Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Aug. 4, 2018, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie has been the 1957 RKO picture “Escapade in Japan,” with Teresa Wright, Cameron Mitchell, Jon Provost, Roger Nakagawa, Philip Ober, Kuniko Miyake, Susumu Fujita, Katsuhiko Haida and Tatsuo Saito. It was written by Winston Miller, filmed in Technirama by William Snyder, with music by Max Steiner, art direction by George W. Davis and Walter Holscher, set decoration by Shinz Isa. William Dozier was in charge of production, produced and directed by Arthur Lubin.

The movie is available on dubious DVDs, and is often passed off as a Clint Eastwood movie based on a few moments of screen time. My copy (recorded off TCM years ago) has fairly crummy color that I had to adjust for posting on the Web.

Continue reading →

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

July 30, 1947: Peaches Strange at the Follies Burlesque

Posted on July 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

She was born Mildred Strange in Oklahoma in 1910. Raised by her uncle, a Methodist minister, she taught Sunday school in Shawnee, east of Oklahoma City. For a while, she ran a bookstore in a small town.

And then she joined Minsky’s burlesque as Peaches Strange. On her first trip west, she and co-star Myrna Dean broke 20-year box office records at the Follies Burlesque, 337 S. Main St., a theater that is a story in itself.

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July 30: 1907: Runaway Horse Races Down Broadway, Plows Into Hotel Lobby

Posted on July 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

July 30, 1907
Los Angeles

A horse and buggy had been hitched outside Jevne’s grocery store at 6th Street and Broadway when a furniture van hit the buggy, frightening the horse.


As the terrified animal ran down Broadway, it swerved onto the sidewalk at 7th Street to avoid a streetcar and plunged through a plate glass window in the lobby of the Hotel Lankershim, scattering a room full of guests. Continue reading →

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June 16, 1964: 2 Dead in Bizarre Drowning, Overdose; ‘All Three Had Been Drinking Heavily’

Posted on July 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times 1964

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. It was a follow-up to a post by Kim Cooper.

Let’s suppose you and your sister came home from a hard day and found your husband of 10 days at the bottom of your sister’s swimming pool—either dead or not doing very well. You’d call the police or an ambulance, unless you were Mrs. Ella DeSpain, 59.

Instead, Ella and her widowed sister, Mrs. Louise Strickland, 54, decided to have a little drinky. Or two. And maybe a few tranquilizers, because after all, poor old husband Richard, 39, is at the bottom of the pool.

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July 28, 1947: Free Horoscope for Your DOG!

Posted on July 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and appeared on the 1947project.

July 29 is Elizabeth Short’s birthday—she would have been 81. Although horoscopes were a regular feature in the Examiner in the 1940s, The Times didn’t begun running them until Jan. 8, 1951, when Carroll Richter’s Astrological Forecast appeared next to the weather report. The Times, however, was certainly in the vanguard in offering star charts for pets.

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Posted in 1947, Animals, Black Dahlia | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

July 28, 1907: L.A. Seeks to Clear Books of Old Laws on Bear Baiting, Quail Hunting by Streetcar Conductors

Posted on July 28, 2018 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

July 28, 1907
Los Angeles

City officials, hampered by a bramble bush of old and unenforced laws, have appointed deputy prosecutor Eddie to prune back outdated and unnecessary regulations from the early days of Los Angeles.

Among the old regulations are bans on “rabbit coursing,” in which the animals were released to be chased down by dogs; bear baiting (an event dating to the days of Shakespeare involving a fight to the death between a chained bear and dogs); fighting between a bull and bear that were chained together; and cockfighting on public streets.

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Black L.A. 1947: Elizabeth Ingalls Convicted in San Diego Slavery Case; Jury Deadlocks on Husband’s Guilt

Posted on July 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 24, 1947, Ingalls convicted

July 24, 1947, L.A. Sentinel, Slavery Case

July 24, 1947: The Sentinel reports that Elizabeth Ingalls was convicted on charges of holding Dora Jones in slavery. Sentencing was set for July 29. The jury deadlocked on charges against her husband, Albert.

The Sentinel said that Dora Jones stopped briefly in Los Angeles en route to St. Louis, Mo.
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July 27, 1947: Chinese Author Visits Dr. George Hodel,

Posted on July 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

“Knowledge is desirable, but learning is pleasure.”

That is one of the sayings of Author Helena Kuo, who came a long way from her native China by way of Europe—but does not pose as a Lady Confucius.

The pretty young author of “I’ve Come a Long Way,” “Westward to Chungking” and other books, never seems to stop. She writes articles, book reviews, short stories. She takes lessons. It was the lessons that inspired that “saying.”

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July 27, 1907: Mayor Harper Calls for More LAPD Officers, New Library, More Schools

Posted on July 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Above, Mayor Harper’s goals for his administration. Note especially item No. 11–more police officers–and item No. 17: new schools.

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

July 27, 1907
Los Angeles

One of Mayor Harper’s promises in taking over City Hall, along with completing the Owens Valley aqueduct and building a library, is to purify the city’s billboards.

Although the City Council presented him with a new billboard law in March 1907, Harper vetoed the measure because it was too lax, despite lobbying by companies that said tighter laws would affect 300 sign painters and other workers.

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Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Education, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on July 27, 1907: Mayor Harper Calls for More LAPD Officers, New Library, More Schools

A New Look for the L.A. Daily Mirror

Posted on July 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

If only slightly. The L.A. Daily Mirror is now ad-free.

I was nearly out of storage space anyway, so I decided to upgrade my plan. Which means there’s more space for images and — as a plus — no more advertising on the site. I discontinued the initial level of ads because they were obnoxious and generating complaints. Some ads remained (they were particularly odious if you were reading the blog on a mobile), but any revenue was going to WordPress. I didn’t get a penny of it.

With the new upgrade, the site is commercial-free.  I don’t have anything against ads, per se, but I had had no say in the ads or their placement. Nuts to that.

Posted in 2018 | Tagged | 5 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter Strangled; Suspect Released

Posted on July 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

image

image
5320 Holmes Ave., in the Pueblo Del Rio housing project, via Google Street View.

 


July 24, 1947: The Sentinel reports that Benjamin Allen, 16, of 5217 McGarry St., is being held in the death of Vesta Belle Sapenter. Benjamin had scratches on his hands and was the last person seen with Vesta, the Sentinel said.

According to the manager of the Pueblo Del Rio housing project, neither Vesta nor her brother Carlisle ever got in trouble. “We do have considerable difficulty with teenage youngsters hanging around the administration building at night, but neither Vesta or her brother were ever among them,” the manager said.

L.A. Times publishes two paragraphs on Vesta’s killing.

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Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

July 26, 1947: Son Cleared of Killing Father During Attack on Mother

Posted on July 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

One night in July, Bernard Robert Monday Jr. finally had enough.

The violence had been going on at least a decade, maybe longer. In 1937, when Bernard was 8, his father attacked one of two deputies serving a warrant and tried to grab the officer’s revolver out of its holster.

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Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: The Story of Jimmie Lunceford’s Death

Posted on July 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Mike's Waikiki In
Mike’s Waikiki Inn, 3741 S. Western Ave.

3741 S. Western Ave.

3741 S. Western Ave., via Google Street View.

July 24, 1947: The Sentinel publishes an account of the death of bandleader Jimmie Lunceford.

According to the article by Wendell Green, at dinner before that night’s performance, Lunceford told band members that he “ached all over.” He went on the band bus to try to sleep but the owner of a nearby record store asked him to autograph some albums and Lunceford obliged.

Lunceford collapsed in the record store and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The band wasn’t informed of Lunceford’s death and played the first set. Several band members wanted to quit playing because the ballroom was refusing admission to black people who had gathered outside, but continued the set in the belief that Lunceford would handle the problem.

Also on the jump: Wendell Green says farewell to the Show Time column because he’s being replaced by Clinton M. Arnold, who covered the San Diego slavery trial.

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Posted in 1947, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

July 25, 1907: Fire Burns Foothill Bridge, Main Route From Monrovia to L.A.

Posted on July 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

July 25, 1907
Arcadia, Calif.

Despite the efforts of 75 volunteer firefighters, a blaze rapidly consumed a 150-foot wooden bridge on Foothill Boulevard over the Santa Anita between Arcadia and Monrovia.
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Black L.A. 1947: No Room on Athletes Plane for UCLA Track Star Lloyd LaBeach

Posted on July 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Sentinel, 1947
Berman’s has the new “Rugby Lounge” suit. Only $65 ($737.81 in 2018 dollars).

July 24, 1947: L.A. Sentinel columnist Edward Robinson has the story of UCLA track star Lloyd LaBeach, born in Panama to Jamaican parents, who came to Los Angeles because of the severe winters in Wisconsin, where he was attending the university.

Robinson said LaBeach won both sprints at the recent Pasadena Games, beating USC’s Mel Patton and earning a trip to the AAU competition in Lincoln, Neb. The “keep it white program” at USC said there wasn’t room on the plane to the games, Robinson said, although officials found room for others.

According to the Los Angeles Times, on June 13, 1947, LaBeach ended Patton’s string of 18 victories, defeating Patton in the 220-yard dash in the Southern Pacific AAU Pasadena Games held at the Coliseum at 20.8 seconds, and 20.7 seconds for the 200 meters. Patton narrowly defeated La Beach in the 100 meters, The Times said.

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July 24, 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter, 17, Strangled

Posted on July 24, 2018 by lmharnisch


L.A. Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Her name was Vesta Belle and she was 17, an honor student at Jefferson High, a mile and a half from her home at 5320 Holmes Ave. You might think she got her name in the paper for earning a scholarship or receiving an academic award.

Instead, her 14-year-old brother, Carlisle, came home from a playground and found Vesta Belle Sapenter’s body in her bedroom. She was partially undressed and had been strangled with a thin hemp cord. With so many murders of women in Los Angeles, you might expect The Times to give it decent play, but Vesta Belle got two paragraphs on Page 8. Just enough to give a few details and that fact that she was black.

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Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

July 24, 1907: Columbia University Professor Becomes an Explorer of the Occult

Posted on July 24, 2018 by lmharnisch



Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

July 24, 1907
Los Angeles

On a speaking tour of America, former Columbia professor James H. Hyslop is trying to raise interest in a scientific approach to psychic research while deflating the fabulous claims of mediums and other fakers.

“There is so much fraud in connection with the physical demonstrations, said Dr. Hyslop, that much time would be wasted in making the investigation,” The Times said. “To see a table get up and prance across the floor doesn’t prove anything in connection with a future life.”
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Found on EBay: Justice for the McNamaras

Posted on July 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

justice_for_mcnamaras_ebay_2018_0723

A vendor on EBay has listed one of the buttons that was created by the AFL to protest the trial of the McNamara brothers in the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times. According to some accounts (possibly true, possibly folklore), the gutters of downtown Los Angeles were full of these buttons after the McNamaras pleaded guilty.  Bidding starts at $50.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 28, 2018, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie has been the 1949 Warner Bros. picture “The Girl From Jones Beach,” with Ronald Reagan, Virginia Mayo, Eddie Bracken, Dona Drake, Henry Travers, Lois Wilson, Florence Bates, Jerome Cowan, Helen Westcott, Paul Harvey, Lloyd Corrigan, Gary Gray and Myrna Dell.

The screenplay was by I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Allen Boretz, photography by Carl Guthrie, art direction by Stanley Fleischer, dialogue direction by John Maxwell, set decoration by William Kuehl, special effects by William McGann and Edwin DuPar, wardrobe by Leah Rhodes, makeup by Perc Westmore and orchestrations by Leonid Raab. Music by David Buttolph, produced by Alex Gottlieb and directed by Peter Godfrey.

“The Girl From Jones Beach” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 51 Comments

July 23, 1947: British Attacked in New Battle of Jerusalem

Posted on July 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

 

July 23, 1947, British Attacked

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

British Attacked
in New Battle
of Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, July 22 (AP)—A new “Battle of Jerusalem” roared tonight.

Machinegun fire, Molotov cocktails and road mines set off a new wave of violence which in eight days has taken a toll of eight killed and 57 wounded.
Sirens wailed three times in the Holy City today, twice for minor incidents and a third time for what appeared to be a big underground offensive.

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