Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/09/24/watch-1940s-film-footage-of-the-streets-of-hollywood.html
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I’m always amazed to see a young Burgess Meredith, like in that military training film about how to behave in a British pub.
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I like the style of the film, where they show a close up of the subject location, then a faraway shot showing the whole thing. The faraway shot makes it look not so glamorous.
Curious, though… what is that at 1:10?
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Do you mean the Muse of Music, Dance, Drama sculpture and fountain at the entrance to the Hollywood Bowl?
ETA: The scultpure was finished in 1940, so one more bit of evidence the film isn’t the 1930s.
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It’s hilarious that even back then they understood that quick closeups of specific landmarks is the only way to make LA seem photogenic. Ironic for the city that spawned Hollywood, but it is just not a nice looking place. In between those charming themed restaurants are five muffler shops, sixteen nail salons, five tattoo parlors and a whole lot of people experiencing homelessness. Same as it ever was.
You can count one hand the number of photogenic streets in LA, which is why the few things that aren’t now filmed in Vancouver are all filmed in Westwood, The Grove, or Santa Monica Place. 
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i wish the Brown Derby was still around. it’s on my bucket list if time travel ever becomes a thing. i’d never heard of the hardware store inside the pumpkin!
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Hollywood did it’s own propaganda work on that, selectively filming certain parts of the city to make it look nicer than it might be in real life!
Relatedly, I have a new hobby these part few years when watching movies that are filmed in my state/city: spot the location! It’s amazing how ATL can seem so generic to be just about any other city in the world! And that’s just stuff filmed in the city…
For example… part of Black Panther was set in Oakland, CA… but take a look at this scene:
That’s Ebeneezer Baptist (the historic site, not the current church, which is catty-corner from this parking lot) And it was filmed from the parking lot for Wheat Street Towers, a low income housing building maintained by the Wheat Street Church next door:
This is all on Sweet Auburn Ave. I can’t imagine that it was a coincidence to film these scenes on Auburn ave.
Also, I gave myself a sad with the Chadwick Boseman pics… 
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It sure was nice of those guys to help Irene Dunne place her prints and spell her name. She might not have had the ladybrains to do it herself like the mens did!
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This is literally the only time I liked Piper on OITNB.
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Have you seen Blindspotting, Sorry To Bother You, & The Last Black Man in San Francisco yet? All beautiful fodder for your new hobby as well as gorgeous films.
I have seen Sorry to Bother You, but it wasn’t filmed in ATL… I don’t think the other two were, either. I wouldn’t be familiar with their locations personally, then.
I have been wanting to see The Last Black Man in San Francisco for a while now… I believe it’s on my DVD list.
For more fodder for your hobby, scroll down to “Georgia Doubling”.
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The GA list seems awfully short! I know there have been plenty other films and shows shot here.
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What’s with the weird wipe transitions between all of the shots?
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