Category Archives: Film

Sandow Returns

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

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Movieland Mystery Photo

For Friday, we have our last photo from the Library of Congress. The library says this picture was taken by “Katherine Russell Bleecker, the first female cinematographer in film history,” but there’s no more information. Any ideas?

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Movieland Mystery Photo

For Thursday, we have a mystery woman, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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Black L.A. 1947: USC Film Student Refuses ‘Uncle Tom’ Role in Radio Play

June 5, 1947: USC film student James C. Johnson, a member of the Delta Kappa Alpha cinema fraternity, said he would not play a role in a student’s radio play because it depicted “the Negro as stereotype,” the Sentinel said. … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photo

For Wednesday, we have another mystery guest from the Library of Congress. The print is stamped Dec. 15, 1936, with the pencil notation “The Bulgarian Phesant” The back of the photo is on the jump.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 23rd Annual S.F. Silent Film Festival Celebrates World Cinema

Kevin Brownlow’s 80th birthday was celebrated with a showing of “Mare Nostrum.” Image courtesy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Coming at a time when walls and words separate more people than ever, the 23rd Annual San Francisco Silent … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photo

For Tuesday, we have another mystery woman from the Library of Congress. Anybody recognize her?

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Celebrity Politicians: Hollywood’s Honorary Mayors, Part I

Photo: Hugh Herbert, honorary mayor of Studio City, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Tomorrow is election day. Elections and politics are important to everyone, be they Joe Citizen or Joseph Kennedy. Over the … Continue reading

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June 4, 1947: Television Comes to Los Angeles

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Those curious metal arrays being installed with great ceremony on the city’s rooftops are antennas, for this is the year of the one-eyed wonder: Television. In … Continue reading

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June 2, 1947: Erwin Walker Pleads Insanity in ‘He Walked by Night’ Killing of CHP Officer

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Erwin Walker case is the crossroads of several important stories. The victim was Loren Roosevelt, fired in the 1930s as Arcadia’s police chief in an … Continue reading

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June 1, 1947: Sea Monster Overpowers Troops, Destroys Tokyo! L.A. Men Celebrate Armed Forces Radio’s 5th Anniversary With Hoax

Was “Godzilla” inspired by a 1947 radio hoax?

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 RKO picture “The Age of Consent,” with Dorothy Wilson, Arline Judge, Richard Cromwell, Eric Linden, John Halliday, Aileen Pringle and Reginald Barlow. The screenplay was by Sarah Y. Mason and Francis Cockrell … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mary Pickford Dances Into Screen Adulthood in ‘Rosita’

  Above, a clip of “Restoring a Lost Silent Film: How to See “Rosita” by Dave Kehr from the Museum of Modern Art. In 1922, legendary German film director Ernst Lubitsch and “America’s Sweetheart” Mary Pickford searched for new challenges … Continue reading

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May 28, 1947: Billie Holiday Sentenced to Prison on Drug Charge

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. On June 17, while Holiday was in prison, the film “New Orleans” opened in Los Angeles at the four Music Hall theaters: 8th and Broadway downtown; … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1970 film “The Boys in the Band,” with Kenneth Nelson, Frederick Combs, Cliff Gorman, Laurence Luckinbill, Keith Prentice, Peter White, Reuben Greene, Robert La Tourneaux and Leonard Frey. Written and produced by Mart … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 Paramount picture “Million Dollar Legs,” with Jack Oakie, W.C. Fields, Andy Clyde, Lyda Roberti, Susan Fleming, Ben Turpin, Hugh Herbert, George Barbier and Dickie Moore. By Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Henry Myers, … Continue reading

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Kissing, the Old-Fashioned Way

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 23rd San Francisco Silent Film Festival Salutes World Cinema

  “The Man Who Laughs” will screen May 30 at the Castro Theatre as part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Image courtesy of the SFSFF. Bigger and better than ever, the 23rd Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1934 Soviet film “Jolly Fellows,” also known as “Moscow Laughs.” I chose it because it was shown last Sunday at the George Eastman Museum as part of its Nitrate Picture Show. “Jolly Fellows” … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Salutes the Written Word With Unique Programs

Martin Scorsese is presented with the first Robert Osborne Award for film preservation. In its ninth year of celebrating classic film, the 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival highlighted the written word and how film speaks to audiences through a wide … Continue reading

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