Dear Old Hollywood

Madison, Wisconsin

Most of our family trip was spent in the city of Madison. Golden era Hollywood and Broadway actor Ralph Bellamy once described the city of Madison, Wisconsin like this: "Madison is a beautiful city, between Lake Monona and Lake Mendota. It's cold with lots of snow in the winter. Buddy and leafy and fresh in the spring. Green and lush and hot, with frequent lake breezes, in the summer. Blazing with color and sunsets in the fall. The university [of Wisconsin] inspired an intellectual excitement. Cop's Cafeteria on the Capitol Square was a gathering place for students at night, and they were friendly...Madison was a spirited, progressive city." Bellamy was describing the city as it was during his days living in the city performing in a stock company in the early 1920s, but his description is still a perfect way to describe the city as it is today.

Ralph Bellamy and Melvyn Douglas

Bellamy's friend and fellow actor, Melvyn Douglas, had landed the part of the leading man in a Madison stock company. Douglas was able to get Bellamy a job as a general businessman and stage manager, earning $40 a week. The stock company performed in a theatre just off the Capitol Square. Today there are still many theaters, nightclubs, and other entertainment around the Capitol Square and in the summer there are even outdoor concerts on the square. If Bellamy were still with us, I'm sure he would feel right at home in the present Madison.

The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in front of the capitol.

During our visit to Wisconsin, Zinnia, Hazel and I joined some relatives and friends for one night of Concerts on the Square next to the Capitol. On Wednesday nights during the summer, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra performs on the steps of the capitol. Attendees can bring their blankets and picnic baskets and find a spot on the capitol lawn. There are also food vendors around the square where you can purchase food.

People gather on the capital lawn for some outdoor music.

Every night of Concerts on the Square has a different theme. This year the themes ranged from "Star-Spangled Spectacular" for a Fourth of July show to "Sweeping Soundtracks" featuring music from films like Ben Hur and Harry Potter. The night we went the theme was "Across the Pond" featuring British music.

The family in front of the Capitol.

An alternative to picnicking on the lawn is to reserve a table near the orchestra on the sidewalk leading up to the capitol. Our family and friends had reserved a table for ten just to the side of the orchestra. Our view was fantastic and the sound was too! If you reserve a table you can still bring your own food and drinks or you can reserve a box supper, order from one of the vendors, or have a catered meal.

Diners who have reserved tables on the capitol sidewalk.

Hazel's first time inside the Wisconsin State Capitol.

One interesting film fact is that the Madison capitol is sometimes featured as a film location but not as the state capitol. Recently in the film Public Enemies (2009) with Johnny Depp, the Madison Capitol was used as the FBI Headquarters and in Chain Reaction (1996) with Morgan Freeman and Keanu Reeves, the interior of the Madison Capitol stands in for the D.C. Capitol.

When Bellamy was in Madison, according to his memoir, When the Smoke Hit the Fan, he "lived in a rooming house at 222 Monona Avenue." He doesn't mention if Douglas lived in the same house or not, but he does mention that they jointly owned a Model T Ford. Although Douglas had the role of the leading man in the stock company, during one Sunday matinee, Bellamy got his chance to play the lead when Douglas, while putting his makeup on suddenly fell off his chair with an attack of appendicitis. Douglas was taken to the hospital and Bellamy, being about the same size as Douglas, put on his costume and played the lead role in his place. At the end of his performance playing the lead part Bellamy recalled that,

"many students came to our Sunday matinees. When the curtain touched the floor, the company lined up for a curtain call. When it rose again, through the applause came a loud, prolonged 'Hiss-ss-ss,' and the curtain dropped. I was pretty upset because I took the hiss to be for me. The curtain rose again to continued applause, and through it cam 'Boom! Bah! Bellamy-Bellamy-Rah! Rah! Rah!' I felt pretty good."

Not far from the Capitol Square, a straight walk down the eclectic State Street, a street filled with cafes and bars, head shops, thrift stores, hip restaurants, street musicians, theaters, and many colorful characters, is the Memorial Union Terrace. The Terrace is a popular hangout for University of Wisconsin students and local Madisonians that faces the shore of Lake Mendota. During the summer there is live music five nights a week and on Mondays there are movies by the lake.

The Memorial Union Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin

Sailing and windsurfing on Lake Mendota

The Memorial Union Terrace

Hazel and Daddy relaxing by the lake.

On a hot summer day, the Memorial Union Terrace is the perfect place to grab a beer, a brat or a scoop of ice cream. There is the Brat Stand serving up brats and local beers on tap and the Daily Scoop which serves up Babcock Dairy Ice Cream (made fresh locally in the University of Wisconsin Dairy Plant), gourmet coffee drinks, sandwiches, wraps, salads and fresh bakery treats.

Hazel and Mommy sitting in front of The Memorial Union.

Sally Kellerman & Rodney Dangerfield by the Terrace

Another film to feature Madison is a personal favorite, the comedy Back to School (1986), starring Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Robert Downey Jr., Keith Gordon, and Ned Beatty with appearances by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Sam Kinison, and the band Oingo Boingo. This film features quite a few places on the University of Wisconsin campus, the home of the Badgers, but in the film, the school is the fictional "Grand Lakes University."

Back to School (1986), Movie Trailer

To close on an old Hollywood note, the real University of Wisconsin has produced a long list of alumni that went on to make their way in Hollywood. Some famous University of Wisconsin students from the classic Hollywood era include Fredric March, Agnes Moorehead, Tom Ewell, Don Ameche, Macdonald Carey, and Walter Mirisch who was the producer of such films as West Side Story (1961), In the Heat of the Night (1967), and The Magnificent Seven (1960).

The film Kiss Them For Me (1957) is a bit of a mixed bag. Although this comedy directed by Stanley Donen is weak on plot and doesn't deliver many big laughs there are still quite a few things that make this film worth watching including Cary Grant, some nice San Francisco filming locations, Ray Walston in his first film role (you know, "Mr. Hand" from Fast Times at Ridgemont High!), bombshell Jayne Mansfield, and some of the fashions.

The film is about three Navy pilots, all war heroes, who are on leave in San Francisco for four days. They are put up in a posh suite in a fine hotel and Commander Andy Crewson (Grant) plans to fill the suite with girls, booze and music. Meanwhile Lieutenant Wallace is trying to get the pilots to make speeches that will rally the homefront for the war effort but after several months in combat all the pilots want to do is have some fun - not give speeches.

The hotel where the three pilots stay is San Francisco's historic Fairmont Hotel, located at 950 Mason Street. In the next few screen comparisons below we see the pilots, Cary Grant, Ray Walston and Larry Blyden, being driven down Mason Street to the hotel entrance. On their way to the hotel they pass the Brocklebank Apartments located at 1000 Mason Street which was also a key filming location in another film that is a personal favorite, Impact (1949) starring Brian Donlevy.

Looking North down Mason Street from the Brocklebank Apartments.

Looking North down Mason Street from the

Brocklebank Apartments as it looks today.

The taxi passes the Brocklebank Apartments.

Brocklebank Apartments, 1000 Mason Street.

Looking East down Sacramento St. from Mason St.

Brocklebank Apts on left. Fairmont Hotel on right.

The taxi arrives at the Fairmont Hotel.

The Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street.

Walston gets out of the taxi at the Fairmont.

Behind Walston is the Pacific-Union Club a private

social club across the street from the Fairmont Hotel.

Grant, Walston, and Blyden enter the Fairmont Hotel lobby.

The stylish Cary Grant with Suzy Parker

Just a side note: The August 2012 issue of GQ magazine has a four page spread praising the monkstrap dress shoe, so I thought it was interesting in the scene above with Grant sipping a martini on the floor with Suzy Parker, to see that he is wearing a pair of monkstrap shoes. Cary Grant never goes out of style!

A view of San Francisco from the Fairmont Hotel.

In the next scene Grant and Parker leave the Fairmont Hotel and board a trolley to a nightclub. The trolley heads away from the hotel going East down California Street but when they got off the trolley they are a few blocks Northeast from the hotel at the intersection of Powell and Washington in front of the Low Apartments building.

Grant and Parker board a trolley. Mason St. at California St.

Mason Street at California Street.

The trolley approaches the Low Apartments, 1060 Powell St.

The Low Apartments, 1060 Powell Street.

When Grant and Parker get off the trolley at the corner of Powell and Washington, it looks like they are walking across the street to the nightclub, but in reality the nightclub location is a half mile away at 498 Broadway Street.

Grant and Parker leave the trolley at Powell and Washington.

Looking up Powell St. from Washington St.

Below is the exterior of the nightclub location located at the corner of Broadway and Kearny Streets. Only the exterior of the location was used. The interior scenes were filmed on a soundstage.

Looking up Kearny Street from Broadway.

My first thought was that the nightclub location would have been across the street from where Grant and Parker get off the trolley, but the building that was there didn't look anything like the Club that is featured in the film, so I started looking elsewhere. As I mentioned before, the nightclub location turned out to be a half mile away from where Grant and Parker get off the trolley.

Using the historic photographs available from the San Francisco Public Library I tried searching for old clubs and restaurants and eventually I came across an old photograph of a restaurant called "Vanessi's" (see below). Immediately when I saw the photo of Vanessi's restaurant I knew that that was the correct location for the nightclub scene. I also noticed that in the screenshot below with Grant and Parker standing in front of the Club are the numbers "49" and the address of Vanessi's happens to be "498" Broadway. See the yellow squares in the images below. Click the images to enlarge.

Grant and Parker at 498 Broadway, in front of the nightclub.

Vanessi's restaurant. 498 Broadway St, San Francisco

498 Broadway as it appears today - drastically remodeled.

In one of the last scenes of the film Grant and Parker are seen riding in the back of a taxi on their way to the shipyards. Along the way they drive down Hyde Street towards Lombard Street, the "Crookedest Street in the World," and then making a left down Lombard. In one view we can see Alcatraz Island in the distance and once they round the corner on to Lombard we get a view of Coit Tower in the background.

Looking North down Hyde Street from Lombard Street.

Alcatraz Island can be seen in the background.

Looking down Hyde Street from Lombard Street.

The taxi turns left down Lombard St. from Hyde St.

The small house at the corner of Hyde and Lombard is now gone.

The taxi heads down the crooked Lombard Street.

Coit Tower can be seen in the background.

Looking down crooked Lombard Street.

Even though the overall story for Kiss Them For Me may not be great, I still think this movie is worth watching for the reasons I mentioned before. The film is currently available for streaming on Netflix and is also available on DVD.

Your thoughts?

Entrance to Buster Keaton Estate

Mark your calendars. On Saturday, October 6, 2012, the Los Angeles Conservancy is having a benefit dinner party that is being held at the Buster Keaton Estate in Beverly Hills. This your chance to support a great cause and explore the home of a Hollywood legend - and not just one Hollywood legend.

Media Room

The Los Angeles Conservancy website says this about the home:

"Buster Keaton built the 10,000 square-foot home shortly after completing his masterpiece, The General (1926). Yet the estate's Hollywood pedigree doesn't stop there: it was later the home to other stars, including Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, and James Mason. By the mid-1990s, the estate had fallen into disrepair. It was purchased by a pair of preservation-minded buyers who immediately undertook a major restoration."

The Entry

Just think of all the guests who have passed through the above entrance way. If only walls could talk - the stories they would be able to tell!

Billiard Room

If you would like to attend, tickets don't come cheap. Individual tickets begin at $300 each and go up to $10,000! But hey, if you got that kind of dough why not put it to good use. Space for dinner is limited. Attire is cocktail or 1920s vintage.

For full details and to purchase tickets visit the Los Angeles Conservancy website.

Ida Lupino and Edmund Purdom

The main reason I started watching the film Strange Intruder (1956) was because it starred Ida Lupino. A nice surprise was spotting the Sierra Madre, California town square that is more famously recognizable from the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), which coincidentally enough was filmed the same year as Strange Intruder. Beyond Lupino and seeing exterior scenes filmed in Sierra Madre, the film is a bit of a clunker.

The story is about a Korean War veteran, Paul Quentin (Edmund Purdom), who promised his dying friend that he would look after his family when he returned to the United States. Purdom, however, has gone crazy and begins to envision killing his friend's kids as well as the man who was having an affair with his friend's wife (Ida Lupino). The film is very melodramatic and the tone and story feels very schizophrenic, like director Irving Rapper didn't know what kind of film he wanted to make. Lupino seems to be just going through the motions and Purdom seems like a stand-in for James Mason. Nevertheless, there are some interesting moments, notably the filming in Sierra Madre.

When Purdom is first dismissed from a Veteran's hospital and arrives in town via bus, he is dropped off at the Sierra Madre, California town square, about 18 miles Northeast from downtown Los Angeles and only 3 miles from Santa Anita Racetrack. We see the bus drive South on Baldwin Avenue and then round the corner onto Sierra Madre Boulevard heading West. At the end of the film we see him leave town on a bus from the this same location.

The bus heads down Baldwin Avenue.

20 N. Baldwin Ave, Sierra Madre, Ca

Lupino says goodbye to Purdom at corner of Baldwin & Sierra Madre.

Looking up Baldwin Ave from Sierra Madre Blvd.

In this view we see what was then a Union gas station.

Now on the corner is a Valero gas station.

The bus turns from Baldwin Ave on to Sierra Madre Blvd.

As the bus turns the corner from Baldwin Avenue on to Sierra Madre Boulevard we get a glimpse of a market in the background. The market building is still standing but in the yellow triangle you will see that the adjacent building at the end has been torn down and is now the site of a parking lot.

Corner of Baldwin Ave & Sierra Madre Blvd.

The adjacent building is now a parking lot.

Once the bus is on Sierra Madre Boulevard we see that the first building on the Southwest corner is also demolished and is now a parking lot.

Sierra Madre Boulevard at Baldwin Avenue.

The site of the building is now a parking lot.

The rest of the buildings on this strip of Sierra Madre Boulevard are still standing, most recognizable is the "HAPPY'S" building. The other buildings that are still standing have added second stories and have made other exterior alterations.

Happy's Wines Spirits & Market

12 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre, Ca.

12 W. Sierra Madre Boulevard.

The buildings next to Happy's have no 2nd floor.

A second story has been added to the buildings next to Happy's.

The corner of Kersting Ct. at W. Sierra Madre Boulevard.

I don't believe Strange Intruder has had any official DVD release but it is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Your thoughts?

Robert Arthur and Joan Evans

On the Loose (1951) is one of those 1950s films with a theme about juvenile delinquency. In this short B movie Joan Evans plays a neglected teenager who will do anything to get her parents attention, including suicide. Her aloof parents are played by Melvyn Douglas and Lynn Bari. This is one of those quick movies I'll throw on when I can't really make up my mind what to watch. It's not too long, can be easily watched in the background while doing something else (like playing with a baby on the floor!), and if I'm lucky, maybe I'll see some interesting film locations.

As for film locations, most of the action in this film takes place on interior sets that were clearly constructed on a studio soundstage, but there is one scene that takes place outside a high school. In the film the school is identified as Central High School. In reality the school is the Beverly Hills High School located at 241 Moreno Drive.

"Central High School" really Beverly Hills High School.

241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills High School

The front of the high school has not changed much since 1951. The most dramatic change are those high-rise buildings standing in the background.

I'm not sure if On the Loose is available on DVD, but if you are looking for some 1950s teenage drama, the film is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Ernest Borgnine in front of his home in 1969.

The longtime Beverly Hills home of Oscar winning actor Ernest Borgnine is currently for sale at $3.395 million. Borgnine lived in the house for six decades. Pretty impressive when you hear so many other stars constantly buying and selling houses. The home is located at 3055 Lake Glen Drive, in the Beverly Hills Post Office area, on a 1/2 acre lot above Mulholland Drive, and has views of the San Fernando Valley.

The home was designed by architect L.G. Scherer in 1938 with a Country English style. The house has a formal entry hall, large spacious living and family rooms that open up to a swimming pool, a library, office, den, breakfast, room and kitchen. There are six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, plus a one bedroom guesthouse. For more details on the house visit the official real estate listing.

As I've mentioned with other classic Hollywood homes that have gone on the market, I only hope the buyer maintains the integrity of the house. How great would it be to start your day by having breakfast in the same kitchen as a Hollywood icon like Borgnine or doing some reading in the same den?

Click images to enlarge.

The front of Borgnine's home as it appears today.

A view of the swimming pool.

The gated entrance.

The formal entry hall.

Borgnine and wife Tova Traesnaes by the stairwell.

Borgnine with an earlier wife, Donna and their kids:

Sharon, 3, and Cristofer, 3. July 1, 1969.

Borgnine passed away in July at the age of 95. Although it doesn't normally come as a shock if someone dies and they are 95 years old, I was a bit surprised when I heard that Borgnine had died. I had seen him a year earlier at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood when he did a Q&A with TCM host, Ben Mankiewicz, as part of TCM's "Road to Hollywood" series. I have some video clips of Borgnine that day you can see here. Borgnine was so energetic and appeared like one of those guys who still had at least a few more years ahead of him - like a Bob Hope or George Burns. The much younger Mankiewicz even joked that earlier in the day he was having trouble keeping up with Borgnine.

What are your thoughts on Borgnine the man and his home?

Right now there is a battle going on in Los Angeles. It's a stadium war. There are a few competing developers out there that each think they have the best plan to build a new stadium in Los Angeles and bring back an NFL football team. Whichever plan wins out, I just hope that the ghost of Charlton Heston is looking over the stadium on the day some psycho decides to attend the game and start picking off people with a sniper rifle.

Two-Minute Warning (1976) takes the basic idea of the earlier Peter Bogdanovich film, Targets (1968), in that it has a sniper who sets out to shoot innocent people in a public place. In Targets the shooter plants himself on top of an LA gas tank and starts shooting people driving by on the freeway. In Two-Minute Warning a shooter hides at the top of an LA football stadium ready to shoot players and fans attending a big championship game. The biggest difference between the two films is that Targets has a real feeling of suspense, whereas Two-Minute Warning feels forced and cheapened by an all too familiar disaster film formula. And of course, 1970s disaster film king, Heston, is there to save the day.

If you like the disaster film genre, you will probably find some value in this film. It's also worth watching for the Los Angeles filming locations and the great cast: Heston, John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam, Beau Bridges, Jack Klugman, Gena Rowlands, Walter Pidgeon and a few other great characters.

Most of the action takes place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum located at 3939 South Figueroa Street. [Click images to see larger.]

Opening scene looking over the stadium.

Present day view of the stadium. Photo: lacoliseumlive.com

The football teams in the film are fictional but the Los Angeles team wears the same colors as the University of Southern California Trojans: Cardinal Red and Gold. Below is a screenshot of the stadium filled with fans in their red and gold colors.

The Memorial Coliseum is the location of the championship game.

Martin Balsam & Charlton Heston spy a sniper on the Coliseum tower.

A view of the Coliseum entrance tower. Photo: SCPR.org

S. Figueroa Street at W. 39th Street. Coliseum in background.

S. Figueroa St. at 39th St. as it appears today.

Beau Bridges and family picnic in front of the Coliseum.

At the beginning of the film the sniper, standing from a hotel balcony, shoots a bicyclist riding in the distance. We don't really get an explanation why he shoots the cyclist, but maybe he's warming up before going to the stadium to shoot more people? The hotel location is what is now known as the Hotel Angeleno in Brentwood, located at 170 N. Church Lane. The hotel is right next to the 405 freeway and Sunset Boulevard, the heart of the "Carmageddon" construction that has been taking place.

Hotel Angeleno as seen in Two-Minute Warning.

The Hotel Angeleno as it appears today.

The sniper stands from the hotel balcony and shoots a bicyclist riding down N. Thurston Circle in the neighborhood directly across the 405 freeway. The building with the two chimneys, see inside the yellow circle, is the easiest building to identify.

N. Thurston Circle as it appears in the film.

N. Thurston Circle as it appears now.

A cyclist is shot at the corner of N. Thurston Circle and Thurston Pl.

N. Thurston Circle and Thurston Pl. as it appears today.

The sniper on N. Church Lane in front of Hotel Angeleno.

N. Church Lane as it appears today.

The Los Angeles Police Department Southwest Station.

Police Station located at 1546 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Below the sniper is driving from the hotel to the stadium located downtown. He is driving down the 10 freeway where it crosses S. Union Avenue. It's interesting to see how much the skyline has changed on the left in about 36 years.

The sniper drives down the 10 freeway.

The 10 freeway where it crosses S. Union Ave.

Many of the people that have traveled to attend the big championship football game stay at the Sheraton Town House located at 2961 Wilshire Boulevard.

The Sheraton Town House as seen in the film.

The Sheraton Town House as it appears today.

In the scene below, one of the hotel guests is entering a taxi in front of the hotel entrance on S. Commonwealth Ave. This is the same spot where in the film Donovan's Brain (1953) actor Lew Ayres is seen getting into a car. Also, peeking in the distance is the First Congregational Church, the church James Mason attends in the film Bigger Than Life (1956).

A hotel guest leaves the Sheraton Town House.

In front of the Sheraton Town House on S. Commonwealth Ave.

Jack Klugman is hung out of the Sheraton balcony.

First Congregational Church is in the background.

The First Congregational Church. Commonwealth Ave. at 6th St.

Gena Rowlands and her husband fly into Los Angeles to attend the championship football game. They fly into Los Angeles International Airport, LAX, located at 380 World Way, Los Angeles.

LAX Airport as seen in Two-Minute Warning.

LAX Airport, 380 World Way, Los Angeles

Below the sniper is almost to the Coliseum. He is driving down S. Figueroa Street near the intersection of 39th Street. In the distance you can see what looks like an old Kentucky Fried Chicken sign in the film but is now the site of Chano's Drive-In.

S. Figueroa St. near 39th Street.

S. Figueroa St. near 39th Street as it appears today.

The sniper drives one more block down Figueroa and pulls into a parking lot across from the Coliseum.

Sniper drives near 3937 S. Figueroa Street.

3937 S. Figueroa Street.

The sniper pulls into the parking lot at 3937 S. Figueroa.

The parking lot at 3937 S. Figueroa Street.

Two-Minute Warning is currently available for streaming on Netflix and as an Amazon Instant Video. It is also available on DVD.

To see the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a 1930s football themed movie, check out this previous post on the film locations for College Coach (1933).

I was thumbing through an issue of Movieland magazine from November 1944 and came across a photo spread of a Halloween party hosted by then seventeen year old actress, Jane Withers. I love these silly, completely staged photos. Click on the images to see them larger. Here's what is written in the article:

"Something's always happening in Hollywood! To some people - we'll even go so far as to say most of us - it's all synonymous with fantasy. But pull up an exclamation point while we show you the pictorial record of a Hollywood party that was strictly Turnip Corners or Painted Post, or even as you and I would plan it. The party was a Hallowe'en affair, staged by seventeen-year-old Jane Withers - held at her home, which is ideally equipped for parties, having a large rumpus room with a soda fountain bar, phonograph-radio and plenty of room for the slick chicks to go the limit in rug-cutting without bumping into the furniture. The most astonishing feature of the party is that there was nothing at all astonishing about it. However, the pictures tell the story."

Caption 1: Janie greets her guests, with broomstick and costumed as Mephistopheles. The arrivals are also right in the mood for what's traditional.

Caption 2: Four girls and four boys were invited, but one of the boys couldn't make it because he had to report next morning to take his army physical.

Caption 3: Discovering the damages. This chocolate cake suffered somewhat in transit, and June Carlson and Mary Alice Dill are oh but so vedy dismayed.

Caption 1: So much depends on the viewpoint, we always say! Jane gives the impression of being so charmed by Dave Street. His hat, mebbe?

Caption 2: Identifying from left to right: Jane, Mary Alice, Jeanne Howlitt, Eric Sinclair, and Street; back row, Ross Hunter, June Carlson.

Caption 3: Distaff side of the party pitches in to fix dainty little morsels that pass for chow at such affairs. And who says it ain't good?

Caption 4: We take you behind the bar at the soda fountain to show you that there is nothing phoney about this set-up. The bar has all the flavors and Jane knows all the recipes.

Caption 1: One, two, three-umps. What would a modern party be without a Congo? Even Mr. Pumpkin thinks it's fun!

Caption 2: What gives is an old-fashioned horse race. Proof that the time-honored games invented by our grandparents are still much remembered - in movieland, just as down at Prairy Corners.

Caption 3: Ross Hunter and his hostess take the floor for a smooth 'n easy rhumba, while the rest of the gang makes with the music and the cheer-section.

Caption 4: They had dunking for apples, too - but of course. And here Jane and Jeanne Howlitt dive together, with Ross Hunter appointed to judge the winner.

Caption 1: Comes next a game of musical chairs, done just the same way that we ordinary folks do it. And you see now what we meant, saying parties like this can't really get going without lots of space.

Caption 2: Hail and farewell, with a very feminine squeal for a last bit of scarestuff about witches and goblins. Had a nice time kids? Well then, thank the lady!

Caption 3: The evening ends with a Hallowe'en joke played on Eric Sinclair - his family chariot gets soaped up, but pullenty!

Caption 4: Pretty Miss Carlson had a ripping bit of fun - too ripping - and her obliging hostess is applying the stich in time with what appears to be a grim thread of determination. Right you are, too - it's Van Johnson in the photo at right.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and even as adult I still like to get dressed up in costume and celebrate. Although, this year I still have no idea what I will be and time is running out! Do you have any Halloween traditions, plans, costume ideas?

Poster image courtesy of Warner Bros.

Now that Halloween has passed I'm excited to start planning all of my Christmas time activities. I'm not one of those people that totally bypasses Thanksgiving celebrations, I look forward to the Turkey holiday too, but my December calendar always fills up quickly, so I try to mark my calendar early. There are always many parties, special theme park events, holiday light shows, Christmas concerts, and many other Christmas attractions. One such event that is coming up is a special screening of the holiday classic, A Christmas Story (1983), at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, hosted by the Los Angeles Conservancy.

The screening, which takes place December 2, will feature the film, a classic cartoon and holiday music performed by Bob Salisbury on the Orpheum's Mighty Wurlitzer organ. If you have not been to a show with a Wurlitzer organ before this will be a treat in and of itself.

Here are the details on the event from the official press release:

LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS WITH MATINEE OF A CHRISTMAS STORY AT HISTORIC ORPHEUM THEATRE

Enjoy the holiday film on the big screen in the 1926 Orpheum movie palace
Sunday, December 2, 2 p.m. (doors open at 1:15 p.m.)
Orpheum Theatre
842 South Broadway, Downtown L.A.
$10 Conservancy members; $5 children 12 and under
$15 general public
Tickets: http://lac.laconservancy.org/holiday

LOS ANGELES (October 23, 2012)—The Los Angeles Conservancy will celebrate the holiday season on Sunday, December 2 with a matinee screening of the recent classic, A Christmas Story (1983), at the historic Orpheum Theatre (1926). While the cult hit runs often on TV during the holidays, there’s no better way to see it than on the big screen in a beautiful movie palace, surrounded by hundreds of fellow fans. A great event for architecture lovers, film fans, and families, the Conservancy’s seventh annual holiday film matinee begins at 2 p.m., allowing time before or after the film to explore the theatre, the Broadway Historic District, and downtown Los Angeles.

The event also includes a few perks, such as Bob Salisbury playing holiday music on the Orpheum’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ, the last remaining theatre organ on Broadway; plus a special treat for diners who present their Conservancy movie ticket at UMAMIcatessen (next door to the theatre at 852 S. Broadway). This special offer is valid only on December 2, 2012.

About the Film

The period film features Peter Billingsley as the frustrated Ralphie, Melinda Dillon as his slightly daffy mother, and Darren McGavin as the “Old Man,” Ralphie’s stern and crusty father. Despite one rough-and-tumble obstacle after another, young Ralphie is fearless in his mission to achieve his Christmas wish.

About the Theatre
Part of the Broadway Historic Theatre District, the Orpheum Theatre (1926) was the fourth and final home of the famed Orpheum vaudeville circuit in Los Angeles. Its Beaux Arts exterior leads to a grand French interior with gold-leaf decoration, silk wall panels, marble pilasters, and enormous chandeliers. The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization that works through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County. What began as a volunteer group in 1978 now has over 6,500 members, making the Conservancy the largest local organization of its kind in the U.S.

Additionally, I got word that the cartoon that will be shown is the Tweety Bird and Sylvester cartoon Gift Wrapped (Warner Bros. 1952).

What Christmas time events are you looking forward too? Do you have any special holiday traditions?

The Colonial House. Photo: TopLACondos.com

Built in 1930 and designed by noted Los Angeles architect Leland Bryant (Harper House, Savoy Plaza, Sunset Tower), the Colonial House has long been a home to celebrities. According to The Movieland Directory, some early Hollywood residents have included Clark Gable, Carol Lombard, Myrna Loy, Eddie Cantor, William Powell, and Norma Talmadge. Cary Grant, Bette Davis and Joan Blondell have also called the place home. Earlier this year even pop singer Katie Perry purchased a place in the Colonial House, continuing the building's legacy for being a home for stars.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the property features wrought-iron fixtures, gardens, a swimming pool, library, arched doorways, custom built-in cabinetry, wood-paneled elevators, a terrace and includes views of the mountains and Hollywood. The elegant Colonial House is conveniently located near the nightclubs on the Sunset Strip, is just a short drive to the premium shopping in Beverly Hills, and central to the many movie studios in the area. It's no wonder why so many stars have chosen the Colonial House as their home.

No doubt a place like the Colonial House must have many great stories. A couple stories I'm familiar with involve actresses Joan Blondell and Bette Davis.

Joan Blondell & Bette Davis. Colonial House residents.

In 1960, Joan Blondell, who was 54 at the time, left her Sutton Place apartment in New York City and moved back to California, finding an apartment in the seven-story Colonial House. Most of her family were in California, including her grandkids and many of her close friends. One of her longtime friends, former neighbor Frances Marion already lived in the Colonial House and the two would reunite their close friendship. Joan and Frances would catch up every afternoon at five over cocktails with some of the other female tenants which included newspaper columnist Jill Jackson, publicist Maggie Ettinger, and stockbroker Flora Marks.

Entrance to the Colonial House. TopLACondos.com

Not long after Joan moved in she found herself busy with work on television, first as a rich widow on an episode of The Untouchables and then as a psychopath on the Barbara Stanwyck Show - both filmed at Desilu Studios in Culver City. Joan was also still working in movies too and when she would have to go out of town for location filming, her neighbor Jill Jackson would feed and walk her dogs, Bridey and Fresh. In his biography, Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes, author Matthew Kennedy retells this story told by Jackson:

"Her life was those two ugly dogs!" said Jackson. To her consternation, "those damn dogs" only agreed to evacuate their bowels on the lawn of the nearby Christian Science church.

Bette Davis's former Colonial House living room as it appeared in 2009 when the unit was up for sale. (Gordon Thompson)

Bette Davis had many places around Los Angeles she called home at different points in her life. The Colonial House would be the last home she would live in. In the late 70s, according to the Roy Moseley memoir Bette Davis, the actor Roddy McDowall helped find her a place in Colonial House. Davis liked the apartment because it overlooked the La Ronda apartment house, where Bette and her mother first stayed when they arrived in California from New York. Bette wasn't a movie star then, but just a young woman ready for her big break.

Bette's apartment was on the fourth-floor and had large spacious rooms with twelve-foot high ceilings. She decorated the place with framed pictures nailed to the walls and with art books and family photographs on the tables. On the floor, on each side of a lattice doorway that led to the dining room, Bette placed her two Oscars which she won for Best Actress: one for Dangerous (1935) and another for Jezebel (1938).

TopLACondos.com

Moseley, who was very close to Bette in her later years, shares this story of one of his visits to Bette at the Colonial House:

"From her balcony you could see down to the swimming pool below. One day, Bette was leaning on the rail looking over at a corpulent man and his attractive family as they all swam and sunbathed. 'Look at that,' Bette shouted to me, loud enough for her voice to carry clearly down to the ground. 'Look at that disgusting man. It's revolting that a nice young girl and her children should have to be with such a fat, disgusting man.' I hoped they could not hear and tried to stop her, but she pretended not to understand what I was talking about."

Yikes! I picture dialogue like that coming out of Bette's character Jane Hudson, from the film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). Much like Joan, Moseley mentions that Bette also enjoyed a good cocktail hour. Perhaps her tongue was loosened by liquor.

Pool area. TopLACondos.com

The Colonial House, like Leland Bryant's other West Hollywood apartment building, the Harper House, has also appeared on screen as a filming location. In the Broderick Crawford crime film, Down Three Dark Streets(1954), the Colonial House appears in a scene where Crawford and his FBI partner go to interview one of the residents as part of a crime investigation.

Broderick Crawford in the film Down Three Dark Streets (1954).

If you're now interested in moving into the Colonial House, you're in luck! There is a one bedroom unit on the first floor that is available for $1,275,000. For more information and photos on this unit visit the real estate listing here.

House on Telegraph Hill (1951) is a thriller about a Nazi concentration camp survivor, Victoria (Valentina Cortesa), who assumes the identity of her friend Karin who died in the camp. Victoria's family was killed by the Nazis and she has no one to go home to, so after the camp is liberated, Victoria, who has taken possession of her friend's identification papers, heads to America using Karin's identity. As Karin, Victoria finds herself living in a mansion on San Francisco's Telegraph Hill. She's now married, pretending to be the mother to a son, and the next in line to the Dernakova fortune. Things at first appear to go well for Victoria but then strange things begin to take place and Victoria doesn't know what to make of them.

The film, directed by Robert Wise, is shot in beautiful black and white with much of the filming taking place in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. The film stars Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortesa, and William Lundigan.

1541 Montgomery Street, San Francisco

Julius Castle, 1541 Montgomery Street

The mansion in the film is actually what used to be Julius Castle, a restaurant designed to look like a castle, located at 1541 Montgomery Street on Telegraph Hill. The filmmakers added on to the exterior of the building to hide the elements that would reveal the building to be a restaurant. Julius's Castle was built in 1923 by Italian-born architect Louis Mastropasqua for another Italian who immigrated to San Francisco, restaurateur Julius Roz. The attraction unfortunately closed in 2008 and the building is currently for sale. According to Preservation Nation, the restaurant has had many celebrity visitors, everyone from the likes of Sean Connery, Robert Redford, and Ginger Rogers, to the entire cast of The Empire Strikes Back.

View of San Francisco from Telegraph Hill

Photo Credit: The Imperfect Traveller

Above is a view of San Francisco seen during the beginning of the film, when Victoria arrives in her new city. Just below that is a photograph of the city from the blog The Imperfect Traveller that was taken from Telegraph Hill. You can see there are now many more high-rise buildings in the distance, including the famous Transamerica Pyramid building, San Francisco's tallest skyscraper, which wasn't built until 1972.

San Francisco seen from The House on Telegraph Hill

In the scene below, Victoria runs into her friend Major Marc Bennett (William Lundigan) at a market located at 301 Union Street, not far from the mansion location.

Victoria stops by a market at 301 Union Street

Looking towards 301 Union St. from Montgomery St.

Victoria and Marc at the market. The NW corner of Union and Montgomery can be seen in the background.

NW corner of Union St. and Montgomery St.

Looking down Union St. towards Castle St.

Looking down Montgomery St. from Union St.

In this next scene Victoria is seen driving away from the house on Telegraph Hill. She starts at 1541 Montgomery Street and once she starts winding down Telegraph Hill she realizes her brakes have been cut and she can't stop. She ultimately crashes at a dead end street located on Montgomery Street near Montague Place.

Victoria leaves the house at 1541 Montgomery St.

Looking down Montgomery St. from the site of the house.

Victoria heads down Lombard St. towards Grant St.

Looking down Lombard towards Grant.

Looking up Lombard from Grant.

Turning from Chestnut St. onto Leavenworth St.

Looking up Chestnut from Leavenworth.

Turning from Montgomery to Union.

Looking down Union towards Calhoun Terrace.

Victoria turns onto Calhoun Terrace.

Victoria heads down Montgomery St. towards Montague Place.

Montgomery St. at Montague Place.

Victoria crashes at Montgomery and Montague.

Looking down Montague Place from Montgomery.

Victoria begins to be suspicious of all the strange events taking place around her and goes to meet Marc Bennett at his office. In the scene below, she is in a taxi that is driving down Post Street towards Market Street. The taxi pulls over and Victoria gets out and runs into what used to be the Crocker Building. The Crocker Building, which survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, was demolished in the 1960s. To see what this building once looked like visit this great site, SepiaTown.

Post Street near Market Street.

Post St. at Market St. Crocker Galleria is on the right.

Victoria arrives at the Crocker building on Post St.

Post Street near Market Street.

Victoria approaches the Crocker building on Post St.

Looking down Post Street towards Market St.

Victoria meets up again with Marc at the San Francisco Yacht Club off of Marina Boulevard. In the first comparison you can see the Golden Gate Bridge and in the second comparison we get a glimpse of the Exploratorium, a "museum of science, art and human perception."

Marc meets with Victoria at the Yacht Club.

The Yacht Club off of Marina Boulevard.

Victoria and Marc at the Yacht Club.

The San Francisco Marina Yacht Harbor.

House on Telegraph Hill is available on DVD as part of the Fox Film Noir series. It is also currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Screenshots (c) Twentieth Century-Fox, present day images, except where noted, (c) 2012 Google.

The Elvis Honeymoon House in Palm Springs

On January 5, in Palm Springs, California, Elvis fans can celebrate the legendary performer's 78th birthday (which is on January 8). Festivities will take place at the Elvis Honeymoon House, a midcentury estate that Elvis leased for a year and where he and Priscilla spent their honeymoon on May 1, 1967. Activities include tours of the house, an afternoon concert, a meet & greet with special celebrity guests, and birthday cake.

The living room inside the Elvis Honeymoon House.

According to the website, ElvisHoneymoon.com, on September 16, 1966, Elvis leased the estate at 1350 Ladera Circle, Palm Springs, for one year for $21,000. I wouldn't be surprised if that would be the monthly rate today! The original plan was for Elvis and Priscilla to be married by the pool at the estate, but because of all the media, Elvis and Priscilla were sneaked out of Palm Springs and flown to Las Vegas in Frank Sinatra's Lear jet. The wedding ceremony took place in the morning at the Aladdin Hotel and then later that day Elvis and Priscilla flew back to the Palm Springs estate to start their honeymoon.

Bedroom at the Elvis Honeymoon House in Palm Springs.

Tickets range in price from $25 to $55 depending on the package. Visit the official Elvis Honeymoon website for full details here.

Photo by Thomas J. Story from Sunset

When I received the latest issue of Sunset magazine in the mail I thumbed passed the first few articles but stopped on one entitled "The unplugged home," about a San Francisco family who has created a technology-free home. By that I mean this family does things the "old-fashioned way." They don't have TVs, computers or smartphones around the house. Their appliances don't have any LED interfaces. The clocks are all analog and the phone is a rotary dial telephone. The family doesn't have a microwave, but they have a handpress juicer, flour grinder, and everything needed to make foods completely from scratch. They don't even have an electric coffeemaker, but instead they use one of those stovetop coffeemakers. Basically, any modern day electronics the family keeps out of the house.

The family doesn't want to overexpose their kids to modern day technology. They make it clear that their not completely anti-technology - both parents have iPhones that they use sparingly outside the house - but inside their home is supposed to be an escape from technology. Instead of computers or video games, there is plenty of yarn, colored pencils and other materials for arts & craft projects. They have acoustic instruments that the parents and kids can play to make music. Other means of entertainment include board games, cards, reading books (not e-books) and for the parents - being able to sit down and read the entire New Yorker without distractions.

Moe points out the time on his wristwatch instead of his smartphone.

The article made me think of two things.

First, that one of the things I enjoy about watching classic movies from a modern perspective is seeing old-fashioned ways of doing things or items that the majority of us just don't use anymore. I love seeing in old movies offices with no computers, printers, or other electronics and all their cords. Instead every desk in a classic movie is usually very simple, with just a typewriter or notepad. Some other things I enjoy seeing in classic films are people reading newspapers, keeping time on a wind-up watch, making coffee on the stove, keeping notes in a notepad instead of their smartphone, people writing letters (with perfect penmanship of course), cash registers with push buttons, levers, and bells, people cooking from scratch or making anything from scratch. I could go on and on, but the point is, I enjoy watching a world before techno overload.

The second thing the article made me think of is whether or not I could ever go technology free like the family featured in Sunset? I'll admit it. I'm a techno junkie. I have an iPhone that my wife is constantly telling me to put down. I'm so bad at times that I may be using my smartphone, watching the TV and viewing something else on the computer or iPad at the same time! As much as I love the simpler things of the past I love technology! I do admit though that it can become intrusive.

I could never rid my life of all techno clutter, but one of my New Year's resolutions is to be a little more conscious of technology in my life.

Do you think you could go technology free? What old-fashioned things do you enjoy seeing in classic movies and do you do or use any of those old-fashioned things in your modern life?

Huell Howser gives some background on the Hollywood sign.

When I first moved to California eight years ago I was fortunate, while channel surfing on TV, to stumble across a program called California's Gold. What drew me in at first was the subject. The episode that happened to be airing was about the El Camino Real roadside bells that run along California's first "super highway" connecting all 21 Missions up and down the state. What kept me watching the show was the host, Huell Howser. Huell was so enthusiastic, so congenial, and stood out from hosts on more commercial travel related programs because of his folksy charm.

I made a point to see when Huell's show would air on TV again. Whenever I would find that California's Gold was on TV I would have to sit through the show, even if I came in part way through. Huell visited so many great California places and interviewed so many interesting Californians. Some of my favorite episodes included a tour of the See's Candy factory, an episode on the long running Los Angeles restaurant, the Apple Pan, and an episode where Huell tours downtown Los Angeles. I never saw an episode I didn't like.

So, like many Californians, I was saddened to hear earlier this week that Huell Howser had passed away at the age of 67. He seemed like such a nice guy who was really interested in and proud of his adopted state. Huell wasn't originally from California, he moved here from Tennessee. Like me, he was a transplant who had a California dream.

One of the things that stood out to me right away about Huell was his accent. He had a very southern sounding accent that clearly didn't sound like someone from California. He never lost his Tennessee twang. I heard on the radio station 89.3 KPCC that one of the only things Huell "bristled" at was when asked about his accent.

Huell said, "People say we find it interesting that a guy with an accent like yours is hosting a program about California. I ask them, 'Well what kind of an accent should the host of a program about California have!?' Because California always has been and always will be made up of people who come here from all over the world with all sorts of accents in search of the California dream."

Huell Howser learns the In-N-Out secret menu.

Above is a video of an excerpt from one of my favorite episodes where Huell Howser visits the the Baldwin Park location of In-N-Out Burger, the birthplace of one of California's most iconic restaurant chains. Most Californians know that there are numerous items you can order that don't appear on the In-N-Out menu, there is a "secret menu," and in this segment Huell Howser learns about some of the items a knowledgeable customer can order.

Do you have any favorite episodes of California's Gold or of some Huell Howser's other programs?

RIP Huell!

Dean Stockwell in the The Careless Years

I recently streamed the film, The Careless Years (1957) on Netflix and discovered three things:

Santa Monica High School is used as the high school in the story. Cool!
The version of the film on Netflix - the last 30 minutes of the movie is from a completely different film! About three quarters of the way into the movie, a scene fades to black and then the ending of a whole different movie fades in - so I didn't even get to see the real ending. Not cool!
Third, Dean Stockwell had a striking resemblance to James Dean as a teenager.

The film centers around a couple of high school students. Dean Stockwell plays Jerry, a boy from a poor family who falls in love with Emily (Natalie Trundy), a girl from a wealthy family. Jerry can't control his hormones and wants to make love to Emily, but she isn't ready to go all the way. Jerry proposes to Emily, but it seems more like a proposition to get under Emily's skirt than for sincere marriage reasons. This is a 1950s film, so all the action is very PG, Leave it to Beaver fashion. In fact, the mother of Emily is even played by Barbara Billingsley, the mother from Leave it to Beaver! That's the gist of the film and again, I was unable to see the ending.

Here are some comparisons of Santa Monica High School as featured in the film compared to how it appears today.

Santa Monica High School as seen in The Careless Years (1957)

Santa Monica High School. Photo (c) Tony Hoffarth

Natalie Trundy in front of Santa Monica High School

Dean Stockwell in front of Santa Monica High School

Entrance to Santa Monica High School. Photo (c) Tony Hoffarth

The courtyard in front of Santa Monica High School.

Aerial view of Santa Monica High School.

Dean Stockwell and James Dean.

Dean Stockwell and James Dean not only share the name "Dean" but they also share a striking similarity in appearance. In the photo above Dean Stockwell is seen as he appears in The Careless Years and on the right is an image of James Dean from the time of Rebel Without a Cause. I can't get over how much they look a like - the hair and hairline, squinty eyes, eyebrows, and overall facial features. Then when you see them both in blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt, they look like they could be brothers. What do you think? A bit of trivia: James Dean also filmed scenes in front of Santa Monica High School. In the film Rebel Without a Cause Santa Monica High School stood in for Dawson High School.

The contemporary images of Santa Monica High School I found from a Flickr page by Tony Hoffarth. He's got many great photos of Los Angeles area locations. You can visit his page by clicking here.

James Garner, Peter Falk, Jack Klugman

This year Dear Old Hollywood is having a 1970s flashback. Lately I've been catching up with the classic 1970s television shows Quincy M.E. starring Jack Klugman, The Rockford Files starring James Garner, and Columbo starring Peter Falk. All three shows filmed in the Los Angeles area and during this year I'll highlight some of the locations that can be seen in these classic shows. Maybe it's just me, but it's hard to believe that some of these locations appear in episodes that are now over 40 years old. Let's see what has changed and what hasn't in the last four decades.

Stay tuned.

The Rockford Files: Season 1, Episode 4, "Exit Prentiss Carr" (1974)

During the episode "Exit Prentiss Carr," Jim Rockford (James Garner) takes a case in the fictional town of Bay City. One of the scenes that is supposed to take place in the small town of Bay City was actually filmed on Riverside Drive in Burbank. In the now and then comparisons below we see Garner turning right from Maple Street on to Riverside Drive heading east. He eventually pulls over a couple blocks down near the intersection of Riverside and Screenland Drive.

Click images to see larger.

Garner turns from Maple St. on to Riverside Drive.

Riverside at Maple, in Burbank, CA.

I recognized this spot immediately. I walk down this stretch of street regularly to pick up lunch. During the evenings this area is quiet, but with Warner Bros. only two blocks away, Disney, NBC, Universal, and other entertainment companies with offices nearby, this area gets pretty busy during the lunch hour. A lot is the same and a lot has changed. The chiropractor business building is still there but the practice is gone. The travel business is now a Subway. And the next building over is now a pizza restaurant and a Chipotle. I can't make out what used to be where the Chipotle now stands.

The Tolucan Motel on Riverside Drive, Burbank

The Tolucan Motel site is now a Best Western.

As Garner drives down Riverside Drive we see a motel called "The Tolucan Motel," which is now gone. On the site today is a Best Western motel.

Garner crosses Kenwood at Riverside.

Corner of Kenwood St. at Riverside Drive.

As Garner continues down Riverside he passes a laundry business at the corner of Kenwood Street. The building is still standing and until recently, was a restaurant called Salerno's. Things have changed again since the "now" image. The green shrubs have all been torn out. The building is still standing but being completely remodeled.

Looking west down Riverside Drive from Kenwood.

Looking down Riverside Drive from Kenwood.

In the comparison above, Garner looks in his rearview mirror and he sees the police getting ready to pull him over. We get a view looking West down Riverside from Kenwood. One noticeable thing that hasn't changed is the bright yellow liquor sign that is still standing tall.

Garner passes a motel on Riverside Dr. Burbank.

The Tangerine Hotel, Burbank

Garner passes another motel on Riverside Drive, this one across the street from the Tolucan Motel/Best Western. I can't tell what this motel used to be called, but it was remodeled in the last couple years and turned into what today is the Tangerine Hotel.

3820 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank as seen in The Rockford Files.

3820 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank

In the above clip Garner begins to pull over to the side of the street. The building seen on the corner is no longer standing. In the last few years an AFTRA-SAG Federal Credit Union building was erected on the site.

The "Bay City" police pull Garner over on Riverside Dr.

3808 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA

In the last comparison the "Bay City" police pull Garner over at 3808 Riverside Drive. This building has for a long time been the home to some medical offices. There has been some very recent changes to this building. In the last few weeks a Bank of the West has since moved in, at least on the ground floor, and painted the exterior a shade of white.

This is my first entry in my 1970s television flashback. I'll be back with some more The Rockford Files locations as well as Quincy M.E. and Columbo.

Fatty Arbuckle's 1919 Pierce Arrow

They certainly don't make them like this anymore. Check out this short video from CNNMoney showing off a custom built 1919 Pierce Arrow automobile. The vehicle was made for silent film star Fatty Arbuckle, at one time the most popular motion picture star - that is until a scandal ruined his career. This Pierce Arrow recently went up for auction at Barrett-Jackson. The bidding went up to $1.1 million but according to the video the reserve was not met and the vehicle was not sold.

A couple years ago on a visit to the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, California, I was able to get up close to another of Arbuckle's vehicles, a 1923 McFarlan. If you've never seen the Nethercutt collection, it's a real treat. The collection includes many rare and exotic vehicles, including some previously owned by Hollywood notables. You can see some snapshots from my visit to the Nethercutt Museum here.

Steve and Susan Ireland are about to celebrate their fourth anniversary, but when Steve runs into an old flame, a meddling mother in-law convinces her daughter that Steve is cheating on her. After some misunderstandings Susan decides to file for divorce. Steve pretends to be crazy in order to delay the divorce and buy some time to win his wife back. That's the premise for the 1941 screwball comedy Love Crazy.

William Powell and Myrna Loy, famous as a husband and wife team in the Thin Man films, once again play husband and wife in Love Crazy. Although this comedy is a fun watch, it doesn't have the same wit as the Thin Man films and at times the humor seems forced. The best moments come from the supporting cast, particularly Jack Carson, a neighbor who gets in the middle of the Ireland's marriage and Florence Bates who plays the mother in-law.

Most of the action takes place inside the Ireland's apartment building, but of the few exterior scenes, I recognized some sets from the MGM backlot. I was later able to verify the MGM backlot sets using the book, M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot, by Steven Bingen, Stephen X. Sylvester, and Michael Troyan. This book makes a great reference book.

William Powell gets pushed into the "Esther Williams Pool"

In one scene, Powell, who is attending a party, takes all of the mens' hats from the hat check and throws them into a swimming pool. Powell is pretending to be crazy by "emancipating" the hats. In the process Powell gets shoved into the "Esther Williams Pool." According to M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot, the pool was built in about 1935. Williams didn't take her first swim in the pool until 1942 but she would go on to use the pool frequently for her many aquatic themed pictures.

Powell is taken into the Dr. Wuthering's Rest Home

After a judge believes Powell to be crazy, he is sent to the Dr. Wuthering's Rest Home, which was really the MGM "Girl's School" backlot set. This set was possibly first constructed for the 1940 film, Forty Little Mothers. Some other movies that have used the Girl's School set included Cynthia (1947) The Cobweb (1955), and The Wheeler Dealers (1963).

Below is a video tour of the MGM backlot showing how some of the outdoor sets appeared in 1963. One of the backlot sets that is seen in the video is the Girl's School set, starting at the 33 second mark.

MGM Studios backlot video tour.

Powell on the Girl's School backlot set.

Jack Carson and William Powell on the Girl's School set.

Unfortunately, these MGM backlot sets have been demolished so the only way we can see them now is in these classic movies.

Love Crazy is available for rent through ClassicFlix and is also available to purchase on DVD.

To learn more about the book M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot, visit the official site here. You can also read my interview with one of the coauthors, Steve Bingen, here.

Last week the blog Paradise Leased provided an update on the status of Apple Valley, California's famous Hilltop House, a once gorgeous modern home that unfortunately has been left to deteriorate over the years. Today, this house built for one of Apple Valley's co-founders, Newton T. Bass, is just a skeleton of the structure it used to be, but the house is now for sale and hopefully some buyer can return the home to its original beauty. You can read and see photos of the home on the Paradised Leased blog here.

The update on the Hilltop House reminded me of the film Highway Dragnet (1954), which was partly filmed in Apple Valley, at another area landmark, the Apple Valley Inn located in the valley just below the Hilltop House. Highway Dragnet stars Richard Conte, Joan Bennett and Wanda Hendrix. It tells the story of a Korean War vet, played by Conte, who is wrongly accused of killing a woman he was seen with earlier inside a Las Vegas bar. Conte must go on the lam until he can clear his name. He gets out of town by hitching a ride with a female photographer (Bennett) and her model (Hendrix). Although the story has a few holes in the plot, it is still entertaining to watch, particularly for all the excellent location filming.

The film starts with scenes in Las Vegas, including a shot of the Golden Nugget and Binion's Horseshoe casinos on Fremont street.

Looking down Fremont Street in Las Vegas.

Fremont Street today. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

One major change to Fremont Street since the time Highway Dragnet was made is the addition of the Fremont Street Experience, a canopy that produces a colored light show above several blocks of the street.

The Horseshoe casino as seen in Highway Dragnet.

Binion's Gambling Hall formerly The Horseshoe.

After the Vegas scenes, the film shows Conte hitching a ride with Bennett and Hendrix in the desert. The threesome eventually pull over and get a room at the Apple Valley Inn. The Apple Valley Inn was a hotel developed by Newton T. Bass to help attract land buyers to housing development he created out in the middle of the California desert. During the 1940s and until the 1960s, it was a popular place for many Hollywood celebrities, including Bob Hope, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck.

Police set up a barricade in front of the Apple Valley Inn.

The entrance of the Apple Valley Inn as it appears now.

Highway 18 leading up to the Apple Valley Inn driveway.

Looking down Highway 18 from the Apple Valley Inn driveway.

Conte in front of the Apple Valley Inn.

The Apple Valley Inn. Photo from mysewsweetstudio.blogspot.com

Historic postcard view of the Apple Valley Inn.

Conte, Bennett and Hendrix inside a room at Apple Valley Inn.

An agent stands in front of the Apple Valley Inn pool.

Hendrix sits on the pool's diving board.

Bennett stands by the Apple Valley Inn pool.

The Macdonald Carey family visits the pool at Apple Valley Inn. Photo from Paradise Leased.

When it's revealed that Conte, who police believe to be the killer is hiding out at the Apple Valley Inn, he races out of the place, driving a car right through a police barricade.

Conte drives through a police barricade at Apple Valley Inn.

Exiting the driveway at Apple Valley Inn.

The final scenes take place at the Salton Sea. According to the site Lost Resorts, the Salton Sea was once known as the Riviera of the West or "Palm Springs by the Sea." It is the largest lake in California and used to be a major destination in the 1950s and 1960s for tourist and celebrities. The sea was created by accident. In 1900, developers created a series of canals and dikes to divert water from the Colorado River to turn the arid desert into farming land. In 1905 heavy rains caused the Colorado River to rise, a dike was then broken and the Imperial Valley filled with water, becoming the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea as seen in Highway Dragnet.

A present day view of the Salton Sea. Photo from Lost Resorts.

Documentary video of the Salton Sea.

Above is a short video clip showing scenes of the Salton Sea and the people that live in the area. Today the area is almost a flooded ghost town. Water levels would continue to rise, flooding buisnesses that surrounded the lake. Salt and fertilizers from run-off accumulated and killed off most of the fish. Now what was a bustling resort area is filled with dead fish, decaying boats and buildings drowning in water.

For more on the Apple Valley Inn read this wonderful post from Paradise Leased.

Highway Dragnet is available for streaming on Netflix and can also be seen on YouTube here.

On Vacation - Madison, Concerts, Ralph Bellamy and Badgers

Kiss Them For Me (1957) - Film Locations

Ain't No Party Like An Old Hollywood Party...

Strange Intruder (1956) - Film Locations

On the Loose (1951) - Film Locations

Ernest Borgnine Beverly Hills Home For Sale

Two-Minute Warning (1976) - Film Locations

Jane Withers Hosts a Hollywood Halloween Party

A Christmas Story (1983) at the Orpheum Theatre, Downtown Los Angeles

The Colonial House - A Classic Hollywood Apartment

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) - Film Locations

Elvis Presley's Palm Springs Birthday Bash

An Old-Fashioned Unplugging

Huell Howser - California Dreamin'

The Careless Years (1957) - Film Locations

A 1970s Television Flashback

The Rockford Files - Film Locations - Riverside at Maple

Fatty Arbuckle's 1919 Pierce Arrow

Love Crazy (1941) - Film Locations

Highway Dragnet (1954) - Film Locations