Too much, magic bus! That was the reaction of participants on board the first-ever Turner Classic Movies Locations Tour that took them to dozens of real-life settings that were the scenes of many of the most iconic moments captured on celluloid, going back to the earliest days of the movie industry.
The clock where Harold Lloyd indelibly hung off the hands from 1923’s “Safety Last” may have been a movie prop but the building in downtown Los Angeles where the scene was filmed is still there, one of multiple historic sites that exist in the zone between there and the heart of Hollywood, where the tour begins from the historic TCL Chinese Theatre, formerly Grauman’s Chinese.
It’s a route that also tells of the history of the region through the story of the movies.
Other locations with filmic significance include the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, site of the first-ever Academy Awards, Hollywood High School, the Formosa Café, Paramount Pictures, the site of the Ambassador Hotel, the Talmadge and Bryson apartments, MacArthur Park, Bunker Hill, the 2nd Street Tunnel, the Bradbury Building, the Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles City Hall, Union Station, Angelino Heights, Echo Park Lake and the Vista Theater.
Many of those locations boast memorable scenes from more than one film, like the 2nd Street Tunnel (Blade Runner, The Terminator) and the Bryson Apartments (Double Indemnity, The Grifters). Stops are made at the Bradbury Building (Blade Runner, The Artist) and Union Station (The Way We Were, Silver Streak).
TCM organized the three-hour bus ride in conjunction with Starline Tours for the upcoming 20th annual TCM Movie Festival. The limited-time experience began March 14 and runs through April 14.
Full disclosure: because the cable network offered seats for free to its fans, it may be challenging to get on board one of the state of the art buses, which feature retractable side windows to allow better viewing and a 65” HDTV monitor for the contemporary and classic clips and photos that augment the tour.
But based upon the success of the venture, and the first such tour that was created in New York and still runs there, there may be more opportunities in the future.
“After enjoying such tremendous success with our TCM Classic Film Tour in New York, we decided to bring some of that magic to Los Angeles for a limited time to celebrate TCM’s 20th anniversary,” said Dennis Adamovich, senior vice president of digital, affiliate, lifestyle and enterprise commerce, TCM, TBS and TNT. “TCM Movie Locations Tour is a great chance to celebrate classic film in the very heart of the movie business, Los Angeles. It is also another way for us to thank to TCM’s community of fans for their passion and devotion.”
We were one of the participants in the inaugural ride-along in the panoramic roofed vehicle, with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz on board to offer even further perspective in addition to our guide Michael’s knowledge.
As we drove by the locations, Michael, a veteran Hollywood Starline guide (the company has been around since 1935 doing tours of movie stars’ homes) cued film clips that played on the large monitor at the front of the bus, merging real life and the movies and connecting the past with the present for an incredible experience for anyone who appreciates the artistry of film.
–Hillary Atkin
