I'm watching The Set-Up (1949) on TCM.
They just had a night scene with Audrey Totter standing atop the 3rd Street (or 2nd St.) tunnels
contemplating suicide by jumping in front of a red car.

Anyone familiar with this scene?

Thank you ethereal, gaylord, gsjansen and everyone else!
 

I have literally spent 15 hours over the past 4 days going through all your posts and photographs of Los Angeles and her changing skyline. It has been a wonderful journey, and it (almost) brings a tear to my eye to come to the most current posting. I found this site and your thread totally by accident; I was looking for more information on my very favorite house on Lucerne. I hope you keep going with this thread and please let me know of others that you find interesting as well.
I think we should schedule a walking tour of downtown or the Adams District. Have any of you ever gone on a tour sponsored by the L.A. Conservancy?
Anyway, thanks! :cool:

Mike Todd.
 

But the plot thickens -----

The Los Angeles Times reported in 1977 that Fisher's story was false—remains of Todd were indeed found and buried. His remains were desecrated by robbers, who broke into his coffin looking for a $100,000 diamond ring which, according to rumor, Taylor had placed on Todd's finger prior to his burial. The bag containing Todd's remains was found under a tree near his plot; the bag and coffin had been sealed in Albuquerque since his remains were identified after the 1958 crash. Todd's remains were once more identified through dental records and were reburied in a secret location.

There's a screenplay in there!

Speaking of Liz and crashes...
 

http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpre...pg?w=600&h=341cliftblog.com


After Montgomery Clift left a party at Liz and Michael Wilding's house in Beverly Hills on the night of May 12, 1956, he hit a telephone pole. His '55 Bel Air was totalled. Clift and Taylor were in the middle of making Raintree County, which is probably more interesting for its before-and-after scenes of Monty than for its story. I was surprised to find no stills of the movie online showing the change in his looks. (If I had a DVD of Raintree handy, I would do some screen-capturing.) But here is a set of shots that show the change on either side of RC:

http://kittypackard.files.wordpress....ore_after2.jpgKitty Packard

This video game coming out next year, set in 1940s los angeles, has a new trailer:

LA Noire Trailer

Its called LA Noire (adds an "e" to Noir for some reason). But the word is they tried putting a lot of effort into an authentic 1940s LA.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TN...40253%20PM.jpgRKO Radio Pictures/Turner
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TN...42850%20PM.jpgRKO Radio Pictures/Turner
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TN...40329%20PM.jpgRKO Radio Pictures/Turner
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TN...40956%20PM.jpgRKO Radio Pictures/Turner
Did she or didn't she?


Whatever became of Audrey Totter? Also in the cast are Weejee, the famous photojournalist, and two who later turned up on tv sitcoms: George Tobias (Abner Kravitz) and Herbert Anderson (Dennis the Menace's father, Henry Mitchell).

Totter's whole walk is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhH1p...eature=related

^^^Yes! That's the scene. Thanks for posting it GaylordWilshire.

At first I thought Audrey Totter was Carolyn Jones.
And I didn't realize WeeGee was in the cast.

:previous:

http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/313...0A760B0D811297RKO Radio Pictures/ICP/Getty Images
http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/313...0A760B0D811297
Arthur "Weegee" Fellig as the timekeeper in The Set-Up.

As for Audrey Totter--it seems that despite being considered a good actress (and according to Wikipedia, having dated Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Lew Ayres, and Robert Walker!) her film career faded in the '50s. She moved to tv (who could ever forget Our Man Higgins?) and appeared on the small screen as late as 1987, according the the IMDB. She seems to still be with us--her birth date is given as December 20, 1918, so she will soon be 92. Happy Birthday, Audrey. We're glad you didn't jump in front of the Red Car.

Thanx for posting the youtube link GW :tup: . the tunnel that Audrey Totter is contemplating 'cide of the sui kind, is the hill street P&E tunnel at 1st street

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics37/00068279.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics37/00068279.jpg

which as we know is long gone

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics37/00068280.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics37/00068280.jpg

(amazing that these two images are of the same view)........:koko:

the scary thing about the scene from the film, is how fast the red cars are travelling on hill street....at grade.....while co-mingling with street traffic....wow! those trolly's look like their doing 35 mph or better:eek:

Just a reminder that images must be properly sourced, including hotlinking to the source.

Failure to property source contravenes copyrights and may result in removal of linked images. Thank you :)

I've always been struck by the barrenness often apparent in scenes of early development in any city. In L.A., for instance, there is the site of stubby young palms, seen in later shots of the same location growing ever taller through the years, dotting the former barley fields. (It seems that every subdivision south and east of downtown was once a barley field.) What strikes me nowadays, when comparing shots of mid-20th-century L.A. to today, is not only the ever-more-lush (and often obscuring) vegetation, but the ever-increasing urbanization of L.A.--to-the-lot-line development is now the norm. I've posted then-and-now shots of Wilshire near the Fremont Place gates to demonstrate this; here is another set of pictures as evidence, these taken from Vine west toward the old RCA Building at 6363 Sunset (now the home of the Los Angeles Film School):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/...cb202d_b_d.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/7117270...494236/?page=2 and http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=345

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TN...84417%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

All that said, in some cases, camera angles can preserve the old--I once posted then-and-nows of the Cinerama dome across the street from the RCA Building, looking east, which showed the urbanization big-time. Well, here are shots from 1965 and today at a diffeda90027's photostream on flickr/rent angle that seem to show little change:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TN...erama1865a.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7117270...494236/?page=2 and http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=345

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TN...91630%20AM.jpgGoogle Street View

Old Traffic Signs
 

What a fascinating thread, love all of the old photos of downtown, especially street level ones. Lots of great shots of traffic signs, my specialty.

I collect old porcelain enamel traffic signs erected from 1920 to 1960, by the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC), the California State Automobile Association (CSAA), and the old California Division of Highways.

I also created a web site that contains a brief history of signing in California and photos of old signs, here is the link: www.Caltrafficsigns.com

Enjoy


Brian
CASIGNS

:previous:
Hi Brian, thanks for the link to your very fascinating website! I think I saw your website from some years ago, I see you've changed its look and have added more photos. Very awesome!

Tail fins, chrome, wraparound windshields and freeway construction. Ah, Los Angeles in 1959. This is the Venice overpass under construction, courtesy of the USC Archive.
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/9...erpass1959.jpg

:previous:

sopas-- How did you know I have a thing for Mercurys (may the brand rest in peace)? There are no less than three in your shot--2 '57s (the car closest to camera, and the Turnpike Cruiser in the middle of the shot, in the far lane) and a '46 (dark car at left). The other vehicles are a '55 Dodge (second from front) and a '58 Chevy.


http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TO...BcU/Roche1.jpg
http://www.edsel.net/dealer/MEL.html

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TO...41947%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View
Apparently there is still a Lincoln-Mercury dealer at 4437 Lankershim Blvd--well, a
Lincoln dealer, anyway (love the name). It may or may not be the same building--
could be, since the shape and the door and window spaces match--perhaps it's
just been modernized. Chucking the neon was not a good move, however. I'm sure
if it had been retained, Mayberry L-M would have sold hundreds of thousands
more Mercs, thereby saving the brand....

Not sure why the photographs are missing. I will try and find them again

Mobilgas 3304 N. Figueroa


http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9...s3304nfigu.jpg
jalopyjournal



http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/3...3304nfigui.jpg
jalopyjournal



Below: 3304 N. Figueroa today.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2...stodayat33.jpg
jalopyjournal

Packard Dealership at 1626 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica


http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/711...santamonic.jpg
jalopy_ journal



Below: This beautiful building appears to be in pristine condition as a Mercedes Benz Dealership.

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/139...ardbyjosey.jpg
Jose Ybarra

Wow, 3 Mercurys in one shot, I didn't realize. Cars sure did have more character and personality back then, not like the plastic-bumpered metal eggs people drive today; cars today have the personality of an electric razor. And is the SUV trend finally dead, please? Aerodynamics and side airbags be damned. I want a '62 Lincoln, or a '61 Pontiac Tempest.

This stunning art deco building was designed by Schilling & Schilling in 1928.
It was located at 1910 American Ave. (now Long Beach Blvd.) in Long Beach.
The facade featured oversized ornamentation utilizing salmon-colored cement and stucco.


http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/1...acificauto.jpg
j_journal

MOBILGAS -- 3304 N Fig.
 

.....the fact that the lot is now barricaded by an iron fence and topped with razor wire speaks volumes as to the current state of LA today....

I'm just sayin'......:shrug: