"Uptown Saturday Night"

In "Uptown Saturday Night" (Warner Bros. / First Artists,  1974) we get Main St. Los Angeles subbing for Chicago. Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby are crossing the street with the Burbank Theatre, 548 S. Main St., behind them. At the time of the filming, the theatre was closed and awaiting demolition.

Another shot from the film. We're looking south toward 6th St. The Santa Fe building and the Pacific Electric Building that we see a bit of at 6th and Main are still around, both now loft conversions.

See the page about the Burbank Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more photos and a history of the building, constructed in 1893.

We get this sliver of a view of the marquee of the Optic Theatre, 533 S. Main St., as Cosby and Poitier head into a bar to cause some trouble.

Another peek at the north end of the marquee. See the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Optic Theatre for a history of the building and many photos. It opened in 1911 and lasted into the 1980s.

A chase scene gives us view north on Main from 4th and a look at the Follies Theatre, 337 S. Main St. The theatre had opened in 1904 as the Belasco. Visit the Follies Theatre page for more about the theatre. Like the Burbank, it came down in 1974.

Here we're looking west toward the Regent Theatre, 448 S. Main St.

Another shot a moment later. See the pages about the Regent Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the venue along with photos inside and out.  That space with the unpainted white signage a couple storefronts to the left of the Regent would soon be the Main Theatre, 438 S. Main.

There's an 8 minute clip from the film with lots of the Main St. shots appearing on Facebook Watch. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting it.

On IMDb: "Uptown Saturday Night"