The Penalty is a very entertaining silent film starring Lon Chaney in a remarkable performance that made him famous. Its addition to this blog takes us back to 1920 San Francisco and lets us see how the movie's location sites have changed over the passage of almost 100 years.
The movie's opening credits roll over a background of the Ferry Building at the turn of the century as seen from the bay (map). But this is a stylized matte painted image, the clock tower is similar to but a little different from that of the current Ferry Building which replaced an earlier wooden structure in 1898 and has remained more or less unchanged to this day. Also, the hill to the right, perhaps meant to be Nob Hill, would not loom so large when viewed from this far out.
Then ... Had the moviemakers used the actual bay view when they filmed the movie it would have looked similar to this contemporaneous postcard photo. The building at far right is the Fairmont Hotel, atop Nob Hill since 1906. Left of center is the Southern Pacific Building, there since 1916.
... and Now, in a drastic transformation the Financial District today dwarfs the surviving Ferry Building and Southern Pacific Building.
(Note to readers - to streamline readability CitySleuth has taken the liberty of attaching the script from the title cards beneath the image).
The story begins with an inexperienced doctor (Charles Clary) called upon to operate on a young accident victim.
He decides to amputate both of the unfortunate boy's legs above the knee. Right after the operation his senior colleague checks the boy out and tells Ferris he has made a huge mistake.
Ferris has mangled the poor child for life but the older doctor covers for him and lies to the boy's parents.
The boy had overheard the doctors' conversation and tries to tell his parents but they believe their explanation that he is delusional from the anesthetic... "It's the effect of the ether".
The boy now has to wear artificial stumps for the rest of his life - he will grow up with a twisted determination to wreak revenge both on the doctor and the city of San Francisco itself.
They stroll alongside a pond, their images reflected in the water (to help find the location, CitySleuth has inverted the movie image). The yellow flowers prompt Maude to declare she would like to change into a sunflower... "They're so tall and simple... what flower would you like to be?".
Then ... Harold isn't sure... as their voiceover continues they are seen, upper left, sitting amongst a sea of daisies planted row upon row... "One of these maybe... because they're all alike". (That's the lower end of those rows behind them in the reflection above).
... and Now, here's the pond, now overgrown, that captured their reflection; the daisy field was on the far slope but now lies fallow. It was filmed at the Cozzolino Nursery farm at 11881 San Mateo road (Highway 92) on the outskirts of the coastal town of Half Moon Bay (map). CitySleuth is grateful to the Cozzolinos for allowing him access to their property.
Here's a detailed south-facing aerial view of the farm today. The different parts of the property that appear during this movie scene are highlighted.
But Maude disagrees with Harold, pointing out that no two daisies are alike... "some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, some even have lost some petals - all kinds of observable differences". It's her way of saying that, in our own way, we are all unique.
Then ... In a poignant juxtaposition the director cuts to a military cemetery, presenting a stark contrast between life and death. Unlike Maude's daisies, the headstones are identical and regimented.
... and Now, this is the northwest view from the overlook at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno (map). Another view of this cemetery is seen later in the movie.
For those wanting to visit this spot, the overlook is shown on Circle Drive on the map below.
Then ... As Maude drives down from the daisy field the farmhouse at 11881 San Mateo Road (marked on the aerial map above) is seen in the foreground. At the far left the light glints off a spillway leading down from the pond.
... and Now, an exterior closet has since been added to the farmhouse. The arrow points to where the daisy field was planted.
Then ... They continue on over a bridge (marked on the aerial map above) .
... and Now, the bridge links the farmhouse driveway over Pilarcitos Creek to the road.
Then ... She screeches onto the road, by way of the opposite lane. (Incidentally, actress Ruth Gordon could not drive so all of Maude's driving scenes used a stunt driver).
... and Now, this corner is referred to by the locals as the 'House Of Doors' corner. Read on for the reason why.
Then ... She over-corrects and barrels by on this side of the power pole past two hitchhikers who can't quite take in what they just saw.
... and Now, this spot is also pointed out on the aerial map above. On the far right across the street is the pathway entrance to 11880 San Mateo Road, a funky old house known locally as the 'House Of Doors'.
The house, seen below in an early 1980s photo, is so-named because it was literally built out of old wooden doors, reportedly by a German saloon-keeper who is said to have acquired the doors from dismantled buildings when San Francisco's 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition closed down. A more recent photo is seen in this listing when, refurbished, it sold in 2013 for $345,000.
Tailing the suspect around town has convinced Larsen of one thing: "He's a classic fruiter", he tells Jake. Meanwhile Camerero, possibly aware that he's being followed, gets bolder, leading them on a tour of some of the city's gay bars.
Then ... They catch up with him in the Tenderloin neighborhood across from the Minerva Cafe, a greek taverna at 136 Eddy Street (map), in the storefront of the Empress Hotel.
... and Now, the 100 block of Eddy Street has hardly changed. The Empress Hotel is still there but the cafe is long gone.
The cafe, seen here in a 1974 photo, was owned and managed by restauranteur Vasilios Glimidakis and was one of three Greek eateries within the space of one block. It seated 250, offered both dining and dancing and was a popular venue for social events and political dinners and luncheons.
Then ... Camerero's destination is The Ramrod, a pickup gay bar at 1225 Folsom Street in the SoMa district (map).
Here's a 1970s photo of the bar, at far right, as it would have looked when the movie was filmed. To say it was popular with the biker/leather crowd would be an understatement.
... and Now, The Ramrod opened in the late 1960s and the bar is still in business but has cycled through many names over the years - My Place, Cip, Chaps, Kok (!); it's currently called Driftwood. As can be seen, windows have since been added to the frontage.
Then ... Inside The Ramrod, leather seems to be de rigueur. But Camerero, suavely dapper in suit and sunglasses, doesn't seem to fit in and, not finding what he wants anyway, decides to try elsewhere.
... and Now, the shape of the bar has been redone otherwise the feel of the place looks to be much the same. Driftwood's clientele is more mixed than in the past but it continues to be popular with the gay community.
His next stop, plusher and with entertainment and a canopied ceiling, seems more his type of place.
When Larsen steps out we see where this was - the Frolic Room mid-block at 141 Mason Street at the edge of the Tenderloin (map), just around the corner from the Minerva Cafe where we saw Camerero at the beginning of this post.
Then ... Larsen joins Jake in their unmarked car across the street to continue the surveillance. They watch as Camerero, pickup in tow, exits the club. Just past the small parking lot is another bar at 111 Mason, previously the Robin Hood Tavern before being renamed the Chez Paree.
... and Now, a community affordable housing building now sits on the site of the Frolic Room and the parking lot. But there's still a tavern at 111 Mason - the Union Square Sports Bar; its marquee awning has survived too.
CitySleuth recognizes that sexy-leg Chez Paree sign in the Then image above. He would bet you a dime to a dollar that this was the sign, below, that used to adorn the Barbary Coast club at 533 Pacific Avenue in the International Settlement during the 1950s (also seen here in Frank Sinatra's 1957 movie Pal Joey). Same sign, different name.
But it was Al Barna of the Neon Historic Sign Preservation site sfneon.org who verified that both signs are one and the same. In this 1970s photo taken at about the same time as the movie was filmed, he noticed a series of small holes in the base metal below the Chez Paree lettering that spell out “BARBARY COAST”. These were the holes left when the original neon tube lettering was removed. You can read about it in this article.
They follow the pair to a townhouse apartment where a little "love in the afternoon", as Larsen snidely puts it, prompts the closing of the drapes.
Then ... The townhouse is the one seen across the way, beyond Larsen's shoulder. By now the two cops are beginning to get frustrated at not being able to get Camerero to drop his guard.
... and Now, this was filmed at Sydney G. Walton Square park by the footbridge that links the park across Jackson Street to the Davis Court Apartments. Named after a San Francisco banker, the park was built in 1960 at the north end of the city's former Produce Market (map). Today's comparative view shows just how much the Financial District has proliferated over the years.
Katrin shrieks with delight when a letter arrives from Florence Dana Morehead's publisher with a check for $500. She has sold her first story. That was a very large chunk of change back in 1910. But a moment of awkwardness intervenes when she asks Mama to put it into their bank account. "Is no bank account", she finally confesses, "Never in my life have I been inside a bank". She had lied all those years so that the children would feel secure.
They gather around to hear Katrin read them her story. Mama is taken aback as she realizes it's about her, not Papa as she had suggested.
She is deeply touched, captured by this lingering closeup viewed through the home's front bay window.
As she listens to Katrin describe the family members the camera backs up then slowly swings to the right, tracing a panorama of the street outside, bathed in the city's wafting mist.
This was filmed on the RKO Studios street set described in a previous post. In this shot on the set seen earlier in the movie Mama's house with the bay window is on the left; the houses on either side at the top of the hill are the same as those seen above. To film that panorama the elevated camera was set up just behind the car.
And so the movie ends as Katrin recites the best-known line from the novel, the Broadway play, and the movie... "But first and foremost, I Remember Mama".
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