Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) - Film Locations

(c) Warner Bros. Entertainment

Bureau of Missing Persons, the second on-screen pairing of Pat O'Brien and Bette Davis, is not the greatest film in either actor's filmography, but this fast paced film does have some fine moments. The weakness is in the story, but seeing performances by a young O'Brien and Davis, as well as the comedic Allen Jenkins, make it worth watching at least once. 

In this screwball crime story, O'Brien plays Butch Saunders, who is assigned to work in Missing Persons because he was too brutal in his previous police assignment. After successfully solving his first Missing Persons case, Butch is assigned to find Norma Robert's (Davis) missing husband, Therme. Butch is attracted to Norma, so when he finds out that she is wanted for murder he doesn't believe it.  When Butch is sent to arrest Norma he lets her go. Later Norma's clothes are found at a dock and it appears that she has committed suicide. Butch doesn't believe Norma has killed herself so he stages a fake funeral where both Norma (who has come to see her own funeral) and Roberts have been lured out of hiding.  Norma informs Butch that Roberts killed his twin brother making it appear that he himself was dead in order to escape embezzlement charges. Butch and Norma chase down Roberts to bring him into the police department to prove his guilt and Norma's innocence.

I've tracked down most of the film locations seen during the chase scene and I'm amazed that for the most part, the locations have changed very little in nearly 80 years!

Pat O'Brien and Bette Davis

In this first location we see Roberts making his getaway, driving down 8th Street in downtown Los Angeles and making a left onto Spring Street. You will notice that all of the buildings in the background are still standing today. The hotel in the center of the screenshot is still a hotel today.

Eighth Street at Spring Street, Los Angeles

Eighth Street at Spring Street, Los Angeles (2011)

Turning onto Spring Street

8th Street and Spring Street, Los Angeles

8th Street at Spring Street, Los Angeles

8th Street at Spring Street

This next location took me a while to find. I kept second guessing myself. I wasn't absolutely sure if this was the location I thought it was, but then I found the proof I needed. The clue that made me certain that I had found the correct location is the "Brack Shops" sign in the upper right corner of the screenshot. I knew that the former Brack Shops building was located on Seventh Street and that presently it is known as the Collection building. In the next scene we see Roberts being chased down Seventh Street near the intersection of Olive. You can also see this same intersection from different camera angles in my previous posts on the film locations for the Joan Crawford film Possessed (1947) and the Charlie Chaplin film, City Lights. What I find amusing is how Bette Davis used this same film location 14 years before her famous antagonist, Joan Crawford.

Seventh Street near Olive, Los Angeles

Seventh Street near Olive, Los Angeles

This third location also took me a while to find. You will notice in the screenshot that the cars are driving by a corner building with theatre popcorn lights. Immediately, I assumed it was the former downtown Los Angeles Warner Theatre. It was the only theatre that I knew of that had a rounded marquee like that and was located on the corner of an intersection. The thing that bothered me though was that none of the background buildings where the Warner Theatre stands matched up with what is seen in the film. After doing some further research on downtown LA movie palaces I came across an old photo for the RKO Hill Street Theatre which stood at the intersection of Eighth Street and Hill Street. This theatre, like the Warner, was also located on a corner and had a rounded marquee. However, the RKO theatre was torn down sometime in the 1960s. When I went to the corner of Eighth and Hill, although the theatre is long gone, all the other buildings in the background are still standing and very recognizable. See for yourself.

Hill Street near Eighth Street, Los Angeles

Hill Street near Eighth Street, Los Angeles

Turning onto Eighth Street, Los Angeles

Corner of Eighth Street and Hill Street

Looking down Eighth Street

Looking down Eight Street

Another view of Eighth Street

Another view of Eighth Street

This last location was the easiest to find. I recognized it immediately. This is part of the Warner Bros. backlot known as "Brownstone Street." What is incredible to me is how little this part of the Warner Bros. studio has changed since 1933! Of course, you probably will recognize thousands of films that used this location over the last several decades.

Warner Bros. Studios Brownstone Street

Warner Bros. Brownstone Street

Pat O'Brien on the WB Brownstone Street

A closer look at Brownstone Street

Bureau of Missing Persons may not be the greatest film, but like I said, the film has its moments. My favorite scene is one of O'Brien and Davis sitting at a lunch counter inside of a diner. A man to their right asks for some sugar, so O'Brien slides the container. Next, a man to their left asks for the ketchup, so Davis slides the bottle down the counter. Then O'Brien asks for the sugar, salt, ketchup, pepper and everything comes sliding back at him all at once in one mess.

If you would like to see Bureau of Missing Persons for yourself, it is available through the Warner Archive Collection.

Your thoughts?

Joan Crawford's Wild Ride

Joan Crawford, photo from latimesblogs.latimes.com

Many people when they think of Joan Crawford probably think of the "Mommie Dearest" version, the lunatic woman who can't stop cleaning, who abuses her adopted children, and screams "No more wire hangers!" Author Bob Thomas, in his biography on Joan, shines a fair light on the actress, showing that she was not just some psycho, however, he does include a few anecdotes that show how she did present some eccentricities, especially in her later years. Here is an interesting story from Thomas's biography.

Sportsmen's Lodge, Studio City, California

In the early 1950s, at the time Joan Crawford was working on the film Female on the Beach for Universal Studios, she was seen going on dates with different men. One evening Joan was to go on a date with a businessman from Chicago. The man was quite nervous about going on a date with such a huge star so he asked his friend Tony Owen and his wife Donna Reed if they would join him on his date with Joan. Reed, who had never met Joan (she joined MGM after Joan had moved on to Warner Bros.) but who had corresponded with Joan and wanted to meet the legendary actress agreed to the double date.

The Owens and the businessman were to meet Joan at her dressing room (probably a bungalow) on the Universal lot then go to the Sportsman's lodge for dinner. Joan was living in the dressing room while filming Female on the Beach. When the Owens and friend arrived at the studio they went to Joan's dressing room where they exchanged pleasantries. Then Joan turned and exclaimed, "Oh, dear, the dogs have tinkled on the carpet." Joan got on her hands and knees and began scrubbing with a towel and soda water, vigorously brushing the floor. When she was done, Joan washed her hands, came back to the group and nonchalantly asked, "Shall we go?"

Joan suggested they take the freeway from Universal to the Sportsmen's Lodge but Owen said, "Don't you think we should go on Ventura Boulevard? The Sportsman's Lodge is only a couple miles away." Owen was right, it made sense to take Ventura but Joan replied, "No, the freeway is better."

Joan and her date got in her car and drove off out the studio gate, made a left on Lankershim Boulevard and onto the Hollywood Freeway before Owen could argue. Owen and Reed got in their car and quickly tried to catch up. "My God, she's going east." said Owen. "The Sportsmen's Lodge is west!"

"We've got to catch her" said, Reed. They passed the Hollywood Bowl and kept going. Finally, Owen and Reed caught up with Joan in the Silver Lake district. Owen gestured to Joan that she was going the wrong way. Joan nodded, exited the freeway and then got back on heading west.

"How on earth can she get out of this situation?" Reed thought. "What can she possibly say?"

"I can't imagine," said Owen.

Joan stepped out of her car in front of the Sportsman's Lodge and said, "Didn't I tell you - the freeway's great!"

Quite the story don't you think? I wonder what was going through Joan's head at the time. At least she covered for herself rather creatively.

Sportsmen's Lodge, Studio City - photo from LAObserved.com

The Sportsmen's Lodge is a hotel on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, California and has been a landmark in the valley for over a century. Until the 1970s, there was even a lake for trout fishing. People would come to the Sportsmen's Lodge, catch their own fish out of the lake, and then have the Lodge restaurant prepare the fish. Even celebrities came to fish, including Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, and numerous other big time celebrities.

Stars still head over to the Sportsmen's Lodge for the restaurant and hotel. The Sportsmen's Lodge also hosts many special events such as political gatherings, weddings and anniversaries.

Your thoughts?

Possessed (1947) - Film Locations

Joan Crawford in Possessed (1947)

Well, after a bit of summer traveling I'm ready to get back to blogging and what better way than to start with a film location post. I know the location posts are probably the most popular. To kick things off here are a few of the filming locations for the classic Joan Crawford noir, Possessed (1947).

In short, Possessed tells the story of a woman (Joan Crawford) who is obsessed with her ex-lover and over the course of the film loses her sanity. The movie opens with the credits coming up over a shot of 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles. If you look at the images below you can match. up the film shot with the present image by looking at the tall building in the far right.

7th Street, Los Angeles

7th Street, Los Angeles

As the credits continue to roll we see Joan Crawford walking aimlessly through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Below, she walks right past the Brack Shops building located on 7th Street near Grand Avenue. The Brack Shops awning is no longer but the building still stands and is known as "The Collection." There are metal markings in the sidewalk that read "Brack Shops" in front of the old store entrance.

Joan Crawford in front of Brack Shops, Los Angeles

"The Collection" formerly "Brack Shops"

Sidewalk in front of The Collection building

7th Street, Los Angeles

7th Street, Los Angeles

7th Street, Los Angeles

Joan Crawford walks down 7th Street

Looking down 7th Street, Los Angeles

As you can see above, the view down 7th Street has changed since the late 1940s when the film was made and how it appears today. There were no trees growing from the sidewalks and one of the buildings on the left is now gone, but a lot still remains the same. I was able to find this location by matching up the windows and stairwells of the tall building on the left.

Once the camera finally does a close-up on Joan Crawford we see her heading "across the street" towards a church. There is no church across the street and the one in the film does not look familiar to me. I'm guessing the church was built on a soundstage at Warner Bros. If anyone knows if the church is real leave a message!

After wandering the streets Joan Crawford is picked up and rushed to a hospital in an ambulance. The hospital used was the historic Los Angeles County hospital located in the east LA neighborhood of Boyle Heights. The hospital is an amazing looking building that is a towering landmark in the neighborhood.

Looking down Zonal Ave as seen in Possessed

Looking down Zonal Ave in front of hospital

Ambulance rushes Crawford to hospital.

Entrance to hospital.

Hospital entrance as seen in film Possessed.

Los Angeles County Hospital

Possessed was originally going to be a film vehicle for the actress Bette Davis, however, Davis was pregnant and needed to go on maternity. Joan Crawford, who got her start at MGM was enjoying a second career as a star at Warner Bros. during this time and so the film went to Crawford.

Early Homes of Bette Davis

Bette Davis

When Bette Davis left the east coast for Hollywood she brought her mother Ruthie and sister Bobby along with her. The three of them, for whatever reason, couldn't seem to stay put for very long. Davis and her family moved to several different residences during her early days in Hollywood and below are a few of the locations the Davis family spent time.

9918 Toluca Lake Avenue

In April of 1932, Bette, Ruthie and Bobby moved into the large Tudor home seen above, which belonged to actor Charles Farrell. The house, located in the posh Toluca Lake neighborhood, was just around the corner from the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank where Davis worked and had a yard that lead down to the Toluca Lake. The Davis's didn't stay in this nice home for very long. By June, the family was moving to a house at 135 Zuma, in Malibu.

1217 Horn Ave, West Hollywood

After Bette Davis was married, Davis, her husband Ham, along with Ruthie and Bobby, moved into a house at 1217 Horn Avenue, in West Hollywood. According to the book Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis, the "house actually comprised two buildings - as Bette describes it, 'a white, ivy-covered little English house' in front for the newlyweds and a guesthouse in the back for the bride's mother and sister." As you can see in my photo above, 1217 Horn Avenue is currently a vacant lot.

906 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills

Bette's sister Bobby would suffer a nervous breakdown and eventually move back east with Ruthie. Bette and Ham would continue to move around town. One of these residences was a large home on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills - right across the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Above and below are photos showing the home at this address today. I'm not sure if this is the same building that Bette lived in or if it was torn down and replaced with a new building - but this is what you will find at this address today.

906 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills

From the Beverly Drive home, Bette and Ham would next move into a house at 5346 Franklin Avenue in the Los Feliz neighborhood. Below is a photo I took showing the home today. According to the real estate website Trulia, the home was built in 1911 and is a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom house - not really the big home you would expect Bette Davis to live in.

5346 Franklin Avenue, Los Feliz

1700 Coldwater Canyon, Beverly Hills

I'm sure Bette and Ham moved several more times after the house on Franklin Avenue. By 1937, Bette and Ham moved into a home at 1700 Coldwater Canyon, in Beverly Hills. According to the book Dark Victory, the Coldwater Canyon home was, "a hacienda-style house complete with a swimming pool, tennis court, and an acre of land." Above is a photo looking at the entrance to the home. As you can see, whoever the current owners are, they have let the shrubbery grow to block the view of the home. By the time work would start on the film Jezebel, Bette was still living in this home but Ham was spending most of his time in New York.

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?