Eleanor and Leggett have found out that her missing husband Frank has traded in his coat for a sailor's pea jacket and cap so they narrow their search to the Embarcadero waterfront.
Then ... They start looking near the Bay Bridge.
... and Now, this is just north of the bridge where it crosses the Embarcadero, close to Pier 24, looking away from the water.
Then ... Next they are in front of Pier 43 near Fisherman's Wharf where they spot a couple of sailors in pea jackets, but not Frank.
... and Now, Pier 43 and its headhouse, a decorated hoisting tower for loading and unloading rail cars on and off ferries, was built in 1914 to serve the Belt Railroad. Train tracks used to run the length and breadth of the entire Embarcadero; today only remnants like these remain.
... from 1967 ... CitySleuth is curious as to what that wooden structure is in front of the pier behind Eleanor and Leggett (above) - he doesn't know but he does know it was still there 17 years later, caught in the 1967 vintage photo below. Can anyone shed light on this?
Then ... Here are the sailors they are looking at ...
... and Now, but this is two miles away at the Bay Bridge, viewed from near Harrison Street.
Then ... Now back at Fisherman's Wharf, they are in front of shed A, one of the twin Pier 45 sheds.
... and Now, this pier today is the home of the Musee Mecanique, an arcade of antique coin-operated displays where you can see and hear the Laughing Sal exhibit rescued from Ocean Beach's demolished Playland-At-The-Beach fairground.
Then ... Another sailor, another strikeout. This vantage point takes in Alcatraz, Angel Island behind it and Belvedere off to the left.
... and Now, taken from alongside Pier 43 by Pier 41 1/2.
Then ... Frank likes to paint and now Eleanor is sure she's found him, at an easel. But no, it's somebody else.
... and Now, looking across the Fisherman's Wharf marina towards Alioto's and Tarantino's. In the photo below you can just see that the boardwalk extending into the marina dead-ends at far left, so the bridge extension seen above has been removed.
Then ... Leggett hangs back while Eleanor talks to the sailor, fearing Frank may recognize him as the killer. The shed behind him belongs to Genoa Boat Builders.
... and Now, This is Al Scoma Way, across the Embarcadero from Jones, along the edge of the Fisherman's Wharf marina. The shed has survived unchanged, a reminder of the wharf's boat building days.
Running scared after picking off his fifth victim, Miller makes a desperate dash home. Below, clear across town from SOMA where his dash began, he is on the flats east of Telegraph Hill. He turns from Battery Street and is seen here running west along gritty Filbert Street. Today this junction of Battery and Filbert is at the center of Levi's Plaza, home to the venerable Levi Strauss & Co (click images to enlarge).
He continues along the same block towards Sansome past the Gibraltar Warehouse, now replaced by the Levi Strauss headquarters (map).
Miller then heads up a steep set of wooden steps with the Gibraltar Warehouse visible across Sansome behind him. These are the lower Filbert Steps, still there today but replaced with sturdier steel and concrete (map).
He staggers to the top of the steps but these aren't the Filbert Steps! They are in fact private steps leading down from the end of the Green Street cul-de-sac at Montgomery to three homes perched on the east side of Telegraph Hill. The sweeping view takes in the Embarcadero, the Bay Bridge and the Financial District (map). A similar panorama was featured in the 1951 movie 'The House On Telegraph Hill'.
The recent photo below shows the entrance gate to these private steps - they lead down to 267, 269 and 271 Green Street.
Next we see him crabbing across an ugly street-wide expanse of concrete. This is Vallejo Street between Kearny and Montgomery as viewed from Montgomery (map). The same block today has been transformed into a colorful garden of trees and plants, urban beautification at its best - a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Almost there! The two views below show him at each end of Varennes Street, typical of the many narrow alleys found around Telegraph Hill. He is cutting through from Union to Filbert (map).
And finally he runs across Filbert to his rented room in the apartment building at 450 - 456 Filbert Street. His room is the upstairs one on the right.
In this classic noir fright shot, the landlady (Mabel Paige), having just heard about the sniper's burned hand on the radio, realizes who her tenant is. We fear the worst for the poor lady but he's had enough and locks himself in his room.
The house that Victoria now claims as her own was a grand Victorian. All of the interiors were built and filmed on a 20th Century Fox studio set but the exteriors were created by building a facade around a real building - the Julius' Castle restaurant on Telegraph Hill.
Then ... Victoria and Chris in front of the convincing Victorian facade.
Then ... And here, below, is an overall view of the house, seen early in the movie. But this is a painting! It's geographically consistent with the Julius' Castle location, even down to the glimpse of Alcatraz Island in the Bay.
Here's a photo still of Julius Castle taken while 'The House' facade was being set up.
... and Now, this is Julius' Castle today, little changed, at the north end of the Montgomery Street cul-de-sac 150 feet below Coit Tower. Sadly, the restaurant closed down in 2008 after 84 years of operation.
The studio set interiors were lavishly detailed, incorporating real antiques from private collections. Below is the spacious foyer - the chandeliers were from a private home; after the owner refused to loan them the studio bought the house then immediately resold it after keeping the chandeliers!
Scottie reports back to Gavin Elster in his exclusive gentleman's club. Elster tells him Carlotta Valdes was Madeleine's great grandmother, what's more he believes his wife Madeleine has been possessed by Carlotta. The club was not named in the movie but production records identify it as the Pacific Union Club located at 1000 California Street across Mason from the Fairmont Hotel (map). The scene below in the club was filmed on a studio set meticulously created by art director Henry Bumstead.
Then .... the side and rear of the Pacific Union Club is seen behind Scottie's DeSoto as he waited to follow Madeleine on one of her wanderings. Note Grace Cathedral behind it with only one tower, still under construction.
... and Now, the club looks the same as when it was constructed in 1887 as the private home of James C. Flood. Its exterior walls survived the 1906 earthquake and afterwards the Pacific Union Club bought the lot and remodelled it in 1910 as their clubhouse.
Here's another look (below) at the Pacific Union Club today, viewed across California Street with the Fairmont Hotel behind it and Huntington Park to the left. The Brocklebank Apartments (with the steeply pitched roof) where Madeleine lived is across Mason Street next to the Fairmont.
