Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Ivan Mosjoukine, the Man With the Piercing Eyes

Posted on December 4, 2017 by lmharnisch

Ivan Mosjoukine

Ivan Mosjoukine, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Not as well known as other silent film stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Buster Keaton or Rudolph Valentino, the recently rediscovered Russian motion picture actor Ivan Mosjoukine ranks among the greats for his charismatic star turns in several 1920s French silent films. While a superstar in Russia and France, Mosjoukine acted in only one Hollywood feature, which eventually helped push him into obscurity. But, as writer Liam O’Leary stated, “What Nijinksy was to dance in Russia, so Mosjoukine was to film.”

Born in Penza, Russia, Sept. 26, 1889, to wealthy parents, Ivan Ilich Mozhukhin attended private schools before studying law in Moscow. Quickly enthralled by the flamboyant world of the theater, Mosjoukine joined a touring theatrical troupe to learn his new trade. Within a few years, he returned to Moscow and entered the Dramatic Theatre for serious work.

Also by Mary Mallory
Keye Luke
Auction of Souls
Busch Gardens and Hogan’s Aristocratic Dreams

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Found on Craigslist: Oviatt Display Case (With Alterations)

Posted on December 3, 2017 by lmharnisch

Oviatt Display Case

A vendor on Craigslist has listed what is claimed to be a display case from the Oviatt Building for $12,500.

Note this disclaimer: “Updated glass shelves and lighting have been added.” So it’s not in original condition.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Howard Greer Inc., Maison of Haute Couture

Posted on November 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

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Howard Greer in Modern Screen, 1933.

Long before Adrian left MGM to set up his own couture house, Paramount Pictures’ costume designer Howard Greer established a tony modiste shop on Sunset Boulevard catering to the needs and desires of many of Hollywood’s female stars. Driven and a great self-promoter, the charming Greer remained in business over 35 years creating simple but luxurious wardrobes for his clients.

Born in Rushville, Illinois, on April 16, 1896, Greer and his family moved to Nebraska around 1900 when his father became ill. The Greers worked their farm outside Lincoln, where young Howard dreamed of a glamorous life outside the dusty, monotonous acreage. While he tried to farm, young Greer loved drawing, especially sketches of female wardrobes and dresses.

Hollywood at Play, by Donovan Brandt, Mary Mallory and Stephen X. Sylvester is now on sale.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

Dec. 2, 2017, Two Years Before the Mast
This week’s mystery movie has been the 1945 Paramount film “Two Years Before the Mast,” with Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy, William Bendix, Barry Fitzgerald, Howard da Silva, Esther Fernandez, Albert Dekker, Luis Van Rooten, Darryl Hickman, Roman Bohnen, Ray Collins, Theodore Newton, Tom Powers, James Burke and Frank Faylen. The screenplay was by Seton I. Miller and George Bruce from the novel by Richard Henry Dana Jr. Photography was by Ernest Laszlo, art direction by Hans Dreier and Franz Bachelin, photo effects by Gordon Jennings and Dev Jennings, process photography by Farciot Edouart, technical supervision by Capt. Fred F. Ellis B.M.M. (Ret)., set decoration by Bertram Granger,  music by Victor Young and costumes by Dorothy O’Hara. The film was directed by John Farrow.

The DVD is commercially available on Universal’s Vault Series from Amazon.

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

L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Nv. 26, 1943, Thanksgiving

Note: This is a post from 2013. Happy Thanksgiving!

A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal.

The Times published cooking tips for war workers, advising cooks who were otherwise engaged “for the duration” to use prepared mixes, packaged pie crust and canned pumpkin to cut preparation time.

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An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Everyday Cook-Book

Note: This is a repost from 2011. Happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s a traditional roast turkey recipe from the “Every-Day Cook-Book and Family Compendium,” written about 1890 by Miss E. Neill. Be sure your fire is bright and clear and watch out for the gall-bag.
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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: T.L. Tally – L.A.’s Pioneer Film Exhibitor, Part 2

Posted on November 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

 

Tally's First Show Shop

“The Great Corbett Fight” at Tally’s theater.

 

Former Texan T. L. (Thomas) Tally pioneered early film exhibition practices in the film metropolis of Los Angeles, catering to the needs of his audiences. Always enamored with technology, he seemed to anticipate and lead trends in advancing both the presentation of films as well as their selling and distribution. Though Tally was recognized as an innovator, his history has been promulgated with repeated errors that distort history.

In my first post, I presented the first part of the factual history regarding Tally’s life. Born in Rockport, Texas in 1862, he established his first phonograph parlor in San Antonio in 1890 and first visited Los Angeles that year. Fascinated with engineering and mechanical marvels that produced sound and images, he began seeking out these products.

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: T.L. Tally – L.A.’s Pioneer Film Exhibitor, Part 1

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

Nov. 25, 2017, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie has been MGM’s 1929 film “The Kiss,” which was the studio’s (and Greta Garbo’s) last silent film. It stars Garbo, Conrad Nagel and Holmes Herbert. From the story by George M. Saville, scenario by Hans Kraly, musical synchronization by Dr. William Axt, titles by Marian Ainslee, art direction by Cedric Gibbons, photography by William Daniels, gowns by Adrian and editing by Ben Lewis. It was directed by Jacques Feyder. With Anders Randolf, Lew Ayres and George Davis.

“The Kiss” is available from Warner Archive for $17.99.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 13, 2017 by lmharnisch

 

 

Nov. 18, 2017, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1936 RKO film “Two in the Dark,” with Walter Abel, Margo Grahame, Wallace Ford, Gail Patrick, Alan Hale, Leslie Fenton, Eric Blore, Erin O’Brien-Moore, Erik Rhodes, J. Carroll Naish and Addison Randall. It was directed by Ben Stoloff, with a screenplay by Seton I. Miller, based on a novel by Gelett Burgess, art direction by Van Nest Polglase and Al Herman and gowns by Bernard Newman.

The film was photographed by Nick Musuraca, who was my reason for selecting this picture.

It is not commercially available on DVD or VHS, but airs occasionally on TCM.

 

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 36 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Studio Club Provides Home For Movie-Struck Girls

Posted on November 13, 2017 by lmharnisch

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The Studio Club in Photoplay, 1917.

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

T he advent of the 20th century offered the possibility of more freedom and opportunity for women. For decades, women had advocated for the right to vote, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Others clamored for more work opportunities beyond teaching, librarian, and secretarial positions.

The relatively new medium of motion pictures also tantalized audiences with many new possibilities beyond their hometowns: exciting new cities, novel hobbies and recreations, and modern employment opportunities. In fact, many people considered the growing film industry itself an excellent field to try their luck, especially movie-struck, naïve young women.

ALSO BY MARY MALLORY
Magic Castle
Mack Sennett
Brand Library
Auction of Souls

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 6, 2017 by lmharnisch

Nov. 11, 2017, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1948 British film “No Orchids for Miss Blandish,” from the novel by James Hadley Chase, with Jack La Rue, Hugh McDermott, Linden Travers, Walter Crisham, Leslie Bradley, Zoe Gail, Jack Durant, Charles Goldner, Macdonald Parke, Lilly Molnar, Danny Green, Percy Marmont, Michael Balfour, Frances Marsden, Jack Lester, Halama and Konarski and Toy and Wyng. Photography by Gerald Gibbs, art direction by Harry Moore and music by George Melachrino. The film was written and directed by St. John L. Clowes.

The DVD is available from Amazon.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – The Cahuenga Building

Posted on November 6, 2017 by lmharnisch

Hollywood and Cahuenga

Note: This is an encore post from 2012.

From its days as an elegant bank building to its abandoned and forgotten existence in the 1980s and 1990s, the former Security Trust and Savings Bank at Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard has served as both a local institution and location setting for films and books. Not as beautiful as the empty bank building at Hollywood and Highland Avenue, the banking veteran still survives as an example of an attractive building for an utilitarian function.

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A Reminder From the Daily Mirror

Posted on November 5, 2017 by lmharnisch

Pier Angeli Time Change

Pier Angeli and friend remind the Daily Mirror readers to turn the clock back one hour.

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Black Dahlia: The Biltmore Hotel, Ghost Hunting and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2017 by lmharnisch

Oct. 31, 2017, Daily Trojan
I think we have found one presumably young and aspiring reporter who apparently believes in doing absolutely no research whatsoever.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 30, 2017 by lmharnisch

Stork Club

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1945 Paramount film “The Stork Club,” with Betty Hutton, Barry Fitzgerald, Don DeFore, Robert Benchley, Bill Goodwin, Iris Adrian, Mikail Rasumny, Mary Young and Andy Russell. It was written by B.G. DeSylva and John McGowan and directed by Hal Walker.

The DVD is available from Amazon.com.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Organist C. Sharp Minor, Major Talent

Posted on October 30, 2017 by lmharnisch

Sept. 2, 1928, C. Sharpe Minor

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Music was an integral part of silent films, giving emotional texture or humorous voice to the films’ precious images. Different types of music and musicians accompanied them: orchestras, bands, photoplayers, pianists and organists. Leading the pack as one of Los Angeles’ premier silent film musicians was organist C. Sharpe Minor, a major talent with an attention-grabbing name.

Born June 24, 1885, in Louisiana, Charles Sulzer Sharpe Minor supposedly arrived in Los Angeles in 1907, but virtually nothing is known about him until he turns up in San Francisco with his wife Barbara Jane in 1917, accompanying films at the Rialto Theatre under the name C. Sharpe Minor. A few authors claim that he added his mother’s maiden name, Sharpe, realizing the eye-catching opportunities of employing this name on theatre marquees. Newspapers called him an extraordinary organist, and he played afternoon and evening shows adding a bit of entertainment with his trick effects and novelty arrangements.

Music: C. Sharpe Minor: “Parade of the Immortals.”

Minor worked at the Rialto for a year before being appointed a first lieutenant in the Army in September 1918. Immediately upon war completion, the organist returned to the theatre, for a short time accompanying films and giving concerts, before landing his first Los Angeles job at the Million Dollar Theatre in March 1919. Ads proclaim him a master organist, and he even earned his own slot in the stage show. By 1920, however, Minor played at San Francisco’s California Theatre.

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Chinese Massacre – Oct 24, 1871

Posted on October 24, 2017 by lmharnisch

Oct. 24, 1871, Chinese Massacre

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At top, an account of the massacre in the Daily Southern Cross of Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 9, 1871,

Above, a detail of a Los Angeles map displayed in the Globe Lobby of the Los Angeles Times Building showing the Plaza and what the newspaper account described as “Negro Alley.”

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

This is the anniversary of the Chinese Massacre of 1871. Here’s a series of posts I did several years ago:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Calle de los Negros — A Vanished Landmark

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Black Dahlia: YouTube Makeup Tutorials for Halloween – Seriously?

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch
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Apparently YouTube tutorials on Black Dahlia makeup are a thing. Please reconsider your choices. We think Harley Quinn or Mad Moxxi are much better Halloween costume options rather than dressing up like the victim of a gruesome murder.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Oct. 28, 2017, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie has been the 1962 film “Carnival of Souls,” with Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison, Stan Levitt, Tom McGinnis, Forbes Caldwell, Dan Palmquist, Bill de Jarnette, Steve Boozer, Pamela Ballard, Larry Sneegas, Cari Conboy, Karen Pyles, T.C. Adams, Sharon Scoville, Mary Ann Harris, Peter Schnitzler, Bill Sollner. Photography was by Maurice Prather, screenplay by John Clifford, music by Gene Moore, produced and directed by Herk Harvey.

“Carnival of Souls” is available from Criterion on DVD ($23.96) and Blu-ray ($31.96).

Do make a point of reading E. Yarber’s comments on the film. Most rewarding and insightful!

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Reporter Building Highlights Golden Age Hollywood

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

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The Hollywood Reporter Building at 6715 Sunset Blvd., in 2015, via Google Street View.

The venerable Hollywood Reporter building on Sunset Boulevard offers a striking salute to Golden Age Hollywood with its patina of class and sophistication. Designed by architect Douglas Honnold for industry power broker and Reporter publisher William “Billy” R. Wilkerson, the building served as the headquarters for Wilkerson’s real estate fiefdom and his powerful trade paper. A landmark building in the evolution of Hollywood as an industry and as a point of influence in architecture, the structure represents the epicenter of the Hollywood publishing industry and its impact on Tinseltown filmmaking.

The edifice represents the glamorous dreams of its owner, Wilkerson. Ambitious and driven, he rose from small town Tennessee boy to king maker by absorbing every facet of the film business in his rise to the top. Beginning as a local theatre manager, Wilkerson moved on to jobs as booking agent, publicity and exploitation chief, regional distribution manager, distributor, production manager, producer, and director before entering publishing when he became acting editor and publisher of Exhibitor’s Daily Review in 1928. This diverse and educational journey prepared him for a leading role in shaping entertainment production at the Reporter.

Hollywood at Play, by Donovan Brandt, Mary Mallory and Stephen X. Sylvester is now on sale.

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