"Fade to Black"

We get a grand tour of Westwood Village theatres and end up at the Chinese for the finale of Vernon Zimmerman's "Fade to Black" (American Cinema, 1980). Of course the film is about the movies. In this case it's a film buff who goes on a killing spree. In this shot we're at the Mann Westwood 4, a building at 1050 Gayley Ave. that began as a market and is now one once again. 

 

 

 

The Fox Westwood Village at 961 Broxton is still going strong, now known as the Regency Village. 

 

 

 

The Bruin, across from the Fox Westwood, is now also under Regency management. 

 

 

 

The Avco Center Cinemas on Wilshire has now become a dine-in venue operated by iPic. 

 

 The Avco signage for "All That Jazz."

 

 

The Mann Plaza at 1067 Glendon Ave. later was demolished for a condo project.  

 

 

Heading to the Chinese for the big rooftop finale. They were running "Coal Miner's Daughter." Opening soon: "Little Darlings."

 

 

 

The crowd at the Chinese.

Thanks to Colonel Mortimer for his screenshots. They're from his "Movies Go to the Movies" article about the film on the site Colonel Mortimer Will Have His Revenge. Also see the Colonel's review of the film.

A review of the film by Jim Knipfel on the site Den of Geeks notes that the film's final scene is not just at the Chinese but on top of it: "...the film’s final scene atop Grauman’s Chinese Theater, while answering no questions, still dances the line between fantasy and reality. Eric is at once pathetic and sniveling, but there he is at the top of the world, on the roof of the most famous movie theater on earth with Marilyn Monroe, a gun and all the little people looking at him. Best of all he gets to go out the way he wanted, by recreating the final scene in 'White Heat' and neatly bookending the scene from 'Public Enemy' that opened the film..."

Many thanks to Jonathan Raines for doing the research on the film and locating the screenshots.

See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about Grauman's Chinese, the Avco Cinemas, the Mann Plaza, the Mann Westwood 4, the Fox Westwood Village and the Bruin Theatre.

On IMDb:  "Fade to Black"