"The Executioner: Part II"

We get this drive-by shot of the Pantages, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., in "The Executioner: Part II" (21st Century Distribution, 1984). James Bryan directed and photographed this hunt for a masked serial killer. Featured are Christopher Mitchum, Aldo Ray, Antoine John Mottet and Renee Harmon.  

 

Thanks to Eric Schaefer for spotting the theatres in the film and getting the 13 screenshots seen here. 

 

 

 

A great shot of the Hollywood Pacific running "Jaws 3-D." The theatre, at 6433 Hollywood Blvd., opened in 1928 as the Warner Hollywood.   

 

 

 

Across the street in this shot it's the Fox, 6508 Hollywood Blvd. It opened as the Iris in 1918. 

 

 

The entrance to the X Theatre, a twin operation located at 5959 Hollywood Blvd.  

 

 

Looking east from the X. This side of the boxoffice is the entrance to the X1.

 

 

 

We're not in Hollywood anymore. The building we're in isn't recognizable at this point. 

 

With this look across at the side wall of the auditorium it's revealed that we're at the Variety Arts Theatre, 940 S. Figueroa St. It opened in 1924 as The Playhouse, in the building constructed as a new home for the women's group the Friday Morning Club. 

 

A look down at the main floor at the Variety Arts.  

 

 

 

On the main floor with a look back toward the booth. 

 

 

A shot from the stage left dressing rooms. He's not alone onstage. 

 

Looking around.  

 

 

 

A backdrop hung upstage at the Variety Arts. 

 

Turning around as the drop flies out. Thanks, Eric!

See the pages about the Hollywood Pantages, the Warner/Hollywood Pacific, the Fox Hollywood, the X Theatre and the Variety Arts on the Los Angeles Theatres site for historical information about the buildings and many, many photos.

On IMDb: "The Executioner: Part II"

"Body Double"

The plot for our leading man to be a witness to a murder in Brian De Palma's "Body Double" (Columbia, 1984) begins at the Callboard Theatre, 8451 Melrose Place. 

Aspiring actor Craig Wasson is the dupe. He just caught his girlfriend in bed with another guy. It's her apartment so he needs a place to stay. Gregg Henry offers him a chance to house sit at the Chemosphere House -- and watch interesting action of a neighbor lady through a telescope. Melanie Griffith and Deborah Shelton are the two female leads. The cinematography was by Stephen H. Burum.   

 

 

 

Craig begins to understand that he's been set up by Gregg to witness a murder when watching TV and he sees a promo for the film "Holly Does Hollywood" starring Melanie Griffith's character Holly Body. He sees Melanie doing the same moves that he's seen her double rehearsing in the apartment through the telescope. Holly's film is having its "World Premiere" at the X Theatre, 5959 Hollywood Blvd.

  

 

A view of the theatre on the TV promo. Thanks to Tommy Bernard for spotting it in the film and getting this screenshot. See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the X Theatre for a bit of history and a few photos.

On IMDb: "Body Double"

"Refinements in Love"

The Carlos Tobalina film "Refinements in Love" (Hollywood International Pictures, 1971) gives us what you'd expect from this low budget adult filmmaker plus views of his three L.A. theatres. Here we're at the Mayan Theatre, 1038 S. Hill St. 

 

Heading to Hollywood we get footage of the acts he had hired for a sidewalk show to promote his film "I Am Curious Tahiti" at the Las Palmas Theatre at 1642 Las Palmas Ave., a half block south of Hollywood Blvd. Thanks to Scott Favareille for spotting the theatre in the film.

 

 A marquee shot.

 

Dancers and a drummer. 

 

The fire dance. 

 

A last look from across the street. See the page about the Las Palmas on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the building. 

 

We head back to the Mayan again for several more facade views but we don't see anything of the interior. But the story is that he made a number of his films inside the theatre. 

 

A look at the "Fabulous Mayan" from across the street.  

 

Another marquee shot to end our visit. On the far right note the cross atop the vertical sign at the Belasco Theatre during its church days.

See the pages about the Mayan Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site. It opened in 1927 as a legit theatre specializing in musical comedies. Since the late 1980s it's been a nightclub. 

 

 

It's back to Hollywood to end the film's theatre tour at another Tobalina operation: the X Theatre, a twin at 5959 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

Suspicious guys going inside. 

 

It's a bust! Several employees are getting arrested. 

 

Heading to the booth to get the print. 

 

Off to jail. On the left that's the World Theatre, 6025 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

Another street view to the west. See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the X Theatre for a bit of history and a few more photos.

On IMDb: "Refinements in Love"

"Foxes"

Jodie Foster and her teenage friends live in the Valley, yet somehow they end up walking by the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood on their way to school in Adrian Lyne's "Foxes" (United Artists, 1980). The film about drugs, sex and growing up in L.A. also features Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan, Kandice Stroh, Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid and Lois Smith.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Ivar Theatre for more about the building. It's a small legit house, now used by the L.A. Film School,  that opened in 1951. 

The girls say they're going to a concert at the Shrine Auditorium. We get lots of shots in a parking lot, a lobby area, and of a group performing onstage. But none of it is identifiable as the Shrine. It could have been shot anywhere. See the main page about the Shrine Auditorium on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a list of many films where the building actually appears.

One of the young ladies goes missing later in the film and we go to Hollywood looking for her. In this shot looking west we get a view in the distance of the madly flashing vertical of the Pix Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd. It had opened as a legit house called the Music Box in 1926 and is now a music venue called the Fonda Theatre. See the Music Box page for many photos.

That red X hiding behind the palm trees on the far right is the sign for the X Theatre at 5959 Hollywood Blvd. See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the X Theatre for a bit of history and a few photos.   We only get a sliver of it here but just beyond the X is the vertical for the World Theatre, 6025 Hollywood Blvd.

On IMDb: "Foxes"

"The Canyons"

"Do you really like movies?... When's the last time you went to see a movie in a theatre?... A movie that really meant something to you?" asks Lindsey Lohan in Paul Schrader's "The Canyons" (IFC Films, 2013). The film, written by Bret Easton Ellis, is a thriller about some sad people on the fringes of the film business. It also features James Deen, Nolan Funk and Amanda Brooks. The cinematography was by John Paul DeFazio.

This view toward the Egyptian is one of many theatre shots seen in trailer #1 that don't appear in the actual film. The trailer is on IMDb, carrying the credit "Video by Joey Fantastico." IMDb also has later trailers including a 30s comedy take on the film, a lovely 50s style trailer and a grindhouse version. Thanks to former Egyptian head projectionist Paul Rayton for spotting the theatre and getting the screenshot.

See the pages about the Egyptian Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the 1922 vintage theatre and hundreds of photos of all areas of the building. It's located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

 

The opening credits feature a montage of desaturated shots of abandoned movie theatres. We also get a few other theatre views scattered throughout the film. This is the Grand 12 plex in New Orleans. With the big clock in the lobby, was this the inspiration for the ArcLight decor? See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the ArcLight Cinemas, 6360 Sunset Blvd., for more data on the complex.

A wide angle look at the long-closed Fox Inglewood also appears in the film's opening sequence. See the page about the Fox Inglewood on the Los Angeles Theatre site for many interior views. Shut for decades, it's a strange time capsule of Skouras-style architecture.  

 

A shot of the X Theatre from the opening sequence. Head to our page about the X Theatre for more about the building. It was at 5959 Hollywood Blvd. 

 

 

Beginning a new day in the film so we get another theatre shot. This one is the Las Palmas Theatre, 1642 N. Las Palmas Ave. See the Las Palmas page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for the history. It's now in use as a music club.

This shot of the Regent pops up in the middle of the film. The Regent, a survivor of a once vibrant theatre district on Main St., has recently been reborn as a music club. See our Regent Theatre pages for history and photos.

On IMDb: "The Canyons"