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 this film location on September 14, 2019 during a trip to North Bend, Washington.
The scene was shot on September 19, 1991 near the Twede’s Cafe located at 137 West North Bend Way in North Bend Washington.
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 Seasons 1 and 2.
One detail that is difficult to see is the Double R Diner logo on the side of the Ford Pinto. Thankfully Anthony P. Anderson took a shot of the passenger side door during filming. This photograph and many others are currently displayed in the restroom hallway inside Twede’s Cafe. I don’t believe the logo is used anywhere else in the series or film.
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 Episode 1007 and 2020 outside the Double R Diner at night.
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 2004 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.
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 of the shot.
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 2003 and 2004 of Season 2.
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. I believe Cori Glazer, script supervisor, 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
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 and Mrs. Tremond and her grandson take place. It ends with Laura running off and the Tremonds walking away. Â 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.
According to EXCERPTS FROM A SHOOTING DIARY by Charlotte Fraisse on Dugpa.com, the scene outside the Double R Diner was shot 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 passé 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 would explain the changes in shadows seen throughout the day.
I close with one more behind-the-scenes photo from Anthony Anderson. Look carefully and you’ll spot Catherine Coulson standing next to David Lynch.
