"Volcano"

In "Volcano" (20th Century Fox, 1997) Tommy Lee Jones, working for the Office of Emergency Management, is in MacArthur Park arguing with a DWP guy about a recent accident where people were injured. The DWP says it was no big deal, just a steam leak. Tommy's supposed to be on vacation but wants to investigate. In the background we get a view of the Westlake Theatre, then and now housing a swap meet. 

 

Another view of the theatre as Tommy walks away, determined to find some better answers.

 

See the pages about the Westlake Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It's located at 638 S. Alvarado St., just north of Wilshire.  

 

In a shot looking to the block south of Wilshire we get a view of the Alvarado Theatre at 710 S. Alvarado St. It was later called the Park. It's the white building to the left with the two triangles on top, now unrecognizable after a gutting and remodel into retail space. See the page about the Alvarado/Park Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. 

 

Tommy consults with scientist Anne Heche who advises that what they've got is a geological event of unknown proportions. The temperature of the lake in the park is four degrees above normal. Later strange bubbling is reported at the La Brea Tar Pits. The film also features Gaby Hoffman, Don Cheadle, Jacqueline Kim, Keith David and John Corbett. Mick Jackson directed. The cinematography was by Theo Van de Sande.  

 

A look east to the LACMA campus while the situation is still almost normal. It's a shot done from the Peterson Auto Museum. 

 

That evening Tommy and his daughter, still trying to go on vacation, encounter manhole covers blowing off and steam geysers on Wilshire in front of LACMA. That's the Robert O. Anderson Building at the center of the image, renamed the Art of the Americas Building in 2007. 

 

LACMA's Leo S. Bing Theatre on fire! Lava was pouring out of the Tar Pits and balls of fire were streaking the sky. Richard DuVal notes: "The production team recreated that stretch of Wilshire on an abandoned McConnell Douglas aircraft plant in Torrance, CA."

 

 

 

Gaby Hoffman, playing Tommy's daughter has an injured leg. He tries calling for help while Cedars-Sinai nurse Jacqueline Kim comes over. 

 

 

A view of the flames from Fairfax. On the left that's the May Co., now the Academy Museum. Beyond it's the low-rise May Co. home appliances/discount store, LACMA's Ahmanson Building and LACMA's Robert O. Anderson Building.    

 

Most of LACMA is in ashes with more ash falling from the sky. We get a Heironomous Bosch exhibit advertised at LACMA's Anderson Building. The Bing Theatre? Well before it burned it was in the area behind that white truck. That's Tommy carrying his daughter. 

 

 

 

An escalation of the disaster as lava flows west on Wilshire. Tommy mobilizes crews to save the west side by containing the flow at Fairfax. It involves concrete barriers and tipped-over fire trucks. A success? Of course!   

See the page about the Bing Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. 

 On IMDb: "Volcano"

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"The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!"

Leslie Nielson and Priscilla Presley see "Platoon" at the Vagabond in David Zucker's "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" (Paramount, 1988). Thanks to the site It's Filmed There for the screenshot. 

See the page about the Vagabond Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It's now called the Hayworth and located at 2511 Wilshire Blvd. 

On IMDb: "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!"  

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"Perry Mason: The Case of the Ancient Romeo"

We're at a rehearsal for a production of "Romeo and Juliet" in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Ancient Romeo" (May 1962). The theatre is the Ritz at 5214 Wilshire Blvd. Thanks to Claudia Mullins for spotting it in the episode. She provided all but two of the screenshots seen here.

 

Rex Morrow as the theatre troupe's director. Note the sunburst design on the doors.

 

 

 

A down right preshow pep talk with Patricia Huston, Morrow, and Kendrick Huxham. It's a shot from IMDb. 

 

 

Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale watching the show.   

 

 

The director dies after a fight scene. Time for an investigation.  

 

 

A look down from the balcony. It's a shot on the episode's IMDb page.  

 

 

A view upstage right.  

 

 

Downstage right in front of the dimmerboard with Rex Reason discussing a sword used in the scene.  

 

William Hopper as Paul Drake, watching on a spiral stair that was brought in for this show.  

 

 

At the lockrail bringing in a crucial curtain.  The rigging equipment was removed prior to the theatre's demolition and ended up being installed at the Variety Arts Theatre downtown.   

 

 

The position of the tormentors results in a determination that a certain actress couldn't have seen what she claimed.   

 

 

In the alley after the wrap up. Thanks, Claudia!  

See the page about the Ritz Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It was a 1,660 seat design by Lewis A. Smith that opened as the West Coast Ritz in 1926. After 1929 it was called the Fox Ritz and just the Ritz after Fox West Coast dropped it from their circuit. It was demolished in 1977.  

On IMDb: "Perry Mason: The Case of the Ancient Romeo" 

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"Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman"

We get a short montage as a marginal singing cowboy played by Lee Bowman rises to become a major singing radio star in "Smash Up: The Story of a Woman" (Universal-International, 1947). This shot features an unidentified theatre. 

At the beginning of the film we see that his wife, played by Susan Hayward, was headed for quite a singing career herself. But after her marriage as the husband's career blossomed she felt neglected and started serious drinking. Also featured are Marsha Hunt, Eddie Albert, Carl Esmond and Carleton G. Young. It was written by John Howard Lawson, Lionel Wiggam and Dorothy Parker. Stewart Heisler directed. The cinematography was by Stanley Cortez. 

The second image we get is of the Four Star, on the Miracle Mile at 5112 Wilshire Blvd. See the page about the Four Star Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. 

The last marquee we see in the montage is a doctored view of the Beverly on Beverly Dr. in Beverly Hills. The marquee actually had the theatre's name above the three readerboards. See the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Beverly Theatre for photos and more information.

On IMDb: "Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman"   The full film can be seen on YouTube.  

"One Way Street"

Near the beginning of "One Way Street" (Universal-International, 1950) James Mason turns from Citrus Ave. and we get this view of the Four Star Theatre at 5112 Wilshire Blvd. He's a mob doctor who has run away from boss Dan Duryea's nearby apartment with $200,000 and Dan's girl, Märta Torén. They end up in a small beachfront village in Mexico. 

Also featured are William Conrad, Basil Ruysdael, Rodolfo Acosta, King Donovan, Emma Roldán and George J. Lewis. Hugo Fregonese directed. The cinematography was by Maury Gertsman. The full film is on YouTube.

 

In the center of these images, down in the next block, we get the vertical sign for the Fox Ritz at 5214 Wilshire. Note the dark roofsign on the stagehouse of the Ritz, seen just to the left of the speed limit sign. In the upper right that structure with the tower is the E. Clem Wilson Building at Wilshire and La Brea. 

 

See the pages about the Four Star Theatre and the Fox Ritz on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about these two Miracle Mile theatres. They've both been demolished. 

 

 

 

 

A process shot as James Mason drives on Wilshire.  

 

 

 

Jack Elam pops up from behind the seat. Part of that 200 grand is his. 

 

 

 

Märta drives as the two guys fight in the back seat. One gets killed. And it isn't James. He doesn't think his time is up yet. 

On IMDb: "One Way Street"   

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"Chaos: The Manson Murders"

A fine view east on Wilshire Blvd. in 1967. It's from footage used in the Errol Morris documentary "Chaos: The Manson Murders" (Netflix, 2025). On the right it's the United Artists Theatre Circuit's Four Star Theatre, running the Peter Yates film "Robbery." Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the theatre and getting the screenshot. 

"Robbery," which was advertised as "The Robbery" on the theatre's signage and in some directory ads, opened November 10, 1967. It was initially a single feature but was still running in mid-December with "The Slender Thread" added as a co-feature.  

The theatre was at 5112 Wilshire, on the Miracle Mile. See the page about the Four Star Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about this early 30s vintage theatre, demolished in 2014.

On IMDb: "Chaos: The Manson Murders" 

 

This Wilshire Blvd. footage seen in "Chaos" also appears as a 3:42 clip on YouTube from Producers Library.  

 

 

The November 10, 1967 ad for "Robbery" that appeared in the L.A. Times. 

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"The Idolmaker"

The audience is getting impatient before a rock concert in Taylor Hackford's "The Idolmaker" (United Artists, 1980). 

 

The film is based on the life of producer and rock promoter Bob Marcucci. It features Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Tovah Feldshuh, Paul Land, Maureen McCormick and Joe Pantoliano. The cinematography was by Adam Holender. David L. Snyder was the art director. Thanks to David for noting that major scenes in the film were shot at the Fox Wilshire in Beverly Hills.

 

A look toward the stage. Peter Gallagher is the attraction but he's a beginning rock and roll star and is nervous about going on. His character's stage name is Caesare.

 

The Fox Wilshire Theatre is standing in for a theatre in the New York area. Peter Snyder notes that it was supposed to be the Brooklyn Paramount. The Fox had closed as a film house in 1978 and at the time of this shoot was in transition. It would get a renovation in 1981 by the Nederlander organization with the auditorium getting a substantially darker look. Head to the Fox Wilshire/Saban Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many views of the theatre, now mostly used as a concert venue.  

 

Back in a dressing room. 

 

 

A balcony shot. 

 

 

Finally getting onstage. 

 

A wider view to the rear of the house. 

 

 

The show begins. 

 

Another shot to house right. This image is one that appears on IMDb.  

 

 

 

The girls are getting excited and rush the stage. The show is stopped. 

 

 

 

Back on stage again. 

 

 

They go on the road, taking the show to Memphis. For the exterior of the Memphis Civic Auditorium they used the Trinity Auditorium, on Grand Ave. between 8th and 9th.  

 

 

A look farther south on the facade reveals some sentiment against musicians coming down from New York. We are shown a newspaper story referring to them as carpetbaggers.  

 

See the page about the Trinity Auditorium on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more information about the building. 

 

 

When we go inside the "Memphis Civic" we're actually back at the Fox Wilshire. There weren't any lobby shots earlier in the film when it was standing in for a New York area theatre.

Ray Sharkey and Tovah Feldshuh in a heated discussion. 

 

 

 

The set for the Memphis show. 

 

 

 

A Fox Wilshire dressing room for the Memphis Civic. 

 

 

 

For the Memphis scenes the Fox Wilshire is lit quite differently. We see only the spectators. No light on the walls and no views of the proscenium this time. 

 

 

Yes, he wins them over and the show is a success. But Peter's character is fed up and decides he needs a new agent.

On IMDb: "The Idolmaker" 

 

Constructing the Memphis Civic set onstage at the Fox Wilshire. Thanks to David L. Snyder, the film's art director, for sharing this photo from his collection. He comments: 

"This is how I was able to double the Fox Theatre location for the Brooklyn Paramount and the Memphis Civic Auditorium. At that time a developer had plans to demolish the theater and replace it with a 'glass box' highrise. The City of BH was all for it and to advance the plan, they demanded we obtain a Building Permit in addition to the Filming Permit. 

 

"Once we had approval the City sent over a building inspector who demanded I make revisions to the set based on the city's Building Code. During this period, preservationists prevailed, and the Fox was landmarked and saved. All the above is my 1980 memory of the events."

 

Cast and crew on the Fox Wilshire stage after shooting the Memphis scene. Thanks to David L. Snyder,  for adding this photo as a comment to a post about the theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page.