Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

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 | Comments Off on L.A. Celebrates the Fourth of July 1889 – 1960

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – The Tale of the Alden Besse

Posted on June 29, 2020 by lmharnisch

Alden Besse, photographed by Asahel Curtis, Wikipedia Commons. Surviving tempests, fires, illness, auctions, lawsuits, and salvages, the old whaling ship Alden Besse saw many an exciting adventure over more than 59 years. A magnet for disaster, accidents, and adventure, the … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 29, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1957 film “The Black Scorpion,” with Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro, Carlos Muzquiz, Pascual Pena, Fanny Schiller, Pedro Galvan and Arturo Martinez. Screenplay by David Duncan and Robert Blees from a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Animals, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 48 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + + +)

Posted on June 22, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 MGM film “I Take This Woman,” with Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, Verree Teasdale, Kent Taylor, Laraine Day, Mona Barrie, Jack Carson, Paul Cavanagh, Louis Calhern, Frances Drake, Marjorie Main, George E. Stone, Willie … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 62 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Josef von Sternberg’s ‘Salvation Hunters’

Posted on June 22, 2020 by lmharnisch

Georgia Hale is The Girl in “The Salvation Hunters.” Note: This is an encore post from 2012. From the very beginning of his career, director Josef von Sternberg possessed an extraordinary vision for the art, look, and feel of his … Continue reading →

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Perry Mason and The Case of the Flawed Fedora

Posted on June 20, 2020 by lmharnisch

Oh dear. HBO Max’s Perry Mason origin story is set in 1932 Los Angeles, which you would never know by looking at this photo of Shea Whigham and Matthew Rhys. IMDB lists a huge number of costumers, so I can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, Fashion, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

‘The Lid Off Los Angeles’ – Liberty Magazine Examines Corruption in the LAPD and at City Hall

Posted on June 18, 2020 by lmharnisch

On Nov. 11, 1939, Liberty magazine began a six-part series by Dwight F. McKinney and Fred Allhoff on the Harry Raymond bombing and the reform movement of Clifford E. Clinton. Liberty also published a response by Dist. Atty. Buron Fitts. … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: M.E. Firman, Lady Detective

Posted on June 15, 2020 by lmharnisch

In the early 1900s, most women in the United States lacked the right to vote. Groups such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association organized to actively campaign for enfranchisement. Winning the vote would lead to other reforms regarding child … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Homicide, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: M.E. Firman, Lady Detective

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + + +)

Posted on June 15, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1962 Universal release of the Joel Productions picture “Lonely Are the Brave,” with Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau, Michael Kane, Carroll O’Connor, William Schallert, George Kennedy, Karl Swenson, Bill Mims, Martin Garralaga and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘The Murder Squad’ Botches the Black Dahlia Case

Posted on June 12, 2020 by lmharnisch

I have a longstanding aversion to podcasts, especially “true crime” podcasts and particularly when it comes to “true crime” podcasts about the Black Dahlia. “The Murder Squad,” with Billy Jensen and retired Detective Paul Holes, released an episode earlier this … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + + +)

Posted on June 8, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1947 United Artists release of Benedict Bogeaus’ “The Macomber Affair,” with Gregory Peck, Joan Bennett, Robert Preston, Reginald Denny, Jean Gillie, Carl Harbord, Earl Smith, Frederic Worlock and Vernon Downing. Screenplay by Casey Robinson … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments