"The Competition"

Richard Dreyfuss is in Cincinnati playing in a midwest piano competition in "The Competition" (Columbia, 1980). The venue they used for the filming is the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4400 Wilshire Blvd.

 

 

 

Richard at the piano in the scene at the Ebell. He doesn't win the first he thought he deserved but does go on to a competition in San Francisco.

 

See the page about the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building and many photos. The bottom of the page also has a rundown of the many films that have used the theatre. 

 

Amy Irving is one of the other finalists in San Francisco. Here she's with Joseph Cali, another of the finalists, in the hall that we see lots of. For the exterior they used the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, calling it Corcoran Hall. 

 

 

Sam Wanamaker onstage, playing the conductor of the San Francisco Philharmonic. There's talk in the movie about going on to a competition at Carnegie Hall, but we never get there. Richard and Amy become a couple and we need the rest of the movie to give Richard time to come to terms with the realization that Amy's character is a better player than he is.

The film also stars Lee Remick, Ty Henderson, Vicki Kriegler, Adam Stern and Gloria Stroock. Joel Oliansky directed. The cinematography was by Richard H. Kline. 

 

On IMDb: "The Competition"