�Mrs. Doubtfire:� The Hillard Family�s Classic Victorian in San Francisco

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on OCTOBER 10, 2011

When you think of the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire, what comes to mind? Robin Williams in drag and that beautiful old Victorian home that the Hillard family lived in, right? And not necessarily in that order. Let�s take a little trip down Movie Memory Lane and see how well the interiors have aged since the �90s, shall we?

The house is considered a �Victorian Painted Lady,� even though it�s not colorful like others you see in San Francisco (I�m guessing it used to be and would love to know what the original colors were). The real address was mentioned in the movie by Sally Field�s character Miranda as 2640 Steiner Street.

The interior scenes were filmed in a Bay area warehouse that they used as a soundstage.

When Daniel, dressed up as Scottish housekeeper Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, walks into the house for her interview, we see the living room through the entry hall:

The Set Decorator was Garrett Lewis, who worked on other films I get frequent requests to feature like Panic Room, Wedding Crashers, and Hook.

The kids watch �The Dick Van Dyke Show� on TV in the living room every day after school. Gotta love that (it�s one of my all-time favorites�I�ve seen every episode at least 5 times!). I got just as irritated as the kids did in this scene when Mrs. Doubtfire turns it off in the middle of a very funny Alan Brady scene�

The kitchen had tile on the island�something we�d never see in a house like this onscreen today:

They were ahead of their time with the stainless-steel appliances, though.

The movie won an Oscar for Best Makeup. It took over 4 hours to turn Robin Williams into a woman each day.

Even though the house was decorated in the early �90s, it really isn�t as outdated as you�d expect it to be after nearly 20 years. You can tell they were going for a classic, timeless look�nothing too trendy.

They originally planned to film the movie in Chicago, but ultimately settled on San Francisco. I think the movie would have had a very different feel to it in the Windy City!

They also planned to give the movie a happy ending by getting Daniel and Miranda back together but realized (after the script went through multiple revisions) that it wouldn�t work. The final script had them finish on a friendly, but non-romantic, note, which really was more realistic.

The movie was based on the novel Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine.

They tried to get a sequel together in 2003 (Bonnie Hunt wrote a script for it) but Robin Williams didn�t like the story, which was reportedly about Daniel following his daughter to college to keep a close eye on her. He probably made the right choice not to sign on for that�

Ever wondered how these grand windows can be above the staircase when the kitchen and other rooms are on the other side of them? How is all this natural light getting through them? (Movie magic!)

The upstairs landing:

Lydie�s room is pink and ruffly and in one of the round turrets:

Miranda (Sally Field) is a decorator, so it makes sense that her house would be so, well,decorated.

After separating from her husband, she starts dating her handsome and charming client Stu, played by the handsome and charming Pierce Brosnan. At the time the movie came out, he was best known for the detective comedy �Remington Steele.�

Psst! You can see Sally Field�s real house in Malibu here.

The street signs in the movie marked the location as being on the corner of Broadway and Steiner.

The movie was directed by Chris Columbus, who has given us quite a few good �house movies� over the years, including (click the titles to see photos):

• Stepmom
• I Love You, Beth Cooper
• Home Alone

Here�s how the house looks today, shown from the corner we never see in the movie (viainetours):

The house was built in 1906 and has 2,578 square feet. It last sold in 1997 for $1.395 million. Whoever bought it is holding onto it, and who can blame �em? I would, too, wouldn�t you?

Samantha�s Malibu Beach House from �Sex and the City�

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on FEBRUARY 20, 2011




Remember the contemporary beach house in Malibu that Samantha (Kim Cattrall) lived in for the first Sex and the City movie? It was pretty fabulous, with glass balconies and ocean views. I showed you a little of it in my post about the SatC sets.

Well, now you can live there yourself! That�s right, you can rent this house for $75,000 a month for a short-term lease, or a more �budget-friendly� price of $55,000 if you plan to stay awhile.



In this shot from the movie, Samantha and her live-in boyfriend Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis) make themselves at home:



Here�s how the house looks in the listing, with what appears to be the same furniture that Samantha used:



When the movie filmed in �08, the house was on the market for $17 million, but the price was later dropped to $14.5 million. (More photos and info on Iamnotastalker.)



The house has three levels and they�re almost entirely glass, which makes for great views everywhere you look:



The kitchen in the movie:



And in the listing:





More listing photos:



The house has 5 bedrooms, 6 baths, and 4 decks.



This bathroom is pretty amazing:



Samantha on the balcony in the movie:



For more photos and information, check the Coldwell Banker listing. You can see my post about the rest of the Sex and the City sets, including Carrie�s apartment makeover,here.

Movie Real Estate: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

This is the house that started it all. This is the house that I fell in love with as a young girl and never got over. It all started when I was little, and my mother introduced me to The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. An old house by the sea, the turrets inspire some of the many perspectives in the film. Balmy weather and lush vegetation often frame the home and the story.

1900: Having had enough of living with her late husband�s mother and maiden aunt, young widow Lucy Muir decides to move with her daughter Anna to a place of her own by the sea. Her eye falls on the picturesque coastal village of Whitecliff where she finds a beautiful house Gull Cottage. The landlord tries his hardest to dissuade Lucy from taking the cottage, telling her that all the previous tenants have moved out just as quickly as they moved in. Lucy soon discovers the reason for the landlord�s warnings when she sees windows and doors open on their own, candles blown out and hears disembodied laughter. Unlike the previous tenants, strong-willed Lucy refuses to be scared off by the hauntings and demands that the ghost reveal himself. He appears and Lucy recognises him immediately as Captain Daniel Gregg, the cottage�s previous owner and whose portrait hangs above the mantelpiece. Initially hostile towards one another, Lucy and the Captain soon develop a mutual respect that quickly becomes admiration. When Lucy suddenly finds herself in financial difficulties, in order to raise money the Captain (or Daniel as he asks her to call him) dictates to her a novel about his life. While writing the book, Daniel and Lucy learn more about each other and become closer.

I can�t possibly tell you more, you�ll just have to rent it for yourself.

Who wouldn�t want to live here?


Gull Cottage: The Ghost and Mrs Muir
There really is, in fact, a Gull Cottage. It resides in Montecito, California, shouldered between condominiums, and minus the lion statues on the porch, the ship�s wheel on the balcony, and the widow�s walk on the roof. Many of the interior scenes in the television series were shot in the house, and the rest were filmed at Twentieth Century Fox. Below are some stills highlighting some of the interior.


Viewing the house for the first time...and the infamous monkey tree.




The inside hallyway. Beautiful staircase -


The kichen: huge stove and well lit.


Bedroom with view of the sea.


Bedroom, fireplace view.

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Gull Cottage in the Movie �The Ghost and Mrs. Muir�

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on SEPTEMBER 12, 2011


The classic 1947 Academy-Award nominee The Ghost and Mrs. Muir featured an unforgettably romantic seaside house in the (fictitious) English village of Whitecliff-by-the-Sea. Gene Tierney starred as Lucy Muir, a young widow who rents Gull Cottage, only to discover that the handsome sea captain who died there is still haunting it.

The movie was actually filmed entirely in California. Steve told Movie Real Estate it was built by the production department of 20th Century Fox in Palos Verdes and taken down after filming ended.

The set had no running water or electricity, and the ceilings were removable to accommodate lights and sound equipment.

The famous Monkey Puzzle tree in the front yard�which Rex Harrison�s Captain Daniel Gregg planted himself and is unhappy to see taken down�was real. It was found on the back lot of Fox studios and transplanted for the shoot. You can read more about Monkey Puzzle trees here.

They built a greenhouse on the side of the house that they didn�t end up using in the movie. You can see it in this production photo taken during filming:



In the front hall, these double doors lead to the living room, where Lucy first sees the Captain�s portrait and becomes intrigued by it:

The word muir (and Lucy�s last name) is Gaelic for �the sea.�

Real estate agent Mr. Coombe tells Lucy that Captain Gregg committed suicide, which is why he�s haunting the house. But the Captain insists he didn�t kill himself�hekicked the gas heater over in his sleep.

He has run everyone else off the property within a day or two, but Lucy isn�t as easily frightened. She loves the cottage and is determined to stay�ghost or no ghost. An unconventional romance ensues.

The Cottage Kitchen was kind of primitive but cozy:

Gene Tierney starred in several memorable classics besides this one, including Laura(1944) and Leave Her to Heaven (1945).



Despite her beauty and fame, Tierney had a difficult life marked by tragedy and mental illness.

She had a daughter with husband Oleg Cassini in 1943 who was born with multiple special needs after Tierney was exposed to Rubella during her pregnancy. She had to drop out of later film roles because of mental instability and personal troubles and died at the age of 70 from emphysema.

The movie was based on a popular 1945 novel written by British author Josephine Leslie under the (unfortunate) pseudonym R.A. Dick. It was adapted by American screenwriter Philip Dunne.



The upstairs hallway:

Lucy�s daughter Anna was played by Natalie Wood. Here�s a photo of her with the dog taken during filming:

We only got a brief look at Anna�s bedroom when Lucy tucks her in one night, but you can see a little more of it in this production still:

The Captain�s bedroom was captured in this panoramic view on set:

Lucy pays the rent on the cottage with dividends from a gold mine. When the mine shuts down, she�s afraid she�ll have to move back in with her bossy in-laws.

The Captain isn�t about to let her go, though. He comes up with a plan to dictate a rough and tumble book about his seafaring life called Blood and Swash. Lucy finds a publisher and it becomes a bestseller.

The painting of Captain Gregg that he insisted Lucy hang in the bedroom was actually a photo of Rex Harrison that they painted over.

In this production shot you can see how the ceiling panels could be removed for lights and cameras to come down:

Looking into the Captain�s (and Lucy�s) bedroom window at night from the outside:

Lucy (stupidly) falls for children�s book author Miles Farley (George Sanders) after meeting him at her publisher�s office. He turns out to be a charming cad, but it takes her a while to notice.

The Captain says goodbye to Lucy while she�s sleeping, telling her she needs to move on and experience real-life love. When she wakes up, she�ll think he was just a dream (I hate that part! Don�t go, Captain Gregg!).

This production shot shows the back door of Gull Cottage:

The Captain and Lucy in the front yard:

And a view of bathers on the beach below:

In the final scene of the movie (spoiler alert!), Lucy and the Captain walk out of the house together, arm in arm:

Did anyone else think it was sad that she spent so many years alone, believing the Captain was nothing but a strange dream she had when she first moved there? He should have come back when she kicked Miles to the curb, IMO.

Two weeks ago I posted photos of the real house used in the 1960s sitcom �The Ghost & Mrs. Muir,� which was based on this movie. It�s beautiful, too, and was also filmed in California instead of England. You can see it here if you missed it!