"Grease" opens with a scene of 'Danny' (John Travolta) and 'Sandy' (Olivia Newton-John)
frolicking on a beach during summer vacation - a romantic episode they'll later
remember differently in the song Summer Lovin'.

This scene was shot on Leo Carrillo State Beach, about eight miles west of Point Dume in Malibu,
and about 100 yards west of where Mulholland Highway meets Pacific Coast Highway & the ocean.
Tucked away on both sides of this small rocky peninsula are hidden caves. (You can see one west-facing
cave behind Sandy in the photo below, during the scene where Sandy asks Danny if it's over.)

The caves and the surrounding beach area have been seen in many films and TV shows,
including “The Karate Kid,” and “That Thing You Do,” "Baywatch", "Star Trek: DS9" and the “X-Files”.

(As you can see from the aerial photos, you have to walk down stairs to reach this small
patch of beach, which is pretty much hidden away between the rocky points.)

Most of the early Rydell High scenes were shot at Venice High School, at 13000 Venice Blvd., in Venice, CA.

When the opening, animated credits stop, the scene dissolves from a cartoon to an actual shot of the school.
We see the kids arrive at the school and meet their friends again after summer vacation. These arrival scenes
were shot out in front of Venice High, with the camera looking south from Venice Blvd.

(In the 2007 TV show, Grease: You're The One That I Want, Venice High was used as
"Grease Academy", where the contestants were trained, auditioned & were judged.)

In the photo below, you can see the white statue of actress Myrna Loy in the background. That statue
stood in front of Venice High for decades, until it was vandalized. It was replaced with a new version in 2010.

The musical number Summer Lovin' then begins, with the boys listening to Danny brag about his supposed
sexual antics, and the girls listening to Sandy's innocent version of the same romance. These scenes were
also shot at Venice High School. The boys were in the bleachers behind the school, next to the
track & field (with the camera looking north) - you can see the back of the school behind them. The
girls were also behind the school, but closer to the main building (with the camera also facing north).

(Incidentally, there are still bleachers there today, in the very same position.)

The cafeteria/dining area, seen below (with the girls dancing), is located just
northwest of the bleachers.  It has had a roof added, so it looks rather different today.


                      

When Danny treats Sandy aloofly to impress his friends, she is heartbroken, and goes off to a slumber party at
Frenchy's house to recover. While Sandy is getting her ears pierced in the bathroom, Rizzo makes fun of her,
performing "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee". Later, the boys show up outside the house in the car, and Rizzo
climbs down the drainpipe to join them. Meanwhile Sandy sings "Hopelessly Devoted" in the back yard.

This slumber party house is actually located at 4524 Kingswell Ave., in east Hollywood (just south of
the Los Feliz district), a block and a half east of Vermont Avenue, and one street north of Prospect Ave.
You'll find the house on the south side of Kingswell. (When the boys arrive, they are driving east.)

[ Warning: This is a private home. Do not trespass on their property,
knock on their door, or do anything else that might disturb the residents. ]

            

( I shot the photo below in 2007. The house hasn't changed much in 30 years. )

In the drive-in movie scene, Danny gets fresh with Sandy (prompting her to leave), then Danny sings
the song Sandy (while cartoon hot dogs dance on the movie screen behind him).

These scenes were shot at an actual drive-in movie. It was the old Pickwick Drive-In, located at
1100 W. Alameda Ave (at Sheldon Street), in Burbank. (Not at the Studio Drive-In in Culver City.)

Alas, virtually all of Southern California's drive-ins have disappeared, and this one is no exception.
The Pickwick Drive-In closed in 1989 and was torn down. In its place, there now stands a
typical suburban shopping center, with a Staples store and a Pavilion's supermarket.
(It's in the Valley, just north of Griffith Park and Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.)

         

The "Frosty Palace" malt shop was once of the few exteriors which wasn't shot on location.
Instead, it was shot on a fake street on the back lot of Paramount Studios.

         

Paramount Studios offers a guided tour where you can stroll through their back lot.