A Tale of Two Capitans

The name “El Capitan” was used at different times for two different theatres at two different locations. It must have been a coveted name to have earned that distinction! In the first photo for today’s post from March 2002, we see what is the commonly known Hollywood Boulevard location. Edited from the El Capitan website:

1926: Dubbed "Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama" the El Capitan Theatre made its debut as the largest legitimate theatre in Hollywood on On May 3, 1926. Stars filled the 1,550 seat theatre for the premiere of the fresh-from-Broadway play CHARLOT'S REVUE, starring Jack Buchanan, Gertrude Lawrence and Beatrice Lillie.

1941: Business was faltering, and the theater then began showing movies. On May 8, 1941, Orson Welles premiered his first feature, and very controversial, film “Citizen Kane,” at the El Capitan Theatre. Welles was unable to locate a theater owner willing to risk screening his film so he turned to the El Capitan.



1942: The theater closed for a two month renovation and reopened in March 1942 as the Hollywood Paramount (it had been purchased by Paramount Pictures), a new, streamlined "art moderne" first run movie house. Its inaugural film presentation was Cecil B. DeMille's “Reap the Wild Wind.”

1989: The Walt Disney Company joined forces with Pacific Theatres and launched a two-year, remodel of the El Capitan Theatre. The remodel was led by renowned theatre designer Joseph J. Musil with the supervision of the National Park Service's Department of the Interior, and guidance from conservator Martin Weil and architect Ed Fields.

1991: The theatre reopened its doors to the public on June 19, 1991 for the world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures’ THE ROCKETEER.



In 2011, the 20th anniversary of the film, “The Rocketeer” was shown again at the El Capitan, with leading man Billy Campbell in attendance. I was there, too.



This vintage 1946 shot shows the OTHER El Capitan, just a few blocks away on Vine Street.



Originally known as The Hollywood Playhouse, it was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by the architectural firm of Gogarty and Weyl. During the Great Depression, the theatre was renamed The WPA Federal Theatre (after the Works Progress Administration), and used for government-sponsored programs. Later, the theatre hosted many CBS Radio Network programs, including Fanny Brice’s “Baby Snooks” show and Lucille Ball’s “My Favorite Husband” program (the precursor to “I Love Lucy”). In the 1940s, it was renamed The El Capitan Theatre, and used for a long-running live burlesque variety show called Ken Murray's Blackouts.



In the 1950s, the theatre became a television studio and it was from a set on its stage that Richard Nixon delivered his famous “Checkers speech” on September 23, 1952. This event is often mistakenly said (especially on the Internet) to have taken place at the other El Capitan. The theater was also home to The Colgate Comedy Hour, the Lawrence Welk Show, and This is Your Life. In 1963, ABC television used the theater for Jerry Lewis’ weekly TV program, and renamed it The Jerry Lewis Theatre. After the cancellation of Lewis’ show, ABC renamed the building the Hollywood Palace and launched The Hollywood Palace, a variety series which had guests such as Judy Garland (below in 1965), Groucho Marx, and Louis Armstrong.



The program was successful and continued for seven years until 1970, after which ABC continued to use the building as a studio for occasional broadcasts. In 1978, ABC sold the theatre to private businessman Dennis Lidtke, who restored it and reopened it four years later with an abridged name, The Palace. It can be seen in the film “Against All Odds.” The punk band The Ramones played their 2263rd and final show here on August 6th 1996. It was recorded for Billboard live for the album We’re Outta Here. The building was purchased by Hollywood Entertainment Partners in September 2002 and renamed The Avalon. Here’s how it currently looks:



A December 2014 shot of the other El Capitan:



See more vintage and contemporary Hollywood photos at my main website.

Citizen Kane Mystery Solved!

Last week for Temple Tuesday I posted screenshots from “Now and Forever” (1934) and “Citizen Kane” (1941), showing that footage from the Temple film was re-used in the Welles film. After reaching out to Robby Cress (expert supreme on finding film locations), I had an answer within a few hours as to where this poolhouse is located. Yes...is. It still exists!

 

Compare the contemporary shot with the vintage screenshot from Shirley’s “Now and Forever.”

 

By the way: this place is apparently for sale! Any “Citizen Kane” fan with a spare $115 million could be the proud owner of this historic film location. Or maybe you could split the cost with a Shirley fan; with 10 acres of property, there’s plenty of space for both!

  

I did a little bit of internet digging, with the most useful info coming from the Hollywood Reporter site. Built in 1932 at a cost of $150,000, this mansion has been lived in by Joseph Drown (Bel Air Hotel owner), movie mogul Joseph Schenck (who had an alleged affair with Marilyn Monroe on the property), actor Tony Curtis (whose wife thought the house was too big: “You could starve to death getting to the kitchen!”), and Sonny and Cher. 

 

In 1976, owner Ralph Mishkin dubbed the estate “Owlwood,” after the birds that proliferated the property, and the name has stuck ever since.

 

Here’s an overhead view:

 

And, in a final little piece of “Citizen Kane” location interest…years ago I posted this screenshot of the Cupid/Diana statue from the film. The statue has since been removed and placed inside the museum in Balboa Park.

 

I had forgotten that back in 1995 before it was moved, I posed with it. Here is that photo:

  

And that is the end (for now!) of the story. I am still willing to tour Owlwood with anyone that can get me on the property for photos!

See more photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Citizen Kane, Orson, and Shirley

I have been making it a habit to pop in an old classic film while eating dinner. Recently, I got out my “Citizen Kane” blu ray disc. Gregg Toland’s cinematography is even better when you watch this classic black and white film in high definition. Or is it? For the first time, I noticed a detail that had eluded me on other home video incarnations: after the March of Time newsreel is played, Joseph Cotten has a very tiny cameo as a reporter. A few scenes later, he is playing Kane's best friend, Jed Leland, sitting in a wheelchair in a nursing home.

Were original prints of the film developed darker so that audiences wouldn’t notice this? Or did Orson Welles need an extra in the scene so badly that he had Cotten doing double duty? Or was it some kind of inside joke? I have no idea. However…I also noticed something else. In the newsreel footage that shows Xanadu, the fictional estate of Charles Foster Kane, a swimming pool is shown:

My memory bank went off and I remembered seeing a similar pool in the 1934 Shirley Temple movie “Now and Forever.” I happened to be talking to my friend Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) and told her my theory. A few minutes later she said it WAS the same pool! I pulled out my “Now and Forever” dvd and sure enough! The two frames of film are identical!

In fact, you can even see Carole Lombard and Gary Cooper in the shadows of both movies! Here are two publicity stills from the film, with Shirley in the first one:

Now the REAL mystery; where was/is this pool located? Here’s an establishing shot from the other side in “Now and Forever”:

If anyone out there knows the answer, please comment!

Orson apparently was neighbors with Shirley for awhile. In my collection I have a shot of Orson at her home in 1939, with Shirley playing on her little backyard rollercoaster. This visit was staged for the press.

Shirley recalled it in her autobiography Child Star:

"Did you hear my program about Martians [War of the Worlds]?" "Yes," I stroked my ball and scowled. It had stopped wide of the final wicket. "Nelson Eddy was why I listened." Welles turned and leaned on his mallet, waiting. My evening routine included listening to Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. I explained that when guest Eddy came on to sing, I switched stations and stumbled on his. "Did you believe my program?" he asked, striking a pleasing pose for our photographers. "No, I knew it wasn't true." Taking careful aim, I knocked his ball slightly away from the mouth of the final wicket, leaving mine in good position. His return shot caromed my ball away into a difficult lie. "How did you know?" he asked. Engrossed with my final chance, I said nothing and concentrated. I missed. "Well," I replied resignedly, "if men from Mars had come here, why would just your program be broadcasting the news? That didn't make sense, so I didn't believe it."

Afterward, one reporter wrote: "The gentlemen of the press passed a pleasant afternoon and left with the conviction that Mr. Welles, who is only 13 years older than Shirley Temple, is as agreeable as he is talented." That was probably one of the last positive things the press wrote about Orson, who was smeared hard by William Randolph Hearst after the release of the not-so-fictional “Citizen Kane” was released.

Here’s another shot of Orson and Shirley, from The Pump Room at the Ambassador Hotel in Chicago with Ruth Gordon, September 15, 1944. Shirley was making appearances selling war bonds at the time.

To think that Shirley came THIS CLOSE to being in “Citizen Kane”! It boggles the mind!

See more photos at my main website.

Dreams For Sale, Pt. 2

The big selling items from the upcoming November 23rd Turner Classic Movies (aka TCM) and Bonhams Treasures From The Dream Factory auction are the ones from the 1941 Orson Welles classic, "Citizen Kane." This charcoal sketch depicts one of the opening shots from the movie. This second one shows Xanadu, the palatial home of Charles Foster Kane. The listing gives possible credit to Mario Larrinaga, who created the matte paintings used in the film.



Compare with a frame from the final film. Matte magic at its best!



Of course the real grabber from the auction is the Rosebud sled pictured below. Given to screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz at the end of filming, this is an incredible Holy Grail of movie history.



Estimated to sell at $100,000-200,000. I predict much more.









More nostalgia at my main website.

Daveland On Location: Citizen Kane

The filming of Orson Welles' cinematic masterpiece, "Citizen Kane" took place between June 29, 1940 and October 23, 1940, in what is now Stage 19 on the Paramount lot in Hollywood. Xanadu, the fictional estate owned by the title character, Charles Foster Kane, was represented by aerial shots of Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York in the film's opening newsreel montage.



The grounds of Xanadu were represented by Busch Gardens and Arroyo Boulevard in Pasadena, CA. There was also some location filming in Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo. Many shots of Xanadu were surrealistic, highly stylized matte paintings. Since I live near Balboa Park, I have always wanted to attempt to match images from the film with the locations used in Balboa Park. Here goes…



The above shot might be a matte painting (the sky probably is at least), but the tower is obviously based on this one in Balboa Park, which is part of the California Tower.



This Balboa Park location was one of my best matches.









This one was difficult; because of the plantings in front, I could not match the angle of the original.





Attempting to recreate the original angles, it seemed that overall, the photographer was trying to shoot up as much as possible. Maybe it was a way to try to disguise the buildings being used. I know it made it difficult for me to figure out which buildings were actually used.





Here, the San Diego Museum of Art stands in for Xanadu.





Just a little farther down, the Museum of Man also substitutes for Xanadu.





The Casa del Prado Theater:





This shot was impossible to match. The park's main boulevard is under construction, so I couldn't stand back far enough to match the angle.





Here's the one shot that I couldn't match. I was unable to find this building; whether it still exists or not, I am not sure.



The Botanical Building is a striking structure at the center of the park. This cupid statue no longer stands here. UPDATED: I just discovered that this statue, known as "The Youthful Diana" (circa 1924 by Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington) still exists in Balboa Park, but has been moved to a different location. When I do find it, I'll post it!





These two show the reflecting pond in front of the Botanical Building





Time to get out "Citizen Kane" and view it for yourself!

See more vintage & current Daveland Hollywood Movie photos on my main website.