Female (1933) - Film Locations

Female (1933)

It's a woman's world in the film Female (1933). Ruth Chatterton plays Alison Drake, a tough business executive at an automobile factory who has her way with all the men that work for her. When Alison sees one of her male employees that she fancies, she invites them over to her house for what will be a one night stand. Miss Drake doesn't get attached. That is until she meets Jim Thorne (George Brent), an inventor who refuses her advances. 

This unusual film is a pre-code comedy filled with gorgeous art deco sets and snappy dialogue. One of the interesting film locations is Chatterton's home, which is the Ennis Brown house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The home is located at 2655 Glendower Avenue in the hills of the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles and can be seen in numerous films. The Ennis Brown house was even the title character in House on Haunted Hill (1959), starring Vincent Price.   

Ruth Chatterton and her help outside the Ennis-Brown house.

The entrance to the Ennis-Brown House.

The Ennis-Brown House as seen in Female (1933)

The front of the Ennis-Brown House

The driveway of the Ennis-Brown House.

Ruth Chatterton in front of the Ennis-Brown house.

The back of the Ennis-Brown house.

Ruth Chatterton about to take a dip in her art deco pool.

In one scene we see that Chatterton's home has a large art deco swimming pool. That pool is not part of the Ennis-Brown home designed by Wright. It was fabricated on a Warner Bros. soundstage. According to IMDB, it was actually constructed for the musical number "By a Waterfall" in the bigger budget film, Footlight Parade (1933), starring James Cagney.

Walt Disney's Swimming Pool

4053 Woking Way, Los Feliz 

(c) The Walt Disney Company

Apparently, one of the realtors showing Walt's former home at 4053 Woking Way says that there was no pool at the house when Walt lived in the home? This doesn't seem quite right to me. I remembered that in the documentary film, Walt: The Man Behind The Myth, Diane Disney-Miller, Walt's daughter, shared her memories of the home in the Los Feliz hills. Diane specifically mentions how she had fond memories of Walt's animators coming over to use the pool and for barbecues. 

The photo at the top is a screenshot of how the home at 4053 Woking Way looked at the time of the documentary. This is the house that they show as an establishing shot when Diane goes on to talk about the pool. The documentary then shows some vintage home movie footage of one of Walt's pool parties. The two black and white screenshots below show how the pool looked. What's amazing is how undeveloped the Los Feliz area looks in the background. If you own the DVD, this clip is about 35 minutes in.

Pool Party at Walt's House

(c) The Walt Disney Company

An undeveloped Los Feliz can be seen in the background.

(c) The Walt Disney Company

Does anyone have more information on the swimming pool at Walt Disney's 4053 Woking Way home? I'm assuming Walt's daughter's memory and the vintage home movie clips are correct and there was a pool. Perhaps, more likely, the realtor meant that the pool at the home today isn't the original pool?

I Just Bought Walt Disney's Los Feliz Home!

Walt Disney's Residence at 4053 Woking Way

Ok, so I didn't buy Walt Disney's home. I was just fantasizing.  But, if you haven't heard, Walt's former residence at 4053 Woking Way in the Los Feliz hills is up for sale. If you have $3,650,000 you could live just like the creative studio mogul. All of these photos (and there are more where these came from) are from the official Walt Disney LA Home website. I picked a few of my favorite rooms.

Love the stained glass touches!

Can you picture Walt and wife Lillian 

brushing their teeth together here?

I bet Walt read a lot of scripts here.

The pool where Walt would invite some of his animators 

over to enjoy on hot summer days like the country is having now.

Isn't this ceiling great? It looks like a fairy tale home.

I wish I could afford to move into this home, but unfortunately, it's just a little out of my price range. I only hope, that whoever does end up purchasing this home, they preserve the unique design details. It always sickens me when some classic Hollywood home is torn down only to be replaced by a large, modern, and gaudy building. 

Your thoughts?

Witness to Murder (1954) - Film Locations

Witness to Murder (1954)

How would you like to rent Barbara Stanwyck's apartment? Maybe you would prefer the posh pad of her neighbor George Sanders? But, what if there was a murder in the neighborhood? Would you still want to move in? Well, you can! Both buildings have units ready to move into. Of course, I'm not talking about Stanwyck's or Sanders's real homes, but the apartment buildings where their characters live in the 1954 film, Witness to Murder.

In Witness to Murder, Stanwyck plays Cheryl Draper, a single working girl, who from her apartment window one night, witnesses a murder being committed in the apartment across the street. The always delightfully smarmy George Sanders plays Albert Richter, a former Nazi and intellectual type, who commits the murder. From the beginning, we know that Sanders is the murderer and Stanwyck tries to prove to the police that Sanders committed the murder, but the police don't believe her. Sanders, using his charm and cunning abilities, leads the police to believe that Stanwyck is a bit delirious. Stanwyck does everything she can to prove that Sanders is the murderer, but the harder she tries, the more crazy the police think she is.

The story isn't groundbreaking and the writing is a bit weak in spots, but what is luring about this film is the performances by Stanwyck and Sanders. In fact, Sanders is so good in my opinion, that I don't care that he speaks with an English accent even though he is supposed to be German. If you want to see a more melodramatic version of a film in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, which came out the same year I might add, then you should give Witness to Murder a view.

After watching Witness to Murder I was curious about the apartment buildings featured in the film and so I decided to track the buildings down. I had seen some buildings with a similar architectural style in a book on the historic Los Angeles neighborhood, West Adams, so I decided to start looking in that area first. After about 15 minutes of touring the area street by street, via Google, I found the apartment buildings in an area now known as Koreatown!

In the below screenshot and photo, we can see Barbara Stanwyck's apartment on the right (with the awning) and George Sanders apartment straight ahead and to the left. The intersection is S. Serrano Ave at San Marino Street.

S. Serrano Ave at San Marino Street

S. Serrano Ave at San Marino Street

Stanwyck at her apartment. 939 S. Serrano Ave

Stanwyck's apartment. 939 S. Serrano Ave

Stanwyck's apartment is available to lease.

There is a unit a available in the building that was used as Stanwyck's apartment. If you want to move in, there is a phone number listed in the above photo. Below is a full shot of the apartment building.

939 S. Serrano Ave, Los Angeles

The next few images are comparisons of the building that was used as the apartment for George Sanders. From a real estate listing on Trulia, it appears that this building which was built in 1922 and known as the Miramonte Terrace, is now a condominium, with one unit for sale. The price for the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit is $325,000. It comes with one secure parking space, shared access to the rooftop deck, and a rec room/billiards room in the basement. To view photos of the inside of the building, click here. The exact address for this building is 3400 San Marino Street, Los Angeles.

Sanders arrives at his apartment. 3400 San Marino Street

3400 San Marino Street, Los Angeles

3400 San Marino Street, Los Angeles

The entrance to the Miramonte Terrace

This plaque can be seen in the film.

The next few images show comparisons of the intersection from different angles. The first is of Stanwyck walking from her apartment on Serrano and heading to Sanders apartment on San Marino. The view in the background is looking down San Marino. The second comparisons show the view looking down Serrano.

Stanwyck crosses San Marino Street

Looking down San Marino Street.

Looking down S. Serrano Ave (left side of street).

Looking down S. Serrano Ave (left side of street).

Right side of Serrano Ave.

Right side of Serrano Ave.

As I mentioned, Stanwyck plays a working professional. She is an interior designer at a store in Beverly Hills. The building that was used as the business still stands, although the outside has been slightly modified. What was at one time the home of W. & J. Sloane, located at 9560 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, is now home to Burberry and Niketown. To read more about this building and to see interior photos from the 1950s, click here.

W. & J. Sloane, 9560 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

Burberry / Niketown, 9560 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

Are you ready to move into Stanwyck's or Sanders's apartments? By the way, if you have Netflix, this film is currently available for streaming.

Hollywood Hillview Apartments

Hillview Apartments, 6533 Hollywood Blvd

At a time when Hollywood was a sleepy little town influenced by residents with strong puritan principles, actors arriving from the stages of New York and looking to get into "pictures," often had no where to stay. What few living spaces were available to rent had signs that read, "No Dogs and No Actors." The lack of housing available to actors in Hollywood led movie moguls Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn to build an apartment complex that would cater specifically to the acting community. In 1917, at 6533 Hollywood Boulevard, the Hillview Apartments (now the Hudson Apartments) were erected.

Photo Credit: Hudsonapartments.com

The Hillview Apartments included modern amenities such as a garbage incinerator and automatic elevators, as well as a rehearsal space in the basement to cater to the many actor residents. According to PreserveLA.com there was even a Speakeasy. A Los Angeles Times article from September 20, 2007 further explains that Rudolph Valentino ran the speak-easy, which was accessible by a trap door. Some of the early stars that have filled this 54-unit apartment include Mae Busch, Stan Laurel, Jack La Rue, Barbara LaMarr, Joan Blondell, Jack Dougherty, Clara Bow, and Mary Astor to name a few.

Photo Credit: Hudsonapartments.com

During the 1960s the Hillview Apartments started a decline in safety and appearance along with the rest of Hollywood. Transients and drug dealers took over the area. The building itself suffered damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, sinkage due to the tunneling of the MetroRail subway and a fire in 2002. Fortunately, Jeffrey Rouze, the architect responsible for remodeling the El Capitan Theater further down Hollywood Boulevard stepped in to help preserve this building. The restored building reopened on July 14, 2005.

Photo Credit: Hudsonapartments.com

If you're looking to move into the Hillview Apartments, it doesn't come cheap. Each level of room is named after early silent film stars. The least expensive, "The Greta Garbo," is a 375 Sq. Ft. studio/1 bath that starts at $1400. The priciest apartments, a "Chaplin," will cost between $2200-$2700 for a 2 bed/2 bath, 1054 Sq. Ft space.

Photo Credit: Hudsonapartments.com

Early Hollywood is filled with scandalous stories and it seems that is still true today. Earlier this year, one of the young female tenants of this complex was murdered by her fiance in the 3rd floor hallway. According to the resident forum at hollywoodhillviewapartments.com, there have been other reports of battery, a prostitution ring, and sexual assault.

It is sad to hear that such despicable events are taking place in the Hillview Apartments building, but if the building can be restored to its original beauty, then maybe the environment inside can be restored to something safe and respectable again.

In a Lonely Place (1950) - Film Locations

Bogart as screenwriter, Dixon "Dix" Steele

In 1950, Hollywood produced three amazing films revealing a dark side to show business: Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, and In a Lonely Place. In my opinion, Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve are the much stronger films overall, but In a Lonely Place is certainly no slouch. Humphrey Bogart's electrifying performance as down-on-his-luck screenwriter, Dixon Steele, really makes In A Lonely Place a gem to watch. Add in Nicholas Ray's melodramatic directing touches and noir starlet Gloria Graham and you got the ingredients for a delicious cinematic treat. Like Sunset Boulevard, In a Lonely Place features a few Los Angeles area locations and I decided to track some of those locations down. 

The film opens with Bogart driving. Bogart comes to a stop at an intersection and turns to a pretty girl who is sitting with her husband in the next lane over. On a hunch, I figured that this intersection would be in Beverly Hills, so using Google Street View, I picked a commercial street and started comparing the buildings to the screenshot below. I couldn't have been more lucky. I found the intersection after scrolling just three blocks from my starting point. The intersection is North Beverly Drive at South Santa Monica Boulevard. The way I spotted this was from the unique detailing on the building which I've circled with the red oval.

N. Beverly Drive at S. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills

N. Beverly Drive at S. Santa Monica, Beverly Hills

The only building still standing at this intersection that can be seen in the film is the one that I've circled. The rest have been torn down and replaced. The next two comparisons give a different view of the intersection.

Bogart at the intersection of Beverly & Santa Monica

Looking south down Beverly Boulevard. The store in the background is now replaced by a modern glass building.

Looking south down Beverly Boulevard.

Looking north up Beverly Boulevard.

Looking north up Beverly Boulevard.

One interesting note about In a Lonely Place, is that Nicholas Ray modeled the set of Bogart's apartment building after the Villa Primavera apartments in West Hollywood, the same apartment building Ray lived at when he first came to Hollywood. Although the apartment courtyard and interiors were recreated on a soundstage, in one scene we do get a glimpse of what is across the street from the actual apartment location. In the screenshot below, Bogart is walking up to the entrance of the Villa Primavera apartments located at 1300 North Harper Avenue. The view in the background is the intersection of Harper and Fountain Avenue.

Bogart at the Villa Primavera apartments.

Fountain Ave at Harper, West Hollywood

Bogart in the apartment courtyard.

The apartment is gated, but below is the entrance to the Villa Primavera apartments. You can see a fountain in the center by looking through the gate, similar to the one Ray recreated on a soundstage.

1300 N. Harper Ave, West Hollywood

Later in the film Bogart is seen leaving the Beverly Hills post office which is located directly across from the Beverly Hills City Hall building. Below is a screenshot of Bogart and the City Hall building. As of present, the area between City Hall and the Post Office is fenced off and under construction, so I couldn't get a good photo of the City Hall building. Instead, I have a Google Street View screenshot for comparison.

Bogart in front of Beverly Hills City Hall

Beverly Hills City Hall (c) Google 2011

In another scene, Bogart is taken into the Beverly Hills Police Station for questioning in a murder case. Below, Bogart is seen leaving the police station, which is a side entrance to the City Hall building. Today the bushes have been cut away and now palm trees have been planted in front of the entrance.

Bogart leaves the Beverly Hills police station.

Side entrance to Beverly Hills City Hall.

Below is a scene of Bogart driving off with Gloria Graham after a beach picnic. In the background we see the Canyon Market, located at the intersection of Chautauqua Blvd, Channel Road and the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica. Just below the screenshot is a historic photograph of the Canyon Market that gives us a better view of how this intersection once looked. Following that image is a photo I took showing how the intersection looks today. I believe the building that is standing there today is the same building, only greatly modified.

Photo Credit: Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives

Former site of Canyon Market, Santa Monica

As Bogart drives off in a rage, another building we see him pass is the Casino Lunch building. This is located across the street from the Canyon Market building. Below is the screenshot of the Casino Lunch building as seen in the film. Below that is a historic photo providing a better view of the Casino Lunch building, followed by a photo I took showing the intersection as it appears today.

Bogart drives by the Casino Lunch building in Santa Monica.

Photo (c) California Historical Society

Former site of Casino Lunch, Santa Monica

Of the three show biz related 1950 films, Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, and In a Lonely Place, what's your favorite? (I say "show biz" because I know All About Eve is more about Broadway than Hollywood.)