Movies & TV Shows Filmed in Sausalito

Movies & TV Shows Filmed in Sausalito

Many movies and TV series have included shots of Sausalito.  Some of the town’s most prominent appearances include:

The Lady from Shanghai (1947), with Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles (above, in front of what was the old Sally Stanford’s Valhalla Inn); also directed by Welles.  A similar shot from today is just below, although alteration of the actual boardwalk for the film, changes in the Sausalito Boardwalk and different lens angles prevent the two photos from being identical.  The white house in the upper left in 1947 is still present in 2009 at the left edge, now painted earth tones.

Vertigo (1958)  Alfred Hitchcock’s classic with James Stewart and Kim Novak only shows Sausalito from long range, but you still get some great vistas.

Dear Brigitte (1965) with Jimmy Stewart living on a Sausalito floating home.

Dirty Harry (1971) The killer who has hijacked the school bus starts terrorizing the hostages about the time they reach the Robin Williams Rainbow Tunnel (then the Waldo Tunnel) on Highway 101 in Sausalito.

Play It Again, Sam (1972) with Woody Allen.  Look for Allen walking into one restaurant and then being inside another.  Interiors were used at The Trident, but exteriors depict The Spinnaker. Maybe adding a “The” to the name of your restaurant really does help you break into the movies!

Streets of San Francisco (TV series, 1973 Episode) shows Michael Douglas and Karl Malden investigating a case at the old Alta Mira Hotel in Sausalito.  Click here for a yesterday and today comparison of this shot from the movie. Although the classic high-end “Grande Dame of Sausalito” hotel has now been converted into a high-priced rehabilitation center, the building’s exterior looks remarkably similar to the 1973 version shown in the show.

Foul Play (1978) Chevy Chase lives in a floating home on Yellow Ferry Dock, located in Sausalito’s Floating Homes neighborhood.

Final Analysis (1992) Richard Gere and Kim Basinger have a scene at the Presidio Yacht Club in the Fort Baker area of the GGNRA.   

Golden Gate (1994) with Matt Dillon.  Look for the Lighthouse Cafe as a 1950’s diner.

Jack (1996) with Robin Williams has a scene on Caledonia Street near the old (now razed) Police Station, which is now the location of our shiny new police station.

Mother (1996) with Albert Brooks and Debbie Reynolds.

In the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, Fort Baker (on Sausalito’s southern border) is the location used for StarFleet Headquarters.

Zodiac (2007) An amateur sleuth pursues the Zodiac killer, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. Robert Downey Jr.’s houseboat in the movie is shown moored along Varda Landing Road in Sausalito’s Floating Homes neighborhood.

Funny People (2009), starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, caused traffic problems on Bridgeway the week of January 19.  All was forgiven once we saw our town again on the Big Screen.  In a town with a population of 7,000, over 10,000 people claimed to have personally met and talked with (or stalked, as the case may be) one or both of the stars that day.

Parenthood  (TV Pilot, 2009)  Filming on Liberty Dock, at City Hall and along Caledonia on April 29, 2009.