"Silver Lake"

About thirty minutes into "Silver Lake" (Pace Pictures, 2018) troubled writer Nathan, played by Martin Starr, goes to the movies at the Vista Theatre with his friend Howard, played by Fred Melamed. The title "San Patricios" was an invention for the movie. 

Thanks to Jonathan Raines for spotting the scene. He notes that the film can be viewed for free on Tubi. Also featured are Deborah Ann Woll, Melinda Dahl, Scarlett Fernandez, Juliet Donenfeld, Alex Boling, Robert Duscemi and Bailey Chase. Sean McGinly wrote and directed. The cinematography was by Thomas Scott Stanton. The film also makes good use of other area locations including the cafe across the street from the theatre.

 

 

Fred and Martin in line outside the theatre. Fred's character says: "Don't you wish we'd have gone to one of those big multi-plexes where you could order your tickets online first? Can't abide standing out here with the great unwashed."

 

 A lobby shot. "I don't get what you see in this neighborhood anyway. It's full of hipsters, vegetarians..."

 

 

 

At the bar. "And these mustaches. They're everywhere. Right from the 80s where that should have remained. Ladies and gentlemen, direct from San Juan Hill, Teddy Roosevelt."  

 

 

 

 

Getting settled. 

 

 

 

 

Approached by a couple who asks if they would mind moving over so they can sit together.

 

Fred replies: "Unlike you, I got here early and waited online for these seats. They're my seats. Don't think I'll be moving." 

See the page about the Vista Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the venue, now nicely restored and going strong as a first-run house. It's located at 7773 Sunset Drive, on the north side of the street, just east of Hillhurst. 

On IMDb: "Silver Lake" 

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"The True Story of Lynn Stewart"

We see the Vista Theatre in "The True Story of Lynn Stewart" (Columbia, 1958). Betsy Palmer is at Stan's Drive-In, across from the theatre. She'll be working as an undercover police operative to gather data on local narcotics deals. The action at Stan's starts about 20 minutes in.

The film, set largely in Orange County, also features Jack Lord, Barry Atwater, Barbara Aler, Linda Cherney, Lionel Ames and Claudia Bryar. Pat Brown, Attorney General at the time, does a prologue. Lewis Seiler directed. The cinematography was by Burnett Guffey. 

 

 

At Stan's again with the Vista in the background for a scene that's 49 minutes into the film. 

See the page about the Vista Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the venue, now nicely restored and going strong as a first-run house. It's located at 7773 Sunset Drive, on the north side of the street, just east of Hillhurst. Stan's was just west of Hillhurst on the south side of the street, at 4480 Sunset Blvd.

Thanks Ray Ottulich for noting the film's scenes at Stan's in a post for the World of Noir Facebook group. See a Noirsville blog post about the film. Elizabeth Pearce notes that the full film can be seen on YouTube. 

On IMDb: "The True Story of Lynn Stewart"

Stan's and the Vista also made an appearance in the 1955 film "The Crooked Web."

"The Big Picture"

In Christopher Guest's directorial debut "The Big Picture" (Columbia, 1989) Kevin Bacon goes to see the unlikely double bill of "Tess" and the Jerry Lewis film "Hardly Working" at  the Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Dr. The film also features Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael McKean, Emily Longstreth, J.T. Walsh, Teri Hatcher, Martin Short, Eddie Albert and June Lockhart. The cinematography was by Jeffrey Jur. 

 

 

 

A rather strange looking crowd exiting the theatre. Kevin plays an aspiring filmmaker who's having a hard time getting a deal for the film he envisions. All the execs he talks to love it... but... could he change this to... 

 

It turns out that Jennifer Jason Leigh, aspiring artist and friend of Kevin, was also at the screening. 

 

They walk east and talk about career problems. 

 

See the page about the Vista Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the building. It opened in 1923 as Bard's Hollywood.  

 

 

Ignored for his big picture, later in the film Kevin takes a gig shooting a music video for a band that Jennifer is involved with. In the background we see a lot of the Cinerama Dome, 6360 Sunset Blvd. 

 

 

The band's violist.  

 

Costumes by Jennifer's character. Yes, his head and body are supposed to look like a Pez dispenser. 

 

 

More "top of the dome" action with the band that Kevin's character has named the Pez People. Of course there's even an overhead Busby Berkeley-style shot looking down on a circular array of Pez humans.

 

 

One of the execs sees the video on TV and realizes that Kevin has something. Now they're worried that all the studios will be after him. Yes, he does get to make the film he wanted.  

 

Visit the Cinerama Dome pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building and way too many photos.

On IMDb: "The Big Picture" 

"Surrender"

Sally Field and Michael Caine leave a screening of "Otello" at the Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., in "Surrender" (Warner Bros., 1987). It's a comedy directed by Jerry Belson about a writer who's pretending to be poor so he'll know any women he meets aren't just after his money. The cinematography was by Juan Ruiz Anchía.

Thanks to Eric Schaefer for spotting the theatre in the film and getting the screenshot. Head to the Los Feliz Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about this 1935 vintage house, a design by Clifford A. Balch.

On IMDb: "Surrender"

"True Romance"

In Tony Scott's "True Romance" (Warner Bros., 1993) Christian Slater visits the Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Dr. It's supposedly a Detroit theatre where he meets Patricia Arquette during a triple bill of "Street Fighter," "Return of the Street Fighter" and "Sister Street Fighter." Note the Skouras-style boxoffice that they brought in for the filming. The screenplay was by Quentin Tarantino. He now owns the place.

Avid film watcher Christian.

 

But he looks around to see who's coming in: it's Patricia. 

 

She wanders down the row behind him. A moment later she spills her popcorn on him. 

 

 

Patricia and Christian watching the show together. Thanks to the Vista for this shot. They included it in a "True Romance" post on the Vista Facebook page. Quentin hosted two screenings of the film on November 11, 2023 as a special pre-reopening event. 

 

 

 

Fooling around in front after the show. 

 

A wider shot showing more of the Skouras-style boxoffice. 

 

 

Walking away from the theatre at the end of the scene.

Thanks to Joe Pinney for the alert regarding the theatre's appearance in the film. A Noirish Los Angeles post by Tovangar2 has views of two other locations the film used.

See the page about the Vista Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the building. It opened in 1923 as Bard's Hollywood.  

On IMDb: "True Romance"

"Dear White People"

In "Dear White People" (Lionsgate, 2014) we get this shot of the marquee of the Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Dr. The story of four black students at an Ivy League college stars Tessa Thompson, Tyler James Williams, Kyle Gallner and Teyonah Parris. Justin Simien directed. 

The occasion for the Vista shot is a gathering of black students at their local theatre to protest the inanities of the latest Tyler Perry movie. But in the marquee footage the titles are blurred out and neither a shot of the students nor the cashier in the boxoffice were done at the Vista. Some shooting was done at UCLA but the majority of the filming happened in Minnesota.

See the page about the Vista Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the building. It opened in 1923 as Bard's Hollywood.  

On IMDb: "Dear White People"

"Summertime"

 

We get a quick drive by Grauman's Chinese in the first few moments of "Summertime" (Good Deed Entertainment, 2021). Carlos Lopez Estrada directed this delightful story of 27 young Angelenos and how their lives intersect on a hot summer day. Much of the material for the "spoken word poetry musical" was written by the young stars of the film. The cinematography is by John Schmidt. The film's impetus was the Get Lit classes and poetry workshops offered to high school students. 

 

 

Before a show at the United Artists/Theatre at Ace Hotel, 933 S. Broadway.  The performers they're waiting for are unlikely stars played by Bryce Bank and Austin Antoine. When we first meet them they're rapping on the sidewalk in Venice and getting no attention whatever.

 

 

In the line at the United Artists. 

 

 

Another pre-show view at the United Artists.

 

 

Maia Mayor across the street from the United Artists. Her boyfriend has just dumped her as being too needy and depressed. Later she meets Marquesha Babers on a bus who suggests "Maybe we're not depressed. Maybe we're just hungry?" Thanks to Conor Holt for locating this shot, one that appears on IMDb.

 

 

Looking north toward the Arcade Theatre, 534 S. Broadway. That's Tyris Winter, strolling the downtown streets reciting his poetry. The big quest in his wanderings around town is the hunt for a cheeseburger. He's finding a number of places places have changed their menus or have been transformed through gentrification.

 

Tyris hits the other side of the street and gives us a bit of poetry on his iPhone while under the marquee of the Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway. Some of the gang ends up at a burger joint where they're offered the use of a limo by the two newly-minted rap stars. 

 

The white limo wanders all over town. Here it's sailing past the Vista Theatre in Los Feliz, 4473 Sunset Dr. Of course they're running Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood." He didn't own the theatre at the time of the 2019 filming but he bought it in 2021.

On IMDb: "Summertime"    Website: gooddeedentertainment.com/summertime

 

 

 

A shot from a Get Lit youth poetry festival held at the Orpheum, 842 S. Broadway. It's from one of the "Making of Summertime" videos on the Good Deed Entertainment website.

"The Slams"

We get this fine look at the Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., in "The Slams" (MGM, 1973).  Jim Brown, Judy Pace and Roland Bob Harris star in this crime drama about a quest for money stashed before Brown was sent to prison. Jonathan Kaplan directed.

Thanks to Eric Schaefer for spotting the theatre in the film and getting the screenshot. The film also spends some time at the Lincoln Heights jail, in the LaCienega oil fields and at Pacific Ocean Park.

Head to the Los Feliz Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about this 1935 vintage house, a design by Clifford A. Balch.

On IMDb: "The Slams"

"Hot Rod Gang"

 

The Monica Theatre, 7734 Santa Monica Blvd., is seen in "Hot Rod Gang" (American International, 1958). In fact we go by it several times in the first few minutes of the film as we race up and down Santa Monica Blvd. Thanks to Bret Mannon for spotting the theatre. 

 

The film, directed by Lew Landers, is about a kid who joins a rock band to earn money to support his drag racing habit. It stars John Ashley, Jody Fair and Gene Vincent. The cinematography was by Floyd Crosby.

 

We quickly meet up with another couple of guys and race on opposite sides of the street with one set of wheels on the curb. In this view north on Virgil toward Sunset Blvd. we get a bit of the Vista Theatre over on the right. 

 

Another shot a moment later with more showing of the Vista, 4473 Sunset Dr. 

 

Back on Santa Monica Blvd. with another view of the Monica. 

 

About 27 minutes in John Ashley and Jody Fair take a hurried drive up Vermont Ave. giving us a glimpse of the marquee of the Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave. 

 

That's about all we get of the Los Feliz as the film cuts to a dissolve into a party scene but the marquee and the vertical sign are seen over on on the right.

For more data and photos of these movie houses head to the pages about the Monica/Pussycat/Studs Theatre, the Vista Theatre and the Los Feliz Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site.

On IMDb: "Hot Rod Gang."  The full film can be seen on YouTube: version 1 | version 2 - a bit sharper |

A poster that appears with the film's listing on IMDb. 

"Dean"

Dimitri Martin and Gillian Jacobs, a prospective girlfriend, wander in front of the Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., in "Dean" (CBS Films, 2017).

Martin also wrote, directed and illustrated the film, a tale about a misfit cartoonist and his curious adventures with various friends and  lovers. The film also stars Kevin Kline as the dad and Mary Steenburgen as a real estate agent he falls for.

See the page about the Los Feliz Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the building. The theatre is a Clifford Balch design from 1934 that's now a triplex.

On IMDb: "Dean"

"The Female Brain"

Brain researcher Julia Brizendine (Whitney Cummings) heads to the Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Dr., to see a silent movie with Kevin (Toby Kebbell), a participant in one of her research studies, in "The Female Brain" (IFC Films, 2018).

We get an amusing analysis of what's happening in the brain of Dr. Brezindine as well as several other case study couples. Cummings also was the director of the film which features Beanie Feldstein, Sofia Vergara, Lucy Punch, James Marsden and many others. 

 

Trying to find something healthy at the Vista snackbar.

 

The couple watching the film that night. As a date, it doesn't go well. She just wants quick sex, Kevin's interested in something more.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Vista Theatre for many photos as well as a history of the theatre. It opened in 1923 and is still going strong as a single-screen first run house.

On IMDb: "The Female Brain"

"The Dangerous Stranger"

We get some shots of the exterior of the Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., in the ten minute public service film "The Dangerous Stranger" (Sidney Davis Productions, 1950). Thanks to Bobster1985 for the screenshots. They're a contribution from him on the Cinema Treasures page about the Los Feliz.

The film warns us not to accept rides or gifts from strangers and offers tales of several kids who did -- and didn't come back. The policeman in the film warns "...their mothers and fathers never saw them again. I know you wouldn't want to do that to your folks."

Approaching the theatre.

A look at the Los Feliz boxoffice.

Buying a ticket.

This is the guy to watch out for. Looks harmless enough. But he smiled at her. During the film he sits next to her and puts his arm around her. We're warned "Never let a stranger put his arm around you. Get the usher!"   

 The film is on YouTube from Ziptrivia. There's also a post of it from A/V Geeks. It's also on Internet Archive.

See the page about the Los Feliz Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the building. It's now a triplex operated by Vintage Cinemas.

On IMDb: "The Dangerous Stranger"