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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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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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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – The Hollywood American Legion: The House That Boxing Built

Posted on July 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

HOLLYWOOD AMERICAN LEGION

Hollywood American Legion Post 43, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

World War I was a bruising, mentally jarring affair for returning American soldiers. Dazed, hardened, in pain, the men looked for an opportunity to gather together with like-minded individuals for camaraderie, comfort and counsel. The American Legion was formed in 1919 to give all veterans a place to congregate together in fellowship as well as memorial.

Hollywood formed its own post in 1919, chartered originally at Toberman Hall at 6416 Hollywood Blvd. Space was small in their rented facilities, so the group built a boxing arena called the American Legion Stadium at North El Centro Avenue and Selma Avenue to bring in a steady income and raise funds for constructing their own headquarters. Timing was perfect; boxing ranked among Americans’ favorite spectator sports and profits soared. Weekly, if not daily fights, occurred at the stadium, with boxing legend Max Baer and others throwing punches. Soon, Hollywood American Legion Post 43 ranked as one of the wealthiest branches in the country.

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Black Dahlia: ‘Suspect’ Dr. Adam Fairall — Another Wikipedia Prank

Posted on July 15, 2019 by lmharnisch

Wikipedia, Black Dahlia Suspects
Here we have a purported list of “Black Dahlia Suspects” from Wikipedia. At least as it was of May 20, 2019. Wikipedia, being Wikipedia, this could change at any moment.

This list is allegedly the 25 suspects named by Lt. Frank Jemison of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. In reality, Jemison listed 22 suspects in his report of Feb. 20, 1951. Jemison did not list Dr. Adam Fairall, Jacob Edward Fisk or Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. They are relatively recent and completely bogus additions,  with ardent Wikipedia users (are there any other kind?) altering the total to agree with the number of names.

Comparing every change on the Black Dahlia suspects entry is quite a chore. Like all entries, it’s frequently subject to vandalism (see the prank entry of “Jacob Edward Fisk” April 2009), reversions and random and totally unnecessary repairs, and random tweaking.  In other words, business as usual for the zealous if factually and grammatically challenged editors of Wikipedia.

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Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 15, 2019 by lmharnisch

July 20, 2019, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie was the 1959 Allied Artists picture “The Big Circus,” with Victor Mature, Red Buttons, Rhonda Fleming, Kathryn Grant, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, David Nelson, Adele Mara, Howard McNear, Charles Watts and the World’s Greatest Circus Acts. Guest star Steve Allen, and co-starring Gilbert Roland.

Screenplay by Irwin Allen, Charles Bennett and Irving Wallace, from a story by Irwin Allen. Photography by Winton Hoch. In Cinemascope and Technicolor.  Music composed and conducted by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter. Title song “The Big Circus” by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster. Production manager Lowell J. Farrell. Art director Albert D’Agostino, costume designer Paul Zastupnevich, choreography by Barbette, production illustrator Maurice Zuberano, construction supervisor Burt Dreyer, edited by Adrienne Fazan, assistant director William McGarry, script supervisor Irva Ross, makeup by William Tuttle, hairdressing by Sydney Guilaroff, sound effects by Finn Ulback and Bert Schoenfeld, Technicolor consultant Morgan Padelford, optical effects by Robert R. Hoag, set decoration by Robert Priestley, recording supervisor Franklin Milton, sound by Conrad Kahn, music editor Audray Granville, technical advisor Jimmie Wood. Lenses by Panavision.

Produced by Irwin Allen. Directed by Joseph M. Newman.

Lyrics from the theme song: “There’s nothing as gay as a day at the circus with you.”

“The Big Circus” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

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Posted in 1959, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 71 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s Little Country Church – Emblem of Bygone Days

Posted on July 15, 2019 by lmharnisch

Little Country Church_rotated

Note: This is an encore post from 2013

Throughout its history, the city of Hollywood has seen much come and go in the name of “progress.” Instead of remodeling and reusing a historic structure, as is done in Europe or the East Coast, most builders simply tear down the old to make way for the “hip” and “modern.” Occasionally, acts of vandalism destroy grand old buildings. At some locations, however, both unfortunate actions occur.

ALSO BY MARY MALLORY

The Magic Castle
Jerry Giesler, Miracle Man
‘I Lost My Girlish Laughter’
Charles Butterworth, Professional Silly Ass

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Black Dahlia: ‘Suspect’ Jacob Edward Fisk — Wikipedia Prank Takes on a Life of Its Own

Posted on July 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Wikipedia Black Dahlia Suspects

Let’s see what happens when Wikipedia vandalism takes on a life of its own. That would be Black Dahlia “suspect” Jacob Edward Fisk. Never a suspect. It was all just a prank.

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Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hermoyne Apartments, Regal Dowager on Rossmore Avenue

Posted on July 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

image
The Hermoyne Apartments, 569 N. Rossmore Ave., directly across from the Ravenswood Apartments, via Google Street View.

Still as gorgeous and stately as when it opened in 1929, the Hermoyne Apartments at 569 N.Rossmore Ave. demonstrates the best in high-class apartment hotels built around Los Angeles in the late 1920s. Offering a touch of class in amenities as well as looks, the residence seems as luxurious as any movie pied a terre, located on a graceful curve of Rossmore Avenue.

H. B. (Herbert) Squires, owner of his self-named company, which served as one of the largest purveyors of electric equipment to the motion picture and other large industries in the 1920s, looked for a safe investment to grow his wealth. Beginning as a town assessor in 1907, by the early 1920s Squires ran a large company in San Francisco. Within a few years, he opened branches in Seattle and in Los Angeles at 229 Boyd St.

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

 

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

July 13, 2019, Crime Doctor's Diary.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1949 Columbia picture “The Crime Doctor’s Diary,” with Warner Baxter, Stephen Dunne, Lois Maxwell, Adele Jergens, Robert Armstrong, Don Beddoe and Whit Bissell.

Screenplay by Edward Anhalt, story by David Dressler and Edward Anhalt, based on the radio program “Crime Doctor” by Max Marcin. Photography by Vincent Farrar, art direction by Harold MacArthur, editing by Jerome Thoms, set decoration by George Montgomery, musical direction by Mischa Bakaleinikoff. Produced by Rudolph C. Flothow,  directed by Seymour Friedman.

“The Crime Doctor’s Diary” is available on DVD on the gray market.

Here is 30 seconds of “My Little Brass French Horn.” Can you stand it?

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Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments