Scene Again

🎥 LICENSE TO DRIVE (1988)

Here’s a Scene Again from License to Drive, when Les Anderson (Corey Haim) takes his driving test at the DMV.

Les is riding with the driving examiner, played by James Avery, who tells him that if he spills a single drop of his coffee, he’ll fail the test. Somehow, Les makes it all the way back to the DMV without spilling a drop.

But just as he thinks he’s passed, someone suddenly runs out in front of the car, forcing Les to slam on the brakes! The examiner then flips the coffee cup upside down and reveals that it was empty. He looks at Les and says, “See you on the battlefield, soldier.”

This scene was filmed at the Downtown Los Angeles DMV, just off the 110 Freeway.

Looking at the location today, the DMV building itself remains remarkably recognizable. There have been a few minor changes around the building, but one of the biggest differences is the parking lot, which has changed quite a bit over the years.

In the background during the driving test, you can also see where the old sign used to be on top of the building. The sign is long gone, but the frame is still there.

📍 3615 S Hope St, Los Angeles, CA

🎥 POLTERGEIST (1982)

Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams) discovers that something supernatural is happening inside the Freeling home.

Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) is mysteriously pulled across the kitchen floor by an unseen force, seemingly sliding effortlessly across the room as if the house itself has taken control. Diane calls Steve Freeling (Craig T. Nelson) home to witness what’s happening, and he finally realizes that there is no trick or explanation for what they’re seeing.

It’s one of those unforgettable moments that makes Poltergeist such a classic — an ordinary suburban home suddenly becoming anything but ordinary. 👻

📍 Poltergeist House
4267 Roxbury St. Simi Valley, CA

🎥 Halloween (1978)

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Annie Brackett (Nancy Kyes) are driving away after seeing Annie’s father, Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers), outside Nichols Hardware.

The two girls are talking about whether Annie’s father could smell the smoke on them when they drive off, completely unaware that Michael Myers (Nick Castle) is following them in the station wagon directly behind them.

What makes this scene especially interesting for filming-location fans is that, while most of Halloween was filmed in Pasadena and South Pasadena, this driving sequence was filmed in Burbank near the Walt Disney Studios.

The girls drive west on Parkside Avenue and eventually make a right onto Keystone Street, a residential street used by Disney for filming. The houses along this stretch are part of the studio’s collection of filming locations.

It’s one of those Halloween moments where the location looks completely ordinary—but knowing what’s happening just behind Laurie and Annie makes the scene even more memorable.

📍 Parkside Ave. @ S. Lamer St. Burbank, CA

🎥 GREMLINS (1984)

Posting this Scene Again from Gremlins, featuring the unforgettable Mrs. Deagle scene!

Mrs. Deagle, played by Polly Holliday, opens her front door to yell at the Christmas carolers outside, only to discover that it’s actually a group of Gremlins! 🎄👹

She quickly retreats inside and gets into her electric stair lift, but the Gremlins have tampered with the wiring. The chair suddenly takes off at full speed, sending Mrs. Deagle racing up the stairs and right out of the upstairs window! 😳

This shot captures the moment she comes flying out of the window.

The scene was filmed on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California, and the house is one of the many recognizable residential sets on the lot.

You may recognize this house from Growing Pains, where it was used as the Seaver family home. It has appeared in numerous productions over several decades.

And just nearby is the famous Warner Bros. backlot neighborhood that became Stars Hollow on Gilmore Girls. The Warner lot has doubled for countless fictional towns and neighborhoods over the years.

📍 Warner Bros. Studios
3400 Warner Blvd. Burbank, CA

🎥 A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
One of the most memorable scenes from A Nightmare on Elm Street is when Tina (Amanda Wyss) runs through the alley, desperately trying to escape Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). It’s the iconic scene where Freddy stretches his arms to an almost unbelievable length as he chases her.
Looking at this location today, it’s amazing how much has remained the same. The house on the right has since been demolished and rebuilt, but the surrounding area is still remarkably recognizable. With the exception of the fence in the background and a few other changes, much of the scene still looks just as it did in the original movie.

📍 Filming location: 612 Milwood Court, Venice, CA

This is the alley behind Tina’s house at 620 Milwood Avenue, where the famous chase was filmed.

🎥 Grease (1978)

It’s the first day of school at Rydell High, and Frenchie (Didi Conn) introduces Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) to the rest of the Pink Ladies while they’re sitting together at lunch. It’s one of the memorable early scenes in Grease, and not long afterward, we get the iconic musical number “Summer Nights,” as Sandy and Danny tell their friends about their summer romance.

The movie actually used three different high schools for filming. Venice High School in Mar Vista served as the exterior of Rydell High, Huntington Park High School was used for the interior scenes, and John Marshall High School in Los Angeles was the location for the famous carnival scenes at the end of the movie.

The lunch area at Venice High School is still recognizable today, nearly five decades later. However, students no longer eat in the exact outdoor area shown in the movie. A new eating area with tables has been built to the left of where the camera was positioned. You can also still spot the original walk-up windows, although vending machines now cover them.

📍 Venice High School
13000 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

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🎥 50 First Dates (2004)

This scene takes place after Lucy (Drew Barrymore) watches the tape and decides she wants to reconnect with her friends. She heads to a beach party with Henry (Adam Sandler), where she starts asking everyone a ton of questions as she tries to learn more about the people around her.

Although the scene is supposed to take place in Hawaii, it was actually filmed at Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu, California, just on the other side of the rocks from where Daniel LaRusso was found in The Karate Kid.

One of the biggest differences you’ll notice today is how much more exposed the rocks are. After Hurricane Marie recently passed through, the powerful storm surge removed many feet of sand from beaches along the coast. The rock Lucy sits on, which used to stick up only about two feet out of the sand, is now exposed by roughly five feet. It’s amazing how much the landscape can change over time, even at a famous movie filming location!

📍 Leo Carrillo State Beach
35000 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA

🎥 Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)

One of the memorable scenes from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey takes place when the evil robot versions of Bill and Ted travel through time in the phone booth and arrive at the Circle K in Santa Clarita. It’s a fun callback to the original Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which also featured a Circle K.

In the scene, the evil robots actually aim the phone booth at a cat as they descend, narrowly missing it when they crash-land at the Circle K. Evil Ted then removes his own eye to communicate with their creator, De Nomolos, only to discover that Rufus is missing.

This time, however, it’s the evil robot versions of Bill and Ted who show up, bringing their own brand of trouble. The scene revisits a familiar store but in a totally different location. In the first film the Circle K filming location was in Arizona.

📍28200 Bouquet Canyon Rd. Santa Clarita, CA

🎥 La Bamba (1987)

This scene takes place early in La Bamba, when Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips) gets an audition with the band The Silhouettes. Carrying his guitar, Ritchie walks up to their house to audition for the group. As it turns out, he impresses them and gets the gig, helping launch his music career.

In this shot, you can see Ritchie walking up to the garage where the audition takes place. The riverbed behind him was dirt when the movie was filmed, but it has since been converted into a concrete flood-control channel, similar to the wash seen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The famous bridge where Bob (Esai Morales) screams “Ritchie!” at the end of the movie, following Ritchie’s death, was just to my right. The bridge was torn down long ago, and the area where it once stood looks pretty much the same as it does in this picture. There were quite a few people gathered around that spot during my visit, so I’ll share a picture of where the bridge once stood another time.

📍 The band practice garage that’s right behind me is located at 14935 Rayen St., Panorama City, CA