Post #564005 by bigbrotiki on Sun, Nov 7, 2010 8:23 PM

On 2010-11-07 11:09, Dustycajun wrote:
Here's something interesting, another Don the Beachcomber location that didn't exist!

This movie promo photo was on ebay featuring Anita Ekberg posing in front of a Don the Beachcomber restaurant set from the Martin & Lewis movie Hollywood or Bust.

Anybody notice the restaurant set in the movie?

DC

Well, if this was a set, it is damn close to the original Hollywood Beachcomber, as you can see in the exterior from that great souvenir menu that can be viewed in the BOT page 72/73:

It's pretty much the same angle and looks the same including the sign. I think this is how the Hollywood Beachcomber looked in the mid-50s, as opposed to those early Beachcomber B&W photos you posted earlier in this thread. They added an awning during that time: Here it is in the 70s, the double doors are visible, but the bamboo has grown a little :)

This is not to say that your photo is not a set, the studios often built sets matching the original locations. But looking at the floor, it actually looks like a photo backdrop of the real building.

The reference to the Martin & Lewis film is odd:
I checked out "Hollywood or Bust" on U-Tube: They don't get to L.A. until late in the film, and never stop at the Beachcomber, nor does Miss Ekberg ever, or wear that costume. They DO however get real close: Just up the street on Highland Ave, to the (real) Hollywood Bowl (I used to live right in between), and around the corner, to Grauman's Chinese.

So perhaps there was a scene at Don's that got cut out of the final film? Or the still is from another film? But the "native" costume she is wearing in combination with the Don's location points to the fact that it was for a film ABOUT Hollywood. Hmmm.....

In any case, my vote goes towards this being a photo (backdrop) of the real Hollywood Beachcomber. The film, or if there ever was one, remains a mystery.