warner bros classic tour

• Things to Do
• Restaurants
• Vacation Rentals
• Travel Stories
• Rental Cars
• Add a Place
• Travel Forum
• Travelers' Choice
• Help Center

Classic Tour - Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

• United States    
• California (CA)    
• Burbank    
• Burbank - Things to Do    
• Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

Classic Tour

This is a review for the Warner Brothers Classic Tour we just took last Saturday. I recommend this tour! First off, it was a small group. Not only did we see the backlots, we walked through the Props building which was fascinating. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable. And, if there was a hard question, he immediately looked it up to give us an answer. Impressive and unusual for these days when people say "I don't know that...sorry." Mark was our tour guide and he was the best! If visiting Southern California, and you like the old movies/tv shows....this is a must-do. Plus, he did go into present day stuff as well, which was an asset to the experience.

Thank you for taking the time to review your Classics Tour experience. We’re thrilled that you enjoyed exploring some Hollywood history with us, and we appreciate the recommendation. We'll be sure to let Mark know he did a fantastic job! Best, WB Tour Hollywood

A great way to see how movies and tv shows are produced. Amazing slight of hand to make office buildings to have different uses. Hopefully I can recognize the changes in future movies and tv shows. Lilly was a good tour guide.

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your Studio Tour experience. We’re delighted that you had fun exploring behind the scenes with us. We'll make sure Lily hears your feedback! Best, WB Tour Hollywood

We visited California on our family trip and decided to make the Warner bros tour our first major attraction. We wanted our boys ages: 11, 14, 17 to get excited for our trip! All I can say is WOW! ALL of the tour guides are super nice and knowledgeable. It is a real behind the scenes tour of current shows /movies you watch and old ones too! Learn about how effects are made, shows are filmed, you may even catch a star or two!! Well worth the $$. We did the regular studio tour not the VIP. My kids all say they would do it again as we are still in LA as I write this....

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review of your Studio Tour. We’re so glad you made us a part of your trip to LA, and we're even happier that you and your family enjoyed it so much! You're always welcome back again! Best, WB Tour Hollywood

This was a great and highly recommend experience. If you are looking for a cool behind the scenes tv/movie experience this is a good one. The tour is mostly guided on a cart with walking as well. The tour guide was very knowledgeable. Some pretty cool interactive exhibits at the end of the tour.

We're delighted to know you had such a positive experience exploring behind the scenes with us, and we appreciate your recommendation!

We had Elliot as a tour guide and he asked at the beginning what shows ppl were interested in so he could tailor it as much as he could. He was very knowledgeable. Luckily we got to see the Big Bang Theory set since they weren’t filming. Unfortunately no celebrity sightings bc we went over the holidays :( I liked that the friends couch among other props were at the end to your own pace but I think there was a whole other prop building we didn’t have time for :(

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your Studio Tour experience. We’re delighted that you had fun learning behind-the-scenes secrets with us, and we'll make sure to pass along your feedback to Elliot! Best, WB Tour Hollywood

I'm not a great fan of Hollywood movies and I despise TV shows where a live audience needs to be complemented by a laughter track to make them a comedy. Before visiting this tour I never could bare to watch more than five minutes of "Friends". But I really liked the way this tour was organized. A group of max 14 guests gets a private tour by a very knowledgeable driver/guide. Parts of the tour you are driven around in an electric transporter, you also get to visit a 'soundstage' and some museum-like exhibits. Must say it was very entertaining getting this a tour in a working studio, getting all the background info from your guide. Back at the hotel, watched my first full episode of Friends, so now I even know what the Central Perk in 'Manhattan' looks like on TV. Central PERK... start laughter track.

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your Studio Tour experience. It sounds like you learned quite a bit about the filmmaking magic behind the scenes. We're so happy to hear how much you enjoyed it and hope to welcome you back again someday! Best, WB Tour Hollywood

A Classics-Focused Tour Returns to Warner Bros.

Take a deep dive into hollywood's golden age as "classics made here" rolls again at the burbank studio., by alysia gray painter • published april 12, 2022 • updated on april 12, 2022 at 11:49 am.

If moxie is missing from your life, and your world feels a little light in both pluck and panache, taking some confident cues from the classics may be required.

For movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood often celebrated a certain sparkle, and gobs of get-up-and-go, and seeing a splashy star sashay across a glamorous set with oodles of oomph is not an unlikely occurrence.

Pluck, panache, and flicks that have gracefully weathered the decades are in the spotlight at Warner Bros. Studio, specifically those movies and movie stars that are featured in the Classics Made Here tour

The specialized outing puts the focus on some of the best-known films of yore, those timeless movies that were made around the studio's celebrated backlot and soundstages.

Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.

So is this themed tour similar to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, which also cruises around movie sets while giving cinema-loving visitors plenty of fun film facts?

It is, but while the famous Studio Tour covers modern-day works, Classics Made Here is all about the actors, directors, screenplays, and settings that captured the fancies of our grandparents' and parents' generations.

And our own, too, of course.

Hollywood's Magic Castle Bought by Video Game Maker

Dine LA Boasts Hundreds of Restaurant Deals

If you count yourself as a "Casablanca" fan, or a maven of "My Fair Lady," you'll want to find your way to a tram, starting on April 28, 2022, when the tour returns to the studio after a hiatus.

Television is also included in the look-back look-around, which starts with the earliest days of the studio and concludes around the 1970s.

Traveling back in time to the starry era?

It takes around three hours. A visit to Stage 48: Script to Screen is part of the cinematic adventure, too, giving guests the chance to see a bevy of costumes worn by the biggest luminaries of the time, from Audrey Hepburn to Joan Crawford.

Stage 48 also has several interactive areas, a store, and the Central Perk Café (should you desire a pastry and pick-me-up after poking around the soundstages and backlots).

A SoCal resident ticket to the tour? It's $57, and other ticketing tiers are available.

So don your favorite tuxedo or glamor gown, if you're feeling dressy, and sashay, with confidence, over to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour site now to book your spot.

We may not be able to time-travel back to Old Hollywood, but its amazing artifacts and legendary locations still exist.

And ready to lead you those fabled places? A knowledgeable guide on the returning Classics Made Here tour.

This article tagged under:

Things To Do

• Attractions
• Plan Your Trip
• Burbank Itineraries & Trip Ideas
• BOOK YOUR TRIP
• VISITORS GUIDE DOWNLOAD
• TRAVEL UPDATES
• VISITOR’S GUIDE
• SPONSORSHIP
• PLAN A MEETING
• Studio Tours
• TV Show Taping
• Filmed in Burbank
• Outdoor Adventure
• Arts & Culture

Neighborhoods

• Media District
• Magnolia Park
• Downtown Burbank
• Airport District

Beyond Burbank

• Burbank is close to Los Angeles’ top attractions – discover now!

Burbank Visitor's Guide

sign up for our newsletter

Warner Bros. Studio Classics Tour

The Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood allows you to go behind-the-scenes at a working TV and movie studio and even the Warner Bros. Classics. On the tour you’ll explore a live TV set, backdrops for your favorite movies and TV shows, and much more.

Experience the Golden Age of Hollywood with the Warner Bros. Classic Made Here Tour . You’ll start off with a sparkling wine toast, then a specially trained Tour Guide, with a love of the Warner Bros. classics film and TV collection, will guide you through the Studio Tour themed to iconic classic movies and TV shows. This 3.5 hour tour is offered daily and focuses on Warner Bros. Golden Age of Film and TV, featuring award-winning titles that shot on the iconic backlot from the early days of the Studio through the 1970’s.

people are saying...

Similar articles, to entertainment, afroanimation summit 2024 honors kemp powers, camille eden, bruce smith, and jermaine turner at inaugural icon awards.

Independent Films Showcasing the Impact of Diverse Storytelling in Animation Celebrated at FRWD Awards

AfroAnimation Summit 2024 Celebrates Diverse Talent in the Entertainment Sector

April 2024 Event Brings Together Film, Animation, and Gaming Studio Leaders with Global Audience of Creatives and Students.

Universal Studios Hollywood Powers Up for the 2024 One-Year Anniversary Celebration of Super Nintendo World

2024 is a banner year at Universal Studios Hollywood with the one-year anniversary of Super Nintendo World™.

Extend 2024 Valentine’s to the Entire Week!

This Valentine’s Day, we’ve picked a selection of exceptionally romantic and uniquely Burbank activities running from February 10 through 17. Let these thrilling date ideas ignite your imagination, and then embark on planning the ultimate Burbank experience to commemorate Valentine’s Week.

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Dine at the castaway

Receive a Free Dessert

A Comparison of Warner Brothers Studio Tours in LA

One of Los Angeles’ most popular attractions, the Warner Brothers Studio offers visitors the chance to glimpse behind the scenes of one of the oldest film studios in the world.

(Photo: Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood / Courtesy GetYourGuide)

Bringing you closer than ever to the glamorous world of movie-making, Warner Brothers tours invite you to explore one of the busiest working studios in LA. In the company of an expert guide, you’ll be treated to an inside look at the production studio that has been entertaining us for nearly a century. Here’s our comparison of some of the best Warner Brothers Studios tours currently on offer.

Warner Bros. Studio Hollywood Tour

The classic Warner Brothers Studio tour invites visitors to experience the thrills of a working Hollywood studio that has been responsible for some of the world’s most iconic feature films and TV shows. Whether it’s re-enacting a scene from Friends on the famous Central Perk set, exploring the evolution of high-tech Batmobiles, or climbing aboard Harry Potter’s broomstick, the tour offers a magical chance to step into cinematic and televisual backdrops that have gone down in entertainment legend. The tour lasts for 3 hours, 1 of which is guided. Skip-the-line tickets are also included. From $69 per person.

Book at GetYourGuide

Warner Bros Studio: The Golden Age of Hollywood Classic Tour

For those with a particular interest in Hollywood’s Golden Age, then this extended evening tour could be for you. Over 3.5 hours, a specially trained guide will help you retrace the footsteps of Hollywood’s Greats, with a focus on the period spanning 1900 to the early 1970s and the iconic movies and generational actors who defined this era, from Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn to Ingrid Bergman and Joan Crawford. Highlights include an exhibition of original costumes from famous movies. This tour also includes skip-the-line tickets. From $69 per person.

Los Angeles Landmarks & Film Studio Tour

(Photo: Friendly Local Guides / Courtesy Viator)

Hollywood’s illustrious history is not just condensed into the Warner Brothers Studio – it’s all around you. This 2.5-hour tour lets you explore some of the locations that form part of this distinguished heritage, including a stop-off at the studio itself. Departing mid-morning, you’ll visit notable landmarks and attractions including Hollywood Hills, the Hollywood Reservoir, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You’ll also hike to the famous Hollywood sign for obligatory photos, as well as visit the vast green expanse of Griffith Park, the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and the San Fernando Valley for your final stop before returning to the city centre. From $106 per person.

Book at Viator

Latest Articles

• The Best All-Inclusive Hotels in Protaras April 15, 2024
• 5 of the Best Cycling Jersey Brands April 15, 2024
• 5 Unique Tours of the UK from London April 15, 2024
• Editor Picks: The Best All-Inclusive Hotels in Rhodes April 14, 2024
• 5 of the Best European Tours for Singles April 14, 2024

A visit to Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood and their ‘Classics Made Here’ tour

If you’re looking to take a studio tour while visiting Los Angeles, there are numerous options to choose from. Some of them are fairly basic tours of a movie studio, and on the opposite end of the spectrum is the Universal Studios Hollywood “World-Famous Studio Tour” which is more of a theme park attraction. But the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is a nice blend of the two. You’ll get a lot of foot-on-the-ground access to the working studio lot, but there are also certain areas designed specifically for the tourist experience. And now, Warner Bros. Studios Tour Hollywood offers a specially guided tour for fans of Hollywood’s golden age, called “Classics Made Here.”

Full disclosure, one of my first jobs when I moved to Los Angeles was as a tour guide at Warner Bros. But a lot has changed since those days of mine, driving the extended golf cart full of tourists around the studio.

It begins in a gallery space where you’ll wait to hear your tour group announced for departure. In this room, you’ll see a large recreation of the iconic WB water tower and several soundstages with a map of the studio below your feet. It’s a very cool display, especially if you have some prior knowledge of the studio lot layout. Here you’ll find various galleries highlighting the history of Warner Bros. For those guests interested in the classics, you’ll want to spend extra time in the “Classics to Contemporary” section.

Once your group is called, you’re escorted into a movie theater where you’ll see a montage of Warner Bros. clips, getting you even more hyped for the tour. Although this is the same montage shown to the other tours offered, it still features some of the classics. It wouldn’t feel right having a WB montage without including “Casablanca.”

After the montage plays, several tour guides come into the theater introducing themselves to the various groups. The tour guides who give the “Classics Made Here” tour are specially trained. They are fans of the classics themselves and are able to share more knowledge of the classics. As we hop onto our golf carts to ride around the lot, this is the portion of the tour that differentiates itself most from the standard tour.

Our well-informed tour guide, Jorja, was sure to ask us at the top of the tour if we had any favorite classics. She asked this in order to make sure she was showing us what we wanted to see. So, if you’re going on a WB tour, don’t be shy when this question is asked. They all want to make sure you’re enjoying the tour, so speak up.

Each of the tour carts are equipped with several monitors that are able to show clips of the locations you’re visiting, seen in films and TV. Earlier, I mentioned how the montage in the movie theater was the same for all tour groups. In this case, the clips shown are specially made for the “Classics Made Here” tour, only featuring the classics and history of the studio lot.

For me, the magic of a studio lot has always been the backlot sets. In the Midwest backlot, movies including “The Music Man,” “East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Bonnie & Clyde,” and so many more were all shot there. But these old backlot sets don’t still exist simply because of their history. They’re all still used today. In fact, while I was visiting the lot, they were setting up the space for a new shoot.

Perhaps the most iconic location on the “Classics Made Here” tour is the last remaining exterior set from “Casablanca.” On the backlot French Street, this façade has been used in countless projects. But it’s never changed too much in order to honor its place in cinematic history. French Street can also be seen in the classic WB film, “Now, Voyager” starring Bette Davis.

After visiting a couple of other backlots, including New York Street where classics like “The Big Sleep” and “The Maltese Falcon” were shot, we headed onto the front lot, which houses the soundstages. We went into soundstage 25, one of the few soundstages commemorated with a name and plaque. Stage 25 is called “The Big Bang Theory” stage, as all twelve seasons of the hit sitcom were shot inside. The stage is currently used for the show “Bob Hearts Abishola,” but that doesn’t mean it’s only used for current projects. On the sides of each soundstage there are plaques highlighting some of the projects that shot inside. Stage 25 was used for classics including “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Casablanca,” “Giant,” and more.

On the front lot sits soundstage 16. This is the largest soundstage on the lot, and one of the largest in North America. The stage was raised from the bottom up for the film “Cain and Mabel,” adding onto its height. Another classic shot in here was the drag race sequence in “Rebel Without a Cause” starring James Dean.

After our exploration of the backlot and front lot, our tour guide dropped us off at “Stage 48: Script to Screen.” Fun fact, in reality there are less than 48 stages on the Warner Bros. main studio lot. Stage 48 was given this name, as the building that once sat on this land was numbered building 48.

This self-guided portion of the tour links you back up with all other tours. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t classic memorabilia to check out. Inside, you’ll find costumes and memorabilia from “Casablanca,” and “My Fair Lady,” plus the leading ladies and gangsters of yesteryear cinema. It’s also worth noting that guests will be able to visit the real sets of modern classics like hit TV shows “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory” in Stage 48.

After touring Stage 48, learning about the script to screen process, grabbing a bite at a recreated Central Perk, and shopping in a one-of-a-kind “Friends” themed store, it’s back on the golf cart for a short trip.

On the way to the tour finale, we took a pit stop by the “Friends” fountain in order to snap a picture. The original location of this iconic fountain was down the street at the Warner Bros. Studio Ranch, but the public cannot gain access to that smaller lot. It was recently moved to the main lot in order for tour guests to enjoy it. For those interested in the classics tour, it’s fun to note that although this fountain was made famous by “Friends,” it was also used by The Three Stooges.

After that short pit stop, you’ll hop on another golf cart taking you to the “Action and Magic Made Here” self-guided finale. In here you’ll mostly find props, costumes, and photo opportunities featuring DC Comics and Harry Potter. But, for those classics fans, the last thing you’ll see before entering the gift shop are the airplane scene costumes from “Casablanca” and Professor Harold Hill’s suitcase from “The Music Man.” It’s a nice reminder that without the classics that made Warner Bros. the brand that it is today, there would be no modern classics.

Overall, if you’re looking for a studio tour with a great mix of real-life studio production and elements created especially for tourists, you can’t go wrong with any Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood option. If you’re a fan of classic cinema, the “Classics Made Here” tour is the one you’ll want to book. For those of you who want an even more expanded tour experience, they offer a Studio Tour Plus, as well as a Deluxe Tour. Learn about all of your tour options at www.wbstudiotour.com .

Jeff DePaoli is a producer and voiceover artist living in Los Angeles. He can be heard as the voice of Disney Trivia on Alexa as well as the host of “Dizney Coast to Coast,” the ultimate, unofficial Disney fan podcast. Get your FREE gifts of “America’s Hidden Mickeys,” “On the Rohde Again,” “Theme Park Comfort Kit” and more at  DizneyCoastToCoast.com . DePaoli’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent Attractions Magazine.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign me up for the Attractions Magazine e-mail newsletter!

Get the latest news direct to your inbox. Simply submit your email address below.

Thanks, but I’m not interested

• Announcements
• Monthly Newsletter
• Publications & Presentations
• Inquiries & Contact
• 5 Favorite Films of the ’50s
• 5 Movies on an Island Blogathon
• 6 from the ’60s
• Classics for Comfort
• Five Stars Blogathon
• Four Favorite Noirs
• The “Take Two!” Blogathon
• The Biopic Blogathon
• The Busby Berkeley Blogathon
• The Celluloid Road Trip Blogathon: Domestic Edition
• The Celluloid Road Trip Blogathon: International Edition
• The Hollywood Gangsters Blogathon
• The MGM Musical Magic Blogathon
• The Wedding Bells Blogathon
• A Front Row Seat
• A.K.A. Lucy
• Agent Josephine
• Aline MacMahon
• Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.
• Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway
• Anne Bancroft: A Life
• Anvils, Mallets & Dynamite
• Barbara La Marr: The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood
• Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge
• Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life
• Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley
• Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies
• Cary Grant, the Making of a Hollywood Legend
• Charles Boyer: The French Lover
• Charlie Chaplin vs. America
• Citizen Welles
• Clarence Brown: Hollywood’s Forgotten Master
• Competing with Idiots
• Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart
• Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland, and the Golden Age of Hollywood
• Deanna Durbin: A Hollywood Fairy Tale
• Dear Bob…
• Don Rickles
• Eleanor Powell
• Elizabeth and Monty
• Fay Wray and Robert Riskin
• Ferocious Ambition
• Film’s First Family
• Gary Cooper: Enduring Style
• George Hurrell’s Hollywood
• Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi
• Grace Kelly
• Hello, Norma Jeane
• Ian Fleming
• Ida Lupino: A Biography
• Jayne Mansfield
• Jessica Lange
• Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography
• Jobyna Ralston: A Life in Pictures
• John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars
• José Ferrer: Success and Survival
• Lawrence Tierney
• Marion Davies: A Biography
• Maureen O’Hara: The Biography
• Mean…Moody…Magnificent!: Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend
• My Place in the Sun
• Natalie Wood: A Life
• Nazimova: A Biography
• Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant
• Otto Preminger
• Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life
• Phantom Lady
• Robert Riskin
• Robert Taylor: Male Beauty, Masculinity, and Stardom in Hollywood
• Seen from the Wings: Luise Rainer. My Mother, The Journey
• Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop
• She Damn Near Ran the Studio
• Straight Lady
• Strictly Dynamite
• The Accidental Star
• The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall
• The Brothers Mankiewicz
• The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks
• The Ice Cream Blonde: The Whirlwind Life and Mysterious Death of Screwball Comedienne Thelma Todd
• The Lady from the Black Lagoon
• The Life of Dick Haymes
• The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story
• The Queen of Technicolor
• The Savvy Sphinx
• The Sweet Smell of Success
• The Woman Who Dared
• Truly, Madly
• Twilight Man
• Warrior Audrey Hepburn
• What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?
• Wicked Becomes Her
• Wild Bill Wellman
• Ziegfeld and His Follies
• Eddie Muller’s Noir Bar
• It’s A Wonderful Life: The Official Bailey Family Cookbook
• Backwards and in Heels
• But Have You Read the Book?
• Christmas in the Movies: Revised & Expanded
• Crooked, but Never Common
• Danger on the Silver Screen
• Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir
• Elvis Remembered
• Fright Favorites
• Girls on Film
• Rock on Film
• Summer Movies: 30 Sun-Drenched Classics
• TCM Underground
• The Essential Directors
• The Female Gaze
• The Real James Dean: Intimate Memories from Those Who Knew Him Best
• Viva Hollywood
• What Film is Good For
• 20th Century-Fox
• 50 Oscar Nights
• Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism
• All I Want is Loving You
• Becoming Nick & Nora
• Broadway Goes to War
• C’mon, Get Happy
• Cecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood
• Charlie Chaplin
• Cinema’s Original Sin
• City of Dreams
• Cocktails with George and Martha
• Columbia Pictures
• Connecticut in the Movies
• Day at a Time
• Depth Effects
• Dorothy Arzner Interviews
• Double Solitaire
• Electrographic Architecture
• Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures
• Fading Fame
• From the Moment they Met it was Murder
• Hitchcock and the Censors
• Hitchcock’s Blondes
• Hollywood at the Races
• Hollywood Fashion
• Hollywood Victory
• Hollywood: The Oral History
• How Did Lubitsch Do It?
• Imagining the Method
• Immortal Films
• Is Harpo Free?
• Killing John Wayne: The Making of The Conqueror
• Lost in the Dark
• Magic in the Dark
• Making The Best Years of Our Lives
• Marlene Dietrich’s ABC’s
• Marlene Dietrich: Photographs and Memories
• Perplexing Plots
• Radical Innocence
• Robert Wise: The Motion Pictures
• Selling Science Fiction Cinema
• Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood
• Street with No Name
• Teen Movies
• The American Way
• The Exorcist Legacy
• The Fatal Alliance
• The Films of Douglas Sirk
• The Golden Age of Musicals of Darryl F. Zanuck
• The Greatest Westerns
• The Hollywood Motion Picture Blacklist
• The Lost World of DeMille
• The MGM Effect
• The Monster Movies of Universal Studios
• The Star-Spangled Screen
• The Way They Were
• This Was Hollywood
• Vitagraph: America’s First Great Motion Picture Studio
• Warner Bros.
• What a Difference a Day Makes
• What Price Hollywood?
• When Hollywood Came to Utah
• Banished From Memory
• Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles
• Merton of the Movies
• Miss del Río
• Season of the Gods
• Starring Adele Astaire
• Strangers in the Night
• Such Mad Fun: Ambition and Glamour in Hollywood’s Golden Age
• The Audrey Hepburn Estate
• The Brightest Star
• The Five Acts of Diego León
• The Girl from Hollywood
• The Jean Harlow Bombshell
• The Limits of Limelight
• The Roaring Days of Zora Lily
• It’s A Wonderful Life
• Movies Are Magic
• 5 Favorite Foreign Classic Horror Films
• A Powerful Legacy: My Afternoon with Taryn
• A Screen Deco Reflection
• Oscar Nominations & Upcoming Presentations
• The Academy Awards and Plenty of Hope
• Blondie: From Strip to Screen
• Dolores Del Rio: The Face of Deco
• Duo Spotlight: Laurel & Hardy
• How I “Met” James Cagney
• Lucille Ball: Fashion Icon
• My 2021 Top Ten
• Remembering Mickey Rooney
• Rochester and Jack: Breaking Racial Barriers
• Sights and Sounds Reunited: The Vitaphone Project
• Spotlight on Gene Kelly: The Chicago Years
• Style is Eternal: Art Deco Fashion
• The Wilde Ones: The Twin Careers of Lyn and Lee Wilde
• Buster Keaton Convention 2017
• Chicago International Film Festival 2022 Picks
• Coronado Island Film Festival 2020 Pre-Fest Coverage
• Heartland International Film Festival 2020 Jimmy Stewart Tribute
• Heartland International Film Festival 2020 Pre-Fest Coverage
• Heartland International Film Festival 2020 Virtual Fest
• Heartland International Film Festival 2021 Picks
• Heartland International Film Festival 2022 Picks
• Noir City Chicago 2019 Day 1
• Noir City Chicago 2019 Day 2
• Noir City Chicago 2019 Day 3
• Noir City Chicago 2022
• Red Skelton Festival 2019 Day 1
• Red Skelton Festival 2019 Day 2
• TCM Film Festival 2019 Picks
• TCM Film Festival 2019 Pre-Fest Coverage
• TCM Film Festival 2019 Day 1
• TCM Film Festival 2019 Day 2
• TCM Film Festival 2019 Day 3
• TCM Film Festival 2019 Day 4
• TCM Film Festival 2020 Picks
• TCM Film Festival 2020 Pre-Fest Coverage
• Richard Glazier: From Broadway to Hollywood
• TCM Film Festival 2021 Picks
• TCM Film Fest 2022 Pre-Fest Coverage
• TCM Film Festival 2022 Picks
• TCM Film Festival 2022 Day 1
• TCM Film Festival 2022 Day 2
• TCM Film Festival 2022 Day 3
• TCM Film Festival 2022 Day 4
• TCM Film Festival 2023 Picks
• His New Job (1915)
• Girl Shy (1924)
• Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929)
• The Freshman (1925)
• The Gold Diggers (1923)
• Wings (1927)
• 42nd Street (1933)
• Baby Face (1933)
• Born to Dance (1936)
• Double Wedding (1937)
• Duck Soup (1933)
• First Love (1939)
• Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)
• Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
• Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
• Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
• Grand Hotel (1932)
• Happiness Ahead (1934)
• Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
• Libeled Lady (1936)
• Love Me Tonight (1932)
• Mad Love (1935)
• Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
• Modern Times (1936)
• Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
• Sons of the Desert (1933)
• Swing Time (1936)
• Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
• The Music Box (1932)
• The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
• The Public Enemy (1931)
• The Singing Marine (1937)
• Vanity Street (1932)
• Buck Privates (1941)
• Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)
• Good News (1947)
• Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
• Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945)
• Laura (1944)
• Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
• Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
• Mr. Lucky (1943)
• Portrait of Jennie (1948)
• Samson and Delilah (1949)
• The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944)
• The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
• The Big Street (1942)
• The Talk of the Town (1942)
• The Uninvited (1944)
• This Time for Keeps (1947)
• Trapped (1949)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
• In a Lonely Place (1950)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
• Lovely to Look At (1952)
• Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• The African Queen (1951)
• The File on Thelma Jordon (1950)
• The Lineup (1958)
• The Opposite Sex (1956)
• The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
• Touch of Evil (1958)
• Being the Ricardos (2021)
• Elvis (2022)
• King of Cool (2021)
• West Side Story (2021)
• 31 Days of Horror Interview
• Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017)
• Breakfast at Dominique’s
• Buttons: A Christmas Tale (2018)
• Hollywood Kitchen
• My Grandfather, The Tin Man
• My Mother, Loretta Young
• My Uncle, The Scarecrow
• Wait for Your Laugh (2017)
• Good Night, Oscar
• Ann Blyth’s Blueberry Muffins
• Ava Gardner’s Blueberry Buckle
• Betty White’s Applesauce Loaf
• Boris Karloff & Vincent Price’s Guacamole Recipes
• Ginger Rogers’s Fruit Muffins
• Greta Garbo’s Swedish Meatballs
• Irene Dunne’s Vinegar Chocolate Cake
• Janet Gaynor’s New England Pumpkin Pie
• Judy Holliday’s Stuffed Tomatoes
• Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies
• Mary Ann’s (Dawn Wells’s) Famous Coconut Cream Pie
• Sylvia Sidney’s Cherry Pudding
• The Three Stooges’ N’yuk N’yuk N’yams
• Pal the Wonder Dog
• Rin Tin Tin
• Doc and Sneezy
• Sleepy, Grumpy, and Dopey
• Bashful and Happy
• Autry Museum of the American West
• Betty White Centennial
• Calvary Cemetery
• Eden Memorial Park
• Forest Lawn Memorial Park–Glendale
• Forest Lawn Memorial Park–Hollywood Hills
• Gate of Heaven Cemetery
• Glen Haven Memorial Park
• Hillside Memorial Park
• Hollywood Forever Cemetery
• Holy Cross Cemetery
• Kensico Cemetery
• Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery
• San Fernando Mission Cemetery
• Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
• Westwood Village Memorial Park
• Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
• Grauman’s Chinese Theatre Forecourt
• It’s A Wonderful Life Exhibition
• Marion Davies Guest House
• Columbia Pictures, MGM, and Sony Tour
• Warner Brothers Classic Tour
• Oakridge Estate
• The Great American Songbook Foundation
• The Hollywood Heritage Museum
• The Hollywood Museum
• The Joel and Frances McCrea Ranch Foundation
• The Library of Congress
• The Road to Tara: The Legacy of Gone with the Wind in Atlanta
• Will Rogers State Historic Park
• Errol Flynn
• Ruby Keeler
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Leslie Howard
• Peter Cushing
• Vernon & Irene Castle
• Charles Boyer
• Claudette Colbert
• Leslie Caron
• Marlene Dietrich
• Dolores Del Rio
• Edward G. Robinson
• Donald Meek
• Greta Garbo
• Hugh Martin
• Dick Powell
• Doug McPhail
• Esther Williams
• Fay Bainter
• Harry Spear
• Jackie Cooper
• Jean Darling
• Jeanne Crain
• June Knight
• Marion Stadler
• Adriana Caselotti
• George Murphy
• Katharine Hepburn
• Rosalind Russell
• Frances Langford
• Sidney Poitier
• Helen Parrish
• Miriam Hopkins
• Oliver Hardy
• Jeanette Loff
• Lana Turner
• Mary Kornman
• Agnes Ayres
• Arlene Golonka
• Audrey Totter
• Barbara Hale
• Betty White
• Buddy Ebsen
• Donald O’Connor
• Edgar Bergen
• Gloria Swanson
• Gower Champion
• Robert Rockwell
• Robert Young
• Alice Terry
• Anne Baxter
• Carole Lombard
• Clifton Webb
• Cole Porter
• Hoagy Carmichael
• James Pierce
• Madelyn Pugh Davis
• Phil Harris
• Red Skelton
• Steve McQueen
• Buster Keaton
• Marcy McGuire
• Billy Gilbert
• Irene Dunne
• Patricia Neal
• Rosemary Clooney
• Bette Davis
• Jack Lemmon
• Mary Carlisle
• Betty Hutton
• Colleen Moore
• Danny Thomas
• Clinton Sundberg
• Jane Russell
• Virginia Bruce
• Dana Andrews
• Elvis Presley
• Betty Garrett
• Betty Grable
• Cliff Edwards
• Dick Van Dyke
• Jean Harlow
• Shelley Winters
• Robert Taylor
• Eddie Collins
• Frank Sinatra
• Vivian Blaine
• Lori Nelson
• Alice Brady
• Anne Shirley
• Barbara Stanwyck
• Hugh Herbert
• Humphrey Bogart
• Joan Blondell
• John Garfield
• June Allyson
• Lucille Bremer
• Mickey Rooney
• Percy Helton
• Rita Hayworth
• Scotty Mattraw
• Susan Hayward
• Tony Curtis
• Andy Griffith
• Ava Gardner
• Kathryn Grayson
• Virginia Dale
• Dean Martin
• Dorothy Dandridge
• Joe E. Brown
• Otis Harlan
• Paul Newman
• Tyrone Power
• Glenda Farrell
• Martha O’Driscoll
• Jane Powell
• Pinto Colvig
• Allan Jones
• Dorothy Dare
• Frank McHugh
• James Stewart
• Joan McCracken
• Joseph Breen
• Olive Thomas
• The Barrymores
• W. C. Fields
• Van Johnson
• Jobyna Ralston
• Ann Sheridan
• Cyd Charisse
• Debbie Reynolds
• Evelyn Keyes
• George “Spanky” McFarland
• Jean Porter
• Nell O’Day
• Betty Compson
• John Gilbert
• Bing Crosby
• Bobby Hutchins
• Frances Farmer
• Josephine Hutchinson
• Lucille Lund
• Billie Burke
• Alfred Lunt
• Fredric March
• John Fiedler
• Orson Welles
• Spencer Tracy
• Mickey Daniels
• Patreon Supporters
• Fan Favorites Segments
• TCM Film Festival 2022 Pre-Fest Coverage
• TCM National Film Registry Tribute 2020
• TCM Studio Tour
• TCM Ultimate Movie Trivia Challenge
• Women Make Film (2018) Series

For me, no trip to Southern California is complete without immersing myself in filmmaking history. On my first visit to Los Angeles, I tried to fit in as many studio tours as possible, just to be able to walk in the footsteps of some of my favorite stars. The tour at Warner Brothers, in particular, caught my attention as there was a tour specifically focused upon classic cinema. While they did deviate from the classics on a few occasions to show off the more modern stops on the tour that tourists usually prefer, I was all the more excited to explore the studio’s storied past and to personally see different artifacts connected to Hollywood’s Golden Age and its iconic stars. This article focuses upon the history of classic cinema and how it is highlighted in the current Warner Bros Classic Tour.

Upon going through security, I waited in a lovely gathering place as several other visitors and I waited for our tour groups to assemble. The visitor’s area has a Warner-themed coffee shop in addition to a fine display that showcases they studios history and major films. Being of Polish descent, I was also excited to see the word “welcome” in many different languages upon my entrance, including a Polish translation. I thought this was a nice nod to the Warner family history, as three of the four founding Warners were born in Poland.

Once the tour group had assembled, we were led into a theater and shown a film depicting the history of the studio. The film prefacing the tour offered strong contextual information about the studio, its impact upon the industry, and its legacy today. Prior to heading out in our movie touring car, we chatted with our tour group members, received our tour badges, and toasted the studio with complimentary champagne.

As we got started on our tour, we were taken through many different sets that were grouped into themes. For example, the studio has a section that is meant to look like small-town USA, another to portray New York, others for Chicago, and so many more. Of course, since the studio is quite active, some locations were not able to be visited due to the need for “quiet on the set” and for the studio work to continue on without interruption. As a result, each tour will vary to a degree.

While making our way through the studio, I highly enjoyed picking out the different sets and connecting them to different films I had seen over the years. It is fascinating to see how malleable the sets can be to fit the needs of a given film but certain elements of the facades remain consistent. Here are a few connections, classic and modern, that I was able to make on the tour:

Casablanca (1942):

East of Eden  (1955):

The Music Man (1962):

La La Land (2016):

As we visited the different sets, we learned about the different film in which they appeared. We also were able to stop inside of some of them to get a sense of how filming inside and outside of these venues worked. It was also interesting to touch some of them, as parts of the building were brick whereas others were rubbery.

While movie soundstages may not be as thrilling for some people, I enjoy passing them and learning about which films were shot in them. Though we did not enter the soundstages, each of them was labeled with a plaque that listed some of the major productions that were housed in them.

Here is the history behind the studio soundstages I passed and photographed on the tour:

Stage 1: Stage 1 was built in 1936. Some of the films shot here include:

• Now, Voyager (1942)
• Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
• Princess O’Rourke (1943)
• This is the Army (1943)
• Mildred Pierce (1945)
• The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)
• Calamity Jane (1953)
• A Star is Born (1954)
• Them! (1954)
• The Lone Ranger (1956)
• Ocean’s Eleven (1960)

Stage 6: Stage 6 was built in 1927. Some of the films shot here include:

• Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
• The Petrified Forest (1938)
• Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1941)
• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• Sergeant York (1941)
• They Died With Their Boots On (1942)
• Watch on the Rhine (1943)
• Sayonara (1957)
• The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
• Auntie Mame (1958)
• Damn Yankees (1958)
• A Summer Place (1959)

Stage 11: Stage 11 was constructed in 1926. Some of the films shot here include:

• Dangerous (1935)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• Kings Road (1942)
• White Heat (1949)
• A Star Is Born (1954)
• Pajama Game (1957)
• A Summer Place (1958)

Stage 15: Stage 15 was constructed in 1927. Some of the films shot here include:

• Anthony Adverse (1936)
• The Petrified Forest (1936)
• The Big Sleep (1946)
• House of Wax (1953)
• Mr. Roberts (1955)
• The Old Man and the Sea (1958)

Stage 16: Stage 16 was built in 1935/36 and was formerly known as Stage 7. One of the tallest stages in the world, Stage 16 was raised foot by foot in 1935 to its current height of 98 feet for the Marion Davies and Clark Gable film Cain and Mabel (1936). Some of the films shot here include:

• The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
• The Adventures of Don Juan (1949)
• The Old Man and the Sea (1959)

Stage 20: Stage 20 was constructed 1935. Some of the films shot here include:

• The Roaring Twenties (1939)
• They Drive By Night (1940)
• This Is The Army (1943)
• Watch On The Rhine (1943)
• Johnny Belinda (1946)
• Mister Roberts (1955)
• The Old Man And The Sea (1958)

Stage 24: Stage 24 was constructed 1935. Some of the films shot here include:

• The Letter (1940)
• Johnny Belinda (1948)

Stage 25: Stage 25 was constructed 1935. Some of the films shot here include:

• Knute Rockne: All American (1940)
• High Sierra (1941)
• Kings Row (1942)

While on the tour, we also happened to pass by other buildings of interest, including Bette Davis’s dressing room and Jack Warner’s office.

The soundstages were not the only connections to classic films and performers. A particularly humbling moment on the tour included a stop at the stately World War II Memorial, honoring the various Warner Bros talents who also happened to serve in the war.

Another exciting stop on the tour included a visit to the studio prop house. Containing a vast amount of film props that are each labeled and organized carefully, it is a fascinating sight to behold.

Of the many different props here, these stood out as my favorites:

The  Casablanca globe used in publicity shots.

A  Casablanca  piano.

The Maltese falcons.

The prop house continues to be active today to meet the needs of current film and television productions.

As an archivist and film historian, I am especially excited to encounter costumes and other artifacts that were crucial to the production of classic films. I think that much can be gained from studying these items in their original material form and that working with these pieces can be a moving experience. The last stop on the tour was a museum, which showcased many of these incredible pieces.

The collection included costumes from the following films:

Rebel Without a Cause (1955):

My Fair Lady (1964):

In addition, the collection also profiled costumes worn by different actors and actresses aside from grouping them into one particular film.

Some of the actresses featured included:

Elizabeth Taylor ,

Olivia de Havilland,

Joan Crawford,

and Lauren Bacall.

As for actors, some costumes worn by James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson were also displayed.

As with the prop house, this museum area also has a sizable amount of film history on display. There are a wide range of props and costume pieces here, in addition to awards that commemorate the achievements of the studio and its talents.

Of course, I had a few favorite items in the collection that I was especially honored to see. Among them were:

Jack Warner’s phone and phone book

and a microphone used on the set of the first feature-length motion picture with not only a synchronized recorded music score but also lip-synchronous singing and speech– The Jazz Singer  (1927).

By the time I finished my tour, it was evening. I managed to glimpse the Warner Bros tower on my way out, all lit up for the night.

Overall, I think that the Warner Bros Classic Tour is the best of the bunch for fans of classic cinema. In addition to all of the history encountered here, the guides do a fine job of connecting with their tour attendees individually and learning about which classic stars or classic films are the most interesting to them. My guide asked each one of us about this and did his best to incorporate these points of interest into the tour. For the record, I mentioned that I loved the Busby Berkeley production unit and the Gold Digger films , and the various soundstages in which Berkeley worked were pointed out to me as we passed them on the tour.

I appreciate their efforts to make this tour meaningful to every attendee and highly recommend partaking in this tour offering.

Share this:

12 responses to warner brothers classic tour.

Loved this! Thank you for all the photos, and I hope to take this tour someday. Noticed in the phone book – Salvador Dali!!!!

It’s an epic phone book!

Pingback: Classic Movie Travels: Dorothy Dare | Classic Movie Hub Blog

Pingback: Dorothy Dare | Hometowns to Hollywood

Pingback: Ann Sheridan | Hometowns to Hollywood

Pingback: Humphrey Bogart | Hometowns to Hollywood

Pingback: Ruby Keeler | Hometowns to Hollywood

Thank you Annette for the terrific tour of Warner Brothers studio and all the great photos

Pingback: Richard Glazier: From Broadway to Hollywood | Hometowns to Hollywood

Pingback: The Singing Marine (1937) | Hometowns to Hollywood

Pingback: Rin Tin Tin | Hometowns to Hollywood

Pingback: Happiness Ahead (1934) | Hometowns to Hollywood

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Hometowns to Hollywood

Follow me on Twitter

Hometowns to Hollywood Directory

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Recent Posts

• April Presentations
• From the Moment They Met it was Murder

Top Posts & Pages

• My Mother, Loretta Young

Like “Hometowns to Hollywood” on Facebook!

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Okhotny Ryad station in Soviet times and today.

The Moscow metro system has 275 stations, and 28 of them have been renamed at some point or other—and several times in some cases. Most of these are the oldest stations, which opened in 1935.

The politics of place names

The first station to change its name was Ulitsa Kominterna (Comintern Street). The Comintern was an international communist organization that ceased to exist in 1943, and after the war Moscow authorities decided to call the street named after it something else. In 1946, the station was renamed Kalininskaya. Then for several days in 1990, the station was called Vozdvizhenka, before eventually settling on Aleksandrovsky Sad, which is what it is called today.

The banner on the entraince reads: "Kalininskaya station." Now it's Alexandrovsky Sad.

Until 1957, Kropotkinskaya station was called Dvorets Sovetov ( Palace of Soviets ). There were plans to build a monumental Stalinist high-rise on the site of the nearby Cathedral of Christ the Saviour , which had been demolished. However, the project never got off the ground, and after Stalin's death the station was named after Kropotkinskaya Street, which passes above it.

Dvorets Sovetov station, 1935. Letters on the entrance: "Metro after Kaganovich."

Of course, politics was the main reason for changing station names. Initially, the Moscow Metro itself was named after Lazar Kaganovich, Joseph Stalin’s right-hand man. Kaganovich supervised the construction of the first metro line and was in charge of drawing up a master plan for reconstructing Moscow as the "capital of the proletariat."

In 1955, under Nikita Khrushchev's rule and during the denunciation of Stalin's personality cult, the Moscow Metro was named in honor of Vladimir Lenin.

Kropotkinskaya station, our days. Letters on the entrance: "Metropolitan after Lenin."

New Metro stations that have been opened since the collapse of the Soviet Union simply say "Moscow Metro," although the metro's affiliation with Vladimir Lenin has never officially been dropped.

Zyablikovo station. On the entrance, there are no more signs that the metro is named after Lenin.

Stations that bore the names of Stalin's associates were also renamed under Khrushchev. Additionally, some stations were named after a neighborhood or street and if these underwent name changes, the stations themselves had to be renamed as well.

Until 1961 the Moscow Metro had a Stalinskaya station that was adorned by a five-meter statue of the supreme leader. It is now called Semyonovskaya station.

Left: Stalinskaya station. Right: Now it's Semyonovskaya.

The biggest wholesale renaming of stations took place in 1990, when Moscow’s government decided to get rid of Soviet names. Overnight, 11 metro stations named after revolutionaries were given new names. Shcherbakovskaya became Alekseyevskaya, Gorkovskaya became Tverskaya, Ploshchad Nogina became Kitay-Gorod and Kirovskaya turned into Chistye Prudy. This seriously confused passengers, to put it mildly, and some older Muscovites still call Lubyanka station Dzerzhinskaya for old times' sake.

At the same time, certain stations have held onto their Soviet names. Marksistskaya and Kropotkinskaya, for instance, although there were plans to rename them too at one point.

"I still sometimes mix up Teatralnaya and Tverskaya stations,” one Moscow resident recalls .

 “Both have been renamed and both start with a ‘T.’ Vykhino still grates on the ear and, when in 1991 on the last day of my final year at school, we went to Kitay-Gorod to go on the river cruise boats, my classmates couldn’t believe that a station with that name existed."

The city government submitted a station name change for public discussion for the first time in 2015. The station in question was Voykovskaya, whose name derives from the revolutionary figure Pyotr Voykov. In the end, city residents voted against the name change, evidently not out of any affection for Voykov personally, but mainly because that was the name they were used to.

What stations changed their name most frequently?

Some stations have changed names three times. Apart from the above-mentioned Aleksandrovsky Sad (Ulitsa Kominterna->Kalininskaya->Vozdvizhenka->Aleksandrovsky Sad), a similar fate befell Partizanskaya station in the east of Moscow. Opened in 1944, it initially bore the ridiculously long name Izmaylovsky PKiO im. Stalina (Izmaylovsky Park of Culture and Rest Named After Stalin). In 1947, the station was renamed and simplified for convenience to Izmaylovskaya. Then in 1963 it was renamed yet again—this time to Izmaylovsky Park, having "donated" its previous name to the next station on the line. And in 2005 it was rechristened Partizanskaya to mark the 60th anniversary of victory in World War II. 

Partizanskaya metro station, nowadays.

Another interesting story involves Alekseyevskaya metro station. This name was originally proposed for the station, which opened in 1958, since a village with this name had been located here. It was then decided to call the station Shcherbakovskaya in honor of Aleksandr Shcherbakov, a politician who had been an associate of Stalin. Nikita Khrushchev had strained relations with Shcherbakov, however, and when he got word of it literally a few days before the station opening the builders had to hastily change all the signs. It ended up with the concise and politically correct name of Mir (Peace).

The name Shcherbakovskaya was restored in 1966 after Khrushchev's fall from power. It then became Alekseyevskaya in 1990.

Alekseyevskaya metro station.

But the station that holds the record for the most name changes is Okhotny Ryad, which opened in 1935 on the site of a cluster of market shops. When the metro system was renamed in honor of Lenin in 1955, this station was renamed after Kaganovich by way of compensation. The name lasted just two years though because in 1957 Kaganovich fell out of favor with Khrushchev, and the previous name was returned. But in 1961 it was rechristened yet again, this time in honor of Prospekt Marksa, which had just been built nearby.

Okhotny Ryad station in 1954 and Prospekt Marksa in 1986.

In 1990, two historical street names—Teatralny Proyezd and Mokhovaya Street—were revived to replace Prospekt Marksa, and the station once again became Okhotny Ryad.

Okhotny Ryad in 2020.

If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.

to our newsletter!

Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox

• 7 things that the USSR unexpectedly put on WHEELS
• Why did the USSR build subway stations inside residential buildings? (PHOTOS)
• How Russian trains deal with winter

This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

• Tickets & Showtimes
• Trending on RT

• TV & Streaming Shows
• Godzilla & Kong
• 100 Years, 100 Movies
• Best & Popular

Weekend Box Office

Weekend box office results: civil war earns highest opening weekend for a24, alex garland's unsettling thriller dethrones godzilla x kong , but can it surpass everything everywhere all at once as a24's highest-grossing film overall.

TAGGED AS: Box Office , movies , news

Going to movie theaters bring people together. They can also polarize them after leaving, depending on what they saw. So what better movie to offer the best of both worlds than the new film from Alex Garland? Because no one has ever been polarized in their thinking after watching Annihilation or Men . By next weekend, his latest film will have outgrossed all of his previous films, but moviegoers may be more divided than ever.

King of the Crop: Civil War Earns Highest Opening Weekend for A24

We kid, of course, to play into the rhetoric around Garland’s Civil War . The film’s initial high Tomatometer score from SXSW has come back to Earth a little, but the majority of critics are still very much in favor of it, as evidenced by its Certified Fresh status. Audiences are a little less enthralled but still overall satisfied with 77% Audience Score, but a “B-“ from the Cinemascore crowd, the first grade of its kind for 2024 and the first since Ridley Scott’s film about a tyrannical leader named Napoleon . Still, folks spent $25.7 million to give A24 its highest opening weekend ever, a record previously held by Ari Aster’s Hereditary ($13.5 million). Already, Civil War is the ninth highest-grossing film in the company’s history, and by the end of next weekend, it should be at least sixth and on its way to becoming its second. Or could it be A24’s No. 1?

Gross is one thing, but with a $50 million budget (and possibly higher), it’s going to take some other countries delighting in America destroying itself for this film to prove profitable. It would also take some incredible word of mouth for Civil War to stretch towards overcoming the $77+ million of Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once . But it is not unheard of for an April film with an opening like this to achieve that goal.

Mel Gibson’s We Were Soldiers did it back in 2002 with just a $20 million opening. The Christian music film I Can Only Imagine did it with a $23 million start. If these two groups can just get together, there’s no telling what can be achieved. Then again, that “B-“ grade looms over it. But looking at last year’s grades of its ilk, horror films including The Boogeyman , Thanksgiving , Cocaine Bear , and Meg 2: The Trench all had multiples over 2.75 (while The Pope’s Exorcist , Renfield , and Last Voyage of the Demeter were all under 2.23), so maybe horror of all types sell, as someone once told me — even if that hasn’t been the case in 2024 so much with Night Swim , Imaginary , and The First Omen . Civil War has a little old-fashioned war to deal with next weekend, along with some fresh horror, but the calendar is also pretty light until we get into May and should allow the discourse to maybe drive a little curiosity until then.

The Top 10 and Beyond:  Godzilla x Kong Slips,  Monkey Man and The First Omen Drop

After two weeks at the top, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire falls back to second place with $15.4 million. That brings its 17-day total to $157.9 million, which is not far away from displacing Kong: Skull Island to become the second highest-grossing film in the Warner Bros. MonsterVerse. Does it have a shot at 2014’s Godzilla ? That would mean getting over $200 million, and that could be close. Its third weekend is in the vicinity of John Wick: Chapter 4 ($14.4 million) but is also $10 million ahead of its overall pace. That suggests a final gross possibly right below $200 million. It is going to want to stay above $8 million in its fourth weekend to keep that pace going. Warner Bros. would certainly love to achieve that, but with over $400 million worldwide, the film is already a success and should ensure another entry. Speaking of which, the studio’s Dune: Part Two added another $4.3 million and is now up to $272 million domestic and $673 million worldwide.

In third place with just $5.9 million is the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire in its fourth weekend. The film is at $96.9 million and inching its way towards $100 million. That’s a better fourth frame than either 10,000 B.C. or A Wrinkle in Time ($4.8 million each), suggesting it could still have a chance at getting over $110 million. It would at least like to stretch over $112.4 million to pass Ghostbusters II to avoid having the lowest-grossing domestic haul of the franchise. (Of course, with inflation, that sequel would have made about $283 million.) But it is going to have the lowest worldwide haul by a lot. With still less than $150 million, it is almost certain to become the first to not gross over $200 million worldwide.

Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4 fell just 29% to $5.5 million. That brings its total to $173.6 million. The animated film is also over $425 million worldwide and could be the first in the franchise not to reach half-a-billion. But by carrying a lower price tag ($85 million) than the other three films, it is currently the most profitable film of 2024 so far. The studio’s pickup of Dev Patel’s Monkey Man isn’t doing as well, though, falling nearly 60% down to $4.1 million in its second weekend. That’s $17.7 million in the bank for that film. Universal also re-released Dreamworks’ Shrek 2 in 1,512 theaters this weekend and it grossed $1.35 million.

In horror news, 20th Century Studios’ prequel The First Omen made $3.7 million over the weekend, bringing its total to $14.6 million. The $30 million budgeted film continues a losing streak for the Disney-acquired company since the massive profits of Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022-23. Alien: Romulus is up next for them in August. The first of two giant spider films debuting this month, Sting , grossed $487,000 in 750 theaters. Arcadian , the Quiet Place -like apocalyptic monster film briefly featuring Nicolas Cage, was in 1,100 theaters and grossed $481,100.

The period high school golf film starring Dennis Quaid and Jay Hernandez, The Long Game , premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival but opened in limited release this past weekend, earning $1.39 million. Trafalgar Releasing put out the concert film by Suga (aka Agust D) of BTS and it grossed $961,015 last Wednesday in 784 theaters. SUGA: Agust D TOUR D-DAY THE MOVIE played again on Sunday and made another estimated $990,881, which was enough in one day to sneak into the top 10 this week.

Last year’s top 10 romance, Someone Like You , fell off the list this week with $849,000. It has grossed $4.8 million. Also falling out just behind it is Mark Wahlberg and the dog, Arthur the King , grossing $840,000 for a total of $23.5 million. Focus’ Housekeeping for Beginners from director Goran Stolevski ( You Won’t Be Alone , Of An Age ) expanded into 75 theaters but grossed just $70,000. His previous films grossed $264,055 and $556,585, respectively. Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast with Lea Seydoux and George MacKay grossed $50,000 after expanding into 23 theaters. It will expand further next week. The best per-theater average of the week looks to go to the Zellner Bros.’ Sasquatch Sunset . The Bleecker Street released grossed an estimated $93,005 in 9 theaters for a $10,333 average. It will expand next weekend.

On the Vine: Abigail Fights  The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Mentioned earlier its more horror and more war. The child vampire home invasion film Abigail from the duo known as Radio Silence ( Ready or Not , Scream 5 and 6 ) is the one to likely bet on for next weekend. Horror fans have been stingy this year, but maybe this is the one they will sink their teeth into. Then, another year, another Guy Ritchie film. This time The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare with Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson tells a real-life Inglourious Basterds -like tale of British soldiers recruited to kill Nazis during WWII. Hugo Stiglitz is even in it and is hoping it could supplant Civil War for a second place finish.

Full List of Box Office Results: April 12-14, 2024

• $25.7 million ($25.7 million total)

• $15.4 million ($157.9 million total)
• $5.8 million ($96.9 million total)

• $5.5 million ($173.6 million total)
• $4.3 million ($272.1 million total)
• $4.1 million ($17.7 million total)
• $3.7 million ($14.6 million total)
• $1.39 million ($1.39 million total)
• $1.35 million ($1.35 million total)

• $990,881 ($2.2 million total)

Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on  Business First AM  with Angela Miles and his  Movie Madness Podcast .

[box office figures via  Box Office Mojo ]

Thumbnail image by ©A24

On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News .

Related News

20 Special Presentations and Guest Appearances to Check Out at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival

30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming

All A24 Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

More Weekend Box Office

Box Office 2024: Top 10 Movies of the Year

Weekend Box Office Results: Godzilla x Kong Holds Strong

Weekend Box Office Results: Godzilla x Kong Scores Monster Debut

Movie & TV News

Featured on rt.

April 15, 2024

25 Most Popular TV Shows Right Now: What to Watch on Streaming

TV Premiere Dates 2024

Top Headlines

• 25 Most Popular TV Shows Right Now: What to Watch on Streaming –
• 30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming –
• Nicolas Cage Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer –
• Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked – New Scary Movies to Watch –
• Best TV Shows of 2024: Best New Series to Watch Now –
• Best Movies of 2024: Best New Movies to Watch Now –

• Preplanned tours
• Daytrips out of Moscow
• Themed tours
• Customized tours
• St. Petersburg

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

What is the kremlin in russia?

The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

Moscow Metro Tour

• Page active

Description

Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

Write your review