The Broadway - "Swing Shift"
Hollywood, California - filmed in 1973
Swing Shift (1974) is a weird little gem of a short film by stop motion genius, Mike Jittlov (also director of the popular underground cult film The Wizard of Speed and Time), that combines stop motion, live action, and an old department store. When the store is closed, the lights all out, and the clock strikes 12, this place truly takes on a life of its own!
I'm sharing this today because it has some nice vintage '70s footage of the old Broadway Department Store, where it was filmed, and additionally because it captures some of that neat-o retro shopping vibe I'm trying to relive here at MOA. And cuz I also just think it's pretty dang cool. :) Enjoy!
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posted by Keith @ 5/18/2006
16 Comments:
That was creepy but it did bring back memories of shopping at the Broadway when I was a kid.
From the Design of this Broadway, its either one of a couple:
Topanga Plaza in Woodland Hills (today a Sears - still looks the same)
Northridge Fashion Center (the broadway was destroyed in the 94 Northridge quake, but rebuilt then split into shops in 96).
I highly doubt its the Broadway Cerritos (which is still open and a Macys, and still has some of the circular lights in the store from the 70's), but those three are all the same design as the one in the short. All three were three stories tall.
Wow...I can't even imagine how much work went into that. I loved seeing the groovy old store and clothing. I wish shopping were still like that!
My only complaint is with the guard's wig and moustache...
And thanks, Jeff, for the input on which store it is/was...I was going to ask that one myself!
Matt
How about those cash registers!
So cool...to add on to Jeff does it give any clues when the guard is locking the door you catch a glimpse outside and there is a marquee lit up like something from Hollywood Bl. The exterior is not the Hollywood and Vine store but could the interior shots be?
Fantastic fun that video was!
Thanks for sharing it with us!
Scott
You're supremely welcome, Scott! Glad you enjoyed it. :D
The Interiors for this short were indeed shot at the historic Broadway Hollywood Building on Hollywood & Vine, as Anonymous guessed. I'm not sure which Broadway store they shot the exteriors at, though, other than guesses like Jeff's. He's on the right track.
Matt: I, too, am disturbed by the guard's wig and moustache. Very much so.
And yeah, Todd, those are some industiral strength registers there! lol
I too was wondering where it was shot. The reverese angle for the guard locking the door clearly shows the El Capitan (at that time, The Paramount?). And one long shot shows some tall glass windows on Hollywood Boulevard. In my research of the boulevard of the 70's, there was some sort of structure that looked like that right next door to the Graumans. Of course, my friends who live here don't remember what it was or have different opinions. So, the film locations seemed pieced together from several locations. Was the only Broadway store on Hollywood the one at Hollywod and Vine?
And just for fun, here is a Broadway store from the closed Hawthorne Mall.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22421801@N00/90066271/
I drive past the Macy's Cerritos, and by george, this one has teh three hanging lights outside and it could be it.
Another shot from inside the store looking out could also be the Pantages theater, which is kiddie corner and one store away from The Broadway. I stood outside of it today and realized that could also be what we see in the background if indeed the interiors were the Vine Street Store. In which case, that would make more sense then The Paramount.
Again I post! Looking at the film again and having just been at the Broadway (which is under condo renovation), my new thought is this - if the shot of the guard closing the door is from the Hollywood Street exit, then across the street could be one of two theaters. One is a $2.00 theater called The Vine and the other is a strip club. But in 1973, they might have been lit up differently.
pJ
It has to be the Broadway Cerritos.
They filmed this on the side of the store, not the front.
The mall is pushed back from the store, and the other malls, the mall is connected to teh store. You dont see mall connecting here.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=pn8tcs54s09j&style=o&lvl=1&scene=1321964
Thats what it looks like today as a Macys. Still the same exterior as in teh 70s
When they show the person walking over the bridge and you see the Broadway in the background - that looks like Century City to me.
Definitely not the Topanga Plaza Broadway interior. The escalators are too wide. The Topanga store had single file escalators. I used to stand on and slide down the steel side railings in my socks haha
Looks like Century City or Newport Beach to me. Those two stores are identical. Both stores are now Bloomingdale's.
Thanks for sharing this short film. The inside is The Broadway Hollywood store. I worked there between 1973-1976. This sure brought back good memories.
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