1 Yacht Road |
The Spreckles/Danielle
Steel mansion, 2080 Washington Street, is Frank Sinatra's Chez Joey
nightclub in the 1957 musical comedy Pal Joey.
Frank is Joey Evans, a handsome heel. Rita Hayworth is the heiress, Mrs.
Prentice Simpson, aka Vera Vanessa, a former showgirl. Prior to her Hollywood
career, Hayworth herself was a San Francisco showgirl, Rita Cansino. In
addition to some great Rodgers and Hart songs including My Funny Valentine
and The Lady is a Tramp, there is almost no plot here except whether Sinatra
will bed Hayworth or Kim Novak. While the Spreckles mansion is a commonly
cited Pal Joey location, Mister SF has unearthed a lesser known gem. The apartment
building where Sinatra and Novak live (with shared bath) is 1250
Taylor Street. The location marks San Francisco's second famous Kim
Novak residence in cinema, the first being the Brocklebank apartments of
Vertigo.
Pal Joey also includes great footage of the Ferry
Building and foot of Market Street including a glimpse of the Ensign
Cafe, formerly of 1 Market Street. Scenes in front of the
Barbary Coast nightclub (533 Pacific Avenue) provide a priceless archive
of the long gone International Settlement nightlife district along the
500
block of Pacific at Kearny. A few false notes are included such as
footage on Jackson Street with a cable
car that's as phony as both of Sinatra's leading ladies' singing voices. Also seen are the marina near the Golden Gate Yacht Club.
The Cliff House is mentioned but not seen.
Directed by George Sydney, Pal Joey is based on the Broadway musical, which
was in turn based on a series of stories for The New Yorker by John O'Hara.
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about Pal Joey |