Monthly Archives: December 2023

Mary Astor’s Lost Film ‘New Year’s Eve’

Posted on December 30, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from January 2020. Since TCM is featuring Mary Astor, here’s a brief post on her lost movie “New Year’s Eve.” (A tip of the hat to Lou Lumenick, who tweeted about the movie on … Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is Jan. 2

Posted on December 29, 2023 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, Jan 2, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and on Instagram. I’ll give an update on the book and discuss Elizabeth … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1931 Chesterfield Motion Picture film The Devil Plays, with Jameson Thomas, Florence Britton, Thomas Jackson, Richard Tucker, Robert Ellis, Lillian Rich, Edmund Burns, Dorothy Christy, Lew Kelly, Carmelita Geraghty, Jack Trent and Murdock McQuarrie.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: A 1940s Christmas Story in ‘Star in the Night’

Posted on December 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

An updated version of the Nativity in Warner Bros. Star in the Night. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Made as a twenty-minute film to complete a program slate for movie theaters, the 1945 Warner Bros. two-reel short … Continue reading →

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George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, December 2023 / The George Hodel Bugging Transcripts

Posted on December 19, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here’s Boxy and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel. I talked about Steve Hodel’s bizarre new book “Black Dahlia Avenger IV” and one of his staunchest enablers, Luigi Warren. Then I reviewed the LAPD guidelines for … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Agnes Grew, Pioneering Paramount Executive

Posted on December 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

Agnes Grew with a map showing the results from a survey of women movie-goers, 1945. A leader in almost everything she tried, Agnes Grew is mostly forgotten like many other women working in the motion picture industry during the 1920s-1930s. … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1945 Paramount picture Love Letters, with Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper, Anita Louise, Robert Sully, Reginald Denny, Ernest Cossart and Byron Barr.

Posted in 1945, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel – December 19

Posted on December 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel and Steve Hodel Tuesday Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram. We’ll take a look at what’s going on in Steve … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Paramount picture The Road to Zanzibar, with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore, Douglass Dumbrille, Iris Adrian and Lionel Royce.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Lighting the Way on Santa Claus Lane

Posted on December 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

Hollywood Boulevard decorated for Christmas in the 1950s. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Starting in the late 1920s, Hollywood Boulevard’s Christmas decorations dazzled shoppers and tourists with their thousands of twinkling lights, a spectacular backdrop for holiday … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, December 2023

Posted on December 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

In the December 2023 Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I talk about the incursion of artificial intelligence in cranking out “true” crime videos and I discuss Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer by Janice Knowlton and Michael … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Sign Built and Illuminated November-December 1923

Posted on December 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

The Hollywoodland Sign, in a photo published in the Los Angeles Evening Herald, Dec. 8, 1923. Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Originally constructed as a publicity gimmick and branding symbol to help generate sales for a real … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 4, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 Warner Bros. short Service With the Colors, with Robert Armstrong, William Lundigan, Henry O’Neill, William Orr, Herbert Anderson and George Haywood.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood and Poinsettias

Posted on December 4, 2023 by lmharnisch

A postcard c. 1908 of poinsettias, “California’s Christmas flower,” listed on EBay. Note: This is an encore post from 2020. Euphorba Pulcherrima, better known as the poinsettia plant, has been popular in Los Angeles since the late 1800s. Some call … Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is Dec. 5

Posted on December 3, 2023 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and on Instagram. I’ll give an update on the book and discuss Daddy … Continue reading →

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