Homicidal (1961) Film Locations
Homicidal (1961) Film Locations
“A WORD OF WARNING! Please don’t reveal the ending of this picture or your friends will kill you – IF THEY DON’T, I WILL!” – William Castle
Before the family trip up to northern California, I dug through my DVD collection to watch a couple flicks whose filming locations would be on our route. The wifey and kiddos were adamant about limiting the stops to two. I agreed. On the Sunday before we departed, I watched Homicidal. Directed by William Castle and written by Robb White, this “Psycho”-like movie deserves a viewing. Robb White penned 5 movies for William Castle and was a prolific novel writer with Deathwatch being his most memorable.
I will not spoil the movie for you and it is a reminiscent of Psycho, which came out the year before. But, I think it is one of Castle’s best films. The movie has a great cast. Glenn Corbett, the original Zefram Cochrane for Star Trek fans, plays Karl Anderson. And Joan Marshall, another Star Trek alum, plays Emily and someone else in the film, but I won’t spoil it.
The movie calls out the locations of Solvang and Ventura, so it was easy to track them down. Ventura has a self-guided historic walking tour brochure you can pick up, which visits many of the locations in the movie.
Film Location Comparison Shots:
Hotel Ventura (now the Ventura Inn)
487 E Main Street, Ventura, California
Built in 1926 by Gus Berg a hotelier who also owned the De Riviera Hotel in Santa Barbara. The neo-Spanish Hotel was built on the site of the old city hall and library. Emily (Jean Arless) stays at the hotel.
The Franz House
31 N Oak Street, Ventura, California
This historical Victorian home was built in 1879 for Emanuel Franz. He was an immigrant from Austria who operated a mercantile business on Main Street. The Franz family owned this home until 1975. The home was designated a Historic Landmark Number 21 by the city and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In Homicidal, the building is home to the local justice of the peace. In the movie the address on the house reads 1623.
In the background, The Brakey House at 411 Poli Street, Historic Landmark Number 64 for the city, can be seen.
Ventura City Hall
501 Poli Street, Ventura, California
Listed on National, California, and County historical landmarks, the Roman Doric structure designed by Albert C. Martin was built in 1912. Originally, the building operated as the courthouse, but in 1974 it became Ventura City Hall. The building is seen at the end of the movie
Solvang, California
Introduction to Solvang in the movie, shows shoppers walking on the north side of Copenhagen Drive with the camera pointing east towards Alisal Road.
Karl’s Drugstore about 1525 Mission Drive in Solvang. Also see Olsens Danish Village Bakery and Coffeeshop right next door.
Miriam’s Village Nursery which is now Paula’s Pancake House at 1531 Mission Drive in Solvang. Always present in many of the scenes is the Windmill at 1547 Mission Drive
