"Vicki"

Richard Boone arrives at some seaside town in New Jersey at the beginning of "Vicki" (20th Century Fox, 1953). It was shot several blocks north of the amusement area in Ocean Park. The signage on Ocean Front Promenade for the pier and the Dome Theatre is visible in the distance. 

 

The roof sign is for Circus Gardens, which opened the year of the filming. Glen Norman comments: "The Circus Gardens, previously known as the Casino Gardens, was remodeled into the Neptune's Kingdom show building in Pacific Ocean Park. One of the few remaining structures not to be destroyed by arson, it was finally demolished in early 1975."

 

 

The next shot looks a bit farther west for a view behind the cab of the Ocean Park Municipal Auditorium. Harry Horner directed the film. Boone is a detective who will turn around and head back to New York to investigate the murder of a young glamour girl. Also starring are Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters and Elliott Reid. No, we never get back to Ocean Park.

See the pages about the Dome Theatre and the Ocean Park Municipal Auditorium on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the theatre as well as many photos.  

On IMDb: "Vicki"

"They Were On Their Honeymoon"

We get the Rosemary Theatre in Ocean Park in the background of this shot from "They Were On Their Honeymoon" (Nestor, 1915). The film stars Eddie Lyons, Lee Moran and Victoria Forde. Lyons directed. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

This was the third location for the Rosemary, opening here in 1913. After the Rosemary moved to a new location at the head of the pier around 1919 this theatre was renamed the Rialto. See our page on this Rosemary Theatre location on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more photos.

On IMDb: "They Were On Their Honeymoon"

"Number, Please?"

 Harold Lloyd, trying to capture a missing dog in the two-reeler "Number, Please?" (Hal Roach/Pathé, 1920), crouches down beside a concrete embankment that we see (in another shot) helpfully tells us we're on W. Seaside Way -- which puts us in Long Beach. We're looking east and in the distance on the left is the mansard roof of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium.

A continuation of the scene filmed on Seaside Way -- the dog has found him. See the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about the building.

The film features seaside locations in Long Beach and Ocean Park for a tale of a guy trying to win the heart of a girl who's paying too much attention to a rival. Directed by Hal Roach and Fred Newmeyer, it also features Mildred Davis (as The Girl) and Roy Brooks (as The Rival).

Another Long Beach shot -- on The Pike, again looking east. The dance hall nearest us on the left was originally a roller skating rink. Just beyond is the Strand Theatre. Way in the distance is the side wall of the Jergins Trust / State Theatre Building. Later in the 20s this view would be blocked by construction of the Ocean Center building at the west end of The Pike.

After the dog down The Pike. 

Coming back in the other direction. See the pages about the Strand Theatre and the State Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about those two now-vanished Long Beach theatres.

A shot on the Abbott Kinney Pier in Venice. We're looking toward the shore with the dance hall just out of the frame to the left.

There had been some great Ocean Park shots earlier in the film -- but not featuring theatres. At the end of the film Harold is on the beach and, looking north, we get a view of the Pickering Pleasure Pier on the south end of the Santa Monica city limits. So, we're actually in Venice. Note the stagehouse of the Rialto Theatre, a venue that was earlier used as the Rosemary Theatre -- the third of their five locations.

Another shot near the end. At the far right note a portion of a dome -- with part of the letter "D" visible. It opened in 1916 as a dance hall --  two years after this film shoot it became the Dome Theatre. It all burned in a 1924 pier fire. See the pages on this third Rosemary Theatre location and the first Dome Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for lots of information on the multiple locations using those two names.

On IMDb: "Number, Please?"

"Final Curtain"

We see the outside of the Dome Theatre in Ocean Park in Ed Wood's "Final Curtain" (1957). The theatre was closed at the time -- and getting gutted to become part of the pier area's makeover -- Pacific Ocean Park.

Thanks to Brooklyn-based theatre historian Cezar Del Valle for spotting this one. The 22 minute film was done as a pilot for a projected TV series that never happened. We do get lots of interior views but they were shot at the Forum Theatre, 4050 W. Pico Blvd.

A Forum Theatre proscenium view from "Final Curtain." No, that's not the original proscenium. It's a revamp evidently done after the theatre had closed as a film house and was doing a few legit shows.

A chandelier view at the Forum.

There are also views backstage and in the lobby at the Forum. The film is available for viewing on YouTube. The plotline has something to do with a vampire haunting a theatre after the last performance of a horror-themed play.

See the pages about the Forum Theatre and the Dome Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for photos and history.

on IMDb: "Final Curtain"

"Quicksand"

Here we're on Ocean Front Promenade in Ocean Park with Mickey Rooney and Barbara Bates in Irving Pichel's "Quicksand" (United Artists, 1950). The film also features Peter Lorre and, as the femme fatale ruining Mickey's life, Jeanne Cagney.

We're looking south. It's the Dome Theatre marquee in the foreground with the vertical sign of the Rosemary Theatre visible beyond. See the pages on the Dome Theatre and the Rosemary Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more photos and history.

Another view from "Quicksand" looking east toward the Promenade alongside the Dome Theatre. That's the stagehouse rising up at the center of the photo. The dome straight ahead marked the pier's entrance.

See Jeffrey Stanton's great "Movie Making in Venice and Ocean Park" web page for a full list of movie action on the beach.

On IMDb: "Quicksand"

"Woman on the Run"

The exterior of the Dome Theatre in Ocean Park appears in Norman Foster's "Woman on the Run" (Universal-International, 1950). Although set in San Francisco, the amusement park sequences at the end were filmed in Ocean Park. Thanks to the website Reel SF for this screenshot. They have several pages discussing the film's locations.

See the page about the Dome Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more photos and a history.

We also see the Star Theatre in the background during a walk out on the pier with Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe. See the Star Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a bit more information. 

On IMDb: "Woman on the Run"  The full film is on Internet Archive.

"Just Rambling Along"

 Stan Laurel stars in "Just Rambling Along," a 1918 Hal Roach/Pathé one reeler filmed on and around the pier in Ocean Park. Here near the beginning we get a view looking north toward the stagehouse of the third location of the Rosemary Theatre. The film is on You Tube.

After the Rosemary moved to a new location at the head of the pier around 1919 this theatre was renamed the Rialto. See our page on this third Rosemary Theatre location on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more photos.

On IMDb: "Just Rambling Along"