The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 American crime comedy directed by David Zucker and based on the television series Police Squad! (1982). Leslie Nielsen stars as Lieutenant Frank Drebin, a well-meaning but hopelessly incompetent Los Angeles police detective investigating an international conspiracy to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to California. His investigation leads him to wealthy businessman Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalbán), who plans to use a hypnotised assassin to carry out the murder. The film also stars Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer, George Kennedy as Captain Ed Hocken and O. J. Simpson as Detective Nordberg. Written by Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker and Pat Proft, the film was the first instalment in the Naked Gun trilogy.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) was filmed mainly around Los Angeles, California, with additional locations in Glendale, Anaheim and San Diego County. Principal photography took place between February and May 1988, using numerous recognisable buildings, streets and public spaces across Southern California. Among the principal locations were Dodger Stadium, the Ambassador Hotel, the Park Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles City Hall and the harbour at San Pedro. The production also used actual Los Angeles streets for several elaborate visual jokes and car chases, while Angel Stadium in Anaheim supplied exterior footage for the film’s baseball finale.

The opening sequence, supposedly taking place in Beirut, Lebanon, was filmed partly at Brand Library and Art Center at 1601 West Mountain Street in Glendale. The building was originally constructed in 1904 as the private residence of businessman Leslie C. Brand, with architecture inspired by Middle Eastern and Indian styles. Its distinctive domes, minarets and ornamental entrance made it suitable for the fictional Middle Eastern setting. The sequence introduces Frank Drebin as he infiltrates a secret meeting of international political leaders and dictators planning attacks against the United States. Disguised as a waiter, he interrupts the gathering and fights the assembled conspirators before revealing his identity.

The Los Angeles Harbor area in San Pedro provided the setting for Detective Nordberg’s investigation of Vincent Ludwig’s criminal activities. The waterfront near 1026 South Seaside Avenue was used for the opening scenes in which Nordberg boards a suspicious vessel connected to a heroin shipment. After discovering evidence of smuggling, he is ambushed by Ludwig’s men and suffers a series of increasingly ridiculous injuries before falling into the harbour. The real docks, warehouses and moored vessels establish the industrial waterfront where Ludwig conducts part of his illegal business.

Los Angeles City Hall at 200 North Spring Street was used for the press conference announcing Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the city. Completed in 1928, the building’s monumental architecture and council chamber provided the setting for the meeting at which Mayor Barkley (Nancy Marchand) discusses security arrangements with senior police officials. Drebin attends the announcement while investigating the attempted murder of Nordberg, whose injuries have led him to suspect a connection between Ludwig and an international assassination plot. The City Hall scenes were filmed within the actual municipal building rather than a specially constructed civic interior.

Vincent Ludwig’s luxurious offices were represented by the Park Plaza Hotel at 607 South Park View Street, overlooking MacArthur Park. The building, originally opened in 1925 as the Elks Lodge No. 99, is known for its elaborate Gothic Revival architecture, vaulted interiors and ornate stonework. In the film, the property becomes Ludwig Towers, the headquarters of the wealthy businessman whom Drebin increasingly suspects of orchestrating the assassination. Drebin visits Ludwig’s office during his investigation and later returns to search for evidence, discovering a message connecting Ludwig to the international conspiracy. His attempts to examine the document end disastrously when he accidentally sets fire to the office, destroying much of the evidence.

Several Downtown Los Angeles streets were used for the car chase involving the hypnotised Dr Mainheimer and Drebin’s attempts to stop him. The sequence includes South Santa Fe Avenue, where the pursuing vehicles pass through the tunnel beneath the former Sixth Street Viaduct. Additional shots were filmed around the intersection of Santa Fe Avenue and Palmetto Street, where the fleeing doctor collides with a tanker truck. The chase continues along the industrial streets east of Downtown, eventually reaching East Third Street and South Hewitt Street, where the vehicle crashes into the fictional Feldman Fireworks Company. The building used for the fireworks business stood near 800 East Third Street and has since undergone substantial alterations.

The film also uses several recognisable locations during Drebin’s developing relationship with Jane Spencer. The former Vagabond Cinema at 2509 Wilshire Boulevard provided the setting for their visit to the cinema, where the couple are seen laughing hysterically while watching Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War drama Platoon (1986). The cinema subsequently closed and became the Hayworth Theatre. Jane’s apartment building was filmed at 1730 North Gramercy Place in Hollywood, with its exterior appearing after the couple’s evening together. Another brief sequence follows Drebin walking through Los Angeles while reflecting on his failed marriage, passing the Hollywood Downtowner Inn at 5601 Hollywood Boulevard before reaching the Hollywood Bowl Overlook on Mulholland Drive. The same montage includes a view of the twin domes of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego County, used for a visual joke about his former wife.

One of the film’s most important locations was the Ambassador Hotel at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, where Queen Elizabeth II attends a formal reception hosted by the city. Opened in 1921, the hotel was a major Los Angeles landmark and contained the famous Cocoanut Grove nightclub, which hosted numerous Hollywood events. The film used the hotel’s western entrance, including the covered approach leading to the Cocoanut Grove, for the royal reception. Drebin arrives despite having been warned to stay away and attempts to convince his colleagues that Ludwig is planning to assassinate the Queen. When Ludwig presents her with an antique firearm, Drebin mistakes the gesture for an assassination attempt and throws himself onto the Queen, creating a public scandal that results in his dismissal from Police Squad. The Ambassador Hotel closed in 1989 and was demolished in stages between 2005 and 2006, with a school complex subsequently constructed on the property.

Another industrial location was the former building at 652 Imperial Street in Downtown Los Angeles, which represented the Ludwig Meat Packing Company. After receiving a message supposedly from Jane, Drebin arrives at the meatpacking facility and discovers that Ludwig has arranged an ambush. The ensuing confrontation takes place among the industrial equipment and processing areas, ending when Drebin disposes of his attacker in a vat of chemicals. The building used for the location has since been demolished and replaced by newer development.

The film’s elaborate climax takes place during a baseball game between the California Angels and Seattle Mariners, attended by Queen Elizabeth II. Although the game is supposedly being played at Anaheim Stadium, the principal baseball scenes were filmed at Dodger Stadium at 1000 Vin Scully Avenue in Los Angeles. Opened in 1962, Dodger Stadium provided the playing field, spectator stands, dugouts and other facilities used for the lengthy sequence. The real Anaheim Stadium, now known as Angel Stadium, at 2000 Gene Autry Way, appears briefly in establishing footage showing the exterior of the fictional venue. A short interior shot from Wrigley Field in Chicago was also incorporated into the finished sequence.

Dodger Stadium became the setting for Drebin’s desperate attempt to prevent the assassination. After learning that a baseball player has been hypnotised to shoot the Queen, he disguises himself as the opera singer Enrico Pallazzo and performs a disastrous rendition of the American national anthem. He then incapacitates the home plate umpire and takes his place, using his new position to search the players for concealed weapons. Much of the comedy takes place directly on the actual baseball field, including Drebin’s exaggerated umpiring gestures, his attempts to delay the game and the confrontation with Reggie Jackson, the real Angels outfielder playing himself. The sequence culminates in a large fight between the two teams as Jackson attempts to reach a hidden firearm and carry out the assassination.

The filmmakers originally hoped to feature the Los Angeles Dodgers as the home team, but the club was unwilling to be associated with the chaotic on-field brawl required by the screenplay. The production was nevertheless permitted to use Dodger Stadium, provided the Dodgers were not identified as the team appearing in the film. The California Angels consequently became the home side, with the Seattle Mariners as their opponents. Several actual baseball personalities participated in the filming, including Jackson and a group of prominent broadcasters. These details were confirmed by director David Zucker and others involved in the production in a 2018 Los Angeles Times retrospective on the baseball sequence.

The final confrontation also takes place around the stadium. After Drebin prevents Jackson from shooting the Queen, Ludwig takes Jane hostage and attempts to escape through the upper levels of the venue. Drebin pursues him and fires a tranquilliser dart, causing Ludwig to fall over a railing. The villain subsequently suffers a succession of fatal indignities involving a bus, a steamroller and the University of Southern California marching band. The film ends at the stadium with Drebin’s public reconciliation with Jane and his reinstatement to Police Squad, followed by one last accident involving Nordberg’s wheelchair.

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