Category Archives: Hollywood

Black L.A. 1947: Sugar Chile Robinson and a Review of ‘Crossfire’

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sugar Chile Robinson performs at the Lincoln. I should do an entire post on him, but so many stories and only one Larry Harnisch. July 3, 1947: One of the regular complaints in my Twitter feed is about the lack … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1955 Warner Bros. film “Illegal,” and yes, it is the studio’s second remake of “The Mouthpiece.” With Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Jayne Mansfield, Albert Dekker, Howard St. John, Ellen Corby, … Continue reading →

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

July 1, 1947: ‘Mom and Dad’ — Elliot Forbes and Sexploitation in the 1940s

Posted on July 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Well, we know where this story is going. Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. I had never heard of this particular cinematic triumph, but it was apparently a fixture of sexploitation … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Slander, My Sweet: Raymond Chandler, John Houseman and ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on June 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in “The Blue Dahlia.” Here are the opening paragraphs of the piece I’ve been working on for the last few months as I waited for the clamor to die down about Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1929 MGM picture “Hallelujah,” with Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Harry Gray, Fanny Belle DeKnight, Everett McGarrity, Victoria Spivey, Milton Dickerson, Robert Couch, Walter Tait and the Dixie Jubilee Singers. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 48 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Virgil Apger, MGM’S Classic Portrait Photographer

Posted on June 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Virgil Apger, photo courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios excelled in most areas of film production, including that of still portrait photography. Several of its head portrait photographers, like Ruth Harriet … Continue reading →

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June 23, 1947: Jim Tully, Hobo Novelist and Prizefighter, Dies at 56

Posted on June 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. For me, stumbling across Jim Tully is one of those wonderful accidental discoveries that are a byproduct of research. He’s as obscure and forgotten today as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Writing on 1940s L.A. That’s Worth a Look: Beth Hahn’s ‘A Girl Like You’

Posted on June 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Is it possible to write fiction about Los Angeles in the 1940s without falling into one of the common traps? I believe Beth Hahn has done it. I have read many works of fiction set in Southern California of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: When Hollywood ‘Toned Down’ Black Actors

Posted on June 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Nina Mae McKinney, above, was “toned down” for MGM’s movie cameras in filming “Hallelujah,” Harry Levette said. June 19, 1947: Harry Levette, a longtime Sentinel columnist, sports editor and publicist, reflects on the Lafayette Players. The Lafayette Players was established … Continue reading →

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June 21, 1947: ‘The Drunkard,’ L.A.’s Favorite Melodrama

Posted on June 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. In the summer of 1933, expecting nothing but a brief run and modest ticket sales, two theater people from Carmel, Preston Shobe and Galt Bell, hatched … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Stage, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Lottie Grady, Pioneering Black Actress in Theater and Film, Visits Los Angeles

Posted on June 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

“Dat Lovin’ Rag,” courtesy of the University of Colorado Boulder Music Library. June 19, 1947: Lottie Grady, one of the first African American actors to perform on Broadway, visits Los Angeles and is interviewed by the Sentinel. Grady performed on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 Warner Bros. film “The Mouthpiece,” by Frank Collins, directed by James Flood and Elliott Nugent. The film features Warren William, Sidney Fox, Aline MacMahon, John Wray, Mae Madison, Ralph Ince, Morgan Wallace, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

June 18, 1947: Actor Jon Hall Says Tale of Being Shot Down in Plane Was a Hoax

Posted on June 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The day before, The Times reported a curious incident in which a bullet tore into the propeller of the plane shortly after it took off for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Aviation, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mary Andrews Clark Home Provides Affordable Housing

Posted on June 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

306 Loma Drive, via Google Street View. Long a beautiful site at 306 Loma Drive in Los Angeles, the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home has been a site of affordable housing for more than 100 years. Built by Sen. William … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

June 14, 1907: 3 Berkeley Students Walk Home to L.A. in 27 Days

Posted on June 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 14, 1907 Los Angeles Like many young men, Stuart, Sayre and Maynard decided to walk home from school—but it was a bit farther for these college friends because they were going … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Education, Hollywood, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1940 Warner Bros. film “The Man Who Talked Too Much,” with George Brent, Virginia Bruce, Brenda Marshall, Richard Barthelmess, William Lundigan, George Tobias and John Litel. The screenplay was by Walter DeLeon and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 48 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Celebrity Politicians, Hollywood’s Honorary Mayors 2

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Oct. 25, 1954: Betty White becomes honorary mayor of Hollywood. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. During the 1930s and 1940s, neighborhoods and cities surrounding Los Angeles named celebrities as honorary mayors to help gain their areas vital … Continue reading →

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June 11, 1947: Hillary Brooke Tries Out Job as Reporter

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 that originally appeared on the 1947project. Somehow I’d like to think that Brooke wrote the marijuana bust story as she was studying for her role in “I Cover Big Town” (apparently not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

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?

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

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

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

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