"I Wanna Hold Your Hand"

Six New Jersey teenagers head to the big city in 1964 with hopes of catching a glimpse of the Beatles the weekend of their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (Universal, 1978). The film revolves around CBS Studio 50 at 1697 Broadway in New York. Here they're using a backlot version for the exterior. The night of the show when one of the gang climbs a tower atop the theatre trying to disable a microwave antenna we get a nice look at the Eastern Columbia Building.

 

In 1967 CBS renamed their theatre the Ed Sullivan. Originally it was Hammerstein's. Beginning in 1993 it was used by the David Letterman Show and, since 2013, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The other focus is the Plaza Hotel, where the Beatles were staying. They use a backlot set for the exterior scenes with the Biltmore for many of the lobby scenes. We also do lots of driving around on Main St., 6th and 7th. There's a scene in a barber shop near 6th and Main and we see a bit of the "Santa Fe" vertical sign. 

The film features Nancy Allen, Bobby DiCicco, Marc McClure, Susan Kendall Newman, Wendi Jo Sperber, Theresa Saldana, Eddie Deezen, Christian Juttner and Will Jordan as Ed Sullivan. Robert Zemeckis directed. The cinematography was by Donald M. Morgan.   

 

 

 

Inside the theatre. It's obvious we're not in New York's Studio 50 but certainly difficult at this point to see what theatre was used. 

 

 

 

It's the day before the big show and ushers are gathered on the main floor for a briefing. 

 

 

 

Looking in from the rear of the house. Here it becomes evident that we're at the Hollywood Playhouse, 1735 Vine St. Originally it was a legit house, later a TV studio with its best-known branding as the Hollywood Palace. It's now a music venue called Avalon. 

 

 

 

Will Jordan as Ed Sullivan briefs the guys on the rambunctious behavior they might expect. 

 

Later Theresa Saldana, one of the teenagers who aspires to be a photographer, sneaks in to get some shots. 

 

 

 

On the set the Beatles will use. She's accosted a moment later by a security guard and taken downstage right and shoved out the stage door. But before she leaves, the guard agrees to open the door for her during the show if she'll bring $50. 

 

Shoved out the stage door, Theresa ought to be at street level. Instead we're up on the second level of a fire escape. Look familiar? We're in the exit passage on the south side of the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles, 630 S. Broadway. She's just come out of an exit from the 1st balcony.   

 

 

 

One of the gang rushing to the theatre on the night of the show.  

 

Will Jordan onstage before the show trying to calm the action in the balcony. Note a bit of the Hollywood Playhouse's ceiling. 

 

 

 

Another balcony shot. 

 

 

 

A look at the stage during the show. 

 

See the Los Angeles Theatres pages about the Hollywood Playhouse/Avalon for the history of the theatre and many, many photos.   

 

 

To get to the big city Marc McClure, one of the teenagers without a license, has borrowed a limo from his father's mortuary. The show has begun but Theresa, young aspiring photographer, has come up with $50 and her friend is driving her to the stage door. In this shot we're looking west on 7th St. toward Hill.   

The blank marquee just beyond the intersection is the Warner, at the time of this shoot closed and getting turned into a jewelry mart. See the pages about the Warner Downtown on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building as well as several hundred photos. The theatre, now used for selling jewelry, opened as the Pantages in 1920.  

 

 

 

Pulling into the alley between Broadway and Spring, behind the Palace Theatre. 

 

 

 

Theresa Saldana heading up to the stage door. This passage later makes appearances in many films including the 1993 Bette Midler TV version of "Gypsy," "The Gambler," "Dreamgirls," as the back entrance to Ciro's in "Being the Ricardos" and in "Blonde."   

But she returns to the limo and uses her $50 to bribe a cop who has arrived and asks to see the license of her limo driving friend. The Beatles set is over and they exit and think this is their limo parked at the stage door. Our heroine, sitting in the front seat, turns around and as the limo heads down the alley, gets the shot of the Beatles she came to the city for. 

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

On IMDb: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" 

"What's Love Got To Do With It"

We pay a visit to the Apollo Theatre in New York City in Brian Gibson's "What's Love Got to Do With It?" (Touchstone Pictures, 1993). This story of Tina Turner and her abusive husband Ike stars Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. We get a quick shot of the actual Apollo exterior but when we go inside we're at the Warner Grand in San Pedro. The sequence is 48 minutes into the film.

Tina and the backup singers onstage at the Warner. 

A main floor view. Does it look like the Apollo? No.

Another look down from the Warner's balcony.

Tina gliding across the Warner stage in the Apollo Theatre sequence..

When the couple moves to Los Angeles we get this very grainy shot of Grauman's Chinese, at the time running "No Way To Treat a Lady" with Rod Steiger. The film actually played the theatre later than we're pretending it is in the film. It opened April 3, 1968 for a seven week run.

An hour into the film we get a TV performance. It could have been shot almost anywhere as there's  not enough of the venue seen in the film to make it identifiable. It's possible it was done at the Hollywood Playhouse.

A backstage shot from the TV sequence. We're offstage right with a murky glimpse into the auditorium.

Phil Spector shows up to meet Tina. And, of course, Ike pops up as well - he doesn't want to be left out of the action.

Ike and Tina are opening for the Rolling Stones at the Olympia in London. The film says it's 1968 but they actually opened for the Stones in 1969.  Thanks to Mike Hume for the screenshot. No, we're not in London. It's on the Universal Studios backlot.

The "Olympia" is the second marquee down there on the left. Mike spotted it at the top of a Universal Studios Lot web page.

The interior of the "Olympia" turns out to be the State Theatre at 7th and Broadway.  The sequence is an hour and 11 minutes into the film.

Another shot at the State, doubling as the Olympia.

A balcony view at the State Theatre during the Olympia sequence. The number is "Proud Mary" from Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Several other concert sequences could have been shot at the State but are so closely cropped we don't see anything of whatever venue they were done in. This murky shot, an hour and 15 minutes into the film, is supposed to be at a concert in Los Angeles in 1974.

When the action moves to Dallas, we get a quick drive-by of the Academy Theatre on Manchester Blvd. in Inglewood. Later, after yet another fight with Ike, Tina tells the manager of a Ramada Inn that she's supposed to be opening that night at the Academy.

For the beginning of the "What's Love Got To Do With It" sequence at the end of the film we're at a club they're calling the Ritz. This is what they've dressed up as an exterior. It's in on the west side of the 1000 block somewhere -- there's a 1027 address on the awning to the right of the Ritz.

For the Ritz's interior, we're at the Hollywood Playhouse on Vine St. a theatre also known as the Hollywood Palace and the Avalon. Before the show begins there are dressing room views and a shot of Tina coming down a spiral staircase backstage.

A look out into the house at the Hollywood Playhouse. 

Another shot of Tina (Angela Bassett) onstage at the Ritz/Hollywood Playhouse. From here we cut to some shots of the real Tina doing arena and stadium shows to finish the film.

See the Los Angeles Theatres pages about the Warner Grand, Grauman's Chinese, the State Theatre, the Academy and the Hollywood Playhouse, and for more data and many, many photos. 

On IMDb: "What's Love Got To Do With It"

"Against All Odds"

The Avalon gets a starring role in Taylor Hackford's "Against All Odds" (Columbia, 1984) as Jake's Palace, a nightclub owned by James Woods. The film also stars Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward.

James Woods at the bar at the back of the main floor of Jake's Palace.

A shot at the main floor bar.

A look up the main lobby stairs in "Against All Odds." This entrance

 into the auditorium from the landing is a recent modification.

A view supposedly from Woods' office looking down onto the stage.

A street view of the Avalon as Jake's Palace in "Against All Odds."

Another street view from the film.

The building, at 1735 Vine St., opened in 1927 as a legit theatre called the Hollywood Playhouse. Later, among other names, it was a TV studio called the Hollywood Palace. It's now a music club called the Avalon. See the Hollywood Playhouse page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more history and many photos.

On IMDb: "Against All Odds"