Tag Archives: 1945

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: A 1940s Christmas Story in ‘Star in the Night’

Posted on December 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

An updated version of the Nativity in Warner Bros. Star in the Night. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Made as a twenty-minute film to complete a program slate for movie theaters, the 1945 Warner Bros. two-reel short … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1945 Paramount picture Love Letters, with Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper, Anita Louise, Robert Sully, Reginald Denny, Ernest Cossart and Byron Barr.

Posted in 1945, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: A 1940s Christmas Story in ‘Star in the Night’

Posted on December 14, 2021 by lmharnisch

An updated version of the Nativity in Warner Bros. Star in the Night. Made as a twenty-minute film to complete a program slate for movie theaters, the 1945 Warner Bros. two-reel short Star in the Night provides an understated, moving … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 26, 2021 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 film Breakfast in Hollywood, with Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville, Ray Walburn, Beulah Bondi, Billie Burke, Edward Ryan, Zasu Pitts, Hedda Hopper, Andy Russell,  Spike Jones and His City Slickers and the King Cole … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 53 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1945 Warner Bros. film “The Horn Blows at Midnight” with Jack Benny, Alexis Smith, Dolores Moran, Allyn Joslyn, Reginald Gardiner, Guy Kibbee, John Alexander, Franklin Pangborn, Margaret Dumont, “Bobby” Blake, Ethel Griffies, Paul Harvey, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 48 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 (copyright 1945) Monogram Pictures film “Fear,” with Peter Cookson, Warren William, Anne Gwynne, Francis Pierlot, Nestor Paiva, James Cardwell, Almira Sessions, William Moss, Harry Clay, Johnny Strong, Ernie Adams and Charles Calvert. Original … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Black Dahlia: Why Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill His Secretary

Posted on June 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s the May 9, 1945, death certificate of Ruth Frances Spaulding. Notice that the Los Angeles County coroner determined that Spaulding committed suicide at the age of 27. If you have listened to Steve Hodel at all, you will have … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Did George Hodel Kill His Secretary? Another Steve Hodel Lie

Posted on March 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

Steve Hodel claims repeatedly in his “Black Dahlia Avenger” franchise that his father, George Hodel, killed his secretary, Ruth Spaulding. It’s even in Wikipedia.

Posted in 1945, 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 9, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’; Paramount Signs Raymond Chandler for Original Film

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1945: The New York Times reports that Paramount signed Raymond Chandler to write a script. Contrast this with John Houseman’s account of making the film in “Lost Fortnight,” originally published in Harper’s magazine, August 1965, and reprinted with … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Raymond Chandler | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 2, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1945: Paramount promotes “Two Years Before the Mast,” with Alan Ladd, Howard Da Silva and William Bendix, all appearing in “The Blue Dahlia.”  “Two Years Before the Mast” was finished in 1944, but not released until November 1946, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 1, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 1, 1945: Raymond Chandler writes to Charles Morton, mentioning his original idea for a film. “The Blue Dahlia” would become Chandler’s first original screenplay. To be continued.

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

May 23, 1945: Woman Killed Outside Sanitarium; Ex-GI Arrested

Posted on October 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Echoes of Georgette Bauerdorf…. Paging through the Oct. 15, 1947, edition of The Times offers so many choices: meatless Tuesdays to send food to the starving … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Slander, My Sweet: Raymond Chandler, John Houseman and ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on June 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in “The Blue Dahlia.” Here are the opening paragraphs of the piece I’ve been working on for the last few months as I waited for the clamor to die down about Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Black Dahlia: Some Rando Stripper, Not Elizabeth Short, in EBay Photos Listed at $3,000

Posted on February 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

A vendor on EBay has listed old pictures of some rando stripper as Elizabeth Short for $3,000. No really. I mean seriously? The description doesn’t hedge a bit – like saying photos that *might* be Elizabeth Short or photos that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Found on EBay, LAPD, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Black Dahlia: Hack Writing and the Birth of Urban Myths

Posted on July 30, 2015 by lmharnisch

Hollywood Citizen-News, Jan. 15, 1947. I’m slowly digitizing my files on the Elizabeth Short killing for easier access, and yesterday I was going through the Hollywood Citizen-News, which is one of the lesser sources on the case.  And, of course, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, Black Dahlia, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide

Posted on December 23, 2014 by lmharnisch

A set of five Tom and Jerry mugs listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $20. Note: This is a repost from 2013. We don’t keep a bottle of Scotch in our desk in the city room of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Food and Drink | Tagged , | 3 Comments

LAPD Scrapbook: Radio Patrolmen Nab Burglar Suspect, Westwood Hills Press, Dec. 14, 1945

Posted on December 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

Dec. 14, 1945 This item in the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archive is from the Westwood Hills Press and profiles Officer Walter A. Callahan, who was awarded the Silver Star and Marine Corps Distinguished Service Medal in World War … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Harvey Glatman: The Early Years — Part 2

Posted on January 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Aug. 26, 1946: Harvey Glatman is arraigned on robbery charges in Albany, N.Y. When he was still a teenager, Harvey Glatman was already displaying the behavior that led to the deaths of three Southern California women in the 1950s and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, 1957, 1958, 1959, Homicide | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide

Posted on December 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

A set of five Tom and Jerry mugs listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $20. We don’t keep a bottle of Scotch in our desk in the city room of the L.A. Daily Mirror. In fact, we are … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Food and Drink | Tagged , | 1 Comment