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Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.
Sing Along San Francisco
U.S., 2002
Follow the bouncing ball to sing along to the classic anthem “San Francisco,” sung by Jeanette MacDonald, paired with gorgeous archival footage of the “Queen of the West.”
DCP, color, 5 min. Director: George Corzine.
Stolen Movie
U.S., 1976
In a fast flurry down Market Street, filmmakers Craig Baldwin and John Corser run in and out of theaters, filming brief scenes from movies playing, while fending off employees trying to kick them out. Just some regular DIY, playful anarchy.
Digital video, color, 9 min. Director: Craig Baldwin.
The Streets of San Francisco: “Before I Die”
U.S., 10/4/1973
San Francisco is the perfect setting for a crime drama — the streets, the hills, the backgrounds all assist in emphasizing an intense scene. While many buddy cop films and detective thrillers were made in the city, none of them quite compare to the charismatic charm between Karl Malden and Michael Douglas in The Streets of San Francisco. Shot entirely on location, over 120 episodes that originally aired between 1972–1977, the show took viewers all over the City by the Bay, each episode taking place over four acts and trying to solve the crime, while allowing audiences to witness a rapport of the two detectives that buoyed the storylines.
In “Before I Die,” Lieutenant Mike Stone (Malden) and Inspector Steve Keller (Douglas) have to confront a fellow inspector who has taken the law into his own hands. Mob boss Royce (Roy Danton) has been able to skirt around getting caught for any of his crimes, making him the obsession of Inspector John T. Connor (Leslie Nielsen). When Connor is given a terminal diagnosis, he is determined to stop Royce, that is until Stone and Keller get on the case. Traversing the city, from the Outer Sunset, to the Dogpatch, to City Hall and downtown, and with a phenomenal car chase to start the episode, “Before I Die” exemplifies the ways San Francisco brings a dynamic flair to any story.
DCP, color, 60 min. ABC. Production: QM Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Executive Producer: Quinn Martin. Producer: John Wilder, Adrian Samish. Director: William Hale. Writer: Albert Ruben, Edward Hume, Carolyn Weston. With: Karl Malden, Michael Douglas, Leslie Nielsen.
Thanks to the John H. Mitchell Television Programming Endowment. Use of Streets of San Francisco courtesy of CBS Studios; special thanks to Peter Murray, Patrick Scheg.
Dark Passage
U.S., 1947
Vincent Perry (Humphrey Bogart) has just escaped from San Quentin, having been wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. As he makes his way to San Francisco, Irene Janson (Lauren Bacall) — a woman who is familiar with his case — picks him up, beginning his journey to try and outsmart and outrun the cops. Shot mostly without seeing Bogart’s familiar face, the film cleverly employs a subjective view from the beginning of the film. As the plot thickens, San Francisco plays backdrop to the many twists and turns, featured prominently in a stunning climax sequence on the streets of the city.
DCP, b&w, 106 min. Director: Delmer Daves. Screenwriter: Delmer Daves. With: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead.
