Located in Anaheim, California, Spradrom Estates was a $7.5 million development of 486 homes that broke ground in 1956. It’s still there. Hundreds of housing developments were built across the Southern California landscape in the post-World War II housing boom of the 1950s and 1960s. Like most housing developments of that period, Spadrom’s original name… Continue reading Cheap and Easy Dreams: Spadrom Estates and Herbert Heftler
Category: 1950s
Cutaways from the 1950s (1950 to 1959).
No Down Payment (1957)
No Down Payment begins peppy and optimistic as the two central characters, a couple, move to Sunrise Hills, a Southern California suburb. Things turn dark quickly. This is pure John Cheever and Raymond Carver and Mad Men all tossed together. No Down Payment is not a perfect movie, and the ending has a bit of… Continue reading No Down Payment (1957)
Random Ephemera: Doctor’s Estate Mysteriously Willed to Secretary
In 1951, Dr. Roy Campbell committed suicide in his office at 814 1/2 S. Alvarado, Los Angeles. Dr. Campbell’s will, which was never found, apparently left $100,000 not to his wife, Mrs. Iva or Eva Campbell, 55, but to Ondine Kifer, 35, his secretary. Dr. Campbell supposedly had written it by hand on a sheet… Continue reading Random Ephemera: Doctor’s Estate Mysteriously Willed to Secretary
Men in War (1957): Surprisingly Good “Lost Platoon” Movie
One more step and I’ll fill your guts with lead. That’s the tagline on one of “Men in War’s” posters, with Aldo Ray’s character Montana leveling his gun at Robert Ryan. If you’re a battle-hardened veteran of World War II movies made in the 1950s, you’ll like this one. For one, it’s Korea, not WWII.… Continue reading Men in War (1957): Surprisingly Good “Lost Platoon” Movie
Mickey Cohen Brings Max Tannenbaum Out to L.A.
Sure, there’s a copy of Case of the Half-Wakened Wife by that Perry Mason writer underneath your glass of iced Seagram’s, its paper cover soaking up the glass’ condensation like a three-dollar coaster. You’ve tried the novel once or twice poolside. But the crack between pages one and two is a testament to your education… Continue reading Mickey Cohen Brings Max Tannenbaum Out to L.A.