Steve McQueen turns north at Broadway and Kearny towards Enrico’s Restaurant, Enrico’s, a favorite of celebrities such as Bill Cosby and Woody Allen, celebrates it’s fifty fifth anniversary this year
Author: SF Film Locations
Hello friends! My name is Tim Welsh. I’m the owner and operator of Welsh Income Tax Service in Hayward, California. When I was fifteen, I fell in love with San Francisco. It wasn’t a first in the family; my mother at seventeen had traveled by train from North Dakota, where I was later born, to see the Treasure Island World’s Fair, and fell in love with “The City” long before I did. You can see pictures from her trip in the November 19th, 2014 ‘Summer of 1939’ postings. It’s been a love affair that’s never broken my heart. Here, with pictures from books, movies, the internet, and personal collections, I’ve had a chance to share my affection for San Francisco with comparison and location pictures that I’ve taken. I’ve had help from family and friends, and even my dog ‘Danny’ who sniffed out the trail of Buffalo Bill at Ocean Beach on a November 15, 2014 post. My blog is for non commercial and non profit purposes only, and it’s always a lot of fun to work on. Many of the pictures from November, 2014 to November 2015 are thumbnail images. Pictures from posts after that can be enlarged by viewing the image. I hope you enjoy the posts, and please feel free to follow my blog, or make suggestions, comments or corrections if you like.
‘Butterflies Are Free’
Goldie Hawn, second from the top in pink, climbs north from the Broadway and Kearny intersection in the 1972 movie ‘Butterflies Are Free’. The film has some interesting San Francisco locations, but the first fifteen minutes with Goldie in her Maidenforms are what a lot of people, including me, remember the most.
‘The Laughing Policeman’
Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern approach the intersection of Kearny and Broadway to the east in the 1974 film ‘The Laughing Policeman’. The fish & chips shop seen in the ‘Butterflies Are Free’ scene was still there.
‘Kiss Them for Me’
Cary Grant and Suzy Parker cross the intersection of Kearny and Broadway to the south in the 1957 film ‘Kiss Them for Me’. That’s the old Vanessi’s Restaurant, closed now, behind them
‘The Enforcer’
Clint “Dirty Harry” Eastwood approaches the intersection of Kearny and Broadway to the north in the 1976 movie ‘The Enforcer’.
‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’
Many San Francisco tour companies mistakenly take visitors to a location on Lombard Street, and point out that the Mel’s Drive-In scene in the 1967 film ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ was filmed there. It wasn’t, it was located at a spot in the Crocker Amazon District at the southern end of San Francisco now occupied by the Crocker Amazon Senior Center. Notice the Bank of America signs. Bank of America changed their color from black to pink in 2008 to show awareness to breast cancer.
‘Fog Over Frisco’
How can you go wrong with a title like that! Piers 37 and 35 seen left to right from Telegraph Hill in the 1934 film ‘Fog Over Frisco’. Pier 37 is gone but pier 35 remains, and is used by Passenger Liners now. That’s Angel Island in the background.
‘Charlie Chan at Treasure Island’
Charlie Chan’s China Clipper lands at Treasure Island in the 1939 film ‘Charlie Chan at Treasure Island’ Construction on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge scheduled to open in September 2013 can be seen in the middle photograph.
‘Experiment in Terror’
Lee Remick parks at Fisherman’s Wharf to await instructions on where to deliver ransom money for the release of her kidnapped sister Stefanie Powers in the 1962 film ‘Experiment in Terror’. The pier in the background now houses all of the arcade attractions from the Musée Mécanique, relocated from the Cliff House.
‘Adventure’
“Gable’s back, and Garson’s got him!” That was the promo for Clark Gable’s first movie after his World War ll service, ‘Adventure’ from 1945. The “King” on Broadway, Gable is shown above the eastern entrance to the Broadway Tunnel, although the tunnel had not been constructed at the time of the film.
San Francisco Film Locations Then & Now 