The Case Of The Curious Bride - At The Airport
Then … Passengers, Rhoda Montaine amongst them, begin boarding an airplane at San Francisco Municipal Airport. (But don’t be fooled by the sign - this was filmed elsewhere).
… a vintage photo … CitySleuth came across this photo of an American Airlines Douglas DC-3 taken c. 1940 at Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California. The mountain ranges at far right are identical to that seen in the movie image above, revealing where the movie’s airport scenes were filmed.
Grand Central Air Terminal (pictured below in 1932 just 3 years after its opening) was located at 1310 Air Way in Glendale (map). It was Southern California's first commercial airport and one of its two busiest (the other being Union Air Terminal - now known as Hollywood Burbank).
… and Now, the airport had been operational for only 30 years when it closed in 1959 but the passenger building is still there today. It was in a dilapidated state when it was bought to be part of a planned new campus project by the Walt Disney Corporation; by 2016 they had restored its mission revival exterior and art deco interior to its former grandeur. Here’s a recent photo of the passenger arrivals side of the building on Air Way. Compare it to the 1932 image above
To appreciate the fine restoration by Disney, this was how the building looked in 2011. Front and back, the grand glass-paned arches and doors and windows had been covered over and the interiors were a mess.
Inside the two-story passenger waiting room Mason grabs Rhoda and asks her to duck down low in a phone booth to keep her hidden from the cops who had followed him. She proclaims her innocence to him as he calls the San Francisco Enquirer, offering them Rhoda’s story; he is betting on their front page giving her a better shake than the prosecutor. The arches in the background were the two arches on the left in the Now image, two above.
Then … The reporters enter through the main entrance from Air Way (these were the two center arches in the Now image, three above). Note the neon sign and the San Francisco Enquirer name on the side of their car - the moviemakers went to some lengths to fool the audience. The picket fence beyond the parked cars is seen in the aerial view four images above; it separated the terminal from the railroad tracks.
Then … Upon their arrival Spudsy started a diversionary fracas to further distract the two cops. He succeeds in delaying them - the reporters get their story before she is arrested.
… and Now, the passenger waiting room is now used by the Disney company as a multi-purpose event space; an elevated walkway connects offices at each end of the building at the level of the top of the arches. Both of the Then image locations above are seen in this view - The neon sign was on the arch at far left and the art deco balcony behind Spudsy is in the left corner on the far wall.
More trivia about Grand Central Air Terminal… It saw many celebrities over the years; here’s aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart there in 1931 alongside an autogyro, an interesting hybrid airplane/helicopter. Behind her is the south, runway, side of the passenger building. Charles Lindbergh piloted the nation's first regularly scheduled coast to coast flight from here. What’s more, many Hollywood movies were filmed here starring the likes of Shirley Temple, James Cagney, Joan Fontaine, Dick Powell and Ronald Reagan.
… and Now, Disney’s wonderful restoration is also on display on the south side of the building (the airplane taxiway used to be here). It looks like a great place to work for the fortunate few.