War of the Worlds, The (1953)

A fireball in the sky. IMDb mentions Corona, California, as a filming location, and this is the First Baptist Church at 722 Main Street. The mountains behind look larger and closer than the real ones, though.

Much of the centre of Corona has fallen victim to urban renewal in the 1960s and 70s, but the First Baptist Church remains. Image copyright Google Earth.

The fireball falls outside the city. A view southwest from the original line of Main Street, Corona. The distinctive dome of Leo Kroonen's Lord Building, which stood at the corner of 7th and Main, is visible to the left of the shot. This whole section of Main Street has been redeveloped since the film was made; Main Street here was shifted one block west and Corona Mall was built in its place.

Dancegoers spill out of the Social Hall after the power fails. A pharmacy, Mario's Italian Restaurant and a dentist's surgery offering painless treatment. Corona? Or is this a set?

Further to the right as the view switches to the distant fire started by the Martians' heat ray.

Military top brass arrive. The corner of Aliso St and N Main St, Los Angeles, California.

As they swing around the corner, Los Angeles City Hall comes into view, left of shot.

The convoy halts in front of the US Court House in North Main St.

Around the world, the Martians wreak destruction and spread terror. Here they attack the Temple of Saturn and the church of Santi Luca e Martina in Rome.

"As the Martians swept northward towards London, the British cabinet stayed in session". A library shot of the British Parliament buildings.

A daytime shot. The Elizabeth Tower visible again after many months wrapped in scaffolding and plastic sheeting.

Military vehicles pass in front of the Capitol Building, Washington DC.

At the 'Pacific Institute of Science and Technology' a captured Martian eye and Martian blood are being investigated, as the military prepare to deploy atomic weapons. A view towards Schulberg House on the Paramount Studios site.

As preparations for the attack continue, a couple of million people are sheltering in the San Gabriel hills.

A road tunnel, with a sharp left-hand bend at the exit! . . . or perhaps a set.

After the atomic bomb fails to stop the Martians, the evacuation of Los Angeles begins. A view northeast at the junction of 7th and Broadway. In the deep shade opposite is a branch of the Bank of America.

Sirens sound, and cars turn in the road. The freeway intersection where US Highway 101 crosses California Highway 110. We are on 101 facing southwest. Part of this footage is also used in "Earth Versus The Flying Saucers", where it represents the evacuation of Washington DC.

The police tour residential districts instructing the inhabitants to leave.

The same street, opposite direction. I spent some time trying to persuade myself that this and the previous capture are somewhere in Solano Canyon in Los Angeles, but they really aren't.

Traffic pours out of town. Hollywood Freeway, then the Cahuenga Pass Freeway, looking northwest from the Pilgrimage Bridge. This view was to change almost immediately as the construction of the next section of the Hollywood Freeway, connecting the San Fernando Valley to Downtown Los Angeles, was already under way. The new section would be opened in April 1954.

Another view of the Cahuenga Pass Freeway, again looking northwest, this time from the Mulholland Drive Bridge. Footage also recycled in "Earth Versus The Flying Saucers".

Those without cars board buses under police instruction. A freeway with City Hall in the background. The elevated section visible in the middle distance is Whittier Boulevard where it approaches the railway and LA River; the 6th Street Bridge is just discernible left of shot. This looks to be taken from the flyover where Boyle Avenue crosses the Santa Ana Freeway. The construction of the Santa Monica and Golden State freeways since 1953 has made the intersection much more complex, and the original viewpoint is difficult to confirm. The old 6th Street Bridge was closed for demolition in January 2016, and demolition started in February 2016; the bridge is visible in Google Street View in December 2015, but has gone by June 2016. "Earth Versus The Flying Saucers" uses footage obviously shot at the same time, but not used in this film.

Another view from a road bridge with City Hall in the background. The view from Stadium Way where it crosses Arroyo Seco Parkway.

Buses and pedestrians on the freeway overpass. The instersection of US 101 and California 110 again. The intersection is so beautifully symmetrical that it's practically impossible to tell which side the viewpoint should be.

Patients are evacuated from Los Angeles County General Hospital. The main entrance, with the nine bas relief figures by Salvatore C. Scarpitta.

Police motorcyclists escort ambulances from North State St onto Marengo St. Behind we see the LA County General Clinic Tower.

At Pacific Tech, the scientists pack up equipment to take to the Rocky Mountains to continue their research on the Martian blood sample.

Dr Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) heads through the city in one of the Pacific Tech trucks. View southwest on Hill Street at the junction with 2nd Street. The Fashion League Building was demolished in 1957 having become so dangerous that it was deemed 'almost too rickety to tear down'.

The truck continues along Hill Street, passing the Olympic Theatre in 8th Street.

It turns northwest onto 8th Street.

Forrester has been attacked and his truck has been stolen. A set included for completeness.

He sets off on foot. Hill and 8th again, looking north.

Running from the junction of Hill and 8th, he reaches... the junction of Hill and 8th, now looking west.

Hill and 8th again.

A military patrol passes at another junction. Facing the southwest corner of First and Olive. (SR)

As the Martians' destruction of Los Angeles continues, Forrester reaches a church. IMDB identifies Westminster Presbyterian church, North Lake Drive, Pasadena. On the next block, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary catholic church is the tower that's visible. Even the hills behind are the right shape, but the bit of building in right foreground is from elsewhere, clearly matted in.

He goes into the church. These are the doors of a different church; IMDB identifies St Brendan's Catholic Church, South Van Ness Avenue, Los Angeles. Ann Robinson, though, in her commentary on the special collectors' edition DVD, says that these doors were in the studio backlot. If that's true then they are a remarkably faithful copy of the actual St Brendan's, with every detail of the stonework matching. The only discrepancy is that the "S B" shield on the doorway is replaced in the film by a blank rectangle matching the stone; was it covered for filming? St Brendan's has featured in many productions, from Robert McGowan's 1930 short "Pups is Pups", made only three years after the cathedral was built, to "Spiderman 3" in 2007. The doors have also recently been seen in, amongst others, re-runs of "The Fugitive" episode "Angels Travel on Lonely Roads" part 2 and the "Columbo" episode "Undercover".

The Martians are dead, and the world is saved. In this closing view, the church may be real, although it isn't one of those previously featured. The background, though, seems to be a model; the same view, minus the church, appears earlier in the film with fires burning in many of the buildings.