Tag Archives: film

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Rah! Rah! Hollywood Celebrates Pennants

Posted on February 11, 2019 by

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Hollywood has always been creative in promoting its films and personalities to the public. Employing posters, lobby cards, window cards and photographs, silent film production companies hyped upcoming films. With the success … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 10, 2019 by

This week’s mystery movie was the 1942 MGM film “Eyes in the Night,” with Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Donna Reed, Horace McNally, Katherine Emery, Allen Jenkins, Stanley C. Ridges, Reginald Denny,  John Emery, Rosemary de Camp, Erik Rolf, Barry Nelson, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Animals, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 73 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 4, 2019 by

This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 RKO film “Hell’s Highway,” with Richard Dix, Tom Brown, Rochelle Hudson, C. Henry Gordon, Oscar Apfel, Stanley Fields, John Arledge, Warner Richmond, Chas. Middleton, Louise Carter, Sandy Roth, Clarence Muse and Fuzzy  Knight. … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: United Artists Incorporated February 1919

Posted on February 4, 2019 by

From left, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, image via the Library of Congress. The entertainment industry as we know it irrevocably changed on February 5, 1919, when superstars Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Jay Singletary (Chris Pine) Star Reporter of ‘I Am the Night’

Posted on January 31, 2019 by

I already posted this on Twitter, but here it is for the Daily Mirror readers. Sam Sheridan’s portrayal of hotshot/disgraced reporter Jay Singletary (a tousled Chris Pine, who loses his shirt a lot) is utter b.s. Here’s why: Jay’s backstory … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Gypsy Rose Lee and ‘The G-String Murders’

Posted on January 28, 2019 by

Photo: Barbara Stanwyck in “Lady of Burlesque.” This is an encore post from 2012. See note below for correction. While being tops in your field can be exciting, an ambitious or intellectually curious person always looks for new ways to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 28, 2019 by

This week’s mystery movie was the 1943 MGM film “Du Barry Was a Lady,” with Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Virginia O’Brien, “Rags” Ragland, Zero Mostel, Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Donald Meek, Douglass Dumbrille, George Givot and Louise … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 67 Comments

Jan. 24, 1959: Law Delays ‘Alfalfa’ Burial

Posted on January 24, 2019 by

Jan. 24, 1959: One of the best parts of doing the blog at latimes.com was having UCLA and Cal State Northridge interns who, among other tasks, transcribed the Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock columns. Sometimes I transcribed them myself (this … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 22, 1959: Paul Coates on Another Claim to ‘The Brave One’

Posted on January 22, 2019 by

Jan. 22, 1959: Dalton Trumo (blacklisted and using the name Robert Rich) wrote the script for “The Brave One,” but there was a claim by the widow of Juan Duval. The previous entry is here. Coates’ column was published in … Continue reading →

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Jan. 22, 1959: ‘Our Gang’ Star Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer Dies in Fight Over $50

Posted on January 22, 2019 by

Jan. 22, 1959: Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer is shot to death in a fight with Moses Samuel Stiltz. According to police, Switzer borrowed a dog belonging to Stiltz, then lost the dog. Switzer paid $50 for the return of Stiltz’s dog. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Baseball, Crime and Courts, Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Keith Thursby, LAPD, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 21, 2019 by

Dear Brain Trust: I received word this week of the loss to cancer of one of our prolific, knowledgeable and veteran contributors, Lee Ann of the trio of solvers Lee Ann, Megan and Thom, who moved with us from latimes.com … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 33 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Bessie Lasky, Painter

Posted on January 21, 2019 by

  Bessie Lasky in her studio, courtesy of Jesse L. Lasky.com. Though overshadowed by her husband, Jesse, Bessie Lasky was as much an artist as he, a multitalented artist in many fields with some renown from the 1920s through the … Continue reading →

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Jan. 21, 1959: Cecil B. De Mille Dies at 77

Posted on January 21, 2019 by

  Jan. 21, 1959: The Mirror brings out an extra when Cecil B. De Mille died of a heart attack at the age of 77.. The post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: No Sign of George Hodel or the Black Dahlia in the Fauna Hodel Story 1990

Posted on January 20, 2019 by

If you’re curious about whether “I Am the Night” is indeed “inspired by a true story,” I did a bit more digging into the tale of Fauna Hodel and her unfinished film “Pretty Hattie’s Baby” (spoiler alert – there’s nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1990, 1996, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: The Fauna Hodel Story ‘Pretty Hattie’s Baby’

Posted on January 19, 2019 by

In preparing for the launch of TNT’s “I Am the Night,” I thought it would be interesting to do a bit of research on Fauna Hodel. Just to see if she ever mentioned Dr. George Hodel earlier in her life. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1990, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

January 1939: Vivien Leigh Cast in ‘Gone With the Wind’ (Hedda Hopper Does Not Approve)

Posted on January 16, 2019 by

January 1939: Vivien Leigh is cast as Scarlett O’Hara. Hedda Hopper does not approve. Boy does she not approve. Frankly, was there anybody who was ever worse at casting than Hedda Hopper? She would shamelessly use her column to campaign … Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 14, 2019 by

This week’s mystery movie was the 1933 film “A Study in Scarlet,” with Reginald Owen, Anna May Wong, June Clyde, Allan Dinehart, John Warburton, Alan Mowbray, Warburton Gamble, J.M. Kerrigan, Doris Lloyd, Billy Bevan, Leila Bennett, Wyndham Standing and Halliwell … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 33 Comments

Jan. 12, 1959: Paul Coates Confidential File — East L.A. War Hero Plotted to Kill Batista

Posted on January 12, 2019 by

Jan. 12, 1959: Paul Coates has the story of Guy Louis Gabaldon, a war hero raised in East L.A. who claimed to have plotted to assassinate Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista. Gabaldon was raised by the parents of a Japanese American … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on January 9, 2019 by

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. 8, 1939: ‘Little Buttercup’ — Baby Abandoned at Hospital

Posted on January 8, 2019 by

Jan. 8, 1939: The Times’ Edwin Schallert makes his Oscar predictions, seconding a “Warner landslide” published in The Times two weeks earlier with James Cagney (“Angel With Dirty Faces”) as best actor, Bette Davis (“Jezebel”) as best actress, Michael Curtiz … Continue reading →

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