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May 12, 1960: Matt Weinstock is reading a paperback (evidently by Seymour Krim) titled “The Beats.” Weinstock says: “Some very intelligent people, with or without beards, go to coffeehouses and what they say about life and the dilemmas of today makes sense. Furthermore, many of them don't approve of the writing of Jack Kerouac.” What should a married woman do when the foreman gives her a pink silk nightgown? Abby has the answer. |
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May 12, 1960: Paul Coates writes, “He's 18 years old. He uses our freeways and boulevards to prove his prowess, at speeds of 110 mph. Three times, he's almost been killed.” The racer says: “It was Tuesday night. We were down at the usual hangout. Races going on there every Tuesday night. This '50 Cad pulled in. He's running big racing slicks and all sorts of traction bars.” |
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May 12, 1941: “Ronald Reagan has a new Warners contract with bigger dough and promising a star buildup,” Jimmie Fidler says. |
| “Side-splitting?” Not hardly. |
| Cynthia Lindsay's "The Natives Are Restless" (1960) is not a great book about Los Angeles or even a particularly good one. A frothy mix of humor and sunshine, "Natives" floats to the bright end of the noir spectrum, somewhere between Elisabeth Webb Herrick's1934 "Curious California Customs" and the 1941 WPA handbook.
A movie stuntwoman until being injured in an accident, Lindsay was given a typewriter by Boris Karloff (the subject of her biography "Dear Boris") and wrote for the TV shows "Bachelor Father" and "My Three Sons," which is precisely her approach in "Natives": Los Angeles as a situation comedy. |
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May 11, 1960: “The new 250-foot tower erected at ABC-TV isn't for producers to jump off when the ratings of their shows slip, it's for microwave ‘dishes’ to bring in the Democratic convention more clearly from the Sports Arena,” Matt Weinstock says. A writer asks Abby, "Is it true that a girl who is always grabbing your hand and asking you to kiss her is 'loose'? " And is a wife being unreasonable if she asks her husband for an allowance of $1 a week? |
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May 11, 1960: Paul Coates hosts a nightly TV show and has his picture in the paper every day, but his anonymity is still secure, he says. |
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May 11, 1940: “Spencer Tracy jaunts to Wisconsin on completion of 'Boom Town' to accept that honorary degree from Ripon College,” Jimmie Fidler’s staff says. |
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May 11, 1980: "Charges of plagiarism, copyright infringement and theft of idea are common in Hollywood. Almost every feature film produced here each year (roughly 250, counting independent releases) is hit with one or more such claims, especially if the film is successful at the box office," John M. Wilson writes. … Coming to theaters May 21: “The Empire Strikes Back.” Remember all the debates about whether Darth Vader could really be Luke Skywalker’s father? And on the jump, the LAPD is looking for women and African Americans for the next Police Academy class. |
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May 11, 1910: Catherine (or Katherine) Wilson is found stuffed into a packing crate at 1054 Clayton St. and suspicion focuses on a Japanese man supposedly hired to help her move in. The stories are incomplete, so it’s unclear why attention focused on Genkeyo/Genkyo/Gynko Mitsunaga. He was evidently convicted despite protests that he was innocent. It would be interesting to examine the Denver papers’ coverage and see what role attitudes toward Japanese played in the investigation. |
| “Wilson’s Got a Bomb!”
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May 10, 1960: A lady has a recurring dream about her hairdresser failing to keep an appointment. She finds it terrifying, but Matt Weinstock think it’s funny. “I get into more darn arguments that way,” he says. And on the jump, a long-suffering husband complains to Abby that his wife, at the age of 50, is neglecting the dirty dishes and staying up until 2 and 3 in the morning writing a romance novel! What’s more, it’s filthy! |
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May 10, 1960: “All is not sunshine and fun for the California visitor,” Paul Coates says. One tourist writes: "If a person can't walk down Hollywood Boulevard without being embarrassed for his wife and children, then it's time to find some other vacation spot." |
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June 13, 1968: Lena Horne discusses her return to Hollywood after 12 years for “Patch,” which was apparently released as “Death of a Gunfighter.” "I left because I got sick and tired of being a Negro woman leaning against a pillar and singing, and I'm back because I don't have to do any of those things," she tells The Times’ Wayne Warga. |
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May 10, 1960: Jeane Hoffman does a nice profile of the Dodger’s Nobe (Nobu in this story) Kawano with a shout-out to his brother Yosh. |
OK, people, let's swash some buckles; I finally got around to Zorro this week. (And this will probably be my last 1920 film for a while. Larry advises he's moving on from there. Upcoming reviews will focus on films from 1940, 1960 and possibly even — 1980?) Before Iron Man, before Batman, before all your "I'm a playboy by day and fight for justice at night" masked heroes that keep our blogging colleague Geoff so busy over at Hero Complex, there was Zorro. (Really Larry should be writing this post, having been honored recently for Zorro-like heroics, but, well, he's not.)
The character first appears in a 1919 short story called "The Curse of Capistrano," and in bringing him to the big screen, Douglas Fairbanks created something huge. Not only did he launch a massive film, TV and pop culture franchise in Zorro, he created a swashbuckling superstar persona for himself. After this, he went on to star in "Robin Hood," "The Three Musketeers," "The Thief of Bagdad" and many other hero-in-tights roles. 1920 was also the year he married Mary Pickford, so it was a good year to be Fairbanks.
This was my first Douglas Fairbanks movie and I have to say I was pretty surprised at first. I was expecting another stone cold fox like John Barrymore, and Fairbanks is one goofy-looking guy. He's not bad-looking at all, but I just kept thinking, "wait, THIS is Zorro? He doesn't even stand up straight." This Zorro is not about being all Antonio Banderas and pouty and beautiful. He's really kind of a goofball. I mean, look at the poster here… Zorro's more interested in having a good laugh than looking good, as long as said laugh comes at the expense of oppressors. But then Fairbanks starts springing around with his rapier, jumping onto mantels and balconies, showing off his signature athletic ability. He's pretty impressive!
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May 10, 1910: Jack Johnson starts training for his Fourth of July fight with Jim Jeffries by going 12 miles in the morning and an additional five in the afternoon. “Newspaper men present at the taking of pictures of Jack Johnson today had their first opportunity of seeing the champion stripped to his fighting trunks and there were no adverse criticisms of his condition. If anything, sporting experts thought Johnson might safely carry more weight than he possesses in view of the time he has in which to train. Naturally, there is some extra weight about the stomach, but not as much as expected,” The Times says. |
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May 9, 1960: Paul Coates plays with the announcement of special TV news for children, and imagines what it would be like as delivered by Sheriff John. (Beverly Aadland has been a naughty girl again) … And Matt Weinstock takes another critical look at Cynthia Lindsay’s article about Los Angeles in Harper’s (subscribers only), the precursor of her “The Natives Are Restless.” More about “Natives” on Wednesday. |
| I’ve been laughing about this all weekend and wanted to share it. |
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May 9, 1940: “Paulette Goddard gifted makeup man Wally Westmore with a 10-foot fishing launch on the completing of ‘The Ghost Breakers,’ ” Jimmie Fidler says. |
| Los Angeles Times file photo
Here’s our mystery guest with two mystery companions. Please congratulate Dennis Morgan, James Curtis, Lou Zogby, Angus, LA Morgue Files, Zabadu and Rick Scott for identifying him. |
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May 9, 1980: Times’ Pulitzer winner Howard Rosenberg, in top form, interviews Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Caesar talks about Mel Brooks … and “Saturday Night Live.” |
