Category Archives: Hollywood

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

      Los Angeles Times file photo   Dec. 12, 1941: Crowds in Pershing Square joined in singing "America" and other patriotic songs during the entire period of the blackout last night. The sirens sounded for the lights out … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 43 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 18, 1941

        March 18, 1941: Lee Shippey has a letter from author Harlan Ware about attempts to deport Jan Valtin, who wrote “Out of the Night.”  This is the book that Tom Treanor mentioned recently. I never heard … Continue reading

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From the Vaults — ’13 Rue Madeleine’

        Robert “Bob” Sharkey (James Cagney) and Charles Gibson (Walter Abel) discuss the incoming class of American secret agents in “13 Rue Madeleine.”  One of their students is a Nazi spy! After a longwinded exposition, the 1947 … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Film, From the Vaults, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 17, 1941

        March 17, 1941: Turn back the Hollywood clock about two years to the time when an ex-vaudevillian was struggling for radio recognition. After two or three broadcasts he found himself on the proverbial horns of a … Continue reading

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 16, 1941

        March 16, 1941: In one of the famous tragedies of Hollywood lore, Christopher Quinn, the son of Anthony and Katherine De Mille Quinn, drowns in a fish pond on the estate of W.C. Fields, 2015 De … Continue reading

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Austrians Plan Worldwide War Against Judaism, March 16, 1921

          March 16, 1921: Edna Wallace Hopper, who about two wives ago was the wife of De Wolf Hopper, is in the city. She is reported as forming her own picture company and said yesterday that … Continue reading

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 15, 1941

             March 15, 1941: Tom Treanor writes about two articles on Los Angeles, one in Fortune magazine and the other in Western Advertising, by Ramsey Oppenheim. Treanor says: “In trying to interpret Los Angeles, Mr. … Continue reading

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Another Good Story Ruined — The Black Dahlia

I received a news alert the other day about an upcoming play titled “The Chanteuse and the Devil’s Muse” in which Daniele Watts will portray Mady Comfort, at left, purportedly “Elizabeth Short's best friend.” I honestly don’t know how such … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, books, Coming Attractions, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Stage | 6 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 14, 1941

           March 14, 1941: Some time ago, this column told of the work of Ruby Berkley Goodwin, the Fullerton Negro poetess whose work has attracted national attention. Wendell Malliet & Co., New York, have just announced … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, 1961, art and artists, books, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: This is Sally Marr, Lenny Bruce's mother. She is conferring with Frankie Ray ("Dracula's Dog") Perelli on the set of the film "Cinderella." Please congratulate RJ, Dewey Webb and Mary … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 5 Comments

Found on EBay — Rube Wolf

This poster from the 1935 showing of “The President Vanishes” at the Paramount Theatre has been listed on EBay. Fans of vintage typography (you know who you are) this is for you! Bidding starts at $400, which is too rich … Continue reading

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 12, 1941

           March 12, 1941: The first 100 pages of James Hilton’s “Random Harvest” are disappointing but the rest of the novel more than makes up for it, Lee Shippey says. Tom Treanor talks to some watchmakers … Continue reading

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

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

      Los Angeles Times file photo           [Update 2: Here’s our mystery stalker!] [Update: This is Francis X. Bushman Jr. and Alma Rayford in “Away in the Lead.” Evidently this is a lost film … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 27 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 11, 1941

           March 11, 1941: Lee Shippey publishes an interesting, detailed letter about conditions in Germany by a woman who fled to Switzerland. Los Angeles needs more factories, but getting money is difficult because everyone is worried … Continue reading

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Matt Weinstock, March 10, 1961

       March 10, 1961: Matt Weinstock has an item on the novel “Red Alert” by Peter Bryant.  If the plot sounds familiar,   that’s because … well, I won’t spoil it. DEAR ABBY: From the day we married I … Continue reading

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 10, 1941

        March 10, 1941: Lee Shippey notes the passing of the Lyceum Theater, formerly the Los Angeles, built in 1888.  Tom Treanor has the story of four visiting opera singers who are so engaged in their discussion … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Stage, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 10, 1941

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 3

        Photographs by Larry Harnisch/Los Angeles Times   The original 1942 print of searchlights over Los Angeles.     The back of the print, showing editors’ notations and the publication date Feb. 26, 1942.     Feb. … Continue reading

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 2 Comments

Philip K. Scheuer, Town Called Hollywood, March 9, 1941

           March 9, 1941: It’s a Sunday, which means Jimmie Fidler has the day off. Instead, Philip K. Scheuer writes about “Gone With the Wind” (I know, I know, you’re thinking it’s a 1939 film). He … Continue reading

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Self-Styled Siren: An Amateur Among Amateurs — Agee on Film

  Speaking of our favorite movie blogs, another one we enjoy at the Daily Mirror is “Self-Styled Siren,” by Farran Smith Nehme. (No, the photo is of Joan Fontaine, who serves as Farran’s avatar on the Web). Her latest post … Continue reading

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Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 2

           Feb. 24-25, 1942: Two days before the so-called Battle of Los Angeles, a Japanese submarine shelled the Elwood oil fields,  12 miles north of Santa Barbara, according to The Times, which added that the attack … Continue reading

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 4 Comments