Monthly Archives: June 2019

Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘Underworld Story,’ Part 4

Posted on June 26, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s another sequence from “The Underworld Story,” an especially interesting one that features the Globe Lobby in the old Los Angeles Times Building. Leading man Dan Duryea walks through the lobby. That’s the bust of Harry Chandler in a space … Continue reading →

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Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’ Part 3

Posted on June 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s another sequence from “The Underworld Story” filmed in downtown Los Angeles. The camera is across Spring Street, opposite City Hall. Downtown L.A. in ‘Underworld Story’ Part 1 | Part 2

Posted in Architecture, City Hall, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Location Sleuth | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 (copyright 1945) Monogram Pictures film “Fear,” with Peter Cookson, Warren William, Anne Gwynne, Francis Pierlot, Nestor Paiva, James Cardwell, Almira Sessions, William Moss, Harry Clay, Johnny Strong, Ernie Adams and Charles Calvert. Original … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: There Is a Lake in Toluca Lake

Posted on June 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

Photo: Janet Blair sits on the little platform off the banks of the Lakeside Golf Club. Courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Surrounded by homes and the Lakeside Golf Club, Toluca Lake is all … Continue reading →

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Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’ Part 2

Posted on June 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s another frame from the opening of “The Underworld Story,” last week’s mystery movie. This appears to be one of the Hill Street tunnels, which were demolished in 1955.

Posted in 1950, Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’

Posted on June 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

“The Underworld Story,” last week’s mystery movie, had quite a few interesting shots of downtown Los Angeles from about 1950. Here’s one from the opening titles. It shows the Fashion League Building, which was at Hill and 2nd streets. Notice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Why Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill His Secretary

Posted on June 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s the May 9, 1945, death certificate of Ruth Frances Spaulding. Notice that the Los Angeles County coroner determined that Spaulding committed suicide at the age of 27. If you have listened to Steve Hodel at all, you will have … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1951 MGM picture “The Law and the Lady,” with Greer Garson, Michael Wilding, Fernando Lamas, Marjorie Main, Hayden Rorke, Margalo Gillmore, Ralph Dumke, Rhys Williams and Natalie Schafer. Screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass and Karl … Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Norman Kerry, Preservationist

Posted on June 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

Norman Kerry in 1924. Long before billionaire investor Ron Burkle purchased and restored such historic architectural properties as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis-Brown House, Harold Lloyd’s Greenacres, and Bob Hope’s Palm Springs and Toluca Lake houses, silent film star Norman Kerry … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s particularly fun (for me, anyway) mystery movie was the 1950 United Artists release “The Underworld Story,” with Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm, Howard Da Silva, Michael O’Shea, Mary Anderson, Gar Moore, Melville Cooper, Frieda Inescort, Art Baker, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Julian Eltinge Says ‘I’m at Your Service, Girls’

Posted on June 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2016.   One of the most famous female impersonators of all time, but now also one of the most forgotten, Julian Eltinge stood as one of the most successful headliners of the early … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

ALLIES INVADE FRANCE! JUNE 6, 1944; Complete Radio Coverage

Posted on June 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

The headline and map by Charles Owens from The Times. Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Reposting to fix some broken links. June 6, 1944: Complete radio coverage of the D-Day Invasion. This was pool coverage using correspondents … Continue reading →

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James Ellroy: ‘This Storm’ — Racism and Anti-Semitism Masquerading as History

Posted on June 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

A historical aside to everybody gushing over James Ellroy’s latest, “This Storm,” which opens with a speech from Father Coughlin’s supposed bootleg radio station in Mexico. (Coughlin was a notorious right-wing radio broadcaster of the 1930s who was silenced by … Continue reading →

Posted in 2019, Books and Authors, Radio | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Newsweek Mangles the George Hodel Story Beyond All Recognition

Posted on June 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

About 1980, when I was in journalism school, one of my classes heard guest speaker Martin Kasindorf, who impressed the room of aspiring reporters with his tales of being a Newsweek correspondent. (He was later the magazine’s New York bureau … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2019, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1929 MGM picture “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney,” which was released in sound (8,651 feet) and silent (6,484 feet) versions. With Norma Shearer, Basil Rathbone, Herbert Bunston, George Barraud, Hedda Hopper, Moon Carroll, Madeline … Continue reading →

Posted in 1929, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: First National Building Banks On Hollywood’s Future

Posted on June 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Hollywood First National Bank Building, Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2014 Soaring to the skies, displaying confidence in Hollywood’s unlimited future, the First National Building, constructed and opened in 1928, brought Art Deco-Gothic beauty … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Maria Ridulph, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment