0 Watch Polo At Will Rogers State Historic Park

Will Rogers Polo Field

When I think of the sport polo, the one where men or women on horseback gallop across a giant field and swing mallets at a ball, I usually think of wealthy, high class, international types. I don't really think of polo as an American sport, although, in the 1930s, polo was much more popular in America, particularly in Hollywood.  According to the Pacific Palisades Patch, there were more than 25 outdoor polo fields in the Los Angeles area in the 1930s. Today, there is only one, at the Will Rogers State Historic Park.

My earliest memories of polo are of watching some of the early Disney animated shorts. There were a few Disney cartoons that featured polo in the story line, but the one that stands out the most was a 1936 short called Mickey's Polo Team. In this short, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Big Bad Wolf, and Donald Duck play against a team of movie stars, which included Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harpo Marx and Charlie Chaplin. Not surprisingly, during the 1930s, Walt Disney was a fan of the sport and would often play in weekend matches at Will Rogers' polo field. 

Mickey's Polo Team

Many actors played polo during this time, including Clark Gable and Leslie Howard, but one of the most avid players was actor Spencer Tracy. Actresses such as Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, and Joan Bennett could be seen in attendance as spectators. Studio executives also played the game too.  Darryl F. Zanuck was even known to carry a mallet around his office and the 20th Century Fox studio lot. After matches at Will Rogers' polo field, Rogers and his friends would go to to the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The restaurant acquired its name because of all the movie stars visiting the restaurant after polo matches.

Spencer Tracy and Walt Disney

Right now the Will Rogers Polo Club is encouraging the public to attend the polo matches that take place on weekends from April through October at the Will Rogers State Historic Park. Parking at the grounds is $12 but admission to watch the matches is free! For more information on the Will Rogers Polo Club click here. For more information on Will Rogers State Historic Park click here.

Detail: Watch Polo At Will Rogers State Historic Park

0 Witness to Murder (1954) - Film Locations

Witness to Murder (1954)

How would you like to rent Barbara Stanwyck's apartment? Maybe you would prefer the posh pad of her neighbor George Sanders? But, what if there was a murder in the neighborhood? Would you still want to move in? Well, you can! Both buildings have units ready to move into. Of course, I'm not talking about Stanwyck's or Sanders's real homes, but the apartment buildings where their characters live in the 1954 film, Witness to Murder.

In Witness to Murder, Stanwyck plays Cheryl Draper, a single working girl, who from her apartment window one night, witnesses a murder being committed in the apartment across the street. The always delightfully smarmy George Sanders plays Albert Richter, a former Nazi and intellectual type, who commits the murder. From the beginning, we know that Sanders is the murderer and Stanwyck tries to prove to the police that Sanders committed the murder, but the police don't believe her. Sanders, using his charm and cunning abilities, leads the police to believe that Stanwyck is a bit delirious. Stanwyck does everything she can to prove that Sanders is the murderer, but the harder she tries, the more crazy the police think she is.

The story isn't groundbreaking and the writing is a bit weak in spots, but what is luring about this film is the performances by Stanwyck and Sanders. In fact, Sanders is so good in my opinion, that I don't care that he speaks with an English accent even though he is supposed to be German. If you want to see a more melodramatic version of a film in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, which came out the same year I might add, then you should give Witness to Murder a view.

After watching Witness to Murder I was curious about the apartment buildings featured in the film and so I decided to track the buildings down. I had seen some buildings with a similar architectural style in a book on the historic Los Angeles neighborhood, West Adams, so I decided to start looking in that area first. After about 15 minutes of touring the area street by street, via Google, I found the apartment buildings in an area now known as Koreatown!

In the below screenshot and photo, we can see Barbara Stanwyck's apartment on the right (with the awning) and George Sanders apartment straight ahead and to the left. The intersection is S. Serrano Ave at San Marino Street.

S. Serrano Ave at San Marino Street

S. Serrano Ave at San Marino Street

Stanwyck at her apartment. 939 S. Serrano Ave

Stanwyck's apartment. 939 S. Serrano Ave

Stanwyck's apartment is available to lease.

There is a unit a available in the building that was used as Stanwyck's apartment. If you want to move in, there is a phone number listed in the above photo. Below is a full shot of the apartment building.

939 S. Serrano Ave, Los Angeles

The next few images are comparisons of the building that was used as the apartment for George Sanders. From a real estate listing on Trulia, it appears that this building which was built in 1922 and known as the Miramonte Terrace, is now a condominium, with one unit for sale. The price for the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit is $325,000. It comes with one secure parking space, shared access to the rooftop deck, and a rec room/billiards room in the basement. To view photos of the inside of the building, click here. The exact address for this building is 3400 San Marino Street, Los Angeles.

Sanders arrives at his apartment. 3400 San Marino Street

3400 San Marino Street, Los Angeles

3400 San Marino Street, Los Angeles

The entrance to the Miramonte Terrace

This plaque can be seen in the film.

The next few images show comparisons of the intersection from different angles. The first is of Stanwyck walking from her apartment on Serrano and heading to Sanders apartment on San Marino. The view in the background is looking down San Marino. The second comparisons show the view looking down Serrano.

Stanwyck crosses San Marino Street

Looking down San Marino Street.

Looking down S. Serrano Ave (left side of street).

Looking down S. Serrano Ave (left side of street).

Right side of Serrano Ave.

Right side of Serrano Ave.

As I mentioned, Stanwyck plays a working professional. She is an interior designer at a store in Beverly Hills. The building that was used as the business still stands, although the outside has been slightly modified. What was at one time the home of W. & J. Sloane, located at 9560 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, is now home to Burberry and Niketown. To read more about this building and to see interior photos from the 1950s, click here.

W. & J. Sloane, 9560 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

Burberry / Niketown, 9560 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

Are you ready to move into Stanwyck's or Sanders's apartments? By the way, if you have Netflix, this film is currently available for streaming.

Detail: Witness to Murder (1954) - Film Locations

0 Highway Dragnet (1954) - Film Locations

Last week the blog Paradise Leased provided an update on the status of Apple Valley, California's famous Hilltop House, a once gorgeous modern home that unfortunately has been left to deteriorate over the years. Today, this house built for one of Apple Valley's co-founders, Newton T. Bass, is just a skeleton of the structure it used to be, but the house is now for sale and hopefully some buyer can return the home to its original beauty. You can read and see photos of the home on the Paradised Leased blog here.

The update on the Hilltop House reminded me of the film Highway Dragnet (1954), which was partly filmed in Apple Valley, at another area landmark, the Apple Valley Inn located in the valley just below the Hilltop House. Highway Dragnet stars Richard Conte, Joan Bennett and Wanda Hendrix. It tells the story of a Korean War vet, played by Conte, who is wrongly accused of killing a woman he was seen with earlier inside a Las Vegas bar. Conte must go on the lam until he can clear his name. He gets out of town by hitching a ride with a female photographer (Bennett) and her model (Hendrix). Although the story has a few holes in the plot, it is still entertaining to watch, particularly for all the excellent location filming.

The film starts with scenes in Las Vegas, including a shot of the Golden Nugget and Binion's Horseshoe casinos on Fremont street.

Looking down Fremont Street in Las Vegas.

Fremont Street today. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

One major change to Fremont Street since the time Highway Dragnet was made is the addition of the Fremont Street Experience, a canopy that produces a colored light show above several blocks of the street.

The Horseshoe casino as seen in Highway Dragnet.

Binion's Gambling Hall formerly The Horseshoe.

After the Vegas scenes, the film shows Conte hitching a ride with Bennett and Hendrix in the desert. The threesome eventually pull over and get a room at the Apple Valley Inn.  The Apple Valley Inn was a hotel developed by Newton T. Bass to help attract land buyers to housing development he created out in the middle of the California desert. During the 1940s and until the 1960s, it was a popular place for many Hollywood celebrities, including Bob Hope, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck.

Police set up a barricade in front of the Apple Valley Inn.

The entrance of the Apple Valley Inn as it appears now.

Highway 18 leading up to the Apple Valley Inn driveway.

Looking down Highway 18 from the Apple Valley Inn driveway.

Conte in front of the Apple Valley Inn.

The Apple Valley Inn. Photo from mysewsweetstudio.blogspot.com

Historic postcard view of the Apple Valley Inn.

Conte, Bennett and Hendrix inside a room at Apple Valley Inn.

An agent stands in front of the Apple Valley Inn pool.

Hendrix sits on the pool's diving board.

Bennett stands by the Apple Valley Inn pool.

The Macdonald Carey family visits the pool at Apple Valley Inn. Photo from Paradise Leased.

When it's revealed that Conte, who police believe to be the killer is hiding out at the Apple Valley Inn, he races out of the place, driving a car right through a police barricade.

Conte drives through a police barricade at Apple Valley Inn.

Exiting the driveway at Apple Valley Inn.

The final scenes take place at the Salton Sea. According to the site Lost Resorts, the Salton Sea was once known as the Riviera of the West or "Palm Springs by the Sea." It is the largest lake in California and used to be a major destination in the 1950s and 1960s for tourist and celebrities. The sea was created by accident. In 1900, developers created a series of canals and dikes to divert water from the Colorado River to turn the arid desert into farming land. In 1905 heavy rains caused the Colorado River to rise, a dike was then broken and the Imperial Valley filled with water, becoming the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea as seen in Highway Dragnet.

A present day view of the Salton Sea. Photo from Lost Resorts.

Documentary video of the Salton Sea.

Above is a short video clip showing scenes of the Salton Sea and the people that live in the area. Today the area is almost a flooded ghost town. Water levels would continue to rise, flooding buisnesses that surrounded the lake. Salt and fertilizers from run-off accumulated and killed off most of the fish. Now what was a bustling resort area is filled with dead fish, decaying boats and buildings drowning in water.

For more on the Apple Valley Inn read this wonderful post from Paradise Leased.

Highway Dragnet is available for streaming on Netflix and can also be seen on YouTube here.

Detail: Highway Dragnet (1954) - Film Locations

0 Crime of Passion (1957) - Film Locations

Crime of Passion (1957)

Barbara Stanwyck knows how to play tough women and her role as Kathy Ferguson Doyle, in the 1957 film Crime of Passion, shows just how tough she can be. Stanwyck plays a San Francisco newspaper advice columnist. She is a working girl with grand ambitions in an era of stay-at-home housewives. Then one day Los Angeles detective Bill Doyle, played by Sterling Hayden, arrives in San Francisco to arrest a fugitive and meets Stanwyck. The two fall in love.

Stanwyck abandons a career opportunity in New York to marry Doyle, move to Los Angeles, and become a suburban housewife. It doesn't take the ambitious Stanwyck long to lose her mind. She becomes restless with her husband who has no career ambitions and is content working just enough to live comfortably. Stanwyck also can't stand the other officer's catty, subservient housewives. Stanwyck wants to live a better life and if her husband isn't going to do anything about it she will - even if it means committing murder!

Crime of Passion is an interesting film for its representation of the 1950s woman and what her role should be. Should the 1950s woman be the submissive housewife? As Hayden's partner, Charlie Alidos, played by Royal Dano, says to Stanwyck, "your work should be raising a family, having dinner ready for your husband when he gets home." But that's not the kind of work Stanwyck wants. Even after she marries Hayden and takes on the role of the housewife she is still the dominant force in the household, telling her husband what he needs to do. When Stanwyck's husband doesn't work to get a promotion Stanwyck does it for him. She doesn't spend all day cleaning house and preparing dinner for her husband.

Despite the social commentary, Crime of Passion is a middle-of-the-road film - a bit too melodramatic for my taste. As always, my favorite thing about the movie is seeing Los Angeles in the 1950s. There are glimpses of downtown Los Angeles and some early Los Angeles suburban neighborhoods. There are also some great lines of dialogue. My favorite is an exchange between Stanwyck and Sara Alidos (Virginia Grey). At a party of police officers and their wives, Stanwyck and another wife are discussing a car accident she had been in. Grey keeps cutting Stanwyck off and says, "You know, I've been driving for twenty years now and I've never had an accident. Not one. Maybe a few near misses but nothing that was ever really my fault." Stanwyck replies, "You mustn't be discouraged Sarah - you must keep on trying." Snap!

Here are a few film locations seen in the film:

200 Block E. First Street, Los Angeles

200 Block E. First Street, Los Angeles

In one scene we see Stanwyck riding with Hayden down the 200 Block of East First Street in downtown Los Angeles. They are on their way to the Police Department. Above and below are photos showing First Street as it appears in the film and how it appears today. You will notice a dramatic change. The only building still standing from the 1957 screenshot is the building on the left with the red awnings. The other buildings have been torn down and replaced by a large hotel building.

220 E. First Street, Los Angeles

220 E. First Street, Los Angeles

Below we see Stanwyck and Hayden entering the parking garage of the police department. The building on the far right is the police department and the building on the left is City Hall. Both the police department and City Hall buildings are still visible today, although, you will notice that gap in the skyline has since been filled by another building.

Entering Police Headquarters, Los Angeles

Los Angeles City Hall & Police Department

Police Department

Police Department, East First  Street, Los Angeles

Barbara Stanwyck home in the "Valley"

Above is a screenshot of Stanwyck and Hayden moving into their new house which is supposed to be located in the Valley. I really love this image! Look at all the newly developed homes with their manicured lawns and freshly planted trees.  To top it off, look at that giant drive-in movie theatre screen in the background! How very 1950s suburbia. I would really like to see how this neighborhood appears today. Have the homes been kept up? Are the trees towering over the streets? One thing is for sure that drive-in movie theatre is not there. I think they're used to be about 5 or 6 drive-ins located in the Valley and I don't believe there are any still standing. Are there any readers out there who are experts on drive-in movie theatres who might recognize the one seen in this film?

Your thoughts?

Detail: Crime of Passion (1957) - Film Locations