Reel SF

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

Vertigo - Ernie's Restaurant

  Elster has told Scottie he will be dining at Ernie's with his wife and suggests he drop in to see what she looks like.  The famous Ernie's, in business for 61 years until it closed in 1995, was at 847 Montgomery Street in San Francisco (map) but these scenes were actually filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood where Hitchcock painstakingly replicated the restaurant.

    People dressed up when dining out in the 1950s and Madeleine is no exception in her stunning silk gown.  Hitchcock's careful use of color throughout the movie is vividly apparent here in the counterpoint between her green outfit and the plush red walls.

Then ...   Scottie, sitting at the bar at far right, sneaks a peek at her across the crowded room.

... in 1961 ...  here's a vintage photo of customers relaxing in Ernie's Ambrosia room.  Note the same wallpaper as in the studio recreation above.  Note also the wooden wainscot wrapped around the wall in both images.

 

Then ...  the exterior of Ernie's, seen here as Scottie waits outside, was also recreated in the studio.  That's a lot of work for a shot that lasts only for a few seconds but such was Hitchcock's famous attention to detail.

... in 1964 ... this vintage photo shows us how Ernie's looked when the movie was filmed and what a good reproduction Henry Bumstead, Hitchock's renowned art director, achieved.

... and Now,   the building is still there but now houses offices and shops.

 

    On their way out Madeleine serenely pauses right next to Scottie ...

 

  ... and by the time she has swept out of the restaurant, he's a goner.

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