Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

Sept. 21, 2019, State's Attorney
This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 RKO picture “State’s Attorney,” with John Barrymore, Helen Twelvetrees, Jill Esmond, Ralph Ince, William Boyd, Albert Conti, Mary Duncan, Frederick Burton, C. Henry Gordon, Paul Hurst and Oscar Apfel.

Associate producer James Kevin McGuinness, screenplay and dialogue by Gene Fowler and Rowland Brown, from a story by Louis Stevens. Art director Carroll Clark, photography by Leo Tover, recorded by George Ellis, edited by Charles L. Kimball. Directed by George Archainbaud, executive producer by David O. Selznick.

“State’s Attorney” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

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Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: North Hollywood Federal Savings and Loans Funds Business and Housing

Posted on September 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

North Hollywood Federal Savings
North Hollywood Federal Savings and Loan, 1961, Valley Times Collection, L.A. Public Library.

Originally designed to serve as a combination bank and office building, the former North Hollywood Federal Savings and Loan building at Riverside Drive and Lankershim Boulevard in Toluca Lake will be integrated into a proposed apartment/commercial development, thus saving the building through adaptive reuse. The tallest structure in the San Fernando Valley when it opened in 1961, the building has continually operated as a financial institution since its construction.

As the San Fernando Valley, and North Hollywood in particular, saw their populations expand from the 1920s into the 1930s, new financial institutions were established to serve the needs of these incoming residents. The North Hollywood Federal Savings and Loan, established in 1923 as the Lankershim Building and Loan Association, functioned as one of the first savings and loan facilities in the area. Originally located at 5213 Lankershim Blvd., the company expanded its building and updated its name over the years, eventually gaining the new address 5226 Lankershim.  By the late 1950s, the company was cramped and in need of larger space.

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

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

2019_0914_mystery_movie_title

This week’s mystery movie was the 1933 (copyright 1934) Universal picture “Counsellor at Law,” with John Barrymore, Bebe Daniels, Doris Kenyon, Isabel Jewell, Melvyn Douglas, Onslow Stevens, Thelma Todd, Clara Langsner, J. Hammond Dailey, Mayo Methot, Bobby Gordon, Malka Kornstein, Vincent Sherman, Marvin Kline, T.H. Manning, John Qualen, Angela Jacobs, Richard Quine, Barbara Perry, Elmer H. Brown, Conway Washburn and Frederick Burton.

Screenplay by Elmer Rice, art direction by Charles D. Hall, photography by Norbert Brodine, edited by Daniel Mandell. Directed by William Wyler. Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr.

“Counsellor at Law” is available on DVD from Amazon.

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Posted in 1933, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Cinecon 55 Gets Hep to Fun Entertainment

Posted on September 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

cinecon_hep
A post for “Get Hep to Love,” listed on EBay at $17.98.

The recently concluded 55th Annual Cinecon Film Festival featured a little something for every type of film lover, playing everything from silents to documentaries, television kinescopes, Vitaphone shorts, and sound films, while also saluting classic film actresses in one of Los Angeles’ most beautiful film theatres. The weekend ironically featured such current topics as sexual harassment, #metoo, immigration, while featuring multiple looks at such stars as Victor Jory. An entertaining treat from start to finish, Cinecon focuses on screening the rare and unique, providing quality films and entertainment at an affordable price.

Festivities kicked off  August 29 with hors d’oeuvres and conversation in the Egyptian courtyard before the screening of the witty and peppy 1928 silent film “Bare Knees.” Hot to trot, vivacious flapper Virginia Lee Corbin visits her staid sister and brother-in-law (Jane Winton and Forrest Stanley) and sets off fireworks and fire alarms, exposing the repressed hypocrisy of the town. Corbin’s irrepressible spirit helps break down barriers and shorten hemlines and attitudes, helping town women gain independence and breathing new life into society.

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Committee for the First Amendment Defends Free Speech

Posted on September 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

Herbert Biberman
Herbert Biberman, one of the Hollywood 10, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2014.


In times of social uncertainty and economic malaise, those in fear often turn to discriminating, finger pointing, blame and stonewalling, claiming “the other” is destroying livelihoods, ways of life, and social beliefs just by speaking out. These “others” become the scapegoats for all that is wrong: drought, job insecurity, national security concerns, discrimination, etc.

After the conclusion of World War II, when the Allies defeated the Nazis, Japanese and Axis, thus bringing to an end annihilation, genocide, starvation and imprisonment to so many, everything seemed to turn for a short time to hope, peace, freedom, welcome and acceptance. Unfortunately, demagogues quickly saw the bogeyman again with the Soviets’ takeover of Eastern Europe, which the Allies had allowed in order for a quicker end to World War II. Anyone questioning the role of government, demanding free speech and asking for social justice, was suddenly judged a turncoat, evildoer, overthrower. Many in the United States government would soon ape the policies of totalitarian countries they claimed to abhor by scapegoating those deemed “different,” blocking free speech, destroying lives and careers.

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

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Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

The Fan
This week’s mystery movie was the 1949 Twentieth Century-Fox picture “The Fan,” with Jeanne Crain, Madeleine Carroll, George Sanders, Richard Greene, Martita Hunt, John Sutton, Hugh Dempster, Richard Ney and Virginia McDowall.

Screenplay by Walter Reisch, Dorothy Parker and Ross Evans, based on Oscar Wilde’s “Lady Windermere’s Fan.” Music by Daniele Amfitheatrof, director of photography Joseph LaShelle, art direction Lyle Wheeler and Leland Fuller, set decorations Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox, film editor Louis Loeffler, wardrobe direction Charles LeMaire, costumes designed by Rene Hubert, orchestral arrangements Edward Powell and Maurice dePackh, makeup Ben Nye, special photographic effects Fred Sersen, sound E. Clayton Ward and Roger Heman. Directed and produced by Otto Preminger.

“The Fan” is available on DVD from TCM.

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Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Samuel S. Hinds, Pasadena Playhouse Founder, Movie Actor

Posted on August 26, 2019 by lmharnisch

Samuel S. Hinds


Samuel S. Hinds, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2014.


Some people are lucky enough to work in a profession doing something they love, offering both pleasure and satisfaction. Others work at jobs that allow them to make a living while pursuing hobbies and passions. Samuel S. Hinds ended up doing both, performing in theatrical productions as a passionate hobby before turning it into his avocation and career.

Born on April 4, 1875, Hinds grew up in an educated, successful family. His father, Joseph, a lifelong friend of Mark Twain and Thomas Alva Edison, owned and operated a successful printing and lithography business in New York, later serving as president of the United States Playing Card Co. and the lithography company Russell-Morgan in Cincinnati. His New York printing company became the first business illuminated with electric lights by Edison in 1881. The senior Hinds proudly exhibited one of the three first lighted globes in his Pasadena house.

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

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 26, 2019 by lmharnisch

Aug. 31, 2019, Mystery Movie

This week’s mystery movie was the 1952 promotional film “Flight to the Future … to the World of Plastics,” or “The Wonderful World of Plastic,” as we’ve been calling it around the Daily Mirror HQ. With Noel Neill, Robert Lowery, George Wallace, Helen Winston, John Eldredge, Charles Evans, Tom Wilde and Lyle Talbot.

Photography by Sam Leavitt, aerial photography by William Clothier, sound by Earl Crain Sr. and Roger H. White, story and screenplay by Jerry Warner, art direction by Dan Hall, color director James Sullivan, edited by Lawrence F. Sherman Jr. and Ray Sandeford. Directed by Erl Kenton, original musical score composed and directed by Morris Mamorsky, script and production supervision by J.M Mathes Inc. Produced by B.K. Blake. Kaleb Film and Television Corp. in Hollywood, Calif.

“Flight to the Future … to the World of Plastics” is online via the National Film Preservation Foundation.

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Posted in 1952, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

‘Cobra Woman’ Is a Man, Autopsy Reveals

Posted on August 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

April 16, 1946, Cobra Woman
This is one reason I love the old newspapers. From the April 16, 1946, the Wilmington Daily Press Journal..

Posted in 1946, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

Aug. 24, 2019, Mystery Photo

This week’s movie was the 1949 Warner Bros. picture “Flaxy Martin,” with Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone, Tom D’Andrea, Helen Wescott, Douglas Kennedy, Elisha Cook Jr., Douglas Fowley and Monte Blue.

Written by David Lang, photographed by Carl Guthrie, art direction by Ted Smith, edited by Frank Magee, sound by Everett A. Brown, dialogue direction by John Maxwell, set decoration by Lyle B. Reifsnider, special effects by William McGann and Edwin DuPar, makeup by Perc Westmore, orchestrations by Charles Maxwell, music by William Lava.

Produced by Saul Elkins, directed by Richard Bare.

“Flaxy Martin” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

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Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Chateau des Fleurs Provides Elegant French Style

Posted on August 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

6626 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.
6626 Franklin Ave., via Google Street View.

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

Hollywood, California, exploded in population during the late 1910s and early 1920s with the influx of moving picture companies arriving in town and people looking to work in the industry following suit. Originally a quiet, rural, farming community, Hollywood quickly grew more urbanized, with an increase in density.

Many people did not own their own homes during this period, renting single-family residences as well as apartment units from others. Subdivisions in the foothills began opening to cater to the more affluent new residents. Bungalow court apartments opened, appealing to middle-class singles and couples looking for somewhat independent living. Apartment houses were rushed into construction, replacing the family boarding houses that had dominated the scene.

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

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Posted in 1927, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

2019_0817_mystery_photo
This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 MGM picture “The Opposite Sex,” with June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan,  Ann Miller, Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards, Agnes Moorehead, Charlotte Greenwood, Joan Blondell, Sam Levene, Harry James, Art Mooney, Dick Shawn, Jim Backus, Bill Goodwin, Alice Pearce, Barbara Jo Allen, Sandy Descher and Carolyn Jones. (Yes, Endora and Morticia!)

Screenplay by Fay and Michael Kanin, adapted from a play (“The Women”) by Clare Boothe. New songs by Nicholas Brodszky and Sammy Cahn,  musical supervision by George Stoll, dances and musical numbers by Robert Sidney, orchestrations by Albert Sendrey and Skip Martin, vocal supervision by Robert Tucker, music coordinator Irving Aaronson.

Photography by Robert Brenner, art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Daniel B. Cathcart, set decorations by Edwin B. Willis and Henry Grace, special effects by A. Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe, assistant director George Rhein, color consultant Charles K. Hagedon. Costumes by Helen Rose, editing by John McSweeney Jr. recording supervisor Dr. Wesley O. Miller, hairstyles by Sydney Guilaroff, makeup by William Tuttle.

Produced by Joe Pasternak. Directed by David Miller.

In CinemaScope and MetroColor.

“The Opposite Sex” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

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Posted in 1956, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Shaw and Lee, ‘Nut’ Comedians

Posted on August 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

TCM Classic Film Festiva
A still of Shaw and Lee from “The Beau Brummels” is featured in the promotional material for a special program honoring the 90th Anniversary of Vitaphone at TCM’s Classic Film Festival.

Note: This is an encore post from 2016.

Long before the term “deadpan” described the work of Buster Keaton or Jack Benny, critics employed it in reviewing the work of the now virtually unknown comedy duo, Shaw and Lee. Pairing up on stage around 1911, the team worked together for over 40 years, first in theaters and later in radio, films, and television performing nonsense songs, verse, jokes, and dancing. Like most of vaudeville, their act can be an acquired taste; uproariously hilarious to some and painfully dull to others. While most of their fellow performers are long forgotten, Shaw and Lee live on, thanks to the magic of Vitaphone.

Like many performers, the men came from humble beginnings and little schooling to find a lifetime calling to support themselves and their families. They aped more famous actors as well by changing their names to ones that more easily fell off the tongue. Though never huge stars, they earned a living doing what they loved.

“Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays” by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory is available at Amazon and at local bookstores.

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Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Asshats on South Norton Avenue — No. 4

Posted on August 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

2019_0806_crime_scene_sprawl._02jpg

Still another person thinks it’s fun to sprawl in the grass near the Black Dahlia crime scene, demonstrating a remarkable lack of taste but also complete lack of information: She’s in the wrong spot.

Previously:

Asshats on South Norton Avenue

Asshats on South Norton Avenue — No. 2

Asshats on South Norton Avenue — No. 3

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Seriously, People? I Mean Really?

Posted on August 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

 

Dahlia T-Shirt EBay

This item is listed on EBay. I’m going to report it. EBay usually ignores me because anything goes on EBay. But even so I’ll give it a try.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Found on EBay, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s Salute to Atmosphere – The Afton Arms

Posted on August 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

Afton Arms Exterior Hollywood Citizen 1-25-25

A photo of the Afton Arms from the Hollywood Citizen, Jan. 25, 1925.

Built in 1925 and advertising itself as modern and up-to-date, filled with every convenience, the aristocratic Afton Arms offered stylish living for aspiring entertainers and striving businessmen. Located a few blocks away from motion picture studios, the Afton Arms appeared as a luscious fantasy designed for cinematic dreams.

During the 1920s, striking apartment complexes sprang up all over Hollywood and Los Angeles, offering gorgeous designs and and comfortable living to a growing middle class. They represented attainment of financial or career success, or at least the illusion of having it all. For those trying to achieve stardom in Hollywood, these residences suggested that they too, had arrived.

Mary Mallory’s latest book,  on Grace Kelly, “Living With Grace.”

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

Aug. 10, 2019, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie was the 1969 Columbia film “Model Shop,” with Anouk Aimee, Gary Lockwood, Alexandra Hay, Carol Cole, Tom Fielding, Severn Darden, Neil Elliot, Jacqueline Miller, Duke Hobbie, Anne Randall, Craig Littler, Hilarie Thompson, Jon Lawson, Jeanne Sorel and Jon Hill. Photography by Michel Hugo,  production designer Kenneth A. Reid, edited by Walter Thompson, color by Perfect, costumes by Rita Riggs and Gene Ashman, assistant director Herbert Willis, set decoration by Antony Mondello, music editor Ralph Hall, assistant to the producer Richard Roth.

English dialogue by Jacques Demy and Adrien Joyce, sound by Les Fresholtz and Arthur Piantadosi, sound supervisor Charles J. Rice, makeup supervision Ben Lane, Anouk Aimee’s hair styled by Carrie White.  Songs composed and performed by Spirit. Musical sound track produced by Lou Adler, music score conducted by Marty Paich, classical music by J.S. Bach, R. Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakov. Written, produced and directed by Jacques Demy.

“Model Shop” is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Amazon.

It is also online.

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Posted in 1969, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Bowl

Posted on July 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

Hollywood_bowl_statue_Postcard_mary_mallory

Note: This is an encore post from 2012

Attending a concert at the Hollywood Bowl during the summer is a long Los Angeles tradition. This treasured local jewel located at 2301 N. Highland Avenue gained fame for its natural and wonderful acoustics in the late 1910s, with the Theatre Arts Alliance choosing the site in 1919 to construct an amphitheatre. The site opened with simple wood seats and stage in 1920 at the site originally known as the Daisy Dell.  The Hollywood Bowl Association was formed in 1924 when the Arts Alliance organization deeded the land to Los Angeles County. Plays, dances, concerts, and Easter Sunrise Services comprise only a small amount of the varied programs held annually at the site, known as the United States’ largest known amphitheatre.

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 29, 2019 by lmharnisch

Green Fire

This week’s mystery movie was the 1954 MGM picture “Green Fire,” with Stewart Granger, Grace Kelly, Paul Douglas, John Ericson, Murvyn Vye and Jose Torvay.

Written for the screen by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts. Music by Miklos Rozsa. Photographed in Eastman Color, photographed by Paul Vogel, art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown, edited by Harold F. Kress, color consultant Alvord Eiseman, assistant director Joel Freeman, lyrics for theme song “Green Fire” by Jack Brooks, recording supervisor Wesley C. Miller, set decorations by Edwin B. Wilis and Ralph Hurst, special effects by A. Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe, Grace Kelly’s costumes by Helen Rose, hairstyles by Sydney Guilaroff, makeup by William Tuttle. Produced by Armand Deutsch. Directed by Andrew Marton.

“Green Fire” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

Mary Mallory also has a book on Grace Kelly, “Living With Grace.”

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

July 27, 2019, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie was the 1936 MGM picture “Tough Guy,” with Jackie Cooper, Joseph Calleia, Rin Tin Tin Jr., Harvey Stephens, Jean Hersholt, Edward Pawley, Mischa Auer and Robert Warwick. Original story and screenplay by Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf. Musical score by Dr. William Axt, recording director Douglas Shearer, art direction by Cedric Gibbons, associates Paul Crawley and Edwin B. Willis, photographed by Leonard Smith, edited by James E. Newcom.

Produced by Harry Rapf. Directed by Chester M. Franklin.

“Tough Guy” is available on DVD from Warner Archive, but TCM has a slightly better price.

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Posted in 1936, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments