Monthly Archives: July 2020

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: George P. Hommel, Pensive Photographer

Posted on July 27, 2020 by lmharnisch

Overshadowed by the work of 1920s Paramount colleagues Donald Biddle Keyes and Eugene Robert Richee, stillsman George P. Hommel crafted thoughtful portraits highlighting both the beauty and sorrow of those he photographed. Like Keyes,  the peripatetic Hommel always looked for … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 27, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1938 RKO picture “Condemned Women,” with Sally Eilers, Louis Hayward, Anne Shirley, Esther Dale, Lee Patrick, Leona Roberts, George Irving, Richard Bond, Netta Packer, Rita LaRoy and Florence Lake. Musical direction by Roy Webb, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 20, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 Columbia picture “Forbidden,” with Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Bellamy, Dorothy Peterson, Thomas Jefferson, Myrna Fresholt, Charlotte V. Henry and Oliver Eckhardt. Story by Frank Capra, adaptation and dialogue by Jo Swerling, edited … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Celebrities in Bloom

Posted on July 20, 2020 by lmharnisch

Photo: Mary Pickford admires a namesake orchid. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Flowers, like actors, sometimes have short-lived celebrity. Once their aura of uniqueness fades, many languish or fall by the wayside. Some … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 2178 High Tower Drive, L.A.’s First Community Elevator

Posted on July 13, 2020 by lmharnisch

The Tower appeared in the March 24, 1939, installment of Nuestro Pueblo by Joseph Seewerker and Charles Owens of the Los Angeles Times. Both marketing gimmick and necessity, the elevator shaft that gave the name High Tower Drive to a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1922, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 13, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1964 picture “The Last Man on Earth,” with Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Umberto Rau, Christi Courtland, Tony Corevi and Hector Ribotta. Photographed by Franco Delli Colli, edited by Gene Ruggiero, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1964, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Book Review: ‘Cary Grant – A Brilliant Disguise’

Posted on July 8, 2020 by lmharnisch

Executive summary: “Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise,” the latest in Scott Eyman’s long series of Class-A Hollywood biographies, opens strong with the last day of the acclaimed actor’s life and quickly declines to a tedious slog in a book more … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1931 Warner Bros. picture “Other Men’s Women,” with Grant Withers, Mary Astor, Regis Toomey, James Cagney, Fred Kohler, J. Farrell MacDonald, Joan Blondell, Lillian Worth and Walter Long. By Maude Fulton, dialogue by William … Continue reading →

Posted in 1931, City Hall, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Note: This is an encore post from 2018. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty … Continue reading →

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L.A. Celebrates the Fourth of July 1889 – 1960

Posted on July 4, 2020 by lmharnisch

July 4, 1944: Uncle Sam in a cartoon by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale for the Los Angeles Examiner and republished in the Milwaukee Sentinel.   Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Here’s a look at how Los Angeles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, 1907, 1910, 1947, 1957, 1960 | Tagged | Leave a comment