Tag Archives: RKO
Aerial photo of the old RKO studios rebranded as Desilu Studios Inc, Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, circa late 1950s
After Howard Hughes had bought, mismanaged, and bankrupted RKO studios on Melrose Ave, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s company bought it and rebranded it Desilu Studios Inc. That transaction happened in late 1957, so this aerial shot was probably taken … Continue reading
“The Best Years of Our Lives” has its Los Angeles premiere at the Palace Theatre, 630 S. Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, December 25, 1946
In this shot, we’re seeing the premiere of 1946’s highest grossing motion picture, “The Best Years of Our Lives.” It took place at the Palace Theatre at 630 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles on December 25, 1946. I wouldn’t … Continue reading
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Tagged Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles, Movie Premiere, Night photo, RKO
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Aerial photo of the RKO movie studios ranch in Encino, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, circa early 1950s
During Hollywood’s heyday, the movie studios had large ranches in the San Fernando Valley, where land was still cheap. It gave them lots of room to create expansive backlot sets. In this aerial shot, we’re looking at RKO’s ranch in … Continue reading
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Movie Studios, RKO, San Fernando Valley
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RKO Pathé Studios, 9336 Washington Blvd, Culver City, Los Angeles, circa early 1930s
The movie studio at 9336 Washington Blvd in Culver City has changed through many hands and been known as many things over the years. In 1927, Cecil B. DeMille sold his interest in a film company known as Pathé, which … Continue reading
Aerial photo of RKO movie studios at the corner of Melrose Ave and Gower St, Hollywood, circa 1930
In this eye-catching aerial photo, we’re looking down at the RKO movie studios in Hollywood. That road stretching from the upper left to the lower right is Gower St, and the wider road it deadends at the bottom is Melrose … Continue reading
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Hollywood, Movie Studios, Paramount Pictures, RKO
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Color photo looking south down Gower St along RKO movie studios toward Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, 1957
I do love finding a photo of the RKO studios, especially when it was taken at the corner of Gower St and Melrose Ave and their iconic globe with the radio tower was still in place. And the fact that … Continue reading
RKO workers leaving the movie studio, Gower St, Hollywood, 1945
The graininess of this image makes me suspect that it is a frame from video footage. And if it is, I’d love to see the whole thing. Nevertheless, it gives us an idea of what it looked like when studio … Continue reading
Color photo looking south down Gower St toward RKO studios at Melrose Ave, Hollywood, 1954
From Dave DeCaro’s glorious archive comes this vibrant (Kodachrome, I assume) photo looking south down Gower St toward RKO studios at the Melrose Ave corner. It was taken in 1954, when the studio was still producing movies, albeit chaotically under … Continue reading
The Brown Derby restaurant, 1628 N. Vine St, Hollywood, as seen in RKO’s “Nocturne” (1946)
I recently watched an RKO movie from 1946 called “Nocturne” in which George Raft plays a homicide detective. I didn’t think Raft was very good in the role, but the movie had a number of interesting location shots, including this … Continue reading
Looking east along Waring Ave to the Gower Street entrance of RKO Studios (now Paramount), Los Angeles, January 18, 1933
In this photo we’re looking east along Waring Ave toward the Gower entrance of what was then RKO Studios (and is now Paramount). It was taken on January 18th, 1933, which means somewhere in those buildings, editors were finishing post-production … Continue reading