The police are under intense pressure from the media and the public to solve the case. A meeting is convened in the Mayor's office in City Hall (map) to review where the investigation stands.
Then ... The view from the Mayor's office seems, at first glance, to be the correct one - it looks across Civic Plaza to the corner of McAllister and Larkin Streets.
... and Now, this is the matching office view today, but it's not the mayor's office, which is room 200 in the center of the east side of city hall. Instead this office is room 208 on the same corridor but at the north end of the building. CitySleuth has concluded that the office scene was filmed in a studio using a photo view taken from room 208.
... from 1955 ... in this contemporaneous vintage photo taken from City Hall we see on the left the State Building on McAllister, on the right the building that is now the Asian Art Museum on Larkin and between them the Astor Hotel with the large billboard, all clearly visible in the mayor's view above. The tower in the distance is 100 McAllister, now occupied by the UC Law College.
Police psychiatrist James Kent (Richard Kiley) makes a plea to the administration to better understand and preemptively reach out to the mentally ill with psychiatric help instead of locking them up after the fact. His impassioned words fall on deaf ears.
Frank used to work as a window dresser in a downtown department store, Hart & Winston. Eleanor has heard that he has sent a letter to her via his boss so she goes to the store to get it.
Then ... When she approaches the store she first checks out a window display.
... and Now, The scene was filmed at the Emporium at 845 Market, between 4th and 5th Streets. It was a window display back then but these two pillars now flank a doorway entrance to the building.
Then ... when she leaves the main entrance of the store we see, across the road, Roos Brothers, the smaller white store on the corner of Stockton Street.
... and Now, what was Roos Brothers was recently occupied by the Virgin store and currently the Forever 21 store. But look at those streetlights! They're the same! Don't you just love it?!
... in 1956 ... this vintage photo shows the Emporium as it looked when the movie was filmed. The window display was under the arch at the right end of the building, abutting Hales.
... and Now, the building today has retained the same exterior appearance but is now the San Francisco Westfield Center. The fanciful 'E' logos above the main entrance and on the side of the building are long gone.
On arrival in San Francisco, Johnny Ross takes a cab to the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill. In the panorama below the cab has just passed the Fairmont Hotel (center), crossed California Street and is turning into the Mark Hopkins' tiny courtyard. The Pacific Union Club is partially visible at far left and the Brocklebank Apartments are behind the Fairmont; both were prominently featured in the 1958 movie Vertigo.
Then ...
Then ... Ross is expecting a message at the front desk and, surprised it's not there, he turns and leaves, giving us a view of the lobby.
... and Now, the lobby is remodelled but the magnificent chandeliers, reflected in the mirrored wall above, are still there.
Then ... As he leaves the hotel in his cab a doorman tips somebody off that Ross is in town. The cab is seen below heading east on California past the Top O' The Mark entrance.
... and Now, the Top O' The Mark lounge continues to be a popular destination with its sweeping views of the city. Note the towering Bank of America building down California, still under construction (above) when the movie was filmed. In both views the ubiquitous cable car adds a timeless continuity to the scene.
As the credits roll, the movie opens with mob henchmen closing in on informant Johnny Ross (Pat Renella).
Ross hides in his Chicago office as the mob approach from its outdoor patio. This scene according to the director Peter Yates on the Blu-ray DVD commentary was filmed at the Warner Brothers studio (thanks to reader Luis who pointed this out).
... and this is the office (below) as seen by the thugs from the patio.
Then ... Ross slows his pursuers with a smoke bomb and makes his escape from the building's garage. It was set in Chicago but this was filmed in San Francisco - he is on the basement level of the garage at the 450 Sutter Street Medical Building.
... and Now, it's still very recognizable 45 + years later.
Then ... Ross roars at high speed out of the garage exit at the end of Chelsea Place, an alley off Bush between Stockton and Powell Streets (incidentally, just steps away from where Sam Spade's partner Miles Archer was done in by Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon) ...
... and Now, pretty much the same.
Then ... He mounts the narrow sidewalk and tries to take out one of his pursuers who in turn takes a pot-shot at him before jumping into a doorway to avoid being run down.
... and Now, the view up Chelsea Place today to Bush Street at the top. The well-known Masa's restaurant can be seen across Bush.
... and Now, below, this recent picture shows scars on the wall where the fleeing car scraped by - can they be the same ones after more than 40 years? The doorway at far right is the one the gunman backed into as the car went by.