Sudden Fear (1952)
The Movie
Francois Truffaut called this movie “a masterpiece of cinema” and Joan Crawford and Jack Palance were both nominated for a leading role Oscar for their performances. Directed by David Miller, it was based on a novel by Edna Sherry. It premiered in New York City on August 7, 1952 and subsequently was released in ten other countries over the next twelve months to capitalize on Crawford's global stardom at that time. Gloria Grahame added sexy and sultry to the mix while the steep streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill combined to keep the audience slightly off-balance throughout.
The Story
Wealthy playwright Myra Hudson (Crawford) decides the leading man Lester Blaine (Palance) cast in her new Broadway play is unsuitable in a romantic role and summarily fires him. After the show's successful opening she heads home to San Francisco, bumping into the much younger Lester who, surprise, just happens to be on her train. He spends the long trip charming her and she is in love by the time they arrive. They marry but their apparently idyllic union is doomed when his ex-lover Irene Neves (Grahame) turns up. Myra is stunned when she finds out they intend to murder her for her money but uses her scriptwriting skills to devise a retributive counter-attack. Real life doesn't follow a script however and events unfold in a very different way.
(For enhanced viewing, a good quality restoration is now available on a Blu-ray disc by the Cohen Film Collection).
The Locations
Not Good Enough Panorama from 220 E. 42d Street, New York--- Bijou Theater, 209 W. 45th Street, New York
Train Ride West Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan--- Oakland Pier, 7th Street, Oakland
Homecoming View from the Top O' The Mark, Mark Hopkins Hotel, Nob Hill--- 2800 Scott Street at Green, Cow Hollow
Day Trippers Cathedral Grove, Muir Woods, Marin County--- Twin Peaks Vista--- Golden Gate Bridge
Lester's Place 1079 Lombard Street, Russian Hill
Myra's Summer House 250 Beach Road, Belvedere
An Old Flame Shows Up Palace of the Legion Of Honor, Lincoln Park
The Good Life War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue--- Los Alamitos Race Course, 4961 Katella Avenue, Los Alamitos--- The Cirque Room, Fairmont hotel, Nob Hill
Irene's Apartment The Tamalpais, 1201 Greenwich Street, Russian Hill
Run, Myra, Run! The Tamalpais, 1201 Greenwich Street, Russian Hill --- Cinnabar Street and W. 3rd Street, Bunker Hill, Los Angeles
Sudden Death Boswell Apartments, 245 S. Flower Street. Bunker Hill, Los Angeles --- Claridge Hotel, 428 W. 2nd Street, Bunker Hill, Los Angeles--- Dome Hotel Apartments, W. 2nd and Grand Avenue, Bunker Hill, Los Angeles --- Mission Apartments, 504 W. 2nd Street, Bunker Hill at Olive, Los Angeles