Tag Archives: film

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 4

Posted on July 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

I suppose you prop guys at Warner Bros. think this is very funny.

Posted in 1955, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 3

Posted on July 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s another shot of the California State Building lobby and the bank of elevators as Hugh Marlowe exits.

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: No Black Writers Invited to Preview of ‘Black Narcissus’

Posted on July 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 10, 1947: Earl Griffin, the Sentinel’s Hollywood Spotlight columnist, writes of a press premiere of “Black Narcissus” at the Carthay Circle Theater and notes that “the Negro press has been conspicuous by their absence (not being invited).” Griffin salutes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 1

Posted on July 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

If you are cursed with the memory of having seen “Gangster Squad,” you may recall this ridiculous shot of Spring Street from City Hall. In last week’s mystery movie, “Illegal”  (1955) we have the actual location, now occupied by Grand … Continue reading →

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Sins of Hollywood – Tinseltown’s First Sordid Look at Scandal

Posted on July 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

“The Sins of Hollywood,” via Archive.org. Note: This is an encore post from 2015. From its very beginnings, the motion picture industry has endured protests and censorship attacks from conservative members of the American public, those scandalized at seeing women … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1939 RKO picture “Fixer Dugan,” with Lee Tracy, Virginia Weidler, Peggy Shannon, Bradley Page, William Edmunds, Edward Gargan, Jack Arnold, Rita LaRoy, Irene Franklin, John Dilson and Edythe Elliott. Photography was by J. … Continue reading →

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

Black L.A. 1947: Sugar Chile Robinson and a Review of ‘Crossfire’

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sugar Chile Robinson performs at the Lincoln. I should do an entire post on him, but so many stories and only one Larry Harnisch. July 3, 1947: One of the regular complaints in my Twitter feed is about the lack … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1955 Warner Bros. film “Illegal,” and yes, it is the studio’s second remake of “The Mouthpiece.” With Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Jayne Mansfield, Albert Dekker, Howard St. John, Ellen Corby, … Continue reading →

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

July 1, 1947: ‘Mom and Dad’ — Elliot Forbes and Sexploitation in the 1940s

Posted on July 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Well, we know where this story is going. Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. I had never heard of this particular cinematic triumph, but it was apparently a fixture of sexploitation … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1929 MGM picture “Hallelujah,” with Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Harry Gray, Fanny Belle DeKnight, Everett McGarrity, Victoria Spivey, Milton Dickerson, Robert Couch, Walter Tait and the Dixie Jubilee Singers. … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Virgil Apger, MGM’S Classic Portrait Photographer

Posted on June 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Virgil Apger, photo courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios excelled in most areas of film production, including that of still portrait photography. Several of its head portrait photographers, like Ruth Harriet … Continue reading →

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June 23, 1947: Jim Tully, Hobo Novelist and Prizefighter, Dies at 56

Posted on June 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. For me, stumbling across Jim Tully is one of those wonderful accidental discoveries that are a byproduct of research. He’s as obscure and forgotten today as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

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

Posted on June 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

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 lmharnisch

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 →

Posted in 1947, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Stage, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 Warner Bros. film “The Mouthpiece,” by Frank Collins, directed by James Flood and Elliott Nugent. The film features Warren William, Sidney Fox, Aline MacMahon, John Wray, Mae Madison, Ralph Ince, Morgan Wallace, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

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 , , | 48 Comments

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

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

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 lmharnisch

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 →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Sandow Returns

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

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