Then … Passengers, Rhoda Montaine amongst them, begin boarding an airplane at San Francisco Municipal Airport. (But don’t be fooled by the sign - this was filmed elsewhere).
… a vintage photo … CitySleuth came across this photo of an American Airlines Douglas DC-3 taken c. 1940 at Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California. The mountain ranges at far right are identical to that seen in the movie image above, revealing where the movie’s airport scenes were filmed.
Grand Central Air Terminal (pictured below in 1932 just 3 years after its opening) was located at 1310 Air Way in Glendale (map). It was Southern California's first commercial airport and one of its two busiest (the other being Union Air Terminal - now known as Hollywood Burbank).
… and Now, the airport had been operational for only 30 years when it closed in 1959 but the passenger building is still there today. It was in a dilapidated state when it was bought to be part of a planned new campus project by the Walt Disney Corporation; by 2016 they had restored its mission revival exterior and art deco interior to its former grandeur. Here’s a recent photo of the passenger arrivals side of the building on Air Way. Compare it to the 1932 image above
To appreciate the fine restoration by Disney, this was how the building looked in 2011. Front and back, the grand glass-paned arches and doors and windows had been covered over and the interiors were a mess.
Inside the two-story passenger waiting room Mason grabs Rhoda and asks her to duck down low in a phone booth to keep her hidden from the cops who had followed him. She proclaims her innocence to him as he calls the San Francisco Enquirer, offering them Rhoda’s story; he is betting on their front page giving her a better shake than the prosecutor. The arches in the background were the two arches on the left in the Now image, two above.
Then … The reporters enter through the main entrance from Air Way (these were the two center arches in the Now image, three above). Note the neon sign and the San Francisco Enquirer name on the side of their car - the moviemakers went to some lengths to fool the audience. The picket fence beyond the parked cars is seen in the aerial view four images above; it separated the terminal from the railroad tracks.
Then … Upon their arrival Spudsy started a diversionary fracas to further distract the two cops. He succeeds in delaying them - the reporters get their story before she is arrested.
… and Now, the passenger waiting room is now used by the Disney company as a multi-purpose event space; an elevated walkway connects offices at each end of the building at the level of the top of the arches. Both of the Then image locations above are seen in this view - The neon sign was on the arch at far left and the art deco balcony behind Spudsy is in the left corner on the far wall.
More trivia about Grand Central Air Terminal… It saw many celebrities over the years; here’s aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart there in 1931 alongside an autogyro, an interesting hybrid airplane/helicopter. Behind her is the south, runway, side of the passenger building. Charles Lindbergh piloted the nation's first regularly scheduled coast to coast flight from here. What’s more, many Hollywood movies were filmed here starring the likes of Shirley Temple, James Cagney, Joan Fontaine, Dick Powell and Ronald Reagan.
… and Now, Disney’s wonderful restoration is also on display on the south side of the building (the airplane taxiway used to be here). It looks like a great place to work for the fortunate few.
Then … George exits the Broadway Parking Station on the left in North Beach at 425 Broadway, close to Montgomery Street (map). Across the street looking west down Broadway we see the colored signs of the Finocchio club at 506 Broadway, Vanessi’s restaurant at 498 Broadway and the Chi Chi club at 440 Broadway.
… and Now, All of those establishments have since closed - Chi Chi’s is currently The Cosmo Bar and Lounge - but parking is still available where the Broadway Parking Station was.
Then … He turns the corner and heads two blocks south to 807 Montgomery Street where he enters Varni’s Roaring Twenties nightclub, famous for its nude girl-on-a-swing. A gas station, Tripoli’s was adjacent to it on the corner of Jackson Street and the Jackson Square garage (with the Chevron sign) was on the corner across Jackson.
… and Now, the club closed down years ago; the building is now either vacant or closed during the pandemic. A new office building replaced Tripoli’s gas station in 1987.
In Blake Edward’s terrific 1962 noir Experiment In Terror, Glen Ford watches Lee Remick enter the same club, described in more detail here.
In 2010, Citysleuth took this photo of the club building which at that time was occupied by the law offices of well-known lawyer Arnold Laub, a risible change from its preceding licentious tenant.
Then … The club was on two floors. The upper was at street level; it had a large opening in the center, protected by a surrounding railing which allowed a clear view down to the lower floor where we see George walking to his table. Check out the girl-on-a-swing.
… and Now, Arnold Laub let Citysleuth access the building in 2010. This is the street level - the Montgomery Street entrance is straight ahead. By then the floor opening had been filled in and the space completely remodeled into offices.
Then … Jane figured out where George had gone and joined him. From here the railing at the upper level can be seen at the top of the stairs behind the girl-on-a-swing.
… in 2010 … the filled-in upper floor opening is partially visible here looking up from what used to be the club’s lower level.
To the titillation of the audience the featured stripper, Monica Weston (Austrian actress Marisa Mell, again) performs a strip-tease astride a gold-plated 1958 Harley-Davidson Duo Glide.
They both watch, open-mouthed - the stripper is a dead ringer for George’s dead wife, Susan. Meanwhile in the background we spot the insurance agent, still watching George’s every move.
On a trivia note, a year earlier George C Scott dined in the upper level of Varni’s Roaring Twenties club in the 1968 movie Petulia. There’s the girl-on-a-swing again! This scene was definitely filmed at Varni’s but differences in the railing and the swing details between the two movies gives Citysleuth a sneaking feeling that director Fulci recreated the club at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome (where most if not all of the movie’s interiors were filmed), inspired perhaps by Hitchcock’s studio recreation of Ernie’s restaurant in Vertigo.
Then, Callahan and Gonzalez return to their patrol car just in time to hear a radio message: there’s an “804 in progress” at California Hall at Polk and Turk. They head right over. The building is bathed in lights ahead of them; the fire department is already there as is a large crowd of gawkers pointing and looking up to a man on the roof threatening to jump.
… and Now, Both the California Hall and the Embassy Hotel opposite are still there in the Tenderloin District (map).
The Teutonic Baroque architecture of California Hall is clearly evident in this recent photo. It was built in 1912 as a ‘Rathaus’ to serve the neighborhood’s German immigrant population. The Hall became a popular music venue in the 1960s, 70s and 80s; later occupants were the California Culinary Academy and, more recently, the Academy Of Art Fashion School. The Hall is currently closed due to the pandemic.
Check out these vintage posters advertising some of the Hall’s past music events. Other artists who performed there included Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Steve Miller, The Doors and U-2.
English punk rockers Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees played in the Hall on Nov 26, 1980. There’s a bootleg audio recording of that performance here on youTube.
Then, They cross Polk and pull up alongside the Rathskeller restaurant at the Hall’s Turk Street entrance.
… and Now, the marquee awning remains but the restaurant is long gone.
The Rathskeller served German and American dishes - here it was c. 1960.
Then, From the rooftop, the jumper peers down at the crowd below.
… and Now, this is where he was.
Then, Callahan takes on the task of dissuading the jumper - he is hoisted up in a Fire Department cherry-picker. Across Polk street we can see a cocktail bar on the corner of Turk, part of the Embassy Hotel.
… and Now, a gin-focused cocktail lounge in a London Victorian-railway station-themed eatery is the current occupant of that space. Note the original bar entrance door has been replaced by a wall of windows, but the main hotel entrance on the left is much the same as it was. This too is temporarily shuttered during the pandemic.
Then, The jumper shrinks back as the cherry-picker approaches … he gets visibly angry when Callahan, not exactly schooled in the psychology of suicide prevention, starts talking about how jumpers end up unidentifiable and covered in blood.
Then, The jumper lunges at him, takes a short right to the jaw and hangs limp as Callahan brings him safely down. As they leave, Callahan turns to his partner … “Now you know why they call me Dirty Harry - every dirty job that comes along”.
… and Now, they were lowered down here in front of the windows on the left.
Then … The Ferry Building is in the distance as the chase continues down Market Street. The cops are right behind Mason’s stylish convertible coupe as he makes a right into Fremont Street.
… and Now, the same junction today (map).
… in 1948 … thirteen years after the movie’s release San Francisco rolled out a new fleet of buses with a parade down Market Street seen here in this photo taken from the same block - Fremont Street is at far right.
Then … Another random jump across town sees them driving west along Washington Street between Gough and Octavia at a time when it was served by a cable car line (map). Lafayette Park is on the right.
… and Now, here’s that same block today. At far left at 2080 Washington is the old Spreckels mansion, now hiding behind an enormous privacy hedge. The cable car line was discontinued in September 1956.
Then … They turn right from Washington down Octavia probably oblivious of the unobstructed view across the north bay to Alcatraz and Angel Island.
… and Now, the matching view is a good example of many of San Francisco’s great views that are now obscured by trees grown wild. The Spreckels mansion, on the right, would be prominently seen fifteen years later in the 1950 movie The Man Who Cheated Himself.
Then … Next they are in the Civic Center passing the city’s main library on Larkin Street…
… and Now, which today houses the Asian Art Museum (map).
Then … Now they are traversing the streetcar turnaround area in front of the Ferry Building (map). Note the pedestrian overpass crossing over to the Ferry Building, more clearly seen behind the opening credits of the movie.
… and Now, this is taken from close to the same spot, reflecting the extensive changes seen in this space but sparing us the ugly Embarcadero Freeway whose brief tenure existed during the decades between the Now and Then images above.
… in 1954 … here’s a later look at the turnaround that, in addition to later-generation streetcars and autos, shows the same buildings and billboards seen in the Then image above. The large billboard has moved from the rooftop to the side of its building but continues pushing alcohol, moving on from gin (Gilmore) to beer (Burgermeister). By then the pedestrian overpass had been sacrificed, becoming much-needed scrap iron for the war effort in the 1940s.
Then … Back to the Main Library on Larkin, this time turning west into Mcallister.
… and Now, as mentioned earlier, the Asian Art Museum is now in the Library building. Two blocks down McAllister is the stately 1920s 100 McAllister high-rise that was used earlier in the movie for a panoramic city view.
Then … Next, a step back down Larkin Street, Mason’s car again approaching the Main Library. There’s a clear view across the unbuilt block to, on the far (eastern) side of Market Street, the Hotel Whitcomb which is still there today.
… and Now, but trees and newer buildings hide the hotel from here. One of them, on the right, is the city’s current main library.
Mason urges Spudsy on; it’s imperative they get to the airport in time… “If she gets off on a plane it means she’s running away. And that’ll hang her!”
