The police continue to watch Eleanor in hopes she will lead them to her missing husband. She gives them the slip and takes a cab to meet up with Leggett.
Then ... This is Union Street at the corner of Montgomery on Telegraph Hill - the cab drives up Union from the left which incidentally is a cul-de-sac in the real world! (And on a trivia note the cab picks Leggett up outside Midge's apartment in the movie Vertigo). The white building at far left is the Sidney Kahn house, built in the 1930s on lower Calhoun Terrace and across from it on upper Calhoun Terrace the low building on the corner is the famous Hoeffler's Compound, a warren of tiny studio apartments once favored by artists and bohemians.
... and Now, in today's view below, the Kahn house is still there but a modern apartment house has replaced the Compound. Next to that are some of the oldest homes on Telegraph Hill including the 1860s Cooney house at 291 Union (on the right of the purple house).
Then ... They head off west down Union Street. The store on the left corner at Montgomery is the beloved Speedy's New Union Grocery Store, a venerable neighborhood institution since 1915. This store was also featured in the movie The House On Telegraph Hill released a year later.
... and Now, in the same view today we see that the store has finally closed (in 2008), after serving generations of local denizens for almost a century. Such is life. Sad. Incongruous 1960s high rise apartment buildings mar the Russian Hill skyline in the distance. At least the older highrises there had class. (CitySleuth apologizes for taking this opportunity to pulpit a pet peeve).
The cab drops them off at the Hart & Winston store downtown where Eleanor's husband Frank had worked as a window dresser. As they look at one of his displays, featuring bathing suit cladded mannequins in her image, her memory is jogged and she suddenly solves the riddle in Frank's letter - he is asking to meet her on the beach at Carmel, a seaside resort they had visited shortly after their marriage.
At a welcome party for Victoria, who should turn up but Major Marc Bennett (William Lundigan), the army officer who interviewed her following her liberation. He has resumed his civilian career as a San Francisco attorney and, as it turns out, is an old school friend of her husband Alan.
Then ... Victoria bumps into Marc Bennett again while shopping at her local corner store.
... and Now, This is the venerable Speedy's New Union Grocery at 301 Union on the corner of Montgomery, a two block walk from Victoria's house. Union Street is seen dipping down into North Beach before climbing west to the top of Russian Hill.
Then ... The store name can be clearly seen from the different angle, below. Incidentally, the same store made a passing appearance a year earlier in the 1950 movie Woman On The Run in a scene filmed at the same junction.
... in 2006 ... Here's a photo of the store taken a few years ago, still going strong.
... and Now, sadly, this beloved icon of Telegraph Hill finally closed in 2008, after ninety three years. In the recent picture below the new tenant, a guys & gals boutique, offers local shoppers snacks, pastries and Blue Bottle coffee.
... in 1926 ... The name Speedy's alludes to the Spediacci family who bought the building in 1915 and took over the store in 1923. In a peek at the past here are Emma Spediacci and her daughter Mary behind the counter in 1926.
Then ... They part and Victoria drives home, crossing Union and heading down Montgomery.
... and Now, other than the trees blocking the view of the distant bay, not a whole lot different.
... in 1870 ... for history buffs, here's how this corner looked circa 1870. The house on the corner is the same one, with the original brick walls. Behind it is Telegraph Hill with a building housing a telescope on the peak.
... and Now, the corner building has been plastered over (the windows and doors still match) and Coit Tower has ruled the hill since 1933.
When Bigelow returns to his hotel he is kidnapped and taken to a suave but nefarious dealer, Majak (Luther Adler) (on the right below) who turns out to be Ray Rakubian's uncle. Apparently Rakubian had stolen the iridium and sold it to Phillips, part of Majak's scheme to acquire the iridium. But now Bigelow knows too much and Majak instructs his henchman Chester (Neville Brand) to dispose of him.
Then ... Chester, a nasty piece of work, drives Bigelow north on Broadway past the many theaters that were in their heyday in the 1950s. Below, they are approaching 9th Street with Olympic Blvd crossing behind them. The bright marquee on the right is the United Artists theater at 933 Broadway.
... and Now, the theater was built in 1927 by the founders of United Artists - Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. It is still there but since 1990 it has been the home of a Protestant church, the Los Angeles University Cathedral, and is currently listed for sale.
Then ... As they pass the Orpheum in the next block at 842 Broadway, he tells Bigelow how he plans to kill him - evilly savoring every word.
"I'm going to enjoy this, Bigelow ... I think I'll give it to you in the belly ... you don't like it in the belly ... right in the belly." Not one to mince his words.
... and Now, the Orpheum Theater is still there today and newly restored, with that same colorful marquee. Those lamp-posts haven't changed either.
Then ... One block on, just after they pass the Globe theater at 744 Broadway, Bigelow reaches over with his foot and jams on the brakes. He makes a run for it with Chester in hot pursuit.
... and Now, the marquee is still there but the theater, which most recently housed a nightclub, is now closed.
We have reached the scene perhaps best remembered by the legion of fans who have seen Vertigo -the one in which Scottie saves Madeleine after she jumps into San Francisco Bay.
Then ... Madeleine, tailed by Scottie, approaches Fort Point (click image to enlarge).
... and Now, this is Marine Drive in the Presidio. The building on the right (above) was originally built to house the fort's lighthouse keepers but has since been demolished (below), otherwise little has changed (click image to enlarge).
Then ... They pull up at Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge (map) - to many a classic Hitchcock image, except that eight years earlier these same camera shots appeared in The Man Who Cheated Himself .
... and Now, just the same, except for the fence erected after 9/11 that bars visitors from walking behind the fort.
The city skyline glows in the distance as Scottie anxiously watches Madeleine, at the water's edge, dropping petals from her nosegay into the frigid bay.
Then ... In a moment of great drama she suddenly leaps into the bay.
... and Now, fortunately CitySleuth was there prior to this area being declared off-limits and took the matching photo below. Note that the fence chain was temporarily removed, above, for the jump.
Horrified, he dives in after her and carries her back to safety (up some conveniently added stairs). She might have temporarily lost her senses but she wasn't about to lose those high heels.
Kim Novak gives us all a delightful smile on location at Fort Point while shooting this scene.