'Candy"

Although we're supposedly in something resembling New York, 80 minutes into "Candy" (Cinerama Releasing, 1968) there's a shot of the red lights of a police car approaching the Palace Theatre, 630 S. Broadway.  The theatre was running "Counterpoint," a 1967 release with Charlton Heston and Maximilian Schell, along with "Grand Slam," starring Janet Leigh and Klaus Kinski. 

Buck Henry wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg. Ewa Aulin stars as the title character. Also featured are Richard Burton, Charles Aznavour, Marlon Brando, James Coburn, John Huston, Walter Matthau, Ringo Starr, Elsa Martinelli and Anita Pallenberg. Christian Marquand directed. The cinematography was by Giuseppe Rotunno. 

 

A bit of the Palace marquee is then seen as the the car comes back north on Broadway. Candy is in the front seat with policemen played by Joey Forman and Fabian Dean. 

 

See the pages about the Palace Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened in 1911 as the Orpheum.  

 

 

As they drive up Broadway, the two guys get increasingly excited by Candy's presence. Here we're driving by the yellow marquee of the Cameo Theatre, 528 S. Broadway.   

Head to the Cameo Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the 1910 vintage film house. It opened as Clune's Broadway.  

 

As they go by the Broadway Theatre, 428 S. Broadway, things get erratic as the boys in blue get distracted by the prospect of frisking their suspect. They lose control of the car and crash as we cut to a street shot looking more like New York. The scene ends in an interior studio set as the car comes through the front of a building.  

See the page on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the poor Broadway Theatre. It opened in 1925 as a conversion from retail space. It's now been converted back.

On IMdb: "Candy"

"He Walked by Night"

We're on top of the Hill St. Tunnel looking south near the beginning of "He Walked by Night" (Eagle-Lion Films, 1948). That's the stagehouse of the Mason Theatre and one of its smoke vents over on the left through the trees. The theatre's entrance is actually at 127 S. Broadway -- it had a very long lobby.

See the page about the Mason Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of this 1903 vintage theatre. It was demolished in 1956 for a state office building that has now also been demolished.

The film, directed by Alfred Werker and an uncredited Anthony Mann, stars Richard Basehart as a quirky killer the LAPD is trying to catch. The ending features a terrific chase through L.A.'s storm drains. On the hunt are Scott Brady, Roy Roberts and Jack Webb. The cinematography was by the King of Noir, the great John Alton.

"Clark Gable - Gone With the Wind." A shot with lots of action on the wildly flashing marquee of the Broadway Theatre, 428 S. Broadway.  The vertical for The Broadway, a department store at 4th and Broadway, is on the far left. In the fuzzy distance next to that it's the vertical for the Million Dollar Theatre down at 3rd and Broadway.  

 

A moment later. See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the poor Broadway Theatre. It opened in 1925 as a conversion from retail space. It's now been converted back.

On IMDb: "He Walked by Night"

"Colors"

We get a look at the Million Dollar Theatre, 3rd and Broadway, in a big cruise down Broadway during the opening credits of Dennis Hopper's "Colors" (Orion, 1988). It's all downhill after that. The credit sequence can be seen on YouTube.  The film stars Sean Penn, Robert Duvall and Maria Conchita Alonso.

The Palace Theatre as seen in "Colors." The theatre, at 630 S. Broadway, opened as the Orpheum in 1911

The State Theatre at 7th & Broadway also gets a cameo in the opening sequence.

We also get a glimpse of the Broadway Theatre, 428 S. Broadway. See the pages about the Million Dollar Theatre, State Theatre, Palace Theatre and Broadway Theatre for more data and many photos of each of those venues.

On IMDb: "Colors"

"Colors" Playing the Warner/Hollywood Pacific in 1988. Thanks to Arnold Darrow for finding the photo.