Monthly Archives: July 2014

Movieland Mystery Photo ( Updated + + + + )

Posted on July 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

This is the 1933 film “Girl Missing.” It opened in Los Angeles at the Warner Bros. Western Theater (now the Wiltern) on March 23, 1933, with “Untamed Africa.”

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 48 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Douglass Dumbrille, Suave Slickster

Posted on July 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

Douglass Dumbrille, photo courtesy of Mary Mallory. Classic Hollywood studio films employed actors with striking faces and mannerisms as recognizable character types from the 1930s to the 1960s, giving a shorthand to understanding the story as well as a way … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘The Return of Comrade Ricardo Flores Magon’

Posted on July 18, 2014 by lmharnisch

If I hadn’t written the posts about Los Angeles in 1907 for the 1947project in 2006, I would have never heard of Ricardo Flores Magon, who was arrested in Los Angeles, along with Librado Rivera, Antonio Villareal and L. Gutierrez … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors | Tagged , | Leave a comment

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, July 18, 1944

Posted on July 18, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 18, 1944 One of the most startling medical books of recent years is “Kaiser Wakes the Doctors.” It succeeded in getting its author, Paul De Kruif, in the center of a storm with the American Medical Association. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

1944 in Print — Life Magazine, July 17, 1944

Posted on July 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

The pretty girl in peasant clothes on this week’s cover is Anne Scott from Columbus, Ohio. Anne has been modeling ever since her graduation from Ohio State University nearly five years ago. Although she has posed for several cover sketches, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Animals, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files: A Memo From Chief Davis on Media Relations

Posted on July 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old Cop Shop at the LAPD’s Parker Center and I’m slowly scanning the files. This is a memo sent by Chief … Continue reading →

Posted in 1974, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip, by Louella Parsons, July 17, 1944

Posted on July 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 17, 1944 Lana Turner, as Bunny Smith, the public stenographer, is only one of the star parts in “Week-End at the Waldorf.” In the script, which Sam and Bella Spivak have just completed, there are at least eight other … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

GOP Picks Dewey in Race for President; California Gov. Warren Rejects Draft Movement

Posted on July 16, 2014 by lmharnisch

  June 29, 1944 I need to do a little catching up on national politics, with the Republican National Convention, which was held in Chicago. Of course, the convention was covered by Times political editor Kyle Palmer and as usual, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Comics, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, July 16, 1944

Posted on July 16, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 16, 1944 Louella Parsons says: Diana Lynn, who has been everyone’s kid sister in movies on the Paramount lot, has at long last gone glamorous. The dazzling young lady with the blonde curls and the black lace form-fitting dress … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Laura’ — The Making of a Film Noir Classic, Part 11

Posted on July 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m using Louella Parsons’ May 15, 1944, item on Rouben Mamoulian being replaced as the director of “Laura” to take a meandering look at the making of the film, which was released in Los … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, July 15, 1944

Posted on July 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 15, 1944: Our women are really going places and doing big things in the movies. Just today I learned that Kay Francis reports Sept. 1 at Monogram Studios as co-producer of “Divorce.” Jeffrey Bernerd, who has done so much … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Weird Al Gets ‘Tacky’ in Downtown Los Angeles

Posted on July 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

Weird Al has a new video, “Tacky,” a satire on Pharrell’s “Happy.” The sign for the Los Angeles Theatre is clearly visible in the shots, pegging this as Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Theatre and the Palace … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Music | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo ( Updated + + + )

Posted on July 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

This is the 1939 film “Captain Fury,” which for some mysterious reason isn’t out on DVD or VHS and is only available on the gray market.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 53 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Crossword Mama, You Puzzle Me

Posted on July 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

“Cross Word Puzzle Mama, You Puzzle Me,” courtesy of Mary Mallory. Recording of “Cross Word Puzzle Mama.” The 1920s were a decade of fads. Everything from mah jongg, radio, bridge, golf, solitaire and dance steps exploded into popularity before being … Continue reading →

Posted in 1924, 1925, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lorin Maazel in Memoriam — A Musician Remembered

Posted on July 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here are some videos culled from YouTube of the late Lorin Maazel. Maazel conducts his arrangement of Wagner’s music in “The ‘Ring’ Without Words”  with the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo.

Posted in Music, Obituaries | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Sign Premieres November 1923

Posted on July 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 6, 1924: The Times publishes a photo of an Oakland car that was driven up to the Hollywood sign. Note: Here’s a post from November 2013 for those who wrongly assume that the Hollywood sign was unveiled on July … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Christopher Evans Hubbart: A Look Back at the ‘Pillowcase Rapist’

Posted on July 12, 2014 by lmharnisch

Nov. 8, 1972: The Pasadena Star-News reports the arrest of Christopher Evans Hubbart, 21, of 415 Baseline Ave., on suspicion of committing 23 rapes in the San Gabriel Valley.   With the release of Christopher Evans Hubbart, the so-called “Pillowcase … Continue reading →

Posted in 1972, Crime and Courts, Pasadena | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, July 12, 1944

Posted on July 12, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 12, 1944 If and when Robert Cummings is free from his Universal troubles he will make a picture for Harold Lloyd. Harold, who is just back from a Shrine convention in the East, cannot discuss the Cummings deal because … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: True Detective, October 1948

Posted on July 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

A copy of the October 1948 issue of True Detective with a cover story on “The Black Dahlia Murders” has been listed on EBay. This is the magazine that got poor old Leslie Dillon in trouble. The article by George … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1948, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

War Veteran Died After Police Beating, Lawsuit Says, July 11, 1944

Posted on July 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 11, 1944 The parents of Marine veteran J.P. Thomas Jr. sue Mayor Fletcher Bowron, Police Chief Clemence C.B. Horrall and other city officials, charging that their son died after being beaten in jail by police. The Times reported that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Main Street, Music, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment