Category Archives: Mary Mallory

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Columbia Picture’s Centennial and Early Film ‘Mary of the Movies’

Posted on January 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

Hollywood grew from a small rural community into a city of massive movie studios in the early 1920s, as tens of thousands arrived hoping to become part of the entertainment bonanza. Cashing in on the city and industry’s popularity, studios … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: A 1940s Christmas Story in ‘Star in the Night’

Posted on December 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

An updated version of the Nativity in Warner Bros. Star in the Night. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Made as a twenty-minute film to complete a program slate for movie theaters, the 1945 Warner Bros. two-reel short … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Agnes Grew, Pioneering Paramount Executive

Posted on December 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

Agnes Grew with a map showing the results from a survey of women movie-goers, 1945. A leader in almost everything she tried, Agnes Grew is mostly forgotten like many other women working in the motion picture industry during the 1920s-1930s. … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Lighting the Way on Santa Claus Lane

Posted on December 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

Hollywood Boulevard decorated for Christmas in the 1950s. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Starting in the late 1920s, Hollywood Boulevard’s Christmas decorations dazzled shoppers and tourists with their thousands of twinkling lights, a spectacular backdrop for holiday … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Sign Built and Illuminated November-December 1923

Posted on December 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

The Hollywoodland Sign, in a photo published in the Los Angeles Evening Herald, Dec. 8, 1923. Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Originally constructed as a publicity gimmick and branding symbol to help generate sales for a real … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood and Poinsettias

Posted on December 4, 2023 by lmharnisch

A postcard c. 1908 of poinsettias, “California’s Christmas flower,” listed on EBay. Note: This is an encore post from 2020. Euphorba Pulcherrima, better known as the poinsettia plant, has been popular in Los Angeles since the late 1800s. Some call … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Agnes O’Malley Marx, Pioneering Film Publicist

Posted on November 27, 2023 by lmharnisch

Agnes O’Malley Marx in the Los Angeles Daily News, 1954. The early moving picture industry offered opportunity to diverse workers: immigrants, women, and people of color more easily found jobs and opportunities for growth and leadership in the new field. … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – ‘Napoleon’

Posted on November 20, 2023 by lmharnisch

Photo: The trailer for the restored version of Abel Gance’s “Napoleon.” Credit: San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Note: This is an encore post from 2012. In the mid-1920s, the world was looking for inspiration on how to live passionately, doggedly … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Fred Archer, Master of Artistic Photography

Posted on November 13, 2023 by lmharnisch

Joan Bennett photographed by Fred Archer, Modern Screen Magazine. Note: This is an encore post from 2015 As stillsmen Elmer Fryer and Fred Archer wrote in the 1928 article for “Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers,” “In the … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mona Darkfeather – Native American Who Wasn’t

Posted on November 6, 2023 by lmharnisch

Long before Iron Eyes Cody was outed as non-Native American, silent film actress Josephine Workman claimed full Native American heritage, though only her maternal grandmother was actually Native American. Accentuating her dark, exotic looks and embroidered background, she took the … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Margaret Winkler, Animation Pioneer

Posted on October 31, 2023 by lmharnisch

Little known beyond animation circles, Margaret J. Winkler was one of the earliest distributors and producers of animated cartoons, the first woman in her field. Possessing savvy and a sharp eye, she signed two animators early in their career who … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: John Decker – Painter to the Stars

Posted on October 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Chester Conklin by John Decker, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. “To sing, to laugh, to dream, to walk in my own way and be alone…” A recording of John Decker’s voice recited this … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Spooky, Ooky Witch’s House Haunts Beverly Hills

Posted on October 16, 2023 by lmharnisch

A sketch of the “The Witch’s House” by Charles Owens from “Nuestro Pueblo,” courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Once upon a time, home design and architecture saluted fantasy and make-believe, and not just … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Landmark Vista Theatre Turns 100

Posted on October 9, 2023 by lmharnisch

The Vista Theatre in 1951, via Water and Power Associates. The Vista Theatre opened October 9, 1923. Built as an upscale house for smaller studio releases, it remains viable even today, as director Quentin Tarantino restores it. One of the … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Casa La Golondrina Cafe, L.A.’s Oldest Brick Building

Posted on October 2, 2023 by lmharnisch

La Golondrina in Screenland magazine, 1930. News came this week that current owners of historic La Golondrina Cafe could soon be foreclosed on by the city of Los Angeles. La Golondrina is the oldest brick building in Los Angeles, possibly … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Two Pioneering Women Photographers

Posted on September 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

Just a few years after Susan B. Anthony and others organized the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848, women began working as photographers in the United States. While many took over their father’s or husband’s photography … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Cinecon 2023 Celebrates Classic Films

Posted on September 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

Nothing keeps a good film festival down, even a change of venue.The 59th Cinecon Classic Film Festival put on another entertaining festival at this year’s new location in El Segundo’s Old Town Music Hall, celebrating the power of entertainment. Presenting … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Lost Film ‘Hollywood’ Turns 100

Posted on September 6, 2023 by lmharnisch

One of the most sought after “lost” films, Paramount’s “Hollywood” debuted 100 years ago, telling a film industry behind-the-scenes story through scenes set all through the self-named community populated with a bevy of stars. Unlike several other movie-themed pictures released … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Clarence Brown Provides Quick Shave to King Gillette Ranch

Posted on August 28, 2023 by lmharnisch

King Camp Gillette dies at the age of 77 in 1932. He gave architect Wallace Neff free rein to built an expansive ranch in Calabasas, but only lived there for a few years before his death. Tennessean Clarence Brown reigned … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – 1938 Floods Wreak Havoc on Los Angeles Area

Posted on August 21, 2023 by lmharnisch

  Flooding in North Hollywood, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Seventy-five years ago, a deluge of rain hit Los Angeles and the surrounding area, leading to massive floods and causing millions of dollars … Continue reading →

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