"Day of Reckoning"

The RKO Hillstreet Theatre at 8th & Hill is in the background behind actor Conway Tearle as we look up Hill St. in "Day of Reckoning" (MGM, 1933). We're on top of the Western Costume Building, 939 S. Broadway. In this prison drama Richard Dix is sent to a high-rise prison facility in L.A. after a bit of embezzlement.

Thanks to John Bengtson for the screenshot. It's included in his Silent Locations post "Laurel & Hardy's Liberty Rooftop" where he discusses shots from the same location used for the Laurel & Hardy film "Liberty" (1929) as well as other locations used for that film.

See the page about the RKO Hillstreet on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many photos of this 1922 vintage house designed by G. Albert Lansburgh for the Orpheum Circuit. It was demolished in 1965.

Another shot from the same scene where we're looking west  with the Trinity Auditorium, 855 S. Grand Ave., in the background. Over on the right it's the Commercial Exchange Building at 8th and Broadway. Again thanks to John Bengtson for the screenshot. See the page about the Trinity Auditorium for more about the 1914 vintage building. 

In IMDb: "Day of Reckoning"

"The 25th Man"

We see the RKO Hillstreet Theatre at 8th & Hill in "The 25th Man," a 28 minute Los Angeles Police Department video from 1962. It's on the USC Digital Library website, minus its sound. The theatre is playing "Cinderfella" with Jerry Lewis and Ed Wynn, a December 1960 release. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for spotting finding the video for inclusion in his Noirish post #43128.

See the page about the RKO Hillstreet on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many photos of this 1922 vintage house designed by G. Albert Lansburgh for the Orpheum Circuit. It was demolished in 1965.

"The War of the Worlds"

Early in the George Pal production "The War of the Worlds" (Paramount, 1953) we get this shot of a guy up on a ladder changing marquee letters as a Martian spaceship plunges through the atmosphere. Nice, but it's something on the Paramount back lot.  The film, directed by Byron Haskin, stars Gene Barry and Ann Robinson.

Our real theatre views happen much later in the film as the aliens get closer to Los Angeles and we evacuate the city. Here, in a shot looking south on Hill St. taken from atop the Hill St. tunnel we get a bit of the Mason Theatre stagehouse over on the left. It's the structure with the peaked roof and smoke vents atop.

The theatre's entrance was actually over at 127 S. Broadway. See the Mason Theatre page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many views of the entrance as well as interior shots.  The Mason was demolished in 1956.

As we clear out the city there's this shot looking east on 8th St. At the far right we get some of the signage for the RKO Hillstreet, a building that would be demolished in 1965.

Down between Hill and Broadway is a view of the Olympic Theatre, 313 W. 8th St. Of note here is that this is the first image to surface with the theatre's current vertical sign on the building. Both the style of the sign and its location had been changed.

Previously there had been two verticals, one at either end of the facade.  The marquee we see is a jazzed up version of the one that was on the theatre in 1927. It would get changed out for an angled one sometime before 1970 -- we see the new version in "The Omega Man."

Another shot from near the end of the film showing the Olympic's vertical. Again we're looking west toward Broadway. See the Olympic Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the theatre. The building is still around but now converted to retail.

On IMDb: "The War of the Worlds"

"Down To Earth"

For film enthusiasts, the high point in "Down To Earth" (Columbia, 1947), an  otherwise dreary film, is driving east on 8th St. past the RKO Hillstreet where another Hayworth film, "Gilda" is playing. We see the theatre (and other downtown L.A. nighttime sights) out the back window of her taxi via a process shot.  

The eleven minutes of background footage that Columbia shot on May 8, 1946 is a great tour of a vanished civilization -- and much more interesting than the completed Hayworth film.  The footage is on Internet Archive as "Downtown Los Angeles Streets." It also appears as a post on the site Ultra Swank.

There's also a black and white version on Internet Archive as "Downtown Los Angeles..." with some of the same views but also many other theatres including the Globe, Arcade, Cameo, Roxie and Broadway not seen in the color footage. It's also on Facebook from Flashbak. Thanks to Torr Leonard for spotting it.  A colorized version of 40 seconds of the Broadway footage is on Facebook as a post from Vintage Los Angeles.

A look back at the RKO Hillstreet, 8th & Hill,  as we continue east on 8th.  See the page about the RKO Hillstreet Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many photos. It was built in 1922 by the Orpheum circuit, a design of G. Albert Lansburgh.  Sadly, it was demolished in the 60s.

The Hillstreet receding into the distance. That's a bit of the Olympic Theatre marquee on the right.

 A bit more of the Olympic appearing as we get closer to Broadway.

About as much of the Olympic Theatre, 313 W. 8th St., as we're going to see on this pass.

A quick look at the 8th St. side of the Tower Theatre building after crossing Broadway. The newsstand was on the extreme end of the building -- that's the alley at the left.   We also get a look at 7th St.

Another look at the Olympic marquee in the "Down To Earth" footage on a return trip heading west on 8th. The marquee at the time was  a much flashier confection than the one on the theatre in the 70s and beyond. See the Olympic Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many photos of the building. It's still there on 8th but now used for retail.

Later there are quick looks at all the theatres on the east side of Broadway including the Orpheum, Tower Theatre (again) and the Globe. In the shot above it's the Tower (at the time called the Music Hall) and the Rialto Theatre beyond.

The footage:

You can go to full screen by hitting the icon on the lower right.

Also: Nicole Wonders has taken the 11 minutes of footage and done a modern trip through downtown Los Angeles on the same streets for a time travel comparison. Thanks to Hillsman Wright of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation for sharing the link to this time travel adventure. Check it out on YouTube:
| part one  | part two  |  part three  |

On IMDb: "Down To Earth"