The Big Fix (1978) - Film Locations Part One

Imagine all those detective films from the 1940s with Humphrey Bogart, but instead its the 1970s and Bogart is a dope smoking, counter-culture has-been nostalgic for the radical days of protests and fighting for 1960s liberal causes. That's kind of how the film The Big Fix feels. Instead of Bogart and his Sam Spade/Philip Marlowe characters we have Richard Dreyfuss playing private eye Moses Wine. Where Bogart had a tough guy presence - I mean you wouldn't be surprised to see him throw a punch at a guy that had it coming, the Moses Wine character is not a tough guy, but a Berkeley schooled academic rebel more familiar with protesting or arranging sit-ins.

In the film, Moses is a divorced father of two, just barely getting by financially, when his old college friend Lila (Susan Anspach) hooks him up with a job. Lila wants Moses to work for Milles Hawthorne, a candidate running for governor of California, to investigate who has been trying to sabotage his campaign. Although Moses doesn't agree with Hawthorne's policies, it seems like all the other 1960s radicals have sold-out, so why shouldn't he? Besides, he needs the money. Moses takes on the task but the deeper he gets in his investigation, the stranger and more dangerous things become.

Although there are some holes in the plot, The Big Fix is still an interesting story with an excellent performance by Richard Dreyfuss. The supporting cast is great too, particularly F. Murray Abraham playing an Abbie Hoffman like character. Seeing John Lithgow in a full beard in what was one of his first film roles was also interesting too.

The Big Fix was filmed all over Los Angeles, from downtown LA to the beachside boardwalk in Venice. This post is part one of two which features many of those filming locations. You will have to check back next week for part two.

Hawthorne Campaign Headquarters

Corner of Wilshire Blvd and Shatto Place

Looking at the corner of Wilshire and Shatto Place.

The Hawthorne campaign headquarters are located at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Shatto Place (see comparisons above and below). The building has since been demolished and the site is now a vacant lot. The whole area has changed quite a bit since 1978, with old buildings torn down and replaced by new developments.

John Lithgow looks at Dreyfuss and Anspach out of

the campaign headquarters window facing Shatto Place.

The vacant lot where the headquarters once stood

as seen from Shatto Place near Wilshire Blvd.

Lithgow looking across Shatto Place from inside the 

headquarters. A Wells Fargo can be seen across the street.

The Wells Fargo building on Shatto Place is still 

there but its no longer a Wells Fargo.

Looking south down Shatto Place towards Wilshire Blvd.

Looking south down Shatto Place towards Wilshire Blvd.

The strip mall in the background is now gone and a new condo

development stands in its place.

Dreyfuss, with kids, gets in car parked on Shatto Place.

Wilshire Blvd in background.

Looking from Shatto Place across Wilshire Blvd.

Early in the film Dreyfuss and Anspach pay a visit to the University of California Los Angeles. In the scene below Dreyfuss and Anspach are first seen walking down the outside hallway of Royce Hall and then entering the UCLA Humanities Building.

Dreyfuss and Anspach walking down Royce Hall at UCLA.

Anspach and Dreyfuss enter the UCLA Humanities Building.

In another scene Anspach and Dreyfuss visit the Hall of Justice building located in downtown Los Angeles at 210 West Temple Street. Ever since the 1994 Northridge earthquake this 1925 building has been sitting vacant. This landmark is where Robert Mitchum served time after being charged with marijuana possession and was also the location where the autopsies of Marilyn Monroe and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy took place. To see how the interior of the Hall looks today visit the website of Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. The exterior photo of the Hall of Justice building is one I took. 

Anspach and Dreyfuss walk inside the Hall of Justice.

An exterior look at the Hall of Justice building.

While on the hunt for his suspect, Dreyfuss goes to the Rainbow Club Casino. According to an old advertisement I found the address was listed as 13915 South Vermont Street, Gardena California. The building as seen in the screenshot also has an address number of 13915. There is no casino located at this  address anymore. Now its a tract with small homes.

Rainbow Club Casino, 13915 S. Vermont Ave, Gardena, Ca

13915 S. Vermont Ave, Gardena, Ca as it appears today.

In the next scene Dreyfuss visits an electronics shop located at 905 S. Vermont Avenue where he expects to find more about his suspect.

Dreyfuss exits car parked at 905 S. Vermont Ave.

9th Street is the cross street in the background.

Looking down Vermont Ave from 9th Street.

Dreyfuss outside the electronics shop at 905 S. Vermont Ave.

The view looking from the electronics shop today.

Dreyfuss outside the electronics shop on Vermont Ave.

There still is an electronics shop at 905 S. Vermont Ave!

Anspach's character lives in the Harper House apartment building located at 1336 Harper Avenue in West Hollywood. In the scene below Dreyfuss is seen walking up to the Harper House apartment.

Looking from the entrance of the Harper House as seen in the film.

The view in front of the Harper House. 1336 Harper Ave.

Dreyfuss walks up the stairs of the Harper House.

The Harper House building as it appears today.

The last few comparisons involve a car chase scene that takes place in downtown Los Angeles.

Flower Street at 2nd Street as seen in the film.

Flower Street at 2nd Street as it appears today.

Dreyfuss in VW bug on 7th Street near Hope Street.

Looking down 7th Street towards Hope Street.

Looking down 6th Street from Flower Street.

Looking down 6th Street at Flower Street today.

Looking down 7th Street from Hope Street.

Looking down 7th Street from Hope Street today.

Looking down Wilshire Blvd from S. Figueroa Street.

Looking down Wilshire Blvd from S. Figueroa Street today.

Entering the tunnel at 2nd Street and Hill Street.

Looking towards the tunnel at 2nd Street and Hill Street.

The ramp to 1st Street from S. Figueroa Street.

Looking at the ramp to 1st Street from Figueroa St

I don't believe The Big Fix (1978) is available on DVD but it is currently available as a Watch Instantly title on Netflix and has been released on VHS.

To read part two of the filming locations for The Big Fix (1978) click here.

Your thoughts?

Except for the Hall of Justice image, all Street View images (c) 2011 Google. 

Down Three Dark Streets (1954) - Film Locations

Down Three Dark Streets (1954) stars Broderick Crawford as John Ripley, an FBI agent who takes on three unrelated cases in hopes that one will lead to the killer of his fellow agent. As with so many 1950s crime films, this one was done in a documentary style, with a heavy use of voice-over. I feel this technique makes the film less thrilling but overall the film still works as an entertaining  mystery. What's most attractive about this film is its use of location photography, including scenes at Los Angeles's Subway Terminal (yes, LA had a subway in the 1950s),  downtown Los Angeles, and the Hollywood Sign.

The establishing shot for the Los Angeles branch of the FBI, as seen in the screenshot below, includes LA's iconic City Hall building on the right and the District Court building on the left. As you can see in the comparison photo, this location hasn't changed much. That isn't the case with some of the other locations.

District Court building on left. City Hall on right.

The District Court and City Hall buildings as they appear today.

Before FBI agent Zack Stewart (Kenneth Tobey) is shot and killed and Crawford takes over his cases, Stewart pays a visit to Ohrbach's department store on Wilshire Boulevard where he intends to meet a woman named Kate Martel (Ruth Roman), a victim of an extortionist. Ohrbach's was located where the Museum Square area is today. Below is a screenshot of Stewart walking up to Ohrbach's, a vintage postcard looking down Wilshire Boulevard with a view of the art deco Desmond's building in the background, and a Google Street View showing the same view as it appears today. If you look closely you can still see the Desmond's department store tower in the background of the Google Street View.

Stewart visits Ohrbach's department store.

Ohrbach's department store on Wilshire Boulevard, LA.

What is left of Ohrbach's department store on left.

In another scene, Crawford visits Connie Anderson (Martha Hyer), the girlfriend of one of the men Stewart was investigating at her apartment in West Hollywood. Hyer's apartment building is the Colonial House located at 1416 Havenhurst Drive. This building, built in 1930, recently had a three bedroom condo for sale listed for $2,150,000 so it doesn't come cheap. Below is a screenshot of the entrance of the Colonial House, a contemporary view of the entrance and a Bing Bird's Eye view of the building. 

Crawford and partner approach the Colonial House.

Colonial House, 1416 Havenhurst Drive, West Hollywood

Bird's Eye View of the Colonial House

The screenshot below is a view looking down North Broadway towards West Temple Street. The Law Building can be seen on the right. On the far left you can see the corner of the Los Angeles Hall of Justice building. In the contemporary image you will see that The Law building and the building directly across the street are both demolished. The old Los Angeles Hall of Justice Building, although closed, is still standing.

Looking down Broadway towards Temple. 

Hall of Justice far left. Law Building on right.

Looking down Broadway towards Temple.

Hall of Justice on left. Law building on right now replaced.

In another downtown Los Angeles scene FBI agents follow Hyer on her way to the subway. In the screenshot below we get a glimpse of Hill Street at Fourth Street. For comparison I've included a historic image of the intersection from the Los Angeles Library Photo Collection which shows the domed Brighton Hotel on the northeast corner and the Hotel Sherman on the southeast corner. Below that is a contemporary view of the intersection. You can see nothing is really left. The whole intersection is completely different.

Looking down Hill Street towards Fourth Street.

Hill Street at Fourth Street.

Looking down Hill Street at Fourth Street as it appears today.

When Hyer boards the subway at the downtown Los Angeles Subway Terminal Building, she sneaks onto a train headed for Glendale. That train comes above ground at the Toluca Portal near 279 S. Toluca Street. The portal has now been sealed up and the train line has been completely blocked by the construction of a new building. Below is a screenshot from the film showing the train exiting the tunnel, a contemporary look of the tunnel as it appears today looking from Toluca Street, and a Bing Bird's Eye View showing the building that now stands directly in front of the tunnel.

Hyer rides the train through the Toluca Portal.

Looking at what is left of the Toluca Portal.

The portal (top center) blocked by a large building.

Once the train goes above ground it follows the path of Glendale Boulevard. In the screenshot below the train goes under the Beverly bridge near the intersection of Glendale Boulevard and 2nd Street.

The Beverly Bridge. Glendale Blvd @ 2nd Street

The Beverly Bridge as it appears today.

In the next scene the train continues down Glendale Boulevard. In the screenshot below the train approaches the intersection of Glendale Blvd and Court Street. What's amazing to see is how the skyline has changed so much since 1954. In the background of the screenshot you cannot see even one high-rise building.  In the contemporary image you can see all the modern office tower buildings in the background.

Glendale Blvd at Court Street

Looking down Glendale Blvd at Court Street as it appears today.

In the next scene the camera changes directions and looks down the other direction of Glendale Boulevard, still near Court Street, towards the 101 freeway in the distance.

Looking down Glendale Blvd from Court Street.

Looking down Glendale Blvd from Court St towards the 101 freeway.

The finale of the film all takes place in the Hollywood Hills near the famous Hollywood sign. Crawford is hot on the trail of the killer of his fellow agent who also happens to be the extortionist. The screenshot below shows the intersection of Westshire Drive near Beachwood Drive just a short distance below the Hollywood sign.

Westshire Drive at Beachwood Drive as seen in the film.

Westshire Drive at Beachwood Drive as it appears today.

Crawford learns that the killer as at the Hollywood sign.

Down Three Dark Streets is an alright film that is worth watching if for nothing else, the time capsule look at Los Angeles in the 1950s. My favorite scenes are those showing the old Subway Terminal Building and the shots of the train passing through the Toluca Portal. Down Three Dark Streets is available on DVD and is also currently available as a Netflix Watch Instantly title.

Your thoughts?

All Street View images (c) 2011 Google Street View, Pictometry Bird's Eye (c) 2010 Pictometry International Corp.