Then ... Having "dodged the draft" as it were, Harold drives Maude in his Jaguar-hearse to the slopes of a grass-covered open space.
... and Now, this was filmed just off Sand Hill Road near Highway 280 on the border of Menlo Park and Woodside (map). What was open space in 1971 is now the site of the Horse Park at Woodside. When CitySleuth visited this spot (2016) he was incredibly fortunate; the site was being leveled for a new barn; soon the exact matching shot would be blocked. The large foreground tree and one of the two small trees beyond it are still there.
Here's a recent aerial of the Horse Park showing the locations appearing in this scene. Location 1 is the large tree seen above, location 2 is the small tree.
Then ... Maude encourages Harold to somersault down the hill... "Everyone has the right to make an ass out of themselves"... they are alongside the large tree and we see a closer look at the small trees beyond.
... and Now, the tree with the deformed trunk has survived even though today it's in the middle of a horse riding ring - more clearly seen in the preceding aerial view.
Then ... Not to be outdone, Maude raises her arms and whoops skywards. For good measure the director extends her cry into a full-fledged Tarzan yell that echoes around the hills.
... and Now, from the same spot.
Then ... The frolicking continues as they dance alongside the side of a reservoir to the (Cat)chy strains of "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out".
... and Now, the reservoir is still there, location 3 in the aerial view; there's now a newer, larger, reservoir next to it (the reservoirs belong to the Menlo Park Municipal Water District). When the movie was filmed only the original reservoir and its curving access road intruded upon these slopes.
Then ... More high jinks.
... and Now, from next to the reservoirs this view looks east across San Francisco Bay.
Then ... They head out to Sand Hill Road down the access road, location 4 in the aerial above.
... and Now, Hey, there's still a yellow fire hydrant in the same spot!
Then ... The late afternoon sunlight diffusing through a lingering mist adds a sheen to Sand Hill Road (location 5 in the aerial above) in this elevated shot.
... and Now, from street level, no mist but still sheeny. The fence on the left follows the same line as the old but there's now a sign ahead announcing the entrance to the Horse Park.
Apparently Arlene's engagement was a sham ("For business reasons ...", she said) because It turns out that the radiogram was from her secret lover, Joshua Mayard (Douglas Dumbrille), an older man who runs a subsidiary of her stepfather's banking company. When he cuts off their relationship she slaps his face and storms out, with Mayard in pursuit.
Arlene fails to return home and sister Val reports her disappearance to the police; it didn't take long for a tipster to alert the local newspaper, setting off a mad rush of reporters to Arlene's home at Lafayette Park. The entrance of the fictitious newspaper building below was most likely filmed at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios but the taxi was a real San Francisco Yellow Cab.
.... a vintage photo ... here's part of a fleet of 337 of the same cabs idled at 245 Turk Street in San Francisco during the 1934 general strike. Note the same exterior sun visor and the telephone number and circular insignia on the sides.
Then ... The cab climbs towards Lafayette Park from Jackson Street up a steep section of Octavia in Pacific Heights (map); the view across the north bay takes in Alcatraz and Angel Island.
... and Now, rampant tree growth now blocks this view. Drivers today still navigate around the concrete-walled planters in the center of the pavement.
Then ... The reporters congregate on Washington Street at Octavia next to a large Pacific Heights mansion on the northern edge of Lafayette Park.
... and Now, the mansion, at 2080 Washington, was built in 1913 by sugar magnate Adolph Spreckels for his young wife Alma. Author Danielle Steel is the current owner and she is responsible for that swollen overgrown hedge that today denies passersby the sight of the classic French Baroque limestone home. Ms Steel, tear down this wall!!
... in 1953, 20 years after the movie was filmed unimpeded views of both mansion and bay were still being enjoyed.
Then ... Viewed from the Octavia intersection, Lafayette Park stretches back beyond the reporters. The cable car on Washington is a reminder that Pacific Heights used to be served by the Washington-Jackson line.
... and Now, from the same vantage point the park looks very different having been re-laid out and reworked over the years. The Washington-Jackson line was shut down in 1956, to the chagrin of the local residents.
... in 1906 ... For history buffs here's a composited image of Lafayette Park when it was home to a tent city erected for earthquake survivors. Those three homes on Washington Street have since been replaced; they are, from left to right, the William Dunphy mansion, the James V. Coleman mansion and, across Octavia, the Jean M. Boyd mansion at 2080 Washington on the site of the Spreckels mansion described above.
Dr. Ferris's daughter Barbara is an artist, seen here working on a sculpture in her studio. The nude model raised few eyebrows in 1920, more than a decade before the industry's Production Code censors would react otherwise, especially (gasp!) when she steps off the dais and walks offscreen.
Then ... The interior above was a movie set but the exterior was real, seen below as Ferris drops off his assistant Wilmot Allen, who has taken a fancy to Barbara, in front of her studio.
... and Now, it was referred to as 32 Institute Place in the movie; the actual address then was 32 Middle Street, now named Orben Place (map), a narrow street running between California and Pine in the Western Addition's Japantown.
Then ... Judging by the sign, the house was available for rent when the filming took place (the British term 'To Let' was still in use back then). Dr. Ferris's fine limousine is a symbol of his elevated social status.
... and Now, Despite changes the entrance of 32 Orben Place has managed to retain a somewhat similar appearance.
Tangential trivia 1 ... In the 'To Let' sign in the Then image above, the renting company was Madison and Burke at 80 Post Street. This was a real company, listed in San Francisco's 1920 city directory.
Tangential trivia 2 ... this restored example of the same limousine model as Dr. Ferris's, a 1917 Packard Twin Six 2-35 All-Weather Landaulet, sold at the 2011 Pebble Beach auction for $192,500. Compare it to the Then image above - it's identical. It was powered by a V-12 424 cubic inch engine producing nearly 90 horsepower. Remember, this was 1917; it hadn't taken the auto industry's engineers long to get into their stride.
Then ... When the limousine pulls away from the studio we see the other half of Middle Street (seeing the cable car heading down California Street helped CitySleuth track down this location). Another prominent Madison and Burke sign on the right makes CitySleuth wonder if this was an early example of subliminal advertising in a movie?
... and Now, the same view down Orben Place today. It's hard to see from here, but the partially obscured house facing us beyond the stop sign is an example of one that has changed very little over the past century. On the other hand, cable cars no longer traverse California Street west of Van Ness Avenue.
In the studio, Wilmot (Kenneth Harlan) urges Barbara (Claire Adams), portrayed here at her winsome best, to give up her bohemian ways. She tells him she will but only after she takes on one last challenge: "...I'm going to do 'Satan - After the fall'... if I fail, I'll marry you". But if she succeeds? ... it's left unsaid but in the male-centric 1920s this is one lady who won't be pushed around.
She posts an ad; Blizzard sees it and realizes this is his chance to use her in his revenge plot against Ferris. He applies, making sure his henchmen scare away the other applicants.
Then ... When he arrives at the studio Orben Place reminds us that this was the overlap period between horse and horseless transportation. Despite Barbara's trepidation over his appearance, or perhaps because of it, or even that he was the only applicant, he gets the job.
... and Now, many but not all of the houses in this neighborhood have modernized exteriors today.
Who better to pose as Satan than Lon Chaney? But as fierce as he is while posing he turns on the smiles in the breaks between, gradually charming his way into her good graces.
Director Hal Ashby must have identified with Alfred Hitchcock's occasional penchant to slip an event into his movies that completely defied logical explanation, what Hitchcock termed a MacGuffin, because he did the same in this scene where Harold and Maude carry out a plan to dissuade Uncle Victor from taking him into the Army. (Check out this classic MacGuffin in Vertigo)
Then ... "Rat-tat-tat" ... to convey the excitement of battle to Harold, Uncle Victor takes him to the ruins of Sutro Baths where he fervently re-enacts the firefight that cost him his right arm.
... and Now, this was filmed next to Shipwreck Point, the plateaued area at Point Lobos (map) whence over the decades the curious looked out to many a doomed ship. The rock face constantly weathers and erodes but its cracks and contours can still be matched up with the image above.
... circa 1937 ... Here's a vintage aerial of such a shipwreck, the Ohioan - an arrow points to the plateau. City history buffs will appreciate the excellent perspective of Sutro Baths as it was and Cliff House at bottom center as it still is. Note too at left the rip-rapped masonry wall bridging out to Fishermans Rock. It was removed in the 1980s after one too many fishermen was swept to his death by errant waves.
... and Now, the only reminder of the magnificent Baths complex - it burned down in 1966 - are the skeletal foundations, still looking much as Harold and Maude experienced them.
Then ... Harold becomes uncontrollably animated, savoring (paraphrasing his words), "the thrill of the kill, the bayonet, the slitting of throats!" - Uncle Victor is growing increasingly alarmed - "souvenirs of privates, of scalps!" ... Just then Harold spots a war-protester waving a peace sign (Maude) and rushes over, loudly berating her as a traitor and a commie pig.
... and Now, Shipwreck Point still looks the same. The pedestal and embedded metal anchors at left are remnants of the terminus of the short-lived sky tram that ran from here to the Cliff House from 1955 to 1965.
This vintage photo shows the Sky Tram approaching the Shipwreck Point terminus. The waterfall flowing beneath it, pumped from the ocean below, was an added attraction for the tourists.
Then ... Harold grabs the sign, brandishing it over his head while he chases Maude across the plateau and down a set of steps (visible in the image above), closely followed by Uncle Victor waving his good arm in a futile attempt to calm the lad down.
... and Now, the steps have slowly deteriorated into a dangerous state, now off-limits to visitors.
Then ... There's a terrace at the bottom of the steps.
... and Now, CitySleuth risked life and limb to get the matching shot. Note that the hole penetrating the rocks at left has been filled in for safety's sake.
Then ... A scuffle ensues in a walled corner of the terrace. That open drain by their feet is about to play its part in the MacGuffin.
... and Now, this part of the lower deck has crumbled away; click or tap the image to superimpose it, showing exactly where it was.
With a whoosh and a splash Maude suddenly plummets down the drain. Uncle Victor, horrified, peers into the dark hole...
... but all he can see is his reflection rippling within the surface of the water. "What Have You Done?!", he screams. Maude is gone; how she ever survived is left to our imagination, and the ruse has worked ... Harold is off the hook.
