Nora Prentiss - Dinardo's
Then … Talbot’s wife is out of town; intrigued by Nora he impulsively drops by Dinardo’s, the nightclub where she sings. He’s seen here crossing a small bridge in Fisherman’s Wharf; behind him across the harbor are businesses along Jefferson Street with Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill rising in the background. The neon-signed restaurant at 243 Jefferson Street directly below Coit Tower is DiMaggio’s Famous restaurant, founded in 1937 by the five DiMaggio brothers .
This c. 1951 aerial photo shows the bridge, circled, and a white arrow indicating from where on the northern-most block of Jones Street (since renamed Al Scoma Way) the above Then image was filmed.
Check out this 2015 photo matching the movie’s Then image above. There’s a gap where the small bridge, an extension of the boardwalk that bisected the harbor, used to be - it was removed c. 1960 allowing harbor access for larger fishing boats. DiMaggio’s, by then upstairs on an added level, was still there after 78 years in business.
…and Now, the same view today. The gap where the bridge was has been widened further and the Supreme Crab restaurant now occupies the site of the venerable DiMaggio’s.
In the 1950s this photo was taken showing DiMaggio’s distinctive neon sign. Both it and the tall vertical sign are clearly seen in the movie image above.
…and Now, the same view today.
Then … Next he walks past steaming crab stands outside A. Sabella Fish Grotto (note at far right the movie’s cinematographer James Wong Howe in a cheeky cameo.) Note too the restaurant’s neon blade sign mounted at 45 degrees on the corner. This is meant to be at 2770 Taylor Street at the junction with Jefferson where indeed A.Sabella, a real-world restaurant, was located but to CitySleuth this is clearly an impressive Warner Brothers back lot recreation.
… and Now, here’s the actual corner today where Applebee’s Restaurant now occupies the original upstairs A. Sabella space and its street level is home to several small businesses.
Evidence pointing to a back lot location? Take a look at these two vintage photos of A. Sabella taken from different directions; the left photo from 1952 and the right one later in the 1950s. It had a similar blade sign to that seen in the Then image but the words were formatted differently. What’s more, the tiled street-level frontage didn’t match that in the movie.
He walks on, approaching the entrance to Dinardo’s night club This shot confirms a back lot location - it’s nothing like the actual Taylor Street block.
Inside, Talbot takes a seat at a table just as Nora, strikingly attired, begins her performance. Ann Sheridan herself sang this and another number in the movie.
Cigarette smoke, a sign of the times, adds to the ambience. This too was almost certainly filmed at the Warner Brothers studios.
After the song she joins Talbot at his table. The club owner Phil Dinardo (Robert Alda, father of actor Alan Alda) who has a thing for his star entertainer, stops by, curious about who he is. Knowing he’s married, she discreetly comes up with another name for him.
Between takes the two stars were photographed on the set with director Vincent Sherman at the same table seen above.
And finally, let’s give credit to Nora Prentiss’s renowned cinematographer, James Wong Howe.. His stellar career began in the Silent Movie era; he was finally awarded, below, the Best Cinematographer Oscar in 1956 for The Rose Tattoo (the first Asian American to win an Oscar). He went on to win a second in 1964 for Hud.