"Target Earth"

We're in an abandoned city, supposedly Chicago, after an alien invasion in "Target Earth" (Allied Artists, 1954). Kathleen Crowley, waking after what she intended to be a fatal dose of sleeping pills, walks down Upper 5th toward Grand Ave. 

On the left it's the Engstrum Apartments, out of sight just beyond is the Edison Building, now rebranded as One Bunker Hill. Straight ahead on the left is the Biltmore Hotel parking garage. On the right it's the Biltmore Hotel and the stage end of the Biltmore Theatre.   

The theatre opened in 1924 and was demolished in 1964. The site was a parking lot for two decades before a residential tower was built. See the Biltmore Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for photos and data.

Kathleen's character and a handful of others missed the call to evacuate and have to face the alien robots. Also featured are Richard Denning, Virginia Grey, Richard Reeves, Whit Bissel and Robert Roark. Sherman A. Rose directed. The cinematography was by Guy Roe. It's based on the short story "Deadly City" by Paul W. Fairman.  

Thanks to David Kimbrough for commenting about the use of Bunker Hill locations in a Facebook post he did for the Images and Memories of Los Angeles group that includes many shots from the film. He notes that a poorly colorized version of the film is on Internet Archive. 

It's not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination but we do get some nice downtown shots including views of the Library, the Mayflower Hotel (now the Hilton Checkers) and the Grand Ave. side of the Edison Building. David notes that some of the less obvious locations include Bob's Cafe at 708 W. 3rd, Stanley's Barber Shop at 704 W. 6th, Boulevard Stationers at 5406 Wilshire and the intersection of Virgil and Beverly.

On IMDb: "Target Earth"    

 

A poster for the film that was located by David Kimbrough.

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