Category Archives: Film

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo You may recognize this photo because I ran it a few years ago. But it’s one of my favorites. This fellow was branded with a very certain stereotype that he played in countless films, so … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 59 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on June 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo [Update: Elisabeth Bergner: The German star, seen previously here as “Catherine the Great,” displays her versatile genius in “Escape Me Never,” at the Four Star, her art being hailed as more exquisite on the screen, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 52 Comments

Army Clears Strikers at North American Aviation

Posted on June 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 10, 1941: Bill Henry files a color story on soldiers using rifles with bayonets to herd strikers away from the North American Aviation plant. Unfortunately, my new optical character recognition software can’t handle these old clips, so I have … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Transportation, World War II | Comments Off on Army Clears Strikers at North American Aviation

Coming Attractions – ‘Hollywoodland’

Posted on June 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory, a key member of the Daily Mirror’s “brain trust,”  will be signing copies of her new book “Hollywoodland” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, at Chevalier’s Books, 126 N. Larchmont Blvd. More information is … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Real Estate | 3 Comments

‘Hunchback Killer’ Arrested, June 8, 1941

Posted on June 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 8, 1941: For some time, I have been coming across stories about Alfred Horace Wells in going through the 1941 clips — “hunchback killer” is not a nickname that’s easy to forget. But I haven’t done anything on him … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | 2 Comments

Tip Poff, July 17, 1932

Posted on June 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 17, 1932: I’ve been meaning to post some of the Tip Poff  gossip columns that The Times used to run in the movie/drama pages of the 1930s. The Times experimented with the column and by 1939 was calling it … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Courts, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Tip Poff, July 17, 1932

North American Aviation Strike

Posted on June 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

  June 7, 1941: The strike at the North American Aviation plant, in which Army troops dispersed union activists and took over an essential American defense facility,  is one of the landmark events in Los Angeles history. Because of its … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | 1 Comment

Police Chief on His Way Out

Posted on June 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

           June 6, 1941: Police Chief Arthur Hohmann and Deputy Chief C.B. “Jack” Horrall are about to trade jobs.  Horrall will remain chief through World War II and into the postwar period, finally retiring during the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on June 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update:  Dorothy Ford, one of Earl Carroll's most beautiful girls, swims and rides horseback for relaxation between nightly appearances at the Hollywood Carroll theater, in a photo published Oct. 11, 1941.] … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 42 Comments

Senator Demands Probe of Lewd ‘Soundies’

Posted on June 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

    July 2, 1941: Sam Coslow announces a deal with Mills Novelty Co. to produce 208 "soundies"  and plans to make 20 of them in the next month, directed by Josef Berne. The acts include Gale Page, Martha Tilton, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Music | 4 Comments

June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Posted on June 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1941: I’ll admit I’m a sucker for stories about death rays. Evidently The Times’ editors were too since they put this item on Page 1. Promoter Kurt Van Zuyle credited L.E. Riley of Burbank as the inventor. It … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Death Rays, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Voices: James Arness, 1923 – 2011

Posted on June 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

        James Arness, from “Them!” to “Gunsmoke” and "How the West Was Won." Times TV critic Howard Rosenberg interviewed Arness (or tried to) in 1981 as he began working on “McClain’s Law.” Arness was thrifty with his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, 1954, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Television | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, June 2, 1941

Posted on June 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

           June 2, 1941: The pajama-clad body of Hungarian-born danseuse Jenny Dolly, who with her sister Rosie was the toast of two continents two decades ago, was found dangling from a wrought-iron curtain rod in her … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Suicide, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Maltese Falcon, 1931

Posted on June 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

        June 1931: Warner Bros. releases “The Maltese Falcon,” starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels. Although the film is little more than an obscure curiosity today, it made a deep impression at the time.  Reviewing the now-famous … Continue reading →

Posted in 1931, boxing, Film, Hollywood | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, June 1, 1941

Posted on June 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

                     June 1, 1941: LONDON, May 31. (AP)– German airmen who went belatedly to Iraq to bolster the Axis-inspired war against Britain were reported fleeing the country tonight as Iraqi resistance … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Music, Tom Treanor, Transportation | 2 Comments

Audie Murphy Dies in Plane Crash, June 1, 1971

Posted on June 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 1, 1971: World War II hero Audie Murphy, whose record as the Army’s most decorated soldier launched a movie career, dies in a plane crash with five other people.Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor, two Silver Stars, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Comments Off on Audie Murphy Dies in Plane Crash, June 1, 1971

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 31, 1941

Posted on May 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 31, 1941 – Arthur Hohmann, the LAPD’s reform police chief, will step down in June, citing the deaths of his son and his mother. He was replaced by Clemence C.B. “Jack” Horrall, who served as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 31, 1941

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on May 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: This is Lisa Eilbacher in a photo published Nov. 24, 1977. Please congratulate JM Green, Cold in Phoenix, Barbara, Mary Mallory and Candy C for identifying her. ]  Here’s our … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 17 Comments

Found on EBay – Symphony Theater

Posted on May 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

          A photograph of what appears to be the opening of Harold Lloyd’s 1921 “Never Weaken” has been listed on EBay. The vendor erroneously says that the theater is the Mason Opera House, but The Times … Continue reading →

Posted in 1914, 1923, Architecture, Downtown, Film, Found on EBay | 4 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 28, 1941

Posted on May 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 28, 1941: LONDON, May 27 (AP) — The 35,000-ton German battleship Bismarck, one of the newest and most powerful in the world, was smashed and sunk today by British warships and aerial bombers on the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Nuestro Pueblo, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 28, 1941