San Francisco Film Locations Then & Now

For reasons not quite clear to me, the 1974 movie ‘The Towering Inferno’ won an Oscar for cinematography. The 134 story (!) building where the disaster takes place shown near the opening does not look convincing. I’m concerned about the engineering, as well. It’s not even straight!

Fred Astaire gazes up at the fictitious building soon to catch fire in the 1974 film ‘The Towering Inferno’. The Bank of America Building where, much of the location filming occurred, makes a good comparison if you catch it at the right time of day.

Jimmy Stewart stalking, well, let’s face it, he was, Kim Novak in his car near Mission Dolores in the 1958 movie ‘Vertigo’. Kim Novak plays a woman who believes that she is being possessed by the spirit of a lady named Carlotta Valdes who killed herself in 1857, and she must do the same thing. Boy, that makes me feel a lot better about my own hang ups!

The Treksters in San Francisco from ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’ (1986) my vote for the best Star Trek flick. The green building in the background is owned by Francis Ford Coppola, who runs his movie empire from here.

Elisha Cook, ‘Wilmer’ in the ‘Maltese Falcon’ arrives at the Ferry Building on his way to commit murder in the 1947 film ‘Born to Kill’. The star of the movie, Lawrence Tierney, once guest starred on ‘Seinfeld’ but was not asked to return after he, reportedly, threatened Jerry with a knife during the show.

The intersection of Hayes and Laguna was the setting for Eric Von Stroheim’s 1925 masterpiece ‘Greed’, considered by many film historians as one of the best movies ever made. Originally running nearly eight hours (that would have been a lot of popcorn to consume) it was eventually cut down to under two and one half hours when released.

The intersection of Broadway and Kearny could almost be called the “Hollywood and Vine” of San Francisco with the number of movies using this spot for location filming. Here Steve McQueen crosses to the west in the 1968 movie ‘Bullitt’.

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

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.

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.