Category Archives: Film

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Charles Butterworth, Professional Silly Ass

Posted on February 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

Comedy in films has evolved in over a century of production. Beginning with rather crude and slapstick humor, easily understood by immigrants, the film industry developed increasingly sophisticated styles of comedy as it matured. Drawing-room comedies of the mid- to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

How Not to Wear a Hat – Film Noir Edition (Updated ++)

Posted on January 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

This mystery gent has a rather crushed chapeau.

Posted in Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 33 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on January 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

Today’s mystery folks are from the collection of Mary Mallory. Thanks, Mary! Please congratulate Bob Hansen, Mike Hawks and Tim Doherty for identifying our mystery gal. And thanks to Mary for sharing a mystery photo.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Pressbooks to Sell Movies

Posted on January 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

From the beginning of the motion picture industry, film companies devised all types of advertising to entice consumers to buy movie tickets. Posters, lobby cards and window displays, glass slides, sheet music and photographs could be employed by exhibitors to … Continue reading →

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

On Location: The May Co.

Posted on January 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

A little of Loretta Young (featured this month on TCM) goes a long way at the Daily Mirror HQ, but I noticed these shots of a department store in “Employees’ Entrance” and they reminded me of the sequence in “Public … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Newsboy Cap Edition VI (Updated +++)

Posted on January 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s a mystery lad in a newsboy cap! How to Wear a Hat – Newsboy Cap Edition How to Wear a Hat — ‘Grapes of Wrath’ Edition Movieland Mystery Photo – Newsboy Cap Edition I Movieland Mystery Photo – Newsboy … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashions, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Charlie Chaplin Comes to Hollywood

Posted on January 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

Oct. 16, 1917: An architect’s rendering of Chaplin’s studios in The Times Ninety-five years ago, comedian Charlie Chaplin constructed the first beautiful studio lot in Hollywood, the first to offer style to filmmaking. What had been merely an industry housed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1917, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Laurel and Hardy Meet Laurel y Hardy

Posted on January 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

I thought it would be fun to compare “Chickens Come Home” and “Politiquerias,” which aired recently on Turner Classic Movies. A shot-by-shot comparison shows that even though they use the same plot and camera setups, the English- and Spanish-language versions … Continue reading →

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

TCM: Fail

Posted on January 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

Hobart Bosworth’s previously unknown role as Bob the Tomato.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Television | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Happy Birthday, Mack Sennett!

Posted on January 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory notes that today is Mack Sennett’s birthday. Read Mary’s post on Sennett here.

Posted in 1880, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on January 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Thanks, Mary! This is Gloria Dickson, who burned to death in a fire in 1945.

Posted in 1945, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Deadly LAPD Beating: Officer Describes Arrest

Posted on January 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 17, 1943: District attorney’s investigators question Police Sgt. James F. Martin about the arrest of Stanley H. Beebe, who died after being beaten by LAPD officers. Martin said that he got a bloody nose and two broken ribs in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hill Street, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on January 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Thanks, Mary! Nobody guessed our fellow — let me see if I can find more photos of him before revealing the answer.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Ferdinand Earle – Found on EBay

Posted on January 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

A lot of material belonging to Ferdinand Earle (d. 1951) has been listed on EBay. Earle was an art director, writer and director in the silent era. The photo above is from “Womanhood,” on which he was art director. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Ferdinand Earle – Found on EBay

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on January 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s a mystery chap courtesy of Mary Mallory. Thanks, Mary!! This is Felix Knight. Please congratulate Mike Hawks and Bob Hansen for identifying him!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

‘Gangster Squad’: Fail – Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Uh-oh. Nobody should be surprised — least of all Warner Bros. — that  “Gangster Squad” is a terrible movie. Anyone who saw the trailers or heard the industry gossip knew that it was going to be dreadful. It was a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Fashion, Fashions, Film, History, Hollywood, LAPD, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

How Not to Wear a Hat, Gangster Squad Edition

Posted on January 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

How to look like a hayseed just off the farm in really expensive clothes, as demonstrated by Sean Penn in “Gangster Squad,” costume design by Mary Zophres. Why does Hollywood have such a difficult time with men’s hats?

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

‘Gangster Squad’ a Thumbnail Review

Posted on January 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

“Gangster Squad” is bad. It’s very bad. It’s even very, very bad. I laughed several times in fact, despite my best efforts not to. I’ll write more later but here’s a start: I should say something about a spoiler alert … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Pray for Me, I’m Going to See ‘Gangster Squad’

Posted on January 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

I am heading  off to see “Gangster Squad” this morning, not because I expect it to be good, but because I expect it to be very, very bad, as already reflected by the first reviews and the trailers. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Black Dahlia, City Hall, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Black Dahlia: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on January 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Black Dahlia: 5 Songs for a Famous Murder Victim by “Jef With One F.” The anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s 1947 disappearance from the Biltmore has provoked the usual outpouring of mistakes and nonsense, much of it swiped from Wikipedia (see: … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | 6 Comments