Mary Astor’s Lost Film ‘New Year’s Eve’

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

mary_astor_charles_morton_new_years_eve
Since TCM is featuring Mary Astor, here’s a brief post on her lost movie “New Year’s Eve.” (A tip of the hat to Lou Lumenick, who tweeted about the movie on — New Year’s Eve.) I also uploaded a version of this post to IMDB, in case you see it there.

Fox originally announced the film under the title “Strong Arm,” based on the story “$100” by Richard Connell, published in the August 1928 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. The film was supposed to star Lois Moran and George O’Brien in the leads, under the direction of J.G. Blystone. Fox initially planned the movie as a talkie, but released it as “New Year’s Eve,” a silent directed by Henry Lehrman with sound effects and music, designated “sound on film.”

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Posted in 1929, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor’ Premieres on TCM

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

mary_astor

Alexa Foreman Note: “Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor” will air at 8 p.m. Monday on TCM. This is a post from 2018.

Alexa Foreman, who was TCM’s head researcher for many years, will be featured in a Q&A session on her new movie, “Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor,” at Larry Edmunds Bookshop, 6644 Hollywood Blvd., on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

The movie deals with Astor’s sensational 1936 trial to regain custody of her 5-year-old daughter, Marilyn, following Astor’s divorce from Dr. Franklyn Thorpe. Seeking to show that Astor was an unfit mother, Thorpe’s attorneys released portions of the actress’ diary containing hundreds of pages of what the Los Angeles Times called  “intimate secrets concerning Miss Astor’s private life, written painstakingly in lavender ink.”

In 1952, the diary was burned page by page in a county-owned incinerator under the observation of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stanley N. Barnes, who ordered its destruction. Astor later claimed that the diary was a forgery.

The film is narrated by Lee Grant. It features interviews with Astor’s daughter, Marilyn; David Wyler, son of William Wyler, who was directing the actress in “Dodsworth” at the time of the trial; former Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas; and film historians Molly Haskell and Leonard Maltin.

It will be premiered during the TCM Classic Film Festival at 8 p.m. Friday at Club TCM at the Hollywood Roosevelt.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

Jan. 11, 2020, Black Hand

This week’s mystery movie was the 1950 MGM picture “Black Hand,” with Gene Kelly, J. Carrol Naish, Teresa Celli, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley, Frank Puglia and Mario Siletti.

Screenplay by Luther Davis from a story by Leo Townsend.

Photography by Paul C. Vogel, art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Gabriel Scognamillo, edited by Irving Warburton, musical score by Alberto Colombo, recording by Douglas Shearer, set decorations by Edwin B. Willis and Charles de Crof, special effects by Warren Newcombe, costumes by Walter Plunkett, hairstyles by Sydney Guilaroff and makeup by Jack Dawn.

Produced by William H. Wright. Directed by Richard Thorpe.

“Black Hand” is available on DVD from Warner Archive. I try to avoid movies that have just aired on TCM, but I see that it was on TCM last month.

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Posted in 1950, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Mystery Photo, New York | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Teddy the Dog, Mack Sennett’s Best Friend

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

Teddy the Dog and Bath Beauty
Teddy the dog with a Mack Sennett bathing beauty, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

Guide, guard, and constant companion, the friendly dog is man’s best friend. Unswervingly loyal and supportive, canines give much needed love and help when times are tough. Their sloppy kisses and wiggly tails bring oodles of smiles and a kick in the step to their human pals.

This same boundless energy and enthusiasm has also entranced decades of film fans at local movie palaces, where they have been entertained by portrayals of dogs’ friendly personalities and mischievous quirks. Natural hams, dogs easily upstage their fellow two-legged actors through their unpredictability and high spirits.

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

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Mystery Movies for 2019 — Arranged by Studio

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

State Fair
“State Fair” was one of the mystery movies from Fox – and not commercially available, unfortunately.

And here’s a breakdown of 2019’s mystery movies by studio. This is the first time I have analyzed the studios behind the mystery movies and it’s not terribly surprising, though regrettable, that Warner Bros. and MGM are somewhat over-represented and Paramount is underrepresented. Including two Fox films gives Twentieth Century-Fox a slight edge. Otherwise, it would be below WB and MGM. Most of the films in the Daily Mirror archive are from TCM, which has the RKO, MGM and WB libraries, which explains why they predominate. I also like to run films and their remakes, and WB was the king of remakes.

The complete breakdown is on the jump.

As always, I am open to requests, if the film is in the Daily Mirror archive or available from a local library.

Studio

Films

Twentieth Century-Fox (including two from Fox)

10

WB

9

MGM

9

Independent

6

Columbia

6

Foreign

4

United Artists

2

RKO

2

Universal

1

Triangle

1

Paramount

1

Monogram

1

Allied Artists

1

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Posted in 2019, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Mystery Movies for 2019 — Arranged by Year

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

Mary Astory in 'Two Arabian Knights'
Mary Astor in “Two Arabian Knights,” one of four mystery movies from the 1920s.

I thought it would be fun to analyze last year’s mystery movies to see if I accomplished my goal of providing variety. I generally go from week to week in picking mystery movies, so I only have a general idea of how I am doing.

Here’s how the decades stacked up:

Decade Movies
1910s 1
1920s 4
1930s 13
1940s 14
1950s 16
1960s 3
1970s 2

I did better than I expected. Silents are terra incognita to many people (though one of the 1920s films — “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney” — was a talkie that was also released in a silent version), and I use an arbitrary cutoff date of 1960, though I snuck in five from 1960s and 1970s. The earliest movie was “Hell’s Hinges” (1916) and the most recent was “Zulu Dawn” (1979).  You may have noticed there were 53 mystery movies, since I carried over “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers from Dec. 31, 2018.

The 1940s and 1950s tended toward film noir while the 1930s was heavy on the Pre-Codes.

Next, I’ll take a look at the mystery studios.

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Posted in 2019, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Rose Parade Encounter Leads to Killing of Arcadia Woman

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

Aug. 9, 1963, Comics

Aug. 9, 1963, Buddhist Hunger Strike

Note: This is an encore post from 2013

Aug. 9, 1963: “In Saigon, 400 miles to the south, police geared for trouble as a young, unidentified monk announced plans to burn himself to death in the continuing Buddhist struggle for what they consider their civil rights and religious liberty,” The Times says.

In the theaters: “55 Days at Peking,” “Cleopatra,” “Flipper,”  “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Thrill of It All!”

Born 5 1/2 weeks premature, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, the son of President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, dies at Children’s Medical Center in Boston.

Pershing Square, known as a haven for “off-beat characters” and “undesirables” will undergo a $100,000 “beautification program” in which “most of the square’s interior walkways” will be eliminated.

Rancho Road, Arcadia, Calif.
The 1000 block of Rancho Road in Arcadia via Google’s Street View.

On the afternoon of Jan. 9, 1963, Arcadia liquor store owner Jack Doctors, a former LAPD detective, found his wife, Jean, 37, partially undressed on the kitchen floor of their home at 1049 Rancho Road, Arcadia. She had been stabbed 39 times in the neck, chest and left arm with a hunting knife found in the kitchen, and was “criminally attacked,” The Times said.

Dr. Harold Kade of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Jean “put up a terrific struggle for her life,” noting that both hands were slashed from trying to grab the murder weapon.

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Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Religion, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rose Parade Encounter Leads to Killing of Arcadia Woman

War Cancels Rose Parade, Dec. 14, 1941

Posted on January 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

Dec. 14, 1941, Tournament of Roses
Dec. 14, 1941, Comics

Dec. 14, 1941, Comics Dec. 14, 1941, Comics

Note: This is a post from 2011.

Dec. 14, 1941: The Rose Parade is canceled and the Rose Bowl – between Duke and Oregon State – is moved to Durham, N.C. The streets of Pasadena were oddly quiet on New Year’s Day as millions reviewed memories of previous parades in all their glory, The Times said.

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Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on War Cancels Rose Parade, Dec. 14, 1941

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mack Sennett’s Rose Parade Gag

Posted on December 31, 2019 by lmharnisch

Sleuths at the Floral Parade
Photo: “The Sleuths at the Floral Parade.” Credit: Mary Mallory, the Collections of the Margaret Herrick Library.

Note: This is an encore post from 2011.

The Tournament of Roses Parade is going on its 122th year, and grows more elaborate and beautiful every year.  Bands, floats, cars, horses, and even celebrities take part in this festive annual event.  This year, Paramount Pictures is even entering a float celebrating its 100th anniversary, honoring “Titanic” and “Wings,” the first feature film awarded the Best Picture Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927/1928.

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Posted in 1913, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Comments Off on Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mack Sennett’s Rose Parade Gag

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — Pisco Punch

Posted on December 31, 2019 by lmharnisch

New York Sun, April 23, 1934

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Just in time for New Year’s, we’ll take a look at a “lost drink,” making a brief inquiry into San Francisco’s Pisco Punch, made famous by Bank Exchange saloon owner Duncan Nicol (often spelled Nichol or Nicoll), who  died in 1926 without revealing the recipe.

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Posted in 1915, 1934, 1939, Food and Drink, San Francisco | Tagged , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — Pisco Punch

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide – The Queens Cocktail

Posted on December 30, 2019 by lmharnisch

image
Note: This is an encore post from 2017.

Joe Vogel asks if there was a Queens Cocktail. The answer is yes.

According to the Jamaica Long Island Daily Press, Jan. 24, 1935, the Queens Cocktail debuted at the Hotel Commodore in a toast to President Roosevelt. Via Fultonhistory.com.

(No word yet on the Staten Island Cocktail — and boy that sounds like a straight line).

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 30, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 4, 2020, A Child Is Born
This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 Warner Bros. film “A Child Is Born” (working title “Give Me a Child,”) with Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jeffrey Lynn, Gladys George, Gale Page, Spring Byington, Johnnie Davis, Henry O’Neill and John Litel.

Screenplay by Robert Rossen based on the play by Mary McDougal Axelson.

Dialogue direction by Jo Graham, photography by Charles Rosher, edited by Jack Killifer, sound by Charles Lang, art direction by John Hughes, makeup by Perc Westmore, gowns by Milo Anderson. Technical advisors Dr. Leo Schulman and Evelyn Shepherd, R.N., music by H. Roemheld, orchestral arrangements by Hugo Friedhofer, musical direction by Leo F. Forbstein.

Directed by Lloyd Bacon. Executive producer Hal B. Wallis, associate producer Samuel Bischoff.

Jack L. Warner in charge of production.

“A Child Is Born” has never been commercially released on VHS or DVD, although gray market copies may be found on the Internet. Since the movie is not readily available, except for occasional airings on TCM, I’ll go into more detail than usual.

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Posted in 1939, Film, Hollywood, Medicine, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Pickford Headlines 1933 Rose Parade

Posted on December 30, 2019 by lmharnisch

Mary Pickford, Rose Parade
Photo: Mary Pickford in the 1933 Rose Parade. Courtesy of Mary Mallory

Note: This is a 2012 post with a slight update. The 131st Rose Parade is on Wednesday.

Tomorrow sees the 124th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena,  welcoming the new year with magnificent garlands of fresh flowers. It also acts as the 80th anniversary of Mary Pickford serving as the first female grand marshal of the parade.

Begun by the Valley Hunt Club in 1890, the Rose Parade saluted the area’s wonderful weather and flowering paradise.Soon, the Tournament of Roses Assn. took over what they now call “America’s New Year Celebration, greeting the world on the first day of the year….”

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Posted in 1933, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Pasadena | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Bronx Cocktail

Posted on December 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

Dec. 20, 1934, Holiday Cocktails

Dec. 20 1934, Holiday Drinks

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Dec. 20, 1934: In case you doubted me (but you wouldn’t, would you?), here’s a recipe for the Bronx Cocktail, from the Amsterdam Evening Recorder, courtesy of FultonHistory.com.

In case you plan to mix one up, a Bronx Cocktail is one part Italian vermouth, three parts brandy and a dash of orange bitters. Shake well!

Notice that there are also three variations of the Manhattan.

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Posted in 1934, Food and Drink, Suicide | Tagged , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Brooklyn Cocktail

Posted on December 28, 2019 by lmharnisch

March 5, 1937, Brooklyn Cocktail

March 7, 1937, Brooklyn Cocktail

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Yes, the Manhattan cocktail once had competition from drinks named for the other boroughs. Here’s a recipe for the Brooklyn Cocktail, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 7, 1937. The Brooklyn Cocktail as made by Brad Dewey consisted of

Two parts Jamaica rum
One part lime juice
Dash of grenadine

We won’t be toasting the new year with the Brooklyn Cocktail (we’re working) but if someone is brave enough to try one, let us know how it is.

And in case you are wondering, research shows that there was also a Bronx Cocktail. Evidently it, too, has fallen out of favor.

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

Posted on December 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

Harvey Wallbagner

A vintage 1972 iron-on transfer of Harvey Wallbanger himself, on EBay for $12.

Note: This is a repost from 2013.

We have been looking at some historic drinks for this holiday season. To the millennials in the audience: This is what mom and dad used to drink (along with the Tequila Sunrise) when they went out in the 1970s.

Return with us now to the thrilling days of yesteryear:

1 ounce of vodka
4 ounces of orange juice
half an ounce of Galliano.

Poured over ice in a highball glass.

Cue Grand Funk Railroad’s “Gimme Shelter” or Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.”

Posted in 1971, Food and Drink, Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2019 by lmharnisch

image

A recipe for the Tom and Jerry from the San Francisco Call, June 30, 1912.

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Over on Facebook, Christopher McPherson asked whether the Tom and Jerry was named for the MGM cartoon characters. I said I suspected the opposite was true, rather like Disney’s Chip ‘n’ Dale being named for Chippendale furniture.

All the old newspaper stories give credit for the drink to bartender Jerry Thomas, who according to one account was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1825 (or Watertown, N.Y., in 1830).

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Posted in 1862, Books and Authors, Food and Drink | Tagged , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Christmas 1966: No Bad News at the Tucson Citizen

Posted on December 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

Dec. 24, 1966, Tucson Citizen

I finally tracked down the front page from the Tucson Citizen for Dec. 24, 1966, in which it followed the tradition of no bad news on Page 1.

And a sample of the Citizen’s weather poem.

image image
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Al Martinez, a Dying Boy and Some Peaches — A (Non) Christmas Story

Posted on December 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jim Romenesko

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

Jim Romenesko, for those who aren’t in the news business, runs an essential blog that serves as a clearing house for information, gossip, bad headlines and assorted gaffes.

A Jan. 6 post dealt with former Times columnist Al Martinez, who died Monday, and the occasional columns Al wrote over the years about a dying boy who craved peaches.

John Russell of the Indianapolis Star wrote to Romenesko in hopes that some reader would verify Al’s story, saying: “After months of digging, I still can’t find any evidence of the original story, and too many questions to ignore.”

Russell elaborated on his skepticism in “Why I Have Trouble Believing the ‘Get the Kid His Peaches’ Christmas story,” noting that he had written to Al for help in finding the original.

We have some answers — and the story — with a not-so-gentle reminder for reporters: DON’T write from memory or bad things can happen. Use the clips. It’s what they are for.  Memory can compress time and erase crucial details, as we will see with Al’s story.

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Posted in 1949, 1958, Books and Authors, Columnists | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Al Martinez, a Dying Boy and Some Peaches — A (Non) Christmas Story

Dec. 23, 1947: Baby Girl Abandoned at Downtown Restaurant With Christmas Card Pinned to Blanket

Posted on December 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

The young mother asked the waitress at the cafe in the Subway Terminal Building to hold her baby for just a moment—and then she was gone.

Four-month-old Nancy Joyce Morris, with light blue eyes and blond hair, was wrapped in a purple quilt and a pink blanket to which her young mother had pinned a Christmas card: To Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lane, 1711 N. Alexandria, with a return address of C.H. Wagoner, 4256 Troost Ave., in North Hollywood. It was signed Bonnie.

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