Every year, millions of tourists flock to Los Angeles in search of Hollywood. Of course, it’s not difficult to find this district of the city of Los Angeles on a map, but finding what it represents is harder. The Hollywood Sign still perches on the hills, overlooking the Southern California city, but the glamorous Tinseltown it has represented for over a century is more elusive.

Hollywood is still a movie town, basking in the faded glory of its heyday, the Golden Era of the mid-20th century. Although its memories are shadows of these glory days which keep Hollywood’s reputation glamorous and lustrous, there are few destinations in Hollywood itself where you can explore remnants of this glamour.

Of course, you can visit the Hollywood Walk of Fame at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to see the names and footprints of bygone celebrities, and a few museums have preserved props and other memorabilia from old films and their stars. However, historic locations such as Universal Studios have become elaborate theme parks dominated by modern franchises like “Harry Potter” and “Despicable Me,” offering little of interest to classic film buffs.

However, one experience in Hollywood is an exception to this disappointing state of affairs. There is still a movie studio that offers tours of its historic lot, allowing old movie fans to roam the streets where Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, and James Cagney filmed their most famous performances 80 or 90 years ago. Since April 2024, Warner Bros. Studio has offered the TCM Classic Films Tour as a specialized variation on its basic studio tour. Partnering with Turner Classic Movies to provide a unique tour that caters to visitors interested in Warner’s history rather than the latest releases, this three-and-a-half-hour tour offers classic film fans the opportunity to explore one of Hollywood’s biggest lots.

Riding the Black and Gold Bus

Warner Bros. Studio offers several types of tours each day, but only one of these is the TCM Classic Film Tour. However, there are multiple opportunities for this tour throughout the day, because they transport excited fans around the lot in small shuttles that can only hold around 13 guests, plus a tour guide. These shuttles are open on the sides, making them more like golf carts than buses, so it’s easy to see the attractions on either side. All the tours use these shuttles, but TCM Classic Films Tour takers get to ride in glamorous black and gold shuttles, reflecting the studio’s Golden Era.

This tour allows fans to enjoy many of the exclusive experiences, like complimentary snacks and beverages before starting, beginning the tour with an exclusive screening, and touring the prop department, which are not included with the basic Studio Tour.

Before the tour started, we wandered through the huge entry building, past the gift shop (there’d be time for that later), and to the lounge. We were running late, so we only had a moment to grab a bottled drink and snack for the trip before being ushered into the screening room. There, we were assigned to seating that would determine which of the two departing buses we’d take. As the lights dimmed, we watched a short introductory film featuring several hosts from the TCM channel. These hosts explained the idea behind this tour as the video went back and forth between footage from classic films made by the studio and the lot today. Once the lights came back up, we were eager to hop into the shuttle and explore the lot for ourselves!

Because the tour groups are small (our shuttle only had about ten people), the guide is able to tailor the experience to the group’s interests. Our guide started by asking if any guests had particular interests in individual films, shows, or actors. My sister mentioned Errol Flynn, I brought up the Motion Picture Production Code, and a fellow guest said that she loves “Friends.” (We wondered why she was taking the Classic Tour, since “Friends” is definitely outside its 1920s-70s specialization). Our host was sure to sprinkle in tidbits that fit these interests. During the duller stretches of road, we were entertained by small screens in the shuttle which played behind-the-scenes footage of movies referenced, clips of TCM hosts, and peeks at areas which are closed to the public, like the extensive underground costume department.

Finding the Magic

The special thing about the TCM Classic Tour is that no two tours will be the same. Different tour guides, different guests, slightly different routes, and different activities on the lot make each tour unique. We saw streets where Humphrey Bogart sauntered, alleys where James Cagney dodged bullets, courthouse steps Batman and Robin mounted, and countless other corners where movie magic was made. We saw the fountain from the beginning of “Friends” (much to our fellow passenger’s delight), the fire escape featured in “Annie,” and a bank that gets robbed in “Bonnie and Clyde.”

My favorite part of the tour was our visit to the makeshift Americana town. The center of this town square was a bandstand, which has been featured in countless old movies as well as newer productions, like “Gilmore Girls.” Here, we got out of the shuttle to explore the town and go into several houses. We walked through several houses that had been residences of characters played by James Stewart, John Wayne, and Doris Day. I recognized this charming street from many movies made in the late 1930s through the 1950s, some of which the tour guide mentioned. I succeeded in frustrating our guide by repeatedly questioning her statement that very recognizable corner house was built in 1939 for the film “Four Mothers,” since an identical house plays the same family’s residence in that movie’s precursor from the year prior, “Four Daughters.”

One of the most interesting things about the tour was learning how active the studio is today. We learned facts about how it is the largest studio lot, how it has its own zip code, and how most of the working sound stages there are still the buildings from the 1930s. It was fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes departments, which don’t appear onscreen but have played huge roles in making movie magic. We saw the lumberyard, the construction warehouse (which stood in for a prison in a few old crime films), the gas station, and, most interestingly, the prop department. What particularly captured my interest during this last stop was that the stock of props has been building up for 90 years, so it now is one of the largest collections in the world, including everything from Walkman radios to desks replicated from the Oval Office. Like many other impressive features on the lot, this prop department is available for use by outside organizations, including rival studios. Even more mindboggling is the fact that basically anyone can rent most of these items, often for surprisingly reasonable rates.

Eventually, the tour wound up at Stage 48, a soundstage which has been converted into a guest attraction. Stage 48 features exhibits on the studio’s history, tributes to its most successful franchises (DC and Harry Potter), displays of awards and famous costumes, and interactive activities, as a fun way to learn more about film techniques and tricks. Stage 48 is also home to Central Perk Café, a cafeteria inspired by “Friends” and decorated with the popular sitcom’s set furnishings, and a small gift shop. After wandering Stage 48 for as long as we wanted, we caught another shuttle back to the front, where we wound up in the much larger gift store, a tempting collection of memorabilia themed to famous productions, TCM, and the lot itself.

Taking the Tour

The TCM Classic Films tours are offered seven days a week, and there are different benefits to going on a weekday versus on the weekend. The Warner Bros. lot is not a museum or theme park but a very active working studio, where movies and TV shows are actively being filmed.

During the week, there is a good chance of seeing crew members and possibly even the cast from these current productions wandering the lot. However, the sprawling prop department isn’t open to the public during the work week, when its cramped aisles are crowded with set designers, assistant directors, and film technicians. Since old movie fans are bound to be more fascinated by a chair used in “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex” than a supporting actor in the new season of “Abbott Elementary,” I highly recommend taking the TCM Classic Films Four on a Saturday or Sunday.