The cab driver who was shot by the policeman as he made off with the bag in the opening scene has been identified as Lefty Jenkins - "... one of the best wheelmen on the coast". The police search his rented room "at 11 Kent Street" but don't find any evidence to identify the drug ring.
Then ... The police car heads up Mason Street towards Union from Filbert.
... and Now, this view, with Angel Island is in the distance, hasn't changed appreciably in over 55 years.
Then ... They turn into a narrow cul-de-sac. This is indeed Kent Street off Mason between Union and Filbert (map). What's with all of those newspapers on the street?
...and Now, the only significant change in this view is the house at the end of the street.
Then ... They enter from Kent Street, supposedly No. 11, but actually the rear door of a building which fronts onto Union Street ...
and Now ... the rear entrance has been replaced by a garage door.
The police tell Eleanor her husband Frank, still in hiding, suffers from a heart condition and should be found to make sure he is getting his medication. This is news to her and she goes to Frank's doctor for confirmation.
Then ... The California Street cable car crests the hill and she gets off at Powell.
... and Now, the building on the left, the University Club, has occupied this site since 1908. The view today down California is dominated by modern buildings but the Bay Bridge tower can still be seen.
She enters the doctor's office in the Alta Casa apartment building at 897 California on the corner of Powell. Just down the block, at 895 California, was the Crest Garage.
Then ...
... and Now, the garage, now a parking garage, has survived but the Alta Casa building has been demolished and is still a vacant corner lot.
... a contemporaneous photo ... this 1950s photo shows the same corner as it was when the movie was filmed. The Alta Casa building is on the corner and the signs tell us that the Crest Garage doubled as a Chevron gas station and car rental (U Drive) site.
... in 1968, the Alta Casa building also showed up 18 years later in the movie 'Petulia'. The entrance used for the doctor's office is clearly seen; note too the cable car signal booth on the corner from which an operator controls the crossing of the cable car lines.
and Now (update), after decades of this corner remaining (surprisingly) an empty lot, a swanky new condominium building has been built on it and the garage site next to it. Cable cars still pass by on California and on Powell and the manned booth is still there too.
Trivia, but related - here's a 1935 news photo showing the same signal booth after it was knocked over by a reckless driver (one wonders what happened to the signal man inside), with the entrance to the Alta Casa Building behind it.
Our dogged sleuths go to the headquarters customs building at 555 Battery Street near Jackson to complain about the lax inspection that allowed the heroin to get through. The U.S. Custom House, as it is officially named, was built in 1911 at a time when government income was mostly derived from customs revenue prior to the introduction of the income tax in 1913 (map).
Then ... the building is in the Beaux Arts Classicism style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Then ... the main entrance ...
... and Now, just the same.
Then ... Inside the building, Lt. Guthrie and Inspector Quine enter the office of Chester McPhee, the Collector of Customs.
... and Now , Chester McPhee was indeed the real Collector of Customs at that time and this scene was filmed in his office, No. 321 on the third floor. The recent photo below shows the same wood panelling. Only the lettering on the door glazing has been changed.
Then ... Chester McPhee (Francis De Sales) explains that they lack the staff to check every incoming traveller. We get a better look, below, of the traditional office with its oak-panelled walls and marble fireplace.
... and Now , we can see the office looks the same after all these years. Even the desk and the chair that Quine was sitting on.
The Customs House was seismically renovated in the 1990's, involving stripping all the wall surfaces then replacing them with the original materials. Here's a picture of Chester McPhee's office after it was stripped down.
Trivia note - this office was also used for a scene in the 1983 movie 'The Right Stuff' (below) where the head of Life magazine offers the Gemini astronauts a deal for their story. (Note those same carved wall sconses on either side of the window).
Then ... In that movie, the astronauts were shown, below, in the adjacent office No. 320 after they leave No. 321, visible through the open doorway.
... and Now , room 320 today (below) looks just as it always has.
Miller visits a nearby bar and strikes up a conversation with May Nelson (Marlo Dwyer) who, comfortable with her initial impression, gives him her name and address. But when his conversation grows increasingly bizzare she rebukes him and walks away. Uh-oh.
Then ... We next see her walking unsteadily down a very steep sidewalk - the bar must have closed. She rounds the corner, enters the building and heads up to her second floor corner room. These street names are fictitious - this is actually the corner of Green Street and Montgomery Street on Telegraph Hill.
... and Now, This house is still there, address 301 - 307 Green Street. (map). The exterior has been modified but all the original doors and windows on both streets were serendipitously retained or visibly filled in, allowing the location to be identified.
She fixes herself a drink. A shot rings out and just like that May Nelson becomes the sniper's second victim.