"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"

"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"

We get several partial views of Long Beach's Rivoli Theatre, 525 Long Beach Blvd., in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (United Artists, 1963). Here it's over a bit to the right of center with part of the marquee and vertical visible. They used a YMCA that's out of the frame to the left as the police station for the fictional town of Santa Rosita. This gleeful guy has just run over Spencer Tracy's hat that was tossed out a window when he missed the hat rack. We're looking south on Long Beach Blvd. 

 

 

A detail from the shot. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for all the screenshots appearing here.  

Much later in the film we get this view of the side of the Rivoli over on the left beyond the car dealership as Tracy leaves the station to go find the loot everyone's been looking for. Stanley Kramer directed the film that also stars Jonathan Winters, Jimmy Durante, Ethel Merman, and seemingly hundreds of others. The cinematography was by Ernest Laszlo. The format is Ultra Panavision, a 70mm process using a 1.25 anamorphic lens resulting in an aspect ratio of 2.76 to 1. 

 

 

A detail from the shot. 

 

A view west on Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach with the signage of the Roxy Theatre, 127 W. Ocean Blvd., over on the far right. It's a shot from the final chase sequence just before Tracy and the the two cabs following him head out onto the Rainbow Pier. 

 

A detail from the right side of the Roxy shot.

 

"Cape Fear" is on the marquee at the State Theatre, 104 E. Ocean Blvd., as the three vehicles head out around the Rainbow Pier. Bruce Kimmel comments: 

"Well, now we know approximately when this was shot - this double bill of 'Cape Fear' and 'Six Black Horses' opened on May 16th, 1962. To put that in perspective, the film did not open until November of 1963. That's over a year of editing. Yikes. And I believe they were editing until just a few weeks before the premiere."

 

 

A detail taken from the State Theatre shot. 

Tracy, carrying the satchel with all the loot, is trying to elude his pursuers on foot when he ends up on the roof of a condemned hotel. The back of the West Coast Theatre, 333 E. Ocean Blvd., is over on the right. 

 

 

A closer look at the West Coast.  

 

 

A moment later the Arena and the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium come into view. Thanks for the screenshots, Kurt!  

See the pages about the Rivoli Theatre, the Roxy Theatre, the State Theatre. the West Coast and the Municipal Auditorium on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about these five Long Beach theatres. They've all been demolished. 

On IMDb: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"

 

Searchlights are in the sky over Hollywood for the opening of the Cinerama Dome. "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was the inaugural attraction, opening November 7, 1963 in a 70mm reserved seat engagement billed as being "in Cinerama." It had a 67 week run.

It's a Hollywood Citizen - News photo by Peter Banks. Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality spotted it on eBay and has all the data on his Noirish post #7127.

 

The Dome in 1963 with its opening attraction on the marquee. Thanks to Alison Martino for sharing the photo on her Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles where it generated lots of comments.  

 

A panoramic shot taken from the house right side of the wrap-around projection booth by Edward M. Pio Roda graces Stuart Elliot's 2013 N.Y. Times article "TCM Moves to Lure Film Buffs Out of Their Living Rooms." On the Dome's screen is the 70mm presentation of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," as part of the 2013 TCM Festival in Hollywood. In this image the screen doesn't look very big but it's actually 32' x 86' when the full size is used. 

See the pages about the Cinerama Dome on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the theatre.  The main page has some photos of the opening. See the exterior views page for additional shots taken during the "Mad World" engagement. 

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"Gone in 60 Seconds"

 The State Theatre on Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach is seen in H.B. Halicki's film "Gone in 60 Seconds" (H.B. Halicki International, 1974). 

 

 

 

The Tracy theatre on Seaside Way in Long Beach also gets its moment in the film. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for the screenshots. He notes that we also see the Palace Theatre on Pine Ave. in Long Beach. 

 

See the pages about the Tracy Theatre, the State Theatre and the Palace Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for information about those three now-vanished Long Beach film palaces.

 On IMDb: "Gone in 60 Seconds"