Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 14, 2023 by lmharnisch

Main Title over night sky with a full moon
This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 Warner Bros. film One More Tomorrow, with Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Alexis Smith, Jane Wyman, Reginald Gardiner, John Loder, Marjorie Gateson, Thurston Hall and John Abbott. Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel — August 15

Posted on August 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” about Dr. George Hodel on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at 10 a.m. Pacific time.

Have you read Steve Hodel’s books? Watched the TV interviews? Listened to the podcasts? Maybe you’re wondering how much of what he says is true. Boxy and I will talk about that. I can’t claim to know all of Steve’s allegations about his father because they keep expanding. But I’ve been fact-checking Steve for 20 years so I have a pretty good idea of what he says.

Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! The video will be posted once the session ends so you can watch it later.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 7, 2023 by lmharnisch

Main title on fabric background.
This week’s mystery movie was the 1949 Allied Artists film Bad Boy, with Lloyd Nolan, Jane Wyatt, James Gleason, Stanley Clements, Martha Vickers, and in his first starring role, Audie Murphy. With Rhys Williams, Selena Royle, James Lydon, Dickie Moore, Tommy Cook and William Lester. Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nell Brinkley, Queen of Early American Comics

Posted on August 7, 2023 by lmharnisch

Brinkley Girl puzzle

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

When Americans think of classic illustrators from the early 20th century, names such as Charles Dana Gibson, Harrison Fisher, Haskell Coffin, James Montgomery Flagg, and John Held Jr. spring to mind. Forgotten by almost everyone, but in every way these men’s equal, is the great female artist Nell Brinkley. Her image of American womanhood supplanted that of Gibson, conveying the vivacity, intelligence, and spunk of young women eager to take on the world.

Born on Sept. 5, 1886, Brinkley scribbled drawings growing up as a child in Edgewater, Colo. Headstrong and determined, she announced at age 17 that she would leave high school to earn a living as an artist. Soon thereafter, the Denver Post hired the young woman as an editorial cartoonist at $7 a week. Unfortunately, she earned the nickname “Smearo” and was fired after six months. After two years of art school, Brinkley was hired by the Denver Times to draw what became her stock-in-trade, beautiful girls.

Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory/ Hollywood Heights: El Cholo Turns 100

Posted on August 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

el_cholo_OG
100 years ago, Alexander Alejandro Borquez and his wife Rosa opened a tiny cafe on Moneta Avenue, serving tasty, homestyle Mexican food. Little did they realize that their modest enterprise would survive a century, becoming one of Los Angeles’ most popular restaurants in the process.

As should be expected with Los Angeles’ long Spanish and Mexican history and heritage, these cuisines ranked high with residents, if not officially listed in city records. The 1875 City Directory officially lists a Mexican Restaurant for the first time, and in 1894, City Directory formally lists a Spanish Restaurant downtown. These establishments were unfortunately segregated in an area called Sonoratown, adjacent to both Chinatown and the Plaza, some of the poorest areas of Los Angeles, and the original location of the city. By 1900, city fathers determined to accentuate this Spanish heritage by romanticizing its past. White residents, immigrants, and visitors began searching out food connections to the glorious past. Soon, the Borquez family would open their own restaurant to join the growing boom and popularity of “Spanish” food. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything for August 2023

Posted on August 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here is this month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case. I discussed the latest in Black Dahlia projects and gave an update on the book (124,000 words and counting). I addressed two recurring subjects: Carl Balsiger and why he was a suspect, and allegations of corruption within the LAPD. (And no, only in the alternative reality of Steve Hodel did the LAPD cover up for Dr. George Hodel).

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 31, 2023 by lmharnisch

2023_0805_main_title_02
This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 RKO picture The Animal Kingdom, with Ann Harding, Leslie Howard, Myrna Loy, William Gargan, Neil Hamilton, Ilka Chase, Henry Stephenson, Leni Stengel and Donald Dilloway.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 1960 Writers Strike Echoes Today

Posted on July 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

Citizen_News_Sat__Jan_16__1960_
63 years ago, writers and actors were struggling. Looking for a small share of revenue to help fiscally survive, they asked simply for residuals from post-1948 films sold to television, while studios pled poverty. Both unions went out on strike, the first time two unions walked out at the same time. Today’s strikes echo those vintage ones in many ways, especially with unions supporting each other in solidarity as well as both asking for equitable pay for all their labor in creating entertainment product, especially with new forms of exhibition affecting how audiences access and view entertainment. These issues would be make or break issues for guilds, then or now.

While a few at the top of each profession earned huge salaries, the vast majority collected peanuts for their work, finding it difficult to pay bills. They also received no health benefits and no pensions. At the same time, studios earned high returns selling post-1948 films to television stations desperate for product. Studio heads received salaries putting most of them into the top ten list for highest paid executives in the United States, making tens of times the average studio employee.

Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is August 1

Posted on July 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m. Pacific time.

I’ll give an update on the book and talk about two popular subjects: Carl Balsiger — a viable suspect? And allegations of corruption in the LAPD in the 1930s and ’40s.

Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! The video will be posted once the session ends so you can watch it later.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 24, 2023 by lmharnisch

Main Title: Lettering over bird cages in a pet shop
This week’s mystery movie was the 1952 Columbia film The Happy Time, with Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, Marsha Hunt, Kurt Kasznar, Linda Christian, Marcel Dalio, Jeanette Nolan, Jack Raine, Richard Erdman, Marlene Cameron, Gene Collins, and Bobby Driscoll. Continue reading →

Posted in 1952, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: San Francisco Silent Film Festival Shows the Power of Silents

Posted on July 20, 2023 by lmharnisch

Iron-Mask_SFSFF
Douglas Fairbanks and Marguerite de la Motte in “The Iron Mask.”

Returning for the 26th time, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival offered a fascinating and powerful diversity of programming and music at its recently concluded Festival. Full of dramatic performances and outstanding camerawork in films mostly produced during the 1920s, many also featured strong women at the core of the story.

Several unintentional themes popped up during the weekend, including fires, floods, perverse relationships, surrealism, real locations, misunderstandings, and how popular Josephine Crowell was during the period.

Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 Universal picture A Day of Fury, with Dale Robertson, Jock Mahoney, Mara Corday, Carl Benton Reid, Jan Merlin, John Dehner, Dee Carroll, Sheila Bromley, James Bell, Dani Crayne, Howard Wendell, Charles Cane, Phil Chambers, Sydney Mason and Helen Kleeb. Continue reading →

Posted in 1956, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

2023_0715_mystery_photo
This week’s mystery movie was the 1930 Columbia picture Rain or Shine, with Joe Cook, Louise Fazenda, Joan Peers, William Collier Jr., Tom Howard, Dave Chason (Chasen), Alan Roscoe, Adolph Milar, Clarence Muse, Nella Walker, Edward Martindale, Nora Lane and Tyrrell Davis. Continue reading →

Posted in 1930, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Brand Library

Posted on July 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

Brand Library

“Aerodrome Replacing Country-House Garage,” Illustrated London News, Oct. 29, 1921, Courtesy of Mary Mallory

 

Note: This is an encore post from 2012

Unique thematic architectural homes stand out all around the Los Angeles area, like Yamashiro and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Barnsdall, Freeman, and Storer residences, just to name a few. Glendale possesses another exotic specimen, Leslie C. Brand’s mystical El Miradero, which is now known as the Brand Library. Built as the family residence in 1904, Brand deeded the estate to the city to become a park and library, a jewel in local area recreation spots.

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

Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, July 2023

Posted on July 4, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here’s the Ask Me Anything for July. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello!

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 3, 2023 by lmharnisch

Main Title: Lettering over winter street scene
This week’s mystery movie was the 1959 Paramount picture The Black Orchid, with Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Mark Richman, Virginia Vincent, Frank Puglia, Jimmy Baird, Naomi Stevens, Whit Bissell, Robert Carricart, Joe di Reda and Jack Washburn. Introducing Ina Balin. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Sessue Hayakawa’s ‘Dragon Painter’

Posted on July 3, 2023 by lmharnisch

dragon_painter
The Dragon Painter, showing at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

In 1919, Sessue Hayakawa ranked as one of America’s top matinee idols. Intense, brooding, and handsome, the actor possessed enormous charisma and talent, securing him almost instanteous success upon entering the American film industry in 1914. After several years working under contract for Thomas Ince and Famous Players-Lasky, portraying everything from Native Americans to Indians to Chinese Americans, the actor longed for success producing stories honoring his Japanese culture and shaped around his own persona.

Hayakawa achieved his dream in 1919, establishing the Hayakawa Pictures Corporation in collaboration with Universal director William Worthington. While named after him, the company operated under the leadership of others per incorporation records. Capitalized with money from financiers W. J. Connery and Charles Greenberg, as well as former Christie Comedies general manager F. J. Hawkins and director Worthington, Hayakawa Pictures Corp. produced films starring the actor playing only positive Asian roles at a time when Japonisme widelly influenced popular culture.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival schedule.
Festival passes are $350 for members, $380 for non-members.

Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is July 4

Posted on June 27, 2023 by lmharnisch

Reminder: I’ll be doing an “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, July 4, at 10 a.m. Pacific time.

Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! The video will be posted once the session ends.

Our big mystery of last month? Where is Steve Hodel? I think we found him. Temporarily.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Bert Longworth and ‘Hold Still, Hollywood’

Posted on June 26, 2023 by lmharnisch

Joe E. Brown

Note: This is an encore post from 2012.

In the last forty years, movie collectors and photography connoisseurs have recognized the art and value of Hollywood still photography, most particularly in the gloriously lit and composed portraits of glamorous stars. For decades, however, many people, including industryites, failed to recognize the skill and talent of the many photographers shaping the public’s perception of celebrities through their skillful work behind the camera.

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 26, 2023 by lmharnisch

Main Title: Lettering over a crowd scene
This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 Columbia picture Hot Blood, with Jane Russell, Cornel Wilde, Luther Adler, Joseph Calleia, Mikhail Rasumny, Nina Koshetz, Helen Westcott, Jamie Russell, Wally Russell, Nick Dennis and Richard Deacon.
Continue reading →

Posted in 1956, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments