By JODI SUMMERS JODI SUMMERS
For sure, someone knows of a silent film or seven that were filmed in Santa Monica. But, the earliest known record of Santa Monica & Santa Monica residents being used in a movie was the 1933 Laurel and Hardy classic “Sons of the Desert.” The film, which is about Ollie & Stan sneaking away to Chicago and attend the annual “Sons of the Desert” lodge convention, features the Santa Monica Elks Lodge in a “movie” newsreel of the lodge’s convention parade.
Since then, Santa Monica streets, homes, beaches and landmarks have been featured in a myriad of movies and television shows: ■ In 1955 Santa Monica High School masqueraded as Dawson High in the James Dean, Natalie Wood classic, “Rebel Without A Cause.” In the film, Dean plays a rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies. His school, Dawson High was supposed to be located at “University & 10th,” not at Pico Boulevard and Fourth Street. ■ Santa Monica is featured in the 1963 slapstick production of, “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.” The film has a noteworthy cast that includes Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Zasu Pitts and Carl Reiner. ■ The Looff Hippodrome carousel on the Santa Monica Pier was prominently featured in several films of the late 1960s and early 1970s. This includes the 1965 film “Inside Daisy Clover,” starring Natalie Wood and Robert Redford. Jane Fonda, the future first lady of Santa Monica, filmed at the carousel in the 1969 movie “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” Robert Redford again spent a lot of time hanging out around the pier in 1973. This time it was when Redford and Paul Newman were playing two con men trying to get even by pulling off a big con on the mob boss in the classic film, “The Sting.” ■ Several filming locations around Santa Monica are featured in Sean Penn’s breakthrough film, the 1982 “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” the teenage wasteland story of a group of California teenagers who enjoy malls, sex and rock n’ roll. ■ In 1984, Eddie Murphy, in the guise of Detroit detective Axel Foley, “Beverly Hills Cop” went pursuing a murder investigation with Judge Reinhold all over the Westside, Santa Monica included. ■ And our honorable Governator again proves to be near and dear to Santa Monica. 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” called “the best action film of all time” by some fans, the film features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Robert Patrick. Produced by James Cameron, this story of a shape-shifting cyborg and a protector sent back from the future to kill John Connor before he can grow up to lead the resistance. Parts of the mall scenes — the arcade, back hallways, and crashing through the window — were filmed at Santa Monica Place. ■ When “Forrest Gump” was jogging across the USA in 1994, he jogged out on Santa Monica Pier. Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him. ■ In 1994 the Main Street area got lots of exposure in the Keanu Reeves/Sandra Bullock/Dennis Hopper (Venice resident) high-action film “Speed.” Near the beginning of the film, a Santa Monica bus explodes, killing the driver. That explosion scene took place at the corner of Main Street and Rose Avenue. It immortalized that unique “Ballerina Clown” sculpture that sits on the façade of 255 Main Street. ■ Bullock was back in our neighborhood filming “The Net,” in 1995. This flick about computer espionage has scenes along the Santa Monica Pier and lots of locations around Venice, including the Social and Public Resources Center, formerly the Venice division of LAPD, located 685 Venice Blvd. ■ “Bowfinger,” the 1999 film with Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham (a Samohi grad), had scenes filmed at Rae’s Restaurant, 2901 Pico Blvd. The film is about a movie producer going to great lengths to get a major star for his low budget production. ■ The 2001 Jim Carrey movie, “The Majestic,” about a blacklisted Hollywood writer who gets into a car accident, features scenes on the Santa Monica Pier. ■ Perhaps Santa Monica is best documented in the 2001 release “Dogtown and Z-Boys.” The film, narrated by Sean Penn, follows the evolution of modern skateboarding through its 1970s heyday, its decline during the 1980s, and its eventual (and highly lucrative) return in the 1990s. Starting from the California surf community of Dogtown, this film features vintage footage of lots of swimming pools, homes and streets around town, the beach, and the Boardwalk, signifying that Santa Monica is Dogtown. ■ Ocean Avenue and the Promenade were settings for the 2003 movie “Freaky Friday,” featuring local resident Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as Lindsay Lohan in this story of the personality dynamic of a mother and her teenager. When they switch bodies, each is forced to adapt to the other’s life for one freaky Friday. (For your real estate needs, , or call (310) 309-4219).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 29, 2004. Read the original PDF.