Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

I thought it would be fun to do a British film for a change. This is the 1937 movie “Fire Over England,” with Sir Laurence Olivier, Flora Robson, Leslie Banks, Vivien Leigh, Raymond Massey, Tamara Desni and Morton Selten. Based … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 70 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ravenswood Apartments Attract the Stylish

Posted on November 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

Mae West in her boudoir at the Ravenswood, Life magazine, Feb. 19, 1940. Built during the early years of the Great Depression, the luxurious Ravenswood Apartment building at 570 N. Rossmore Ave. stands as one of the best examples of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Museum of the San Fernando Valley Grand Opening

Posted on November 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

Sorry for the short notice, but the Museum of the San Fernando Valley says that it’s having a grand opening today from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 18860 Nordhoff St. in Northridge. More information is available here.

Posted in Museums, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , | Comments Off on Museum of the San Fernando Valley Grand Opening

Black Dahlia: Ronald Reagan and the Dead Milkmen

Posted on November 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

Wow. Just when I thought I had seen everything — and I mean everything — about the Black Dahlia case.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

On Location in Downtown Los Angeles — 1930

Posted on November 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

“For the Defense” is one of the old Paramount films now controlled by Universal. As part of its pre-code marathon, TCM recently aired “For the Defense,” a 1930 Paramount film starring William Powell and Kay Francis.

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 20

Posted on November 6, 2014 by lmharnisch

An unidentified woman demonstrates how someone disabled the light fixture in the entryway to the Bauerdorf apartment, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. I wondered whether this was Aggie Underwood because it is a Herald-Express picture and Herald reporters … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

1944 on the Radio — NBC Symphony Orchestra, November 5, 1944

Posted on November 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

November 5, 1944: Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, followed by Glinka’s “Caprice Brillant Jota Aragonesa.”  Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

Posted in 1944, Music, Radio | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 1944 on the Radio — NBC Symphony Orchestra, November 5, 1944

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 19

Posted on November 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 20, 1944: Capt. Garner Brown examines the fabric used to strangle Georgette Bauerdorf, Daily News. One of the more unusual aspects of the Georgette Bauerdorf killing was the fabric the killer shoved about four inches down her throat. Georgette … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 18

Posted on November 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

    This Google map shows several possible routes from Georgette Bauerdorf’s apartment to the location where the car was found. Whoever took the car had any number of options on where to dump it. Recall that the car, a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the Twentieth Century-Fox CinemaScope production of “Garden of Evil,” with Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward and Richard Widmark. The 1954 film was written by Frank Fenton, based on a story by Fred Freiberger and William … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Sennett Stills Photographers Display Wide Talents

Posted on November 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Derelys Perdue, photo by Albert J. Kopec. While some motion picture stills photographers are renowned for their work, such as George Hurrell, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Ernest Bachrach, and Ruth Harriet Louise, others are largely forgotten today, seeming to disappear into … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shadowing Marlowe: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on November 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Someone asked me what I thought of this article in our hometown paper and when I got done laughing I pulled out Frank MacShane’s “Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler” and “The Life of Raymond Chandler.” You guessed it.

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

Time to Turn the Clocks Back!

Posted on November 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

On behalf of the L.A. Daily Mirror, Pier Angeli and little friend remind you that Daylight Saving Time is o-ver. Or as William Safire used to say: “Fall is the time of year that conservatives like best because they get … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Cecil Hotel and Halloween — Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2014 by lmharnisch

LAist is the latest to jump on the “who cares if it’s true, it’s Halloween!” bandwagon. Not with the “Black Dahlia Murder House” legend, but by reviving the old chestnut about Elizabeth Short and the Cecil Hotel. Note the “allegedly,” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Downtown | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

An (In)complete List of TCM Tributes (Updated)

Posted on October 31, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s an updated list of TCM tributes. (Nov. 1, 2014: Adds John Cleese on W.C. Fields, Jamie Leigh Curtis on Janet Leigh, Naked and Famous rock video of Joan Crawford; adds writer/editor and production company credits for Guillotine Post) (Nov. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 17

Posted on October 30, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Herald-Express described the neighborhood where the killer abandoned the Bauerdorf car as “a Negro residential district.” (Oct. 13, 1944.) Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Black Dahlia: Sorry, Houston Chronicle, Nobody Killed in the Sowden House

Posted on October 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Houston Chronicle is the latest to fall for the “Black Dahlia Murder House” nonsense. The Chronicle at least attempts to be skeptical, but oh well, it is Halloween and websites desperately need click bait. This 5,600 square-foot home has … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 16

Posted on October 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Deputies Garner Brown, left, and John Schilling examine the Bauerdorf car for fingerprints, Los Angeles Examiner, Oct. 13, 1944. When Georgette Bauerdorf’s body was discovered, investigators were unable to locate her car, a 1936 Oldsmobile coupe belonging to her sister. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 15

Posted on October 28, 2014 by lmharnisch

Sheriff’s investigators examine Connie Bauerdorf’s 1936 Oldsmobile, which was being used by Georgette Bauerdorf and disappeared after the killing, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. One of the mysteries confronting investigators in the Georgette Bauerdorf case was what became … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

Black Dahlia Murder House and Dr. George Hodel: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

Sorry, Ashbury Park Press (a Gannett publication), there is nothing to show that anybody was killed at the Sowden House. There is only nonsense about  Buster the Wonder Dog  reacting to something or other. And, for the record, Elizabeth Short … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Black Dahlia | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments