Dear Old Hollywood

Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Hard Way (1943) - Film Locations

When I watched the film The Hard Way (1943) I wanted to reach into the screen and slap actress Ida Lupino. Her character was just so unrelentingly ruthless. Lupino's performance was so believable that I couldn't help myself from hating her character. Add to that by contrast, supporting actors Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson seem like such good guys, it's hard to watch them being taken advantage of by Lupino. Although she wasn't nominated for an Oscar, at least the New York Film Critics recognized Lupino's strong performance by giving her a Best Actress award. And Lupino isn't the only one who turns in a strong performance. Both Carson and Morgan shine in their dramatic roles. With such great acting and an interesting gritty story, I'm surprised The Hard Way hasn't received more recognition.

If you enjoy manipulative backstabbing showbiz stories like the Bette Davis film All About Eve (1950), then you may want to give the lesser known The Hard Way a try. After not being available on DVD for quite a while it eventually was released as part of the Warner Archive collection. In The Hard Way, Lupino is the big sister who will do anything to make her little sister Katherine (Joan Leslie) a star, even if it means hurting other people in order to climb to the top of the showbiz ladder. Lupino acts almost like a stage mother. She lives vicariously through her younger sister's successes. In Morgan and Carson, a vaudeville duo, Lupino sees the men as an opportunity to propel Leslie's showbiz career and a chance for Lupino herself to escape her drab life in a sleepy steel town. When Leslie eventually becomes the toast of Broadway and no longer needs the help of Morgan and Carson, Lupino encourages Leslie to leave the two vaudevillians behind. Carson, who has fallen in love and has married Leslie, is especially struck hard by Lupino's manipulations.

The Hard Way was mostly filmed inside soundstages on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, although there are a couple exterior scenes that make use of the Warner Bros. backlot. In one scene near the beginning of the film, Leslie, who hasn't yet left the steel town of Green Hill to start her showbiz career is seen taking a class photo in front of her high school. The building that is used as Green Hill High School is actually a structure on Warner Bros. Midwest Street and is one of the earliest films I have noticed to have used Midwest Street.

Joan Leslie takes a class photo in front of Green Hill High School,

really a facade on Midwest Street at Warner Bros.

The same facade on Midwest Street as it appears today.

Ida Lupino and Joan Leslie on Midwest Street.

In another camera angle we can kind of see another building on Midwest Street located near the Green Hill High School building.

Another view of Midwest Street with Lupino and Leslie.

The view behind Lupino and Leslie as it appears now.

I believe the scene near the end of the film where Dennis Morgan looks for Leslie at a big New York theater was shot on the Warner Bros. New York Street. Below Morgan can be seen walking underneath a theater facade.

Morgan walks past a theater facade on New York Street.

Looking down New York Street at Warner Bros.

Next to the theater is a little alley with a set of stairs leading up the side of the building. The facade of the theater on the Warner Bros. New York Street also has a very similar alley and stairs.

Morgan and Leslie in the alley on New York Street.

Looking into the alley on New York Street as it appears now.

The fun thing about being a classic film fan is discovering some of the enjoyable films that haven't received a lot of recognition, that don't get the regular praises as such classics as say Casablanca or Citizen Kane. The Hard Way may not be in the same class as those films, but it tries hard and deserves more attention.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sylvia (1965) - Film Locations

First, something a little off subject - on March 22, my wife gave birth to our daughter and future cinephile, Hazel! It was a really long day, beginning at 1:00am when my wife's waters broke and continuing with a long labor that didn't end until 7:02pm when Hazel finally arrived. My wife was a real pro. She had a completely natural birth with no drugs. The hospital kept pushing the epidural over and over again but my wife stuck to her original goal of having a natural birth without drugs. Even during the transition part of labor, the worst part of the process, my wife listened to her body's natural signs and worked through the pain. She was awesome and handled it well.

Now we have a beautiful little girl and although she has kept me from getting any sleep, she is just too precious to get upset at. I am very excited to be a dad and to begin teaching Hazel "Good Stuff" as Laura, from the blog Laura's Miscellaneous Musings commented, quoting a Cary Grant reference that he used with his daughter Jennifer. No doubt you will be hearing more about Hazel and other good stuff, but now onto another girl named Sylvia.

In the film Sylvia (1965) California millionaire Frederic Summers (Peter Lawford) is engaged to Sylvia (Carroll Baker), a beautiful, sophisticated and wealthy author of poetry, but before he marries, Summers hires private investigator Alan Macklin (George Maharis) to uncover Sylvia's past. There is something mysterious about Sylvia and Summers wants to be sure that she doesn't want to marry him just for his money. What Macklin discovers is a dark past filled with abuse, prostitution and blackmail but rather than share these details with Summers, he keeps this information to himself. That's because Macklin has also fallen in love with Sylvia.

Macklin's investigation begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the city where he learns that Sylvia grew up. In the screenshots below we see an aerial view of Pittsburgh and a shot of Macklin entering the city through the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

Aerial view of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as seen in Sylvia.

Contemporary view looking down at Pittsburgh

from Mount St. Mary's Church, 403 Grandview Ave

Macklin enters Pittsburgh through the Fort Pitt Tunnel

The Fort Pitt Tunnel

Crossing the Fort Pitt Bridge

Looking across the Fort Pitt Bridge

Below, Macklin visits a Pittsburgh church where he tries to dig up some information on Sylvia. In the background, in the red square we can see the historic Penn Sheraton hotel located at 530 William Penn Place and in the yellow circle the tower of the Allegheny Courthouse and Jail building located at 436 Grant Street. An interesting tidbit about the William Penn Hotel, according to Wikipedia, it was the site of Bob Hope's marriage proposal in 1934.

Macklin stands at church. Allegheny Courthouse and

Penn Sheraton hotel can be seen in background.

Looking down Centre Avenue towards the William Penn Hotel.

Bing Birds Eye view of Allegheny Courthouse

and William Penn Hotel.

Later in the film, Macklin's investigation takes him back to California. Sylvia has left her dark past behind her and settled in sunny Los Angeles, where she is soon to be married to the millionaire Fredric Summers. Below, Macklin takes a cab from the LAX airport. In the background is the iconic and kitschy Encounter Restaurant and Bar, a building that looks like something straight out of The Jetsons cartoon series.

Macklin takes a cab from LAX airport. Encounter is on the right.

Outside LAX. Encounter can be seen in the red circle.

Macklin eventually finds Sylvia in a Brentwood bookstore called the Brentwood Book Shop, the now closed Dutton's Brentwood Books, located at 11975 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles.

Macklin parked outside Brentwood Book Shop

at 11975 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles.

Looking down San Vicente Boulevard today.

Macklin looks through the window of the Brentwood Book Shop.

The book store is now the site of Cisco Home, a

sustainable living furniture store.

After Macklin meets Sylvia he spends the day with her at Kiddieland, a kiddie park that was once located where the Beverly Center mall now stands at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard. Kiddieland had pony rides and carnival like attractions. Does anyone have any memories of visiting Kiddieland before it closed?

Macklin (Maharis) and Sylvia (Carroll Baker) enter

Kiddieland park from Beverly Boulevard.

The Beverly Center mall now stands at the corner of

Beverly Blvd & La Cienega Blvd.

Macklin and Sylvia enter Kiddieland. In the background

looking across Beverly Blvd. up La Cienega Blvd.

Looking up La Cienega Blvd across from Beverly Blvd.

Maharis and Baker stroll through Kiddieland.

Sylvia is an entertaining drama that takes some risks and features some interesting filming locations. Surprisingly it hasn't been released on DVD but it is currently available as a Watch Instantly title on Netflix.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Harry and Tonto (1974) - Film Locations

Art Carney was primarily a television star for most of his career, but at the age of fifty-five, Carney would win that award most coveted by film stars, the Oscar. The year was 1974, a year that included stiff competition in the Best Actor category: Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express, Dustin Hoffman in Lenny, Jack Nicholson in Chinatown, and Al Pacino in The Godfather, Part II were the other nominees. But Carney, best remembered as Ed Norton on The Honeymooners, would be the victor that year for his endearing performance as the 72 year-old widower Harry Coombs in a little film called Harry and Tonto. Carney was only 55 years-old when he played the part of Harry, but Carney whitened his hair, grew his mustache and used make-up to make himself appear older than he really was.

In the film, Harry is a retired teacher who has lived in New York his whole life. At the age of 72, the proud New Yorker is evicted from his Upper West Side apartment building to make way for the development of a parking garage. With nowhere else to go, Harry moves in with his son's family on Long Island, but that situation just doesn't work out. Harry doesn't feel like he belongs there so he decides to hit the road with his cat Tonto as his travel companion. Harry and Tonto hitchhike across the country, befriending many interesting characters along the way, and end up in Los Angeles.

When Harry arrives in Los Angeles he is dropped off by bus in the center of Hollywood near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and McCadden Place, just outside a hotel that used to be the Christie Hotel. Built in 1922, the Christie Hotel was the first luxury hotel in Hollywood. The tall brick building is now owned by the Church of Scientology.

Harry gets dropped off in Hollywood near

6724 Hollywood Boulevard.

Looking towards 6724 Hollywood Boulevard. The

former Christie Hotel is now owned by the Scientology Church.

Harry gets picked up at the bus stop by one of his sons who is living in California. Across the street from the bus stop is the former Pickwick Bookshop located at 6743 Hollywood Boulevard. Pickwick opened in 1938 and was in operation until 1995 when it finally closed due to a lack of shopping in the area.

Harry and his son hugging at the bus stop across from

Pickwick Bookshop on Hollywood Boulevard.

6743 Hollywood Boulevard, the former home of

Pickwick Bookshop.

Another view of Pickwick Books ca. 1955

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Public Library

Looking at what used to be Pickwick Bookshop.

On the other corner of Hollywood Boulevard and opposite Pickwick Bookshop we see what was once a Diamond Jim's Restaurant. That corner is now the home of the lingerie shop Fredrick's of Hollywood.

Behind Harry (Carney) and his son is a Diamond

Jim's Restaurant, 6753 Hollywood Boulevard.

6753 Hollywood Boulevard is now Fredrick's of Hollywood.

Looking east down Hollywood Boulevard from

McCadden Place.

Looking east down Hollywood Boulevard from

McCadden Place.

When Harry and his son leave the bus stop we see them driving down Cahuenga Boulevard where it parallels the 101 freeway. In the shot below we see Cahuenga Blvd East at Lakeridge Place.