Then … Director Lucio Fulci originally set his storyline in Louisiana but fortunately for us ended up filming it in San Francisco. It was his first film in the U.S. and he wore his tourist hat when it came to choosing locations. What more iconic if formulaic an intro than to rent a helicopter for the day, fly over the Golden Gate Bridge and tour the city as the opening credits roll?
… and Now, this recent wider panoramic view shows off the beauty of the city spread out before us. The large green expanse in both images is the Presidio, then a military base but since handed over to the city and now open to the public. A bridge feature seen below not there back in 1969 is the central divider which is seamlessly moved daily to add or subtract a lane as demanded by the commute traffic.
Then … Our tour of the city continues - this view across the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge shows Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill in the background on the right and Russian Hill off to the left. The Financial District clusters behind the aging piers of the waterfront.
… by 2014 … this image shows the proliferation of the Financial District since the 1960s, spreading South Of Market, an inexorable process that continues to this day. The other big change is along the Embarcadero where many of the piers have been removed, opening up and transforming the waterfront. (Photo credit Q T Luong/ terragalleria.com).
Then … the aerial tour next swings by the domed City Hall at the Civic Center. The building in the foreground right of center is the War Memorial Opera House with its vertically extended roof above the stage.
… by 2008 … this view was taken 12 years ago but is close to how it looks today (2020). An added building is visible in the bottom right corner - the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, built next to the Opera house in 1980 on the parking lot site seen above. The long narrow pool that ran down the spine of the plaza (barely visible above) has been removed.
Then … Here, our tour guide is flying directly over Russian Hill looking east across the North Beach and Telegraph Hill neighborhoods. The view looks beyond Coit Tower towards Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge. Note the ugly double-decker Embarcadero Freeway at far right, destined to be torn down after being damaged in the 1989 earthquake. In the foreground the twin-spired Saints Peter and Paul church faces Washington Square Park.
… and Now, here’s the same view today, taken from a Russian Hill rooftop. Its wider perspective shows in the left distance the Bay Bridge’s multi-billion dollar eastern span tower that replaced its predecessor, again because of damage from the 1989 earthquake - the western span suspension bridges however survived relatively unscathed. These neighborhoods are little changed since mostly being rebuilt after the 1906 fire.
Then … “Hey, this is San Francisco - let’s fly over Alcatraz!” The island has been a military prison dating back to 1861 but the infamous Federal Penitentiary that we see here - it opened in 1934 - was operational for only 29 years. Nevertheless, the sight of the dramatic skyline and the sounds of the city must have been cruelly painful for the prisoners to see and hear each day.
… and Now, today the former prison is one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist attractions; 1.4 million visitors are shuttled by ferry each year to and from the island. CitySleuth recommends the audio tour!
Then … We next head over to the far west of town to the Pacific Coast - beneath us is the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 42nd Avenue and Clement Street at the former Fort Miley Military Reservation, between Lincoln Park and Point Lobos (map).
… and Now, here’s a recent Google satellite view of the hospital showing significant expansion since then.
The tour ends with the helicopter pilot skimming the surf just off the south end of the Great Highway alongside the San Francisco Zoo (map). In the distance on the left a horizontal green sliver (Golden Gate Park) bisects the Sunset and Richmond districts and Lincoln Park and the Presidio outline the horizon.
In the opening shot the audience finds itself staring down the barrel of a sniper’s (Andy Robinson) rifle.
Then … He uses his telescopic sight to aim directly at an unsuspecting woman enjoying a rooftop swim.
… and Now … The pool was for the use of guests staying at the Holiday Inn Chinatown. Brand new when the movie was filmed, the hotel was built on the site of the old Hall Of Justice at 750 Kearny Street following its 1968 demolition (map). After an extensive renovation the hotel became the Hilton Financial District in 2006 at which time the pool was closed. This 2020 Google 3D aerial view reveals a covered area where the pool had been. In this view Portsmouth Square is on the left and at far right we see the sloping sides of the TransAmerica Pyramid which was under construction and just out of sight in the Then image above.
Then (1958) … this image from the excellent Eli Wallach movie The Lineup captured the old Hall Of Justice taken from Portsmouth Square a decade before its demolition. Note that its frontage ran along Kearney Street. (Coincidentally the new Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street appears a number of times throughout this movie).
… and Now … here’s a recent photo of the Hilton Financial District on the same site now. The replacement building is set back from the main road.
The sniper homes in on the swimmer through his scope as she glides through the water, then delivers a single fatal shot.
Then … San Francisco Police Inspector "Dirty Harry” Callahan (Clint Eastwood) responds to the call, approaching the covered victim. In the distance we can see Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island and the east bay hills.
… and Now … the pool was shut down in 2005 when the Holiday Inn was refurbished as a more upscale Hilton hotel. It never did reopen - here’s how it looks in 2023.
Then … He looks up at the likely place where the bullet came from - the top of the Bank Of America Center, a 779 ft 52-story office skyscraper that towered 415 feet above the rooftop pool. It was the highest building in the city back then but would soon be eclipsed by the TransAmerica Pyramid.
… c. 2005 … We thank Hank Donat, Mistersf of the website mistersf.com, for publishing a couple of photos of the pool taken shortly before it closed - CitySleuth combined them into this single image. The Bank Of America Center, since sold and now known as 555 California Street, is in the background at far left: the victim was lying in the foreground corner on the right.
… and Now, here’s the pool in 2023, still closed down.
O’Hara and Grayson accuse Dr. Neva, whose laundry had contained the handkerchief carrying a secret formula, of treason. She vehemently denies any knowledge of passing on secrets, admitting only of being in love with fellow top scientist Dr. von Stolb.
When von Stolb is discovered dead in his quarters of an apparent suicide by poison it didn’t take them long to work out that he had in fact been murdered. Now they wondered if perhaps somebody else might have been responsible for both the leaks and the murder.
They recheck their video of the scientist’s meeting looking for clues that might implicate one of the other attendees: director Townsend, Dr. Forrest and Dr. Allen. Once again they see nothing suspicious but later O’Hara has an ‘Aha!’ moment, recalling that Dr. Allen, on the right, had pressed the palm of his hand on the paper containing the formula that had been smuggled out.
They and the local police follow Allen to a remote house where he rendezvous with the members of the spy ring. A furious gun battle ends up with Braun, Krebs and the other spies dead and Allen in custody.
Denying everything, Allen insisted he had been kidnapped by the spies …
… but was caught in a lie when O’Hara grabs his hand and wets it with a solution that reveals the formula, still there. They finally got their man!
Then … the movie fades to black as our intrepid G-men exit an elevator and stride purposefully away as the narrator intones the stern reminder that “… those who walk the crooked miles are followed by such men as Grayson and O’Hara”. The ‘Tower Express’ signs on the elevators suggest this was filmed in Los Angeles’ classic City Hall, whose landmark art deco tower has a public viewing gallery on the 27th floor.
… and Now, indeed it was; our two heroes above are striding across the building’s 3rd floor byzantine rotunda. The 10 marble columns bordering the rotunda each have their own distinctive and colorful patterns, all of them different. In the recent matching photo, below, visitors walk past the elevators towards the rotunda, approaching the same set of columns.
… and Now, and here’s a reverse view of those columns looking back from the rotunda.
Los Angeles City Hall opened in 1928. Its architecture is a blend of styles, with an Art Deco tower and an entrance announced by elegant columned arches. It has been a popular location site for moviemakers over the years, a fitting place for the final scene of this San Francisco/Southern California based movie.
The movie opens with a tribute to those police officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the people of San Francisco.
Then … A set of marble panels on a wall lists all of the fallen from 1878 to the present time.
… and Now, the panels are still there, clearly with the same striations in the marble but apparently with updated gold lettering (unless the movie images were doctored in some way to make them more readable). The panels are mounted in the lobby of the Hall Of Justice at 850 Bryant Street, SoMa (map).
… and Now, here’s the full tribute, spread out across five panels.
Then … A superimposed police badge shines in the background as the camera slowly pans down the list of names, the first in 1878 and the last in 1970, the most recent entry when the film was made. The beginning and end of the list are shown in the dual image below.
… and Now, since then 20 more names have been added to the tribute list, the most recent in 2006. (the absence of movie lighting makes the names a little more difficult to read).
… and Now, here’s a recent photo of the Hall of Justice viewed across Bryant Street. The three tall openings along to the left frame the entrance doors to the lobby.