Bert had some coffee and we all had mini crepes with jam and sugar (they didn't have Nutella, drat)...
There was a lady making crepes in a parlor area; they were there for the taking. She would make a batch or stack and make more as it ran low.
We had a long day ahead of us and our first stop was just a few minutes north from Petaluma...
to the city of Santa Rosa. This particular neighborhood's street was listed as a "historic district" and notable for many of their well preserved homes (lots of Victorian era) which have been featured in movies, ncluding two in particular.
The first was an Italianate Victorian home from Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943), a post WWII film noir psychological thriller. The house looks pretty much the same as it did in the movie. Santa Rosa was chosen for it's idyllic appearance. After the War, there was a restriction on using money to build movie sets. To cut costs, Hitchcock filmed on location; both the exterior and interior of the house were used in filming.
We first watched "Shadow of a Doubt" about 20 years ago. When Bert and I were first married, we would have Friday/weekend movie nights and rent our videos (yes, actual VHS cassettes) from the now defunct Tower Video on Sports Arena Blvd. I was obsessed with film noir at the time so we watched a lot of old movies like the classic "The Big Sleep", "The Maltese Falcon", and "Double Indemnity". Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" was one of the movies that really creeped me out.
A family is visited by their Uncle Charlie (who we later find out murders rich widows, steals their valuable and moves from city to city to escape detection). The family's older teen daughter, named after her uncle, whom she looks up to but soon has her suspicions about her uncle, played by Joseph Cotten (he was in "Citizen Kane" as well as "Niagara" to name a few). There are some funny moments involving the family's father and neighbor Herbie, played by a very young Hume Cronyn where they theoretically discuss "how to get away with the perfect murder".
Across the street from the "Shadow of a Doubt" home is another famous movie house.
This time, the film was more "recent", if you can call a 1996 film recent that is. That movie is Wes Craven's "Scream" which was instrumental in reviving the slasher/horror genre in the mid-late 90's.
The distinctive wraparound porch of Tatum Riley's house (played by Rose MacGowan) was easily recognizable.
I tried to take the photos as quickly as possible. It was still pretty early in the morning, around 9'ish and I didn't want to disturb anyone. I bet the residents are used to people walking down the street and taking photos.
The Scream house shows up at the :47 mark in this video where a trio of "Scream" fans revisit the film locations.
This is a longer video which features more of the house:
This video features the "Shadow of a Doubt" home with footage from the movie as comparison:
Scream House
824 McDonald Ave
Santa Rosa, CA
More info:
MovieLocations
Then&NowMovieLocations
+ this article, "Movie Row - Santa Rosa's MacDonald Avenue retains the charm that got it in the pictures" SFGate, August 4, 2002.
Shadow of a Doubt House
904 McDonald Ave
Santa Rosa, CA
More info:
SantaRosa-McDonald Avenue
Dsoderblog (this is a nice post focusing on the architecture)
The Hitchcock Zone
There are a few more home from other movies ("Pollyanna", the TV version of "Shadow of a Doubt") that were notable but I wanted to focus on these two.
Bert already had his coffee fix. It was time for mine and it would also be in Santa Rosa near another historical building that was also featured in "Shadow of a Doubt"...
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