When Eleanor leaves the doctor's office she pretends not to notice the cop assigned to follow her; he's hoping she will lead him to her husband Frank.
Then ... the cop is leaning on the cable car signal booth on the corner of California and Powell. The Fairmont Hotel spans the block up the hill on the right and Grace Cathedral is two blocks up on Taylor, its second tower yet to be constructed.
... and Now, the signal booth is dilapidated but still in use, controlling the two cable car lines that cross at the junction. The Fairmont Hotel looks the same from here, as does the wall and fire hydrant on the corner at left, but a tree mostly blocks the since completed Grace Cathedral.
Then ... The cop tails Eleanor down Powell Street on the block between California and Pine. The tall building on the left down the road is the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. Way in the distance are the steep streets on the north face of Potrero Hill.
...and Now, the hotel is still there but hidden behind the modern building... Potrero Hill is still visible from here.
Then ... The cop follows her down the road but this was filmed in a different neighborhood. She's walking south on Montgomery Street between Vallejo and Green on Telegraph Hill; who knows why, perhaps the moviemakers preferred the style of these particular houses.
... and Now, the houses remain unchanged except for those on the corner of Green Street up on the left.
Then ... When she gets to town she suddenly plants a kiss on a complete stranger then hurries off, leaving the cop to apprehend the wrong, albeit appreciative, guy, thinking it's her husband, the man they are looking for. This is Market Street in front of the old Emporium, now the Westfield Center.
... and Now, looking across Market from the same spot; the Stockton Street junction is across the road..
1. View From The Living Room
Then ... In the movie, the exterior view across Irene's patio is a photo backdrop used on the studio soundstage to set the location. In the real apartment at 1360 Montgomery #10 that view would look east across the Bay towards Yerba Buena Island but close examination of the movie view reveals that, although similar, it's different. Finding the explanation was a challenge, and here it is ...
Below is a recent photo taken from the end of Alta Street, a cul-de-sac close to Irene's 1360 Montgomery Street apartment, looking not east, but north across the Bay to Angel Island. This doesn't match the movie view above either but ...
... if this view is reversed (below), we have a match! The contours of Angel Island match perfectly as does the multi-story white building, now with added new structures on either side. So, the director had a photo taken from Alta and reversed it for use in the studio set. Why not use the real view? Who knows, but anals like CitySleuth notice such things.
2. View From The Bedroom
Then ... This looks out across the lower part of Montgomery to where the upper Filbert Steps begin.
... and Now, the building just visible on the left is a private residence now but in 1947 it housed the Shadows Restaurant, a favorite of Bogart and Bacall during filming ...
... and perhaps while dining there they lit up using one of their matchboxes?
3. View From The Front Door
Then ... Irene's view through the apartment's front door peephole when she hears the doorbell ring shows, behind the visitor, the 3rd floor hallway and the stairs leading up to the top floor.
... and Now, exactly the same.
Parry has decided to undergo plastic surgery to drastically alter his appearance. That way he improves his chances of avoiding arrest while seeking out the real killer of his wife. He befriends a cab driver who just happens to know an off-register surgeon.
The surgeon's address is not precisely defined in the movie - the address mentioned, 21 Plum Alley, is fictitious. However, it can be inferred from the street scene below where Parry is hanging around outside the surgeon's address waiting for the appointed time. A passerby walks up a hill which is so steep that the sidewalk is a staircase.
Then ... This is the corner of Kearny looking down from Vallejo to Broadway (map). The first vertical neon sign down the road on the left corner at Broadway belongs to the popular Vanessi's Restaurant, at that site since 1936.
... and Now, there is remarkably little change, but Vanessi's moved to Nob Hill in 1986 and eventually closed down in 1997.
The surgeon, Dr. Walter Coley (Houseley Stevenson, in a wonderful cameo) and the cabbie (Tom D'Andrea) are ready and waiting for Parry when he enters the house - cash changes hands and he goes under the knife. Don't you love that cigarette!
Then ... Irene and Parry, bandaged from his facial surgery, have a cozy dinner in her apartment on a rainy night. This view is taken from her patio (but it was filmed on a studio set).
... and Now, the real patio at the back of apartment 10, 1360 Montgomery. Note the original art deco railing with it's integral plant-pot holders, and look here to see this railing recreated on the studio interior set.
Then ... The camera swings out from the patio to reveal a view of some cottages, one of them with a distinctive scalloped gable, obviously a background photograph used in the studio to set the location.
This is not the actual view from the apartment patio, which faces east. So, where was this photo taken? Finding it was fun and fell into place when I came across this undated archival photograph (below) of two cottages on the steep Filbert steps, No. 228 (on the left) and No. 226 Filbert. These are the same cottages!
But wait a minute, the slope is wrong and doesn't match the movie view... but, hang on, if the photo is reversed (below), we have a match! Compare it to the movie view two pictures above.
OK, we've figured that out, but where was the movie photograph taken from? It turns out it was taken facing north looking across the Filbert Steps from the rear of 40 Alta Street, close to 1360 Montgomery (map). That photo was then reversed and used in the movie. Below left is a recent photo taken from there and next to it the image reversed. Comparing with the Then image above, the scalloped gable is still there and the house with the green roof can also be seen (click the image to enlarge).
... and Now
from the balcony of Apt 3, 40 Alta St The same image reversed