Sign in the movies

Here's a quick look at all of the Sign's many roles through the years, including each film's year of release, the Sign's co-stars and director, and a brief description of its big screen moment ...
			Hollywood Boulevard (1935) Starring John Halliday, Marsha Hunt, Robert Cummings, C. Henry Gordon. Directed by Robert Florey The Sign's debut performance! In the opening montage of sights around Hollywood, the Hollywoodland sign is seen. (Contributed by Mary Mallory)
			A Ducking They Did Go (1939) Starring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Lynton Brent. Directed by Del Lord This famous short, the 38th in a total of 190 shorts that the Three Stooges made for Columbia Pictures, has the bumbling trio unwittingly taking a job with two con men as salesmen for their scheme (a job at which the Stooges excel). During the scene where a dog peers around a corner as the Stooges hide and wait for the dog to tell them the coast is clear, the original Hollywoodland Sign is seen behind the action in the distance. (Contributed by Darren Nemeth)
			Fun and Fancy Free (1947) Directed by Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, Hamilton Luske, William Morgan. Produced by Walt Disney. One of Walt Disney's wonderful "package films" that helped rebuild the famous studios after the war, this collection included Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk. This film marks the last time Walt voiced the Mickey character. At the end of the Beanstalk story, the giant strides across spotlit Los Angeles at night, right past the Hollywood Sign on Mt. Lee, before donning the Brown Derby and heading out of town. (Contributed by Mary Mallory)
			Down Three Dark Streets (1954) Directed by Arnold Laven Down Three Dark Streets is a 1954 film in the documentary-style film noir genre. The screenplay was written by Gordon and Mildred Gordon, based on their novel Case File FBI. FBI agent John Ripley investigates the three cases his murdered partner was working on, hoping to find the killer. The film's climax takes place around the famous Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles. (Contributed by Ron Pierson and E Morrison)
			Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)  Starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett. Directed by Russ Meyer. The Sign is shown near the beginning of this unabashedly ribald film, when the main characters are moving to Los Angeles. True to its time, the Sign is noticeably worn. Interestingly, this film was written by film critic Roger Ebert (one of three he penned for Meyer)! (Contributed by Paul Hennessy)
			Earthquake (1974)  Starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner. Directed by Mark Robson. Rocked by a monster quake, the Sign's letters topple down Mt. Lee, one by one. The idea was to shock viewers with a realistic image of a familiar monument's destruction, which, in a sense, was an important validation of the Sign's pop culture significance. Since then, the Sign's destruction has been used time and again by filmmakers to bring home the devastation of major natural (and, as we'll see, supernatural) catastrophes.
			Day of the Locust (1975)  Starring Donald Sutherland, Karen Black. Directed by John Schlesinger.Based on Nathanael West's dark satire of Hollywood, the movie features a scene where a tour guide at the base of the sign recounts how "Camille McRae, 1929 Clam Queen of Pismo Beach" leapt to her death from "the great H" in 1932. McRae's story refers to that of Peg Entwistle, a dispirited would-be starlet who actually did commit suicide in 1932 by jumping off of the "H."
			Aloha Bobby and Rose (1975)  Starring Paul Le Mat, Dianne Hull, Tim McIntire. Directed by Floyd Mutrux.The Sign enjoys two cameo appearances, before the opening credits and during a night scene after Bobby and Rose cruise the streets. (Contributed by Randall Branam)
			Hollywood Boulevard (1976)  Starring Candice Rialson, Mary Woronov, Rita George, Jeffrey Kramer. Directed by Allan Arkush and Joe DanteAbout as "B" as a B-movie can get, this extremely low budget film was made by intercutting filmed plot scenes with action sequences from Roger Corman movies, such as Death Race 2000. The Sign gets an (unpaid) cameo. (Contributed by David Sebastien)
			Superman (1978) Starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder and Marlon Brando. Directed by Richard Donner.During a series of scenes depicting worldwide destruction, the Sign leans precariously during an earthquake -- quickly communicating that Los Angeles/the West Coast is part of the devastation.
			1941 (1979)  Starring John Belushi, Treat Williams. Directed by Steven Spielberg. 1941 is one of two movies that offer humorous alternate explanations as to how the LAND portion of the Sign was removed. Here the culprit is a psychotic, trigger-happy P-40 pilot, "Wild Bill" Kelso, played by John Belushi.
			The Muppet Movie (1979)  Starring Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz. Directed by James Frawley. When the Muppets first drive into Hollywood, we see a tight shot on the Sign. The camera then pans out to show them driving past it.(Contributed by Brian Holm)
			Elephant Parts (1981)  Starring Michael Nesmith, Bill Martin, Lark Geib. Directed by William Dear. The Sign appears in the music video: "Cruisin'" (with characters Lucy, Ramona and Sunset Sam).(Contributed by Randall Branam)
			The Hollywood Knights (1980)  Starring Robert Wuhl, Tony Danza, Fran Drescher. Directed by Floyd Mutrux. The Sign appears at the beginning of the movie during the opening credits.(Contributed by Randall Branam)
			Death Wish II (1982)  Starring Charles Bronson. Directed by Michael Winner.The very first scene of the movie features the Hollywood Sign. (Contributed by Andy Mills)
			Valley Girls (1983)  Starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen. Directed by Martha Coolidge.The Sign supplies its classic star turn on the movie poster and during the credits in this teen comedy where a Hollywood punk (Nicholas Cage) meets a Valley girl (Deborah Foreman). (Contributed by Emily Compton)
			Hollywood Hot Tubs (1984)  Starring Paul Gunning, Donna McDaniel and Jewel Shepard. Directed by Chuck Vincent.This teen comedy begins with three delinquents who drive up to the Hollywood sign late at night and turn the two O's into E's ~ so that the Sign has been changed to "Hollyweed" (just as it has experienced in real life). Of course, their fun is ruined with the appearance of an unamused police officer. (Contributed by Dave Grubka of Buffalo, NY)
			Ruthless People (1986) Starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler. Directed by Jim Abrams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker.Okay, it doesn't really count as screen time, but the murder of Barbara Stone (Midler) was supposed to have taken place "not far from Hollywood Sign."
			Dragnet (1987)  Starring Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks. Directed by Tom Mankiewicz.The characters drive up a (fictional) road that ends in front of the Hollywood Sign. (Contributed by Marcel Pazzin)
			Slam Dance (1987)  Written by Don Keith Opper. Directed by Wayne Wang.Slam Dance included Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Virginia Madsen, and the always superb Harry Dean Stanton. There were at least a couple of defacto contemporaneous punkers in the film -- Adam Ant, and L.A. staple John Doe of "X."