Jan. 2, 1945: Paramount promotes “Two Years Before the Mast,” with Alan Ladd, Howard Da Silva and William Bendix, all appearing in “The Blue Dahlia.”  “Two Years Before the Mast” was finished in 1944, but not released until November 1946, disproving John Houseman’s claim that

Alan Ladd – the studio’s top star and the highest-rated male performer in the U.S. — would be entering the Army in three months’ time, leaving behind him not one foot of film for the company to release in his absence.

To be continued.