"Second Fiddle"

We get to go to a show at the Earl Carroll Theatre about a half-hour into "Second Fiddle" (20th Century Fox, 1939). Studio PR guy Tyrone Power is tasked with finding an actress to play the lead in the Consolidated Pictures adaptation of a novel called "Girl of the North." He sees a photo that a friend of Minnesota school teacher Sonja Henie has sent in and goes to offer her a screen test. After she gets the part they hit the theatre when he shows her the sights of Hollywood. 

 

Also featured are Rudy Vallee, Mary Healy, Edna Mae Oliver, Lyle Talbot, Alan Dinehart, Mina Gombell, Stuart Reburn and Spencer Charters. The songs are by Irving Berlin. Sidney Lanfield directed. The cinematography was by Leon Shamroy.

 

 

The star of the show is Consolidated Pictures actress Jean Varick, played by Mary Healy. Her boyfriend is played by Rudy Vallee. 

 

 

 

Patrons dancing on the stage before the performance. 

 

 

 

 

Mary and Rudy come over to meet the new star before the show. That's Aunt Phoebe on the right, played by Edna May Oliver. She's also come west from Minnesota. Tyrone suggests that Rudy sit at their table during the show. He's trying to cook up a romance between Rudy and Sonja's character for PR purposes. 

 

 

 

The show begins. 

 

 

 

Mary Healy onstage. She's not happy when she hears about Rudy hanging out with Sonja. 

 

 

 

The beginning of the "Dancing Back to Back" number. 

 

 

Audience members join in. Tyrone dances with Edna May and Rudy pairs with Sonja.

See the pages about the Earl Carroll Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building along with hundreds of photos both recent and vintage. The theatre is at 6230 Sunset Blvd., just east of Vine St. 

 

 

 

Sonja is heartbroken when she finds out her romance with Rudy is a sham. She goes back home. "Girl of the North" premieres at the Carthay Circle and, of course, is a big hit. There's some chitchat at the entrance as stars and executives arrive but we don't go inside the theatre. Poor Tyrone mopes around because he's fallen for Sonja and his boss has to convince him to go to Minnesota again to woo her back to Hollywood. 

See the pages about the Carthay Circle Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the now-vanished building along with many photos.

On IMDb: "Second Fiddle"  

 

 

An ad for "Second Fiddle" that was shared by someone on IMDb. 

 

 

A lobby card for the film appearing on IMDb. 

| List by Film Title | Indexed  by Theatre Name | LA Theatres site | LA Theatres on Facebook |  

"Neighborhood House"

Theatre scenes for the Charley Chase short "Neighborhood House" (Hal Roach/MGM, 1936) were shot at the Carthay Circle Theatre, 6316 San Vicente Blvd. Originally previewed as an hour-long feature, it was cut down to a two reeler for release. Thanks to the site Another Nice Mess for the screenshot, appearing on their page about the film. As can be seen, the plot revolves around a Bank Night giveaway at the theatre, and everything that goes wrong.

See the pages about the Carthay Circle Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the now-vanished building along with many photos. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for noting the presence of the Carthay Circle in the film.

On IMDb: "Neighborhood House"

"99 River Street"

 

John Payne and Evelyn Keyes are walking along the side of a New York legit theatre in this shot from the great noir drama "99 River Street" (United Artists, 1953). We're actually on the Commodore Sloat Dr. side of the Carthay Circle Theatre, 6316 San Vicente Blvd. The view is back toward retail spaces at the front of the building.  

 

John is a washed-up boxer now driving a cab. Aspiring actress Evelyn has told him that she's killed a man onstage after an audition and needs his help. Phil Karlson directed. Also featured are Brad Dexter, Peggie Castle, Frank Faylen, Jay Adler, Jack Lambert and Glenn Langan. The cinematography was by Franz Planer. The nine minute theatre sequence starts 22 minutes into the film.  

 

Walking toward the stage door along the Carrillo Drive side of the building -- with a bit of an added fence plus some New York buildings matted in.   

 

 

 

Coming in the stage door upstage right. 

 

Down a few steps and walking behind the wire-guide counterweight sets. 

 

 

 

John in front of the dimmerboard. Evelyn has gone onstage. 

 

 

 

The body lies onstage as Evelyn tells John how she killed him after he made advances. 

 

A look into the dark auditorium after Evelyn turns on the light that's on the table. 

 

 

 

The set as seen from the house. 

 

John goes to the body and tells Evelyn they'll have to get it out of there and dump it in a gravel pit. But then the lights come up and it's all revealed as a ruse -- just an audition scene to prove to the producer that Evelyn can do the part.  

 

A view offstage right as Evelyn tells John she's sorry but it had to be done this way for her to get the job. He isn't amused. The producer offers him $20 for his trouble. 

 

 

 

Another look off right as the police are called to report John after he slugs several people. That's the stage door behind the rigging and a scene dock beyond. John is also involved in a second murder plot in the film. And that one is for real -- his wife gets killed. 

 

See the pages about the Carthay Circle Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the theatre and many photos. It had opened as a film and vaudeville house in 1926 but saw some legit action in the early 1930s. Again in the early to mid-1950s it was a legit house. That use was no longer possible after the TODD-AO remodel in 1956.

On IMDB: "99 River Street"

"Caprice"

Doris Day outside the theatre in Frank Tashlin's "Caprice" (20th Century Fox, 1967) getting ready to do a bit of industrial espionage. Note that the theatre is also running a movie called "Caprice" starring Doris Day, an oddity that is left unexplained.  Ray Walston and Richard Harris also join in the fun.

Doris Day taking a seat in the balcony in "Caprice." Note the re-done side wall paneling and the beige drapes. Much of the theatre's ornate Spanish style decor was "modernized" in the 50s.

She gets into a fight with Irene Tsu and Michael J. Pollard in the balcony and falls over the edge and lands on a main floor patron below.

In the extreme lower right corner of the view above you get a bit of the curve of the beige curtain that enveloped the whole front of the auditorium -- all the way around to the front of the balcony. It was installed as part of the renovations for the 1956 TODD-AO run of "Around the World in 80 Days." Also note the new "modernized" treatment of the balcony soffit.

A look over the edge after the fall. 

Doris Day between shots outside the theatre. See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the now-lost Carthay Circle Theatre for photos of the building and lots about its history.  

On IMDb: "Caprice"

"Hollywood Hotel"

The Carthay Circle's fame as a Hollywood movie palace for premieres is shown in Busby Berkeley's "Hollywood Hotel" (Warner Bros., 1937) with Dick Powell.   Other fine performers in the film include Glenda Farrell, Alan Mowbray, Rosemary and Lola Lane, Ted Healy and Francis Langford.

In "Hollywood Hotel" we're supposedly going to a premiere of the fictional film "Glamour Girl" but  in this shot it's revealed on the marquee that the footage they're using is from the premiere of "Life of Emile Zola" (also 1937).

See the Los Angeles Theatres pages about the Cathay Circle Theatre for more photos of the theatre, once billed as "The Showplace of the Golden West." It was demolished in 1969.

On IMDb: "Hollywood Hotel"

"The Comic"

The Carthay Circle Theatre, 6316 San Vicente Blvd., appears in Carl Reiner's film "The Comic" (Columbia, 1969).  The film features Dick Van Dyke as fictitious silent film star Billy Bright, Michelle Lee as his wife, Cornel Wilde as a film director, and Mickey Rooney as Bright's sidekick Cockeye. In this scene, set in the 20s, we're at the theatre for a premiere of a Billy Bright film.

The theatre opened in 1926 and was long a major first-run house with many roadshow engagements. See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the Carthay Circle for photos and history.

An interior view at the premiere, not shot at the Carthay Circle.  

Decades later Billy Bright and Cockeye walk by the Silent Movie Theatre, 611 N. Fairfax Ave. The theatre is running some old Billy Bright films. 

Cockeye inquires at the boxoffice about start times. Not until next week, he's told. A Chaplin festival has been held over. See the page about the Silent Movie Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for some photos. It opened in 1942. 

On Vine St. with the Huntington Hartford Theatre in the background. Cockeye has his eyes closed trying to guess whose star they're standing on. See the Los Angeles Theatres page for information on the 1927 vintage legit house. It's now known as the Ricardo Montalban.

On IMDb: "The Comic"

"The Big Premiere"

The Carthay Circle appears in the 1940 Our Gang one reel comedy "The Big Premiere." For a history of the theatre, demolished in 1969, see the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the Carthay Circle Theatre.

On IMDb: "The Big Premiere"