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The Chinese in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (Warner Bros., 1974).

"The Wonderland Massacre & the Secret History of Hollywood"

The turquoise vertical of the Paradise Theatre is seen on the left in this shot from 1970s footage in Episode 2 of "The Wonderland Massacre & the Secret History of Hollywood" (MGM+, 2024). Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the various theatres and getting the screenshots seen here. The four-part series, based on a podcast by Michael Connelly, features Ian S. Peterson, Trevon Rubbins and Daryl Terry. Alison Ellwood directed. 

 

The theatre was at 9110 S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Westchester, seven blocks south of Manchester. It closed in 1978. The building was gutted and repurposed as office space. See the Paradise Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more information and photos.  

 

 

 

A fine c.1977 look at the Pussycat Theatre at 6656 Hollywood Blvd., just west of Cherokee. It's across the street from the Vogue.

 A closer look at the boxoffice. 

 

 

Larry Edmunds bookstore was originally adjacent to the theatre.

 

See the page on the Pussycat/Ritz Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more information. It opened as a newsreel house called the News-View in 1940 and was rebranded as the New-View when it went to features.  

 

Looking down from the Hollywood Center Building at Hollywood and Cherokee. David Lean's "A Passage To India" was a December 1984 release. The banner under the marquee was advertising the film's five Golden Globe nominations.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Vogue Theatre for more information. It's located at 6675 Hollywood Blvd., between Cherokee and Las Palmas. The building was a 1935 design by S. Charles Lee. 

 

 

Connolly in his car headed east toward Highland Ave. The banner up on the Ovation Mall on the left was advertising the December 2023 release "Wonka." On the right the El Capitan marquee's copy was "Thank You Veterans." The pages about the El Capitan on the Los Angeles Theatres site offer a discussion about the history of this 1926 vintage legit house along with hundreds of photos. 

Thanks to Donavan for the screenshots. He adds: "And there's a couple of seconds of THIS memorable footage in the opening title sequence of each episode..."

For those who weren't there, it's Brad Pitt's Karmann Ghia on Hollywood Blvd. just east of McCadden place in July 2018. See the Theatres in Movies post about this part of the shoot shoot for Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood." 

See the "Wonderland Murders" page about the podcast on the Michael Connelly website. There's also a page about the MGM series.

On IMDb: "The Wonderland Massacre & the Secret History of Hollywood"    

"The Scarf"

John Ireland is sitting in a bar on Main St. called Level Louie's 54 minutes into "The Scarf" (United Artists, 1951). Mercedes McCambridge plays a waitress who knows him from a past he can't remember and, trying to avoid trouble, tells him to get out. Thanks to Riichkay for sharing seven screenshots from the film in his Noirish Los Angeles post #61897. He calls the film a "psychological thriller with some noirish elements."

Also featured are Tom Kennedy, Lyle Talbot, Emlyn Willlians, Lloyd Gough and James Barton. Ewald André Dupont directed. The cinematography was by Franz Planer. 

As he leaves we see the Gayety Theatre across the street. On the marquee it's Randolph Scott and Don Ameche. Not, of course, in the same film. After John walks out the door the camera swings back to the bar where Mercedes says "Scotch, quick. I just had a nightmare."

 

As Riichkay notes, it was a process shot in the film but "there was a bar/restaurant directly across from the Gayety, as seen in this 1940's photo." This photo that he includes in his post is one from the Nathan Marsak collection.

The theatre was at 523 S. Main St., on the west side of the street just south of 5th. See the page about the Gayety Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened as the Novelty in 1905.   

 

Noirish contributor Henry Huntington comments: 

 

"I'm pretty sure that the exterior shot looking north on Main St. from the Gayety Theatre/Harry's Bar location was a B-roll taken in 1946 or the first half of 1947 based on the depiction of two-way traffic on 5th St. and on the LATL streetcars crossing Main St. at that location. IIRC, east-west streets in that part of DTLA were made one-way on or about August 24, 1947. The resulting gridlock caused by the changeover was monumental."

 

The next day we get a nice tour along 1st: 

 

 

 John walking east on 1st. St. Riich notes that the Hill St. tunnel is in the background.

 

 

 Continuing east on the south side of 1st.

A shot at 1st and Spring.

 

 

Looking toward 1st and Main. Riichkay was wondering about the building on the right. Noirish contributor  Henry Huntington commented:

 

"I believe that the building you inquired about was the Hellman Building at 120 N. Main St., not to be confused with the other Hellman Building at 223 W. 2nd St., nor with the H.W. Hellman Building at 356 S. Spring St. and certainly not with the I.W. Hellman Building at 411 S. Main St. Got all that? :-)  Source: L.A. City Directory 1912."

 

The exterior shots end as he enters the Times building at 1st and Spring. City Hall is in the background.  He's going to see a psychiatrist to try to figure out whether or not he committed a murder. Once we go inside it's not the Times building. 

 

 

We get another glimpse of the Gayety Theatre out the bar's windows during the last scene of the movie. John is at the bar with James Barton, the guy who found him wandering in the desert at the beginning of the story. 

A last shot in the bar, with a bit of the Gayety's marquee seen on the left.  

 

Mercedes is over at the piano and takes us out as she sings "Summer Rains." That's King Donovan at the piano.

Thanks to Riichkay for investigating the film. He notes that the full thing is on YouTube.

On IMDb: "The Scarf"  

"Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos"

We get a shot of the Hollywood Theatre in footage that's used in Alex Gibney's documentary "Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos" (HBO, 2024). Down the street it's the Egyptian, Vogue and Hollywood Pacific.

The 1987 film "Fatal Attraction" is on the Hollywood's marquee. Its first-run engagement in Hollywood was ten weeks at the Chinese, a booking that ended November 24.

Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the theatres and getting the screenshot. See the page about the Hollywood Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of this 1913 vintage showplace.

On IMDb: "Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos"

"Loving Couples"

Susan Sarandon buys a ticket at the Fox Westwood Village, 961 Broxton Ave., near the end of "Loving Couples" (20th Century Fox, 1980). It's actually about straying couples. Susan, a TV weathergirl, had been living with Stephen Collins but she started going out with James Coburn. But that was only after Stephen started an affair with Shirley MacLaine, who was married to James. Got all that? 

 

Anyway, James dropped Susan off and went to look for a parking space. When he joins her in the long line for the next show she starts with the small talk: "How far away did you park?" 

 

 

 

As the line moves it gets more serious. When she tells him that things aren't working out, he says maybe that this wasn't the best place to talk about it.

 

 

 

As they approach the ticket taker she tells him it's over. At the Bruin across the street it's "Time After Time."

 

 

 

He's stopped by the ticket taker. The couple behind is taking this all in.

 

 

As she continues into the lobby she says "I only bought one ticket. Goodbye."

Also featured are Sally Kellerman and Nan Martin. Jack Smight directed. The cinematography was by Philip H. Lathrop. Thanks to Stephen Eric Schaefer for spotting the theatres in the film and getting the screenshots.

See the pages about the Village Theatre and the Bruin Theatre on the L.A. Theatres site for a history of the two buildings along with hundreds of photos.

On IMDb: "Loving Couples"

"The Bride Wore Crutches"

We get a chase down Hollywood Boulevard with views of the Admiral Theatre and the Egyptian in Gregory Ratoff's comedy "The Bride Wore Crutches" (20th Century Fox, 1941). Our cub reporter is chasing some robbers after he witnessed a bank holdup. The only problem is that he lost the robbers and ended up chasing a police car.  

The film stars Lynne Roberts, Ted North, Edgar Kennedy, Robert Armstrong and Lionel Stander. The cinematography was by Charles G. Clarke.

See the pages about the Egyptian Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of this 1922 vintage movie palace along with hundreds of photos. The theatre is located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd., between McCadden Place and Las Palmas Ave.

After renovation in 1968 the Admiral became the Vine Theatre. It's at 6321 Hollywood Blvd., just east of Vine St. See the page for many photos.

On IMDb: "The Bride Wore Crutches"

"Searching"

 

John Cho is looking for his missing daughter and accosts a teenager played by Buck Reed in a theatre lobby in "Searching" (Sony Pictures, 2018). The film is set in the San Jose area and John had tracked him down at the "Oaktree Theatres." The location they used was the Regency Valley Plaza Theatres in North Hollywood. 

 

The kid posted an obnoxious remark saying the daughter was with him and he was her pimp. The film, directed by Aneesh Chaganty, also features Debra Messing, Michelle La and Sara Sohn. The cinematography was by Juan Sebastian Baron, Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Midnight Moon for noting the appearance of the theatre in the film. 

 

 

 The encounter ends up online. Here the guy in blue has also started filming it.

 

We watch with John as he later sees the footage online as "Crazy Dad Theater Attack."

 

 

Other customers flee as the encounter gets violent. The kid ends up in the hospital and the altercation doesn't lead John any closer to finding his daughter.  

For more about this six screen complex see the page about the Valley Plaza Theatres on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened in 1976 on Bellingham Ave. just south of Victory Blvd. The theatres closed for good in 2020.

On IMDb: "Searching"

"Don Jon"

"Do you like movies?" Scarlett Johansson asks Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the romcom "Don Jon" (Relativity Media, 2013). It's set in New Jersey but the location they used for a date was the Valley Plaza Theatres in North Hollywood. He likes seducing many different girls but also has a love of porno. 

 

The film, directed by Gordon-Levitt, also features Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Brie Larson and Glenne Headly. The cinematography was by Thomas Kloss. Thanks to Jared Cowan for identifying the theatre. He included the film in "This Dilapidated Valley Shopping Center Is the Backdrop for Decades of Huge Movies and TV Shows," his fine 2020 article for Los Angeles Magazine. 

 

 

Heading into the lobby. Most people buy tickets at the boxoffice. These two are going to go look at the posters and then decide what to see.   

 

"So Hard So Fast" in 3-D is the movie more to his taste. Yet she's making all the decisions and loves romcoms as well as the two actors in "Special Someone," played by Channing Tatum and Anne Hathaway.

 

He goes along with it and they head into auditorium #3.

 

During the movie she's enthralled but he tells us in voiceover what he thinks of the unrealistic plots and sappy characters of the genre. 

 

For the sake of the romance he pretends to have enjoyed it. Nice to see the seat counts for three of the complex's auditoria. 

 

 

The big moment in the middle of the lobby. He leans in for the first kiss.  

 

 

Of course we get the 360 degree pan around to observe. She turns out to be wonderful but he still needs to creep out of bed and watch porno. Julianne Moore is the one who eventually straightens him out.

 

For more about this six screen complex see the page about the Valley Plaza Theatres on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened in 1976 and closed for good in 2020. The building is in NoHo at 6355 Bellingham Ave., just south of Victory Blvd.  

 

 

Later in the film Joseph is out at a joint getting some New Jersey style pizza with his buddies. The location is the 7th St. side of the State Theatre, 7th and Broadway. We see a Metro bus go by. 

On IMDb: "Don Jon"

"Captain Marvel"

After an interplanetary mishap, Starforce agent Brie Larson falls through space and lands in a Blockbuster video store in North Hollywood's Valley Plaza Shopping Center in "Captain Marvel" (Walt Disney Studios, 2019). Out the window it's the neon of the Valley Plaza Theatres on Bellingham Ave., just south of Victory Blvd.

The planet we call earth is known to Brie as C-53. When one of the characters is asked if she's visited, she responds: "Yes. It's a real shithole." The film, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, also features Samuel L. Jackson, Annette Bening, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Lashana Lynch and Clark Gregg. The cinematography was by Ben Davis. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Midnight Moon for noting the appearance of the theatres in the film.

 

 

 

Brie approaches mall security officer Barry Curtis and after silence on his part asks "Do you understand me? Is my universal translator not working?" She gives him her name and ID data and asks if he's in charge of security for this district. He says: "Sort of. The movie theatre's got their own guy." She's lost contact with her team and wants to know where there's communications gear. He points to the nearby Radio Shack. 

 

 

 

We have the theatres in the background again the next morning when S.H.I.E.L.D. security agent Clark Gregg approaches the car and asks if he's the guy who called this in. Barry nods and points to the Radio Shack where Brie has been working to try to fix her communicator. 

 

After Brie gets away from the agents and there's a scuffle with another alien, Clark and senior agent Samuel L. Jackson get in the car to give chase. At least Samuel THINKS he's getting in the car with Clark. 

We get our last look at the theatres when Clark phones in to say "I'm still here at Blockbuster. Where is everybody?" It's then that Samuel realizes he's been driving around with a shapeshifting alien in the car. 

For more about this six screen complex see the page about the Valley Plaza Theatres on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened in 1976 and closed for good in 2020.

On IMDb: "Captain Marvel"

"Gorilla at Large"

Murder on the midway! Looking west on The Pike in Long Beach with a bit of the marquee of the Strand Theatre on the right. It's a shot from "Gorilla at Large" (20th Century Fox, May 1954), originally released in both 3-D and flat versions. 

Solving the case is complicated by the fact there are two gorillas -- one real, one just a suit. The film did lots of shooting on The Pike. We get an aerial act, a mirror maze, games of chance and lots more. The film stars Anne Bancroft, Cameron Mitchell, Raymond Burr, Lee J. Cobb, Charlotte Austin, Peter Whitney, Lee Marvin and Warren Stevens. Harmon Jones directed. The cinematography was by Lloyd Ahern Sr.

See the page about the Strand Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about this now-vanished Long Beach theatre. 

On IMDb: "Gorilla at Large"

 

A one sheet appearing on IMDb. 

"Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes"

Up in the balcony of the Pantages Theatre during the 1959 Academy Awards, held April 4, 1960. It's a shot that appears in "Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes" (HBO, 2024). 

The film was directed by Nanette Burstein and features audio tapes of interviews that Liz did beginning in 1964 with journalist Richard Meryman. In addition to Liz, he also talked with Roddy McDowall, Debbie Reynolds, and others. It's filled out with an array of audio and visual material from many archives.

Thanks to theatre historian Kurt Wahlner for spotting the Pantages and getting the screenshots seen here. He notes that Liz was up for best actress for her performance in "Suddenly, Last Summer" but lost to Simone Signoret for "A Room at the Top."  She would win the following year for "Butterfield 8." Visit Kurt's site about the Chinese: GraumansChinese.org

Across to house right in 1960. 

 

A peek over the rail to the pit during the Academy Awards in 1960.

A great view of the marquee during the June 19, 1963 premiere of "Cleopatra." Note the dropped ceiling in the ticket lobby, not removed until the "Lion King" restoration in 2001.The "A" seen at the top of the image is part of the "CLEOPATRA" neon added to the vertical. 

See our pages about the Pantages Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of this deco film palace. It opened in 1930 and in 1977 became a home for touring Broadway shows operated by the Nederlander Organization.

On IMDb: "Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes"