Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Where True Art Transcends Time

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

San_Francisco_Silent_Film_Festival
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival returns to the newly renovated Castro Theatre May 6 through 10 for a trip back in time and history, with screenings of newly restored and classic movies from around the worlld. These films transport viewers into a dream world of beauty and feelings, capturing humanity at its best and worst.

All films feature live accompaniment by talented musicians from around the globe, including Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Stephen Horne, Frank Bockius, Guenther Buchwald, and Wayne Barker, along with detailed introductions by authors and archivists involved with saving and promoting them.

Guide to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Both full passes and individual tickets may be purchased online at www.sfsff.org.

Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, May 2026

Posted on May 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

For May’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I gave an update on the book, Heaven Is Here!, and discussed the latest news in the Black Dahlia case, and alleged links to the Zodiac case made by self-taught codebreaker Alex Baber.

Reminder: The Black Dahlia Book Club will meet May 19 at 10 a.m. on YouTube, when I will discuss the portrayal of Elizabeth Short in Jack Webb’s The Badge.

I also discussed:

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on May 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

Surgical scene. A surgeon in cap, mask and gown examines a hypodermic needle as a doctor and nurse watch.
For Monday, our mysterious leading man is about to give someone a shot. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club for April 2026

Posted on April 21, 2026 by lmharnisch


Welcome to the fourth session of the Black Dahlia Book Club!

I finally got tired of talking about George Hodel and Steve Hodel (at this point, I know Steve’s monologues from memory) so I decided to spend some time looking at portrayals of the murder and the investigation. I consider myself first and foremost a historian of the Black Dahlia case, and think it’s important to examine the source material in detail to emphasize the challenges of researching the murder.

In this episode, I looked at the treatment of the Black Dahlia case in early crime anthologies leading up to Jack Webb’s The Badge in 1958. Books I discussed (none of which is especially accurate):

—Problems of Modern American Crime (1923), by Veronica King. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet…. –
–Terror in the Streets (1951), by Howard Whitman, adapted from articles in Collier’s magazine.
https://archive.org/details/terrorins…
—My Favorite True Mystery (1954), article by Craig Rice, adapted from articles in Hearst’s The American Weekly Magazine. https://archive.org/details/myfavorit…
—Ten Perfect Crimes (1954), by Hank Serling, with an extremely downbeat portrayal of Elizabeth Short. https://archive.org/details/tenperfec…

I also discussed: Continue reading →

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May 7, 1938: Remembering Jack Parsons

Posted on May 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 7, 1938: Jack Parsons poses with replica of pipe bomb used in the Harry Raymond bombing.
May 7, 1938

Above, John W. “Jack” Parsons poses with his replica of the pipe bomb used in an attempt to kill Harry Raymond. Parsons, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is an enigmatic figure who became the subject of much speculation surrounding a “mystery cult” after he died in a 1952 explosion. The blast destroyed his home laboratory on the former Busch estate in Pasadena and his grief-stricken mother committed suicide when she learned he had died. Continue reading →

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May 6, 1944: Woman’s Body Found in Trunk at Union Station

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

 

May 6, 1944, Trunk Murder

May 6, 1944

An old trunk wrapped with wire and tied with rope arrives at Union Station, where people noticed that it was leaking — and smelled. Sent to the repair department for inspection, the trunk was opened by Eugene Biledeau, who discovered a woman’s body wrapped in a sheet.

The victim had been dead about six days and was described as a young, 5-3 brunette, weighing 130 pounds. She was wearing a girdle, bra, slip and white bobby socks, with fingernails painted a “brilliant red,” The Times said. She had curlers in her hair.

 

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May 6, 1908: Shocked Judge Grants Divorce; Bodies Found at Indiana Murder Farm

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1908: A scandalous divorce!

Above, an update in the divorce case of Henry Lord … The judge doesn’t even bother to hear all the testimony before dissolving the marriage. What became of Augustine Emanuel Lord and coachman Harry Cameron? Alas, The Times is no help. It would be interesting to know the rest of the story. Below, nothing quite says “read me” like the headline “Gruesome Mystery” … Unexplained disappearances, lots of bodies buried in the backyard and other strange events make for an early 20th century “death farm” in Laporte, Ind. In a few days, special excursion trains brought more than 15,000 curiosity seekers to the Gunness place.

Continue reading →

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Union Station Opens in Los Angeles, May 1939

Posted on May 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

1938_0629_nuestro_pueblo

June 29, 1938: Nuestro Pueblo, by artist Charles Owens and writer Joe Seewerker,  depicts the construction of Union Station.

Here are some posts that I wrote years ago, including several when Union Station turned 70.

— Grand Design for Los Angeles Proposes Union Station at 5th and Central.

— Memories of Union Station, by Keith Thursby.

— Chinatown to Make Way for Union Station.

— Los Angeles Prepares for Opening of Union Station.

— Union Station Turns 70.

— Union Station Preview.

— Union Station Opens, May 4, 1939.

— Union Station Opens, May 5, 1939.

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May 5, 1939: Union Station Opens

Posted on May 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 15, 1939: Luncheon at the Biltmore to plan the opening for union station. Guests get their tickets punched by railroad conductors. Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

March 15, 1939: At a luncheon at the Biltmore Hotel to plan the opening gala for  Union Station, R.E. Southworth stamps the tickets of A.D. McDonald, president of the Southern Pacific; J.R. Hitchcock, manager of the board that supervised Union Station, and W.M. Jeffers, president of Union Pacific.

Continue reading →

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May 1, 1907: Runaway Horses and a Fleeing Motorcyclist on the Dangerous Streets of L.A.

Posted on May 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

Motorcycle Hits Her

Miss Gertrude Young, who lives at No. 525 Wall St., was knocked down by a motorcycle yesterday as she stepped from a streetcar at 7th and Hope streets. The rider of the machine hastened away. Miss Young was taken to the Clara Barton Hospital.

No Milk Spilled

The horses attached to a Eureka Dairy wagon became frightened on South Main Street yesterday by an approaching streetcar and ran. A passenger on the streetcar leaped to the street, seized the bridles of the animals and stopped them. Not a drop of milk was spilled.

Paid for Collision

J. Hall of No. 655 S. Hill St., was hurled from a bicycle in a collision with an automobile driven by D. G. McMasters of 1010 W. 38th St. yesterday. The accident happened on Broadway between 3rd and 4th streets. Hall sustained slight bruises and his wheel [bicycle] was demolished. McMasters paid the lad for his wheel.

May Be Insane

Seizing James Harper by the throat and hurling him to the floor of the office of a lodging house at 127 Wilmington St., George May struck him violently several times last night, it is said. May was arrested on a charge of insanity. He is a miner who has been in an insane asylum, his friends say. He will be examined today by police surgeons.

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April 30, 1944: A Salute to Forgotten Heroism

Posted on April 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

1944_0430_bomber_headline

April 30, 1944

Here’s a story of forgotten heroism. I stumbled across it in the Miami News while digging out a Sidney Skolsky column.

Lt. Newell Putnam Wyman waves off rescuers trying to save him and the crew of his Catalina patrol bomber, which had crashed in the ocean 90 miles of Attu in a storm. Wyman knew that a rescue attempt was too dangerous for the planes that had found them.

The victims include co-pilot Ensign Anthony Mannix Moriarty, navigator Ensign Raymond Edwin Rozuk, flight engineer Arvo Arthur Ranta, gunner Charles Leroy Olson Jr., flight engineer Lavere Marvin Ryther, radioman George Leo Huschka and radioman Armestead Sigrest Hardee

From the Miami News.

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April 30, 1939: Los Angeles Prepares for Opening of Union Station

Posted on April 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 30, 1939: Los Angeles prepares for the opening of Union Station. Images of men playing brass instruments, and news story
The city made a special effort to examine and celebrate its past during the opening of Union Station. Officials mounted a much more elaborate “parade of progress” than I suspect we would see today.

Continue reading →

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April 29, 1891: ‘The Chinese Murder,’

Posted on April 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 28, 1891: Wong Ark, in drawing

April 29, 1891: Headline "The Chinese Murder"
Note: This is an encore post from 2011. 

April 29, 1891: The Times reports the death of a Chinese woman named Ah Gue/Goot Gue, who was shot in the abdomen by her husband, Wong Ark/Gam Duck, outside a brothel on Apablasa Street. Ark allegedly killed Gue because she didn’t give him all the money he wanted for gambling. The Times covered this case extensively, and said that because the Chinese witnesses were “heathens,” they were unconcerned about telling the truth under oath.

The first jury deadlocked. In his second trial, Ark was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, but the conviction was overturned on appeal because the dying woman’s statements were inadmissible. (The Times reported that she said “him killee me.”) Ark was convicted of manslaughter at his third trial and served six years at San Quentin.

Bonus factoid: Apablasa Street vanished during construction of Union Station, which was built on the old Chinatown.

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April 29, 1907: Blanche Hall Draws Crowds to Burbank Theater in ‘When Knighthood Was in Flower’

Posted on April 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Los Angeles theatergoers are transfixed by the new production of “When Knighthood Was in Flower,” Paul Kester’s adaptation of Charles Major’s 1898 novel, forming a mile-long line to buy tickets at Morosco’s Burbank Theater at Main and 6th St.

One reason was the return of Blanche Hall, a longtime member of the Burbank’s stock company, after a stint on the New York stage.

Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Noir City on the Downbeat

Posted on April 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

Couple dancing. Dan Duryea wears a double-breasted pinstripe, Junet Vincent wears a hat and pearls.

June Vincent and Dan Duryea in Black Angel (1946), shown at Noir City Hollywood.

Noir City Hollywood soared to new heights as it “Faced the Music” by celebrating links between noir and jazz with fascinating film pairings and live performance, raising the roof for double doses of passion, darkness and mayhem. Czar of Noir Eddie Muller and Noirmaster Alan K. Rode’s snappy introductions and Brian Light’s eye-popping posters added well-placed high notes to crown off weekends.

Each of the carefully curated double features focused on the dark undersides of crime and jazz, comingling sensuality and depravity, sizzling heights and gutter-dwelling lows. Music often played both savior and sinner to protagonists, shaping the arc, tone, and rhythm of the story often more than the dialogue itself. Continue reading →

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Reminder — My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is May 5

Posted on April 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxie and I will be doing a live Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case next Tuesday, May 5, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube. I’ll give an update on the book, discuss current issues, such as the possibility of DNA in the murder of Elizabeth Short, and pick away at the large number of questions that have accumulated over the last few months.

The next Black Dahlia Book Club will be Tuesday, May 19, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube. In that episode I will discuss Jack Webb’s influential 1958 book The Badge.

Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! I’ll also get to the backlog of questions from previous sessions.

Posted in 1947, Ask Me Anything, Black Dahlia, Black Dahlia Book Club, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: TCM Classic Film Festival’s ‘The World Comes to Hollywood’

Posted on April 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

Joan Crawford backlit in a white dress in a scene from Letty Lynton.
The world premiere of the restored 1932 Joan Crawford film Letty Lynton, unseen for decades except in bootleg copies, will be Friday at the Egyptian Theatre.

The TCM Classic Film Festival returns to Hollywood April 30 through May 3 to celebrate “The World Comes to Hollywood,” honoring the pioneers and immigrants who helped infuse the fledgling California studios with fresh ideas, innovations, and creativity, transforming family style businesses into giant dream factories. Cineastes as well as film neophytes will enjoy rare and restored films, star appearances, introductions by TCM hosts Ben Mankiewicz, Eddie Muller, Dave Karger, Alicia Malone, and Jacqueline Stewart, and the opportunity to meet fellow film lovers from all over the world for four film-filled days of fun, film, and sun curated as only TCM knows how.

Special events will highlight the festival, including a hand and footprint ceremony for actress Glenn Close, the presentation of the Robert Osborne Award to Bruce Goldstein, Founding Repertory Artistic Director of New York Film Forum and longtime Turner Classic Movies supporter. and tributes to director Rob Reiner, actress Barbara Hershey, and composer Paul Williams.

Passes can be purchased online exclusively at TCM.com/festival, allowing the best chance to attend the festival. They come in four levels, offering distinct levels of benefits to fit every need. They can be picked up at the Roosevelt Hotel beginning Wednesday, April 29. Pass prices are $449 to $2,649.  The festival schedule is here. Continue reading →

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April 27, 1907: Man Badly Injured in Attack by Mule

Posted on April 27, 2026 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

W.S. Stanton of N. 117½ E. First St. was attacked by a vicious mule at the California Truck Company’s stables, No. 337 Aliso St., last night and seriously injured. When he attempted to take the harness off the animal it leaped to one side and kicked him on the thigh, knocking him down. Before he could regain his feet, the mule walked over him, cutting and lacerating the calves of his legs. Stanton was treated at the Receiving Hospital and later taken to his room.

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

Main title, as if embroidered on ragged fabric, with a cap badge of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1979 film The Odd Angry Shot, with Graham Kennedy, John Hargreaves, John Jarratt, Bryan Brown, Richard Moir, Ian Gilmour, and Graeme Blundell as Dawson. Continue reading →

Posted in 1979, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Voices — Christine Collins, April 23, 1931

Posted on April 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 23, 1931: Report on Walter Collins. "In good condition."

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April 23, 1908: Whiskey Is a Health Tonic

Posted on April 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 23, 1908: Whiskey is a health drink

Note: This is an encore post from 2008.

You may remember yesterday that Schlitz declared beer a health drink. And I’ve noted elsewhere that brewers marketed beer as “liquid bread” (a mere 3 1/2 percent alcohol). But calling whiskey a health tonic is new to me. Do you think this fooled temperance workers for even a minute? Probably not. Continue reading →

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