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Photography

October 2010

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Monday, October 4, 2010 – The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler Square, Hollywood

It never rains in Hollywood, and then sometimes it does, and the place turns into the set for The Big Sleep – the 1946 noir film based on the gritty 1939 Raymond Chandler mystery novel – the smart but cynical seen-it-all detective, Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart), gets involved with the general's equally cynical but stunningly beautiful daughter, Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall) – and it rains a lot. (Any cinematographer will tell you that you get better definition and depth with wet streets, and shadows – dry streets look flat and crappy.)

Raymond Chandler set the story in Hollywood, and he places Philip Marlowe's seedy office is in what he calls the Cahuenga Building – it's actually the Security Pacific Bank building on the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard – 1921, by John and Donald B. Parkinson. It's also where you'll find Eddie Valiant's seedy office in Who Framed Roger Rabbit – kind of the cartoon version of The Big Sleep. In any event, that corner in Hollywood is now Raymond Chandler Square. And it was raining there.

William Faulkner was one of the screenwriters of The Big Sleep – and at one point he and the other screenwriters got all confused. Was the chauffeur murdered or had he killed himself? They sent a cable to Chandler asking him which it was – and Chandler told them he didn't know either. It's like that out here.

Security Pacific Bank building on the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard - 1921, by John and Donald B. Parkinson - 6381 Hollywood Boulevard
Security Pacific Bank building on the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard - 1921, by John and Donald B. Parkinson - 6381 Hollywood Boulevard
Security Pacific Bank building on the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard - 1921, by John and Donald B. Parkinson - 6381 Hollywood Boulevard
Security Pacific Bank building on the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard - 1921, by John and Donald B. Parkinson - 6381 Hollywood Boulevard
101004_cBldg22
Shop Window, Hollywood Boulevard
Security Pacific Bank building on the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard - 1921, by John and Donald B. Parkinson - 6381 Hollywood Boulevard
Security Pacific Bank building on the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard - 1921, by John and Donald B. Parkinson - 6381 Hollywood Boulevard

Across the street –

Shop Window, Hollywood Boulevard
Shop Window, Hollywood Boulevard

A noir wall –

Newberry School of Beauty, Hollywood

And the locals –

Dolores Del Rio mural, Hudson at Hollywood Boulevard
Orson Wells, rollup door, Hollywood Boulevard
Peter Lorre, rollup door, Hollywood Boulevard
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Josef Von Sternberg
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, David Niven
Raymond Chandler Square, Hollywood

If you wish to use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me. And should you choose to download any of these images and use them invoking the "fair use" provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, please provide credit, and, on the web, a link back to this site.

Technical Note:

These photographs were taken with a Nikon D200 – the lenses used were AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or AF Nikkor 70-300 mm telephoto. The high-resolution photography here was modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 software.

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All text and photos unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - Alan M. Pavlik 

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