Then … While driving with Teddy through town Buddy offers to be his chauffeur if he finally gets a date with Charlotte. They are driving east along Bush Street on the south edge of Chinatown; ahead, Stockton crosses and the concrete Stockton-Sutter Garage is seen on the right. On the left is the Victoria Hotel at 590 Bush and the Bush Garden Japanese restaurant at 580 Bush.
… and Now, the unsightly, bordering on the ugly, garage structure is still there.
Then … True to his word, he does exactly that in a fancy limo but first he makes a detour so Teddy can quickly drop off a gift at his grandmother’s place since he’s been told that she’s there alone on her birthday.
… and Now, once again Los Angeles was chosen for this scene - it was filmed at the Sheraton-Town House Hotel at 639 S. Commonwealth Avenue and Wilshire Blvd in the Westlake district. The hotel closed in 1993 and now operates as low income housing, its awning not nearly as swanky as it used to be. Note too the added metal security fencing.
They take the elevator up to the 8th floor and make their way to Room 801 at the end of the corridor. CitySleuth thinks this was filmed in the Sheraton hotel but has yet to confirm it.
But … “Surprise!!” … his whole family were waiting there to sing Happy Birthday to him - they had tricked him into thinking it was also grandmother’s birthday when in fact it was just his. In the nick of time Buddy arrives to introduce Charlotte to everybody as his friend, saving Teddy from a disastrous exposé and embarrassment.
Here’s a fine overview photo of the late Beaux-Arts style hotel building taken in 2008.
Buddy and Charlotte make a quick exit - so much for Teddy’s date. At evening’s end the family leaves via the lobby; note the room key slots behind the receptionist - this was the Sheraton’s reception lobby.
Then … Teddy’s buddies are waiting outside when they leave, creating a loud commotion. Apparently Joey’s wife has left again and he’s going berserk; it takes all of them to bundle him into the car. But it’s a ruse to get Teddy to come with them … Charlotte wants him to join her. (Watch out for the continuity goof in this scene as Didi disappears and reappears across the street between cuts).
… and Now, this recent photo from the same angle shows a wider view of the repurposed building.
Teddy almost misses TWA’s L-1011 flight to Los Angeles but persuades the ramp truck to head back as the exit door re-opens for him. As if. (In return for its cooperation with the filmmakers TWA gets lots of exposure in the airport scenes that follow).
Then … Unfortunately for Teddy once in the air the flight is diverted to San Diego due to fog in L.A. On arrival he sits in the lounge, musing about Didi and Charlotte, two women waiting for him in the middle of the night. But was this scene filmed at San Diego airport? (No, it was not - read on).
… in 1977 … it turns out the same airport lounge had been filmed 7 years earlier in a scene, below, in the Mel Brook’s comedy High Anxiety as evidenced by the same red pin-striped carpet, seats, circular columns, quad elevated flight status screens, cone-shaped cigarette ashtrays and silver lamp arrays.
When Mel Brooks exits the terminal in High Anxiety the address on the window - 300 World Way - is that of TWA’s Terminal 3 at Los Angeles International Airport. This then was the location used for Teddy’s ‘San Diego’ airport lounge scene.
… a vintage photo … This c. 1970 photograph shows TWA Terminal 3 as it still was when theThe Woman In Red scenes were filmed rhere.
… and Now, the terminal, still addressed 300 World Way, Los Angeles, has significantly changed since then including the addition of an elevated road to access the expanded upper level. TWA as such disappeared when it was acquired in 2001 by American Airlines; today Terminal 3 is used primarily for Delta and Aeromexico arrivals and departures. Further changes are currently underway at LAX in preparation for the flood of 2028 Summer Olympics visitors.
Then … All is not lost though - the two wanna-be lovers, undeterred, meet again in San Francisco at Baker Street near Beach in the Marina District with the Palace of Fine Arts across the lagoon behind them (map).
… and Now, the impressive edifice was built for the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition; it was rebuilt in concrete and steel in the 1960s and seismically retrofitted in 2009 but has retained its original appearance to this day.
Alfred Hitchcock beat Gene Wilder to it - the identical view was captured in his 1958 classic Vertigo when James Stewart and Kim Novak stroll by along the Baker Street sidewalk.
Even earlier, in 1947, Ann Sheridan and Kent smith were filmed there in Nora Prentiss.
And later, in 1979 around the corner on Bay Street, Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen were there in Time After Time. It’s easy to see why this location is a magnet for filmmakers.
Then … Ms Milner has gotten over being stood up; she wants to try again. She calls Teddy from a bar and suggests they meet at Le Club restaurant at Clay and Jones. Once again he thinks it’s the Woman In Red who is calling and readily agrees.
… and Now, this was filmed in Koreatown, Los Angeles at the Prince Restaurant at 3198 1/2 W. 7th Street. Its retro period decor has made this place a go-to location for dozens of movies and TV series over the decades. Note both Then and Now the yeoman statue in front of a red latticed window frame.
Then … Teddy arrives trying his best to look cool with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Again, this is the Prince restaurant in Los Angeles. Note the red door over to the right…
… and Now, it’s been over 40 years but the door and the handrail have hardly changed. (Photo by Syd Rev).
Then … The instant he sits down he realizes who had called him. He lets out a yelp and promptly hightails it out of there.
… and Now, the three latticed windows behind them identify the two booths at The Prince used for the above scene. (Photo by J.P. Shelton)
This studio photo of Gene and Gilda relaxing before the shoot was used for a promotional lobby card.
Then … He rushes out - now we are back in San Francisco at the Clay-Jones residential highrise building at 1250 Jones Street, the very location that Ms. Milner had given Teddy. Note the signage at left on the awning above the window and the wall below it - there was indeed a Le Club restaurant in the 1980s in the lobby level of this building (the incongruous white ‘LE CLUB’ letters may have been added for this movie shot).
… and Now, 1250 Jones today. It has hosted a succession of restaurants over the years: after Le Club closed Charles Nob Hill succeeded it from 1995 to 2004, followed by C.A.L. Steakhouse then by the Michelin-starred Keiko a Nob Hill from 2011 to 2021. Currently the building is residential only - no restaurant.
Then … as he rounds the corner, the eye-catching view east down Clay Street encompasses the TransAmerica Pyramid and the Embarcadero Center high-rises with the Bay Bridge beyond. (Note the image on the back of the beer truck advertising San Francisco’s own Anchor Brewing Company’s Porter beer).
… and Now, the view is essentially unchanged today.
Here’s a closer look at the beer label seen in the Then image above. The dark Porter beer, released in 1972, supplemented the classic Anchor Steam beer which had been brewed in Potrero Hill in San Francisco since 1896. After being bought by Sapporo, the 125 year-old Anchor Brewing Company closed down in 2023 then was purchased in 2024 by the founder of Chobani whose stated intention is to revive the company. As of July 2025 it was still closed.
Then … Ms Milner pursues him, watching as he jumps into the back seat of his car.
… and Now, minor changes here - the corner mailbox is gone, awnings have been added at left on the side windows of 1250 Jones and the street signs have been replaced.
If looks could kill! Teddy fakes a heart attack but she shows no sympathy, leaning in to release the handbrake… fade out as the car rolls down the hill to blasting horns, screeching brakes and crunching metal.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned … still fuming the next morning she slowly and deliberately tips a bottle of ink onto Teddy’s desktop.
Teddy coaches his buddy Mikey on, when, and how to call him that evening pretending he’s urgently needed at the office. That will clear the way for Teddy to go to the dinner date he’s (he thinks) made with the Woman in Red.
After helping with the blind man prank (previous post) Mikey makes the call. But by then Teddy has found out he has to stay at home with Didi to babysit their grandkid. In a hilarious response he demands the bewildered Mikey tell the bosses to take their request and shove it up their (you know where). (Watch the movie to see why Didi has that inappropriately positioned gun).
Then … Mikey rejoins his buddies, finding them in a fracas with local louts in front of a Carls Jr. diner. It’s time for more sight gags as Buddy, still playing the blind man (on the left), punches away. The phone number posted at the adjacent business on the right led CitySleuth to this location.
… and Now, both Carls Jr. at 305 W. 6th Street in the Wilshire/Vermont neighborhood of Los Angeles and the Olympic Auto Body Shop (with the same phone number) are still there today. The shot was filmed looking across Virgil Avenue (map).
Teddy doesn’t know that it was Ms. Milner who had answered the call and received his offer of a date. She doesn’t know it was meant for the Woman in Red. She patiently waits for him to arrive.
He never does - she ends up closing the place, below. But where was this filmed? Teddy referred to it as “…La Primavera in North Beach”; but this looks way too swanky for North Beach. If anyone recognizes it they are encouraged to email citysleuth@reelsf.com.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. To say she’s bent out of shape is perhaps an understatement; the next morning as Teddy parks his car she walks up, keys it down the side then transfers her feelings to its antenna.
