Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat.
Tonight’s feature is THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF [1950] starring Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, and John Dall.
IMDB says:
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Enjoy the movie!
On October 13, a paragraph in the Los Angeles Times’ Southland section covered a raid on a “Hippie Commune” in Death Valley National Park twenty-one miles west of Badwater, CA. The raid, conducted by sheriff’s deputies, national park service rangers and the CHP, turned up several sawed-off shotguns, handguns, rifles, and ammunition. The raid went off without a hitch which, given the number of weapons found, is a small miracle.
Fifteen people were arrested. A scruffy little man named Charles Manson was among those taken into custody. A Sheriff’s deputy dragged him out of the 12×16-inch cupboard in which he was hiding.
The raid had nothing to do with the August murder spree which took the lives of seven adults and Sharon Tate’s unborn son. Manson wasn’t yet a suspect. The raid was all about the auto theft ring operated by the family.
While Manson sat in jail on the auto theft charges, did some free members commit murder on his behalf? Manson’s paranoia about squealers had already resulted in Donald “Shorty” Shea’s murder on August 26.
The following five cases have connections to the Manson Family. Some of the connections are compelling, others are peripheral.
On November 5, John “Zero” Haught was found in his Venice Beach home with a single gunshot wound to his head after losing a game of Russian Roulette. At least that is the story told by witnesses Catherine Gillies, Bruce Davis, Sue Bartell, and Madaline Joan Cottage “Little Patty” – all of them Manson family members.
Each witness was interviewed separately and recounted Zero’s death. Investigators thought the accounts sounded rehearsed. They were suspicious, but couldn’t prove a thing.
When Leslie Van Houten learned of Zero’s death, she made it clear she didn’t buy the Russian Roulette story. She was incredulous that he was playing the deadly game by himself as the witnesses stated. An anonymous man told a newspaper reporter he was there when the shooting occurred, and that one girl had pulled the trigger. The man was never identified and the death is officially a suicide.
On November 7, an early morning walker discovered the mutilated bodies of teenagers Doreen Gaul and James Sharp. The victims were stabbed so many times that police thought they were shot gunned to death. The overkill was like the Tate/La Bianca murders and there is a Manson/Scientology/The Process (a cult) connection. But without proof the murders remain unsolved.
Reet Jurvetson, known for over 40 years as Jane Doe 59, was another victim of random violence in 1969. Years after her death Manson was asked about Reet. He said he didn’t know her and knew nothing about her murder. Was he telling the truth?
December 1, 1969, Joel Pugh, estranged husband of Sandra Good, was found dead in a London hotel room. His wrists and throat were cut. No suicide note was found. Was it a coincidence that Bruce Davis was in the UK at the time of Pugh’s death?
In recent years, the LAPD has said that as many as a dozen murders may be linked to Manson and the family. While decades of dust gather on the open case files, at least the Tate/La Bianca murders are solved.
We can thank now-deceased Susan Atkins for busting the case wide open. The hippie girl who looked like a babysitter to her Sybil Brand Institute cellmates told them some horrific stories that they, at first, figured were bullshit. But after Susan described in gruesome detail Sharon Tate’s last moments, without showing remorse, the inmates went to the jail authorities to turn her in.
If not for Susan, the perpetrators of the August murders may not have been identified for many more months.
On December 1, 1969, LAPD’s Chief Edward Davis held a press conference.
Standing behind 15 microphones, Chief Davis announced the official end of the case.
“I am Edward Davis, chief of police of the City of Los Angeles. Today warrants have been issued for the arrest of three individuals in connection with the murders of Sharon Tate Polanski, Abigail Anne Folger, Voytek Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent and Thomas John Sebring.”
He explained that the same people were also involved in the murders of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca.
“The development of information from the two separate investigations, the Tate and La Bianca cases, led detectives to the conclusion that the crimes in both cases were committed by the same group of people. At one time two lieutenants and 17 men were working on only the Tate case. The Tate investigators interviewed 625 people, some four and five times each.”
Chief Davis referred to a break in the case that occurred two weeks prior to the warrants. He didn’t mention her by name, but he meant Susan Atkins.
Also not mentioned by name was the first victim of the summer murder spree, Gary Hinman. Chief Davis referred only to the “Topanga Canyon murder case.”
Chief Davis wrapped up the press conference as a late arrival, Mayor Sam Yorty, took the stage.
“Sorry, I got here so late,” said the mayor. “The city government and the Police Department are very grateful to the news media for the cooperation we have had . . . many people could have damaged our case if they hadn’t been so cooperative . . .”
The round-up of the Family members implicated in the murders was underway. The case against them was solid enough to bring to the grand jury.
December 5, 1969, Susan Atkins testified before the Los Angeles grand jury. Prosecutors got first degree murder indictments against Manson, Watson, Krenwinkel, Van Houten and Kasabian.
December 21, 1969, Leslie Van Houten talked to cops about her possible cooperation. One week later she recorded a confession with attorneys, but decided against cooperating with prosecutors.
By Christmas 1969, Manson and his co-defendants, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten were in jail facing capital murder charges.
With Manson and his band of murderous nomads behind bars, Angelenos breathed a sigh of relief. The ‘60s ended on a miserable note. They thought the ‘70s would be better. They were wrong.
During the 1970s the risk of homicide increased six-fold from the 1950s, and by the early 1980s the term serial killer began to turn up in mainstream media reports.
New monsters stalked the streets of Los Angeles.
The real carnage was just beginning.
There’s a great double feature on Movies! tonight, THE STREET WITH NO NAME and WHITE HEAT. Two of my favorite films noir. If you don’t have the channel (it is 13.3 in my L.A. neck of the woods) here, for your viewing pleasure, is The Street With No Name starring Richard Widmark, Mark Stevens, Lloyd Nolan and Barbara Lawrence.
Ignore or read the subtitles — in any case, enjoy the movie!
Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat.
Tonight’s feature is SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT [1946] starring John Hodiak, Richard Conte, Nancy Guild and Lloyd Nolan.
Synopsis:
After a World War II injury, George Taylor’s (John Hodiak) memory of his life is fuzzy, to say the least. In an effort to reverse his amnesia, he tracks down alleged murderer and thief Larry Garter, from whom he received a letter. Along the way, he meets lounge singer Christy Smith (Nancy Guild) and police inspector Donald Kendall (Lloyd Nolan). They aid him in the search for Garter and his stolen loot, but all find themselves mired in a much bigger mystery than they anticipated.
Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat.
Tonight’s feature is IMPACT [1949] starring Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, Helen Walker, and Anna May Wong.
IMDB says:
A unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding, and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.
Aggie hoists a brew c. 1920s. [Photo courtesy LAPL]
Aggie Underwood was born on December 17, 1902 and Deranged L.A. Crimes was born on December 17, 2012, so there’s a lot to celebrate today. We have so many candles on our birthday cake it will take a gale force wind to blow them all out.
It was Aggie’s career as a Los Angeles journalist that inspired me to begin this blog; and my admiration for Aggie and her accomplishments has grown in the years since I first became aware of her.
Aggie at a crime scene in 1946.
Aggie’s newspaper career began on a whim. In late 1926, she was tired of wearing her sister’s hand-me-down silk stockings and desperately want a pair of her own. When she asked her husband Harry for the money, he demurred. He said he was sorry, they simply couldn’t afford them. Aggie got huffy and said she’d buy them herself. It was an empty threat–until a close friend called out of the blue the day following the argument and asked Aggie if she would be interested in a temporary job at the Daily Record. Aggie never intended to work outside her home, but this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
In her 1949 autobiography, Newspaperwoman, Aggie described her first impression of the Record’s newsroom as a “weird wonderland”. She was initially intimidated by the men in shirtsleeves shouting, cursing and banging away on typewriters, but it didn’t take long before intimidation became admiration. She fell in love with the newspaper business. At the end of her first year at her temporary job she realized that she wanted to be a reporter. From that moment on Aggie pursued her goal with passion and commitment.
Aggie at her desk after becoming City Editor at the Evening Herald & Express. Note the baseball bat — she used it to shoo away pesky Hollywood press agents. [Photo courtesy LAPL]
During a time when most female journalists were assigned to report on women’s club activities and fashion trends, Aggie covered the most important crime stories of the day. She attended actress Thelma Todd’s autopsy in December 1935 and was the only Los Angeles reporter to score a byline in the Black Dahlia case in January 1947. Aggie’s career may have started on a whim, but it lasted over 40 years.
Look closely and you can see Aggie’s byline under “Night In a Motel”. [Photo courtesy LAPL]
Over the past nine years I’ve corresponded with many of you and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some of you in person. Your support and encouragement mean a lot to me, and whether you are new to the blog or have been following Deranged L.A. Crimes from the beginning I want to thank you sincerely for your readership.
There will be many more stories in 2022, and a few appearances too. Look for me in shows on the Investigation Discovery Network (I’ve been interviewed for Deadly Women, Deadly Affairs, Evil Twins, Evil Kin and many others.) I am currently appearing in the series CITY OF ANGELS: CITY OF DEATH on HULU.
Kentucky University Press will publish my compilation of tales on L.A. crime during Prohibition. Title is TBA.
You can find my short story in the recently released anthology, PARTNERS IN CRIME, edited by Mitzi Szereto.
Whether it is on television, in the blog or some other medium I’m looking forward to telling more crime tales in 2022.
Happy Holidays and stay safe!
Joan
Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is WICKED AS THEY COME starring Arlene Dahl, Herbert Marshall and Phil Carey.
Enjoy the movie!
TCM says:
Katherine Allenborg, a working girl from the slums, sees the Stylewear Beauty Contest as a ticket to a new life. Although Kathy feels a repugnance toward all men, she decides to use her feminine allure to get what she wants. Upon learning that Sam Lewis, the elderly head of Stylewear magazine, will determine the contest winner, Kathy turns her charms on him. After Sam fixes the contest so that Kathy wins first prize, a trip to Europe, Kathy abruptly dismisses the hapless Sam. On the flight to London, Kathy meets Tim O’Bannion, a struggling television producer employed by the European-based Dowling’s advertising firm. Although Tim is attracted to the comely Kathy, she is on the prowl for wealthy suitors and hence shows no interest in the lowly Tim. At the Mayfair Hotel, Kathy, who has changed her name to Kathy Allen, finds a more suitable prospect in her neighbor, successful photographer Larry Buckham.
Isabel Betts was awakened at about 11:30 p.m. on a chilly February night in 1923 by the barking of her Llewellyn setter, Rex. Isabel pulled on her dressing gown, gathered it around her and walked slowly and quietly to the closed porch in the front of her house where Rex slept. Rex was so agitated that he pushed open a door to the yard ran off in pursuit of something or someone. Had Rex caught the scent of a nocturnal animal visitor or, worse, a human intruder? She immediately dismissed the idea that Rex was barking at her next-door neighbor, Earle Remington. Rex was familiar with Earle and never paid the neighbor’s late-night comings and goings any mind. Cautiously, Isabel searched the perimeter of her home and found nothing. Relieved, Isabel started back for the house. Suddenly she heard a loud sound. She froze for a moment, but then thought she recognized it as the backfire of a passing car and took a breath. Isabel called for Rex and went back inside.
At 6 a.m., February 17, 1923, Isabel Betts was again awakened by Rex, but this time she knew the cause. Charity Dawson, the Remington’s maid, was standing in the driveway of 1409 South St. Andrews Place screaming and sobbing. Prone on the driveway was the body of aviation pioneer and electrical engineer, Earle Remington
Charity’s screams had awakened Virginia “Peggy” L. Miller Stone Remington. She rushed outside to determine the cause of the shrieks and saw Earle’s body on the driveway. Someone called the police.
When LAPD detectives arrived they immediately recognized the name of the victim. Earle was well known in Los Angeles for his involvement in aviation and for his work as an engineer; Earle designed security systems for banks. What wasn’t common knowledge was Earle’s other job, the purchase and distribution of bootleg booze.
When the police arrived at the scene began to construct a plausible scenario for the crime. According to them the murder went down like this: Earle pulled his small couple into the driveway of his home and exited on the passenger side, then he walked around the back of the vehicle. One, possibly two, killers materialized from behind a hedge. Did Earle recognize them? Did they speak to one another? Nobody heard anything except for the sound that several near neighbors described as a car backfiring. The sound wasn’t made by a car, it was made instead by a double-barreled, sixteen gauge shotgun. Earle must have watched his assailant raise the weapon to fire because he reflexively clutched his large briefcase to his chest. The briefcase proved to be worthless as armor. One shot penetrated Earle’s chest just above his heart. The blood trail showed that the wounded man staggered toward the house. He didn’t make it. He was likely dead before he hit the ground.
It wasn’t until the autopsy that the coroner determined that Earle had not only been shot, he has been stabbed with a bayonet.
No doubt about it, someone wanted Earle dead.
Detectives immediately turned their attention to Earle’s wife of six years.
Peggy had recently consulted with attorney Jerry Geisler about representing her in a divorce. A private investigator had confirmed Peggy’s suspicions that Earle was having an affair and she wanted out of the marriage. Peggy knew about the affair with a married woman, but did she know that Earle was juggling several extra-marital relationships at the same time? Was Peggy angry, or broken-hearted enough, to kill? What about the other women in his life? Earle had promised one of them that he would divorce Peggy and then marry her. The woman believed him, until she found out that Earle was cheating on her too.
The angry husband or boyfriend of one of Earle’s dalliances may have decided to remove his rival forever.
The suspect pool expanded when investigators took a hard look at Earle’s finances and found that his partners in the Day and Night Electric Protection Company and Night Safe Deposit Company, fellow aviators Frank Champion and Earl Daugherty, may have been in financial difficulty and blamed Earle. An employee, Harry Miller, thought that Champion and Daugherty were responsible for the crime, but refused to provide details.
Finally, there were Earle’s bootlegger acquaintances. Earle didn’t deal in small quantities of booze, in fact he had recently bought 100 cases of the stuff. In the illegal liquor trade Earle would rub elbows with career criminals and others who wouldn’t hesitate to end a dispute with a bullet. Had Earle double-crossed one of his sources? And what about Earle’s double barrel shotgun? It had been stolen from his office a few weeks prior to the murder. Could it be the murder weapon?
There were far more questions than answers. Detectives had their work cut out for them.
NEXT TIME: The investigation into Earle Remington’s murder continues.
Congratulations to T. Campbell and C. Fenton, winners of the mother! ticket giveaway. Enjoy the movie, and pass the popcorn!
Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN starring Keye Luke, Lotus Long and Grant Withers.
Enjoy the movie!
TCM says:
Dr. John Benton, in San Francisco following an archaeological expedition in the Mongolian desert, gives a film presentation for his colleagues. The film shows his discovery of the precious ancient tomb of a Ming emperor, for which archaeologists have been searching for centuries. The tomb contains a scroll that tells the secret of the Temple of Eternal Fire, which is of great financial importance to China as it could reveal an enormous untapped reserve of oil. The film of the trip shows a violent windstorm that erupted when the tomb was opened, in keeping with an ancient curse. Mason, the co-pilot on the trip, was lost during the storm, and the expedition party was forced to continue on without him.