TCM's Road to Hollywood With Ernest Borgnine

Ben Mankiewicz and Ernest Borgnine

If you think Ernest Borgnine seems animated on screen you should see just how energetic he is in person.  On Thursday, I had the opportunity to hear Borgnine share some personal stories during a discussion with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, as part of TCM's "Road to Hollywood" series. I was amazed to see, at the age of 94, Borgnine is still a sharp and enthusiastic storyteller.  

For those who don't know, Turner Classic Movies has been doing a series of classic movie screenings in major cities all around the country, as a build-up for their second annual TCM Classic Film Festival which takes place next week in Hollywood. Each screening has featured either TCM host Robert Osborne or Ben Mankiewicz doing a discussion with one of the stars of the film being shown. In this final road stop, the classic film was From Here to Eternity, and the discussion of course, was between Ernest Borgnine and Ben Mankiewicz.

The discussion between Mankiewicz and Borgnine was delightfully long, covering such topics as how did Borgnine get into acting, meeting Sinatra for the first time, and working with Montgomery Clift on From Here to Eternity. I recorded just a few minutes of the beginning of the discussion which I've split into the videos below. My favorite is the video labeled "Part Three" in which Borgnine explains how he got his big break in Hollywood.

Ben Mankiewicz and Ernest Borgnine Discussion Part One

In this first video Mankiewicz asks Borgnine, "why did you become an actor?"

Ben Mankiewicz and Ernest Borgnine Discussion Part Two

In this second video Borgnine talks about acting in a school play, enlisting in the Navy, and his early acting training.

Ben Mankiewicz and Ernest Borgnine Discussion Part Three

In this third video Borgnine is asked how he got his first big break?

Ben Mankiewicz and Ernest Borgnine Discussion Part Four

The discussion between Mankiewicz and Borgnine went well beyond this final video, but this is the last I recorded. In this final video, Borgnine talks about working on the film From Here to Eternity.

Steve McQueen in East Los Angeles

Steve McQueen (c) LIFE

Before all the hipsters moved into the East Los Angeles neighborhoods of Echo Park and Silver Lake, making the area cool central, the original "King of Cool," Steve McQueen, once called the place home. 

McQueen was born on March 24, 1930, in the Midwest state of Indiana and was raised there, and later Missouri, by his grandparents Victor and Lillian Crawford and a great-uncle, Claude. McQueen's father had left shortly after his birth and his mother, Julian, eventually left him with her parents. Julian, just a young 19 year-old girl when she had McQueen, still had some partying to get out of her system. She lived a wild life and traveled around, eventually making her way to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Julian met the abusive alcoholic, Hal Berri. The two married in 1937, at which time Julian uprooted McQueen from the Midwest and brought him out to Los Angeles to live with her and her new husband. The three of them lived in a home at 1810 Ewing Street in Echo Park Los Angeles.

 1966 Preston Ave, Echo Park

After moving two times in as many years, Hal, Julian and McQueen moved just around the corner from the Ewing residence, to a split level home at 1966 Preston Avenue. Depending which route you take to visit this home, driving through this residential area, which is not far from downtown Los Angeles, is like going for a roller coaster ride. There are plenty of hills so steep that when you drive up you feel like your car is going to start, not rolling, but falling backwards. By the time you get to a top of a hill you can't see the road in front of you until your car has made it over the peak, like a roller-coaster preparing for its first steep drop. The roads are also very narrow and with cars parked on the street, leaves only enough room for one car to drive down a lane at a time.

According to the book Steve McQueen: The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon, it was at this home that McQueen suffered many beatings and verbal abuse from Hal. In the book, McQueen is quoted as saying, "He apparently beat me for the sheer sadistic pleasure it gave him - which included the joy he obviously derived from my pain. I was young. I even thought of bearing the beatings, vowing simply to hold on until I was old enough to run away. But I just couldn't. It wasn't in me. I just started fighting back."

McQueen, just a child, tried fighting back but was no match for the much larger adult, Hal. 

1966 Preston Ave, Echo Park - View from Ewing Street

The photo above and the photo below are of the home at 1966 Preston Avenue but taken from Ewing Street. This side view reveals a little more of the home. The front of the home, as seen from Preston Ave, is blocked by a large wall.

1966 Preston Ave, Echo Park

McQueen, afraid to go home, often roamed around the streets of Los Angeles. This usually led to the young McQueen getting into trouble, such as stealing or getting into fights with people. Julian decided to call Claude and arranged for McQueen to move back with him in the Midwest, as an alternative to reform school.

After some time back in the Midwest, McQueen decided to runaway with a carnival, but his employment with the carnival did not last long. McQueen worked his way back to Los Angeles by hitchhiking and hopping freight trains. When McQueen made it back to Los Angeles things picked up right where he left off. Hal continued to be abusive toward McQueen and McQueen continued to get into mischief. Once, after being caught stealing hubcaps from a Cadillac, McQueen even had to appear in court.

3266 Descanso Drive, Silver Lake (Los Angeles)

By 1943, Julian and Hal divorced and Julian moved into a new home at 3266 1/2 Descanso Drive in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. This home is located not from from the house on Preston. It is also located directly at the top of the well known Laurel & Hardy "Music Box" stairs. Those stairs were made famous by Laurel & Hardy in a short film where the two men play movers who struggle to deliver a piano up what seems a never-ending flight of steps. You can learn more about the steps and see a video here.

3266 1/2 Descanso Drive, Silver Lake

McQueen stayed at the Descanso Drive residence until 1945 when he was forced by court order to stay at The Boys Republic in Chino, California. McQueen was continuing to get into trouble and The Boys Republic was a last chance effort at reforming his behaviour. The Boys Republic was and still is a combination reform school, farm, and campus for troubled teens.

3266 Descanso Drive, Silver Lake

According to the real estate site Zillow.com, the residence on Descanso Drive is a 1660 square foot home with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The site also says that the home was built in 1923 and is currently valued at $424,500. 

Your thoughts?

Robert Mitchum and the Marijuana Charge

Robert Mitchum Sweeps His Jail Cell

Credit: Bettman/Corbis

Long before Charlie Sheen was making headlines for drug busts actor Robert Mitchum was making the front page as Hollywood's bad boy. During his lifetime, Mitchum would have a few encounters with the law. When Mitchum was just a teenager he had left home to live the hobo lifestyle, hopping trains going cross country. On one occasion in 1932, when Mitchum was sixteen,  the young man hopped off a train at a stop in Savannah to get some food and was arrested for vagrancy. Mitchum was sentenced to serve on a chain gang. 

But, Mitchum was lucky that he was only busted for vagrancy. During his hobo days Mitchum picked up a lifelong habit of smoking marijuana. Sometimes during those long train rides the marijuana helped kill the boredom or when passing through northern states during the harsh winter months, smoking marijuana made the extreme weather conditions tolerable. Mitchum got to the point that during his train travels he could distinguish the different varieties of marijuana one could encounter. When Mitchum would make has way west to Hollywood his interest in marijuana went with him and would be the subject of one of his most notorious scandals. 

By 1948, Mitchum had become a recognizable actor, particularly with  the bobby-soxer crowd who liked the bad boy image that he was beginning to be identified with. On August 31, 1948 an event would take place that would only add to Mitchum's reputation. Mitchum and his friend Robin Ford, a real estate agent, visited a young actress named Lila Leeds and her friend Vickie Evans at a house Leeds rented in Laurel Canyon. The four were taking turns passing around a joint when suddenly a crash was heard at the back of the house. A group of cops had made their way into the home and arrested the group for drugs.

Mitchum and the rest of the party would be tried by Judge Clement Nye. Mitchum pleaded not guilty but  Nye found them guilty, sentencing Mitchum to two years of probation, sixty days of which would be spent behind bars.

Los Angeles Hall of Justice

Above is a photo of the Los Angeles Hall of Justice building in downtown Los Angeles located at 210 West Temple Street. The 14-story building was built in 1922 and housed the Los Angeles County Courts, Los Angeles County Coroner, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney. It was also the primary LA County jail until the 1994, Northridge Earthquake. The building was damaged in the earthquake and has sat abandoned ever since, although there are plans to move back into the building. It really is a nice looking building and is a shame that it is not being used.

The Hall of Justice building was where Mitchum served fifty days in jail but Mitchum isn't the only well known personality to stay there. Bugsy Siegel, Charles Manson, and Sirhan Sirhan (Robert Kennedy's murderer) have all spent time at the Hall of Justice in the jails which were located in the top five floors of the building. In the basement of the building was the City Morgue and is where the autopsy of Marilyn Monroe was performed.

Mitchum also served time at the Sheriff's Honor Farm north of Los Angeles. Most of of Mitchum's day was spent working on the farm making concrete blocks. The actor would wake at 5am, have breakfast, work until a short lunch break and then go back to work until the evening. During Mitchum's jail time, Howard Hughes, who was then in charge of RKO studios where Mitchum was under contract, was preparing Mitchum's post-jail career.

While such publicity would kill the career of many actors Mitchum's star would continue to rise. The negative publicity probably boosted his career and in the eyes of some only reinforced the image they already had of the actor.

Steve McQueen 30th Anniversary Event

(c) Jules Verne Adventures

Jules Verne Adventures is organizing a tribute to the "King of Cool," Steve McQueen, to take place on November 11, 2010 at the Arclight Hollywood.  This November will mark 30 years from McQueen's death, who died at the early age of 50.  

To honor McQueen, Jules Verne Adventures will be doing a special screening of the film BULLITT, to be shown in the historic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. In attendance will be McQueen's son Chad McQueen and grandson Steven R. McQueen (Vampire Diaries) to accept an award on Steve McQueen's behalf. Other celebrities and special guests who will be at the screening include Ali MacGraw, Jacqueline Bisset, and music composer Lalo Schifrin and I'm sure there will be others.

Here are the specifics:

When: Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 7pm

Where: Arclight Hollywood, Cinerama Dome - 6360 W. Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, Ca

Cost: $25 General Admission / VIP tickets $45

For more info visit: www.julesverne.org

But wait, there's more!

Four days earlier, there will be a special kick-off event on Sunday, November 7, at 11am. Jules Verne Adventures is also organizing a Steve McQueen Motor Parade with Chad McQueen leading the way. This parade will be open to Jaguar, Mustang and Porsche owners if you want to register your car to participate. If you just want to watch, the parade will start at the intersection of Highland and Santa Monica Blvd.

Robert Osborne Discussion with Anjelica & Danny Huston

Robert Osborne, Anjelica Huston, Danny Huston

One of the screenings I attended at the TCM Classic Film Festival was for the "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" which was held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Prior to the screening, Robert Osborne introduced the film, much like he introduces films on the Turner Classic Movies channel, giving a little back story and trivia. Then he brought out Anjelica and Danny Huston to discuss the film, their father John Huston who directed the film, and their grandfather Walter Huston, one of the stars of the film.

The print was brand new and pristine - no big scratches or dirt over the image. To see the film projected on the huge screen in the Chinese theater was an amazing treat. When Humphrey Bogart's character becomes crazy with gold fever, you can imagine how creepy he looked when he appeared on the big screen. Getting to hear Anjelica and Danny Huston discuss the film and their family before the film was just an added bonus.

Below are two video clips I shot of Robert Osborne's discussion with Anjelica and Danny Huston. The image is a bit blurry but you can still make out what they had to say.

This first clip is one of my favorites. Robert Osborne asks Anjelica and Danny if "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is one of their favorites of their father's films. Danny begins to answer Osborne's question but then goes on to tell a story about how his grandfather, Walter, came to doing the jig he performs in the film.

In this next clip Robert Osborne asks Danny and Anjelica if it was true that their father John Huston had a difficult time asking their grandfather Walter Huston to take his teeth out for the movie. Osborne then asks them both what they miss most about their father. They both mention missing John Huston's voice. I just can't help thinking of John Huston when I hear Danny Huston talk. Does he not sound just like his father? He even tells stories in the same manner as his father.



Your thoughts?

The Letters of Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel

If you didn't get enough reading materials over the Christmas holiday then make your way over to one of my favorite websites, Letters From Stan. The Stan in referance is Stan Laurel, half of the comedy team, Laurel and Hardy. Throughout Stan's life he was known to be an avid writer of letters. He wrote to friends, business associates, fans and just about anyone. Stan simply liked to write and over at Letters From Stan they have created an archive of many of the letters he wrote over the years.

When you read through the letters you get a real sense of what kind of man Stan was. One of my favorites is one letter he wrote in 1927, replying to a fan:

Dear Miss Neal;-

Just a line to thank you for your very sweet letter, which is greatly appreciated. I am mailing you under seperate cover, a photograph per your request. Trust you will receive same alright. I am returning herewith the Twenty Five Cents you enclosed, as the amount of my Fan Mail does'nt warrant any charges.
 Thanking you for your kind thoughts & good wishes,
 Very Sincerely yours;-
Stan Laurel

I like this letter because it shows how much he appreciated his fans. Not only was Stan nice enough to reply to this particular fan, but he also returned the money she enclosed. This is just a short letter you will find over at Letters From Stan - there are many, many, letters of all lenghts and topics. I especially like seeing where the letters were addressed from - to see where Stan was living or staying at that the time.

In today's world of emails, text messages and tweets, after reading some of Stan's letters, it really makes one want to put pen to paper.

Your thoughts?

Cleopatra: Big Premiere - Big Disaster

Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

The 1963 film Cleopatra, starring the always beautiful Elizabeth Taylor in the title role, is the third most expensive film ever made. A lot of money was spent getting this film right. Despite all the money spent and the all star cast which also includes Richard Burton, Rex Harrison and Roddy McDowell, the film was a complete flop. 20th Century Fox almost went bankrupt because of this film!

Although many reviews of Cleopatra were negative, Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called the film "one of the great epic films of our day" in his 1963 review. And Cleopatra would even end up winning four Academy Awards.

To go along with the big budget of the film there was a big movie premiere at the historic Pantages theater in Hollywood, California.

Pantages Theater, 6233 Hollywood, Blvd, Hollywood, CA

Here is a video of the Cleopatra premiere at the Pantages theater. The video is a bit psychadelic but keep your eyes peeled for some old Hollywood stars:

You're thoughts?

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Beach House for Sale

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Beach House - Photo from Los Angeles Times

A Santa Monica beach house once owned by silent film actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. is up for sale. The cost of the home - a whopping $7.9 million. It will be interesting to see if the sellers get their asking price. The home last sold for $1,815,000 in 1994.

The Fairbanks beach pad was located in an affluent community which included many other film industry notables, including Irving Thalberg and his wife Norma Shearer and silent film comedian, Harold Lloyd.

To read more about the real estate listing visit the Los Angeles Times site by clicking here.

Wee Kirk of the Heather - Chapel for the Stars

Wee Kirk of The Heather at Forrest Lawn Glendale

Above is a vintage postcard I picked up recently of the Wee Kirk O'The Heather chapel located in the vast Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. The chapel and the grounds around look nearly the same today. This quaint chapel, which is a replica of a European church, has many old Hollywood connections.

Ronald Reagan & Jane Wyman Wedding 1940

The actor turned president, Ronald Reagan, married actress Jane Wyman at this chapel in 1940. The two met while filming the Warner Brothers picture, "Brother Rat."

Clark Gable & Carole Lombard at Jean Harlow Funeral

But there are also funerals at the chapel. Above is a photo from 1937 of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard attending Jean Harlow's funeral. Gable was Harlow's costar on the then unfinished film, Saratoga. Harlow's funeral was a huge event, like one of the big musicals her studio MGM would create. At the funeral MGM stars Jeannette McDonald and Nelson Eddy sang Harlow's favorite song, "Ah Sweet Mystery of Life." Harlow was later buried in the Great Mausoleum also located on the Forrest Lawn grounds.

Five years later Carole Lombard would be back at Forrest Lawn for her own funeral. Her funeral, unlike Harlow's was a small private event. Lombard and Gable are also buried at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale.

If you haven't been to Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale it is definitely worth visiting. The grounds are beautiful and there are numerous old stars buried here. Some others include Irving Thalberg, Red Skeleton, Walt Disney, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Errol Flynn to name a few. And if you go soon you can still check out the "Fine Art of Marc Davis" exhibit being held at the Forrest Lawn Museum. The exhibit, featuring artwork by Disney animator Marc Davis, runs until July 26, 2009. See me my post on that here.

Hollywood Canteen - Where Servicemen and Stars Meet

Hollywood Canteen - 1451 Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA

Above is a vintage postcard of the famous Hollywood Canteen. The Canteen, created by film actors Bette Davis and John Garfield , along with MCA president Jules Stein, was a place where the Hollywood stars fed and entertained United States servicemen, as well as servicemen from allied countries, during World War II. From 1942 until Thanksgiving 1945, servicemen who ventured into Hollywood for a night out could gain access to the Canteen if they were in uniform. Everything was free of charge.

Below are pictures of where the Hollywood Canteen used to stand.

Looking Northwest at Cahuenga Blvd & Sunset Blvd

On the left of the above photo is where the Hollywood Canteen used to stand. Today there is a tower for CNN and a parking garage. Across the street is Amoeba Records, one of the best record shops in the country. And just a block and half north on Cahuenga Blvd are a few film locations from the Buster Keaton film, The Cameraman. Check out my past post on that here.

Looking Southwest at Cahuenga Blvd. & Sunset Blvd.

Cary Grant entertains the troops at Hollywood Canteen

The Andrew Sisters, Jimmy Durante, James Cagney, Betty Hutton, Danny Kaye, Shirley Temple, Ruby Keeler, Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Lamour, Dana Andrews, you name it - if you were a big Hollywood star you volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen. Some served food, others sang and dance, the comedians cracked jokes - the actresses even danced with the servicemen. The one millionth guest to visit the Hollywood Canteen was lucky enough to receive a kiss from Betty Grable! On one night, at the nearby corner of Sunset and Wilcox, a tent was set up where Orson Welles performed magic tricks. One of the tricks was sawing his wife Rita Hayworth in half!

But it wasn't just the stars that volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen. Producers, writers, technicians, costumers, agents, assistants, publicists and many others who worked in Hollywood volunteered as well. Even the murals painted inside the Canteen were the volunteered work of some of Hollywood's cartoonists.

In 1944, Warner Brothers made a film titled Hollywood Canteen. The film was a celebrity circus. Many of the hundreds of stars that volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen appear in the film. Here is a trailer for the movie:

I would love to hear the stories the GIs who attended the Hollywood Canteen must have to share? What it was like chatting with so and so, or dancing with whatever actress, or if the partied continued afterwards at such a place...

Your thoughts?

A Tribute to Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be honoring living legend Mel Brooks on Friday, July 24 at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The event, hosted by Leonard Maltin, will feature some very special guests who will be sharing their personal stories about the comedian. These guests include Carl Reiner, Cloris Leachman, Tracey Ullman, Richard Benjamin, Teri Garr, and Lesley Ann Warren. And of course, Mel Brooks himself will be appearing in person!

For more info on this event and to purchase tickets visit www.oscars.org.

Another Dick Tracy Project? Maybe.

Madonna and Warren Beatty from Dick Tracy

Could there be another Dick Tracy project in the works? Maybe. In 1985 actor Warren Beatty worked out an agreement with Tribune Media Services for the rights to the comic strip character Dick Tracy. This led to the making of the 1990 film Dick Tracy, starring Beatty in the title role. According to the agreement the rights to Tracy would revert back to Tribune if principal photography had not started on another film, television show, or special within a designated amount of time.

In 2006 Tribune sent a reversion notice to Beatty. The company claims the actor has been unable to prove photography has begun on any project and that the rights to Tracy should therefore revert back to Tribune. Beatty claims that he started principal photography on a Dick Tracy television special. If you check out Warren Beatty's credits on Imdb.com the website lists a Dick Tracy Special as being in post-production.

So is there a Dick Tracy television special in the works or is Beatty just trying to keep the Dick Tracy rights from reverting back to Tribune? I know I wouldn't mind seeing a Dick Tracy television special but what I would be more excited to see is another Dick Tracy film. If Hollywood is so eager to recycle past material why not start work on another Tracy film - but with a younger more fitting actor in the lead role of course.

Your thoughts?

Tony Curtis Awarded at Jules Vern Festival: Photos

Tony Curtis

Many thanks to the Kitty Packard Pictorial blog for the heads up to the Jules Verne Festival event honoring legendary actor Tony Curtis. On Saturday, June 13, 2009 the Jules Verne Festival was all about Tony Curtis. Beginning at 2:30pm was a screening of the Curtis film Houdini at the historic Million Dollar Theater in downtown Los Angeles, followed by a dinner with Curtis at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and back to the Million Dollar Theater for a special 50th anniversary screening of the hilarious film Some Like it Hot. My fiance Zinnia and I were fortunate enough to attend the evening events. Here are some photos from that night.

Million Dollar Theater, Downtown Los Angeles

The screenings of Houdini and Some Like it Hot were held at the historic Million Dollar Theater. I wasn't able to make the Houdini screening but arrived at the theater in time to catch the party shuttle from the theater to the Los Angeles Athletic Club where the dinner was to be held.

Out Front of the Million Dollar. Bradbury Building in Background

Out front of the theater there were many old classic cars lined up. I especially liked this green Plymouth. They certainly don't make cars like they used to. Also, you may recognize that building from my earlier post on Double Indemnity film locations. That's the historic Bradbury building.

Tony Curtis strapping in escape artist Curtis Lovell II

Once the Houdini screening let out the shuttle took us to the Los Angeles Athletic Club for dinner. There was champagne, shrimp, sushi, ice cream sundae bar and all sorts of delicious food. For dinner entertainment, the escape artist Curtis Lovell II performed Houdini's straight-jacket escape stunt. Tony helped to secure the straps of the straitjacket.

Assistant steps in to help strap in Lovell


Lovell attempting to break out of the jacket while Curtis watches.


Robby, Zinnia, and Tony Curtis

After the escape stunt Tony Curtis started to sign his memoirs. Curtis was very generous and took time to sign autographs and take photos with everyone in the room. Some time you meet celebrities and its disappointing to learn how big their egos have become. Not Curtis. He's a class act. I felt the same way when I met actor Robert Wagner for the first time a few months back. Both men seem to have an appreciation for their success and the hard work it took to get to their level. They both seem to have a respect for their fans knowing that it's because of them in part that they had such successful careers.

Thanks Tony for the autograph and photo!

Tony Curtis honored by City of Los Angeles

Next we hopped back on the shuttle to the Million Dollar Theater for the 50th anniversary screening of Some Like it Hot. Jean-Christophe Jeauffre and Frederic Dieudonne, the founders of the Jules Verne Festival were the host for the night. After they showed a film reel with many entertaining clips from Curtis's many films the City of Los Angeles presented Curtis with an award for his many contributions to the city.

Frederic Dieudonne, Tony Curtis, Jean-Christophe Jeauffre

Tony Curtis came out on stage and shared many of his life stories. And even though Tony Curtis is getting up there in age (he just turned 84 on June 3) he is still an amazing storyteller. His stories were told with wit and perfect comic delivery. One of my favorite stories that Curtis told was about when he first met actress Marilyn Monroe for the first time. Curtis was a new actor under contract at Universal, only 22 years old, and he was asked by one of the Universal guards to give another young actress who was not under contract a ride back to her hotel. Curtis looked at the actress and started to describe her: "she wore a dress that was a little above her knee, orange and yellow in color, cinched in where her waist was (and)... her bosoms were remarkable!" Curtis turned back to the guard and said, "I would be privileged to give her a ride."

Another a funny story was told by Jean-Christophe. At another event in Paris honoring Tony Curtis, a French reporter asked the actor, "Mr. Curtis, you are getting older and you have a wife who is almost half your age. Aren't you worried about having sex with a woman her age?" Curtis replied without skipping a beat, "If she dies, she dies."

Tony Curtis reaches out to Frederic Dieudonne


Tony Curtis is presented the Jules Verne Award

After sharing some stories Jeauffre and Dieudonne brought up on stage two of Curtis's co-stars from Some Like it Hot, Tracy Moss and Marian Collier, to present him with the Jules Verne Award. The actresses were members of the all-female band in the film.

Tony Curtis with Some Like it Hot co-stars Tracy Moss and Marian Collier

After the award presentation it was time to start the film. Some Like it Hot played to a full house and the theatre was filled with laughter from start to finish. The film holds up pretty well and is a true classic with many great performances.

Public Enemies: Film Locations

Public Enemies, (C) Universal

Usually I just write about locations that can be found in the greater Los Angeles area, but because I'm looking forward to the upcoming film Public Enemies, I decided to make an exception. The film, starring the always great Johnny Depp, as well as Christian Bale, was shot primarily on location in the Midwest, including many places where I grew up in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Tourism website, www.travelwisconsin.com has a list of many of the shooting locations as well as related tours on gangsters.

Downtown Columbus, WI - photo from flickr

The San Fernando Valley newspaper, Daily News listed several of the filming locations a few weeks back. Here is a list from the May 3, 2009 Daily News:

• Little Bohemia, a resort near Manitowish Waters, has bullet holes and artifacts from an FBI shootout with John Dillinger, George "Baby Face" Nelson and other gangsters in April 1934.
• Mirror Lake State Park in Lake Delton hosted several nights of filming, complete with late-night gunfire and squealing tires.
• Oshkosh was turned into a movie set with refaced buildings and '30s-era billboards, window displays, awnings and marquees. Crews filmed two famous Dillinger robberies here, with a downtown bank/office building standing in for the Security National Bank and Trust in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Oshkosh's Masonic Temple standing in for the American Bank and Trust Co. in Racine, Wis. The actual bank in Racine, now the Racine Museum of Art, features "The Scene of the Crime: Warrington Colescott Depicts Dillinger," May 24-Sept. 6, and the Racine Police Department lobby has a Dillinger submachine gun, mug shots and press clippings on display.
• Also in Oshkosh: A planned July 4 gallery walk will include displays of photos and artifacts from the shoot, extras dressed in costume, and an opening of the bank vault where crew filmed; and the Oshkosh Public Museum's exhibit "The Era of Public Enemies: A Wave of Crime in a Troubled Time. Oshkosh's Pioneer Field stood in for Chicago Midway Airport, where Dillinger was flown after his arrest in Arizona. Visitors can see and ride in the vintage plane used for the scene, a Ford Trimotor owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association.
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Madison, WI, Capital Steps, filming Public Enemies

• Columbus, Wis., was turned into Greencastle, Ind., where a $75,000 bank robbery took place, filmed in Columbus at West James Gallery, a former bank. Columbus' downtown, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will host a July 25 celebration that will include a parade, old cars and extras from the movie, music and dancing from the 1930s, a look-alike-contest, treasure hunts, tours and there may even be a Johnny Depp look-alike.
• Ishnala Restaurant in Wisconsin Dells is near the site of a chase scene involving Depp.
• The interior and exterior of the state Capitol in Madison was FBI headquarters in the movie, with Christian Bale as FBI agent Melvin Purvis and Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover.
• The historic Hotel Rogers in Beaver Dam, now an apartment building called The Rogers, stood for Tucson's Hotel Congress, the site of the Dillinger gang's capture after a fire broke out and authorities recognized them.
• The Lafayette County Courthouse in Darlington was a substitute for the Lake County Courthouse in Crown Point, Ind., where Dillinger was arraigned.
• Milwaukee County Historical Society building in Milwaukee, a former bank, was converted back into a bank by film crews. The society plans to restore some sets.

Oshkosh, Madison and Milwaukee will host movie premieres and parties June 30

Here is a video of showing Johnny Depp being filmed in Public Enemies:

James Dean Comes West for "East"

James Dean, East of Eden (C) Warner Bros.

James Dean started his acting career in Los Angeles, but after struggling for roles in Hollywood, he took the advice of his mentor, radio director, Roger Bracket and moved to New York City. While in New York, Dean would land roles in several episodes of various television series which then led to him being accepted in to the legendary Actors Studio, an acting school led be Lee Strasberg. Dean's acting skills began to blossom and the young actor was starting to make a name for himself in New York. Soon Hollywood would be calling him back West.

Director, Elia Kazan was casting his film East of Eden and was looking for an actor who could play the character of the young, emotional Cal. Marlon Brando, another Actors Studio alumni, was first considered for the part. Paul Newman also did a screen test for the role. Ultimately, Dean would win the part.

Formerly the Olive Drug Store, Now part of Warner Bros. Studios

Kazan arranged for James Dean to move from New York City out to California to start work on East of Eden. Hoping to create a brotherly relationship between his two young actors who would be playing on-screen brothers, Kazan found a one bedroom apartment located above what was then the Olive Drug Store on Olive Avenue in Burbank, for Dean and his Eden co-star, Richard Davalos to share. At this time, the Olive Drug Store was located across the street from Warner Bros. Today, the Olive Drug Store business no longer exists. The building is now part of the Warner Bros. lot and is building #5. Above and below are photos of the building as it appears today from the side facing Olive Avenue.

Building #5 on the Warner Bros. Lot, Burbank, CA

While Dean lived above the Olive Drug Store he did not necessarily develop the brotherly relationship with Davalos that Kazan was hoping for. Dean often did his own thing. Sometimes Dean would join his other co-star, Burl Ives, and the two would go to the nearby Smoke House restaurant or Bob's Big Boy (both still operating today) for lunch or dinner.

View of Building #5 from inside the Warner Bros. lot, Burbank, CA

Dean started getting into too much mischief while living in the apartment above the Olive Drug Store so Kazan, in order to keep an eye on his troublesome actor, had Dean moved out and arranged for the two of them to share a living space inside one of the bungalows on the Warner Bros. lot. Kazan and Dean continued to live in the bungalow on the WB lot during the rest of the East of Eden production. Story goes that Dean continued to live in the bungalow even after production wrapped and was eventually forced out when word made it's way up to the top Warner brass that he was living on lot.

If you take a tour of the Warner Bros. studio this is not one of the areas of the lot you will get to see. However, you can easily see building #5 when driving along the outside of the studio along Olive Ave.

Your thoughts?

Strangers When We Meet: Film Locations

So far most of my film location posts have involved places in Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. Well, this time I decided to track down some of the film locations for the Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak film, Strangers When We Meet (1961), which took me to some new areas of Los Angeles: Brentwood, Malibu, and Beverly Hills.

Most of the locations below I know for certain are the correct locations. There are a couple that I may be off on but based on some landmarks I think I may be right on these as well.

100 N. Kenter Avenue, Los Angeles

The film starts at a bus stop located at 100 N. Kenter Avenue in the Brentwood neighborhood of LA. It's here that Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak's characters first meet and begin their affair. This is a primary location in the film that appears throughout the story.

The trees have grown up quite a bit since the film was shot in the early 1960s but otherwise the location looks almost the same.

100 N. Kenter Avenue, Brentwood


Looking Northwest at the bus stop location as seen in the film.

Looking Northwest at the bus stop location present.

Kirk Douglas dropping his son off at the bus stop at Kenter Avenue.

Present view of where Kirk Douglas drops son off at bus stop.

Kim Novak standing at bus stop.

Present view of bus stop location.

Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak are seen here leaving the bus stop. That's Sunset Boulevard in the background. Below is the same view today.

Kenter Avenue at Sunset Boulevard

Kim Novak & Kirk Douglas, Tigertail Rd in background.

View looking up Tigertail Road today.

The next location below was a little difficult to figure out. In the film the location is known as the Village Market, a red country barn themed grocery store. It's here that Walter Matthau's character works as a butcher. However, today the country barn look is long gone.

11725 Barrington Ct, Los Angeles, CA

11725 Barrington Ct, Los Angele, CA (Present)

To figure out this location the only thing I could match was the white pillars next to the stairs in the center of the photo. If you look in the below photo you can see the same white pillars and the stairs going up the building. If it wasn't for that detail I don't think I would have ever found this location!

Brentwood Village Market

Kim Novak getting into her car outside the Nosh Box.

All the shops that were at this little strip mall when Strangers When We Meet was being filmed are all gone. The above photo I believe is the same shot as the one where Kim Novak is seen getting into her car.

Kirk Douglas at Service Station @ Brentwood Village Market

Another location I'm not sure about is the scene where Kirk Douglas is walking through the round overhang of the service station. In the photo below is what I'm guessing to be the same location as it appears today. In the film Douglas is walking from the service station towards Kim Novak getting into her car. If the service station was next to the strip mall then the below location would have to be where the service station was.

Possibly the service station location.

Barrington Ct, Brentwood, CA

The above photo is another shot of Kirk Douglas near the Brentwood Village Market. In the background you can see a Chevron service station. This location was easy to locate because if you look at the below photo you can see that the Chevron station almost looks exactly the same.

Chevron Station, Barrington Ct, Brentwood, CA

Romanoff's Restaurant, 140 S. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

The famous Romanoff restuarant can be seen in Strangers When We Meet. Above is a screenshot featuring the restaurant. Romanoff's opened in 1941 at the location 326 N. Rodeo Drive. It became an instant hit with Hollywood stars. The restaurant was one of Humphrey Bogart's main hangouts. In 1951 the restaurant moved to 140 S. Rodeo Drive and it's this location that appears in Strangers When We Meet.

140 S. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

Unfortunately, Romanoff's is no longer. The building has been torn down and today an office building stands on the site.

Albatross Hotel Restaurant site. 21202 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu

Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak carry on their affair at the Albatross Hotel Restaurant. Back in the 1950s and 1960s business was good for the Albatross. Eventually, the business faded away and so to the building itself. The Albatross was torn down and today it is the empty lot you see above.

Kim Novak, leaving the Albatross Hotel Restaurant

Present day view of where Kim Novak is seen leaving the Albatross Hotel Restaurant

Kim Novak on PCH near Albatross Hotel

If you look at the above screenshot of Kim Novak driving down the Pacific Coast Highway you can see a sign to the right that says the Sea Lion. The Sea Lion restaurant no longer exists but their is a new restaurant at this location called Dukes. In the photo below you can see the sign for Dukes where the sign for Sea Lion used to stand.

21202 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu

Now, you all were probably hoping to see photos of that house that Kirk Douglas's character is building for Ernie Kovacs's character - the one located high atop the hills in Brentwood. Well, I searched and searched for that home but could not find it. However, in the process I found Conan O'Brien's new west coast home. But, if anyone does know where the house is located please share in the comments section. I thought it might be on Tigertail Road which is near the bus stop sight.

Special thanks to Zinnia for coming with and her help on this film location hunt!

*UPDATE* (07/12/09)

Many thanks to Dr. Bitz for these photos below which show the Kim Novak house as it appears today compared to the screenshots of the house in the film:

Kim Novak house as it appears in the film. 512 Tigertail Rd.

Kim Novak house as it appears today.

Kim Novak leaving her house as seen in the film.

Kim Novak's neighbor's house as it appears today.