A series of vignettes depict Myra and Lester settling down into the social whirl of 1950s San Francisco.
Then ... First, celebrating the 30th season at the opera.
... and Now, the drawing on the brochure cover above is San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House, a grand Beaux-Arts building opened in time for the 1932/33 season. (From 1923 - 1931, the newly-formed opera company had performed at the Civic Auditorium). Below, the opera house today, at 301 Van Ness Avenue (map).
Then ... We are shown a glimpse inside the theater ...
... but this isn't the War Memorial Opera House - archival footage filmed on stage 28 of the Universal Studios lot in Universal City, California was used instead. Originally built for the 1925 movie Phantom of the Opera (see below), the theater set has been featured in many movies over the years. Citysleuth thanks reader Paul Penna for pointing this out.
(Update - The stage was demolished in 2014).
... and Now, the War Memorial Opera House interior is very different.
Then ... Next up, a day at the races at Tanforan, the racetrack of choice for city high-rollers from 1899 until it burned down in 1964. It was located at 1150 El Camino Real in San Bruno, near the San Francisco International Airport (map).
... in 1950 ... The 1950 Bing Crosby movie Riding High was filmed at Tanforan racetrack and in this scene from it a huge sign, South San Francisco, The Industrial City, can be seen on the south side of San Bruno Mountain.
... and Now, with the racetrack gone a shopping mall, The Shops At Tanforan, has been built on the site. In this view across the mall from El Camino Real we see that the huge cement letters of the iconic sign, dating from the 1920s, are still there.
The famous racehorse Seabiscuit used to practice at the Tanforan racetrack in the 1930s and shoppers today can see a memorial statue of it in front of the Barnes and Noble store at the mall.
Then ... This double exposure shows the newlyweds swept up by the action down the home stretch. Note the oil derricks in the distance to the left - but this footage wasn't filmed at Tanforan; the distant oil derricks suggest Southern California.
... and Now, the oil derricks appear to be those at Signal Hill, Long Beach, in which case this would be the Los Alamitos Race Course (map). Here's a recent photo of it below - the derricks were removed long ago when the oil fields dried up.
Then ... and finally they go dancing at the Cirque Room, a popular dance spot in the Fairmont Hotel (map) ...
Then ... where they party the night away.
... from the 1950s ... Here's a postcard photo image taken in the Fairmont's Cirque Room at about that same time.
... and Now, the Cirque Room is still there but available only for private parties. This recent photo captured its art deco bar and original circus-themed murals.
Lester hears back from his shady lady friend Irene Neves. She has been working on her lawyer boyfriend and found out -"It took five martinis" - that Myra is about to donate the bulk of her fortune to a charity, news that doesn't sit well with the scheming pair.
Then ... Joey is enjoying a bright sunny day in the international Settlement when he sees Linda, the dancer from his club, cooing at a cute terrier through a pet shop window. (A pet shop in a red light district? Why not? ... "Get your hooch and pooch here!"). He craftily tries to score points with her, claiming he once owned and loved a dog called Snuffy.
... and Now, this is Pacific Avenue, with Montgomery crossing at left. The pet shop was at 517 Pacific (map). The pet shop frontage, above, must have been built for the movie because street directories show that this property was vacant in the years leading up to the movie. The tubular metal pillar on the corner of Montgomery that supported the 'International Settlement' sign is still there, partially visible below behind the tree at far left.
Then ... Later we see Joey and Linda return, approaching the shop from across Pacific. Across the street we can just make out (click on the image for an enlarged view) some of the hot night spots - the Moulin Rouge, Bella Pacific, Hippodrome and Gay 'N Frisky.
... and Now, all the clubs are gone.
Then ... Linda spots the dog, still for sale, as they pass the archway entrance to Jerome Alley.
... and Now, that archway has been taken down and admittance to the alley is now blocked by an iron gate. The current tenant at the pet shop site is Thomas E Cara, purveyor of espresso coffee machines.
Inside the store she persuades Joey to buy the cuddly canine as a replacement for Snuffy. He's not too happy but how can he refuse? This interior was obviously filmed on a studio set because in the real world there was an open parking lot opposite this location, not the Hippodrome club seen here which did exist but was further down the block at 574 Pacific.
... from the 1950s ... here's a vintage photo taken from Montgomery that shows the pet shop location (arrowed) and the archway next to it, partially obscured by the street sign. You can just see the parking lot opposite.
... and Now, the Thomas E Cara shop is shown arrowed but Jerome Alley is hidden behind the tree and the trimming debris. It's interesting that the tubular pillars have survived here but those at the other (Kearny Street) end of the block have not.
... a vintage photo ... the photo below, circa 1970, looks across the parking lot to the pet shop building (arrowed), next to Jerome Alley. Facing us at right is the muraled gable of the Barbary Coast at 533 Pacific, the club where Joey performed, which by this time had become the Little Fox Theater.
... and Now, a recent view of the Thomas E Cara store and Jerome Alley.
At a party at Myra's house who should show up but Irene Neves (the sultry shady lady of noir Gloria Grahame), an old flame of Lester's. She is accompanying Myra's attorney's partner Junior Kearney (Mike Connors, in his first movie). Lester, surprised, is not amused but goes through the introduction pleasantries as though it were the first time they had met.
Then ... Lester catches up with her at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor fine arts museum in Lincoln Park (map). This shot also captures the statue of the 11th century Spanish warrior El Cid in the foreground. In 1958 the Palace became best known in the movies as a Vertigo location.
... and Now, trees have grown but nothing else has changed. Interesting that the copper stains on the plinth are virtually identical, having stabilized after the early staining for at least 60 years. The city authorities might take note of this and clean the pedestal!
Then ... Inside, Irene (wearing the hat) is listening to an organ recital. (On a trivia note, the organist was playing J S Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring). Lester enters and drags her outside.
... and Now, the organ console, of finest walnut, is still there in Gallery 10 and organ recitals are played every weekend. The 4500 pipe organ was commisioned by the Spreckels family and built by the Ernest M Skinner Organ Company of Boston for the opening of the Palace in 1924. Amazingly, when CitySleuth stopped by, the same statue over on the right was on display!
Then ... Against one of the exterior pillars and with El Cid in the background, Lester asks Irene to work on Junior Kearney to find out the details of a major transfer of her wealth that he's heard Myra is planning. Irene agrees ... "I'll turn him inside out!"
... and Now, from the same spot, the view looks to the Marin Headlands across the Golden Gate.
Joe Clay (Jack Lemmon) works at a public relations agency. One of his unofficial duties is to provide escorts for his clients. The movie begins with Joe working the phone, rounding up girls for a party being held on a yacht on the bay.
Then ... A cab pulls up alongside the bay and a young woman gets out.
... and Now, this is the St Francis Yacht Club parking lot at the West Harbor in the Marina district (map). The bridge needs no introduction.
Then ... She makes her way towards a small boat berthed at the yacht club - in the background is a domed structure very familiar to San Franciscans.
... and Now, it's the Palace of Fine Arts fronting Baker Street at the eastern edge of the Presidio (map), built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Fans of Vertigo may remember that Scottie and Judy were once there.
Then ... Joe and the girls are waiting for her in the boat - she climbs aboard to a sharp dressing-down from Joe for not dressing up ...
"You're dressed wrong, it's supposed to be a cocktail dress ... something peek-a-boo!"
... and Now, as they head out Fort Mason is straight ahead with Marina Boulevard alongside the harbor off to the right.
Then ... Their tender pulls alongside the party yacht.
... and Now, Citysleuth never could reconcile this location to the Bay Area. He had asked Ann Brebner, the movie's location casting director, about it and she recalled that the yacht shoot was moved to Southern California because of poor weather in San Francisco. Reader Natalie commented (see below) that it looked like Newport Beach but it took a comment from Mr. Newport Beach to nail the precise spot. This is the turning basin of Newport Harbor (map). The Lido Isle is to the right and the trees at far right border the approach to the Lido bridge. The recent photo was taken from the same spot at the Lido Marina Village.
The yacht, built in 1927, was the 'Pioneer', so-named by owner George Washington Vanderbilt III. When Citysleuth read that it was berthed in Newport Beach for most of the 1950s into the early 1960s he looked for it on aerial photos from that era. Bingo! Here it was in 1953 moored at the same spot as in the Then movie image above.
Further confirmation was found in this clipping from a 1962 newspaper.
On the yacht Joe realizes that the underdressed woman isn't one of the escorts after all, she's Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick), the secretary of the client hosting the party. He tries to make amends but she plays it cool. They couldn't have gotten off to a rockier start.