Then … At his clinic George receives a call - his wife Susan, who has been ill for some time, has experienced another asthma attack. He hurries home, here approaching the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County from the north (map), despite the fact that the storyline references the clinic as being in San Francisco (in the real world, the previous post explained otherwise).
… and Now, the aerial view looks down to Cavallo Point and Horseshoe Bay, aka Horseshoe Cove, a historic marina at Fort Baker. Above, the cluster of red-roofed buildings at the water’s edge were built in the early 1940s as a hospital station for wounded servicemen but this recent Google satellite view shows that they are mostly gone. Those that are left now comprise the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Note the popular tourist vista point left of center, devoid of cars during the pandemic (it’s also visible above at far left). Visitors looking across the Golden Gate from there are rewarded with a spectacular view of the bridge and the San Francisco skyline.
His car, seen numerous times throughout the movie, is a 1968 Chevrolet Corvette C3 convertible. In a later interview Jean Sorel waxed lyrical about it, recalling how much fun he had driving it in San Francisco. Note though the continuity goof - the car is heading south into the city with its top up but in the closeup he’s driving north towards Marin with the top down.
Then … We follow him crossing the bridge to the Presidio, the city stretching out ahead of him ...
… and Now, this recent matching photo was taken from Battery Spencer on the Marin Headlands.
Then … As he enters a freeway interchange the business signs next to it are clues to the location (click or tap the image for an expanded view). For example, Dunhan, Carrigan and Hayden was a well-established hardware company opposite 8th Street and Townsend. So this must be the connecting ramp from the east-bound central freeway section of 101 to north-bound 80 (map). The hills of Alameda County are across the bay in the distance.
… and Now, the interchange looks very similar today but the cluster that is downtown San Francisco at far left has been transformed. One thing that hasn’t is the huge billboard in the center. The Dunhan, Carrigan and Hayden building is still there at 2 Henry Adams Street, currently housing the San Francisco Design Center Showplace, as too is the rooftop structure that supported the tank seen above (with the DCH Co sign); but the tank is gone; it looks as though an array of antennae has replaced it.
Then … Now in Nob Hill, he leads a cable car up California Street past the Fairmont Hotel (map). The sign above and behind the cable car advertises the hotel’s popular Tonga Room.
… and Now, barely visible through a tree, there’s still a Tonga sign although the room is temporarily pandemic-closed. The Tonga Room has entertained visitors since 1945; before that its basement space was a swimming pool for hotel guests. On the extreme right is the Stanford Court Hotel which interestingly has been stripped of its balconies.
Then … Now he’s on Twin Peaks Boulevard heading up the hill to Twin Peaks! Wherever his home is, in the real world he won’t find it up there. Clearly the movie’s Italian director was enamored with the city’s breathtaking views. The 3 mile-long arrow-straight diagonal thoroughfare on the left is Market Street knifing its way through downtown to the bay.
… and Now, the view from here (map) is indeed breathtaking, as in this matching 2016 image, benefitting from California’s strict air quality laws that banished the smog-draped vistas of the 60’s and 70s. Once again the comparison highlights the downtown transformation.
Then … George finally arrives at his home, a Greek Revival Plantation-style mansion. CitySleuth spent a lot of time searching for this without success. He even tracked down the movie’s location manager but he couldn’t recall where it was. So, he appealed to his readers to help…
… and Now, (2023 update) … it took 2 1/2 years but it was worth the wait. ReelSF reader Brad alerted CitySleuth that an Italian website had revealed its location: the mansion at the historic Oak Knoll Ranch in California’s Napa Valley wine country, a property with a fascinating history. The address is 2200 W. Oak Knoll Avenue, Napa, Ca (map).
Then … As he gets out of his car we see there’s a fountain in front of the main entrance, covered to keep out fall and winter leaves.
… and Now, this photo from a reception held at the mansion in 2023 pictured the same fountain, still there.
The styling of the house, with 8 doric columns spaced along its front, is very similar to the historic 1839 mansion at Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana, even down to the 3 gabled dormers on the roof. This is no coincidence; the 19th century Oak Knoll Ranch mansion was originally a Victorian until a former owner remodeled it, closely copying the Oak Alley Plantation mansion design (it’s pictured below).
Then … He walks around the house and enters a side entrance (this part of the house is completely different from the Oak Alley Plantation mansion). Note the sports court outlined on the asphalt in the foreground...
… and Now, this aerial view shows that same side of the house. The sports court is no longer there in the guest parking area.
The Lamoreaux family are the current owners of the Oak Knoll Ranch. They feature an image of the mansion on their wine label.
A feeling of antipathy pervades the house as his ailing wife Susan (Austrian actress Marisa Mell, in the rear) and her sister Martha (American actress Faith Domergue) harangue George for devoting too much time to his clinic. Clearly this is not a happy marriage.
He attempts to make amends by hiring a nurse (Italian actress Malisa Longo) to attend to Susan while he is away. At the medicine cabinet he stresses to her that she must never administer Susan’s nightly tranquilizer while she is taking her asthma medication - it could be a fatal combination.
Then ... Linda and Dick head off to the beach with Allan. They cross the Golden Gate Bridge and head north into Marin County on Highway 101 in Dick's slick 1966 Lincoln Continental convertible.
... and Now, this is the north end of the twin-bore Waldo Tunnel, recently renamed the Robin Williams Tunnel in memory of the local actor/comedian. Originally it was a single bore tunnel with two-way traffic; this second one was added in 1955, each now being one-way (map).
Then ... They arrive at their beach house destination.
... and Now, here's that same front garden today, viewed from a different angle. The wall they were passing, above, has been brightened by a blaze of bougainvillea, below.
Then ... The house, 336 Seadrift Road in the resort town of Stinson Beach (map), is one of a long line here fringing the Pacific Ocean.
Then ... They admire the ocean view despite, or perhaps because, it is shrouded in mist.
... and Now, after deducing the address CitySleuth came across a promo video from a 2013 real estate listing with great images of the property showing remodel upgrades. Here's the same living room, staged, and with photoshopped views and flickering fireplace.
Then ... While Allan and Linda stroll on the beach Dick holds a meeting with a group of his investor friends on the home's enclosed patio.
... and Now, this shot of the patio, shielded by a glass wall over on the right side, was filmed from the beach .
A telephoto lens zooms in on Allan and Linda while they converse on the beach. The little town of Bolinas spills down behind them to a concrete retaining wall on its beach .
Then ... here's the same shot seen widescreen; it was filmed from the house. The distant concrete wall is no longer there but the ocean continues to encroach behind them at the spit, connecting Bolinas Bay on the left to Bolinas Lagoon, off the frame on the right.
... and Now, the view, unchanged, is even better on a clear day.
Then ... Later, they continue their conversation on Highway 1 overlooking Stinson Beach (map).
... and Now, from the same spot Bolinas Lagoon is visible at the far end of the beach on the right.
That evening, Allan puts the move on a sexy lady at a local club (Susanne Zenor) but once again is rebuked.
CitySleuth has yet to find this place. There were lots of extras in this scene, perhaps one amongst them will see this post - if so, please comment below or email him (citysleuth@reelsf.com) with location information.
Re the title of this post - yes, CitySleuth is a diehard Beatles fan.
Back to the movie - the newlyweds visit a number of popular Bay Area destinations as Myra proudly shows off her home town.
Then ... They stroll down a trail through a grove of tall redwoods past the snapped-off tip of a tree impaled in the ground.
... and Now, this is Cathedral Grove at Muir Woods, a national monument since 1908, one of the few remaining stands of old growth coastal redwoods remaining in the Bay Area, just 12 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County (map). Today, the trail is lined by fences but the tree tip is gone - the arrow marks the exact spot where it used to be.
... a vintage photo ... How did CitySleuth find this exact spot? Well, during a visit to Muir Woods he came across this undated photo in the Visitor Center bookstore. Wouldn't you know it, this is the same tree tip, photographed from the opposite direction. It was in the Cathedral Grove next to a plaque honoring the memory of Franklin D Roosevelt.
... and Now, the plaque is still there but the tree tip has been removed, perhaps because it was in the middle of the trail (never mind that the tree tip was there first). The arrow marks the spot.
For those inclined to visit, Cathedral Grove is indicated on the park map below (click image to enlarge).
Then ... They drive up to the best of the City's vista points - Twin Peaks - to take in the evening glitter looking down Market Street to the Bay (map). A year earlier this same vista was used in the movie The House On Telegraph Hill.
... and Now, a recent view from the same lookout is even more impressive. The glowing dome of City Hall to the left and the illuminated suspension cables of the Bay Bridge were unseen at night sixty years ago. The rapid growth of the Oakland waterfront across the bay over the last sixty years adds to the glittering chiaroscuro.
Then ... They next visit the Golden Gate Bridge, shot here from halfway up the north tower looking towards San Francisco.
... in 1935 ... it's interesting to see the same view while the bridge was under construction, taken from higher up on the bridge's tower. The huge parade ground of the Presidio military base is clearly visible in the upper left and the dark strip above the Presidio is Golden Gate Park bifurcating the Richmond and Sunset districts.
... and Now, a recent photo on a foggy day. The bridge, enshrouded by fog about half of the time, requires constant repainting.
Then ... Lester and Myra lean over the bridge's railing perhaps thinking of the two sad souls per month on average, year in year out, who climb over it on their final journey. The real railing however, though still controversially low, isn't quite as bad as this.
... and Now, this is the real railing. Look at the movie railing above - it's lower, has no rivets at the rail tops and has a different width to spacing ratio. The movie footage was filmed in a studio using a background projection of the waters of the bay. Below, Angel Island and part of Belvedere and Tiburon are in the distance and Horseshoe Bay's Presidio Yacht Club marina is closer in on the left.
A police paid informant, Popcorn by nickname because he always seems to have a bag of it in his hand, has information on Red Lynch but he slyly implies he may sell it to the press first. Ripley sets up a plan to appeal to his conscience ...
Then ... Popcorn (Ned Glass) is first seen in a silent movie theater watching comedy clips.
CitySleuth doesn't know if this was filmed at a real theater or a studio set - can anyone out there enlighten him? But he can tell you who the comedians on-screen are, thanks to John Bengtson, who hosts a well-researched silent movie website. Per John, the incompetents on the right (below) are Mack Sennett's Keystone Kops in a clip which can be seen here. The man on the left is Billy Bevan, possibly from the short 'Be Reasonable', being chased by those same hapless Kops.
Then ... Ripley asks Popcorn to meet him at the Marin Town and Country Club, a short drive north of San Francisco in Fairfax, also featured earlier in the movie (go there for location and details). He spots Popcorn from the snack bar near the ping-pong tables.
... and Now, those buildings in the background (they were public toilets), are still there, unused since the club closed down in 1972.
... a vintage photo ... in this undated photo we see the snack bar as it must have been when Ripley was there.
... and Now, what's left of the structure is all boarded up.
Then ... They meet up and walk towards a couple of gabled cabins. As they talk, Ripley points in the direction of the swimming pool.
... and Now, the same cabins, next to the pool fence, are still recognizable.
Then ... He points out Kelly and Toby chatting alongside the pool and tells Popcorn that if he sells his information to the press that one or both of them may be dead by the weekend. Having planted the thought he then leaves Popcorn to mull it over.
... and Now, forty years without grounds maintenance has led to this matching view. You can still see the basketball hoop backboard, now rusted, in the background.
The strategy works - Popcorn takes the police to a public telephone in a seedy part of town (CitySleuth thinks this was a studio location) where Red Lynch has been calling an accomplice nightly about Kelly Sherwood. They watch and wait for the next call ...
... but the accomplice spots them and is killed in the ensuing exchange of gunshots - unfortunately Popcorn is caught in the crossfire, collateral damage, never to snack again.
