Stargazers Set Their Eyes on 70s Sights

James Kelly was one of the few people around Humphrey Street who got a look at movie stars Monday.

James, a Hawthorne restaurant employee, saw Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence inside the restaurant, he said.

That's where the stars were filming the yet-to-be titled David O. Russell movie about the 1970s Abscam scandal— an FBI sting operation.

Outside the fence of the Hawthorne parking lot Monday, a few dozen onlookers craned their necks and strained their sight from the sidewalk searching for stars.

What they saw were extras dressed in leather, bulky jackets and plaid.

They saw a parked '67 corvette, a '69 Impala and a '69 Caprice.

Molly Conner and her husband Ryan routed their walk by the Humphrey Street location to do some stargazing.

It's fun to have movies in town, she said, looking at the restaurant and its 70s-style architecture.

Molly, president of the Swampscott Historical Society, said the Hawthorne location looked quite different years ago.

A road ran perpendicular to Humphrey Street. The Post Office was in the area as were several houses that have long since been demolished.

Across the street, Jessica's Nails employees Lynn Ha and Cindy Le stepped outside for a break.

They had researched Christian Bale on Google, and found out he had played Batman.

They were giddy with excitement at the thought of having their picture taken with the star.

It did not appear that they had any photo opportunities.

By noon, the Hawthorne lot swiftly emptied. 

Some cast and crew headed to First Church in Swampscott Congregational, where caterers served lunch.

Truck drivers headed to base camp at Phillips Park. A bulldog trotting around the camp in a sweater was said to be actor Jeremy Renner's dog.

Soon thereafter much of the operation moved to the Lynn/Nahant rotary and Christie's restaurant for filming.

A swing by Christie's revealed a landscape similar to Swampscott's.

A few dozen people looking for a glimpse of Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Amy Adams or Jeremy Renner.