San Francisco’s Top Ten Film Classics

Hundreds of movies have used San Francisco as a backdrop. It’s difficult to pare the list down to ten, but here it is anyway!

By Dave Pursell, Winter 2008

Presented in chronological order, check out these top films with great productions and fantastic views of The City.

1. Dark Passage (1947) - Vincent’s been locked up for murder. He escapes to prove his innocence, but must get backroom plastic surgery to avoid being recognized.

2. Vertigo (1958) - A SFPD officer who suffers from acrophobia must trail the beautiful wife of a friend. Her escapades lead him to face his fear of heights.

3. Bullitt (1968) - Frank Bullitt is a cop protecting a Mafia informant. Great chase scenes through the city.

4. The Graduate (1967) - Things get complicated when Ben has an affair with an older woman, and then falls for her daughter.

5. Dirty Harry (1971) - Harry Callahan is an San Francisco cop with a .44 magnum and a bad attitude. “Do you feel lucky, punk?”

6. Harold and Maude (1971) - Can 20-year old Harold, who’s obsessed with death, make it work with lively 79-year-old Maude?

7. American Graffiti (1973) - Two boys, leaving for college the next day, decide to spend their last night cruising the strip in the summer of 1962.

8. The Conversation (1974) - A surveillance expert becomes paranoid when he suspects that a couple he is spying on will be murdered.

9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - Invaders are being grown from pods to replace the human race with alien clones. “Watch out! They get you while you’re sleeping!”

10. Time After Time (1979) - Jack the Ripper uses a time machine to escape to San Francisco in the late 1970s, but H.G. Wells isn’t too far behind.