Monthly Archives: September 2015

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + +)

Posted on September 30, 2015 by lmharnisch

This week’s movie has been the 1946 Columbia picture “Johnny O’Clock,” starring Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes. The movie was directed by Robert Rossen, with Lee J. Cobb, Ellen Drew, Nina Foch, S. Thomas Gomez, John Kellogg, Jim Bannon, Mabel … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 71 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated)

Posted on September 28, 2015 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mystery lad.  

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 26 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Erich von Stroheim Unlocks Suspense With the Devil’s Passkey

Posted on September 28, 2015 by lmharnisch

  A poster for “The Devil’s Passkey.” Riding high on the wave of great reviews and huge box office for “Blind Husbands,” his first film as director, artistic Austrian Erich von Stroheim expanded his horizons with his second film, “The … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Halloween Costumes to Die For

Posted on September 25, 2015 by lmharnisch

Halloween is coming next month and somewhere, someone is already planning a Black Dahlia costume and working out the makeup. Just stop yourself. Really, folks, dressing up like the victim of a brutal, gruesome murder is not a good idea. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Fashion | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 21, 2015 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been First National Pictures’ 1931 film “Safe in Hell.” It was directed by William A. Wellman. Curiously, the credits come at the end of the film.  It starred Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harole, John … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 51 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Jesse L. Lasky, Music Man

Posted on September 21, 2015 by lmharnisch

Jesse Lasky on the cover of “We’ve Had a Lovely Time, So Long, Good Bye,” Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Best known as one of Hollywood’s early motion picture moguls, native Californian Jesse L. Lasky also excelled at radio and theatrical … Continue reading →

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

Black Dahlia: Janice Knowlton Rants

Posted on September 18, 2015 by lmharnisch

As I noted previously, I have been digitizing all my notes, audio cassettes and videos. Today, I came across a recording of a 1997 voicemail message from the late Janice Knowlton, who made increasingly bizarre claims about her father, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1997, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

David Scholer: ‘Living With Cancer’ 10 Years Later

Posted on September 18, 2015 by lmharnisch

    Sept. 18 marks the 10th anniversary of the Rev. David Scholer’s sermon “Living With Cancer.” David was a good friend and New Testament scholar at Fuller Theological Seminary who spoke frankly about his terminal illness as viewed through … Continue reading →

Posted in 2005, Obituaries, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Parkey Sharkey’s ‘Whiskey Road’

Posted on September 15, 2015 by lmharnisch

A copy of Parkey Sharkey’s “Whiskey Road” has been listed on EBay. Many people believe that Sharkey was invented by Mirror/Times columnist Paul Coates. He was for real. Bidding on “Whiskey Road” starts at $24.95. ALSO Paul Coates on Parkey … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Cemetery Battles to Offer Place of Eternal Rest

Posted on September 14, 2015 by lmharnisch

  Hollywood Cemetery, the Los Angeles Herald, May 21, 1905. For over 115 years, Hollywood Cemetery, or what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery, has offered a bucolic place of eternal rest for those finding their everlasting reward. The first constructed … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 14, 2015 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1945 Ealing Studios film “Dead of Night,” a supernatural thriller consisting of five separate stories and a sixth story that ties them together. Robert Osborne mentioned it recently in introducing “Went the Day … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 55 Comments

Hector Tobar: ‘Deep Down Dark’

Posted on September 13, 2015 by lmharnisch

Hector Tobar, with Carolina Miranda of The Times, discusses “Deep Down Dark” at the Last Bookstore, photo courtesy of the Last Bookstore. We stopped by  the Last Bookstore last night to hear our old friend and former colleague Hector Tobar … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010, 2014, Books and Authors, History | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Cinecon 51 Presents Entertaining and Eclectic Films

Posted on September 12, 2015 by lmharnisch

Douglas Fairbanks in “Wild and Woolly,” Photoplay, 1917. Another Cinecon has come and go, but left behind memories of rare film, good friends, and fun times. This year’s festival featured a mix of silent drama and rollicking movie musicals, and … Continue reading →

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

Black Dahlia: Going Digital

Posted on September 11, 2015 by lmharnisch

  I am slowly digitizing all the interviews I have conducted into Los Angeles in the 1940s and it’s so nice to hear them again. This week, I did Fred Okrand (d. 2002) of the ACLU; Betty Rowland, the 1940s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, City Hall, History | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Zulu Hut – Studio City’s First Programmatic Architecture

Posted on September 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

  The Zulu Hut, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Thanks to California’s inventive motion picture industry, eccentric, eye-catching examples of vernacular architecture took off in the 1920s. Though around for decades, vernacular or programmatic architecture hit its stride in the 1920s … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Historians’ Tools: Archiving Email With MailStore

Posted on September 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

  Much of the research I have done on the Black Dahlia case has been conducted via email, and after almost 20 years, I have quite a lot of it. I have tried to be diligent in backing up my … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie was the 1936 MGM picture “Small Town Girl,” starring Janet Gaynor and Robert Taylor. It featured Binnie Barnes, Andy Devine, Lewis Stone, Elizabeth Patterson, Frank Craven and James Stewart. It was directed by William A. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 63 Comments

Larry Gelbart’s Rare ‘My L.A.’ Revue – Found on EBay

Posted on September 2, 2015 by lmharnisch

I rarely brag about a find on EBay, but this is something special. This is sheet music from the ultra-obscure 1951 musical revue that took its title from Matt Weinstock’s “My L.A.” The production  — note the name of Larry … Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Found on EBay, Theaters | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment