After Myra's play has become a huge hit she decides she needs a rest and catches a train to her hometown San Francisco.
Then ... She is seen off at New York's Grand Central Terminal at tracks 24/25.
... and Now, this wonderful Midtown Beaux Arts building at 42nd Street and Park Avenue (map) still operates as a rail terminal. It has hardly changed over the years, attracting tourists as well as travelers. Here are those same doorways in a recent photo.
On the train who should show up but Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) who Myra had fired for not being romantic-looking enough for her new play. For the duration of the cross-country journey Lester turns on the charm, seeming to harbor no grudge whatsoever.
Then ... They board the luxury California Zephyr at Chicago and share a quiet moment in one of the Zephyr's Vistadome viewing cars. In a great irony Myra finds herself falling for him.
But hang on ... reader CDL has informed CitySleuth that the Vistadome car seen above with square, angled windows was never used on the California Zephyr; its domes were styled with rounded windows (see below left). Next to it is the same style dome railcar as used in the movie, pictured at San Diego's ATSF Depot. Apparently the movie train scenes were filmed in Southern California using an available railcar.
... and Now, the Zephyr was inaugurated in 1949 but suffered severe passenger fall-off in the 1960s from airline and bus competition and was retired from service in 1970. The only way to enjoy it these days is to take one of the occasional nostalgia rides as did the folks below on last year's annual Feather River Express in a car matching the one used in the movie.
Then ... Speaking of the Feather River, Myra and Lester's train is seen below snaking its way through the Feather River canyon in Plumas County, Northern California, a route chosen to take advantage of a low pass through the Sierra mountains. Note the five (including the rear car) Vistadomes gleaming from the reflected light. Today only freight trains ply their way along this route.
... and Now, here's a recent photo of the scenic Feather River canyon looking in the opposite direction in late summer when the river flow was down to a trickle.
As acknowledgement of the importance of the canyon passage to the California Zephyr experience the Western Pacific engines incorporated a feather into their front logo.
Then ... Their train, pulled by Western Pacific engine number 805-D, arrives at its western terminal at the Oakland Pier, aka Oakland Mole. From here Myra and other ongoing passengers would walk to a waiting ferry to complete the journey to San Francisco.
... in 1931 ... here's an early aerial photo of the Oakland Pier terminal with three ferries awaiting passengers. It's not there any more having been demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Port of Oakland's container ship facilities.
... and Now, where was the Oakland Pier? To answer that, the aerial above has been superimposed onto the current map below at its original location- it was at the west end of 7th Street, not far south of the Bay Bridge.
To see the California Zephyr in full color check out this 1950s or 60s photo of a train pulled by Western Pacific engine number 805-A leaving the Oakland Pier.
... and Now, containers and cranes block today's view from 7th Street. The cantilever section of the Bay Bridge's eastern span can be seen in the distance in this photo taken just before it was pulled down, replaced by a new single tower suspension design.
Then ... Myra is met by friends at Oakland and can't wait to introduce Lester to them, insisting they all go dining and dancing together that evening. Note the 'To San Francisco' sign behind them with an arrow pointing to the right and the words 'Waiting Room' and 'Up Ramp' ...
... in 1957 ... Five years after Sudden Fear was filmed Frank Sinatra arrived at the Oakland Pier by train in the movie Pal Joey. In the panoramic image below from that movie we see the same sign; at far right is the referenced ramp.
Marsha despairs at Walter's trial as the prosecution builds up a compelling case. Was this a studio set or were the courtroom scenes filmed in one of the Hall of Justice's actual courtrooms at 750 Kearny Street? CitySleuth cannot find a confirming vintage photograph that matches it (unlike the courtroom used in The Lady From Shanghai, filmed two years earlier, similar in layout to this one but not the same. See it and its matching photo here).
Marsha suddenly spots the missing Su Lin, who may be able to help with his defense but is reluctant to do so, sitting in the courtroom. Alarmed at being recognized, Su Lin hastily takes off closely pursued by Marsha.
Then ... Su Lin pushes through the crowd blocking the courtroom exit where the sign outside the room reads 'Superior Court Dept. No. 11'. Through the window we can see a giant Shasta billboard on the rear wall of a building labelled the Sentinel Building.
... in 1961 ... this vintage photo of the entrance to Superior Court Dept. 11 taken in the old Hall of Justice 12 years after the movie was released has many matching features with the movie view above such as the same sign, the wall columns and the molding details. It appears to be a different doorway however because it isn't next to to the end of the corridor. CitySleuth believes that the corridor scene above was filmed at the north end of the Hall of Justice.
... in 1961 ... Check out this vintage photo of a Hall of Justice office - it looks out to the rear of the Sentinel Building, which was two blocks to the north, a confirmation that the 'Then' scene above was indeed a location shoot. By that time though there was no billboard on the building's rear wall. Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill can also be seen in this view.
... circa 1950s ... here's the Sentinel Building, an architectural icon in North Beach since 1907, viewed from its front with the Hall of Justice, arrowed, two blocks down Kearny Street. There was an unimpeded view between the two buildings then.
... and Now, the building, also known as the Columbus Tower, is still there today on Columbus at Kearny (map). In this recent photo we see it flanked by San Francisco's two tallest buildings, the Transamerica Pyramid on the left and the Bank of America building in the background at right. The Hall of Justice is no longer there; it was demolished in the 1960s. (Update - the tallest building bragging rights moved to the Salesforce Tower when it was completed in 2018).
Then ... Su Lin rushes out of the main entrance, hoping to catch a passing cab.
... in 1961 ... we see the same entrance in this vintage photo of the Hall of Justice, taken a few years before its demolition. The Portsmouth Square plaza across Kearny was fenced off at that time (just visible at lower right) for construction of an underground garage.
... and Now, the courthouse was subsequently replaced with a Holiday Inn hotel which became today's Hilton San Francisco Financial District. Below is the matching entrance photo with the building at far right across Merchant street being the lone matching survivor.
Inspector Quine organizes a police lineup for Philip Dressler, the unwitting carrier of the heroin, in the hopes he can identify the porter who had grabbed his bag and flung it into Lefty Jenkins' cab.
Then ... The first group of porters who work for the steamship line that brought Dressler back to San Francisco file in for the lineup.
... in 1961 ... this vintage photo taken 3 years after the movie was released is the actual lineup room (the 'Show-Up Room' in police jargon) in San Francisco's old Hall of Justice. At first sight it looks like the same room, but there are differences that compel CitySleuth to conclude that the movie scene was filmed on a studio set modeled after the real room. Examples of differences - the door is narrower and closer to the corner, 6 1/2 tiles span the wall above the door versus 7 in the movie, the tile grout is dark, not light and the curve on the handrail is a larger radius. Also the fonts on the back-board differ slightly.
Then ... This view shows the whole front width of the room.
... in 1961 ... the actual Show-Up Room is very similar but not identical.
Then ... We get further clues from this view of the rear of the room.
... in 1961 ... clearly, the actual room in the Hall of Justice, below, was different. It was longer, with more benches and an indented rear wall. While it may be that the room was remodeled during those three years it is unlikely given that the Hall of Justice was slated for shutdown and demolition very shortly afterwards. Another explanation could be that there was more than one Show-Up room, again unlikely. So this location was almost certainly a studio set.
The movie starts with a rooftop panning shot of New York City.
Then ... the pan begins at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue (at upper right), takes in the Commerce Building at 708 3rd Avenue then scans down to the Chrysler building at 405 Lexington Avenue at 42nd Street (click image to enlarge).
Here’s an aerial photo of a DC-4 airplane over Manhattan taken by renowned photojournalist Margaret Bourke White in 1939 that just happens to reveal whence the panorama was filmed. The camera was set up at the top of the 37-story Daily News Building at 220 E. 42nd Street near 2nd Avenue and panned from right to left between the arrows.
... and Now, here's a recent photo of the same panorama through adjacent windows on the 26th floor of the Daily News Building. Although taken 11 stories below the movie's vantage point, the twin bronze-clad cupolas of the Waldorf-Astoria can be seen above the skyline on the right with the Commerce Building just to its left and the Chrysler Building at far left (click image to enlarge).
Those three buildings and the Daily News Building are still to be found at their original locations, proud ambassadors of the Art Deco era that spawned them. Here they are today - from left to right the Chrysler Building, the Commerce Building, the Waldorf-Astoria and the Daily News Building.
Cut to a street corner where the signs declare in two different ways that we are in the Theatre District at Times Square.
Then ... just steps away, the camera closes in on the marquee of the Bijou theatre advertising a new play by Myra Hudson, a successful playwright and wealthy heiress from San Francisco. Opposite and a little further down is another theatre, the Booth, where Jack Palance had his first stage role, a one-liner, in the comedy ‘The Big Two’.
... and Now, the Bijou, at 209 W. 45th Street in Manhattan's Theatre District, had been there since 1917. In 1951 it became a CBS studio and then a D. W. Griffith Theatre before reverting back to the Bijou in 1965 but was finally demolished to make way for the Marriott Marquis Hotel - the Bijou site is now covered by the hotel's garage. In this west-facing view down 45th Street the hotel is to the right. Across the street the Booth Theatre is still in business today (map) - note the billboard frame on its roof, still there 60 years on.
During reheasals in the Bijou Myra (Joan Crawford) watches Lester Blaine (Jack Palance), the actor hired to play the romantic lead, and decides he is not suitable for the role, summarily firing him. (Who can blame her - Palance's menacing visage usually brought him bad-guy roles). Lester is not happy to get the news and lets her have it before storming out.