Then … Ms Milner has gotten over being stood up; she wants to try again. She calls Teddy from a bar and suggests they meet at Le Club restaurant at Clay and Jones. Once again he thinks it’s the Woman In Red who is calling and readily agrees.
… and Now, this was filmed in Koreatown, Los Angeles at the Prince Restaurant at 3198 1/2 W. 7th Street. Its retro period decor has made this place a go-to location for dozens of movies and TV series over the decades. Note both Then and Now the yeoman statue in front of a red latticed window frame.
Then … Teddy arrives trying his best to look cool with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Again, this is the Prince restaurant in Los Angeles. Note the red door over to the right…
… and Now, it’s been over 40 years but the door and the handrail have hardly changed. (Photo by Syd Rev).
Then … The instant he sits down he realizes who had called him. He lets out a yelp and promptly hightails it out of there.
… and Now, the three latticed windows behind them identify the two booths at The Prince where the above scene was filmed. (Photo by J.P. Shelton)
Then … He rushes out - now we are back in San Francisco at the Clay-Jones residential highrise building at 1250 Jones Street, the very location that Ms. Milner had given Teddy. Note the signage at left on the awning and below the window - there was indeed a Le Club restaurant in the 1980s here in the lobby level of this building (the incongruous white ‘LE CLUB’ letters may have been added for this movie shot).
… and Now, 1250 Jones today. It has hosted a succession of restaurants over the years: after Le Club closed Charles Nob Hill succeeded it from 1995 to 2004, followed by C.A.L. Steakhouse then by the Michelin-starred Keiko a Nob Hill from 2011 to 2021. Currently the building is residential only - no restaurant.
Then … as he rounds the corner, the eye-catching view east down Clay Street encompasses the TransAmerica Building and the Embarcadero Center high-rises with the Bay Bridge beyond. (Note the image on the back of the beer truck advertising San Francisco’s own Anchor Brewing Company’s Porter beer).
… and Now, the view is essentially unchanged today.
Here’s a closer look at the beer label seen in the Then image above. The dark Porter beer, released in 1972, supplemented the classic Anchor Steam beer which had been brewed in Potrero Hill in San Francisco since 1896. After being bought by Sapporo, the 125 year-old Anchor Brewing Company closed down in 2023 then was purchased in 2024 by the founder of Chobani whose stated intention was to revive the company. As of July 2025 it was still closed.
Then … Ms Milner pursues him, watching as he jumps into the back seat of his car.
… and Now, minor changes here - the corner mailbox is gone, awnings have been added at left on the side windows of 1250 Jones and the street signs have been replaced.
If looks could kill! Teddy fakes a heart attack but she shows no sympathy, leaning in to release the handbrake… fade out as the car rolls down the hill to blasting horns, screeching brakes and crunching metal.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned … still fuming the next morning she slowly and deliberately tips a bottle of ink over Teddy’s desktop.
Teddy coaches his buddy Mikey on, when, and how to call him that evening pretending he’s urgently needed at the office. That will clear the way for Teddy to go to the dinner date he’s (he thinks) made with the Woman in Red.
After helping with the blind man prank (previous post) Mikey makes the call. But by then Teddy has found out he has to stay at home with Didi to babysit their grandkid. In a hilarious response he demands the bewildered Mikey tell the bosses to take their request and shove it up their (you know where). (Watch the movie to see why Didi has that inappropriately positioned gun).
Then … Mikey rejoins his buddies, finding them in a fracas with local louts in front of a Carls Jr. diner. It’s time for more sight gags as Buddy, still playing the blind man (on the left), punches away. The phone number posted at the adjacent business on the right led CitySleuth to this location.
… and Now, both Carls Jr. at 305 W. 6th Street in the Wilshire/Vermont neighborhood of Los Angeles and the Olympic Auto Body Shop (with the same phone number) are still there today. The shot was filmed looking across Virgil Avenue (map).
Teddy doesn’t know that it was Ms. Milner who had answered the call and received his offer of a date. She doesn’t know it was meant for the Woman in Red. She patiently waits for him to arrive.
He never does - she ends up closing the place, below. But where was this filmed? Teddy referred to it as “…La Primavera in North Beach”; but this looks way too swanky for North Beach. If anyone recognizes it they are encouraged to email citysleuth@reelsf.com.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. To say she’s bent out of shape is perhaps an understatement; the next morning as Teddy parks his car she walks up, keys it down the side then transfers her feelings to its antenna.
The next scene is played purely for audience laughs, tapping into Charles Grodin’s comedic background. The idea was to cheer Joey up after his wife left him. Today people are likely less likely to find it funny.
Then … Joey watches from outside as Buddy, pretending to be a blind man, and Mikey approach the bar in a swanky restaurant.
… and Now, this was filmed in the restaurant Cafe Alma at 13362 Ventura Blvd in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles (map). Very shortly afterwards the restaurant was taken over by the Great Greek; it’s still there today under that name - in the recent photo below note how similar it still looks with its mirrored pillars and curvilinear-topped partitions.
Then … The blind man orders two cocktails then becomes agitated when he realizes his sighted guide has moved away. He swings around, bellowing out for him, his arm sending drinks and ice cubes across the room. When the flustered bartender (Billy Beck) hastily replaces the drinks he swings back and it happens again. And again. And again. And again.
… and Now, the Great Greek’s bar is still there at the same spot.
Mayhem ensues as Buddy stumbles around, bumping into diners and knocking over waiters bearing laden trays.
The strategy is working, Joey is in stitches watching the pantomine unfold. Mikey, too.
Then … But it’s rapidly becoming out of hand so Mikey runs back in to retrieve Buddy.
… and Now, these frosted glass partitions are now clear glass. Both Then and Now the same retail stores are visible across the street.
Then … Buddy plays the blind man right until he climbs behind the wheel of his classy Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham outside the restaurant. The store numbers 13367, 13365, and 13363 are clearly legible across the street, the clue that led CitySleuth to this Ventura Blvd location.
… and Now, current tenants include an orthodontist at 13367, a coffee shop at 13365 and a garden/antique decor shop at 13363.
The barman and a waiter (Danny Wells) can only stare in total disbelief.
And here’s a recent photo of the Great Greek. With a wine store and two side-by-side restaurants it’s all you can eat and drink on this corner.
Then … Teddy’s wife Didi (Judith Ivey) drops him off at a park to play tennis with his three closest friends.
… and Now, These are the public tennis courts on what was then Middle Drive East in Golden Gate Park. The road is now called Nancy Pelosi Drive, renamed in her honor in 2012 (map). The 130 year-old site recently underwent a $30M renovation, reopening in 2021, with 17 rebuilt courts and a new clubhouse.
Then … As Didi leaves she approaches John F. Kennedy Drive, about to make a left past the statue straight ahead and the large white structure at far left.
… and Now, the statue and the structure are of course still there. The only change here is Nancy Pelosi Drive, now much narrower at the junction.
The statue, erected in 1885, is a monument to James Abram Garfield, the 20th President of the United States who was assassinated in 1881. Below him on the pedestal Lady Columbia is holding a broken sword and wreath, referencing the heinous act. The white structure is the Conservatory of Flowers greenhouse and botanical gardens; completed in 1879, it’s the oldest building in the park.
Teddy greets his buddies on the tennis court. From left to right: Joey (Joseph Bologna), Buddy (Charles Grodin) and Mikey (Michael Huddleston). As the movie progresses we’ll find out that Teddy isn’t the only one harboring libidinous thoughts; they are all involved in affairs, Joey in particular serially so.
As they play, note the residence on the left and the palm tree in the background. Hmmm…
Then … In this shot we see a wider view of the same residence between Teddy and Buddy and more palm trees; this is clearly not Golden Gate Park, it was more likely filmed in Southern California. A search for this house, it has two gabled wings (the left one with a chimney stack built against it), led Citysleuth to the Los Angeles Tennis Club in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles just a short drive from Hollywood (map).
… and Now, the house is 591 Cahuenga Blvd on the corner of Clinton Street, across Clinton and directly opposite the venerable clubhouse (compare it with the movie view above). The gable with the arched window is also visible two images above at far left.
Then … The boys let out a whoop when they get an unexpected eyeful from the adjacent court.
… and Now, here’s the Los Angeles Tennis Club today; the movie scene was filmed on the court marked with the red marker. Next to it the court in the ‘Then’ image above has since been converted to a parking lot prior to which, coincidentally, this club too had 17 courts.
The iconic Los Angeles Tennis Club at 5851 Clinton Street was incorporated in 1920 and constructed in 1924. Over the past century it has hosted many famous tennis champions and Hollywood celebrities.
In the clubhouse after the match Mikey takes a call; Joey’s wife has just been seen leaving their home with the furniture and all of her belongings; Joey’s philandering has caught up with him. (Check out the subliminal ad - is the Nortel logo subtly suggesting “hey - replace this vintage Western Electric switchboard with our modern one”?).
