L.A. La Land: Fame, Fortune, and Forensics

The gang gets spooky. Sort of... Granted, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) is not categorically a horror film. However, it is a comic horror spoof of fantastically entertaining pr...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/02/you-should-see-abbott-costello-meet.html

Gail Patrick Gail Patrick is known for her performances as the snide, straight gal in classic films like My Favorite Wife. As a result, her roles throughout the Golden Studio Era pretty much...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-reel-reals-gail-patrick.html

Faye Wray Fay Wray will forever be known as "The Queen of Screams." Before Jamie Lee Curtis became "the Scream Queen" of slasher movies, Fay was wailing hysterically against the most grandio...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-reel-reals-faye-wray.html

L to R: Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands A Raisin in the Sun (1961) will kick you in the guts and leave you weeping. Every time. Not only is it one of the first truly i...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/you-should-see-raisin-in-sun.html

Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell and Jeanne Crain A Letter to Three Wives is yet another triumph on director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's resume. With his unparalleled gift at both literal and visual ...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/you-should-see-letter-to-three-wives.html

8 1/2 (1963) was my first Fellini film. (Well... second, but Toby Dammit is more like a short, so I don't count it). As I consider, "What the Hell is going on?" to be the most refreshing of ...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/you-should-see-8-12.html

Evelyn Ankers Evelyn Ankers was not blessed with superstardom, but she did all right for herself. In a career that spanned less than 25 years, she was still able to rack up over 60 film and ...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-evelyn-ankers.html

Erich von Stroheim Lord knows I love a good Austrian, and it could be said that Erich von Stroheim is the best of the worst. He cut his teeth in Hollywood by banking on his Germanic heritage...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-erich-von-stroheim.html

Elsa Lancester (Shelley)? Elsa Lanchester would forever be overshadowed by two things: her most famous characterization "The Bride" and perhaps the even more ominous presence: her husband,...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-elsa-lanchester.html

Edmund Gwenn aka Kris Kringle Edmund Gwenn performed a miracle, not just on 34th Street, but in Hollywood: he won an Oscar for playing Santa Claus. How is that even possible? He is now so ...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-edmund-gwenn.html

Dwight Frye Dwight Frye may have given the most horrifying performance in the Universal monster era. "Renfield" of Dracula-- the real estate agent turned vampire groupie and madman-- was absol...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-dwight-frye.html

Dorothy Arzner Dorothy Arzner holds the prestigious position of being not only the first but the only female director during the early sound era. While there were several ladies that got the...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-dorothy-arzner.html

Donna Reed The ultimate cinematic, Christmastime heroine remains a dead heat competition between Maureen O'Hara and Donna Reed. One's choice of femme phenom depends on taste: do you prefer t...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-donna-reed.html

Donald O'Connor Donald O'Connor was a wiry, rubber-faced, exuberant motherfu... Fudge. Fudger... Motherfudger. You know what I mean. This guy wasn't human. He was like a super-jolt of positi...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-donald-oconnor.html

Clark Gable The continuing fan worship of Clark Gable is so obvious that it seems a boring choice to even investigate the actor. He's not one of the forgotten ones, those whose work has be...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-clark-gable.html

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert was a woman of supreme control. Petite in size, with large eyes and soft features, her air of authority overshadowed her beauty without camouflaging her ...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-claudette-colbert.html

Brigette Bardot Brigette Bardot was beautiful. This is what we know. We also 'know' that 'was' is the key word in that statement, because now she is has, in the true fashion of tragic Holly...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-reel-reals-brigitte-bardot.html

Ava Gardner Ava Gardner's beauty was insane. INSANE. Labeled "the Love Goddess" by the Hollywood publicity machine, the title was both an accurate description of the sensual feelings she ins...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-reel-reals-ava-gardner.html

Ann Dvorak Ann Dvorak didn't have time for bull sh*t. A gifted and daring actress who graced the screen-- large and small-- from the late 'teens to the early fifties, she was too much of a f...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/ann-dvorak-ann-dvorak-didnt-have-time.html

Alan Hale Alan Hale, Sr. (not to be confused with his son, the Skipper of "Gilligan's Island") was a very unique personality in both silent and studio era cinema. A big lug, generally mustac...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-reel-reals-alan-hale.html

Alan Arkin Alan Arkin is a weirdo. This is precisely why he is awesome. Falling into the same category as our other beloved eccentrics-- Walken, Hopper, Lynch-- Alan can sell a line, a scene...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-reel-reals-alan-arkin.html

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell wasn't your average movie starlet, for the plain and simple reason that she always presented herself as totally average woman-- albeit with a slightly above-avera...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-reel-reals-joan-blondell.html

Kate the Great as photographed by Ernest Bachrach. *In conjunction with The Great Katharine Hepburn Blogathon of May 10-May 12 2014 as hosted by Margaret Perry . It goes without saying, but...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-delicate-balance-enigmatic.html

Shirley MacLaine On this, Shirley MacLaine's Birthday, it only seems appropriate to celebrate the great lady. And she is great. She's fab'. She's talented. Mostly, she's fun. Shirley's great ...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-reel-reals-shirley-maclaine.html

Leonidas Frank Chaney with his mini-makeup case Born April 1, 1883 It probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has known me for four seconds (exactly four), that Lon Chaney-- in my humbl...

http://lalalandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-reel-reals-lon-chaney.html