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San Francisco movie locations from classic films

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San Francisco movie locations from classic films

Filtering by Tag: Monterey Peninsula

One On Top Of The Other - Surprise News

July 18, 2021  /  CitySleuth

During a photoshoot at Jane’s studio George tells her of surprise news - unbeknownst to him Susan had taken out a life insurance policy before she died and he is the beneficiary. Of $2,000,000. The studio interiors were filmed in Italy at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome.

 

Then … at the Dumurrier clinic (described earlier) Henry listens as George is hounded by a lender but is now able to tell him, thanks to the insurance payout, that he will soon get the money. The scene was filmed in the Lodge at Pebble Beach where the window view looks south beyond Carmel.

… and Now, this same view was taken in front of the Lodge. The 18th Green of the famous golf course is in the center.

 

Then … The two lovers are next seen dining at a restaurant with a colorful sign.

… in the 1960s … here’s a vintage photo of the restaurant as it looked when the movie was filmed - it’s the Fishermen’s Grotto at Fisherman’s Wharf (map). It started life as fish stall #9, becoming a 2-story restaurant in 1935 then expanding over the years into a perennial tourist favorite.

… and Now, the restaurant including its array of striped lantern posts is remarkably unchanged in over a half century. However it is still closed (July 2021) even as other restaurants have opened up following removal of city-wide pandemic restrictions; its future at this time appears uncertain. Here’s hoping the 86 year-old eatery, one of the largest in San Francisco, survives.

 

Then … But someone is very interested in George - we get our first glimpse of a man in a fedora who is tailing him - a suspicious insurance investigator (Bill Vanders).

… and Now, in the matching image today the iconic circular yellow sign at left that heralds Fisherman’s Wharf is still there; it continues to light up at night as it did above. The lantern posts too have survived. Beyond that, Sabella’s restaurant on the corner of Taylor and Jefferson is now an Applebee’s.

 

Then … In the upstairs level of the restaurant, George gets a mysterious call to check out a local club. Curious, he decides to go, concocting an excuse and leaving Jane (looking every inch the fashionista) behind. The window view looks across Fisherman’s Wharf marina to high-rise apartment buildings dotted along the Russian Hill skyline.

… and Now, unable to get inside the shutdown restaurant, CitySleuth settled for this matching shot taken outside at ground level. The building that housed Rosario’s restaurant on Jefferson (its sign dimly visible above) is still there but the restaurant is long gone.

 
3 Comments
tags / Monterey Peninsula, Fisherman's Wharf

One On Top Of The Other - The Dumurrier Clinic

December 07, 2020  /  CitySleuth

Then … The story begins at a medical facility, a clinic run by Dr. George Dumurrier.

… and Now, but in the real world this is actually a hotel. And what’s more although the story sets it in San Francisco, it’s located 120 miles south of there on the Monterey Peninsula. This is the Lodge at Pebble Beach, a world-renowned golf resort (map). Was the movie’s director, Lucio Fulci, a golfer?

 

Then … The entrance is identified by a sign above the door.

… and Now, as is the resort’s, modestly.

 

Then … Another great view, captured by the panning camera - this one filmed from the rear of the Lodge as Henry Dumurrier, George’s brother, hurries across the lawn carrying a newspaper.

… and Now, taken from close to the same spot. The 18th green is visible just past the lawn with the beautiful coastline of Monterey Bay beyond it. The narrow white line in the middle distance is the white sands of Carmel.

 

Then … He walks up the stairs at the rear of the clinic.

… and Now, the Lodge today has seen some remodeling since then. The stairs have been expanded and now climb in two directions, the balcony has been widened over part of its length and its windows have been restyled.

 

Inside the clinic Henry (Argentinian actor Alberto De Mendoza) demands an explanation from George (French actor Jean Sorel, on the left), for an article in the paper announcing a heart transplant operation at the clinic. It’s fake news, planted by George to reel in a potential investor in Reno. (Interior scenes throughout the movie were filmed at the legendary Cinecittà Studios in Rome, Italy).

 

The newspaper page is very odd. First look at the date - the 8 in the year has obviously been changed. February 25 1968 was a Sunday, not a Tuesday; in fact this is the February 25 1969 front page of the Chronicle with an inserted article about the transplant. The caption on the photo is in Italian - a translation of the English caption. This apparently was for the benefit of Italian audiences (the director was Italian and the movie was first released there) but is totally unrealistic in an English-language newspaper. And what’s with the bizzare photo? Sloppy work, Lucio!

 
2 Comments
tags / Monterey Peninsula

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