In addition to the gun, Jo also found a letter in Chan’s cab. It was from his brother, delivered to an earlier address before it was forwarded to his current address in the St Paul Hotel.
On a trivia aside, of interest perhaps only to philatelists, the stamp on the above envelope was one of a set of five released in 1978 featuring early windmills from different states. The one on the envelope is the Massachusetts 1793.
Then … Jo goes to the original address on the forwarded letter at 1385 Vallejo (map) - the entrance on the left - but nobody was there. A man who lived in the building told him Chan used to live there with his family but he moved six months ago with “the other woman”, presumably she who had removed the photographs from Chan’s apartment.
… and Now, the shot above was filmed from a top level window of the building across the street from it. This matching photo shows that the posts on either side of 1385’s entrance have since been replaced.
Here’s that building, on the corner of Larkin and Vallejo; the arrow points to where the camera looked down for the street shot. Incidentally, this 3rd floor apartment was also used for filming Jo’s place, seen earlier in the movie. (Makes sense, it was efficient and economical to maximise the utilization of the apartment given the movie’s meager budget).
The next scene , during which Jo tells us he sees the other woman, was filmed on Stockton Street in Chinatown. This photo shows Wayne Wang directing his crew there. The Kum Yuen restaurant behind them was at 1247 Stockton. Wang is talking with crew member Sara Chin while cinematographer Michael Chin takes a lightmeter reading.
Then … Here we see Jo looking towards the other woman. Note the scale on the sidewalk ahead; it’s the same one as in the location photo above at far left.
… and Now, the view ahead looks south down Stockton Street. The tall building in the distance both Then and Now is the 72 unit Mandarin Tower condominiums built in 1970. On the right the New Moon restaurant has replaced Kum Yuen.
Then … When Jo spots the other woman the store across the street, number 1248, places his cab location precisely.
… and Now, This is 1248 Stockton, so Jo is parked alongside the store opposite it, at 1251 Stockton.
Then … The camera cuts to the other woman casually brushing her hair, apparently in front of 1251 Stockton; back then that store was Kenson’s Trading Co. Gourmet Food. The movie’s storyline doesn’t make clear whether the attractive young lady is a political bedfellow of Chan or just a bedfellow. Or both. The uncredited part was played by Nancy Wong, the still photographer for the movie (some of her stills appear in this blog). CitySleuth has recently been in touch with her; she told him she still has the stylish Jeanne Marc jacket that she wore in this scene.
… and Now? 1251 Stockton currently houses the Fu Yuan Food Market. The film’s clues intimate that this is the Other Woman location and indeed, the number and location of the overhead lights match the movie shot. On the other hand the sign inside the store, above, appears to be aisle numbers 11 A and B suggesting that this was filmed at a place larger than this small store…
… and, consistent with this, Nancy Wong recalls that the scene was actually filmed a block further south at the much larger Tian Tian Market at 1117 Stockton. Below is a contemporaneous (1976) photo of that store, at that time called the Lun Wah Market, as it would have looked when the movie was made. Nancy’s recollection is that she was standing in front of the entrance on the left below the awning.
… and Now, this is how that doorway looks today at Tian Tian Market (it has been remodeled and widened since the above photo was taken).
A magazine has published a photo of the flag-waving protest that led to the murder of a Taiwan supporter by Chan’s friend, the old man, a Mainland Chinese supporter.
Then … That sets Jo musing about the unfolding mystery as he sits in his cab across Kearny Street from the Holiday Inn hotel under the bridge at Portsmouth Square (map
… and Now, the hotel has since been refurbished and renamed the Hilton Financial Center. That’s Merchant Street on the right in both images.
Then … He continues his voiceover while pottering around in the kitchen of his apartment. But where was this filmed?
… and Now, CitySleuth tracked Jo’s apartment down - it’s at 2104 Larkin Street in Russian Hill. Here’s that same kitchen now; it’s had cabinet and countertop upgrades, the appliances too, but is still squeezed into the same tiny space.
Then … Here’s how the apartment was found: earlier in the movie there was a brief night-time exterior shot of Jo in the apartment. The juxtaposed detail of siding, window trim and the bay window overhead molding plus a hint from director Wang led CitySleuth to the location.
… and Now, this is the same bay window today. The windows have been replaced but all else is identical 40 years later.
… and Now, director Wang’s recollection to CitySleuth was that the apartment was “either in Lower Nob Hill or Russian Hill”. A search of those neighborhoods revealed it to be the 3rd floor apartment on the corner building at Larkin and Vallejo in Russian Hill, address 2104 Larkin Street (map). The arrow points to the Then and Now window seen above, on the Vallejo side of the building. The corner store was Uncle Sam’s Grocery when the movie was filmed; it’s now a Pilates Studio.
The mood darkens when we learn that while Jo was cleaning out Chan’s cab he found a gun under the front seat. On hearing this, Steve speculates that it was Chan who killed the flag-waving protester with this gun and that the old man was covering up for him. But when asked, the old man tells Jo that Chan wasn’t involved.
Monica is out on bail. Being a suspected accomplice to a murder is not her only problem; one of her clients, Benjamin Wormser (Italian actor Riccardo Cucciolla) is pathetically obsessed with her, often letting himself into her apartment with a spare key she had given him. When she tells him she’s through with him he threatens to kill her if she gives him the heave-ho. She does anyway, with disdain.
Then … The police have made up their mind. Inspector Wald is dropped off to arrest George - he is staying at Jane’s studio near the top of the famous Crooked Street block on Lombard Street in the Russian Hill neighborhood.
… and Now, with Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill as the centerpiece and the Bay Bridge and the east bay beyond, this has to be one of the most spectacular views in San Francisco.
Then … A second cop awaits him - they head up to the top floor studio at 1083 Lombard Street (also seen earlier in the movie) to make the arrest.
In the police station George is accused of the murder of his wife. When he denies paying Monica for forging Susan’s signature on the life insurance policy Wald produces an envelope found hidden in Monica’s apartment with the money inside and with one of George’s fingerprints on it. He is doomed, subsequently charged, convicted and sent to San Quentin Prison for an appointment with the gas chamber.
Now the police go after Monica, but find her apartment empty; she has fled. Benjamin is there, bereft and in disbelief. The only thing left behind is a painting of a restaurant - Vagenende.
… and Now, Vagenende is a real restaurant - an iconic Belle Epoque brasserie still there at 142 Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris; a later scene in the movie will play out amongst its beautiful Art Nouveau interiors.
Then … The killer has threatened to kill one person a day until his ransom is paid. He had struck from a rooftop the first time so the police department posted armed lookouts on rooftops around the city and dispatched a helicopter to survey from above. The panorama below, filmed from a tall building in Russian Hill, looks to the north and spans the Golden Gate Bridge on the left to Alcatraz on the right.
… and Now, CitySleuth was able to access the same rooftop to be able to match the panorama as it looks today, … mostly identical but a breakwater has been added at Hyde Street Pier and Pier 45 at far right..
The camera’s vantage point was the roof of Bellaire Tower, pictured in a recent photo below. Built in 1930, the elegant pencil-thin condominium at 1101 Green Street (map) was designed by H.C. Baumann, a prolific San Francisco architect who designed over 400 apartment buildings and hotels.
The helicopter then flies past more police lookouts positioned atop Bellaire Tower. The building seen through the antenna at far right is The Summit at 999 Green Street, another swanky residential high-rise. Built in 1965, this Joseph Eichler project had a modern exterior design - lots of glass and balconies - but lacking the class of Bellaire Tower.
Then … The helicopter banks towards downtown in a shot that shows 999 Green more clearly on the left. The tall building at far right is the Bank Of America Center from whose roof the killer had first struck.
… and Now, downtown today is far more crowded. The TransAmerica pyramid clearly visible below was under construction at the time of the fly-by. When completed it was the tallest building in the city until being surpassed in 2018 by the bullet-shaped Salesforce Tower.
If for no other reason than it’s a lovely photo, check out this north-facing view of the Russian Hill high-rises showing The Summit in the center and Bellaire Tower on the left.
Then … The helicopter lands on a rooftop to check in with Harry Callahan. The nearby red sign reading ‘BM&T Paper’ belonged to the 870 Brannan Street headquarters of Blake Moffit & Towne Wholesale Paper Distributors - it provided the clue to this location: this is the helipad on the roof of the Hall Of Justice at 850 Bryant Street in the SoMa district.
The helicopter takes off and Callahan descends into the Police headquarters.
… and Now, here’s a recent aerial shot of The Hall Of Justice; the helipad is still there but no longer used after the SFPD Aero Squadron was disbanded in part because of fatal crashes. On the left Highway 80 runs past the curvilinear County Jail.
Then … The helicopter swings by a couple more lookouts - this one is on the roof of 1080 Chestnut in Russian Hill. Above it are the Municipal and Hyde Street Piers.
Then … And here’s another atop the Fontana East Condominiums at 1000 North Point, also in Russian Hill. That’s Aquatic Park on the left.
… and Now, this recent aerial view captures both of those buildings - the yellow arrow points to 1080 Chestnut and the white arrow to 1000 North Point. Fort Mason is in the upper left corner and Fisherman’s Wharf is over to the right.
