"Cobra"

Sylvester Stallone and his partner Reni Santoni are wandering Main St. looking for leads in a murder case in "Cobra" (Cannon, 1986). They've been told to do whatever they have to in search of the killer. Thanks to Sean Ault for noting the film's Main St. action. 

For this shot they've added some neon to make the block look more interesting than it was. On the far right it's the doorway to the Howell Hotel, 549 S. Main. The  yellow-ocher wall with the red-framed display case is the Art Theatre in the same building at 551 S. Main. We're looking south toward 6th St. That "Deardens" neon on the far left is on a building on the southeast corner of 7th and Main. 

George P. Cosmatos directed this story about an L.A. policeman who has his own violent ways of dealing with criminal types. No actual cobras are involved -- that's his nickname. The film also features Brigitte Neilsen, Andrew Robinson, Brian Thompson, John Herzfeld, Lee Garlington and Val Avery. The cinematography was by Ric Waite. Bill Kenney was the production designer. The film shot in some interesting industrial areas and we see quite a bit of Venice.

Sylvester and Reni coming out of the Howell Hotel, upstairs from the Art Theatre. They also hit a few Main St. bars and a tattoo parlor.  

 

Asking questions in front of the Art Theatre's south display cases. 

 

More questions in front of what had been the Art's boxoffice. They had demolished the tile-fronted original and put a new one to the right, in one of the entrance doorways. 

 

 

 

A detail from the top of the 1.33 version of the shot reveals the outline of the former box office and the light fixture location that had been inside.  

 

 

Another detail from the shot, here looking at the pattern of the tile to the left of the vanished boxoffice.

The look of the boxoffice in 1939. It's a detail from a photo in the Eric Lynxwiler collection. 

 

See the page about the Art Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. The building was demolished several years after this film was shot.  

There's a lot of action in Long Beach. Here as Sylvester and Brigitte turn off Ocean Blvd. in an attempt to lose some killers we get a shot of the closed Imperial and West Coast Theatres, 319 and 333 E. Ocean Blvd.  

 

As the chase in Long Beach continues we get a fuzzy view of the Jergins Trust Building beyond the newspaper rack. It housed the State Theatre, 104 E. Ocean Blvd.

See the pages about the Imperial Theatre, the West Coast and the State Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about these three now-vanished Long Beach film palaces.

On IMDb: "Cobra"

"The Forbidden"

We get this view of the Cinematheque 16 at 8816 1/2 Sunset Blvd. in "The Forbidden" (Olympic International, 1966). It's at the beginning of a tour of the Strip with shots highlighting various nightspots.

This "Mondo Cane" style mock-documentary takes us to nightclubs and other venues around the world -- wherever there's a chance to show sin and bare breasts. Performers in various sequences include Baby Bubbles, Bob Cresse and Pat Hall. The film was written and directed by Benjamin Andrews and Lee Frost. 

 

We get lots more footage of Sunset Blvd. revolving around a 1966 riot by teenagers protesting police enforcement of a curfew. Here we get a view of the Tiffany Theatre, 8534 Sunset Blvd. On the marquee is the theatre's opening film "Young Aphrodites" and an added second feature, Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night." 

See the pages about the Cinematheque 16 and Tiffany Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site.

 

Later we get footage introduced by the narrator with the line "We are now in the skid row area of a large Eastern city of the United States." A bit off as we're actually on Main St. in Los Angeles looking south toward 6th. On the right it's the Optic Theatre, 533 S. Main. On the left it's the Burbank Theatre, a burlesque venue at 548 S. Main. 

 

Continuing the drive south we can read the Burbank marquee: "On Stage - In Person - Chili Pepper - Sweet and Spice."  

 

 

 

As we get closer to 6th the Art Theatre comes into view on the right at 551 S. Main St. Across 6th on the right is the Central Building, now gone. On the left it's the Santa Fe building this side of 6th and the Pacific Electric Building across the street. Both have survived.  

 

And then we cut to this look at the facade of the Follies, 337 S. Main St. Despite the burlesque show we see advertised, the narrator describes it as a "converted theatre" that's now a school teaching respectable ladies how to be more seductive using the techniques of strippers. Of course we get pro and amateur demonstrations of twirling tassels.

See the pages about the Optic Theatre, Burbank Theatre, Art Theatre and Follies Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. None of these Main St. theatre buildings have survived. 

On IMDb: "The Forbidden"

The film is available on a DVD from Something Weird Video that also includes "ECCO," a similar film. 

"Please Murder Me"

Raymond Burr takes a walk south on the 500 block of S. Main at the very beginning of Peter Godfrey's film noir "Please Murder Me" (Distributors Corporation of America, 1956). 

 

 

 

He's just passed the entrance to a hotel upstairs and is approaching the Art Theatre, 551 S. Main. Judging by that silhouette, they're no longer running traditional Hollywood product. 

 

 

A bit more of the signage is visible a couple steps later. The "striptease" they're advertising above the entrance doors is on film. The Art wasn't a theatre with live burlesque shows -- but the Burbank was right across the street.

Well, he's not going to the movies. And he's going to pass up the pawn shop next door in favor of going to another one and buying a gun. It'll be used in the last scene. The film also stars Angela Lansbury, Dick Foran and John Dehner.

See the Art Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site. for more about the theatre, opened in 1918 and demolished in the 80s.

On IMDb: "Please Murder Me"

"The Swinger"

We get a look at the Art Theatre, 551 S. Main St., in "The Swinger" (Paramount, 1966). It's part of a little travelogue near the beginning of the movie showing brief views of many of the high culture spots in Los Angeles. The film stars Ann-Margret and Tony Franciosa. She's a journalist posing as a swinger to get magazine editor Tony to publish a story she wrote while his goal is to get her to pose for the centerfold instead.

A look at the Banner Theatre, 458 S. Main St., from the beginning of the film. Thanks to Nathan Marsak on Noirish Los Angeles for this screenshot. He included it with several other shots from the film on his Noirish post #50768.

A view of the Banner's boxoffice. 

One end of the marquee of the Optic Theatre, 533 S. Main St. 

A peek at the marquee of the Paris Theatre, 8163 Santa Monica Blvd. In pre-porno days it had been called the Carmel Theatre.

The closed Star Theatre, 529 S. Main St. 

The marquee of the Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Dr., in its porno days.

See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the Art Theatre, the Banner Theatre, the Optic Theatre, the Paris/Carmel Theatre, the Star Theatre and the Vista Theatre for more about the buildings. Sad to say that of the six theatres, the Vista is the only survivor.

On IMDb: "The Swinger"

The full film can be viewed on the site OK.Ru.

"Hard Contract"

The title sequence in S. Lee Pogostin's "Hard Contract" (20th Century Fox, 1969) begins with James Coburn in a diner on Main St. and looking out the window to get a view of the Burbank Theatre, 548 S. Main. 

Please excuse the poor quality screenshots -- four of the five here come from a very gloomy low-res version of the film on YouTube as a post from Consuelo Browning. But it was still a treat to get a chance to view the beginning and all the Main St. shots. The film also features Burgess Meredith, Lee Remick and Karen Black.

After lunch he goes over to buy a ticket. Thanks to Larry Harnisch on the blog The Daily Mirror for this screenshot, a view from inside the Burbank's boxoffice. That's the Spring side of the Arcade building on the right of the frame.

We get a look at the Art Theatre, 551 S. Main St., behind him. See the Art Theatre page for more about that one, demolished in the 80s.

Coburn goes in and watches what is evidently a documentary about the plight of children in Africa. Oh -- he's there to kill a guy. 

He leaves through a side exit house right and walks back out to Main St via the south exit passageway. The stairs we see are coming down from the theatre's balcony. 

As Coburn buys a paper after the show (and the hit) we get a closer look at the marquee. No African documentary on it. We've got "SF Beaverama" and cartoons advertised.  Visit the page about the Burbank Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more views of the theatre, opened in 1893. Yes, it's gone too, demolished in 1974.

On IMDb: "Hard Contract"

"Maidens of Fetish Street"

We get this great look up the vertical sign at the Follies, 337 S. Main St., in "Maidens of Fetish Street" (Cameo Pictures, 1966). The film is also known as "Girls on F Street." Our narrator says "After a burlesque stripper arouses his 'tormented desires,' Nick heads for The House of Fetish - where his idea of romance is to have a hooker pour molasses & ants over his head."

Head to the Follies Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more photos of the 1904 vintage theatre, initially called the Belasco.

Another Follies vertical sign view. But this time we're looking out the window at the Burbank Theatre, 548 S. Main. Yes, at times they both had verticals saying "Follies."  That neon above the readerboard would alternate between "Burlesque" and "Burbank."

A fine view of the signage of the Art Theatre, 551 S. Main St. See the Art Theatre page for more about the theatre, opened in 1918 and demolished in the 80s.

A peek at the entrance of the Galway, 514 S. Main St. See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the Galway Theatre for more about the venue.

A big thanks to Nathan Marsak for including these screenshots from the film in his Noirish Los Angeles post #29000. Visit Something Weird Video for more about the film.

On IMDb: "The Girls On F Street"

"Inside Deep Throat"

 We get lots of shots of the Monica Theatre as the Pussycat in the documentary "Inside Deep Throat" (Universal, 2005).  The film explores the making of "Deep Throat" and its aftereffects.

Here, the jurors in the "Deep Throat" obscenity trial are visiting the Monica to see the film in its natural surroundings. 

The film gives us a look at the marquee of the Sunset Theatre, 1508 N. Western Ave. See the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Sunset for more about the now-vanished theatre.

 On a quick drive-by tour of skid row, "Inside Deep Throat" gives us a fuzzy view of the Optic Theatre, 533 S. Main St.

Another look at the Optic.

 The downtown Main St. excursion also gets us a glimpse of the Art Theatre.

On IMDb: "Inside Deep Throat"