In Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Mrs. Tremond and her grandson meet Laura Palmer outside the Double R Diner while she is preparing a Meals on Wheels run. This is one of those scenes I can’t get enough of in David Lynch’s masterpiece – it’s spooky and surreal. Naturally, I was delighted to visit the “Tremond Intersection” on September 14, 2019 during a return trip to North Bend, Washington.
WHERE IS THE TREMOND INTERSECTION LOCATED?
The scene was shot near the Twede’s Cafe located at 137 West North Bend Way in North Bend, Washington. According to Charlotte Fraisse’s shooting diary from Dugpa, filming took place on September 19, 1991:
“We shoot the scene where a mysterious old lady, with her masked grandson, offers an engraving to Laura Palmer. The woman has an surprising silhouette. Very tiny, she wears a dark suit and has a little hat emphasizing her pass look. The little boy is just as bizarre, dressed like a first communicant of the Fifties.
The shooting goes on till the end of the afternoon, because David takes his time with the child and regularly lets him have a break. (Apparently, Americans are stricter than we are about child actors working hard).”
This explains the changes in shadows seen throughout the scene.
Thankfully Anthony P. Anderson took several behind-the-scenes photos in September 1991. These images and many others were displayed for several years in the hallway near the restrooms inside Twede’s Cafe.
Look carefully and you’ll spot Catherine Coulson standing next to David Lynch.
While I had previously visited the location in August 1996 for the Twin Peaks Fan Fest, I didn’t take proper photos of this location. It took me 23 years to return to the spot and document the intersection.
THE DOUBLE R DINER PARKING LOT
The scene opens with Laura Palmer loading the Double R Diner car, a 1977 Ford Pinto Wagon.
We get a better look at the Ford Pinto in a deleted scene from The Missing Pieces.
It’s a different vehicle than the 1960 Ford Country Squire seen throughout the show’s first two seasons.
One detail difficult to see is the Double R Diner logo on the side of the Ford Pinto. The logo is not used anywhere in the series or film but it was included on merchandise created in the early 1990s.
LAURA PALMER SEES MRS. TREMOND AND HER GRANDSON
Laura looks over toward the intersection and notices an old woman and her grandson.
As many times as I’ve seen this film, you’d think I would have grabbed a shot of the exact screen matched location. Nope. But the bottom image from October 14, 2019 is closer.
Mrs. Tremond, played by the late Frances Bay, motions Laura over to her grandson and her.
Here’s another behind-the-scene shot of Frances Bay meeting with an unidentified mother and her child between takes.
Laura crosses the parking lot to where the two of them are standing. Sadly, the yellow florescent lights are gone today.
We also saw them in episodes 1.007 and 2.020 outside the Double R Diner at night.
LAURA PALMER SPEAKS WITH MRS. TREMOND AND HER GRANDSON
Laura walks in front of six exterior windows of the Double R Diner. Mrs. Tremond and her grandson are blocking the seventh window. Behind her on the eighth window is a “Special for Today” sign and a “Yes, We’re Open” sign.
The “Special for Today” sign appears to be one similar used in the series, such as episode 2.004 where it is visible about a kitchen door. It’s odd, however, that it was placed on an exterior window for the film.
At Twede’s Cafe, you can see a recreated “Special for Today” sign used in Season 3.
It’s literally hanging in the same spot inside Twede’s Cafe as it appears in Part 15 on Showtime.
THIS WOULD LOOK NICE ON YOUR WALL
Mrs. Tremond presents Laura with a framed picture and tells her it would “look nice on her wall.” The grandson warns Laura about “the man looking for the book with the pages torn out.” Laura stares at them in disbelief. I love that you can see the top of Mount Si in the background.
Laura Palmer takes the framed photograph from Mrs. Tremond.
If you look carefully, you can spot what appears to be crew members in the window reflection on the far right side.
The Double R Diner food special signs were also seen in episodes 2.003 and 2.004.
Anthony Anderson took another fantastic behind-the-scenes shot. This time, it’s David Lynch in the director’s chair sitting in front of those Double R Diner signs. Script supervisor Cori Glazer is sitting next to him. Sheryl Lee appears to be speaking with a member of the crew.
Twede’s Cafe has several similar signs on display from Season 3. Notice how the prices have increased since 1991 when the film was shot.
Mrs. Tremond and her grandson then walk away toward the railroad tracks.
This photo by Anthony Anderson is fantastic as it shows Frances Bay and Jonathan J. Leppell in the wooded area across the street.
INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE TREMOND INTERSECTION
There are a couple of interesting observations about the way this scene was edited.
The scene begins inside the Double R Diner where Laura Palmer is gathering food for a Meals on Wheels delivery. The scene cuts to the intersection outside where you can barely see Mrs. Tremond and her grandson walking into the woods. I circled the image in red above.
Then the exchange between Laura, Mrs. Tremond and her grandson takes place. It ends with Laura running off and the Tremonds walking away. It appears the tail end of the walking away scene was used as an establishing shot. After seeing it one time, I never miss it during this part of the film.
The second observation is the missing cars between close-ups and wide angle shots. Most likely this meant multiple takes were done throughout the day. I circled in red which cars are missing between the close up of Mrs. Tremond presenting the framed image and later when her grandson and she is walking away.
Further evidence the scene took all day to shoot is found by looking at the tree shadows in the background.
When Mrs. Tremond and her grandson are first seen through the blue-hued television static, the tree shadows are on their left side (right side of the screen).
The close up of Mrs. Tremond motioning to Laura shows the tree shadows on the opposite side.
As the pair walk away toward the end of the scene, the shadows are on their left side again. Most likely, they shot them standing and walking away last in the day. The close-up shots could have been made earlier in the morning.
