Impact (1949) - Film Locations

Impact (1949)

I'm going beyond the borders of Los Angeles again, this time exploring the Northern California filming locations for the 1949 film, Impact. This is the second time I've tracked down locations in the Northern half of the state. A few weeks back I did a post on The Lawless (1950) which was filmed in the small towns of Grass Valley and Marysville. That got me thinking about possibly changing the tag line on my blog to something that would include exploring the world of "Hollywood" beyond just the borders of Tinseltown. My focus will remain on Hollywood and Los Angeles, but look for an occasional post outside LA city limits.

Impact stars Brian Donlevy as cuckold Walter Williams, a wealthy San Francisco businessman who's wife Irene (Helen Walker) is plotting to have him killed. When Williams needs to go on a business trip his wife asks if he could pick up her cousin "Jim" on his way and drive her cousin back to his home. Jim is really Irene's lover and intends to kill Williams along the way, but things don't go according to plan. While pulled over on the side of the road to fix a flat tire, Jim hits Williams over the head and rolls his body down a cliff. Jim drives off but he ends up in a flaming car crash and dies. Meanwhile, Williams awakens and lifts a ride into town where he learns that he was set-up. 

Williams stays on in Larkspur, "Idaho" the small town where he was dropped off and gets a job as a mechanic working for Marsha Peters (Ella Raines), a widow who's husband died in the war.  The two develop a relationship and Williams ends up staying in Larkspur longer than he intended - that is until he reveals his past and Peters convinces him to go back to San Francisco to set things straight. When Williams arrives back in San Francisco everyone is shocked to see that he is still alive. The police arrest Williams under suspicion of murder. Peters, with the help of detective Quincy (Charles Coburn) and the Williams's maid (Anna Mae Wong) fight to prove his innocence. 

Donlevy is excellent in the lead role and so is the supporting cast of Walker, Raines, Coburn and Wong. The story is a bit convoluted but this part noir, part crime thriller is an interesting watch.

Filming took place in three different California cities: San Francisco, Sausalito, and Larkspur.

San Francisco Locations

The Williams's apartment building is the Brocklebank Apartments located at 1000, Mason Street in San Francisco. The intersection is Mason Street at Sacramento Street. Below is the view looking out the window of the Brocklebank building as seen in the film and a contemporary street view of the same location.

The view looking out of the Brocklebank Apartments.

Looking away from the Brocklebank Apartments.

Mason Street at Sacramento Street.

Irene leaving the Brocklebank Apartments

The Brocklebank Apartments in San Francisco.

In the scene where we see Irene leaving the Brocklebank Apartments she continues to walk down Mason Street, passing the historic Fairmont hotel and ending at the intersection of Mason and California. 

Irene in front of The Fairmont hotel.

The corner of The Fairmont hotel. Mason at California Streets.

Looking down California Street from Mason Street.

Looking down California Street from Mason Street.

It's amazing how much the skyline has changed since 1949. One used to have a clear view of the bridge. Now only part of the bridge is visible between the tall high-rise buildings that have gone up. The same is true in the next view below looking down Sacramento Street from Mason Street.

Looking down Sacrament St. from Mason St.

Looking down Sacramento St. from Mason St.

Another San Francisco location is the old Hall of Justice building located at 750 Kearny Street. The building has since been razed and replaced by a Hilton hotel.

Former San Francisco Hall of Justice, 750 Kearny Street.

750 Kearny Street, now a Hilton Hotel.

The next two comparisons are views of Kearny Street as seen from Washington Street.

814 Kearny Street in background as seen in Impact.

Looking at a contemporary view of 814 Kearny Street.

The corner of Washington Street and Kearny Street.

The corner of Washington Street and Kearny Street.

Sausalito Locations

The next three locations are located in Sausalito, California. It's at this location where Donlevy's character thinks he is picking up his wife's cousin Jim. We get a view of the historic Hotel Sausalito located at 16 El Portal Street and some of the neighboring buildings.

Looking down Bridgeway at El Portal Street.

The Hotel Sausalito can be seen on the left.

Looking down Bridgeway. Hotel Sausalito on the left.

Looking down El Portal at the Hotel Sausalito. 

Looking down El Portal St. at the Hotel Sausalito.

Looking up El Portal St. towards Bridgeway.

Looking up El Portal St. towards Bridgeway.

Larkspur Locations

The next set of locations are all in Larkspur, California, although in the film the story is supposed to be set in Larkspur "Idaho." The first two comparisons are views of the center of town from the intersection of Magnolia Avenue at East Ward Street.

Williams arrives in Larkspur - walking down

Magnolia Ave from E. Ward Street.

Looking down Magnolia Ave at E. Ward Street.

Williams (Donlevy) stands on E. Ward Street near Magnolia Ave.

Looking down E. Ward Street.

Williams stays at the home of Marsha Peters located at 234 Magnolia Avenue. I actually found this address from a printable historic self-guided walking tour provided by the City of Larkspur. You can view the walking tour which highlights other significant buildings in the town by clicking here.

Raines & Donlevy at the home at 234 Magnolia Ave.

The home as it appears today at 234 Magnolia Ave.

When Williams arrives in Larkspur he gets a job as a mechanic at a shop owned by Peters. I couldn't find the Mobil service station, but just a few blocks down from the Peters home on Magnolia Ave I saw the building below, a hair salon that looks like it could be the same building as the Mobile service station, only remodeled.  Look at the white columns and the basic structure of the building and you can see how it matches up. The building is located at 238 Magnolia Ave.

Donlevy as a mechanic at the service station. 

238 Magnolia Avenue

The service station building remodeled. Now a hair salon.

The last few comparisons take place near the Larkspur City Hall building and the Larkspur Fire Department.

Looking up at Larkspur City Hall, 400 Magnolia Ave.

Looking at Larkspur City Hall on Magnolia Ave.

The Larkspur Fire Dept. next to City Hall.

The Larkspur Fire Department next to City Hall.

Looking down Magnolia Ave from King Street.

Looking down Magnolia Ave from King Street.

A fire truck leaves the Fire Dept. and heads down Magnolia

towards the center of town.

Looking down Magnolia towards the center of town

from the Fire Department.

Impact (1949) is available on DVD and is also currently available as a Netflix Watch Instantly title.

All Street View images (c) Google 2011.

The Lawless (1950) - Film Locations

The Lawless (1950)

In something a little different today, I've gone beyond my Los Angeles borders to track down film locations in two Northern California towns seen in the 1950 Joseph Losey movie, The Lawless. Many of Losey's films analyzed different social issues and in The Lawless, the director shines a light on racism in a small California community. What shocked me when I first saw this film is how contemporary it feels sixty-one years later.

The friction is between the middle class whites that live in the fictional town of Santa Marta and the Mexican fruit pickers that live in the poorer neighboring community, Sleepy Hollow. Not all, but many of the residents in the white community look down at the Mexican immigrants, considering them lazy and troublesome. During one evening, some white teenagers decide to go to Sleepy Hollow for a night of dancing. At the dance, the white teenagers pick a fight and an all out brawl ensues, spiraling out of control. When one of the Latino boys accidentally hits a cop many people in the white community, without knowing all the facts, go on a hunt for the Mexican juvenile, much like the mob in the Fritz Lang film, Fury.

Macdonald Carey, a regular in many 'B' movies, plays Larry Wilder, a newspaper publisher who has left the city life to go live and work in a quieter small town similar to the one he fondly remembers growing up in.  Being new in town, Carey initially doesn't want to make any more waves in the community than there already are. When Carey realizes just how bad the anti-Mexican hatred is he decides to take action, using his newspaper to get out the facts and to be a voice of reason in the community.

Macdonald Carey outside The Union Square Building

Union Square Building, 151 Mill St, Grass Valley, Ca

Above and directly below are screenshots from the film showing Carey's newspaper office building compared with contemporary images of the location. In the film, this building was to be in the fictional town of Santa Marta, but this building is located at 151 Mill Street, in Grass Valley, California. What I think is interesting is that this building, built in 1864, really was a newspaper building according to the Nevada County Association of Realtors website.

Another view of Union Square Building from The Lawless

151 Mill Street, Grass Valley, Ca - Union Square Building

The next few screen comparisons show more locations moving down Mill Street in Grass Valley, going in the direction of the historic Del Oro Theatre. You will see the residents beginning to form a mob and then turning into a chase scene.

Mexicans driving down Mill Street through the white crowd.

Cars driving down Mill Street near the Del Oro Theatre.

The Del Oro Theatre in the background as seen in The Lawless.

Del Oro Theatre, 165 Mill Street, Grass Valley, Ca

According to Cinema Treasures, the Del Oro Theatre was built in 1942, making the theatre only about seven years old during the time The Lawless was being filmed.

The mob races past Casey's Restaurant in Grass Valley.

Casey's Restaurant is now a parking lot.

In the above scene, the crowd formed into a mob and began racing down Mill Street, chasing one of the Mexicans past Casey's restaurant at the intersection of Mill and Neal Streets. As you can see, Casey's Restaurant is now a parking lot.

In the next screenshot comparisons, what is supposed to still be Santa Marta was actually filmed in Marysville, California, about 30 miles away from Grass Valley where the other scenes were filmed.

5th Street at D Street, Marysville, Ca as seen in The Lawless

Looking down D Street at 5th Street, Marysville, Ca

In the screenshot above, if you look in the upper right corner, you can see the pointed circular peak of what was the Western Hotel. I was able to identify this building thanks to some historic images on the Historic Downtown Marysville website. You can check out this informative and interesting site by clicking here. The Historic Downtown Marysville site says this about the hotel:

"Opened on November 1, 1853, the five-star Western Hotel was built for $30,000 by R.J. Murray. It burned in May 1854,  June 1933, and August 1956 [just seven years after The Lawless was filmed]. The hotel had installed the first elevator, steam heaters, and electricity between Sacramento and Portland in 1911; thus, it kept the hotel ranked with its five-star rating. The hotel stood for 95 years and was demolished in 1956."

As you can see, the hotel is not the only building missing since the time of filming. Clearly some of the other buildings that once stood on D Street are now gone.

The next couple comparisons show the old Yuba County Court House in Marysville, which was located at the corner of 6th and D Streets. Like the hotel, the old Court House is no longer standing.

Yuba County Court House as seen in The Lawless.

6th & D Streets, Marysville, Ca - Former site of Court House.

In front of the Court House, looking down D Street.

Looking down D Street where the Court House once stood.

In the next scene comparison we see a park in the center of town that the mob passes through during the chase scene. This park was Cortez Square, located near where the Court House used to stand. The park was situated between B and C Street and 5th and 6th Street. Like the Court House, Cortez Square is also gone.

Cortez Square, Marysville, Ca as seen in The Lawless.

Cortez Sqaure now covered by buildings.

This last comparison shows Ellis Lake, located in Marysville, Ca. The lake can be seen later in the film when a cop drives by the sign reading "Santa Marta - The Friendly City."

A view of Ellis Lake, in Marysville, Ca.

A present day view of Ellis Lake in Marysville, Ca.

The Lawless is an entertaining 'B' movie that has held up well over time. In addition to seeing real life film locations, another great thing about this movie is that Joseph Losey cast actual Latinos, rather than throwing on some dark make-up on white actors to play Latinos. I always grimace a bit when I see that done.

The Lawless is currently available for streaming on Netflix. I don't believe there has been any official studio release of The Lawless on DVD, but it can be found for sale online.

All present day images (c) 2011 Google; (c) 2011 Microsoft Coporation, (c) 2010 Pictometry International Corp (c) 2010 NAVTEQ.

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