Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Case of the Clicking Heels, Part 1

Posted on February 3, 2020 by lmharnisch

Hzel Glab mugshot
Hazel Glab’s mug shot.

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

This story arises from Linda Hammonds asking for further information regarding a 1920s Spanish home that sits at 12744 Ventura Blvd. on the Facebook page SoCal Historic Architecture. While I found virtually no information on the house itself, the story about what happened there proves that truth is stranger than fiction.

Pretty, blonde Hazel Belford was born in Oklahoma circa 1900, becoming orphaned at the age of 4. Her early life was full of adventure: friends with cowboys and Indians on the plains, and befriended by Al Jennings, bank robber. She dreamed of fame and fortune for herself, which many felt possible, with her delicate frame and long blonde hair.

“Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays” by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory is now available at Amazon and at local bookstores.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: L.A. Master Chorale’s ‘Sunrise’ Soars

Posted on January 29, 2020 by lmharnisch

Composer Jeff Beal provided new voice to F.W. Murnau’s lyrical silent film “Sunrise” on Sunday, Jan. 26, with a mystical, otherworldly score for chamber orchestra and the 40 voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Emphasizing the mysterious alchemy of romance and love, blending poetry and the human voice, Beal’s score wonderfully captures the emotional quality of the film.

Unlike Richard Einhorn’s “Voices of Light,” inspired by the silent film “Joan of Arc,” which he called “Opera With Movie” at the TCM Film Festival a few years ago, Beal’s score is one with the film, underscoring its emotions rather than overshadowing the film as does “Voices of Light.”

Mary Mallory’s “Living With Grace” is now on sale.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 27, 2020 by lmharnisch

2020_0201_title_02
This week’s mystery movie was the 1960 Twentieth Century-Fox film “Seven Thieves,” with Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger, Joan Collins, Eli Wallach, Alexander Scourby, Michael Dante, Berry Kroeger, Sebastian Cabot, Marcel Hillaire and John Beardino.

Screenplay by Sydney Boehm from “Lions at the Kill” by Max Catto.

Music by Dominic Frontiere, photography by Sam Leavitt. Art direction by Lyle Wheeler and John DeCuir, set decorations by Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss, orchestration by Edward B. Powell. Edited by Dorothy Spencer, assistant director Ad Schaumer, costumes by Bill Thomas, makeup by Ben Nye, hairstyles by Myrl Stoltz.

Sound by Charles Peck and Harry M. Leonard. CinemaScope lenses by Bausch and Lomb.

“Seven Thieves” is available from Amazon on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming.

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Posted in 1960, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 53 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Oh Doctor’ Welcomes Prohibition

Posted on January 27, 2020 by lmharnisch

Oh Doctor Sheet Music

Popular culture often comments on social and political issues of the day when citizens have no other way to voice opinions, change policy, or confront government. During the early years of the 20th century, sheet music provided a running commentary on contemporary topics and situations, serving as one of the first forms of social media.

The mass consumption of sheet music reached its heyday in the 1920s, just as major events such as voting rights for women, the Jazz Age, and Prohibition were inaugurated. Movies and sheet music provided a sharp and often humorous take on Prohibition, which after decades of protests by groups like the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union took effect to weed out the manufacture of spirits and alcohol, close bars and taverns which these groups believed contributed to prostitution, drug use, and crime. After Congress ratified the 18th Amendment in 1919, Prohibition began January 17, 1920.

Mary Mallory’s “Living With Grace” is now on sale.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 20, 2020 by lmharnisch

Jan. 25, 2020, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie was the 1950 Warner Bros. film “Stage Fright,” with Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd, Sybil Thorndike, Kay Walsh, Miles Malleson, Hector McGregor, Joyce Grenfell, Andre Morell, Patricia Hitchcock and Ballard Berkeley. With Alistair Sim.

Screenplay by Whitfield Cook,  adaptation by Alma Reville, based on a novel (“Man Running”) by Selwyn Jepson.

Photography by Wilkie Cooper, art direction by Terence Verity, edited by E.B. Jarvis, sound by Harold King, makeup by Colin Garde, production supervisor Fred Ahern, music by Leighton Lucas, musical director Louis Levy.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

“Stage Fright” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

Note: I am always open to suggestions for mystery movies, depending on their availability.

Selwyn Jepson’s “Man Running” or “Outrunning the Constable” is hard to find. The story was serialized in Collier’s. The first installment is available via Unz.org.

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Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Athletic Club Trains Filmdom’s Elite

Posted on January 20, 2020 by lmharnisch

pho27chic_0232
The Hollywood Athletic Club, Photoplay, 1924.


Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

In the 1910s and 1920s, social clubs were all the rage in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Many people immigrated to Southern California’s sunny shores pursuing new adventures. Most arrived friendless and eager to make new connections. Some joined clubs organized around the cities or states from which they had come, or single sex groups like women’s clubs or men only clubs. Others searched out social organizations, cultural opportunities, or sports leagues with more open policies.

The little farming community of Hollywood, founded around solid virtues and churchgoing, organized groups creating strong minds as well as strong bodies. Many offered educational, cultural, and social opportunities while providing community service. As the city grew and more artistic types arrived, cultural groups grew more diverse, like the Masquers or Lambs’ Clubs.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on Jan. 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 15, 2020 by lmharnisch

Today is Jan. 15, the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death. As is the custom, the Daily Mirror will be dark.

Trim your roses in her memory.

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Black Dahlia: BlackDahliaSolution.Org Is Utter Nonsense

Posted on January 14, 2020 by lmharnisch

Jan. 14, 2020, Jack Pico comment

I usually don’t publish the crackpot comments I get about the Black Dahlia case, but the anniversary of the killing (Jan. 15) is bringing out more than the usual amount of crazy stuff. So I’ll make an exception for this message, which I received today.

BlackDahliaSolution.org was the work of John Frederick “Jack” Kohne Jr., who died in 2016 at the age of 83. And please note that I have a folder several inches thick of his material, as he wrote to me frequently using the fake name Jack Pico and the return address of the now-vacant Mailboxes, Etc. in San Diego’s Clairemont Square Mall.

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Leesa Jo Shaner – Back in the News

Posted on January 13, 2020 by lmharnisch

Leesa Jo Shaner, No Date

Photo: Leesa Jo Shaner

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Paula Zahn’s new piece on the case has renewed interest in the killing.  William Floyd Zamastil was convicted in 2011 in the killing.

An attempt to resolve one of the nation’s most baffling unsolved crimes is quietly unfolding in federal court in Tucson: The mystery of Leesa Jo Shaner, who vanished May 29, 1973,  on her way to the local airport, where she had gone to pick up her husband, Gary, a newly discharged serviceman returning from Okinawa.

Shaner’s father, James Miller, was an FBI agent in Tucson and the bureau quickly took over jurisdiction from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. But despite years of investigation, little progress has been made since her remains were found Sept. 16, 1973, buried on the grounds of Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., a remote military base more than an hour’s drive from the airport, through miles and miles of unoccupied desert.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mack Sennett, Theater Owner

Posted on January 13, 2020 by lmharnisch

Woodley Theatre Motography 7-14-17
The Woodley Theatre, from Motography, July 14, 1917.

Comedy king Mack Sennett recognized the self-promotion power of owning his own movie theater long before film studios owned theater chains or Netflix looked to acquire the Egyptian Theatre. In 1917, savvy Sennett purchased downtown Los Angeles’ Woodley Theatre to premiere and plug his product, adding a touch of prestige to slapstick and burlesque comedy.

Selling his Optic Theatre at 533 S. Main, veteran theatre owner Robert W. Woodley purchased 836-840 S. Broadway in 1913 to upscale his trade as moving pictures blossomed into big business. He hired architects Train and Williams to design a 900-seat theater costing $22,500 in April 1913, opening for business September 27, 1913.

Mary Mallory’s “Living With Grace” is now on sale.

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 13, 2020 by lmharnisch

2020_0118_title

This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 Republic film “Dark Command,” with Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers, George Hayes, Porter Hall, Marjorie Main, Raymond Walburn, Joseph Sawyer, Helen MacKellar, J. Farrell MacDonald and Trevor Bardette.

Screenplay by Grover Jones, Lionel Houser and F. Hugh Herbert, based on the novel by W.R. Burnett. Adaptation by Jan Fortune. Production manager Al Wilson, photography by Jack Marta, supervising editor Murray Seldeen, edited by William Morgan, art direction by John Victor MacKay and costumes by Adele Palmer.

Associate Producer Sol C. Siegel, musical score by Victor Young. Directed by Raoul Walsh.

“Dark Command” is available on DVD from TCM. The film is in public domain and readily available online, though quality may be awful. The 1947 John Wayne-Gail Russell movie “The Angel and the Badman,” another Republic film in public domain, was on TCM recently and I was shocked the lousy quality of the print.

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Mary Astor’s Lost Film ‘New Year’s Eve’

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

mary_astor_charles_morton_new_years_eve
Since TCM is featuring Mary Astor, here’s a brief post on her lost movie “New Year’s Eve.” (A tip of the hat to Lou Lumenick, who tweeted about the movie on — New Year’s Eve.) I also uploaded a version of this post to IMDB, in case you see it there.

Fox originally announced the film under the title “Strong Arm,” based on the story “$100” by Richard Connell, published in the August 1928 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. The film was supposed to star Lois Moran and George O’Brien in the leads, under the direction of J.G. Blystone. Fox initially planned the movie as a talkie, but released it as “New Year’s Eve,” a silent directed by Henry Lehrman with sound effects and music, designated “sound on film.”

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‘Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor’ Premieres on TCM

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

mary_astor

Alexa Foreman Note: “Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor” will air at 8 p.m. Monday on TCM. This is a post from 2018.

Alexa Foreman, who was TCM’s head researcher for many years, will be featured in a Q&A session on her new movie, “Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor,” at Larry Edmunds Bookshop, 6644 Hollywood Blvd., on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

The movie deals with Astor’s sensational 1936 trial to regain custody of her 5-year-old daughter, Marilyn, following Astor’s divorce from Dr. Franklyn Thorpe. Seeking to show that Astor was an unfit mother, Thorpe’s attorneys released portions of the actress’ diary containing hundreds of pages of what the Los Angeles Times called  “intimate secrets concerning Miss Astor’s private life, written painstakingly in lavender ink.”

In 1952, the diary was burned page by page in a county-owned incinerator under the observation of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stanley N. Barnes, who ordered its destruction. Astor later claimed that the diary was a forgery.

The film is narrated by Lee Grant. It features interviews with Astor’s daughter, Marilyn; David Wyler, son of William Wyler, who was directing the actress in “Dodsworth” at the time of the trial; former Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas; and film historians Molly Haskell and Leonard Maltin.

It will be premiered during the TCM Classic Film Festival at 8 p.m. Friday at Club TCM at the Hollywood Roosevelt.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

Jan. 11, 2020, Black Hand

This week’s mystery movie was the 1950 MGM picture “Black Hand,” with Gene Kelly, J. Carrol Naish, Teresa Celli, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley, Frank Puglia and Mario Siletti.

Screenplay by Luther Davis from a story by Leo Townsend.

Photography by Paul C. Vogel, art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Gabriel Scognamillo, edited by Irving Warburton, musical score by Alberto Colombo, recording by Douglas Shearer, set decorations by Edwin B. Willis and Charles de Crof, special effects by Warren Newcombe, costumes by Walter Plunkett, hairstyles by Sydney Guilaroff and makeup by Jack Dawn.

Produced by William H. Wright. Directed by Richard Thorpe.

“Black Hand” is available on DVD from Warner Archive. I try to avoid movies that have just aired on TCM, but I see that it was on TCM last month.

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Posted in 1950, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Mystery Photo, New York | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Teddy the Dog, Mack Sennett’s Best Friend

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

Teddy the Dog and Bath Beauty
Teddy the dog with a Mack Sennett bathing beauty, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

Guide, guard, and constant companion, the friendly dog is man’s best friend. Unswervingly loyal and supportive, canines give much needed love and help when times are tough. Their sloppy kisses and wiggly tails bring oodles of smiles and a kick in the step to their human pals.

This same boundless energy and enthusiasm has also entranced decades of film fans at local movie palaces, where they have been entertained by portrayals of dogs’ friendly personalities and mischievous quirks. Natural hams, dogs easily upstage their fellow two-legged actors through their unpredictability and high spirits.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Mystery Movies for 2019 — Arranged by Studio

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

State Fair
“State Fair” was one of the mystery movies from Fox – and not commercially available, unfortunately.

And here’s a breakdown of 2019’s mystery movies by studio. This is the first time I have analyzed the studios behind the mystery movies and it’s not terribly surprising, though regrettable, that Warner Bros. and MGM are somewhat over-represented and Paramount is underrepresented. Including two Fox films gives Twentieth Century-Fox a slight edge. Otherwise, it would be below WB and MGM. Most of the films in the Daily Mirror archive are from TCM, which has the RKO, MGM and WB libraries, which explains why they predominate. I also like to run films and their remakes, and WB was the king of remakes.

The complete breakdown is on the jump.

As always, I am open to requests, if the film is in the Daily Mirror archive or available from a local library.

Studio

Films

Twentieth Century-Fox (including two from Fox)

10

WB

9

MGM

9

Independent

6

Columbia

6

Foreign

4

United Artists

2

RKO

2

Universal

1

Triangle

1

Paramount

1

Monogram

1

Allied Artists

1

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Mystery Movies for 2019 — Arranged by Year

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

Mary Astory in 'Two Arabian Knights'
Mary Astor in “Two Arabian Knights,” one of four mystery movies from the 1920s.

I thought it would be fun to analyze last year’s mystery movies to see if I accomplished my goal of providing variety. I generally go from week to week in picking mystery movies, so I only have a general idea of how I am doing.

Here’s how the decades stacked up:

Decade Movies
1910s 1
1920s 4
1930s 13
1940s 14
1950s 16
1960s 3
1970s 2

I did better than I expected. Silents are terra incognita to many people (though one of the 1920s films — “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney” — was a talkie that was also released in a silent version), and I use an arbitrary cutoff date of 1960, though I snuck in five from 1960s and 1970s. The earliest movie was “Hell’s Hinges” (1916) and the most recent was “Zulu Dawn” (1979).  You may have noticed there were 53 mystery movies, since I carried over “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers from Dec. 31, 2018.

The 1940s and 1950s tended toward film noir while the 1930s was heavy on the Pre-Codes.

Next, I’ll take a look at the mystery studios.

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Posted in 2019, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Rose Parade Encounter Leads to Killing of Arcadia Woman

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

Aug. 9, 1963, Comics

Aug. 9, 1963, Buddhist Hunger Strike

Note: This is an encore post from 2013

Aug. 9, 1963: “In Saigon, 400 miles to the south, police geared for trouble as a young, unidentified monk announced plans to burn himself to death in the continuing Buddhist struggle for what they consider their civil rights and religious liberty,” The Times says.

In the theaters: “55 Days at Peking,” “Cleopatra,” “Flipper,”  “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Thrill of It All!”

Born 5 1/2 weeks premature, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, the son of President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, dies at Children’s Medical Center in Boston.

Pershing Square, known as a haven for “off-beat characters” and “undesirables” will undergo a $100,000 “beautification program” in which “most of the square’s interior walkways” will be eliminated.

Rancho Road, Arcadia, Calif.
The 1000 block of Rancho Road in Arcadia via Google’s Street View.

On the afternoon of Jan. 9, 1963, Arcadia liquor store owner Jack Doctors, a former LAPD detective, found his wife, Jean, 37, partially undressed on the kitchen floor of their home at 1049 Rancho Road, Arcadia. She had been stabbed 39 times in the neck, chest and left arm with a hunting knife found in the kitchen, and was “criminally attacked,” The Times said.

Dr. Harold Kade of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Jean “put up a terrific struggle for her life,” noting that both hands were slashed from trying to grab the murder weapon.

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Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Religion, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rose Parade Encounter Leads to Killing of Arcadia Woman

War Cancels Rose Parade, Dec. 14, 1941

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

Dec. 14, 1941, Tournament of Roses
Dec. 14, 1941, Comics

Dec. 14, 1941, Comics Dec. 14, 1941, Comics

Note: This is a post from 2011.

Dec. 14, 1941: The Rose Parade is canceled and the Rose Bowl – between Duke and Oregon State – is moved to Durham, N.C. The streets of Pasadena were oddly quiet on New Year’s Day as millions reviewed memories of previous parades in all their glory, The Times said.

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Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on War Cancels Rose Parade, Dec. 14, 1941

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mack Sennett’s Rose Parade Gag

Posted on December 31, 2019 by lmharnisch

Sleuths at the Floral Parade
Photo: “The Sleuths at the Floral Parade.” Credit: Mary Mallory, the Collections of the Margaret Herrick Library.

Note: This is an encore post from 2011.

The Tournament of Roses Parade is going on its 122th year, and grows more elaborate and beautiful every year.  Bands, floats, cars, horses, and even celebrities take part in this festive annual event.  This year, Paramount Pictures is even entering a float celebrating its 100th anniversary, honoring “Titanic” and “Wings,” the first feature film awarded the Best Picture Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927/1928.

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