What's an example of a movie filmed in Golden Gate Park that clearly showed the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum building in its second version before it was rebuilt in 2005?
Were it not for the California State Legislature approving the creation of Golden Gate Park on April 4, 1870, San Francisco's westside sand dunes might not have been transformed into a movie director's delight.
The following examples of movies filmed in Golden Gate Park for some or many scenes include various genres: neo-noir, romantic comedy, biography, comedy-mystery, romantic drama, crime drama, mockumentary, drama, noir and silent.
The noir genre in the view of Eddie Muller, expressed in an article on the Turner Classic Movies website, presents the main character "acting out of desperate desire, does something he (or she) knows is wrong, but they do it anyway … and reap the dire consequences." The noir genre's heyday was in the mid-20th century.
"Girl in Golden Gate Park" is a 2021 independent neo-noir film starring Erin Mei-Ling Stuart and Kim Jiang Dubaniewicz and directed by J.P. Allen. Golden Gate Park locations in the film include the Polo Field, Big Rec. handball courts, Stow Lake and the Music Concourse, with the Cider Press, Turtle Sundial and de Young Museum visible. Filming was completed just before COVID-19, according to writer Noma Faingold at richmondsunsetnews.com.
"Always Be My Maybe," a 2019 romantic comedy starring Ali Wong and Randall Park and directed by Nahnatchka Khan, includes a stroll past the Rideout Fountain in the Music Concourse.
Golden Gate Park has been the backdrop in a lot of movies. Pictured above is the Rideout Fountain in the Music Concourse which was in San Francisco native Ali Wong's 2019 film, "Always Be My Maybe." In the background is the California Academy of Sciences which, along with the Rideout Fountain, played a part in the 1980 Richard Dreyfus film, "The Competition," among other films. Photo by Michael Durand.
"The Wedding Planner," a 2001 romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, was directed by Adam Shankman. The film uses the interior of the Japanese Tea Garden. The Spreckels Temple of Music sequence features a wedding band playing.
"Play It Again, Sam," a 1972 romantic comedy starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, was directed by Herbert Ross. It shows the leads walking among green benches in the Music Concourse.
"The Pursuit of Happyness" is a 2006 biographical drama starring Will and Jaden Smith. It was directed by Gabriele Muccino and shows the leads in the Koret Children's Quarter, also known as Children's Playground, before the playground was remodeled and reopened in 2007.
"Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen," a 1981 comedy-mystery film starring Peter Ustinov and a large cast and directed by Paul Baxley includes horse-and-buggy chases and archery scenes through Golden Gate Park, including a shot on JFK Drive approaching Ocean Beach. The Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists (A.A.P.A.A) in a document titled "Charlie Chan Haunts Again !!!" criticized the film for white actors playing Asian characters, comparing the practice to blackface and objecting to Charlie Chan being stereotypically portrayed.
"The Competition," is a 1980 romantic drama starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving and directed by Joel Oliansky. It is a story about competing pianists at the California Academy of Sciences (which was used as the competition venue). In the Music Concourse, the Rideout Fountain, Spreckels Temple of Music and the de Young Museum are also visible. The Academy of Sciences was renovated in 2005-2008 and the de Young Museum was later reconstructed in 2005.
"Dirty Harry," a 1971 crime drama starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Don Siegel, uses Kezar Stadium, which was remodeled in 1989 and is not the same as the stadium currently on the site. The film was added to the U.S. National Film Registry in 2012.
"Take The Money and Run," a 1969 mockumentary starring Woody Allen and Janet Margolin and directed by Woody Allen, features the leads near Spreckels Lake.
"Petulia" is a 1968 drama starring Julie Christie and George C. Scott and directed by Richard Lester. The film features a rendezvous in the Japanese Tea Garden before moving on to the Music Concourse, where the Spreckels Temple of Music and the pre-renovated Academy of Sciences are visible, as pointed out at the blog Reel SF.
"Golden Gate Girl," a 1941 drama Chinese-language film made in San Francisco and exhibited in Chinatown, was reviewed in "Variety" at the time, which named Golden Gate Park as one of the locations of the film. The film was directed by Esther Eng, "the first and, for many decades, only female Chinese film director," according to "Variety" in 1995. Bruce Lee debuted in the film as a two-month-old, according to Matthew Polly's biography. Summer 2023 is the 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee's first starring role in a Hollywood movie, "Enter the Dragon" and his sudden death.
"The Lady from Shanghai," a 1947 noir film starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth and directed by Orson Wells, features the leads in the Steinhart Aquarium of the California of Sciences (prior to its remodeling in 2005-2008). The film was released after the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943. The film features many Chinese extras, in Chinatown scenes on the street, in the Chinese Telephone Exchange (now East West Bank) and a performance of Chinese opera in a theater. The film was added to the U.S. National Film Registry in 2018. The colloquial nickname "Frisco" is used for San Francisco in the movie. Since the late 19th century, "Frisco" has been used and also derided as vulgar, according to references compiled by Dave Gilson for "Mother Jones," though Vinnee Tong writing for KQED in 2017 noted that some locals still say "Frisco," including the owners of Frisco Tattoo in the Mission District.
"Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall," a 1923 silent film starring Mary Pickford and directed by Marshall Neilan, was filmed in Golden Gate Park according to the American Film Institute.
"A Jitney Elopement" is a 1915 silent film with Charlie Chaplin both as director and star in a car chase in front of the Murphy Windmill and on a dirt road that would later become the Great Highway in 1929, according to Rae Alexandra writing for KQED. The Murphy Windmill underwent restoration in 2002.
Find an archive of Looking Back columns about some of the locations and monuments seen in the above movies at richmondSunsetNews.com.
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