The movie opens as Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz) aims a rifle from the window of his rented room. A young couple dally on the exterior staircase of a house opposite and Franz takes direct aim at the woman and squeezes the trigger. But the rifle isn't loaded, it's a dry run by Miller to see if he has the nerve to see it through.
Then ... The couple are on the staircase of the 471 - 475 Filbert Street apartment house on Telegraph Hill (map).
and Now ... the house is still there, with a green paint job and a sturdier staircase
Then ... Later in the movie we get a glimpse of Miller's rooming house.
and Now ... this is 450 - 456 Filbert and Miller's room, where he aimed his rifle from, was upstairs on the right.
Elster has told Scottie he will be dining at Ernie's with his wife and suggests he drop in to see what she looks like. The famous Ernie's, in business for 61 years until it closed in 1995, was at 847 Montgomery Street in San Francisco (map) but these scenes were actually filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood where Hitchcock painstakingly replicated the restaurant.
People dressed up when dining out in the 1950s and Madeleine is no exception in her stunning silk gown. Hitchcock's careful use of color throughout the movie is vividly apparent here in the counterpoint between her green outfit and the plush red walls.
Then ... Scottie, sitting at the bar at far right, sneaks a peek at her across the crowded room.
... in 1961 ... here's a vintage photo of customers relaxing in Ernie's Ambrosia room. Note the same wallpaper as in the studio recreation above. Note also the wooden wainscot wrapped around the wall in both images.
Then ... the exterior of Ernie's, seen here as Scottie waits outside, was also recreated in the studio. That's a lot of work for a shot that lasts only for a few seconds but such was Hitchcock's famous attention to detail.
... in 1964 ... this vintage photo shows us how Ernie's looked when the movie was filmed and what a good reproduction Henry Bumstead, Hitchock's renowned art director, achieved.
... and Now, the building is still there but now houses offices and shops.
On their way out Madeleine serenely pauses right next to Scottie ...
... and by the time she has swept out of the restaurant, he's a goner.
Archie and Petulia took a cab to the motel from the Fairmont and afterwards she took another cab home. In both cases, the director repeated the same footage showing the cab crossing Stockton Street heading east on Broadway.
Then ... the cab on its way from the Fairmont to the motel
Then ... later, the cab leaving the motel with Petulia looking back, waving to Archie. That's the World Theater at 644 Broadway on the left.
... and Now, Broadway, looking east from Stockton. The World Theater was replaced by a retail/office building in 1985.
After checking in at the Hilton Union Square Hotel the free-spirited Petulia disregards a 'Do Not Walk On Ramp' sign and urges Archie up the narrow car ramp.
Then ... This is the ramp between the 4th and 5th floor in what is now the Hilton's Tower 3.
... and Now, it's been over 40 years but the same wall patterns are still there.
Then ... They reach the 5th floor. In another nod to technology their key activates a flashing light which guides them to their room, No. 549.
... and Now, the same location on the 5th floor of Tower 3 today. In the movie the door, now painted orange, leads directly into their room but in reality it leads into a perimeter corridor for the 5th floor rooms.
They enter the motel room but Petulia changes her mind - they are not about to become lovers after all. Archie is remarkably sanguine under the circumstances, simply telling her that she's 'a kook'.