arrival of the Calvert players. The street that we see the team driving down is Broadway and we get a glimpse of the historic United Artists movie palace on the left hand side. The United Artists theatre was built in 1927, just six years prior to the filming of College Coach.

Broadway, Los Angeles as seen in College Coach

933 S. Broadway, United Artists Theatre on left.

Revised December 12, 2013 - I previously posted that the football scenes were filmed at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but thanks to a tip from silent locations expert John Bengtson, I've learned that the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was also used for the football scenes. In the screenshot below of fans entering the football stadium, that is the entrance to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The screenshots showing the inside of a football stadium are actually of the Rose Bowl stadium.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as seen in College Coach.

Bing Bird's Eye view of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum entrance.

Calvert University plays at the Rose Bowl.

An inside look of the Rose Bowl from the January 1, 2013 Rose Bowl game. Source.

Lyle Talbot, Dick Powell race on to the field to see O'Brien.

 

Another view inside the Rose Bowl looking towards the gate that Talbot and Powell would have run out from. Undated image from the Los Angeles Public Library photo collection.

A closeup aerial view of the Rose Bowl's South East gate from 1930. The yellow rectangle marks the shrubbery seen along the wall which is also visible in the screenshot with O'Brien and his team.

Hugh Herbert, Ann Dvorak, Pat O'Brien

College Coach also stars Lyle Talbot, Dick Powell and Nat Pendleton as three of the football players for Calvert University. And if you watch closely, you get a glimpse of a very young John Wayne, as one of the Calvert students.

College Coach is available on home video through the Warner Archive Collection.

All screenshots (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment. Aerial Views: Hall Pictometry Bird's Eye, 2010 (c), 2010 Pictometry International Corp (c) 2011 Microsoft Corporation (c) and (c) 2010 NAVTEQ 

The Fireball (1950) - Film Locations

The Fireball (1950)

Whenever I think of the Roller Derby I usually picture tough Derby Girls and a theatricality similar to WWF wrestling. I've never really thought of it as a true sport or one that men play for that matter, until I saw the Mickey Rooney film, The Fireball. Like the recent Ellen Page film, Whip It (2009), where Page plays an awkward teenager who puts on skates and learns she could be a great Roller Derby girl, The Fireball is a similar coming-of-age type story.

In The Fireball, Rooney plays the orphan Johnny Casar, a rebellious teen living at the St. Luke's Home For Boys. Johnny has no outlet for his frustrations and is regularly getting into trouble. When Johnny is confronted by Father O'Hara, played by the priest when you need one, Pat O'Brien, Johnny decides to run away from the orphanage. 

While roaming the streets, Johnny stumbles across a pair of roller skates. He tries the skates on, finds that they fit, and then the next minute Johnny is rolling wildly down a hill, nearly knocking over anyone standing in the sidewalk. Johnny isn't a great skater at first, but he visits a local skating rink where he meets Mary Reeves (Beverly Tyler), who offers him free skating lessons. After a few lessons and a lot of practice Johnny becomes a superb skater, eventually joining a men's roller derby team. Johnny gains many fans with his outspoken personality and his athleticism. All the attention poured on Johnny from his fans only boosts his ego. At the same time Johnny's cocksure attitude is alienating him from his teammates.

During the international championship, Johnny, who will do anything to win, injures a few other players when he intentionally knocks over a teammate, forcing a pile-up of all the other skaters. The crowd and even Father O'Hara who is watching in the audience, are disgusted by Johnny's unsportsmanlike conduct. Although, disgust turns to concern when Johnny later collapses. 

Doctors discover that Johnny has polio. Upset by his condition, Johnny attempts suicide but Father O'Hara and Mary give Johnny the encouragement he needs for recovery. After a few years of therapy and training, Johnny finds himself back in the rink. When Johnny hears the crowd roar his cocky attitude returns too. But, after a conversation with Father O'Hara, Johnny realizes he should help out others just as people helped him when he needed it most. Instead of trying to be the star on the team, Johnny helps out one of the new younger players on the team.

Raquelle at the blog Out of the Past, who reviewed this film a few months ago, sums up this film pretty well. "Fireball is pure novelty! From the campy plot, to Marilyn Monroe's supporting role, to Mickey Rooney on roller skates. " These really are enough reasons to give this silly and fun film a view, but if I would add one more, it is to see a few Los Angeles locations. Here are a few of those locations.

St. Luke's Home For Boys

The film opens with scenes of St. Luke's Home For Boys, the orphanage where Mickey Rooney lives. See the screenshots above and below. I wasn't familiar with this building so I looked through a few historical photos of Los Angeles area orphanages and even Catholic schools. Eventually I came across a photo of the St. John's Military Academy in Los Angeles and it was very clear that this was the location used for the film.

St. Luke's Home For Boys, really St. John's Military Academy

The photo below, from the Los Angeles Library photo collection, shows the entrance to St. John's Military Academy. The palm trees are a lot taller in the film and the building looks to have been expanded. According to "Patterson's American Education, Volume 60," under their listing of military schools, they have the address for St. John's Military Academy listed at 1927 10th Avenue, Los Angeles.   It appears that this building has been demolished.

St. John's Military Academy, 1927 10th Ave, Los Angeles

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Library Photo Collection

Mickey Rooney runs from the orphanage.

Above Mickey Rooney is seen running from the backside of the orphanage. Below is another photo of St. John's Military Academy showing how this view once looked. From this view, things don't look that much different. The basketball courts are even there in the older photo.

St. John's Military Academy. 

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Library Photo Collection

Rooney climbs the fence at the orphanage.

The next few images are from the scene where Rooney tries on the roller skates and rolls wildly down the hill. That hill is Temple Street in Los Angeles, beginning near the intersection of Belmont Avenue. What seems like a really long hill in the film, is really only a few blocks long.

1648 Temple Street, Los Angeles

1648 Temple Street, Los Angeles

1644 & 1648 W. Temple Street

1644 W. Temple Street

1644 W. Temple Street

1642 W. Temple Street

1642 W. Temple Street

1638 W. Temple Street

1638 & 1642 W. Temple Street

Looking west on Temple Street.

Looking west on Temple Street.

1632 W. Temple Street

1632 W. Temple Street

1630 W. Temple Street

1630 & 1634 West Temple Street

If you would like to check out The Fireball it is currently for sale through the Warner Archive Collection.

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Flying High (1931) - Film Locations

Flying High (1931)

What you will find in the 1931 film, Flying High, are hypnotic Busby Berkley musical numbers, plenty of gags, and the screen debut of Bert Lahr, eight years before his famous role as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Anyone who is a fan of Lahr's expressive clowning will enjoy seeing his over-the-top performance as a neurotic inventor. It's even interesting to see in a small role, Hedda Hopper as an actress, before she would go on to be the Queen Bee of Hollywood gossip. However, what you won't find is a plausible, well written storyline, but that shouldn't be a deterrent from seeing some of the charming features this film does have to offer. The film is currently available through the Warner Archive Collection.

The film stars Charlotte Greenwood as Pansy Potts, a single woman desperate to find herself a husband and have kids. Pansy offers $500 for a husband. Businessman and swindler Sport Wardell, played by the fast talking Pat O'Brien, promises Pansy a husband in exchange for the $500. Pansy excepts Wardell's offer after he shows her a photo of the eligible bachelor - a photo of Clark Gable! Instead, the man Wardell has found for Pansy is broke inventor, Rusty Krouse, played by Bert Lahr, who of course is no Clark Gable. Nevertheless, Pansy pursues her man and Rusty amusingly tries to get away.

While watching the film I came to a scene where Pat O'Brien is standing with a group of pilots outside of what is supposed to be an aviation school. Immediately, I thought, "I've seen this building before." I then realized it was because I saw a picture of the building in the new book, M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot. This amazing photo filled book includes images of every area of the former MGM studio and is organized in such a way, that as a reader, it feels like one is getting an intimate tour of the studio during the glory days. This book is a must-have for any classic movie lover. To learn more about the book and read an interview with Steven Bingen, one of the authors, click here. To visit the official site of M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot click here.

Pat O'Brien in front of MGM's "English House" set.

Above is a screenshot of Pat O'Brien in front of the aviation school. This building, according to M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot, is the "English Home" set. Other films that have used this building include David Copperfield (1935), The Canterville Ghost (1944) and Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960).

Pat O'Brien in front of MGM's "English House"

Bert Lahr approaches the "English House."

Pat O'Brien and Bert Lahr on the English House set.

The English Home set is behind Lahr and O'Brien.

Greenwood chases Lahr around the English House set.

Later in the film all the characters find themselves at a small airport for an aviation show. My first instinct was that this airport was either the former Grand Central Airport in Glendale, California or the Western Air College Airport in Alhambra, California. As it turns out, the location is the Alhambra Airport. The first photo below is a screenshot from the film and the following photo is an image of the front side of the Alhambra Airport from the USC Digital Archives. If you look closely at the two images you will notice the same detailing above the windows on the control tower.

Alhambra Airport as seen in the film Flying High

Alhambra Airport - Credit: USC Digital Archives

Lahr recklessly driving his "aerocopter" at Alhambra Airport.

Greenwood on the runway at Alhambra Airport.

Spectators run from Lahr in his aerocopter.

Hedda Hopper at Alhambra Airport in Flying High

Aerial View of Alhambra Airport in the film Flying High

Aerial View of former site of Alhambra Airport

(c) Google 2011

There is nothing left of the Alhambra Airport so watching Flying High is a great way to time travel to the past and visit this location. In the Google Earth aerial view above you can see the former site of the airfield. The Alhambra Airport would have been located in the area between Valley Boulevard to the North, Hellman Avenue to the South, Garfield Avenue on the West and Del Mar Avenue on the East. Today the site is the location of a shopping center, high school and residential area.

Greenwood and Hopper look on at Lahr who 

just made a crash landing.

There is an interesting story to how O'Brien got the part in Flying High. O'Brien had just completed work on the film Consolation Marriage, which also starred screen legend Irene Dunne. After the Hollywood premiere of Consolation Marriage, O'Brien learned that Howard Hughes was dropping his contract. Feeling defeated, O'Brien told his wife Eloise the news and said to pack her things - they were going back to New York. Eloise told O'Brien that he should talk things over first with his agents, Myron Selznick and Frank Coleman Joyce.

According to O'Brien in his autobiography, The Wind at My Back, he went to visit Selznick at his office. When he got there Selznick, who was hungover, looked up from his desk and said, "It looks like you are going to start paying commission to me, kid."

"I hope so," replied O'Brien.

Selznick explained to O'Brien that Joyce was going to take him over to MGM to meet with Irving Thalberg about a part in the film, Flying High, that Bert Lahr was going to be the star in what was to be his film debut and O'Brien was up for the second lead. O'Brien got in Joyce's Rolls-Royce and on the way there Joyce said, "Now, no matter what happens during the Thalberg interview, don't open your mick trap. I'll handle everything. I may drop a couple of bombs, but just stand pat! No pun."

When the two arrived at MGM O'Brien and Joyce were immediately ushered into Thalberg's office. There was no waiting for them. Thalberg told Joyce that MGM was definitely interested in O'Brien for the part and wanted to know his asking price. "Seventeen-fifty a week with a three-week guarantee," exclaimed Joyce. Thalberg was blown away at this asking price as he new O'Brien was only making seven-fifty per week under Hughes. 

O'Brien was shocked too that Joyce had asked Thalberg for so much and began to get nervous, but like Joyce instructed, he didn't say anything. When Joyce and O'Brien got up to leave Thalberg's office, O'Brien felt sad. He thought this would be the end of his Hollywood career and he would end up having to go back to New York for sure.

Before they made it to the door, MGM executive Eddie Mannix told O'Brien, "You're out of your mind, my boy. Passing up a chance like this to work for the biggest studio in the business - and Irving Thalberg. We will give you twelve-fifty a week."

O'Brien told Mannix to talk to his agent, but Joyce said, "Why waste time? Jack Warner is waiting for us. The food's better there, too."

In the end, Pat O'Brien go his $1750 per week, with the three-week guarantee. The film went over to eleven weeks.

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