Portions of the Paramount film, “The Magnificent Fraud” (1939), where shot in San Diego’s own Balboa Park. The plot summary according to the imdb website:
In this lively programmer, a con man hires a character actor (Akim Tamiroff) to masquerade as the recently assassinated dictator of a tiny Latin American country so he can bilk an arriving American ambassador out of his fortune.
In the detailed view below, you can see director Robert Florey on the right just above the camera, in a hat and smoking a pipe. Also in the cast were Lloyd Nolan, Mary Boland, and Patricia Morrison.
In the 1935 aerial shot below, you can see the same area where the above scene took place. Missing today is the large archway in the center of the frame and the structure with multiple arches in the background.
The structure in the background:
Today, there is nothing between the fountain and Park Boulevard.
I found these other three shots taken in Balboa Park on the csfd.cz website:
The same view, circa December 2000:
Below are Patricia Morrison and Lloyd Nolan embracing in the Alcazar Garden section of Balboa Park:
Today, the perfect place for a prom shoot!
Below, Mary Boland waves to onlookers as her car passes the Casa del Prado building:
The Casa del Prado today:
See more Balboa Park in San Diego photos at my main website.
