Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

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 , , , , , , | 1 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 →

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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.  

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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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Black Dahlia: Steve Hodel’s Lies on ‘Dr. Phil’; A Case Study

Posted on March 28, 2019 by lmharnisch

Would you like to see how Steve Hodel lies about things that can be easily checked? Of course you would. This is a graphic that appeared during Steve Hodel’s appearance on “Dr. Phil.” It’s helpful, at least for me, for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 7

Posted on March 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m slowly going through a set of photos of the wedding of two men in Philadelphia in 1957. The film was left at a shop to be developed and the store manager refused to … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 10th TCM Classic Film Festival Celebrates Love and Romance

Posted on March 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

The TCM Classic Film Festival celebrates not only the glories of film but also the joys of romance in its 10th annual festival April 11-14, 2019 in Hollywood. Highlighting the history of cinema from silents to Cinerama to serials to … Continue reading →

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Hollywood Photography at Auction: George Hurrell and Cecil Beaton

Posted on March 26, 2019 by lmharnisch

Gary Martin of the Brain Trust passes along word of several lots of photos being auctioned by Swann Auction Galleries. The auction is April 18. He notes Lot 91, a set of 10 signed photographs by George Hurrell, including Anna … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1959 film “The Last Angry Man,” with Paul Muni, David Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Luther Adler, Claudia McNeil, Joby Baker, Joanna Moore, Nancy R. Pollock, Billy Dee Williams, Robert F. Simon and Dan Tobin. Screenplay … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 21st Film Noir Festival Highlights Tension-Filled 1950s

Posted on March 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

Take a walk back in time to the tension-filled, conspiracy-driven world of the 1950s during the 2019 Annual Film Noir Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Kicking off Friday, March 29, the 21st annual festival examines the down and … Continue reading →

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Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 6

Posted on March 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

If you just tuned in, I’m digging into the 1957 photos of a wedding of two men in Philadelphia. The film was left at a photo shop and the manager refused to return the pictures, which were saved by a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 5

Posted on March 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

This is the last interior shot accompanying the photos of the 1957 wedding of two men in Philadelphia. Let’s see if we can detect anything that may shed some light on our mystery guests. Previously: Part 1 | Part 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Architecture, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Philadelphia, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments