"Hollywood Boulevard"

After a jazzy montage of various Hollywood scenes we get a look down at the Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Blvd., at the beginning of "Hollywood Boulevard" (Paramount, 1936).

A shot looking toward the street during a footprint ceremony. Herbert Rawlinson gets a bit as manager of the theatre. Hollywood newcomer Eleanore Whitney, playing herself, is signing the slab. She's told: "And now, my dear, you have left your immortal mark in Hollywood." She comments: "I wonder."

A child there asks her mother what it all means and she's assured that it means a star will be remembered forever. But then in the crowd they spot John Blakeford, a nearly forgotten performer played by John Halliday. He'll soon be back in the spotlight when a publisher hires him to write a salacious version of his memoirs.

The film, largely about how Hollywood treats its former stars, also features Marsha Hunt as the star's daughter, Robert Cummings as her fiance, C. Henry Gordon as the sleazy publisher and Frieda Inescort as the publisher's wife -- and a former girl friend of the star. A number of other performers appear in cameos. Robert Florey directed. This film followed another tale of Hollywood stardom he had done for Paramount, "The Preview Murder Mystery."

Later we get a look east along the Boulevard with the building of the El Capitan Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd., on the right. On the left it's a bit of the Hollywood Hotel. And that's it for the street of the title. The rest of the film is a tame scandal expose set in nightclubs, on various studio sets and offices, and in homes.

Thanks to L.A. historian Mary Mallory for noting the brief presence of the theatres in the film. See the pages about Grauman's Chinese and the El Capitan Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for the history of these two Hollywood landmarks.

A publicity still with Esther Ralston and John Halliday taken for "Hollywood Boulevard." It's not from a scene that appears in the film. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo. We're at Hollywood Blvd. and Orange Dr. with the Roosevelt Hotel out of the frame to the left.

On IMDb: "Hollywood Boulevard"