Within days Alan and Victoria are married and off to San Francisco for a reunion with Karin's son who is too young to know that his mother is an impostor. Trivia note - during the making of the movie Richard Basehart and Valentina Cortese, who played Alan and Victoria, really did fall for each other and were married shortly afterwards.
Then ... Their train pulls in supposedly at the station in San Francisco, but this footage is from somewhere else ...
... and Now, this is actually Union Station in Los Angeles, seen below in a recent photo. Note the same roof overhangs, angling upward.
And here is an aerial view of how Union Station, which opened in 1939 in the northeast corner of downtown Los Angeles, looks today. The station has a Spanish Mission inspired exterior and Art Deco Streamline Moderne interiors, reflecting the popular tastes at that time.
Then ... The composited panorama below shows them greeting the young boy in the station. Standing in the background is their rather stern-looking housekeeper, Margaret (Fay Baker). Shades of 'Rebecca'! (click image to enlarge).
Reader Sean Beougher provided CitySleuth with details on this location. The scene was filmed at an indoor/outdoor set called “The Train Shed” on the old 20th Century Fox backlot, now part of Century City in Los Angeles. It is described in a coffee table book about the history of the studio, called "20th Century Fox: A Century of Entertainment" which included this set photo taken before the shoot. The display board on the floor includes director Robert Wise’s name , with the description “INT. S.F. TRAIN STATION”. Note the papers and hanging photos on the News Stand - they match up exactly in the movie.
Then ... Their arrival in San Francisco is also announced by this night vista, taken from Twin Peaks, of an arrow-straight Market Street leading to San Francisco Bay.
... and Now, the same view today is even more scintillating. The Bay Bridge now has illuminated suspension cables, the City Hall dome at far left is lit up too and the eclipse of San Francisco's docklands is apparent from Oakland's brightly lit waterfront across the Bay.
Following up on Sullivan's tip Eleanor and Leggett embark on a round of Navy stores. These were real San Franciscan locations, three on the Embarcadero and one nearby on Market Street.
Then ... Their first stop is at Vic's Navy Tailors at 110 S. Embarcadero between Mission and Howard.
... and Now, viewed from the same spot, looking south towards the Bay Bridge, the storefronts on this block have been rebuilt and the piers across the Embarcadero have been demolished. The Hotel Griffon is down the block next to the Embarcadero YMCA.
Then ... Then on to Gus Kroesen's at 506 Market Street near the Battery Street intersection.
... and Now, this block has seen dramatic change having been replaced by a modern highrise office building.
... from 1939 ... in this vintage photo we see what the block used to look like - the tailor shop is a couple of stores along from Battery, the one with the awning.
Then ... No luck yet so they move on to Frank's Naval Tailor at 124 S. Embarcadero, on the same block as Vic's, their first stop (note the 'Wines - Liquors' sign down the block, the same one seen in the Vic's shot). This view is to the north towards the Ferry Building.
... and Now, the recent view shows a remodelled block but the Ferry Building is still there, across the street to the right. The Boulevard restaurant is at the end of this block.
Then ... As they approach the fourth store we see the Ferry Building through its window some blocks in the distance and a hotel sign just ahead which reads 'Hotel Colchester Apartments'. The Colchester was at 259 Embarcadero on the block between Jackson and Oregon. But this scene was filmed in a studio using a rear projection to virtually set the location of the store, meant to be at the corner of Jackson and the Embarcadero.
... from Thieves Highway ... In 1949 the San Francisco movie Thieves Highway included location footage of the Colchester Hotel. The panning camera captured this panorama showing the same sign above the hotel entrance.
... and Now, today, this whole block has been swallowed up, part of the huge Golden Gateway redevelopment project. A parking lot (below) has replaced it. For more on the Colchester Hotel and its location see here.
The 1968 movie 'Bullitt' is famous for its spectacular car chase as Steve McQueen barrels through the streets of San Francisco in pursuit of the bad guys. But Don Siegel had done it first, a decade earlier, in this movie. Dancer and Julian, with Dorothy and her daughter as hostages and Sandy at the wheel, lead police pursuers in a high speed race across town.
As they speed away from Sutro's, Julian wants to stop and scatter but Sandy reassures him ... "I'm your boy, I'll get you out". We'll soon see about that.
The chase unfolds below with each segment shown side by side as 'Then" and 'Now'.
Below, the police close in and the chase is finally over, but not before the enraged Dancer shoots his partner Julian in the back as he tries to flee.
Archie takes Petulia to a supermarket to buy a late night snack. For this location director Lester chose Cala Foods at 1095 Hyde Street at California, perhaps because of its interesting design, with its sweeping roofline arching down to a low point in the center.
Then ... The clown outside the store has no connection to the storyline but fits right in with the director's penchant for incongruous Fellini-esque characters. It's no surprise he catches the eye of the kooky Petulia while the pragmatic Archie doesn't even notice.
... and Now, Cala Foods is still there but its elegant roofline has been marred by a poorly conceived addition, more function than form, built in front of it.
... in 1951 ... Interesting trivia for those City history buffs amongst you - the supermarket was constructed on the site of a cable car barn after it was demolished in 1957. The vintage photo below shows the Hyde Street side of the barn (the cable cars entered from California). Next to it on the corner of California was the headquarters of the California Street Cable Railroads, the company that operated the cable lines served by the barn.
... and Now, viewed from the same spot, the barn is gone but the row of houses down Hyde Street is still there.
Then ... This view inside the store looks towards the front (Hyde Street) side of the building. The store employee is seemingly too busy sneaking a peek at Petulia to notice the mess on the floor behind him.
... and Now, you can see the original roofline from the inside, albeit mostly obscured by the refrigerated aisles in this matching view.