Then… Amy suggests they take a drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Herbert is fascinated by her futuristic transportation machine and carefully watches with great interest as she operates each control. Filmed from the Marin County side, this view looks towards San Francisco to the Marina left of center, the Presidio on the right and Mount Sutro/Twin Peaks in the hazy distance.
… and Now, today’s view from the same vantage point, Battery Spencer on Conzelman Road at the Marin headlands (map), shows little change (the Sutro Tower communication mast that was built next to Twin Peaks 6 years in 1973, barely visible above, stands out more clearly here).
Then… She takes him to Muir Woods, a hugely popular secluded redwood forest on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County (map). Named after famed naturalist John Muir, it has been a U.S. National Monument since 1908. They stop and admire siamese twin trees, joined at the hip, one of several throughout the forest.
CitySleuth’s best guess for this location is that they were on the Redwood Creek Trail, filmed from the higher elevation Hillside Trail.
… and Now, much of the Redwood Creek Trail has been paved for easier walking but it has retained the rustic style of railings seen in the Then image above.
A number of movies have over the years included scenes from Muir Woods, examples being Petulia (1968) andSudden Fear (1952) in which Joan Crawford and Jack Palance (below) strolled along the same stretch of the Redwood Creek Trail pictured above . Back then, 27 years earlier, there were no railings. (The leaning tree remnant in the middle of the trail was removed years ago).
Amongst a quiet stand of young redwoods they share a little more about each other with Herbert being the more reticent.
Then … Director Lucio Fulci originally set his storyline in Louisiana but fortunately for us ended up filming it in San Francisco. It was his first film in the U.S. and he wore his tourist hat when it came to choosing locations. What more iconic if formulaic an intro than to rent a helicopter for the day, fly over the Golden Gate Bridge and tour the city as the opening credits roll?
… and Now, this recent wider panoramic view shows off the beauty of the city spread out before us. The large green expanse in both images is the Presidio, then a military base but since handed over to the city and now open to the public. A bridge feature seen below not there back in 1969 is the central divider which is seamlessly moved daily to add or subtract a lane as demanded by the commute traffic.
Then … Our tour of the city continues - this view across the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge shows Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill in the background on the right and Russian Hill off to the left. The Financial District clusters behind the aging piers of the waterfront.
… by 2014 … this image shows the proliferation of the Financial District since the 1960s, spreading South Of Market, an inexorable process that continues to this day. The other big change is along the Embarcadero where many of the piers have been removed, opening up and transforming the waterfront. (Photo credit Q T Luong/ terragalleria.com).
Then … the aerial tour next swings by the domed City Hall at the Civic Center. The building in the foreground right of center is the War Memorial Opera House with its vertically extended roof above the stage.
… by 2008 … this view was taken 12 years ago but is close to how it looks today (2020). An added building is visible in the bottom right corner - the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, built next to the Opera house in 1980 on the parking lot site seen above. The long narrow pool that ran down the spine of the plaza (barely visible above) has been removed.
Then … Here, our tour guide is flying directly over Russian Hill looking east across the North Beach and Telegraph Hill neighborhoods. The view looks beyond Coit Tower towards Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge. Note the ugly double-decker Embarcadero Freeway at far right, destined to be torn down after being damaged in the 1989 earthquake. In the foreground the twin-spired Saints Peter and Paul church faces Washington Square Park.
… and Now, here’s the same view today, taken from a Russian Hill rooftop. Its wider perspective shows in the left distance the Bay Bridge’s multi-billion dollar eastern span tower that replaced its predecessor, again because of damage from the 1989 earthquake - the western span suspension bridges however survived relatively unscathed. These neighborhoods are little changed since mostly being rebuilt after the 1906 fire.
Then … “Hey, this is San Francisco - let’s fly over Alcatraz!” The island has been a military prison dating back to 1861 but the infamous Federal Penitentiary that we see here - it opened in 1934 - was operational for only 29 years. Nevertheless, the sight of the dramatic skyline and the sounds of the city must have been cruelly painful for the prisoners to see and hear each day.
… and Now, today the former prison is one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist attractions; 1.4 million visitors are shuttled by ferry each year to and from the island. CitySleuth recommends the audio tour!
Then … We next head over to the far west of town to the Pacific Coast - beneath us is the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 42nd Avenue and Clement Street at the former Fort Miley Military Reservation, between Lincoln Park and Point Lobos (map).
… and Now, here’s a recent Google satellite view of the hospital showing significant expansion since then.
The tour ends with the helicopter pilot skimming the surf just off the south end of the Great Highway alongside the San Francisco Zoo (map). In the distance on the left a horizontal green sliver (Golden Gate Park) bisects the Sunset and Richmond districts and Lincoln Park and the Presidio outline the horizon.
Prisoners on their way to Alcatraz embarked from a small pier at Fort Mason, adjacent to Aquatic Park (map). (Fort Mason had its own pier numbering system independent of the city's waterfront Embarcadero piers). The sign informs us that these boats also supplied Fort McDowell on Angel Island .
Then ... Larwitt is driven to the pier down a narrow boardwalk alongside the Aquatic Park municipal pier. At far right is the newly built (in 1939) bathhouse building and behind it the Ghirardelli Square clock tower. Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill is there too, hiding behind the wooden post.
... and Now, the Alcatraz Pier has survived but in poor condition and is now off-limits to the public. CitySleuth captured this matching view from the municipal pier ... considering the passage of 70-plus years it's remarkably similar from here except for the TransAmerica Building on the horizon to the left of the extant clock tower. Coit Tower is clearly seen and in both Then and Now images you can make out the white speaker tower behind the bleachers, one of a pair erected on either side of the bathhouse.
... and Now, taken through the locked gate, here's a recent photo of the Alcatraz Pier. Alcatraz Island is out of the picture to the right.
In this great image Larwitt, flanked by and handcuffed to federal guards, gets his first glimpse of his future home - he won't be needing that natty attire for the next ten years. The bathhouse and the second speaker tower are seen behind him. (This closeup was filmed in a studio with a photo plate backdrop).
Then ... What he sees is Alcatraz sitting there, imposing, intimidating, awaiting.
... and Now, the federal prison was operational only from 1934 to 1963 and is but a part of the history of Alcatraz Island. In the recent photo below, with the Alcatraz Pier in the foreground, a few changes can be seen, including the water tower built in the same year (1940) the movie was released. The island today is a huge tourist destination hosting a million visitors annually.
Then ... The feds lead him down the gangway but a knowledgable observer would recognize that this isn't the same pier, in fact Fort Mason is two miles away, visible from here in the distance just right of center.
... and Now, this was filmed at the small coastguard pier near Crissy Field in the Presidio. A second shed alongside the smaller square one has since been added and an adjacent pier on the right is gone.
On a trivia note here's the same location from the 1958 movie The Lineup by which time that second shed had been built (in fact it was already built by 1947 as seen, together with the adjacent pier, here in the movie Dark Passage.
The red and white markers on the map below show the locations of the two piers relative to each other.
... but as the boat pulls away we are back at the Fort Mason Alcatraz Pier.
Then ... The next shot looks back towards the bathhouse and speaker tower.
... and Now, 1939 coincided with the tail end of the Art Deco period and its Streamline Moderne influence on the speaker tower and bathhouse are clearly evident.
CitySleuth couldn't resist including this cute vintage photo taken the year the bathhouse was built. Intended primarily to broadcast sports events, the speakers went silent decades ago.
Brenda has witnessed the prisoner transfer - the poignant sight of her husband's slowly receding boat heralds a significant life-changer for them both.
Ed Cullen's younger brother Andy has figured out that Lois Frazer was responsible for the murder of her husband and that Ed had covered it up. Putting aside family loyalties he informs the authorities and an all-points bulletin is put out for their arrest. The lovers hear it over the radio as they try to flee the city.
Then ... They make a quick U-turn and head for the nearest city exit, the Golden Gate Bridge, seen in the distance. (Click the image to enlarge it).
... and Now, hardly changed in over 60 years, this is in the upscale Sea Cliff neighborhood on El Camino Del Mar near Sea Cliff Avenue (map). (Click the image to enlarge it).
Then ... Now on Doyle Drive, aka highway 101, they are approaching the bridge toll booths.
... and Now, the bridge is way busier than it was in 1950. The toll booths are just off the picture on the left.
Then ... Uh - oh, the cops have beaten them to it and have the bridge closed off.
... and Now, some changes have taken place at the toll booths since then the biggest of which is the absence of toll-collectors, displaced in 2013 by Fastrak sensors and license plate cameras. But there's still a clock mounted in the center.
... a vintage photo ... here's a contemporaneous c. 1950 photo that adds color to the same location. Note the black-and-whites at far right.
Then ... The last San Francisco exit, into the Presidio, is right before the toll booths and Cullen takes it to avoid the roadblock. They decide to hide out at Fort Point and he is next seen heading there, turning into Long Avenue from Lincoln Boulevard (map). A sweeping vista of the Marina district and the City beyond catches our eye.
... and Now, one of those piers has been removed otherwise the marina looks as inviting as it always has. The city skyline of course has seen many changes and the tall white tower in the upper left quadrant is the new Eastern Bay Bridge structure.
... in 1947 ... coincidentally, or not, the same location was filmed three years earlier when Lauren Bacall drove Humphrey Bogart to her apartment in the movie Dark Passage.
Then ... Long Avenue runs into Marine Drive which in turn dead-ends at Fort Point. The camera pans from left to right, following them along Marine Drive. (Click the image to enlarge it).
... and Now, the same panorama today from the same vantage point. The camera was set up in front of Fort Point (map). (Click the image to enlarge it).
... in 1957 ... Alfred Hitchcock must have seen this movie. When Scottie follows Madeleine in Vertigo in the fall of 1957 the director used the identical panorama. Note that the old lighthouse keepers' houses on the right seen in the Then image above and the Vertigo image below are no longer there.
Then ... Cullen reaches his destination, old Fort Point, an army garrison once a proud lonely sentinel but now dwarfed by the towering Golden Gate Bridge.
... and Now, it seems time has stood still here in the 60-plus years since the movie was made.