Category Archives: Film

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Navy Reports

Posted on September 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 6, 1942: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox warns against “loose talk.” Credit: National Archives. I returned from Saturday’s trip to the National Archives in Riverside with more than 200 images of historic documents. It’s going to take some … Continue reading →

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Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on September 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 1998 Cadillac Eureka hearse, $14,990. Credit: Heritage Coach. Queen of the Dead – dateline September 5, 2011 • Not all 1930s child actresses were sad and bitter, though recent obits of Marcia Mae Jones and Edith Fellows were pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Music, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Coming Attractions: Telluride

Posted on September 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s the schedule for Telluride, Friday through Monday.

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on September 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s today’s mystery fellow! Notice the mystery coiffure.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Sept. 1, 1941

Posted on September 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 1, 1941: I thought it would be interesting to check in with our friends in 1941, since Pearl Harbor is only three months away. Times editorial cartoonist Bruce Russell’s Labor Day drawing says that it’s unpatriotic to strike in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Sept. 1, 1941

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s another mystery photo courtesy of Steven Bibb! Interesting pose. Look how she’s got her feet. [Update: This is Rosita Diaz, who was reportedly executed by firing squad “for using her Latin charms as a spy.”]

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

James Curtis: L.A. Voices – Dick Lane, Part 7

Posted on August 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Spade Cooley, named the honorary mayor of Encino, gives dictation to secretary Gloria Murphy, who is riding his stallion, Golden Nugget, 1954. This is Part 7 of James Curtis’ 1975 interview with Dick Lane. In this segment, Lane discusses … Continue reading →

Posted in 1982, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices, Obituaries, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Found on EBay – Hartsook Portrait

Posted on August 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

This Hartsook photo of Anita King as a gypsy girl, possibly from the 1915 film “Carmen” starring Geraldine Farrar and Wallace Reid, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $24.97.

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‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 7

Posted on August 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: June 8, 1943 — A mob of servicemen stop a streetcar on Main Street to remove a passenger wearing a zoot suit. Here’s a second radio address by Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, delivered June 16, 1943, on the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Latinos, Radio, San Francisco, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on ‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 7

Found on EBay – Witzel Photo of Dorothy Dalton

Posted on August 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

This Witzel portrait of actress Dorothy Dalton has been listed on EBay. That’s some fur coat she is wearing! The photo is listed as Buy It Now for $14.99.

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Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: No one identified mystery woman Ruth Clifford (d. 1998) in “Hollywood Boulevard” which featured former mystery folks Esther Ralston, Jack Mulhall, Betty Compson and Creighton Hale!]. Here’s today’s mystery woman, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

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

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on August 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 2001 Chevy Suburban hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $7,000. Queen of the Dead – dateline August 29, 2011 • When songwriting great Jerry Leiber (“Hound Dog,” “Ready to Begin Again,” “Yakety Yak,” “Stand By Me,” “On … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated++]

Posted on August 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb! [Update: Nobody has even attempted to identify our mystery lady. I guess I’ll leave her as an unknown for now. ] [Update 2: I stand corrected, thanks Dewey! There were two guesses. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb! [Update: This is Sonja Ziemann from the 1961 film “The Secret Ways.” ]

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

James Curtis: L.A. Voices – Dick Lane, Part 6

Posted on August 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Listening to the radio, Oct. 28, 1945. This is Part 6 of James Curtis’ 1975 interview with Dick Lane. In this segment, Lane discusses Jack Benny, roller derby, professional wrestling and Gorgeous George. James Curtis’ interview with Dick Lane … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices, Radio, Television | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on August 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 2003 Cadillac hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $10,000. Queen of the Dead – dateline August 22, 2011   • The godfather of Mondo Cinema, Gualtiero Jacopetti, died at 92 on August 17. The director of the … Continue reading →

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Mike Wallace Interviews

Posted on August 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

I stumbled into a trove of interesting interviews by Mike Wallace that are online at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Austin at Texas. Here’s Wallace’s Aug. 25, 1957, interview with the notorious Freddie Otash, the former LAPD … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 1958, Film, Hollywood, Television | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Scarlett’s Costumes Nearly ‘Gone With the Wind’

Posted on August 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Crane bathroom fixtures. Credit: Life magazine, April 29, 1957.   We grew up in a sterile, cookie-cutter home, on a sterile, cookie-cutter street, in a sterile suburb of Chicago, where all the people were white and all the bathrooms … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, African Americans, Architecture, Fashion, Film, Futurism, Hollywood, Interior Design, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Location Sleuth: Lasky Mesa

Posted on August 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: “Charge of the Light Brigade,” filmed at Lasky Mesa. James Curtis’ interview with Dick Lane touched on a filming location known as Lasky Mesa. Films shot there include “Rose of the Rancho” 1914, “The Thundering Herd” (1925), “The Charge … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Location Sleuth, Parks, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Found on EBay – Witzel Photograph

Posted on August 17, 2011 by lmharnisch

This Witzel photo of actress Dorothy Phillips has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $19.99. Phillips received a one-paragraph obituary in The Times on March 10, 1980.

Posted in Fashion, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Photography, Witzel | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment