Tag Archives: film

Black L.A. 1947: When Hollywood ‘Toned Down’ Black Actors

Posted on June 21, 2018 by

Nina Mae McKinney, above, was “toned down” for MGM’s movie cameras in filming “Hallelujah,” Harry Levette said. June 19, 1947: Harry Levette, a longtime Sentinel columnist, sports editor and publicist, reflects on the Lafayette Players. The Lafayette Players was established … Continue reading →

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June 21, 1947: ‘The Drunkard,’ L.A.’s Favorite Melodrama

Posted on June 21, 2018 by

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. In the summer of 1933, expecting nothing but a brief run and modest ticket sales, two theater people from Carmel, Preston Shobe and Galt Bell, hatched … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + +)

Posted on June 18, 2018 by

For Monday, we have a mystery gent.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1940 Warner Bros. film “The Man Who Talked Too Much,” with George Brent, Virginia Bruce, Brenda Marshall, Richard Barthelmess, William Lundigan, George Tobias and John Litel. The screenplay was by Walter DeLeon and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 47 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Celebrity Politicians, Hollywood’s Honorary Mayors 2

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

Oct. 25, 1954: Betty White becomes honorary mayor of Hollywood. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. During the 1930s and 1940s, neighborhoods and cities surrounding Los Angeles named celebrities as honorary mayors to help gain their areas vital … Continue reading →

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June 11, 1947: Hillary Brooke Tries Out Job as Reporter

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 that originally appeared on the 1947project. Somehow I’d like to think that Brooke wrote the marijuana bust story as she was studying for her role in “I Cover Big Town” (apparently not … Continue reading →

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Sandow Returns

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 8, 2018 by

For Friday, we have our last photo from the Library of Congress. The library says this picture was taken by “Katherine Russell Bleecker, the first female cinematographer in film history,” but there’s no more information. Any ideas?

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 7, 2018 by

For Thursday, we have a mystery woman, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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Black L.A. 1947: USC Film Student Refuses ‘Uncle Tom’ Role in Radio Play

Posted on June 7, 2018 by

June 5, 1947: USC film student James C. Johnson, a member of the Delta Kappa Alpha cinema fraternity, said he would not play a role in a student’s radio play because it depicted “the Negro as stereotype,” the Sentinel said. … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 6, 2018 by

For Wednesday, we have another mystery guest from the Library of Congress. The print is stamped Dec. 15, 1936, with the pencil notation “The Bulgarian Phesant” The back of the photo is on the jump.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 23rd Annual S.F. Silent Film Festival Celebrates World Cinema

Posted on June 5, 2018 by

Kevin Brownlow’s 80th birthday was celebrated with a showing of “Mare Nostrum.” Image courtesy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Coming at a time when walls and words separate more people than ever, the 23rd Annual San Francisco Silent … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 5, 2018 by

For Tuesday, we have another mystery woman from the Library of Congress. Anybody recognize her?

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

June 4, 1947: Television Comes to Los Angeles

Posted on June 4, 2018 by

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Those curious metal arrays being installed with great ceremony on the city’s rooftops are antennas, for this is the year of the one-eyed wonder: Television. In … Continue reading →

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June 2, 1947: Erwin Walker Pleads Insanity in ‘He Walked by Night’ Killing of CHP Officer

Posted on June 2, 2018 by

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Erwin Walker case is the crossroads of several important stories. The victim was Loren Roosevelt, fired in the 1930s as Arcadia’s police chief in an … Continue reading →

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June 1, 1947: Sea Monster Overpowers Troops, Destroys Tokyo! L.A. Men Celebrate Armed Forces Radio’s 5th Anniversary With Hoax

Posted on June 1, 2018 by

Was “Godzilla” inspired by a 1947 radio hoax?

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 28, 2018 by

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 RKO picture “The Age of Consent,” with Dorothy Wilson, Arline Judge, Richard Cromwell, Eric Linden, John Halliday, Aileen Pringle and Reginald Barlow. The screenplay was by Sarah Y. Mason and Francis Cockrell … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mary Pickford Dances Into Screen Adulthood in ‘Rosita’

Posted on May 28, 2018 by

  Above, a clip of “Restoring a Lost Silent Film: How to See “Rosita” by Dave Kehr from the Museum of Modern Art. In 1922, legendary German film director Ernst Lubitsch and “America’s Sweetheart” Mary Pickford searched for new challenges … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 21, 2018 by

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1970 film “The Boys in the Band,” with Kenneth Nelson, Frederick Combs, Cliff Gorman, Laurence Luckinbill, Keith Prentice, Peter White, Reuben Greene, Robert La Tourneaux and Leonard Frey. Written and produced by Mart … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 14, 2018 by

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 Paramount picture “Million Dollar Legs,” with Jack Oakie, W.C. Fields, Andy Clyde, Lyda Roberti, Susan Fleming, Ben Turpin, Hugh Herbert, George Barbier and Dickie Moore. By Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Henry Myers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 43 Comments