"Last Action Hero"

In John McTiernan's "Last Action Hero" (Columbia, 1993) young Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) is in a 42nd St. New York City grindhouse called the "Pandora" (actually the Empire for exterior shots) when the end of one of his favorite movies, "Jack Slater III," goes way out of focus. The lobby and auditorium scenes were done at  the Orpheum, 842 S. Broadway, in Los Angeles. The film is surprisingly funny and what's not to like?  It's all about the joy of going to the movies in run-down old theatres.

The movie stars two Arnold Schwarzeneggers. One as the version of himself that we see later in the movie and one as Jack Slater, a fictional character from a series of films he's done. Also featured are F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance, Frank McRae, Mercedes Ruehl, Robert Prosky as the projectionist, Tom Noonan, Anthony Quinn, Ian McKellen as death, Joan Plowright, Chevy Chase, Chris Connelly and Karen Duffy. The cinematography was by Dean Semler. Eugenio Zanetti was the production designer. 

 

Austin yells upstairs but the projectionist is asleep. He runs to the lobby where we see this lovely snackbar installed for the production.  

 

Heading up the Orpheum's artfully distressed stairs.

Up to the booth. 

 

 

 

When Austin enters the booth we're no longer at the Orpheum. The booth there is rather small. The designers crafted a lovely set reminiscent of legit theatres in New York that had booths added up in the second balcony when they converted to movies. We get some nice plaster arches and other fine touches. Robert Prosky plays the projectionist and he's fallen asleep. 

 

Adjusting the focus on the end credits for "Jack Slater III." For the movie they were running 2,000 foot reels but we also see an automation system installed on the front wall. The Magnarcs had been converted to Xenon.

 

Head to the bottom of the page for five views of the booth set provided by Jeff Whitman and Doug Crawford. 

 

Austin looks at the display in the Orpheum's lobby for the upcoming "Jack Slater IV" as he leaves.  "Meredith Caprice" is Jack Slater's daughter in the film. She's played by Bridgette Wilson. 

 

 

We're out on 42nd St. as Austin heads for school. He's been cutting classes and his mother, played by Mercedes Ruehl, will be hearing about it. Robert Prosky has told Austin that he'll be doing a preview run of the new Jack Slater film at midnight. His mother works nights so he knows that he can be there. The "Pandora," as we see from the sign, is about to be demolished so it can be replaced with a new Loew's 10 screen multiplex.

 

Bernie Anderson comments: "The funny thing about all of this, the theatre used on 42nd street for the facade is the Empire/Eltinge, which is now AMC 25's lobby. This building was moved about 170 feet west towards 8th Ave. During the film, the facade was made up with fake ornaments that were still there during the move and the interior of theatre was in very rough shape. All of the balcony rail plaster was missing, the makeshift booth was still in the second balcony and the stage was in such bad shape that you would fall through from years of water damage." See "Moving the Empire Theatre at Times Square" on YouTube. 

 

 

A fine look east toward Times Square. When they shot the 42nd St. sequences the neighborhood was already being redeveloped. The theatres were all closed and plans were in place for the "New 42nd St."  The filmmakers had to make the street grungier again and put appropriate film titles on the various marquees. Across the street it's the Times Square and Lyric theatres.

 

 

 

He's late returning to the Pandora. There were a few complications like a burglar at the apartment and a visit to a police station. "Go right home" they tell him. That's the Liberty Theatre with "Screaming Mimi" on the marquee. The Harris Theatre is just beyond.

 

 

 

When he gets inside we're back at the Orpheum, with its augmented exit doors. Robert is dressed in the uniform he first wore at the theatre. He started as an usher and worked his way up to projectionist.

 

Robert has saved a "magic ticket" that he gives Austin and this propels him into the other dimension of the movies. The ticket allows him to enter Jack Slater's world where the heroes always win and any injury the good guys get is never more than a scratch or a flesh wound. 

 

A look up to the booth before the film rolls. Don't you love that 2x5 multicell horn? 

 

A wider shot up to the booth. Strange things are happening. If Austin can enter the fictional world it means characters from the film can also leave the movie and wander New York City. 

 

 

Panning down to the main floor.  

 

Uh, oh. Charles Dance and another hoodlum have left the movie and go wandering New York.  

 

Austin grabs Arnold out of the Jack Slater movie and they head out after them. 

 

It's a rainy night for a chase. New York footage is intercut with Los Angeles shots. Here we're in a cab on Broadway in Los Angeles. On the left that's the Globe Theatre, 744 S. Broadway. Across 8th St. are the Tower Theatre and the Rialto, both dark and out of business. In the distance is the marquee of the Orpheum Theatre. 

 

They end up back at the theatre and we get another scene on the booth set. Exactly the improvised situation you would hope to see going up to the top of an old legit house that had no booth originally.

   

A look at the left side of the booth set. Austin is trying to explain that he brought Arnold with him from the movie. Only don't call him Arnold. He thinks his name is Jack Slater.

 

Arnold comes in and sits down. He's having trouble processing the fact that as "Jack" he's only a fictional character. Later he'll meet up with the real Arnold at the premiere of "Jack Slater IV" and tell him "I really don't like you." In this scene Robert tells Jack "I've never met a fictional character before."  

 

The decision was made to go back out to the streets but narrow the search to theatres where characters might be liable to come off the screen. Here we get a nice shot of the "4 Hits" New Amsterdam with "Hot Blood" on the marquee. Cine 42 is on the right.

More L.A. footage cut into the New York chase. Here Arnold and Austin are in a rainy night traffic jam chasing Charles Dance on 8th St. We're just west of Broadway in front of Olympic Theatre. 

 

Another shot on 8th. This time we're east of Broadway with the Tower Theatre on the left. Note the lit vertical sign down on the corner. That's Arnold on top of the cab. Across 8th it's a partial view of the Olympic Theatre vertical between his legs.

 

Commandeering a cab on 8th St. with another peek at the Olympic's vertical in the distance.

See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the Olympic Theatre for more about the 1927 vintage venue, now used for retail.

 

It's time to head to the premiere for "Jack Slater IV" where the guys know there will be trouble. The real actors are showing up on the red carpet but some of their fictional characters from the movie are putting in appearances as well. Arnold as Jack Slater will meet Arnold as Arnold. He's there with Maria Shriver of course. She tells him not to get carried away with his comments and embarrass her. The theatre is the National Twin in Times Square.  

 

When we go inside we're at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach. The Ripper, Tom Noonan's character, will try to kill Arnold. The Jack Slater version of Arnold will try to foil that plot. 

 

The Ripper rappelling down some drapery on the house right wall. 

 

Meanwhile there are troubles in other theatres with characters spying an exit strategy. Ian McKellen, playing Death in "The Seventh Seal," will use his scythe to cut his way out of the screen at this art house. A moment earlier we saw the film title on the marquee of the "Times Square Art Cinema."

 

Back on the streets in a shot looking north on Broadway toward 8th St. The dark marquee of the Globe Theatre is down in the next block. We have a number to call if you want to lease the vacant Tower Theatre on the right. But don't bother. It took them two more decades to find a tenant but it finally got leased to Apple for a new store. 

See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the Tower Theatre for more about this 1927 vintage showplace, the first theatre design by S. Charles Lee. After closing as a film house it had a glorious second career as s shooting location for many films. 

 

Another dark and rainy view on the same block. This time we're looking south toward the Orpheum at 842 S. Broadway.    

 

We've had problems. Jack Slater has been seriously wounded by one of the other escaped characters. He's in the ambulance in this 42nd St. shot. Austin knows that the only way to save him is to get him back into the movie. On the left it's "Curse of the Demon" at the Selwyn. On the right we get the Harris and the fine double bill of "Camp on Blood Island" and "Screaming Mimi" at the Liberty.

 

Arriving at the "Pandora," they just drive right in. It's the Empire Theatre.

 

We cut to this shot of the ambulance bursting into the Orpheum's lobby. 

 

Heading down the aisle with Arnold, as the wounded Jack Slater, on a gurney.  

 

Death also wanders in to see what's going on. 

 

Death tells young Austin that he will die -- but not for a very, very long time. Austin begs him to save Jack Slater and not take him just yet. He replies: "I don't do fiction."

 

Just in time to save the Arnold's character the "magic ticket" begins working again -- they've found the other half. Strange things are happening in the theatre after the screen goes blank.

 

Curious spectral phenomena emanating from around the theatre. They get Jack back into the movie where his wound is, in the best movie tradition, considered just a scratch.  

 

Although Austin really wanted to continue his movie adventures with Jack Slater in sunny California he decides to stay in real life. All is well as the film closes with Austin and Robert looking at the screen. 

Head over to the Orpheum Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about the building, a 1926 design of San Francisco based G. Albert Lansburgh. It closed as a film house in 2000 but, after a restoration, is alive and well as a venue for concerts, award shows and special events. 

Images of several New York locations are on a page about the film on the site On the Set of New York.  The website Silver Screens has a page about the film which has good coverage of all the theatres on 42nd St. that we see in the film but also a few wrong guessses. Leo the Fart's funeral sequence was filmed at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach.

 

On IMDb: "Last Action Hero"

 

The projection booth set:

A fine view toward the front wall of the booth set that was constructed for the film. Thanks to the film's construction foreman Jeff Whitman for sharing this photo as a comment to a post about the Orpheum on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. He notes:

 

"My guys built the projection booth (started it at Sony, moved it to the Spruce Goose Dome). Designed by mad genius Eugenio Zanetti, it was meant to represent old projectionist Robert Prosky's home-away-from-home, with all his old posters and paraphernalia. It was very like a legitimate theatre set. A joy to work on!"

 

Thanks to Doug Crawford for this look over to the left side of the front wall. Doug was a carpenter on the project.

 

 

Toward the rear of the set. Photo: Jeff Whitman

 

 

The left rear corner with its poster collection. Photo: Jeff Whitman

 

 

The booth's toilet room. Photo: Jeff Whitman. Thanks Jeff and Doug. Great to see these photos!