"Vice Squad"

"On the street the real trick is staying alive." Season Hubley is a single mom working as a prostitute who reluctantly becomes a police informant in "Vice Squad" (Avco Embassy, 1982). On the right it's the Vogue Theatre, 6675 Hollywood Blvd. That's Las Palmas Ave. beyond.

The film also features Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser, Pepe Serna, Beverly Todd, Nina Blackwood and Sudana Bobatoon. Gary Sherman directed. The cinematography was by John Alcott. 

A view east across Las Palmas with Musso and Frank at the far right. The Vogue, now used as a church, was a 1935 design by S. Charles Lee.

Looking for action near the Cinema Theatre, 1122 N. Western Ave. It's a bit north of Santa Monica Blvd. The building survives but it's been churched. 

 

 

 

A bit of the Tiffany Theatre is seen in this late night view. It was at 8532 Sunset Blvd., west of La Cienega. It's been demolished. 

 

 

 

Back on Hollywood Blvd. This shot looks across toward the Pussycat Theatre, 6656 Hollywood Blvd., on the south side of the street between Cherokee and Las Palmas. It opened in 1940 as a newsreel house called the News-View. Later it was the New-View and, after its Pussycat era, was a revival house called the Ritz. 

 

 

 

Down the street across from the Fox Theatre, 6523 Hollywood Blvd. This over-exposed view made it into the trailer but not the finished film. At the time of the shoot they were running "The Fan" with Lauren Bacall and James Garner. 

 

A look west toward the Hollywood Pacific, the theatre that debuted in 1928 as the Warner Hollywood. 

 

Closer to Cahuenga for another Hollywood Pacific shot. 

 

A view east from El Centro toward the Pix, 6126 Hollywood Blvd. It opened in 1926 as a legit house called the Music Box and has also been called the Fox, Guild and Henry Fonda. It's now a music venue called the Fonda Theatre. They were running John Carpenter's "Escape From New York," a June 1981 release.

For more information about the theatres that are seen in the film see the Los Angeles Theatres pages about the Vogue, Cinema Theatre, Tiffany, New-View/Pussycat, Fox, Warner/Hollywood Pacific and the Music Box/Pix. 

On IMDb: "Vice Squad"   

Thanks to Ray Ottulich for the nudge about the Hollywood Blvd. footage in this film. He included a shot of the Vogue in his post about the film for The World of Noir Facebook group.  Elizabeth Pearce notes that the full film can be seen on a Russian website: https://ok.ru/video/1246674291455

"The Choirboys"

A fine view north on Broadway from "The Choirboys" (Universal, 1977), Robert Aldrich's drama about after-hours police debauchery. On the left we get the unlit vertical of the United Artists, 933 S. Broadway. On the right it's the Rialto at 812 S. Broadway, the Tower at 802, the Globe at 744. The shot was taken on the roof of the Los Angeles Railway Co. Building at 11th and Broadway. It's now the Proper Hotel.

Thanks to Tommy Bernard for spotting all the theatres in the film and getting these screenshots. 

 

The film is based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh and stars Charles Durning, Lou Gossett Jr., Perry King, Clyde Kusatsu, Tim McIntire, Randy Quaid and James Woods. The cinematography was by Joseph Biroc.  

 

Heading north toward 8th with the May Co., Rialto and Tower in view. 

 

 

 

Looking back as the car passes the Rialto. 

 

Crossing 8th St. with a view of the Tower's marquee.

 

 

 

A view north toward the State Theatre at 7th & Broadway. 

 

Another Broadway trip. This time heading south near the Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway. 

 

Out on the westside. We're looking north toward the Cinema Theatre, 1122 N. Western Ave. It was a 1939 design by S. Charles Lee.

See the pages about the United Artists, the State Theatre, the Los Angeles Theatre, the Globe Theatre, the Tower Theatre, the Rialto Theatre and the Cinema Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for historic information about the buildings and many photos. 

On IMDb: "The Choirboys"

"52 Pick-Up"

We get a look at the Cinema Theatre, 1122 N. Western Ave., in John Frankenheimer's "52 Pick-Up" (Cannon / Golan-Globus, 1986). Thanks to Yuri G. for spotting the scene and including the screenshot above on his Movie Tourist page about the film. He also has many more photos of other locations that were used.

The film, based on an Elmore Leonard novel, stars Roy Scheider as an L.A. businessman who gets hit with some blackmail just as his wife (Ann-Margret) is running for city council. Going to the police is out of the question so he tries to deal with the issue quietly -- but problems arise as he doesn't really want to pay.  Kelly Preston plays Scheider's mistress.

Scheider's done some investigating and found out that one of the extortion ring has a day job as manager / projectionist at the Cinema Theatre, thus his unannounced visit.

The cashier tells him the manager is up in the booth.

Scheider peeks into the booth. It will be quite a surprise to John Glover, who plays the manager.

Another booth view. Glover pretends to do a changeover. And also pretends he doesn't know Scheider. It won't go well for the gang of extortionists -- Roy is smarter and more devious than they could have anticipated.

The poor Cinema Theatre went from being a cute foreign film venue when it opened in 1939 to become the porno venue we see in the film. Now, even worse, it's a church. See the Cinema Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more photos.

On IMDb: "52 Pick-Up"

"Let's Go To The Movies"

We get a quick look at the Hawaii Theatre, one of many Los Angeles area theatres featured, in the nine minute short "Let's Go To The Movies," available on the Internet Archive. It was produced by RKO in 1948 for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Campus Theatre in "Let's Go To The Movies."

 

Donavan S. Moye got this version of the shot from the appearance of the Campus clip about 39 minutes into Inés Toharia Terán's 2021 documentary "Film: The Living Record of Our Memory." Donavan notes that the footage of the Campus also made an appearance in Leon Gast's 2010 documentary "Smash His Camera," a film about photographer Ron Galella. 

 

 

The Cinema Theatre in "Let's Go To The Movies."

The Esquire Theatre in "Let's Go To The Movies."

The Monica Theatre in "Let's Go To The Movies."

A look at the Academy Theatre in Pasadena. 

We also get a brief glimpse of the Edwards circuit's Santa Anita Theatre.

 The Azusa/Edwards Village Theatre in Azusa. Thanks to Joe Vogel for identifying it. 

On IMDb: "Let's Go To The Movies"