Walter has made his way into Idaho and wanders into a small town, Larkspur. However, these scenes were filmed in Larkspur, California, a mere half hour drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County.
Then ... He heads down the main street, Magnolia Avenue, past a painter announcing the 4,501st town resident. No, not Walter, a newborn.
... and Now, the cross street in the foreground is Ward Street (map). South down Magnolia, the tower on the right belongs to St. Patrick's church, and the one on the left crowns City Hall. Sidewalk trees have replaced the line of power poles and the sleepy hamlet that was has become a much busier place.
He happens upon the town's service station where he meets owner Marsha Peters (the delightful Ella Raines) who offers him a job on the spot after he helps her with a repair.
Then ... Walter settles in to his new job as auto mechanic at the M.P. (Marsha Peters, that is) Service Station while slowly recuperating from his attack.
... and Now, the site, at 238 Magnolia Avenue, (map), is now occupied by Frank's Hair Styles. The gas pump aisle space has been enclosed, otherwise the structure is clearly recognizable.
... the original garage ... This 1960 photo, provided by long-time Larkspur resident Paul Penna, shows us the garage, owned by Hil Probert, as it was when the movie was filmed (except for the later generation gas pumps). Hil collected old classic cars - the fine example in the foreground is a 1940 Packard. (For additional insights from Paul check out his Impact website).
... and Now, the matching photo today.
Hil Probert himself makes a one-line eponymous cameo appearance at his own garage ...
Marsha - "Thanks a lot, Hil"
Hil - "So long, Marsha"
Then ... The proud father of the town's new arrival (referenced in the top image) excitedly pulls up to the garage from the street opposite and leaps out bearing cigars. His number plate says Idaho, consistent with the storyline, but we now know better.
... and Now, the street teeing in opposite the garage site is Madrone Avenue and looks just as it did then.
Convinced that Lisa will lead him to the suspect, Ripley decides to tail her.
Then ... She takes a 38 Geary Muni bus and gets off at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital at 2425 Geary on the corner of St. Joseph's Avenue in the Anza Vista neighborhood (map).
... and Now, a recent photo shows those same two houses across the street (2448 and 2454 Geary) and a 38 Geary bus, continuing to serve this busy thoroughfare.
Then ... She alights from the bus and the camera tracks to the left as she enters the hospital, set back from the road.
... in 1957 ... The hospital was opened in 1954 - here's a wider view in this photo, taken not long before the movie was filmed.
... and Now, Kaiser Hospital appears to have an addition where the setback and parking lot used to be.
In the hospital Ripley finds that she is visiting her handicapped son Joey, recovering from hip surgery. He discovers why she is so reluctant to talk about Lynch. He has been good to Joey, even paying the hospital bills. But she refuses to say any more.
Kelly leaves the club after failing to make the planned contact. A man follows her out ...
Then ... He urges her into his car and they drive off, closely pursued by the waiting police. A block along Jackson, they make a left (below) into Sansome (map).
... and Now, this part of the Jackson Square neighborhood has changed very little as this recent photo attests.
Then ... Viewed from Jackson, they proceed along Sansome.
... and Now, another mostly unchanged block, with Gold Street alley on the left.
Then ... It soon becomes clear to her that the man is an opportunist out for a good time - he has nothing to do with Kelly's rendezvous. Distressed, she leaps out of the car and the cops rush in to nab the wrong man.
... and Now, he was apprehended in front of 1045 Sansome Street at the junction with Green Street. From the start (map, blue marker) to the finish (red marker) the car journey had covered a mere 5 blocks.
During O'Hara's desperate flight from justice along its main thoroughfare, Grant Avenue, director Welles jumps back and forth in a tightly edited multi-cut sequence lasting less than two minutes. In the next few posts CitySleuth will present the locations sequentially block by block to guide those of you who may wish to walk the route.
Then ... He looks back from the corner of Grant and Pine (map). One block north along Grant the pagoda-towered Sing Fat and Sing Chong Buildings face each other across California Street, also cleverly captured in the shop window. They were built just two years after the 1906 earthquake as a statement by the Chinese community that they had no intention of bowing to pressure from politicians to leave the stricken area.
... and Now, the recent photo reassures us that the buildings are still there, as indeed are the Chinese residents and, since the mid 1930s, Grant Avenue's ornate lampposts with their lanterns and intertwined dragons. The City of Hong Kong store at 519 Grant is now at the same location as Lamps of China, reflected in the window above.
... in the 1920s ... we see the same view in this early 1920s photo of local kids beach-playing in a worker's pile of sand. Note the plainer lampposts and note too the Chop Suey restaurant sign, also seen in the movie view above, which we shall see replicated many times as O'Hara continues his flight along Grant.
... in 1935 ... here's a vintage photo taken from the same spot 12 years before the movie was filmed there. Reader Bruys Tournier pointed out that the classic (now, that is) car in the foreground is probably a pre 1930s Chrysler sedan. CitySleuth checked it out - it's a 1928 Chrysler Imperial 80.
... in 1943 ... moving on through the decades, how about this cool 1943 photo in full color?
... an Edward Hopper painting ... In the first half of the century chop suey, roughly meaning chopped up odds and ends, was synonymous with Chinese cuisine, along with chow mein. The basic meal became an advertisement for the restaurant. Even artists reflected the practice, as in this 1929 painting by Edward Hopper.
Then ... later on during his desperate run O'Hara is shown outside the neon-signed Shanghai Low's restaurant at 532 Grant between Pine and California just a half block from the location above.
... a vintage photo ... the restaurant was there a quarter century earlier in the 1920s but with a plainer marquee. Once again we see the landmark Sing Fat and Sing Chong Buildings at California Street.
... and Now, the Lotus Garden restaurant is the current occupant of the Shanghai Low site (its sign is at top right, also visible in the Now image above). You would never guess it but this image and the one above are 90 years apart in time.