What You See

Locations

See San Francisco through Hollywood’s eyes. Bringing movies to life, San Francisco Movie Tours takes guests on fun and entertaining tours to locations made famous by both current blockbuster and classic San Francisco movies. On our film tour through San Francisco, see the following locations:

  • Frank Bullitt’s apartment in Bullitt
  • The rooftop perch used by the sniper Scorpio in Dirty Harry
  • The site of Carlotta Valdez’ tombstone at Mission Dolores and Kim Novak’s apartment in Vertigo
  • The grate that snagged Jennifer Lopez’ designer shoe in Wedding Planner.  Yes, this clip includes a Matthew McConaughey sighting!
  • And many more!
  • The spot where Kim Novak jumped into the water and Jimmy Stewart saved her in Vertigo
  • The house where Robin Williams’ family lived in Mrs. Doubtfire
  • The various locations from the famous chase scene in Bullitt
  • The high school attended by Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries
  • The REAL Tanner family residence from Full House
  • And many more!

Movie History

preview1You also get a lesson in movie history. For instance, did you know that:

  • In 1927, San Francisco was the setting for the first talking picture, the Jazz Singer?
  • Some of the most famous names in cinema history, including Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Errol Flynn, Buster Keaton, and Douglas Fairbanks, made many films in San Francisco?
  • Motion pictures were actually invented in the San Francisco Bay Area?
  • In 1880, Leland Stanford and Eadweard Muybridge’s collection of films was shown at the San Francisco Art Association, representing the very first time an audience sat down to a real movie screening? Rumor has it they paid 50 cents for the privilege.

Movie Trivia

We entertain you with movie trivia about your favorite films, actors, and directors. Here is a sample:

  • Harrison Ford was asked to cut his hair for the film American Graffiti. He refused, stating that his role was too short, and offered to wear a hat instead.
  • The dresses that Sharon Stone wears throughout the film Basic Instinct were designed to match, in the same order, the dresses that Kim Novak wears in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.
  • preview2The filming of the chase scene in Bullitt took three weeks, resulting in 9 minutes and 42 seconds of footage. They were denied permission to film on the Golden Gate Bridge.
  • According to one biography, Robin Williams decided to test out the believability of his Mrs. Doubtfire character during filming by going – as Mrs. Doubtfire – into an adult bookstore and making a purchase. He was able to do so without being recognized.
  • During the filming of The Rock, Sean Connery insisted the producers build a cabin for him on Alcatraz as he didn’t want to travel from the mainland to the island every day; he got what he asked for.