I've been researching a more detailed follow up on the same subject. Like Leon White in reply #29 I started with the premise that the airport used in
Casablanca was likely the same one seen in
Love on the Run. Initially I thought
Casablanca was shot at Burbank (now Bob Hope) and Leon stated that the now defunct airport in Glendale (also known as Grand Central Air Terminal) was used to stand in for French North Africa. However, further digging revealed we were both wrong and portions of the Bogart/Bergman classic were actually shot at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport in Van Nuys (which explains my edited post in which I stated that the airport used to film the Earhart Electra scenes was "probably
Burbank Van Nuys.")
It's easy to understand how the misunderstanding spread. People knew that some scenes in
Casablanca used a local airport and it is only natural to assume that it was either Burbank or Glendale which are both located within 4 miles of the Warner Brothers lot. In fact, it seems the story took on such mythic proportions that an LA Times staff writer saw fit to investigate .. eventually finding definitive proof of the Van Nuys filming location in original daily shooting reports for July 23 and 24, 1942. If similar records still exist for MGM productions, it may be possible for us to learn more about the timing and logistics of the
Love on the Run airport shoot. In the meantime, anybody interested in learning more about the
Casablanca-Van Nuys connection can find an archived copy of the LA Times article I mentioned here ...
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-01-19/local/me-1361_1_burbank-airportNow can any of this
Casablanca trivia really help us determine where Earhart's Electra filmed its big screen debut? Yes. As Bill Davenport points out, the control tower is key.
First let's look at a still of Major Strasser's arrival from
Casablanca. Note the distinctive tower in the right of frame. (As a bonus, it is in direct line with a couple of rounded hangars like the ones glimpsed in the
Love on the Run clip)
Compare that to this Getty image of "an administration building with a control in the tower at the Metropolitan Airport" dated December 2, 1929.
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/airport-and-airway-lighting-equipment-black-and-white-news-photo/176973994And for the final link in the chain .. here is a screen cap of Paul Mantz's hair-raising takeoff in the Earhart Electra from
Love on the Run. At frame left you'll see a familiar three-tiered Art Deco style control tower with a single row of vertical windows down each side.
QED the location was VNY!
You may be wondering, "Why did the producers go to Van Nuys when there were other airports closer to the studio?" I think the answer is that they wanted to use a non-commercial facility (like Van Nuys) where it would be easier and less expensive to lock up the entire location. Imagine trying to coordinate the plane stunts and crowds of extras between regularly scheduled passenger flights. Van Nuys offered a better situation only 8 miles further down the road .. a brief drive for the studio production vehicles and an even quicker hop for the Electra from their respective Burbank homes.
As additional proof, consider the screen cap below from
Love on the Run. On first viewing I remember noticing that the filmmakers chose to help establish the location of the scene with a background hangar helpfully labeled, "THE LONDON METROPOLITAN AIRPORT." However, it puzzled me why they chose to make it a fictional locale and it just plain irked me that the sign included that awkward and seemingly unnecessary "THE." Of course, knowing what we know now, the reasoning is clear. The hangar must have normally read "LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AIRPORT" and the studio Art Dept redressed the first half with nine new letters in place of the original ten. The "THE" is only there so it doesn't look unbalanced
Finally, bringing things full circle .. I ran across this image of Amelia at Glendale's Grand Central Air Terminal during her nationwide autogiro tour in 1931. The tower is visible frame left and it is easy to see similarities between this beautiful Art Deco structure and the one seen in
Casablanca and
Love on the Run .. but, likewise there are evident differences (such as the divided windows, the attached Spanish Colonial style terminal building, and lack of a "third tier.")
As Leon noted, the airport is long gone, but this building still remains in what is now a light industrial area. It could easily have been lost like so many other touchstones from Aviation's "Golden Age." However, in this case it seems there will be a happy ending .. written, appropriately enough, by the Disney Corporation. Working in conjunction with the City of Glendale, Disney (which has owned the property since 1990) is rehabilitating this historic structure as the heart of its new Grand Central Creative Complex. When complete, this should be a sterling example of adaptive reuse and a new lease on life for a true national treasure. For more information, check out the article here ...
http://gizmodo.com/disneys-epic-plan-to-save-a-terminal-from-las-oldest-511934530Russ Matthews
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