Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) - Film Locations

Dean Martin at grand opening for Market Basket

Originally, I was going to post part two of The Big Fix (1978) film locations, but I decided to push that back to next week to make way for the swingin', crooning, Italoamericano, Dean Martin. 

In the film Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) Martin plays a doctor on a popular television show, particularly popular with female audiences. He is engaged to cute art teacher, Melissa Morris (Elizabeth Montgomery) who wants to get married but who is upset with Martin for delaying their wedding plans. Things get worse when all of the wives of Martin's poker playing friends, confusing Martin for his television persona, start coming to him for advice on their marital doldrums. Each encounter with his friends' wives makes Martin even more disenchanted with the idea of marriage and he decides to break his engagement with Melissa. With the help of her friend Stella (Carole Burnett), Melissa comes up with a plan to get Martin to propose to her again.

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) may not be one of Dean Martin's best films, but it does have some funny moments, especially a couple with a scene stealing Carole Burnett appearing in her film debut. Other notable stars supporting Martin include Jill St. John and Richard Conte. The film also features a few interesting film locations, including scenes at Paramount Studios, a Market Basket supermarket, and the Beverly Hills Hotel swimming pool.

The film starts with Dean Martin appearing as the celebrity TV doctor at the grand opening of a Market Basket supermarket. This was a grocery chain and the location used in the film was one that was once located at 11315 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, California. Interesting to note is that this Studio City location had its grand opening in 1963, the same year as this film. The Market Basket supermarket is now gone and today the building is used as a Bally Total Fitness.

A crowd gathers at the Market Basket for the grand opening.

11315 Ventura Blvd, Studio City

11315 Ventura Blvd, Studio City

The Market Basket is now Bally Total Fitness

A view of the Market Basket parking lot.

The parking lot as it appears today.

Another view of the parking lot as seen in the film.

After Martin makes his appearance at the Market Basket grand opening we see Martin take off in his car. While driving, Martin leaves Studio City behind and gets on the 405 freeway heading south. In the next comparison below, Martin is on the 405 freeway with a view of Sherman Oaks in the background.

Martin driving on the 405 Freeway. Sherman Oaks in background.

A present day view looking down the 405 towards Sherman Oaks.

The 405 freeway looking towards Sherman Oaks.

The 405 freeway looking towards Sherman Oaks.

Stella arranges a phony wedding for Melissa, hoping it will make Martin jealous. The scene takes place at the pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel, located at 9461 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California. The pool area looks much different today. The hotel has expanded since the 1960s.

The Beverly Hills Hotel Pool as seen in the film.

An old photograph of the pool maybe from the 1960s.

The pool as it appears today.

Photo from BeverlyHillsHotel.com

Burnett & Martin at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool.

There are a few scenes that take place on the Paramount Studios lot. It's at this studio where Martin's character films his television medical drama. All of the scenes were shot on what is known as "Avenue P" of the Paramount lot.

Dean  Martin exits Stage 18 on Avenue P.

Stage 18 on the Paramount Studios lot.

It's this same area of the Paramount Studios lot that was so famously used in the classic film Sunset Boulevard (1950). Stage 18 is the same stage where in Sunset Boulevard Gloria Swanson goes to visit Cecil B. Demille. 

In the next comparison below, Martin's studio co-workers and poker buddies are seen standing on Avenue P of the Paramount Studios lot. The palm trees in the background are sticking up from Hollywood Forever Cemetery which borders the backside of the Paramount lot. The two story building seen of the left is the "Dreier" building, the same building used by William Holden in Sunset Boulevard  as the writers building.

Martin's studio co-workers and poker buddies.

Looking down Avenue P as it appears today.

The next comparison is still of Avenue P but looking the other direction, away from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery border. On the left is the Medical Services building and straight ahead is the Lubitsch building.

The Paramount Studios Medical Services building as

seen in Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)

Paramount's Medical Service building and Lubitsch 

building as they appear today.

Dean Martin signs autographs outside Stages 5 & 6.

Stage 5 & 6 as they appear today.

This last comparison shows the beginning of Paramount's Avenue P, just past the historic Bronson Gate. Stage 4 can be seen straight ahead and Stage 2 and the Edith Head building can be seen on the right.

Looking towards Paramount's Stage 4 as seen in the film.

Looking towards stage 4 as it appears today.

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) is another Swinging Sixties sex comedy, similar to a couple other films I've covered here on Dear Old Hollywood: Sex and the Single Girl (1964) starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Lauran Bacall, and Mel Ferrer and Bachelor in Paradise (1961) starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner.

Thanks to my friend Chris Cottle for the photos at Paramount.

All StreetView images (c) 2011 Google.

The Page Interviews: Part Three

Emily outside Paramount's Bronson Gate

"Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!" - The character "Gold Hat" from the film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Ok, so studio Pages do need badges in order to get on to the movie studio lot where they work, but once they are on the lot, they often have unlimited access to the studio. Pages wear many job hats that allow them to see the studio from many different perspectives. A Page might be giving tourists a tour of the lot one day, assisting with audience coordination for a television show the next and then even running an urgent errand for a studio executive the next. As a studio Page, you never know what type of assignment will come up next or who you might run into. 

Unlike most jobs at a movie studio, the Page gets to see almost every part of the factory in operation and because of this, they often have many interesting experiences to share.  That's why a while back I did two Q&A's with former Pages as the start of a series on this blog. To continue that series I've asked Emily Ronkar a few questions about her experience as a former Paramount Studios Page.

Emily, what year(s) did you work as a Page at Paramount Studios?

From 2005-2006, a full year from July through the following August

How did you find out about the Paramount Page program and what made you interested in applying for that position?

A friend at a part-time job I was already working had mentioned it to me.  He told me about his previous experience some years before as a Page.  Because of my love for film, appreciation for film history, and general desire to work on a studio lot, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for me.

What kinds of duties were you assigned as a Page?

Most of my days were as a tour guide or working the audience entrance/exit for the sitcoms.  While at Paramount I was also lucky enough to work two Stunt Man Awards Shows, assist at the American Music Awards, and temp for several different departments on the lot, which aided in a wider appreciation for what goes into creating a film.

What was your most unusual assignment at Paramount?

For the Paramount Christmas party, myself and a couple other Pages dressed up as elves and a Mrs. Claus and assisted with the family/kids Santa pictures.

Emily (seated in front) dressed as an Elf

What was your most interesting experience?

On my lunch break I liked to wander the lot and one lovely wandering day, I happened to stumble upon a live elephant in Chicago street.  A commercial was being filmed on New York street and the elephant was being kept and cared for a street away.  Quite the shock to round a corner to a full-grown elephant!

What was your least favorite experience?

When I look back, I don�t really remember anything being my �least favorite�.  There was only one temp position I did not enjoy so much, but the people I worked with were wonderful, and I learned a lot while I was there.  

Also, an unpleasant run in with a regular audience coordinator for one of the long running shows filmed on the lot, but despite the frustration caused by this individual, I learned a better way to deal with difficult people in that environment.

Any celebrity run-ins?

You were always running into familiar faces and names regardless of where you hung out on the lot.  Two of my favorite random sightings include Tim Burton entering the main Bronson gate entrance, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers on a break outside a stage where MI:3 was filming.

Three of my favorite celebrity run-ins are:

• Tom Cruise, who was spotted by my VIP tour as we drove by the MI:3 filming stages.  He heard them notice him, and turned and waved with a smile, pausing long enough for my tour to get a great photo.

• Anthony Clark, from �Yes, Dear�, who unbeknownst to myself, had come up behind my tour while I was showing a mostly empty sound stage 20.  He offered to take our tour next door onto their filming stage and proceeded to introduce my tour to other cast members and explain a little about tv filming.

• During filming of Disturbia, another Page and I were running an errand in a golf cart and ended up in a game of chicken, nearly running into Shia LaBouf in costume on his way to set.

I've asked this question to two other Pages and I'll ask you, did you encounter any old Hollywood ghosts or hear any of the stories?

I had definitely heard the stories, mostly from security guards who worked the night shift in the New York/Chicago street areas, since those walls bordered the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Plus, there was always the odd haunted stage story that would rumor it�s way though each Page class.

The only odd experience I ever had on the lot was a night when a former Page from my class and I were hanging around the MI:3 set after working an audience show that night and were headed back across the lot to our cars, we happened to walk through the New York and Chicago streets, both our favorite places on the lot.  When we were on the far side of Chicago street, before it meets up with the stages, and turns the corner back into New York street, the air around us seemed to get eerily quiet, despite all the filming happening on the other side of the lot.  I remember the lights on the side of the false sets flickering and going off and on, pitching the street into random darkness.  Then suddenly, everything went back to normal, light came on, the air around us felt like it lifted.  We high-tailed it out of there, laughing, either from fear or nerves.

Would you recommend a Page program for others entering the work world, especially those pursuing careers in entertainment?

Absolutely!  The Page program was such an integral part of getting my feet wet in LA and the Entertainment industry here.  I met so many interesting people and had opportunities to work and learn in and about so many other facets of the industry I hadn�t even thought about!

What is happening in your post-page life? Where are you working or what projects are you involved with? Has your Page experience helped you in what you are doing now?

I am currently working for Click Communications, a fabulous online PR company.  Specifically I work as a Video Asset Specialist primarily with one of our major studio clients, but assisting in video clip pulling with several other clients as well.  

I would definitely agree that the Page experience has helped me in what I do now.  I have a much broader vision of the studio system and the inner workings of the business and production side of the industry, the first steps of which I learned while a Page.

Now, because this blog focuses on old Hollywood, here are a few quick questions about the classics:

Favorite classic movie?

Double Indemnity, an amazing film noir movie that has stuck with me since my first viewing in a college film course.  Intelligent, subtle, distinctly dark and a bit snarky.  All of my favorite things!

Favorite classic movie actor?

Charlie Chaplin; ever since I saw City Lights I�ve been amazed at what one man was able to accomplish and the brilliance behind each of his films.

Favorite classic movie actress?

Marlene Dietrich was always a favorite.  She was just so sassy!

The Buster Keaton Story (1957) - Film Location

Donald O'Connor as Buster Keaton & Ann Blyth

I've read many negative things about the bio film, The Buster Keaton Story (1957), but as a Keaton fan, I figured I needed to see the film once to judge for myself. To be fair, the film isn't awful, it is mildly entertaining, but the story really isn't about Buster Keaton at all. The story is almost entirely fictionalized, with only a few traces of Keaton's life worked in. If the filmmakers were trying to make Keaton's story more dramatic, they didn't need to fictionalize anything - Keaton's true story was pretty tragic already. 

To me the most satisfying thing about watching this film had nothing to do with Buster at all, it was spotting one of the buildings on the Paramount Studios lot that was also used as a set in the classic film, Sunset Boulevard (1950). In the screenshot at the top and and the screenshot below, Donald O'Connor, who portrays Keaton, is seen with the fictional studio exec Gloria Brent, played by Ann Blyth, in front of the offices of "Famous Studio." That office building with the exterior stairs is actually the "Dreier" building on the Paramount Studios lot.

O'Connor and Blyth with the Dreier building at left.

The Dreier building on the Paramount Studios lot.

Rhonda Fleming passes the Dreier building at Paramount.

In the screenshot above Rhonda Fleming, who plays Peggy Courtney in The Buster Keaton Story, walks past the Dreier building. Seven years earlier, we see in the screenshot below, William Holden and Erich von Sroheim in a scene from Sunset Boulevard in front of the Dreier building. In Sunset Boulevard, the Dreier building appears a couple times in the film. The first appearance is when von Stroheim drives Holden and Gloria Swanson to the Paramount Studios lot to visit Cecil B. Demille. The second appearance is when Holden visits the Dreier building late at night to secretly work on a script with Nancy Olson.

William Holden & Erich von Stroheim in front of the Dreier building.

Jim Parsons as "Sheldon" on the television show

"The Big Bang Theory"

Buster Keaton lived a very interesting life, filled with dramatic ups and downs, and it is unfortunate that no one has made a great film about this filmmaker icon. One of my favorite bio pics is the 1992 film, Chaplin, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin. That film was so beautifully shot, had a stellar cast and a score that transported viewers to the Chaplin era. I wish that Buster Keaton could have such a film made about his life.

One challenge would be finding an actor around today that could portray Keaton. Every time I see the deadpan expressions made by Emmy winning comedy star Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon on the hit TV show "The Big Bang Theory," I instantly think of Keaton. Although, Parsons might be a little tall, I think his look is spot on. What do you think? Who do you think would make a good Buster?

Your thoughts?