Fog Over Frisco - Arlene's Secret
Then ... During the movie's opening credits the background shot of waterfront piers with fog-shrouded Angel Island looming in the distance establishes San Francisco as the setting. It shows Pier 35 (on the right) and Pier 37 as seen from from Telegraph Hill from the base of Coit Tower which had its grand opening on Aug 3, 1933, six months before Fog Over Frisco was filmed (map).
... and Now, the view from the same spot today is obscured by trees (when will the city trim them?!) but an elevator ride to the top of the tower reveals the view (is that why the trees are never trimmed?). Pier 35 is still there but Pier 37 has been removed, clearing space for a marina, part of the mishmash retail repurpose of Pier 39 in 1978.
... a vintage photo ... here's a 1952 photo of the same piers. This too was taken from the top of Coit Tower.
And so the movie begins ... Arlene Bradford (Bette Davis) loves and lives the good life. She introduces her doting fiancé Spencer Carleton (Lyle Talbot) and her stepsister Val Bradford (Margaret Lindsay) to Bello's, her favorite dance club, lighting up the screen when she sweeps in, reveling in the attention.
But she has a secret; she's in on a scheme with club owner Jake Bello to fence stolen bonds. Not that she needs the money - the very thrill of it all is what turns her on. While she's in the club Bello slips more bonds into the glove box of her parked car. (Look at that array of dials! CitySleuth misses those long-gone days when the world was analog and autos were easy to fix. Don't you just love the clock in the glove box's door?).
Her fiancé works at her stepfather's bank. She is using him to illicitly convert the bonds to cash. Appalled that she's brought another batch, he protests, but melts under a smoldering 10 second cluster of kisses that would never have gotten past the censor but for the movie's release shortly before the 1930s production code was enforced. Spencer has no chance - how are the smitten fallen!