The Case Of The Curious Bride - Opening Credits
Then … Behind the opening credits two views of the Embarcadero announce to the audience that the movie is set in San Francisco. Here, we see from right to left three piers, Piers 37, 39 and 41; Alcatraz and Angel Islands are seen beyond them. A small part of Pier 35 juts in at far right.
… by 1952 … the same scene was captured in this vintage 1952 photo. It was taken from the top of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, this wider view also showing Pier 35 on the right.
… and Now, over the years many of the Embarcadero piers have been removed. In this recent photo we see that Pier 39 has been reimagined and rebuilt as a major tourist attraction while Pier 37 on its right is now a marina and Pier 41 mostly off to the left a cruise and ferry terminal. It’s not included here, but the original Pier 35 is still there (map).
Then … As the credits continue we next see streetcars dropping off and picking up passengers on the turn-around loop in front of the Ferry Building. Note the pedestrian overpass on the left that spared them an otherwise risky walk across the Embarcadero - it will make another appearance later in the movie.
… here’s a 1930 photo of the same place. Both images were taken from the top of the Southern Pacific Building on Market Street. The movie image, above in the bottom right corner, captured the edge of that huge billboard. History buffs might be interested to learn that the pedestrian overpass was subsequently sacrificed in the 1940s as scrap iron for the war effort.
Looking down Market Street from the Ferry Building, this pristine c. 1926 image (from Shorpy.com) lets us see the front side of the billboard and, arrowed, the Southern Pacific Building rooftop vantage point for the above shots. Note too the other side of the pedestrian overpass. (The eagle-eyed amongst you may also notice a reversed-image billboard in the lower right quadrant advertising Owl Cigars. Huh?).
Citysleuth begs your indulgence for a moment while he diverts from the movie. Dwell for a moment on the 1926 image above ... now step back a mere 20 years to see how it looked right after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Truly a Phoenix recovery!
And here for comparative completeness are those same buildings pre-earthquake.