Happy Anniversary, Café – I Left My Heart Again…

On September 13, 2009, I published my first post as a contributor to Rick Armstrong’s newly inaugurated classic film blog, The Classic Film & TV Café!  That first piece of mine was titled, “I Left My Heart…Five San Francisco Favorites,” and in it I proceeded to list and discuss five of my favorite films set in my favorite American city, a town just south of where I live now and where I once lived for many years. As part of my congratulatory return to the Café in tribute to its impressive tenth year, I thought it might be fun, for old times’ sake, to revisit the subject of that first blog post. So, here I offer, exactly ten years later, five more San Francisco-set favorite films.

Cleverly titled After the Thin Man (1936) this second - after The Thin Man (1934) - in the six-film series is the one I like best of all. It begins with stylish, martini-sipping, wisecrack-swapping Nick and Nora Charles returning home by train to San Francisco from the New York sojourn where the first film took place. The pair arrives at their mansion-with-an-amazing-view  (which looks like it’s either on Telegraph Hill or in Pacific Heights, both ultra-toney ) to find a “welcome home” party that’s already far past full swing. And poor Asta, their irrepressible fox terrier, comes upon an even more startling scene when he discovers that “Mrs. Asta” has, in his absence, been consorting with the Scotty next door. Pretty soon, once the party winds down and the Scotty is driven out, there’s trouble brewing, and murder, involving lots of shenanigans and tomfoolery until Nick reveals the killer in the final minutes of the third act. The plots don’t matter that much in Thin Man movies, they follow a pretty standard whodunit pattern. The attraction is in the characters – Nick, Nora and Asta – and the sophisticated, witty-banter-filled world they inhabit. It doesn’t hurt at all that Powell and Loy and Skippy (as Asta) are loaded with charm and chemistry and are, thus, entirely irresistible. Always interesting in the Thin Man films is the Runyonesque cast of characters Nick and Nora encounter on each case. Among the supporting folk in After the Thin Man is a very young James Stewart with a central role in this murder mystery. It’s interesting to watch him before he became a star and fully developed his onscreen persona.

The final scene, as Nick, Nora and Asta depart San Francisco by train, is quite cute but the change it portends will ultimately have the effect of taking some zing out of the series.

 

"...and you call yourself a detective..."

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Out of the Past (1947), Jacques Tourneur’s quintessential noir, is only partially set in San Francisco. Truthfully, among the film’s key locations – the others are rural Bridgeport, California, Acapulco, Los Angeles and Lake Tahoe – it’s not the most alluringly depicted of the lot. But San Francisco has gotten so much limelight in so many other movies that I won't quibble.

It makes sense, considering Out of the Past’s convoluted plot, that a convoluted series of locations is part of the story. The opening is set in rural Bridgeport, California, a small town in the Sierras, where Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is leading the low-key life of a gas station owner/operator. Jeff’s tranquil idyll will be interrupted when an old acquaintance happens to catch a glimpse of him and then come looking for him. Jeff has a past. And into the past Out of the Past will go, in flashback, with voiceover narration. Back to New York, where Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) hired Jeff, then a private eye, to find the woman, Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), who shot him and took him for $40,000 (close to $500,000 in 2019 dollars). Jeff will track her to Mexico and once there he will find her…and fall for her and not care when she tells him she didn’t take Whit’s money. Jeff will lie to Whit and say he couldn’t find her, then he and Kathie will steal away to San Francisco, hoping to escape the past together. This, of course, doesn't happen in film noir. So, when Kathie nastily double-crosses Jeff and leaves him holding the bag with a potential murder rap, he heads for the hills. Literally. And in Bridgeport he will open his gas station and meet Ann, a nice girl, and once more try to leave the past behind. But that will never be possible, and he will trek to Lake Tahoe to face Whit. And he will go to San Francisco once more, this time at Whit’s behest. And, finally, in the Sierra Nevada, he will meet his fate.

Some San Francisco locales depicted in Out of the Past were filmed on a backlot...

the fictional "Mason building" in San Francisco

But there are also some nice location scenes, too.

on Broadway in San Francisco

Even more evocative - to the point of transporting - are the Lake Tahoe and Mexico settings, some of it studio work and some of it shot on location. Credit for this goes to Tourneur, the art director and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca (1948 Oscar nomination for I Remember Mama). 

Kathie's bungalow in Mexico

Whit's estate in Lake Tahoe

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Kim Novak, Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth in Pal Joey

Pal Joey (1957) began as a 1940 Broadway musical by Rodgers and Hart. The story, by John O’Hara, followed the exploits of a conniving Chicago nightclub performer, primarily a dancer, who gets involved with a wealthy married woman. Gene Kelly starred, and it was the part and the show that would launch him to stardom and send him to Hollywood. When Pal Joey was adapted to the screen 17 years later, Joey would now be a so-so lounge singer newly arrived in San Francisco. With Frank Sinatra in the leading role, adjusting the character’s forte was not only logical, but necessary. The 1950s Joey would be nicer and more likable than the 1940s Joey, and the wealthy woman (Rita Hayworth) would now be an ex of his, formerly a stripper known as “Vanessa the Undresser” who’d married money and is now a rich widow. Kim Novak was third on the bill as the naïve chorus girl Joey falls for. San Francisco would play a  supporting role, providing locales like the ferry building, Telegraph Hill, Nob Hill, Jackson Square, the Marina and Pacific Heights as a dreamy backdrop for all the drama and romance. It doesn’t stop there, though. Nelson Riddle would also be on hand taking care of musical arrangements, notably Sinatra’s renditions of “The Lady is a Tramp,” “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” “There’s a Small Hotel” and the medley, "What Do I Care for a Dame"/"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"/"I Could Write a Book." These performances alone would be worth the price of admission. The music, the racy elements (for the time) of the story, the glamour of Rita and Kim, and the tarnished charm of Ol’ Blue Eyes as Joey combined to make Pal Joey a very big hit that would go on to earn four Oscar nominations.

The Spreckels mansion served as the site for Chez Joey, Joey's club

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Bullitt (1968) provied Steve McQueen, already an A-lister when he filmed it, with his defining screen role. As maverick San Francisco police detective Frank Bullitt, McQueen is  the epitome of late '60s cool. The film was a monster hit and would turn out to be a precursor to the Dirty Harry franchise. In fact, McQueen was offered the Dirty Harry role (along with other renegade cop roles, like Popeye Doyle in The French Connection), but turned it (and them) down to avoid typecasting.

As James Stewart did in Vertigo, McQueen makes his way up, down and around the many streets of San Francisco in Bullitt, though in a hotter car at a higher speed. Location footage includes scenes in neighborhoods as diverse as Nob Hill,  Pacific Heights, the Embarcadero, North Beach, Potrero Hill, The Mission, South of Market (aka/SOMA) and downtown. McQueen, who produced, would choose Brit Peter Yates to direct because of his experience shooting on location for Tony Richardson and because of a film he’d made in 1967, Robbery, that featured an exciting car chase. Of course, the most famous sequence in Bullitt, it’s centerpiece, is a 10-minute car chase that winds through all parts of the city and climaxes in a takedown race over Mount San Bruno that ends in a deadly crash in Brisbane, a small town south of the city. That particular route was part of my daily commute for many years and every so often I’d think of that sequence when I reached the crest of the mountain and started down the other side. But I was never inspired enough to accelerate. Bullitt is another film in which the plot is incidental – a sort of MacGuffin. The real “story” is Steve McQueen’s character, Bullitt, and that tale is enhanced by the iconic chase scene – the “granddaddy of them all" – and the breathtaking city of San Francisco. For my full review of Bullitt on its 50th anniversary last year, click here.

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What’s Up, Doc?  (1972) was the second of the three films that made Peter Bogdanovich’s reputation as one of the top New Hollywood directors of the early 1970s (along with Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin and others). Before it had come his masterpiece, The Last Picture Show (1971), and following would be Paper Moon (1973). Bogdanovich’s standing - and career - as a director would suffer a dizzying plunge in the mid-'70s, but this was before that, and What’s Up, Doc? is an effervescent delight of a tribute to the screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s. Stars Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal share a fine chemistry and are supported by a dazzling ensemble cast including Madeline Kahn (in her film debut), Austin Pendleton, Kenneth Mars, Michael Murphy, Mabel Albertson and more.

Four identical bags...

What’s Up, Doc? has been referred to by some as a re-make of Bringing Up Baby (1938). It’s not. It’s not even a “loose re-make,” but it is a superbly crafted homage. The plot follows the confusion that is unleashed when four identical plaid suitcases arrive at the same San Francisco hotel at the same time. One bag belongs to musicologist Howard Bannister (Ryan O’Neal, wearing a pair of glasses a la Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby), and contains a set of important “musical rocks.” Another bag belongs to Judy Maxwell (Barbra Streisand), a wacky perennial college student who leaves chaos and trouble in her wake wherever she roams. Her bag is packed with her clothes and a dictionary. A third bag belongs to “Mr. Smith” (Michael Murphy) and contains confidential government documents. The fourth bag belongs to wealthy Mrs. Van Hoskins (Mabel Albertson) and holds her vast collection of expensive jewelry. As you might expect, an incredible mix-up occurs and madcap escapades ensue.

One of the highlights of What’s Up, Doc? is a riotous car chase through the city involving, first, a delivery bicycle and then a decorative VW Beetle. The sequence is a wild parody of the legendary Bullitt chase and ends with a splash in the San Francisco Bay. Written by Buck Henry (The Graduate), David Newman (Bonnie and Clyde) and Robert Benton (Bonnie and Clyde, who won Oscars for Kramer vs. Kramer and Places in the Heart) and based on a story by Bogdanovich, the film also features a soundtrack filled with songs, sung or just heard in the background, by Cole Porter, George Gershwin and others of that golden age of popular music. This is one film that deserves a whole lot more love and attention than it gets.

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Curious about my original five picks of 10 years ago? Click here. And if you have favorite San Francisco-set movies, tell me about it.

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Congratulations, Rick, and thank you for everything!

I Left My Heart...Five San Francisco Favorites

I love San Francisco, I admit it. I've lived in the Bay Area for more than 30 years and don't plan to ever leave...so, for this, my premiere Cafe blog, I've picked five of my favorite films set in San Francisco and will briefly discuss each. My primary criterion in selecting these five was that each be set here. Quality was also taken into account. Each of these is a classic with a solid director, cast and script...and most are Oscar-nominated films. This time around I picked films primarily set in the city itself, not the surrounding area; Shadow of a Doubt was set in Santa Rosa and American Graffiti was filmed, in part, in San Rafael, but I focused on the city, the town Salvador Dali once referred to as "the jewel of American cities"....

1. Vertigo (1958) Hitchcock's dark, mesmerizing masterpiece has been called a valentine to the city, and it's my favorite of any film set in, shot in or that even mentions San Francisco. I could probably write more than anyone would ever want to read on the subject of why Vertigo is irresistible to me and how gloriously I feel it portrays SF in the late 1950's. But...to be brief and to the point, this is one of those rare films that pulls me entirely into its magnetic field and sweeps me along to its devastating conclusion: Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) gazing, vacant and in shock, down upon the body of his idealized dead love...a love he's just lost for the second time. To quote Martin Scorsese, Vertigo is "like being drawn into a very, very beautiful, comfortable almost nightmarish obsession." As for its depiction of San Francisco, Vertigo shows the city off to its very best advantage...a stunning city to begin with, Hitchcock renders it flawlessly with his extensive Technicolor/VistaVision location shots: cityscapes, landmarks (the Golden Gate Bridge, the Mission Dolores, Nob Hill, Coit Tower) and street scenes. Hitchcock also does a meticulous job of recreating some classic local interiors: Ernies Restaurant, Ransohoff's dept. store, Podesta Baldocchi's florist shop.

2. The Maltese Falcon (1941) This is the first film directed by John Huston...on top of being Huston's remarkable debut (which he adapted from Dashiell Hammett's novel), it boasts an inspired cast (Greenstreet and Lorre's first of many pairings), an intriguing noir mood (it's been called the first major work of film noir), is tight and taut and delivers the goods, as Sam Spade might've remarked. Many years ago I took the "Dashiell Hammett Tour" of San Francisco (led by Don Herron who continues to conduct tours). I don't remember that much about it now other than our stop at one of Spade's haunts, John's Grille on Ellis St. (a steak/seafood joint in business since 1908 and visited by many a celebrity), and our pause at Burritt Alley, near the corner of Bush and Stockton, where a plaque proclaims: "On approximately this spot, Miles Archer, partner of Sam Spade, was done in by Brigid O'Shaughnessy." The Maltese Falcon was mostly shot at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank with some stock footage of SF, but it conveys a strong sense of San Francisco in the late 30's/early 40's...it's also one of Humphrey Bogart's early star turns which leads nicely to...

3. Play it Again, Sam (1972) Adapted from his Broadway hit and starring Woody Allen but directed by Herb Ross, the film also stars Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts and Jerry Lacy as an imaginary "Bogart". This is a Woody Allen classic that hasn't been getting it's due lately. It's an outrageously funny take on bouncing back from rejection and re-entering the "dating pool," circa the early 70's. It also happens to include a great panorama of Bay Area locales that reflect the city and the general scene at the time. Allen's character, Allan Felix, a film critic/classic film buff, lives in North Beach and makes his way around the city and area in pursuit of romance - as far north as Sausalito, Stinson Beach and Bolinas. He tries desperately and hilariously (often on Bogart's advice) to connect with women after being unceremoniously dumped by his wife. TCM viewers and other classic film fans will appreciate the amusing homage to Casablanca and many references to classic film.

4. Days of Wine and Roses (1962) An Oscar winner for Henry Mancini's original song and nominated for four others, this film addressed a difficult subject for the time: alcoholism. Directed by Blake Edwards, Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick portray a young couple on the brink of what could be an exciting life together, he's a PR dynamo, she's beautiful and sweet, they adore each other...and their swank, modern apt. features a panoramic view of the Golden Gate Bridge. But their life takes a dark turn. All in all, the beauty of San Francisco seems a perfect backdrop and metaphor for the couple's lost dreams.

5. I Remember Mama (1948) Directed by George Stevens and starring the sublime Irene Dunne, this is a sentimental favorite of mine. But first, will someone please explain why Irene Dunne never won an Oscar?!? This film was nominated for five, including Dunne's fifth and final nomination for Best Actress. Set in San Francisco around 1910, it's the story of the trials and triumphs of a family of Norwegian immigrants who have settled in the Cow Hollow district (today an upscale neighborhood, but around that time...well...cows). It's a warm family drama with Dunne as the very practical yet caring matriarch. I especially enjoy the exterior scenes that depict San Francisco 100 years ago.

Those are my five. I may have more to say about some of them and other aspects of Bay Area films, but that's it for now. Look forward to comments about these and other films set in San Francisco.