"Valley Girl"

We get a shot of the Sherman Oaks Galleria in the opening credits of Martha Coolidge's "Valley Girl" (Atlantic Releasing, 1983). We do get some scenes inside a mall but they were shot at the Del Amo in Torrance. The film doesn't take us to the movies here either, but there are two visits to the nearby Sherman Theatre. And, of course we go cruising over the hill in Hollywood.

The film, starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman, is a story of the punk from the city meeting the girl from the other side of the hills. Also featured are Cameron Dye, Heidi Holicker, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen, Michelle Meyrink, Colleen Camp and Frederic Forrest. The cinematography was by Frederick Elmes.

Half an hour into the film Deborah, Nic, Cameron and Heidi go over the hill to cruise Hollywood. 

 

 

 

"Heidi's Song" was playing at the Chinese, 6925 Hollywood Blvd. It had a big run of five days beginning November 19, 1982. 

 

"An Officer and a Gentleman" was playing at the Mann Chinese Twin. 

 

Disney's "Tex" was on the other side of the Twin. 

Visit the Grauman's Chinese pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for hundreds of views of the theatre inside and out. There's also a separate page for the Mann Chinese Twin. 

 

 

"The Empire Strikes Back" was playing at the Paramount Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd.

 

The theatre was called the Paramount on and off between 1942 and 1989. It's now back to its original name. See the pages about the El Capitan on the Los Angeles Theatres site for the history of this Hollywood legit and film house along with hundreds of photos.

 

 

 "Eight to Four" and "Please, Mr. Postman" playing at the Pussycat Theatre, 6656 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

 

Panning up to the Pussycat oval at the top of the facade. See the page on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the Pussycat/Ritz Theatre.

 

 

The Hollywood Blvd. footage is intercut with some shots on Sunset. Here we're driving east by the Tiffany Theatre, 8535 Sunset Blvd. They were running the 1925 version of "The Wizard of Oz" with Dorothy Dwan, Charles Murray and Oliver Hardy along with Sabu in "The Jungle Book," a film from 1942.

 

 

A look at the entrance. In the display case: "Rediscovering The American Cinema." Playing midnights on Fridays and Saturdays: "Rocky Horror  Picture Show" 

Check out the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Tiffany Theatre for more information about the venue. It opened in 1966. 

 

 

On the left we get some of the Vogue in this view east across the Las Palmas intersection. No, they don't drive that next block to see what's playing at either the Vogue or the Egyptian.   

See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the Vogue Theatre, a 1935 design by S. Charles Lee. It's been through many remodels and different uses including a nightclub, a movie memorabilia auction display room and a museum. In 2023 it got repurposed again as a church.

An hour and nineteen minutes into the film Nic and Deborah go to the movies at the Sherman Theatre, 15052 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks.

 

What's playing? Well, of course.

Back at the Sherman again later in the film as Deborah heads to a movie with her friends. She's caved into pressure from the friends, dumped Nic, and gone back to her Valley boyfriend. But Nic been trying all sorts of tricks to woo her back, popping up in her life at unexpected moments. 

 

 

Deborah getting her ticket torn by the strange guy at the door wearing 3-D glasses. 

 

Yes, it's Nic again.

 

See the page about the Sherman Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the house. The theatre opened in 1949 and has been demolished.

 

 

After a melee at the prom the end credits roll with Nic and Deborah in a limo on the 405. We get a look across at the signage for the Sherman Oaks Galleria.  

 

See the page about the Galleria's Pacific 4 Theatres on the Los Angeles Theatres site. There's also information on the replacement 16 screen complex that opened in the mall in 2001. It was later rebranded as an ArcLight and in 2021 became the Regal Sherman Oaks Galleria.  

On IMDb: "Valley Girl"

Check out the page about "Valley Girl" on Chas Demster's site Filming Locations of Chicago and Los Angeles for information about many other locations seen in the film. The San Fernando Blog article "Filming Locations: Valley Girl" does a fine job covering the film's Valley locations. Also see a Fast-Rewind article "Valley Girl Behind the Scenes."