Monthly Archives: April 2019

Los Angeles Junior League Cookbook, 1930

Posted on April 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

A copy of the Los Angeles Junior League cookbook from 1930 has turned up on EBay. It’s not cheap, listed as Buy it Now for $250, but then again, who can put a price on Mrs. John Russell’s recipe for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930, Books and Authors, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1933 Fox film “State Fair,” with Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, Lew Ayres, Sally Eilers, Norman Foster, Louise Dresser, Frank Craven and Victor Jory. Screenplay by Sonya Levien and Paul Green, from the novel by … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 56 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘The Home-Maker’ Upends Gender Stereotypes

Posted on April 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

In the early 1920s, Universal purchased many popular novels and short stories for adaptation into motion pictures. Many of these were hugely popular and possessed giant name recognition with filmgoing audiences, while also focusing their stories on intimate human relationships, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

March 16, 1969: The Rosey Grier Show

Posted on April 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

March 16, 1969: Rosey Grier, seen in the “Fearsome Foursome” making their debut on Shindig, is the star of a weekly TV show on Channel 7. Keith Thursby has the story.  This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1965, 1969, Broadway, Sports, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Long Beach: Cyclone Racer in ‘Half Angel,’ Part 3

Posted on April 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

In this sequence, our romantic leads dash out of the Cyclone Racer.

Posted in 1951, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Location Sleuth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Long Beach: Cyclone Racer in ‘Half Angel,’ Part 2

Posted on April 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

Cut to Cyclone Racer, which closed in 1968. Our romantic leads go for a ride on a roller coaster, being 1950s symbolism at its best. The bored operator is Edwin Max. The sign in the background appears to say: “Hold … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Alberto Vargas Glorifies 1940s Young American Woman

Posted on April 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Vargas poses with Kay Aldridge in a photo published in Cine-Mundial. Note: This is an encore post from 2014. “One day I will paint a Vargas girl so beautiful, so perfect, so typical of the American Girl, that I shall … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Long Beach: Cyclone Racer in ‘Half Angel,’ Part 1

Posted on April 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s the Cyclone Racer sequence in “Half Angel,” last week’s mystery movie, that begins about the 32-minute mark. Joseph Cotten and Loretta Young are promenading along what is probably a Twentieth Century-Fox set, judging by the lighting. Editing by Robert … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1927 United Artists picture “Two Arabian Knights,” with William Boyd, Mary Astor, Louis Wolheim, Ian Keith, Michael Vavitch, M. Visaroff, Boris Karloff, De Witt Jennings, Nicholas Dunaev, Jean Vachon and Denis D’Auburn.  Screenplay by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 58 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: TCM Film Festival Walks on the Dark Side

Posted on April 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

Humphrey Bogart in a Warner Bros. ad for “All Through the Night.” TCM threw a wild party for its 25th Anniversary on air and 10 years of honoring classic films with its just concluded TCM Classic Film Festival, a packed … Continue reading →

Posted in 2019, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘The Signal Tower’ Faces Danger

Posted on April 15, 2019 by lmharnisch

“The Signal Tower” in Picture-Play Magazine. In 1923, Universal Studios handed Clarence Brown an opportunity to return to his youth by assigning him the film “The Signal Tower” to direct. A story of a railroad man directing train traffic and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1924, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1951 Twentieth Century-Fox picture “Half Angel” with Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Cecil Kellaway, Basic Ruysdael, Jim Backus, Irene Ryan and John Ridgely. Screenplay by Robert Riskin from a story by George Carleton Brown,  Technicolor … Continue reading →

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

March 1977: Body of Boxing Manager Howard Steindler Found on Ventura Freeway

Posted on April 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: I’m still catching up with posts from the blog when it was at latimes.com. This post about the unsolved killing of Howard Steindler originally appeared in 2009 and is available via Archive.org.  

Posted in 1977, 2009, Cold Cases, Homicide, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

March 5, 1959: Blinded by Bullet, Officer Shoots Gunman Who Killed Partner

Posted on April 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: I’m way behind on revisiting old blog posts but here’s one I especially like. It’s a little story about  LAPD artist Ector A. Garcia. Garcia also published a paperback “Portraits of Crime” in 1977. It’s a bit hard to … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: San Francisco Silent Film Festival Salutes Human Connection

Posted on April 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

Many rarely seen and newly restored films from all over the globe examining relationships and the human condition will screen May 1 through 5 at the Castro Theatre as part of the 24th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival. From … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1973 American Film Theatre production of “The Iceman Cometh,” with Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges, Bradford Dillman, Sorrell Booke, Hildy Brooks, Nancy Juno Dawson,  Evans Evans, Martyn Green, Moses Gunn, Clifton … Continue reading →

Posted in 1973, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

April 3, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on April 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

And here’s what the Daily Mirror looked like when debuted at the latimes in 2007. Matt Weinstock’s complete column is here.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 1, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 Warner Bros. film “Big City Blues” with Joan Blondell, Eric Linden, Jobyna Howland, Ned Sparks, Guy Kibbee, Grant Mitchell, Walter Catlett, Inez Courtney and Thomas Jackson, based on a play by Ward Morehouse, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 52 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Open Secret’ a Timely Tale of Tolerance

Posted on April 1, 2019 by lmharnisch

TCM tackles a vital subject with its screening of the motion picture “Open Secret” during the upcoming TCM Classic Film Festival April 11-14. 2019. As timely now as when it was first released in 1948,“Open Secret” promotes religious and racial … Continue reading →

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