End of ‘Body Snatchers’ Was Filmed in Hollywood

I enjoyed Joel Greenberg’s riff on “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (“A Filial Fondness for Tales of Terror,” Aug. 31), which also had a huge impact on me when I saw it back in the ‘50s, but I wanted to add that the last 15 minutes of the film, including the shocking scene of Dana Wynter’s transformation, were shot right here in Hollywood. The townspeople of “Santa Mira” chase Wynter and Kevin McCarthy through Beachwood Village (then Hollywoodland) near the top of Beachwood Canyon Drive, then up the long stairs from Westshire Drive to Hollyridge Drive. The final scenes take place in the Bronson Canyon caves and on one of the bridges that cross the Hollywood Freeway between Highland Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard, near the John Anson Ford Theatre.

At a recent memorabilia show at the Beverly Garland Hotel in Universal City, I had a chance to meet McCarthy and Dana Wynter and have them both sign my lobby card for “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Kevin McCarthy appropriately signed his autograph under the warning “You’re Next!”

--JIM DAWSON

Hollywood