Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Elsie Janis Rallies the Troops for World War I

Posted on November 9, 2020 by lmharnisch

elsie_janis_portrait_mopicwor40chal_0556
Note: This is an encore post from 2019.

World War I, the “War to End All Wars,” concluded 100 years ago at the 11th minute of the 11th hour, November 11, 1918. A bloody conflagration involving such countries and republics as the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia for more than four years, it saw borders dissolved and reconfigured, terrible new lethal means of killing and maiming men created, and eventually led to World War II.

Young American men found themselves weary, repulsed, and depressed as they slogged on and on, looking for a ray of sunshine and an end to the mayhem. Vaudeville and stage star Elsie Janis, quick with a quip and song, came to their rescue, providing a measure of hope and forgetfulness. Long before Bob Hope visited troops around the world during World War II to bring moments of levity, Janis became the first major star to tour camps and hospitals entertaining the American Sammies, our soldiers.

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

Continue reading →

Posted in 1918, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 9, 2020 by lmharnisch

2020_1114_credits_01
This week’s mystery movie was the 1955 Columbia film “The Crooked Web,” with Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard, Richard Denning, John Mylong, Harry Lauter, Steven Ritch and Louis Merrill.

Story and screenplay by Lou Breslow.

Photography by Henry Freulich, art direction by Paul Palmentola, edited by Edwin Bryant, set decoration by Sidney Clifford, assistant director Gene Anderson Jr., special effects by Jack Erickson, sound by Josh Westmoreland, music conducted by Mischa Bakaleinikoff, unit manager Leon Chooluck.

A Clover Production.

Directed by Nathan Hertz Juran

“The Crooked Web” is on YouTube in a mediocre print and on DVD from Amazon.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1955, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 2, 2020 by lmharnisch

Nov. 7, 2020, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 Columbia film “Washington Merry-Go-Round,” with Lee Tracy, Constance Cummings, Walter Connolly, Alan Dinehart, Arthur Vinton, Arthur Hoyt, Burton Churchill, Frank Sheridan, Clay Clement and Clarence Muse.

Screenplay by Jo Swerling, story by Maxwell Anderson, technical advisor Eugene Thackeray, photography by Ted Tetzlaff and Ira Morgan, edited by Richard Cahoon.

Directed by James Cruze.

“Washington Merry-Go-Round” has never been commercially released on VHS or DVD, but is available on the gray market. It last aired on TCM in 2013.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – ‘Peter the Hermit’

Posted on November 2, 2020 by lmharnisch

Peter the Hermit, Sept. 30, 1923

Peter the Hermit, Sept. 30, 1923

Note: This is an encore post from 2011.

Like Blanche Dubois, Peter depended upon the kindness of strangers to augment his spare existence working odd jobs and living in a shack in the Hollywood hills. He wore simple white shirts and pants and sandals, resembling an Old Testament prophet, and carried a staff or large walking stick in his hand. A gentle man and vegetarian, animals like dogs, goats, burros, and chickens gathered around him in the hills. Not exactly a panhandler, Peter accepted donations of food, money, and other things without flat- out asking for them. He spoke out in favor of vegetarianism, taking care of the environment, odd philosophizing, and looking out for each other long before these became accepted norms in this country.

Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Obituaries, Religion | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – ‘Peter the Hermit’

A Reminder From Pier Angeli and Friend

Posted on November 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

Nov. 3, 2016, Pier Angeli

Pier Angeli and her little friend remind Daily Mirror readers to turn back their clocks this Sunday.

Posted in Animals, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , | Comments Off on A Reminder From Pier Angeli and Friend

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 26, 2020 by lmharnisch

Oct. 31, 2020, Ghost Breakers
This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 Paramount picture “The Ghost Breakers,” with Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn (in two roles!) and Willie Best.

Screenplay by Walter DeLeon, based on a play by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard.

Photography by Charles Lang, art direction by Hans Dreier and Robert Usher, edited by Ellsworth Hoagland, costumes by Edith Head.

Music by Ernst Toch, musical adviser Andrea Setaro, recording by Harold Lewis and Richard Olson, process photography by Farciot Edouart, interior decoration by A.E. Freudeman.

Produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr. Directed by George Marshall.

“The Ghost Breakers” is available on DVD from TCM. The recently released Blu-ray is available from Amazon. Howard Mandelbaum says that the Blu-ray is quite good. In some versions of the DVD, the audio is out of sync with the video for about the last 20 minutes of the film.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 68 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Schloesser’s Castles Lord It Over Hollywood

Posted on October 26, 2020 by lmharnisch

castle_postcard
A postcard of A.G. Schloesser’s Castle San Souci, listed on EBay for $7.98.

Before movies introduced dream-like locations and visions to the world, Dr. Alfred Schloesser constructed stunning fantasy castles, mentally transporting viewers to more romantic times and places. Although Glengarry Castle and Castle Sans Souci existed for only a few decades, they left an indelible impression on the city of Hollywood.

Born in Chicago on April 19, 1851, Dr. Alfred Guido Rudolph Schloesser lived and dreamed large from a young age. Born to naturalized Americans who had escaped oppressive Prussia and then achieved success in Chicago real estate, Schloesser graduated from respected high end schools before receiving graduate and medical degrees. He graduated Rush Medical College at 20, the youngest as well as first in the class. After graduation, Schloesser toured Europe, gaining additional knowledge and experience, studying tuberculosis in Berlin and spinal deformities in Switzerland.

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

Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Schloesser’s Castles Lord It Over Hollywood

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + + +)

Posted on October 19, 2020 by lmharnisch

Oct. 25, 2020, Native Son

This week’s mystery movie was the 1951 Argentine film “Native Son,” with Richard Wright, Jean Wallace, Nicholas Joy, Charles Cane, George Rigaud, George Green, Gloria Madison, Willa Pearl Curtiss, Gene Michael, Don Dean, Ned Campbell, Ruth Roberts, George Nathanson, George Roos, Lewis MacKenzie, Cecile Lezard, Charles Simmonds, Leslie Straughn and Lidia Alves.

Screenplay by Pierre Chenal and Richard Wright, dialogue by Richard Wright.

Photography by Antonio Utges Merayo, location shots by R.A. Hollahan, edited by Jorge Garate, sets by Gori Munoz, sound by Mario Fezia and Carlos Marin.

Music by John Elhert, song “The Dreaming Kind” by Lilian Walker Charles, vocal quintette of Katherine Dunham.

Produced by James Prades. Directed by Pierre Chenal.

An extensively restored print of “Native Son” is available on streaming via an arrangement between movie theaters and Kino Marquee, with an introduction by Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller (TCM hosts, although TCM apparently wasn’t involved in this project). Check your local ZIP Code to see if it’s available. It’s $10 well spent.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 36 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Spooky, Ooky Witch’s House Haunts Beverly Hills

Posted on October 19, 2020 by lmharnisch

Willat-Lescalle House

A sketch of the “The Witch’s House” by Charles Owens from “Nuestro Pueblo,” courtesy of Mary Mallory

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Once upon a time, home design and architecture saluted fantasy and make-believe, and not just in fiction. Bilbo Baggins and lucky leprechauns resided in twee little bungalows, short, off-kilter, hutch-like, but so did imaginative and childlike Los Angeles residents of the 1920s. Storybook architecture, dreamed up and promoted by film industry veterans, flourished near movie studios, magical little Brigadoon-like structures.

A strong proponent of storybook design was Hollywood art director Harry Oliver. Noted for his work as art director on films “7th Heaven” (1927) and “Street Angel” (1928). Oliver merrily dreamed up colorful structures on the side, like the famous Van de Kamp’s windmills and Los Feliz’s Tam-o-Shanter restaurant. Another whimsical structure, however, remains his most famous design, the Witch’s House in Beverly Hills.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywoodland:Tales Lost and Found” is available as an ebook.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Spooky, Ooky Witch’s House Haunts Beverly Hills

James Ellroy: Handwritten Copy of ‘White Jazz’ Listed in Auction

Posted on October 14, 2020 by lmharnisch

ellroy_white_jazz

James Ellroy’s 1992 handwritten draft of “White Jazz” will be auctioned Thursday in a sale of rare books from the collection of Otto Penzler. Current bid (as of Wednesday night) is $975. Penzler is the proprietor of New York’s Mysterious Bookshop, which published many of Ellroy’s books under its Mysterious Press imprint, beginning with “Because the Night.”

Posted in 1992, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on James Ellroy: Handwritten Copy of ‘White Jazz’ Listed in Auction

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 39th Pordenone Silent Film Festival Transports Audiences

Posted on October 12, 2020 by lmharnisch

0_GCM_LOGO
In a tumultuous year filled with pandemic, isolation, ill will, and seeming madness, the 39th Annual Pordenone Silent Film Festival transported guests on magical journeys to other worlds, eras, and even dimensions, revealing the richness of love and humanity at a time it is so desperately lacking. Turning lemons into lemonade, the festival’s organizers masterfully arranged a thoughtful, select program of motion pictures, author talks, master classes, and live discussions that still engendered community, discussion, and scholarship.

At the conclusion of each film program, live discussion between festival director Jay Weissberg, archivists, scholars, authors, performers, and the like provided further context to the motion picture, performers, and themes located in the work, further enriching the experience.

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

Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 12, 2020 by lmharnisch

Oct. 17, 2020, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie was the 1960 Columbia picture “Pepe,” with (hold on to your hats):

Cantinflas, Dan Dailey, Shirley Jones, Carlos Montalban, Vicki Trickett, Matt Mattox, Hank Henry, Suzanne Lloyd, Carlos Rivas, Maurice Chevalier, Bing Crosby, Michael Callan, Richard Conte, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Durante, Zsa Zsa Gabor, the singing voice of Judy Garland, Greer Garson, Hedda Hopper, Joey Bishop, Ernie Kovacs, Peter Lawford, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Jay “Dennis the Menace” North, Kim Novak, Andre Previn, Donna Reed, Debbie Reynolds, Edward G. Robinson, Cesar Romero, Frank Sinatra. Billie Burke, Ann B. “Schultzy” Davis, Col. E.E. Fogelson, William Demarest, Jane Robinson, “Big” Jack Entratter, Bunny Waters and Charles Coburn. “And ? ?”
Introducing Don Juan.

Art direction by Ted Haworth, photography by Joe Mac Donald.

Photographic lenses by Panavision, Eastman Color by Pathe, special sequences photographed in CinemaScope. Edited by Viola Lawrence and Al Clark, set decoration by William Kiernan.

Assistant director David Silver, associate art director Gunther Gerszo.

Pepi and Mimi special material and routines by Roger Edens. Makeup by Ben Lane. Hairstyles by Larry Germain and Myrl Stoltz. Script supervisor Marshall Wolins. Recording supervisor Charles J. Rice. Music editor Maury Winetrobe. Sound by James Z. Flaster.

Las Vegas sequences photographed at the Sands Hotel, the Tropicana Hotel.

With grateful appreciation to the members of the Motion Picture Production Workers’ Union of the Republic of Mexico for their splendid cooperation.

G.S.-Posa Films International production.

Songs: “Faraway Part of Town,” “That’s How It Went, All Right” music by Andre Previn, lyrics by Dory Langdon, conducted by Andre Previn. “Pepe” music by Hans Wittstatt, special instrumental by Johnny Green. Lyrics by Dory Langdon. “The Rumble,” instrumental piece by Andre Previn. “Lovely Day” (“Concha Nacar”) music by Augustin Lara. Spanish lyrics by Maria Teresa Lara. Special English lyrics by Dory Langdon. Maurice Chevalier recordings of “September Song” and “Mimi” courtesy of MGM records.

Choreography: “The Rumble” and “Faraway Part of Town” by Eugene Loring. Additional choreography by Alex Romero.

General music supervision and background score by Johnny Green.

Associate producer Jacques Gelman.

Screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley. Screen story by Leonard Spigelgass and Sonya Levien. Based on a play by L. Bush-Fekete.

Produced and directed by George Sidney.

“Pepe” has not been commercially released on DVD, but it is available in graymarket copies.

Note: The original reviews refer to a running time of three hours and 15 minutes without intermission. The TCM print had a running time of two hours and 37 minutes.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1960, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 71 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Assistance League Scouts Film Locations

Posted on October 5, 2020 by lmharnisch

location_scout
Motion Picture Magazine, 1925.

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.
In the early days of the motion picture industry, no rules and regulations held down the field’s growth and development as companies basically made it up as they went along. There were no labor rules, no production blueprints, no permits required for much of anything. This free form independence allowed filmmakers the opportunity to let their imaginations go wild on story ideas, sets, even film locations. With small crews, a film company could easily sneak shots at virtually any public location without notifying police or gaining anyone’s permission.

This guerrilla style of filmmaking is obvious in primitive cinema, where dogs standing on the sidewalk run into the scene, or crowds can be glimpsed watching the filming or even joining right in. Moviemakers basically shot wherever they wanted, as many owners of possible locations just wanted to see stars or a film being made, and required no payment. Others were given cameos, and some possibly earned a fee for allowing filming, there is no historic paperwork to explain.

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

Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 5, 2020 by lmharnisch

2020_1010_credits_03

This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 film “False Faces,” with Lowell Sherman, Peggy Shannon, Lila Lee, Berton Churchill, David Landau, Harold Waldrige, Geneva Mitchell, Oscar Apfel, Miriam Seegar, Joyce Compton, Nancy O’Neil, Edward Martindel and Purnell Pratt.

Screenplay by Kubeck Glasmon and Llewelyn Hughes, photography by R.O. Binger and Theo. McCord, edited by Rose Loewinger, settings by Ralph DeLacy, supervising editor Martin G. Cohn, musical director Val Burton.

Directed by Lowell Sherman.

The film, restored by UCLA, is available for streaming online. The film is also on Vimeo.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 42 Comments

Los Angeles Times Bombed 1910: ‘A Terrible Roar’

Posted on October 1, 2020 by lmharnisch
Times bombing
Courtesy of University of Southern California, on behalf of the USC Special Collections.
Oct. 1, 1910:  The Times Building in flames, as seen from Broadway
just south of First Street. Notice The Times Eagle outlined by the fire.


Oct. 15, 1929, Times Bombing
Note: This is an encore post.

El Alisal, Oct. 1, 1910:

This is a sad day for me and for every other man that loves Los Angeles.

At one this morning I was dictating to Brownie and heard a terrible roar in town and remarked that it sounded like dynamite and just casually thought it might be The Times.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1910 L.A. Times bombing, Obituaries | Comments Off on Los Angeles Times Bombed 1910: ‘A Terrible Roar’

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Eastern Columbia Brings Style to Shopping

Posted on September 28, 2020 by lmharnisch

Eastern Building
One of Los Angeles’ most glorious examples of architecture merging glamour and commerce, downtown’s Eastern-Columbia building turned 90 years old September 12. Designed by Claud Beelman and erected in 1930, it symbolizes the City of Angels’ ascendance to the pinnacle of style, pizzazz, and success during the delirious 1920s. A stunning Technicolor Art Deco masterpiece, the Eastern Columbia Department Store exemplified the aspirational nature of both the companies that constructed it and the booming city in which it stood. The Los Angeles’ flagship location combining the operations of two outfitting companies, the Eastern Outfitting Company and the Columbia Outfitting Company, it demonstrated the growing success of the two concerns.

Though two separate organizations, both companies were founded and operated by the same gentlemen, Polish immigrants Henry and Adolph Sieroty and Henry Shemanski. Eastern Outfitting Company sold furniture and housewares while the Columbia Outfitting Company sold clothing; both selling well made, affordable products to those aspiring to greater things. To ease purchasing, the Eastern Outfitting Co. established credit installment pay plans in the 1880s, allowing the middle class access to better merchandise by paying fixed prices over a set period of time.

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

Continue reading →

Posted in 1930, Architecture, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 28, 2020 by lmharnisch

Oct. 3, 2020, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movies were the 1937 Warner Bros. picture “Confession” and the 1935 German film “Mazurka.”

“Confession” stars Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Basil Rathbone, Jane Bryan, Donald Crisp, Mary Maguire and Robert Barrat. “Mazurka” stars Pola Negri, Albrecht Schoenhals, Ingeborg Theek, Franziska Kinz and Paul Hartmann. Directed by Willi Forst.

“Confession”: Original screenplay by Hans Rameau. English adaptation by Julius J. Epstein and Margaret LeVino.

Dialogue direction by Stanley Logan, musical score and songs by Peter Kreuder, lyrics by Jack Scholl, musical direction by Leo F. Forbstein.

Photography by Sid Hickox, edited by James Gibbon, art direction by Anton Grot and gowns by Orry-Kelly.

Directed by Joe May.

”Confession” is available on DVD from Warner Archive. “Mazurka” is on YouTube.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, 1937, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights, Ernest Torrence

Posted on September 21, 2020 by lmharnisch

Ernest Torrence "The Wanderer"
Photo: Ernest Torrence and Greta Nissen in “The Wanderer,” listed on EBay at $34.95.

Note: This is an encore post from 2011.

Long remembered for playing both villainous and comic supporting roles in silent films, Ernest Torrence achieved big success on the New York theatrical stage before becoming involved with movies.  Torrence was ambitious from the time he was a child in Scotland, and employed his talent as a calling card for America.

The actor grew up in Scotland only a mile from Edinburgh, later studying at the Edinburgh Academy.  He studied piano and singing several years at the Royal Academy of Music in London, winning medals and appearances in concerts, before spending three years taking singing lessons in Stuttgart, Germany.  Torrence first appeared on the stage in London “in a romantic role at the Savoy Theatre, but soon afterward I jumped into musical comedy work and sang at the Gaiety Theatre.”  His deep baritone was appropriate for appearing in Gilbert and Sullivan.  He also wrote some compositions, including music for a Greek play which was produced in Edinburgh when he was 19.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Obituaries | Comments Off on Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights, Ernest Torrence

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 21, 2020 by lmharnisch

Sept. 26, 2020, Girl From 10th Avenue

This week’s mystery movie was the 1935 Warner Bros. film “The Girl From 10th Avenue,” with Bette Davis, Ian Hunter, Colin Clive, Alison Skipworth, John Eldridge, Phillip Reed, Katharine Alexander, Helen Jerome Eddy, Gordon (Bill) Elliott, Edward McWade, Adrian Rosley and Andre Cheron.

Adaptation screenplay by Charles Kenyon from a play by Hubert Henry Davies. Edited by Owen Marks, art direction by John Hughes, photography by James Van Trees, gowns by Orry-Kelly, musical direction by Leo F. Forbstein.

Directed by Alfred E. Green.

“The Girl From 10th Avenue” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 49 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Cineconline Brings Entertainment in Troubling Times

Posted on September 14, 2020 by lmharnisch

image

After isolating through the pandemic, sweltering summer, and blazing fires, Cineconline brought a respite of lighthearted , breezy entertainment. While Cinecon 55 occurred only online, it succeeded beyond its wildest dreams in providing rare films to thousands of film fans. Thanks to collectors and archives, rare, unseen silent and sound films and television kinescopes brought hours of happiness to grateful audiences.

The online Festival kicked off September 3 with a program featuring trailers that survive from lost silent features, providing a hint of the stories and entertainment they might have shared. Included among the lot was the trailer for the recently rediscovered “Lorraine of the Lions,” hooking audiences for its September 5 screening.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2020, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment