The Lineup - Bungled Heist
The movie opens with a bungled heist - during disembarkation at Pier 41 on the Embarcadero (map) a crooked porter throws a passenger's bag into the back of an accomplice's cab which then takes off at high speed and runs over a policeman ...
Then ... Pier 41. See that pier down the road? It's Pier 39 before its big makeover.
... and Now, Pier 41 has been rebuilt as a modern ferry terminal. Pier 39 can be seen beyond it.
Then ... The dying cop gets off a shot and hits the fleeing cabbie as he passes Pier 43.
... and Now, the lonely arch is still there.
.... from 1948, an aerial photo This vintage photo has been marked with an arrow to show the filming location of the opening scene, on the corner of Powell and Jefferson between Piers 41 and 43. The original Pier 39 is at the bottom and that large gas holder on the corner had been removed by the time the movie was filmed.
The cab crashes and the responding police retrieve the stolen bag and determine thatthe dead cab driver's name is Lefty Jenkins.