Saturday, April 13, 2013

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: April 13, 1944
















Neither of these films received an opening day review from the L.A. Times, but they were included in a column of anonymous capsule reviews later the following week.

Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1944




Instead, the Times' of the 13th used the occasion of Buffalo Bill's release to run a profile of the film's co-star Linda Darnell by drama editor Edwin Schallert, or maybe the Fox publicity department, with some mildly kinky overtones.






More on Buffalo Bill...









...The Memphis Belle...





...and the Carthay.




Interior of the Fox Carthay Circle Theater, ca. 1920s, via Decaying Hollywood Mansions

Friday, April 12, 2013

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: April 12, 1944


Assuming that Ensign Whitney was previously an artist in the MGM ink and paint department and that joining the Navy resulted in a bump in pay.

Monday, April 01, 2013

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: April 1, 1944




Henderson 1944 Control Tower


Pictures of Henderson Field can be found here and here.


Also, a Marine's "bad dream" is another generation's amusement.






Hollywood Boulevard looking west toward Cahuenga Bl., sometime in the 1930s. A sign for Schwab's clothing store is partially visible in the upper left corner of the photo on the right. 








Schwab's (not "Scwab's") was a men's clothing store located at the time of this drawing at 6358 Hollywood Boulevard. There doesn't appear to be a family connection to the famed Schwab's drug stores but they did share a reluctance to advertise, at least in the Los Angeles Times. Schwab's name did appear as a signatory with his fellow clothiers in a display ad in July, 1933 announcing they would adopt the 40-hour work week and, in October of 1939, standing against Proposition 1, the 30 Thursday elderly pension measure advanced by the crackpot Ham and Eggs movement.



A previous location of the store, a bit further west at 6432 Hollywood Blvd. was the site of a Christmastime robbery and shootout between the crooks and Ben Schwab, the store's owner. No one was injured, but Ben did manage to plug a car parked out front.

from the Los Angeles Times, Dec. 24, 1930