Then … Joe is convinced that Malatesta is Father Tomasino’s killer. But why? He goes to see him at his restaurant with a plan ...
… and Now, The location of the restaurant was described in detail an earlier post. Today, much larger and modernized, it’s the well-known Scoma’s in Fisherman’s Wharf; back then it was a small waterfront cafe called Andy’s Lookout.
Joe lies to Malatesta, telling him that he, Joe, is a suspect in Father Tomasino’s murder and that, despite being innocent, he intends to kill a man who is blackmailing him by threatening to incriminate him. “Don’t do it”, says Malatesta … “You’ll never be able to live with it”.
He surprises Joe by confessing that he himself has been through that - he had killed somebody - a girlfriend who was about to run off with another man during the war. When Joe asks if he had confessed to Father Tomasino, Malatesta realizes he had revealed a motive and snaps, attacking Joe in a desperate fight.
Then … Malatesta breaks away and rushes blindly outside just as a truck is approaching …
… and Now, Scoma’s dining room has expanded into much of the original boardwalk.
Then … the truck hits him, leaving him mortally injured.
… and Now, this is Al Scoma Way, Scoma’s approach road thats tees off Jefferson Street, crossing at the far end.
Back at Janet’s high-ceilinged studio Andy can’t fathom why Ed is so dismissive of important clues in the murder case. He is close to realizing that his brother is covering up his own involvement. These interior scenes were most likely filmed on a studio sound stage.
But when later in the movie Ed drops Janet off in front of her studio, this was filmed at a real location …
Then … She heads for her front door, a novel entrance with a drawbridge. CitySleuth is indebted to Craig Owens, host of the entertaining blog bizarrela.com, for finding this interesting building.
… and Now, It’s supposed to be in San Francisco but the building is actually in Los Angeles, at 2064 Argyle Avenue in the Hollywood Hills (map). It still looks exactly the same. (Photo by Craig Owens).
… and Now, No. 2064 is flanked on either side by similar Tudor-styled units but is the only one with the drawbridge feature. The red bricked square in the sidewalk marks where the tree in front of the building was in the Then image above.
Igor Braun, tailed by O’Hara and Grayson, boards a plane at San Francisco Airport en route to Los Angeles to meet with his fellow plotters.
Then … The plane is a Douglas DC-6, a pressurized version of the DC-4 which had entered service for United just one year earlier - it served the airline well throughout the 1940s and 1950s. It was powered by four piston engines - It would be another 10 years before United would begin switching to jet aircraft.
… a vintage photo … Here’s a United DC-6 in full color livery.
Then … We get a good view of the terminal building as Braun enters the plane. The terminal opened in 1937 and would eventually be phased out after a new terminal, Central Terminal (today known as Terminal 2) was built nearby for a 1954 opening. This old terminal was eventually demolished c. 1967.
… a vintage photo … This is a 1938 photo of the terminal shortly after it opened. The aircraft here is a United Mainliner DC-3 .
Here’s a 1959 photo of the replacement terminal, located a little more than a half-mile from the old terminal pictured above. Central Terminal has seen enormous modernization since then but is still in use, now called Terminal 2.
Then … Anna is beside herself not knowing why Joe is avoiding her. She visits the orphanage where he was brought up to see if the nuns there could shed some light.
… in the 1950s … CitySleuth came across a 1950s photo of this same playground, viewed from the opposite direction. This was Mount St. Joseph’s School for orphaned girls at 1700 Newhall Street in the Bayview neighborhood (map). The movie was filmed around this same time with a cast of boys in place of the real orphans. The site was described in detail here in an earlier post.
The school was closed in 1977, replaced in 1984 by the Silverview Terrace subdivision pictured in the aerial view below. ‘X’ marks where the playground used to be; tap or click the image to see a matching 1956 aerial of the school.
Then … Anna was amazed to hear from the nun that she knew Joe as a motorcycle cop.
… and Now, a smaller playground has survived at the same spot in the heart of the subdivision.
She heads straight to the precinct police station but runs into a wall of silence, having to leave without learning anything more of Joe’s history.
