"Stripes"

Much of Ivan Reitman's "Stripes" (Columbia Pictures, 1981) was shot in Kentucky. But when Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Candy leave their military base to head to a strip club, they end up on the 500 block of Main St. In the center of the image note the Galway Theatre, 514 S. Main. 

 

The boys are headed to the Pom Pom Bar on the far left. "It's famous. It's world famous." The film also features Warren Oates, John Diehl, Sean Young, P.J. Soles, Judge Reinhold, John Larroquette and six strippers who do mud wrestling. The cinematography was by Bill Butler. Thanks to Kevin Binger for the alert about the Main St. location. He shared a shot from the scene on the Historic Film Locations Facebook group.  

  

The place gets raided and Bill and Harold are rescued by Sean and P.J., playing two MPs who have taken a liking to them.  

Check out the Galway Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the venue. The building is still around but the space the Galway occupied is no longer a theatre.  

On IMDb: "Stripes" 

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"Eye For An Eye"

Getting an ice cream cone on Broadway in John Schlesinger's "Eye For An Eye" (Paramount, 1996). The film stars Sally Field, Kiefer Sutherland, Ed Harris, Olivia Burnette, Joe Mantegna, Beverly D'Angelo and Philip Baker Hall. Sally's character is on a hunt for the man who raped and murdered her daughter. Thanks to Eric Schaefer for spotting the various theatres in the film and getting the screenshots. He comments: 

"Well, not a good movie but this one does look great thanks to cinematographer Amir Mokri. The Kiefer Sutherland character lives downtown so we get plenty of cool footage there."

 

At the end of the ice cream scene the camera pans up a bit and we get this view south as Kiefer gets lost in the crowd. The Roxie is at 518 S. Broadway, the Cameo, with "Happy Holida s" on the marquee, is at 528. Just beyond, unseen in this shot, is the Arcade Theatre at 534 S. Broadway. On the right in the distance it's the Los Angeles Theatre down in the 600 block.

Check out the pages about the Roxie, Cameo, Arcade, and Los Angeles theatres on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more information and photos inside and out.   

 

A fine look over at part of the east side of the 400 block of S. Main. It's the view out the window of Kiefer Sutherland's SRO room. The Regent is at 448, now reborn as a live music venue. Over on the left the Main Theatre, with the "XXX Movie" signage, was at 438, in a storefront of the Canadian Building.   

See the pages about the Main Theatre and the  Regent Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the venues. 

 

That neon sign in the previous shot prompted a search to nail down the building it had been taken from. This shot gives us a better look at it and reveals that the Main St. view had been a process shot. The building Kiefer is on in this shot is the former El Dorado Hotel at 416 S. Spring, a block away from the Regent Theatre. Thanks for this, Eric! 

 

 

A 2024 view of the El Dorado from Google Maps. We're looking southeast. The Rosslyn roof sign can be seen in the distance, over at 5th and Main.

On IMDb: "Eye For An Eye"

"The Scarf"

John Ireland is sitting in a bar on Main St. called Level Louie's 54 minutes into "The Scarf" (United Artists, 1951). Mercedes McCambridge plays a waitress who knows him from a past he can't remember and, trying to avoid trouble, tells him to get out. Thanks to Riichkay for sharing seven screenshots from the film in his Noirish Los Angeles post #61897. He calls the film a "psychological thriller with some noirish elements."

Also featured are Tom Kennedy, Lyle Talbot, Emlyn Willlians, Lloyd Gough and James Barton. Ewald André Dupont directed. The cinematography was by Franz Planer. 

As he leaves we see the Gayety Theatre across the street. On the marquee it's Randolph Scott and Don Ameche. Not, of course, in the same film. After John walks out the door the camera swings back to the bar where Mercedes says "Scotch, quick. I just had a nightmare."

 

As Riichkay notes, it was a process shot in the film but "there was a bar/restaurant directly across from the Gayety, as seen in this 1940's photo." This photo that he includes in his post is one from the Nathan Marsak collection.

The theatre was at 523 S. Main St., on the west side of the street just south of 5th. See the page about the Gayety Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened as the Novelty in 1905.   

 

Noirish contributor Henry Huntington comments: 

 

"I'm pretty sure that the exterior shot looking north on Main St. from the Gayety Theatre/Harry's Bar location was a B-roll taken in 1946 or the first half of 1947 based on the depiction of two-way traffic on 5th St. and on the LATL streetcars crossing Main St. at that location. IIRC, east-west streets in that part of DTLA were made one-way on or about August 24, 1947. The resulting gridlock caused by the changeover was monumental."

 

The next day we get a nice tour along 1st: 

 

 

 John walking east on 1st. St. Riich notes that the Hill St. tunnel is in the background.

 

 

 Continuing east on the south side of 1st.

A shot at 1st and Spring.

 

 

Looking toward 1st and Main. Riichkay was wondering about the building on the right. Noirish contributor  Henry Huntington commented:

 

"I believe that the building you inquired about was the Hellman Building at 120 N. Main St., not to be confused with the other Hellman Building at 223 W. 2nd St., nor with the H.W. Hellman Building at 356 S. Spring St. and certainly not with the I.W. Hellman Building at 411 S. Main St. Got all that? :-)  Source: L.A. City Directory 1912."

 

The exterior shots end as he enters the Times building at 1st and Spring. City Hall is in the background.  He's going to see a psychiatrist to try to figure out whether or not he committed a murder. Once we go inside it's not the Times building. 

 

 

We get another glimpse of the Gayety Theatre out the bar's windows during the last scene of the movie. John is at the bar with James Barton, the guy who found him wandering in the desert at the beginning of the story. 

A last shot in the bar, with a bit of the Gayety's marquee seen on the left.  

 

Mercedes is over at the piano and takes us out as she sings "Summer Rains." That's King Donovan at the piano.

Thanks to Riichkay for investigating the film. He notes that the full thing is on YouTube.

On IMDb: "The Scarf"  

"Undercover Girl"

We get this fine footage looking north on Broadway to start the title sequence for "Undercover Girl" (Universal-International, 1950). On the left it's the United Artists Theatre, 933 S. Broadway. 

 

"The Inside Story of America's Daring Police Women!" Alexis Smith is in the New York Police Academy when she gets the word that her father was killed on the job and that he may have taken a bribe to pay her school bills. She goes undercover in L.A. to help solve the case. The film also features Scott Brady, Richard Egan, Gladys George, Gerald Mohr, Edmon Ryan and Royal Dano. Joseph Pevney directed. The cinematography was by Carl E. Guthrie.  

 

The streetcar comes toward us and veers off onto Broadway Place.

See the pages about the United Artists Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many photos of all areas of the building. It's now known as the Theatre at Ace Hotel.  

 

The titles continue with a shot of Main St. On the left it's the Regent Theatre, 448 S. Main St. They were running "Dance Hall" (1941) with Carole Landis and Cesar Romero, "Bowery Blitzkreig" (1941) with Leo Gorcey and "Raiders of the West" (February 1942) starring Bill 'Cowboy Rambler' Boyd.  Sorry to say that we don't get any interesting street views after the titles.

See the pages about the Regent Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the venue along with photos inside and out. 

On IMDb: "Undercover Girl" 

"Cobra"

Sylvester Stallone and his partner Reni Santoni are wandering Main St. looking for leads in a murder case in "Cobra" (Cannon, 1986). They've been told to do whatever they have to in search of the killer. Thanks to Sean Ault for noting the film's Main St. action. 

For this shot they've added some neon to make the block look more interesting than it was. On the far right it's the doorway to the Howell Hotel, 549 S. Main. The  yellow-ocher wall with the red-framed display case is the Art Theatre in the same building at 551 S. Main. We're looking south toward 6th St. That "Deardens" neon on the far left is on a building on the southeast corner of 7th and Main. 

George P. Cosmatos directed this story about an L.A. policeman who has his own violent ways of dealing with criminal types. No actual cobras are involved -- that's his nickname. The film also features Brigitte Neilsen, Andrew Robinson, Brian Thompson, John Herzfeld, Lee Garlington and Val Avery. The cinematography was by Ric Waite. Bill Kenney was the production designer. The film shot in some interesting industrial areas and we see quite a bit of Venice.

Sylvester and Reni coming out of the Howell Hotel, upstairs from the Art Theatre. They also hit a few Main St. bars and a tattoo parlor.  

 

Asking questions in front of the Art Theatre's south display cases. 

 

More questions in front of what had been the Art's boxoffice. They had demolished the tile-fronted original and put a new one to the right, in one of the entrance doorways. 

 

 

 

A detail from the top of the 1.33 version of the shot reveals the outline of the former box office and the light fixture location that had been inside.  

 

 

Another detail from the shot, here looking at the pattern of the tile to the left of the vanished boxoffice.

The look of the boxoffice in 1939. It's a detail from a photo in the Eric Lynxwiler collection. 

 

See the page about the Art Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. The building was demolished several years after this film was shot.  

There's a lot of action in Long Beach. Here as Sylvester and Brigitte turn off Ocean Blvd. in an attempt to lose some killers we get a shot of the closed Imperial and West Coast Theatres, 319 and 333 E. Ocean Blvd.  

 

As the chase in Long Beach continues we get a fuzzy view of the Jergins Trust Building beyond the newspaper rack. It housed the State Theatre, 104 E. Ocean Blvd.

See the pages about the Imperial Theatre, the West Coast and the State Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about these three now-vanished Long Beach film palaces.

On IMDb: "Cobra"

"The Shadow"

Here we are looking at the Monolith Hotel in New York at 2nd and Houston streets in "The Shadow" (Universal, 1994). Those of us who only perceive it as a vacant lot must have been hypnotized by Shiwan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan. He's planning to take over the world with some updated technology and doesn't want us to see where his headquarters are located.

This backlot set features buildings seen a block over on the right that represent those actually at 4th and Main in downtown Los Angeles: the Barclay Hotel and the Farmers and Merchants Bank.   

 

 

 

Alec Baldwin plays The Shadow. After his brain has cleared sufficiently, he can see the building that's on the site. John Lone plays the evil Mongol Shiwan Khan. Also featured are Penelope Ann Miller, Tim Curry, Peter Boyle, Jonathan Winters, Ian McKellen, Sab Shimono and Andre Gregory. Russell Mulcahy directed. The cinematography was by Stephen H. Burum.  

 

 

 

When The Shadow goes inside the hotel to confront Khan and his minions we find ourselves in the lobby of the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. Note the Pacific Theatres snackbar still in the middle of the lobby. Thanks to Dave Hunter for spotting the theatre in the film. 

 

 

 

A look over toward the inner lobby. 

 

The house left mezzanine lounge area. 

 

The Shadow materializes on the steps up to the balcony promenade. 

 

Heading down the promenade to find the Khan and his henchmen. 

 

Tim Curry, an associate of scientist Ian McKellen, has gone to the dark side and comes down the steps looking for The Shadow. 

 

A look into the grand lobby. There were no chandeliers at the time of the filming. Replicas of the originals were installed as part of the restoration in 2000.  

 

 

 

Tim and Alec get to have a one-on-one engagement in the Monolith Hotel's ballroom. Obviously it wasn't shot at the Pantages. This is the ballroom at the Ambassador Hotel. Tim gets his mind re-programmed by The Shadow. 

 

 

 

In a shot where Tim is coming out of the Monolith ballroom, we find ourselves on the balcony promenade again. Beyond the doorway we get a look at the auditorium's center chandelier. 

 

 

 

With his mind disordered by The Shadow, Tim mistakes a decorative glass panel for an exit. 

 

Falling through to the lobby. Ian McKellen is deprogrammed in time to disarm his bomb. Alec Baldwin defeats John Lone, who ends up in a mental hospital.  The world is saved and Alec and Penelope end up happy ever after.

See the pages about the Pantages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more data about this 1930 vintage deco landmark along with many, many photos. 

On IMDb: "The Shadow"

"The Forbidden"

We get this view of the Cinematheque 16 at 8816 1/2 Sunset Blvd. in "The Forbidden" (Olympic International, 1966). It's at the beginning of a tour of the Strip with shots highlighting various nightspots.

This "Mondo Cane" style mock-documentary takes us to nightclubs and other venues around the world -- wherever there's a chance to show sin and bare breasts. Performers in various sequences include Baby Bubbles, Bob Cresse and Pat Hall. The film was written and directed by Benjamin Andrews and Lee Frost. 

 

We get lots more footage of Sunset Blvd. revolving around a 1966 riot by teenagers protesting police enforcement of a curfew. Here we get a view of the Tiffany Theatre, 8534 Sunset Blvd. On the marquee is the theatre's opening film "Young Aphrodites" and an added second feature, Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night." 

See the pages about the Cinematheque 16 and Tiffany Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site.

 

Later we get footage introduced by the narrator with the line "We are now in the skid row area of a large Eastern city of the United States." A bit off as we're actually on Main St. in Los Angeles looking south toward 6th. On the right it's the Optic Theatre, 533 S. Main. On the left it's the Burbank Theatre, a burlesque venue at 548 S. Main. 

 

Continuing the drive south we can read the Burbank marquee: "On Stage - In Person - Chili Pepper - Sweet and Spice."  

 

 

 

As we get closer to 6th the Art Theatre comes into view on the right at 551 S. Main St. Across 6th on the right is the Central Building, now gone. On the left it's the Santa Fe building this side of 6th and the Pacific Electric Building across the street. Both have survived.  

 

And then we cut to this look at the facade of the Follies, 337 S. Main St. Despite the burlesque show we see advertised, the narrator describes it as a "converted theatre" that's now a school teaching respectable ladies how to be more seductive using the techniques of strippers. Of course we get pro and amateur demonstrations of twirling tassels.

See the pages about the Optic Theatre, Burbank Theatre, Art Theatre and Follies Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. None of these Main St. theatre buildings have survived. 

On IMDb: "The Forbidden"

The film is available on a DVD from Something Weird Video that also includes "ECCO," a similar film. 

"Mame"

Lucille Ball and Kirby Furlong take in a New York City burlesque show in "Mame" (Warner Bros., 1974). They're at the Follies Theatre, 337 S. Main St. The decor we see is the result of S. Charles Lee's late 30s remodel of the theatre. 

 

The chorus line on the runway at the Follies. These shots are in the middle of the "Open a New Window" number near the beginning of the show as Lucy exposes the young Patrick to a variety of new experiences.

The film also features Bea Arthur, Robert Preston, Bruce Davison, Jane Connell, George Chiang and Joyce Van Patten. Gene Saks directed the film, based on the Broadway musical by Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee and Jerry Herman. That show was based on the book "Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis. The film's cinematography was by Philip Lathrop.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Follies Theatre for more information and many photos. It had opened in 1904 as the Belasco. Demolition was in 1974.   

 

 

 

We're at a tryout of a new show at a theatre in New Haven. It's a show about an astronomer. Bea Arthur, the star of this show, is onstage for the number "The Man in the Moon (is a Lady)." She's given Lucy a job as the moon girl as she's lost everything in the stock market crash. The theatre they used is the Wilshire Ebell, 4400 Wilshire Blvd. Thanks to Kevin Miller for spotting the Ebell in the film. Usually we don't see their proscenium painted red and gold. 

 

A shot to the rear of the main floor. 

 

Up in the balcony. At this point the number is going well. 

 

 

 

A nice view as lights come up behind the scrim. 

 

Something's amiss. The stage manager consults his prompt book. 

Bea killing time and asking where Lucy is. She's still in her dressing room fiddling with makeup.  

 

Yelling to the electrician: "Tell her to get her ass on that moon!"

 

 

 

The moon rises, but not elegantly. 

 

 

 

Problems on the moon. 

 

A nice look at the house curtain as it comes in. 

 

The moon girl getting fired. Bea says: "I have an astronomical discovery for you. The man in the moon is a bitch."

 

 

Patrick hitched to New Haven to see the show and tells Mame that her bit was the best part.  

 

 

They walk offstage right after the "My Best Girl" number.

See the page about the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building and many photos. The bottom of the page also has a rundown of the many films that have used the theatre.

On IMDb: "Mame"

The March 26, 1974 "Mame" premiere at the Cinerama Dome. Thanks to Kevin Miller for sharing the photo on the Mid Century Modern Facebook page. Theodora Van Runkle, the film's costume designer, designed the Easter bonnet to sit atop the dome.