XD95595 1940s LOS ANGELES & HOLLYWOOD CALIFORNIA HOME MOVIE CHINATOWN OLVERA STREET

This wonderful, silent, amateur home movie takes viewers to 1940’s Los Angeles. It has a rare color image of the Hollywoodland sign, before the “land” was removed in late 1949. The film includes shots of many icons of the City of Angels, including Union Station, the ever vibrant Olvera Street, Chinatown and popular nightclubs and restaurants. It opens with shots of vintage Union Station in Los Angeles. The art deco monument was constructed as gateway to the city. Pedestrians and station employees mill under the station entrance (:10). The iconic tall white clock tower (:22) is pictured. The camera pans over a family set up outside the station, a man (possibly a WWII injured soldier) is visible in a wheelchair with crutches at the ready (:42). Women wear square shouldered jackets and simple button down dresses. The view moves up the pillars and outer courtyard (1:01). A man exits the gold station doors (1:26). Interior windows (1:33). The view pans around the softly light interior of the station; travelers dart to destinations (1:38). A Streets sign notes Olvera street (1:48). Olvera is the oldest street opened on Easter Sunday of 1930 as a Mexican marketplace. A man in a trim suit and narrow tie feeds a scarlet macaw (1:50). Colorful gourds fill the back of a food cart (2:11). Turquois vendor stands sell small trinkets and goods (2:38). A man of the trip stands in the center of the market; colorful jugs and dried fruits hanging all about (2:46). Another colorful shot of the waxy gourds follows (2:53). Sombreros and straw baskets hang below (2:59). A stout man in a sombrero and cool shades plucks at a Paraguayan harp (3:03). Unkempt foliage encircle a fountain (3:07). Yellow red and green neon’s (3:17) light up Chinatown. Bright pinks advertise Kim Ling food (3:22), Chop Suey and cocktails (3:42). The Chinese Jade Cafe (4:14) offers cocktails. Dark footage captures interior decor (4:35). Day footage cuts back to city streets (4:37) as the view follows a Buick with women hanging out of the back. The cars park (4:43) outside a Dodge motor dealership (4:43). A trendy drive in restaurant; The Albalone Restaurant, offers cracked crab and fried shrimp (4:45). Herbert’s; another popular drive in situated on the southeast corner of Beverly Blvd. and Fairfax Ave. follows (4:59). Two waitresses in red await customers (4:52). This restaurant was designed by architect Wayne McAllister. A bunny statue stands outside Desmond’s (5:00). This location of the LA based department store is likely the Westwood location. The chain originates from 1862. The original location of the popular Brown Derby restaurant on Wilshire Blvd (5:22) follows. Waitresses in pink deliver food to guests (5:29). A couple wanders down a lush courtyard with vibrant tulips (5:41). The camera pans over vibrant red sprouts in an open field (6:06); an irrigation system runs through. Vibrant yellow and red bouquets of flowers (6:32) stand at an outdoor flower shop. Pink blossoms light up skinny trees (8:53). Yellow citrus fruits dot the trees (9:10). A Porcelain statue stands at the center of a yellow pool of flowers (9:28). Two story suburban homes appear (9:38). The Hollywood sign; a cultural icon stands on Mount Lee in the Beachwood Canyon portion of the Santa Monica mountains (10:07). A pair of women slouch against bright flower blossoms (10:23). Bright red flowers cover the grounds of the Mulholland Dam (11:04). Mulholland is located in the Hollywood Hills near the Hollywood Freeway. The camera pans up the lush hills (12:21), stone white luxury homes entrenched in greenery. Clay tile roof homes are common to the area (12:42). The camera swings through a breezy neighborhood along the Hollywood Hills (13:20). A turquois Buick (14:24) sits in a driveway (14:24). A view runs down Hollywood Blvd (14:33). The back end of the Historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (14:40) follows. The famed Mocambo nightclub appears on Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip (14:45). Famous acts such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald performed here (14:45). Another hotspot for famous sightings is the Trocadero (14:54). Ice skaters glide over ice in an indoor rink (14:56). The film concludes with the coastline of the sunny city (16:02), an oil field (16:07) and the sun sinking below the horizon (16:31).

Want to donate 16mm or 8mm films so that we can share them with the world, contact us!

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com

Link Copied

About Us

Thanks for your interest in the Periscope Film stock footage library.  We maintain one of the largest collections of historic military, aviation and transportation in the USA. We provide free research and can provide viewing copies if you can let us know some of the specific types of material you are looking for. Almost all of our materials are available in high quality 24p HD ProRes and 2k/4k resolution.

Our material has been licensed for use by:

Scroll to Top

For Downloading, you must Login or Register

Free to Download High Quality Footage

Note: Please Reload page and click again on My Favorites button to see newly added Favorite Posts.