"Red Nights"

The X Theatre at 5959 Hollywood Blvd. is in the background of this shot from "Red Nights" (Trans World Entertainment, 1988). It's another young-man-goes-to-Hollywood story. He thinks he's going to become an actor but sinks into the violent shadows. Izhak Hanooka directed. The cast includes Christopher Louis Parker, Brian Matthews, Tom Badall and Patty Bauer. The cinematography was by Jacob Eleasari. It was a direct-to-VHS release. 

Thanks to Rio Dylan Hernandez for spotting all the theatre coverage in the film and getting the screenshots. She comments: 

"Sometimes when I can’t sleep I’ll peruse grindhouse exploitation movies on Amazon and came across a doozy last night that is truly an LA treasure trove. It seems like there is a movie theater in every other shot as it’s about an idealistic young dreamer, aspiring actor - broken by DIRTY L.A. - and it truly captures the city as I remember it - especially the Hollywood Blvd. area where most of it was shot. I did the best I could do with the screenshots but this should give you a flavor and really some rare treasures here I think!"

 

 At the Warner/Hollywood Pacific, 6433 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

 

 

The Fox was playing "Robocop," It's at 6508 Hollywood Blvd.  

 

 

The Vogue Theatre, at 6675 Hollywood Blvd., playing "The Lost Boys," a July 1987 release. Michael Coate notes that this engagement was in 70mm.

 

 

The Pussycat, formerly the New-View, was at 6656 Hollywood Blvd., just west of Cherokee.

 

 

Another look at the Pussycat.  

 

 

 

A look at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., during the run of "Masters of the Universe." 

 

 

The Chinese with Clint Eastwood in "Heartbreak Ridge." Kurt Wahlner notes that the film played the big house for one week from December 5 to 11, 1986. 

 

 

A shot done later, during the run of "The Living Daylights." It played the Chinese from July 31 to August 27, 1987. 

 

 

 

A view of the west side of the Chinese.  

 

 

 

Looking north on Las Palmas toward Hollywood Blvd. That's the Las Palmas Theatre on the right.  

 

 

A chase shot with the cars heading into the alley just north of the Las Palmas.  

 

Looks like the filmmakers actually paid for this location for a "Gala Premier." Or was it a "Premiere"? The Los Feliz, now a triplex, is located at 1822 N. Vermont Ave. 

See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the X Theatre, the Warner/Hollywood Pacific, the Fox, the Vogue, the New-View/Pussycat,  Grauman's Chinese, the Las Palmas Theatre and the Los Feliz. 

Thanks Rio!  

On IMDb: "Red Nights"

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"Aloha, Bobby and Rose"

Footage used for the title sequence of "Aloha, Bobby and Rose" (Columbia Pictures, 1975) includes this view of the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. On the marquee it's "Don't Look in the Basement" along with "The Last House on the Left." This bill opened November 7, 1973 at the Pantages as well as over 30 other theatres in the area.  

 

The film features Paul Le Mat, Dianne Hull, Tim McIntyre, Leigh French, Noble Willingham, Martine Bartlett and Robert Carradine. Floyd Mutrux directed. The cinematography was by William A. Fraker.  

 

 

We get this shot when they zoom in during the credits. Way down the street it's the vertical for Loew's, 6838 Hollywood Blvd. It's the theatre that opened in 1926 as the El Capitan. Loew's got it in 1967 but at the time this footage was shot it was run by General Cinema Corporation. They never got around to re-doing the vertical although they were calling the theatre the Cinema on Hollywood Blvd. or the Hollywood Cinema. Before and after Loew's and General Cinema had the theatre it was called the Paramount. 

 

 

 

Paul Le Mat owes some guys money from a game of pool that didn't go his way. Hoping to borrow $75, he stops in to see a relative working at a used car lot at Hollywood Blvd. and Gower. The brown building on the left is the east side of the Pix Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd. The Pantages is a bit farther down the street.

 

 

Paul works at a car repair place in the Valley where he fixes the Volkswagon of a girl played by Dianne Hull. Later they go out on a date and take a drive east on Hollywood Blvd. We get this shot as they approach the Egyptian I-II-III, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.  

 

The panel below the marquee is advertising "Hello, Dolly!" It was on the bottom half of a double bill that opened October 31, 1973 at the Egyptian as well as 30 other area theatres. "Cabaret" was on the top of the bill. The initial 40 week 70mm roadshow engagement of "Hello, Dolly!" had been at the Chinese from December 19, 1969 until September 24, 1970.  

 

 

Continuing east we get a quick look down Las Palmas Ave. toward the pizza sign of Micelli's Restaurant and, just beyond, the Las Palmas Theatre.  

 

In the next block we get a murky glimpse of the New-View Theatre at 6656 Hollywood Blvd. It opened in 1940 as a newsreel house called the News-View. Later it was the Pussycat Theatre and then became a revival house called the Ritz.  

Paul and Dianne stop at a convenience store and, not being the sharpest guy, he plays around pretending to hold up the store. It ends badly and they go on the run.  

See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the Pantages, Loew's/El Capitan, Music Box/Pix, Egyptian, Las Palmas and New View/Pussycat/Ritz for more information about these historic Hollywood show houses.

On IMDb: "Aloha, Bobby and Rose"

"Angel"

We see a lot of Hollywood Blvd. in Robert Vincent O'Neill's "Angel" (New World, 1984). Fifteen year old Molly is an A student at a private school by day, a hooker by night. Well, she's been on her own since age twelve after her father died and her mother abandoned her. "Sorry," mom said in her farewell note. That's Molly in the distance, off to school, in this view west toward the Mann Chinese Twin.

Things turn really ugly when a serial killer starts preying on the teenage hookers on the street. The film stars Donna Wilkes as Molly/Angel, Cliff Gorman as a policeman on the hunt, Dick Shawn as a drag queen friend, Rory Calhoun as a six-shooter toting cowboy, Susan Tyrell as a friend at Molly's apartment house and John Diehl as the killer.

A telephoto look east toward the Vogue Theatre at 6675 Hollywood Blvd., the Warner Hollywood at 6433 Hollywood Blvd. (at the time called the Hollywood Pacific), the Pantages at 6233 Hollywood Blvd., and the X Theatre, 5959 Hollywood Blvd.

See the pages about the Vogue Theatre, the Warner Hollywood, the Pantages, and the X Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many photos of the buildings.

A peek across the street to the Vogue with Dick Shawn in the frame. The theatre was a 1935 design by S. Charles Lee. It's now a museum / auction display room for the firm Screenbid.  

Outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel looking east toward Grauman's Chinese and the Chinese Twin. See the Grauman's Chinese and the Mann Chinese Twin pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the theatres.

Another look east, this time with part of the vertical visible for the Paramount Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd. In the distance across Highland Ave. we see the signage of the Hollywood Theatre, 6764 Hollywood Blvd.

The Paramount is now back to its original name, the El Capitan. The Hollywood Theatre is now a Guinness Book of Records museum. The pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site have all the details.

Yet another shot looking east, this time with the signage showing for the Taft Building at Hollywood and Vine as well as the Music Box Theatre, here called the Pix. It's down near the Pantages. We never seem to look west, you notice.

The police getting the word out about the killer. Here we're at the Cave Theatre, just west of Vine St. It's a building that once was Sardi's Restaurant. Lately it's been a strip club called Deja Vu.

The manager of the Cave Theatre telling a customer to get his feet off the seats. He recognizes the guy as the killer the police are looking for, finds the cops and the guy gets taken to a lineup. Molly recognizes him, a sloppy officer gets his gun taken, and the killer shoots his way out.  If you really need to know more about the Cave Theatre, it's covered on the Los Angeles Theatres site.

Molly on the warpath with a gun, chasing the guy east on Hollywood Blvd. Here they cause a lot of commotion in front of the Warner Hollywood / Hollywood Pacific while a show is getting out and the marquee is getting changed.

The killer behind the buildings just to the east of the Warner. Molly is over behind the chain link fence, still firing. Firing more bullets than a six-shooter will hold. See the pages about the Warner Hollywood on the Los Angeles Theatres site for hundreds of photos of the building.

Our big shootout at the end happens in the alley just north of the Las Palmas Theatre, 1642 N. Las Palmas Ave. We're just a half block south of Hollywood Blvd. The show playing there was "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All For You."

End of the line for the serial killer in the alley alongside the theatre. See the page about the Las Palmas on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building.

Toomas Losin has eight pages about "Angel" on a website that includes location shots, details about the filming and lots more.

On IMDb: "Angel"

"Refinements in Love"

The Carlos Tobalina film "Refinements in Love" (Hollywood International Pictures, 1971) gives us what you'd expect from this low budget adult filmmaker plus views of his three L.A. theatres. Here we're at the Mayan Theatre, 1038 S. Hill St. 

 

Heading to Hollywood we get footage of the acts he had hired for a sidewalk show to promote his film "I Am Curious Tahiti" at the Las Palmas Theatre at 1642 Las Palmas Ave., a half block south of Hollywood Blvd. Thanks to Scott Favareille for spotting the theatre in the film.

 

 A marquee shot.

 

Dancers and a drummer. 

 

The fire dance. 

 

A last look from across the street. See the page about the Las Palmas on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building. 

 

We head back to the Mayan again for several more facade views but we don't see anything of the interior. But the story is that he made a number of his films inside the theatre. 

 

A look at the "Fabulous Mayan" from across the street.  

 

Another marquee shot to end our visit. On the far right note the cross atop the vertical sign at the Belasco Theatre during its church days.

See the pages about the Mayan Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened in 1927 as a legit theatre specializing in musical comedies. Since the late 1980s it's been a nightclub. 

 

 

It's back to Hollywood to end the film's theatre tour at another Tobalina operation: the X Theatre, a twin at 5959 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

Suspicious guys going inside. 

 

It's a bust! Several employees are getting arrested. 

 

Heading to the booth to get the print. 

 

Off to jail. On the left that's the World Theatre, 6025 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

Another street view to the west. See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the X Theatre for a bit of history and a few more photos.

On IMDb: "Refinements in Love"

"The Hidden"

We have a wild ride through MacArthur Park early in “The Hidden” (New Line Cinema, 1987). A formerly mild-mannered person has gone on a rampage and is evading the police. His body has, of course, been taken over by an alien creature who will soon migrate to yet another body. Here we're looking east toward the Westlake Theatre on Alvarado St. See the Westlake Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the building.

The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as, supposedly, an FBI agent from San Francisco who is on the hunt for the creature and Michael Nouri as a LAPD detective bewildered by the whole adventure. Jack Sholder directed.

During another part of the chase we're going up Argyle Ave. from Hollywood Blvd. and get a look at the side of the stagehouse of the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd.

Another look at the Pantages as the alien-controlled man drives west on Hollywood Blvd. See the pages about the Pantages Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres page for hundreds of photos of all areas of the building.

The Las Palmas Theatre, 1642 N. Las Palmas Ave., appears as the Harem Room where a stripper played by Claudia Christian is appearing. Yes, she gets taken over by the creature as well. Thanks to Don Solosan for the tip about the appearance of the Las Palmas in the film.

A Harem Room interior view, shot elsewhere.    

Looking north on Las Palmas toward Hollywood Blvd. with the Las Palmas Theatre / Harem Room on the right.

Another shot north on Las Palmas Ave. See the page about the Las Palmas Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building, once a prominent legit venue.

Prior to some downtown rooftop adventures with the stripper/alien on the run we head south on Broadway with a look at the wildly flashing marquee of the Palace Theatre, 630 S. Broadway. See the pages about the Palace Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building. It opened as the Orpheum in 1911. We also get a quick flash of the Rialto Theatre, 812 S. Broadway.

Here we're looking north from Olympic Blvd. with the dark United Artists Theatre on the left.  See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the United Artists Theatre for a history of the 1927 vintage movie palace along with hundreds of photos.

The film's finale gives us the opportunity to have many views of the Park Plaza Hotel, the former Elks lodge building on the western edge of MacArthur Park. It's now called The MacArthur.

On IMDb: “The Hidden”