"The Killing of a Chinese Bookie"

Ben Gazzara is riding down Santa Monica Blvd. in a cab in the John Cassavetes film "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (Faces Distribution, 1976) when he asks the cabbie "Is that a movie house up there? I feel like a movie." The theatre was the Pussycat at 7734 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. 

Ben is a club owner in trouble with the mob boys because of a gambling problem. The film also features Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassell, Robert Phillips, Morgan Woodward, Virginia Carrington, Alice Friedland and Donna Gordon. The cinematography was by Mitch Breit and Al Ruban.  

Ben standing in front of the Pussycat. He looks around for a bit and then hops into another cab.

This West Hollywood theatre began its life as a neighborhood house called the Monica and after the Pussycat era was over was known as Studs. See the page about the Monica Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the venue.

On IMDb: "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie"