Tag Archives: 1941

A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

My seventh-grade history teacher, Rene Humbert, was at Pearl Harbor and the anniversary told the class about his experiences. This is his memoir. Continue reading →

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November 13, 1941: U.S. Prepares to Round Up Japanese in Event of War

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1941: Atty. Gen. Francis Biddle “confirms reports that the government has plans for the segregation of Nipponese alien groups for a ‘temporary period’ if relations between the U.S. and Japan are broken off.” Continue reading →

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September 3, 1941: Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer

Posted on September 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 3, 1941: Maj. George Tucker of Ft. MacArthur, stabbed several times in the abdomen, says the knife slipped. His widow (yes, the wounds were fatal) says they had been drinking heavily and she didn’t remember exactly what happened. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on September 3, 1941: Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer

September 1, 1941: Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood

Posted on September 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 1, 1941: Tears over MGM’s cancellation of the Maisie series, Jimmie Fidler says. Donoho Hall, technical advisor on “Sergeant York,” says “the problem of the 5 million uneducated hillbillies in the South should be more America’s problem than any foreign missions.” Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Eli Frankel’s ‘Sisters in Death,’ a Fraudulent ‘Solution’ to the Black Dahlia Case and the Murder of Leila Welsh

Posted on May 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

Just how bad can a ‘true” crime book be? Here’s another entry: Eli Frankel’s ‘Sisters in Death’ linking the murders of Elizabeth Short and Leila Welsh. The work of a zealous amateur with staggering mistakes on almost every page. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 30, 2024 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mystery fellow. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments

A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2024 by lmharnisch

My seventh-grade history teacher, Rene Humbert, was at Pearl Harbor and the anniversary told the class about his experiences. This is his memoir. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Education, History, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 8, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Columbia picture Ladies in Retirement, with Ida Lupino, Louis Hayward, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Edith Barrett, Isobel Elsom, Emma Dunn, Clyde Cook and Queenie Leonard.

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Paramount picture The Road to Zanzibar, with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore, Douglass Dumbrille, Iris Adrian and Lionel Royce.

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 57 Comments

A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2011. In 1962, I was a seventh-grader at Washington Junior High School in Naperville, Ill. On Dec. 7, Mr. Humbert, our social studies teacher, put aside the regular curriculum to give his young pupils … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 11, 2021 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 film “Cheers for Miss Bishop,” with Martha Scott, William Gargan, Edwin Gwenn, Sidney Blackmer, Dorothy Peterson, Sterling Holloway, Donald Douglas, Marsha Hunt, Lois Ranson and Mary Anderson. From the novel “Miss Bishop” by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 53 Comments

A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2020 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2011. In 1962, I was a seventh-grader at Washington Junior High School in Naperville, Ill. On Dec. 7, Mr. Humbert, our social studies teacher, put aside the regular curriculum to give his young pupils … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Education, History, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2011. In 1962, I was a seventh-grader at Washington Junior High School in Naperville, Ill. On Dec. 7, Mr. Humbert, our social studies teacher, put aside the regular curriculum to give his young pupils … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Education, History, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Columbia picture “Texas,” with William Holden, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan, Don Beddoe and Willard Robertson. Screenplay by Horace McCoy, Lewis Meltzer and Michael Blankfort, from a story by Michael … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 53 Comments

Coming Attractions: Chaplin’s ‘The Great Dictator’ at the Alex Theatre With John Bengtson

Posted on April 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Charlie Chaplin, as Adenoid Hynkel, performs a balletic routine with a globe in “The Great Dictator.” John Bengtson, who has performed fabulous detective work in tracking down movie locations in early films, will introduce Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”  at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 2018, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Silver Screen Revue Salutes Silent Days

Posted on September 12, 2016 by lmharnisch

  A matchbook from the Wilshire Bowl, listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $9.95. Within just a few years of sound motion pictures becoming the approved film format, silent films became a virtual pariah in popular culture. They … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Who Can Spot the Mistake?

Posted on January 18, 2016 by lmharnisch

This illustration by Los Angeles artist Jeffrey Smith appeared in the New York Times on Jan. 16, 2016, accompanying a story about an elaborate hoax that occurred in 1941. Who can spot the mistake?

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists | Tagged , , | 45 Comments

James Ellroy: ‘Perfidia’ Online

Posted on September 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Google Books is offering a extensive preview of James Ellroy’s “Perfidia,” for those who may be curious about it.  Amazon is also offering a preview. I have to say I’m not reassured by the first lines, ostensibly a radio broadcast … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

‘Laura’ — The Making of a Film Noir Classic, Part 19

Posted on August 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

Page 151 of “Laura.” Novelist Vera Caspary uses the date Friday, Aug. 27, 1941. In case you just tuned in, I’m using Louella Parsons’ May 15, 1944, item on Rouben Mamoulian being replaced as the director of “Laura” to take … Continue reading →

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‘Laura’ — The Making of a Film Noir Classic, Part 14

Posted on July 30, 2014 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m using Louella Parsons’ May 15, 1944, item on Rouben Mamoulian being replaced as the director of “Laura” to take a meandering look at the making of the film, which was released in Los … Continue reading →

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