Category Archives: Books and Authors

‘Laura’: The Making of a Classic Film Noir – Adventures in Research

Posted on May 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

Louella Parsons’ May 15, 1944, item on Rouben Mamoulian being replaced as the director of “Laura” has inspired a long detour into the production of the film – beginning with Vera Caspary and her 1942 novel. Given the typical state … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Libraries | Tagged 1944, film, hollywood, Laura, Libraries | 2 Comments

Zodiac: Most Dangerous Animal — Oh Not Again!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

A “true” crime book that was “written in secret” evokes “Black Dahlia Avenger” and it’s intriguing that “The Most Dangerous Animal of All” treads the same territory as Steve Hodel’s “Most Evil.” In case you don’t recall, retired LAPD Det. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged Books and Authors, crime and courts, Zodiac | 6 Comments

Imagining the Future

Posted on April 26, 2014 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006. The subject came up today when I was having lunch with Ed Fuentes, so I thought I would repost it. Notice that in this plan, Union Station was to have been … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, Charles Mulford Robinson, downtown L.A., The City Beautiful | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: A New ‘Suspect’ (Who Isn’t Dr. George Hodel) and a New Dimension in Lunacy

Posted on April 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Nobody does “true” crime stories quite like the Brits. And the Daily Mail is all over this one. Suppose I told you that Suzanne Degnan (1946), the Black Dahlia (1947), Jimmy Hoffa (disappeared 1975), the Zodiac victims (late 1960s) AND … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, George Hodel | 12 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘River of Angels,’ by Alejandro Morales

Posted on April 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

The reject pile! Aspiring authors, avert thine eyes! In case you just tuned in, this is one of the books I retrieved from the piles of review copies put out for the staff. I’m not familiar with Alejandro Morales, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Latinos | Tagged Books and Authors, Latinos | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Lily DuTertre and Wikipedia

Posted on April 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

Unless you prowl the outer fringes of the publishing industry, you may have never heard of Lily DuTertre, who is an avid compiler of “high quality Wikipedia articles” into books. Like this one on unsolved murders, selling for $26.68.

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors | Tagged black dahlia, Books and Authors | 4 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘Kitty Genovese’ by Catherine Pelonero

Posted on April 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

The reject pile! Aspiring authors, avert thine eyes! This is a sample of review copies that are cast aside in bins to be rummaged through by the staff. Usually they are contemporary genre fiction (“50 Shades of Stealing Maps for … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged #Kitty Genovese, Books and Authors, crime and courts | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Not for Young Readers

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Imagine my surprise to find this little gem floating around on the Internet, and I see that I’m a couple of years late. According to Amazon, it’s a 2011 account of the Black Dahlia case for middle school students, although … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, lapd, unsolved murders | 1 Comment

1944 in Print — ‘I Hate Actors’ by Ben Hecht

Posted on April 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 1, 1944 This is the article by Ben Hecht mentioned in Sidney Skolsky’s column. If you’re patient, you can dig it out of the files at unz.org. It starts on Page 24 and continues to Page 43 and you’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1944, Ben Hecht, Books and Authors, film, hollywood | 3 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘Charlie Chaplin, Director’

Posted on April 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged #Charlie Chaplin, Books and Authors, film, hollywood | 6 Comments

March 2014 Reader Survey

Posted on March 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here are the results as of Saturday. I’m guessing the figures may change a bit, but not too much.

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Mary Mallory, Radio | Tagged 1944, film, hollywood, Louella Parsons, OTR, radio, Walter Winchell | 10 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, March 25, 1944

Posted on March 25, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 25, 1944 HOLLYWOOD, March 24 — The ink was hardly dry on the galley proofs of Mrs. Irving Berlin’s book “The Land I Have Chosen” when Jack Warner bought it. Ellin wrote the book, a story of the American … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1944, film, hollywood, Louella Parsons | Comments Off

1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 11, 1944

Posted on March 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 11, 1944 Lint From a Blue Serge Suit Dinah Shore’s headache: Her great arranger has been drafted … Barbara Stanwyck’s next film will be her 50th. Just finished Warners’ “My Reputation.” All those long-distance calls for starlet Gail Russell … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, History, New York, Nightclubs, Stage | Tagged #New York, 1944, Books and Authors, film, hollywood, Walter Winchell | 2 Comments

‘The Fountainhead’ Comics

Posted on March 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s a little sample of what I found while going through the Police Commission and Police Department materials from the 1940s at the city archives. Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” was serialized and accompanied by these illustrations by Frank Godwin.

Posted in 1949, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1949, Ayn Rand, Books and Authors, comics, film, Fountainhead, hollywood | 3 Comments

1944 in Print — ‘Amazing Stories,’ March 1944

Posted on March 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 1944: “Amazing Stories,” featuring “It’s a Small World” by Robert Bloch. courtesy of Archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1944, Books and Authors, science fiction | 3 Comments

James Curtis: L.A. Voices — David Lewis, Part 3

Posted on February 19, 2014 by lmharnisch

There was one wonderful scene, not in the book, that Casey wrote. It contained scraps of things from the book, but it became one of the finest love scenes l ever saw in any film. It takes place on a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices | Tagged #James Curtis, #L.A. Voices, 1940, Books and Authors, film, hollywood | Comments Off

James Curtis: L.A. Voices — David Lewis, Part 2

Posted on February 18, 2014 by lmharnisch

When we were ready to start the script, Casey, his wife Audrey, and I went to the Phoenix Biltmore to get away for a few days and start conferences on the script. But we had only been there three or … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices | Tagged #James Curtis, #L.A. Voices, 1940, Books and Authors, film, hollywood | 4 Comments

James Curtis: L.A. Voices — David Lewis, Part 1

Posted on February 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

David Lewis, courtesy of James Curtis. Editor’s note: The Daily Mirror is pleased to present an excerpt from James Curtis’ 1993 book “The Creative Producer,” a fascinating memoir by David Lewis, edited by Curtis. It seemed timely to run the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis | Tagged #James Curtis, Books and Authors, film, hollywood | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Black Dahlia Files and Donald Wolfe

Posted on February 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

While we are on the subject of nonsense in the Black Dahlia case, the Sky Valley Chronicle posted a story yesterday based on Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files.” As many of you may know, this book is so … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Donald Wolfe, LAPD | Tagged 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, black dahlia, cold cases, donald wolfe, lapd | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘I Killed the Black Dahlia’

Posted on February 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

Just when I thought I had seen every sort of lunacy that’s possible about the Black Dahlia case, I found this in my local paper yesterday. Did someone finally confess to the “grusome” murder? Look! It’s a saga of “explotation!” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, film, hollywood, lapd | 13 Comments