You can read about the many locations on Wilshire Blvd. that appear during the scene where Cagney picks up Harlow on this blog post.
http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/cagney-and-harlow-on-t he-public-enemys-miracle-mile/
Absolutely fantastic! Thank you! I know nothing of the streets and environs of LA but I've always been fascinated by the clear vintage shots in "Public Enemy" and believed that with persistence a knowledgeable LA resident could determine where they were filmed.
I just happened to once again watch the film a few days ago on TCM and came here today to look at the IMDB writeup. What a surprise to find this! The amount of effort that was put into this exhaustive detective work was certainly enormous; I greatly appreciate your dedication.
Thanks RFMan - I really enjoy researching old photos and movies - this movie was a lot of fun. I just saw it on TCM too.
shareBeing an East-Coast resident, I found your tour interesting.
You would think that some tour-guide business in that area would have done something like you did many years ago. To find buildings from 80 years ago still standing today is a miracle in itself. Most have been torn down in the name of "Progress"!
The "Public Enemy" tour. Sounds promising.
If I were there and saw this offered, I'd take the tour!
Thanks for your efforts.
What inspired you to do this and how long did it take?
Thanks Ronald - I've been researching vintage film locations for years, as I have written books about silent comedians Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. I've been having fun seeing that the pre-Code films also use classic LA locations. John
shareI guess that the far, far, far west side of Chicago then huh?
shareThank You for the fabulous photos. I lived in Los Angeles and used to love coming across a location that I recognized from the movies. I briefly had an apartment across from the fantastic Pan Pacific Theatre. I'm drawn to art deco so I became obsessed with it. I would ride my bike around it wondering why someone didn't do something with it. I thought it would make a great restaurant - night club, but I thought the land itself would probably sell for more money than any business could generate. I thought it may have been used as the exterior of a dog racing track in a film I saw recently but I don't remember the name. It was finally used in the movie "Xanadu" with Olivia Newton John. Although this wasn't a great movie, at least the P.P.T. was documented for posterity. If you know anything about it I'd love to hear. Thanks
share