"Mulholland Drive"

Laura Harring has a bad ride home in the Hollywood Hills at the beginning of David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" (Universal, 2001). Her two bodyguards have been tasked with killing her. She escapes when the car they are in is hit by a bunch of teenage joyriders.

The hit was evidently called by Mr. Roque (Michael J. Anderson) who calls the guy we see in this photo the next morning to tell him that the girl is missing. The office we see is situated on the balcony level of the lobby of the Tower Theatre at 8th & Broadway.

We get many great aerial shots in the film. This one over Hollywood gives us a look at the Pantages Theatre in the lower right. 

Harring, who has amnesia, stumbles into an apartment being used by aspiring starlet Naomi Watts. One night Harring has a dream about a place called Club Silencio. They investigate. We get this murky shot of the alley side of the Palace Theatre, 630 S. Broadway, as the club's entrance.

A closer look at the Palace's loading door as the Club Silencio entrance. 

A last look at Watts as she goes in. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for this screenshot. See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the Palace Theatre for more about this 1911 vintage vaudeville house.

Inside Club Silencio we find ourselves at the Tower Theatre. The scene begins with this shot of the area above the proscenium.

Panning down toward the stage. 

 

 Harring and Watts wander into the balcony. 

Coming down the steps. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for this screenshot. 

Gino Silva as the MC comes onstage.  

Our duo seated in the balcony.

Another stage view with a look up to the house right box.

The balcony enveloped in a swirling blue fog.

Another look up to the house right box.

Rebekah Del Rio onstage for a musical number. It's all lip-synched. She collapses mid-song and the music continues. Broadway Theatre Group General Manager Ed Baney notes that YouTube has a clip of the song "Crying" from this portion of the film. 

It's unclear what, if anything, Harring and Watts learn from their visit to the club. Things only get more mysterious later.

See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the Tower Theatre for a history of the 1927 vintage film palace along with hundreds of photos.

On IMDb: "Mulholland Drive"