Beverly Hills on Screen: Top Movie Filming Locations

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel in Pretty Woman

In this beloved 1990s hit movie, the Beverly Wilshire is showcased as the hotel where Julia Roberts’ Vivian Ward all but moves in with Edward Lewis played by Richard Gere. Beverly Wilshire’s signature striped awnings can be seen when she first enters the hotel, located at the base of Rodeo Drive.

The hotel remains a perfect choice for a romantic getaway, however while the exterior and the lobby are the real Beverly Wilshire, the rooms shots were filmed on a set at the Disney Studio in Burbank.

The hotel is fond of its appearance on the silver screen: it plays Pretty Woman on a constant loop in The Nail Bar, the hotel’s nail salon.

The Beverly Hilton in Argo

Although most of Argo, the winner of Best Picture at the 2013 Academy Awards, takes place in Tehran, Iran, not a single minute of film was shot there. Other than location shoots in Istanbul, Turkey and Washington, D.C., the majority of the movie was filmed in Los Angeles.

To give a phony film project – a cover for a CIA mission – legitimacy before embarking on the mission, characters played by Ben Affleck, John Goodman and Alan Arkin hold an intentionally high-profile press event for their fake film Argo at The Beverly Hilton in the hotel’s glamorous Stardust rooftop on the exclusive Penthouse level.

Greystone Mansion in There Will Be Blood

Greystone Mansion & Gardens: The Doheny Estate, completed in 1928 as a gift from oil tycoon Edward Doheny to his son, is a versatile estate that film crews often select for its opulent beauty and acres of manicured grounds. It was the interior of the 'Pasadena' mansion in the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski, a hospital in Star Trek Into Darkness, Norman Osborn’s mansion in Spider-Man and Jack Nicholson’s 'Massachusetts' home in The Witches of Eastwick. But until recently, there was one room in the house – a partially subterranean, two-lane bowling alley – that hadn’t made it on to the big screen. That is until Paul Thomas Anderson featured it in "There Will Be Blood.” Greystone Mansion’s two lane bowling alley is the setting for the now infamous, “I drink your milkshake” speech given by Daniel Day Lewis.

Greystone’s other screen appearances include Ghostbusters II, Death Becomes Her, Indecent Proposal, Star Trek Into Darkness, X-Men, The Muppets and Austin Powers: Goldmember. The interior of this palatial mansion isn’t open to the public outside of special events, but the extensive formal gardens are and admission is free.

Beverly Hills High School in It’s a Wonderful Life

Beverly Hills High School has been featured in many films and TV shows, either as part of the plot or a filming location. Many movies, including Clueless, Real Women Have Curves, Whatever It Takes and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer featured a scene in the school's unique "Swim Gym," one of the only gymnasiums that has a basketball court that can split open to reveal a recreational-sized, 25-yard swimming pool.

This unique architectural feature comes alive in the 1946 Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed dance the Charleston at the "Bedford Falls High School" prom then suddenly the gym floor slides open, plunging the dancers into a swimming pool.

Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills Cop

When Eddie Murphy’s character, Detroit detective Axel Foley first arrives to Los Angeles in this 1984 comedy, viewers are treated to a montage of Beverly Hills’ most notable sites. He drives his convertible along Sunset Boulevard, passes one of the Beverly Hills shield signs on the city border, cruises past The Beverly Hills Hotel then heads down Rodeo Drive.

Storefront signage of Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Fendi – popular stores still on Rodeo Drive – are shown.