Target Earth (1954) Film Locations

Target Earth (1954) Film Locations

Looking to explore deserted Chicago during a Venusian robot invasion? Well, then plan a visit to downtown Los Angeles and maybe a stopover on Wilshire.

Target Earth is a 1954 Twilight Zone-esque science fiction film based on a 1953 short story “Deadly City” by Paul W. Fairman. He wrote under various pseudonyms across genres ranging from movie and TV show novelizations to erotica, who hasn’t read The Man from S.T.U.D. #2: The Orgy at Madame Dracula’s. Also, he wrote The Frankenstein Wheel, about the further adventure’s of Frankenstein’s monster, which I know I saw in the background of a movie, just can’t recall it. Anyway, someone in Hollywood took a shine to Fairman and an additional one of his short stories was made into Invasion of the Saucer Men.

I cannot recall the first time I watched Target Earth, but the scenes of Norah (Kathleen Crowley) walking around the empty city streets were memorable and wormed their way into my head.  For those unfamiliar with this gem, Norah and Frank (Richard Denning) awake in the empty city of Chicago. They missed the mass evacuation because they were both unconscious. Norah had attempted suicide and Frank was mugged. They run into two other citizens who also missed the evacuation. Chicago had a population of over 3 million in the 1950s and only a smitten of people were missed. That is amazing governmental efficiency and should be applauded. While Norah and Frank and the other survivors plan their escape from the city while hiding from the supposed large-scale robot invasion, the military is hatching a plan to save the day.

Please note, you will only see one robot. But, this single Venusian robot is a bad mother. Don’t mess with it. The movie ends on a positive note with a military win against these robot Venusian bastards and our heroes off to spend their lives together.

One of my favorite scenes is Frank explaining the invasion must be from Venus. Coming from a sharp guy like Frank, you’d assume it was all the egghead science classes he took at college.  You’d be wrong on that bet, it was all the sci-fi magazines he read at college. A college education is worth its weight in gold in so many ways.

Awhile back, I watched the movie again, and I decided to track down some locations. I grabbed a couple comparison shots on my regular trips to downtown to have lunch with my wife. And, I grabbed a shot on Wilshire while taking the kiddos to the La Brea Tar Pits.

Film Location Comparison Shots:

At the start of the movie, Norah is walking around the deserted city. You can spot the CalEdison building, the Central Library, and the Biltmore Hotel. You can visit these sites on your own. I highly recommend a walking tour with the LA Conservancy. Definitely, stop in the CalEdison and grab a cup of coffee. CalEdison is located at 601 West 5th Street.

Later, Norah and Frank walk past CH Baker Shoe Store, Boulevard Stationers. This is the Dominguez-Wilshire Art Deco building completed in 1930 at 5410 Wilshire Boulevard.

Notes:

1. Where Monsters Walked: California Locations of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, 1925-1965 by Hail Orwig and Raymond Orwig – The authors have a more extensive location list.
2. Los Angeles’s Bunker Hill: Pulp Fiction’s Mean Streets and Film Noir’s Gound Zero by Jim Dawson – The author has a paragraph on the Target Earth film locations.