Mother has had enough and announces to Harold that he is to be inducted into the Army. She dispatches his Uncle Victor (Charles Tyner), a rabidly patriotic, one-armed career General, to take him under his wing.
Then ... To make a good impression on Harold Uncle Victor picks him up in his personal chauffeured limousine. At a veterans' convalescent center they stroll around the grounds while he extols the virtues of military life. This was filmed in San Francisco's Sutro Heights Park at Land's End on the edge of the Pacific Ocean (map), the former estate of silver baron Adolph Sutro.
... and Now, they were approaching the only surviving structure from the estate. No, it's not a gazebo ...
... a vintage photo ... this was in fact the estate's well house, captured here circa 1890 (note too the horse hitching posts, essential back then). The bases of the decorative finials on the roof can still be seen, above.
The estate did have a gazebo but it's long gone. Here it was in 1890.
Then ... They walk on past the well house, an opportunity for director Hal Ashby to include a sight gag behind them - a doddering vet slowly keels over and does a face plant in the scattered leaves. Irreverent, if not irrelevant. Oblivious, Uncle Victor patters fervently on with his sales pitch.
... and Now, with the help of facelifts the structure is in remarkable condition given its age of 130 years.
Local history buffs will know that Sutro's mansion was the crown atop the estate. Complemented as it was by extensive gardens, statuary, a carriage house, a conservatory, an observatory and a crenellated parapet with spectacular views of the ocean and along the Great Highway, it delivered the highest quality of life for Adolph and his family. Built in the 1880s, the home was demolished in 1939, by then in a state of deterioration, following the death of its last resident, Sutro's daughter Emma.
The mansion enjoyed a westward view down past the parapet to Seal Rocks and the Cliff House, a Victorian-style dining, dancing and entertainment chateau built by Adolph in 1894 (the photo above was taken from the Cliff House). The mammoth structure was destined to be very short-lived; it remarkably survived the 1906 earthquake but, like the original Cliff House before it, burned to the ground a year later. By this time Adolph had died but daughter Emma kept the Cliff House tradition going by replacing it with the third incarnation, a more modest structure sensibly built of concrete.
... and Now, Three's a charm as Emma's Cliff House underwent a number of remodels over the years but is still going strong 110 years on.
To the north was Sutro's Baths, built by Adolph in 1896, viewed here from the estate across Point Lobos Avenue in a 1950s photo.
... and Now, the 70-year-old public bath complex succumbed in 1966 to an arson fire (but not before it was fortuitously used for scenes in the 1958 movie The Lineup). The ruins today are a nostalgic reminder of its grandeur and caught the eye of director Ashby who chose the sprawling, crumbling site for Uncle Victor's next stop.
Then ... Several folks at a bus stop on the Embarcadero await the oncoming bus carrying Jake and the suspect. Piers 16 and 18 are over to the right and the Ferry Building is visible in the distance. The abrupt termination of the Embarcadero Freeway left of center suggests there was a southern extension planned.
... and Now, the same view from the same spot, now part of Rincon Park and close to the whimsical Cupid's Span, a head-turning sculpture installed in 2002. The two piers and the double-decker freeway are no longer there.
Citysleuth zeroed in on the camera location by overlaying a vintage (1955) and a recent aerial shot. In the 1955 aerial the arrow shows where the bus stop location was, close to the junction with Folsom. Click or tap the image or thumbnail to toggle to the aerial view today; all of those piers have since been removed. Gone too is the entire block of buildings opposite Pier 18, clearing the way for the Embarcadero to be rerouted to make room for the new two acre Rincon Park, straddling where the bus stop used to be. The Bay Bridge crosses diagonally in the lower right corner.
Then ... As the bus slows down we see the Bay Bridge straight ahead and Folsom Street on the right. In the center is the Hills Brothers Coffee plant whose tower and rooftop sign were a familiar Rincon Hill sight for decades.
... and Now, the tower has survived; so too has the sign. The building is now a designated City Landmark but it has since been converted to gentrified upscale offices (Google being one of the tenants) and condominiums with a view.
As Camerero stands to aim his gun at the passengers Larsen, who had pulled up behind the bus, and Jake both let him have it.
After so many false leads and blind alleys they finally get their hands on the elusive 'grease gun'.
Then ... The movie ends with a lingering shot of the scene of the showdown. Pier 18 can't be seen - it's just off to the left of this view, but the adjacent Piers 20, 22 and 23 (seen in the 1955 aerial near the top of this post) had already been removed, opening up an unobstructed view of the bay and the bridge.
.. and Now, today's view looks through Cupid's Span and across Rincon Park.
The angry crowd continues its pursuit of Frisco Pete through Chinatown. Note, as he rounds this corner, the painted-out Anchor Steam beer ad on the wall; remember, the movie was filmed shortly after the Prohibition ban became effective nationwide, on January 19, 1920.
Then ... a wider view of the same corner is seen here as the crowd appears. The painted-out beer sign was on the wall of the Guide Saloon.
... and Now, this is Wentworth Place in Chinatown where it tees into Jackson Street (map). The corner store has since been expanded a few feet into Jackson below the overhang - today it's the traditional Chinese medicine store Wan Hua Co. at 665 Jackson - but the two side window openings on Wentworth set in the brick wall are still clearly visible even though they have been filled in. The building exteriors facing us on Jackson have been significantly changed.
Then ... Pete spots the amputee Blizzard crutching across Wentworth. Blizzard is his boss and right now the only hope he has. Wentworth Place had a notorious reputation back then - the row of businesses down the right (west) side all housed Chinese brothels.
... and Now, Wentworth Place today, resurfaced and with cleaned-up businesses, presents a colorful appearance. Note the matching windows and fire escape balconies on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building facing on Washington Street.
Then ... Outside Blizzard's house Frisco Pete recounts his misdeed and beseeches his boss to help him out. Realizing that doing so will give him even more power over his wayward lackey, he lets him hide inside. Pete gets a reprieve - it's not what you know but who you know, just as important back then as it is today.
... and Now, today's entrance to Blizzard's house, 59 Wentworth Place, is behind the white wrought iron security door. The camera position is the same Then and Now but note that the sidewalk has since been widened, moving the lampposts outwards.
This 1913 Sanborn Insurance map shows the location of Blizzard's house. (Back then #55, today it's re-addressed as #59). Note the F.B. designation, Sanborn's abbreviation of 'Female Boarding', a euphemism for brothel. With 3 saloons, a restaurant and 13 brothels, Wentworth must have been a busy place at night.
Then ... Blizzard beckons to a passing cop ...
... and Now, the east side of Wentworth Place. The buildings facing us on Washington and most of those on Wentworth are the same as they were a hundred years ago except that the shopfronts have all been redone.
The criminal mastermind has the police force in his pocket and all it takes is a wink-wink to get the cop to go down and disperse the crowd.
Then ... After planting the tree Maude drives Harold back over the Dumbarton Bridge along Highway 84. When she passes the same cop who she humiliated earlier he can't believe his luck and immediately gives chase.
... and Now, the same spot alongside a pylon on this now unused stretch of the highway (map) is seen here from the elevated causeway that replaced it.
Then ... he catches up and has to pound on the car to catch her attention. At the top of the hill is the toll plaza seen in their first encounter, viewed from the opposite direction.
... and Now, as explained in the preceding post the toll plaza has been moved to a rerouted section of Highway 84. Today this part of the original highway, Marshlands Road, is the access road to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Then ... Eventually Maude deigns to pull over, not far from the toll booth.
... and Now, that same roadside location (map).
Then ... The cop orders them out of the car but when the unsuspecting clod gets in to check it out, Maude beckons Harold to his motorbike, he hops on behind her and with a roar they zoom off past the toll booths.
... and Now, the same view today.
The final ignominy for the hapless cop? He takes a pot shot at them but his gun misfires.
