Category Archives: Hollywood

Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’

Posted on June 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

“The Underworld Story,” last week’s mystery movie, had quite a few interesting shots of downtown Los Angeles from about 1950. Here’s one from the opening titles. It shows the Fashion League Building, which was at Hill and 2nd streets. Notice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1951 MGM picture “The Law and the Lady,” with Greer Garson, Michael Wilding, Fernando Lamas, Marjorie Main, Hayden Rorke, Margalo Gillmore, Ralph Dumke, Rhys Williams and Natalie Schafer. Screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass and Karl … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Norman Kerry, Preservationist

Posted on June 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

Norman Kerry in 1924. Long before billionaire investor Ron Burkle purchased and restored such historic architectural properties as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis-Brown House, Harold Lloyd’s Greenacres, and Bob Hope’s Palm Springs and Toluca Lake houses, silent film star Norman Kerry … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s particularly fun (for me, anyway) mystery movie was the 1950 United Artists release “The Underworld Story,” with Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm, Howard Da Silva, Michael O’Shea, Mary Anderson, Gar Moore, Melville Cooper, Frieda Inescort, Art Baker, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Julian Eltinge Says ‘I’m at Your Service, Girls’

Posted on June 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2016.   One of the most famous female impersonators of all time, but now also one of the most forgotten, Julian Eltinge stood as one of the most successful headliners of the early … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1929 MGM picture “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney,” which was released in sound (8,651 feet) and silent (6,484 feet) versions. With Norma Shearer, Basil Rathbone, Herbert Bunston, George Barraud, Hedda Hopper, Moon Carroll, Madeline … Continue reading →

Posted in 1929, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: First National Building Banks On Hollywood’s Future

Posted on June 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Hollywood First National Bank Building, Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2014 Soaring to the skies, displaying confidence in Hollywood’s unlimited future, the First National Building, constructed and opened in 1928, brought Art Deco-Gothic beauty … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Commercial Photographers and Hollywood

Posted on May 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

Thanks to the work of often uncredited talented stills photographers during the era of classic Hollywood, movie stars appeared sexy, glamorous and larger than life, gods and goddesses the moviegoing public could only aspire to. These stills men and women … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1935 Twentieth Century film “Les Miserables,” with Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Rochelle Hudson, John Beal and Frances Drake. Directed by Richard Boleslawski, associate producers William Goetz and Raymond Griffith, screenplay by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 20, 2019 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie was the 1979 film “Zulu Dawn,” with Burt Lancaster, Peter O’Toole,  Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Michael Jayston, Peter Vaughan, James Faulkner, Christopher Cazenove, Simon Sabela, Dai Bradley, Bob Hoskins, Anna Calder-Marshall, Freddie Jones, Nicholas Clay, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1979, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 42 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The House of Westmore Beautifies Hollywood

Posted on May 20, 2019 by lmharnisch

Ann Sheridan promotes the House of Westmore. Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Since the 1920s, the Westmore family has served the entertainment industry as some of the greatest practitioners of makeup artistry. From leading studio makeup departments … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 4634 Santa Monica Blvd., Where History Was Made

Posted on May 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

Though today the home of Union Swap Meet, 4634 Santa Monica Blvd. once served as the location for pioneering director Lois Weber’s motion picture studio from 1917 through 1925. Ranking as one of the top three directors in 1915, Weber … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Columbia picture “Texas,” with William Holden, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan, Don Beddoe and Willard Robertson. Screenplay by Horace McCoy, Lewis Meltzer and Michael Blankfort, from a story by Michael … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 53 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: San Francisco Silent Film Festival Celebrates Humanity

Posted on May 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Just as today’s immigrants search for shelter and sanctuary, the films at the 24th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival featured protagonists pursuing their own refuge and safety through the dreams of opportunity, love, and home. Spanning the globe with … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1935 Columbia film “She Married Her Boss,” with Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Michael Bartlett, Raymond Walburn, Jean Dixon, Katherine Alexander, Edith Fellows, Clara Kimball Young, Grace Hale and Charles E. Arnt. Screenplay by Sidney … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Los Angeles Elks’ Temple Highlights Importance of Fraternal Organizations

Posted on May 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

The Elks Temple in an undated photo. Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Long a glamorous, outstanding example of Neo-Gothic Architecture and the powerful force of fraternal organizations, Los Angeles’ Elks’ Temple #99 still stands proudly at 607 … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1933 Fox film “State Fair,” with Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, Lew Ayres, Sally Eilers, Norman Foster, Louise Dresser, Frank Craven and Victor Jory. Screenplay by Sonya Levien and Paul Green, from the novel by … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 56 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘The Home-Maker’ Upends Gender Stereotypes

Posted on April 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

In the early 1920s, Universal purchased many popular novels and short stories for adaptation into motion pictures. Many of these were hugely popular and possessed giant name recognition with filmgoing audiences, while also focusing their stories on intimate human relationships, … Continue reading →

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Long Beach: Cyclone Racer in ‘Half Angel,’ Part 3

Posted on April 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

In this sequence, our romantic leads dash out of the Cyclone Racer.

Posted in 1951, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Location Sleuth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Long Beach: Cyclone Racer in ‘Half Angel,’ Part 2

Posted on April 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

Cut to Cyclone Racer, which closed in 1968. Our romantic leads go for a ride on a roller coaster, being 1950s symbolism at its best. The bored operator is Edwin Max. The sign in the background appears to say: “Hold … Continue reading →

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