SAVE THE DERBY, PLEEEEASE

one of my favorite films of all time is mildred pierce. there are so many things to appreciate about it, the performances by ann blyth and joan crawford, the cinematography... the plot twists...but what stands out for me is how evocative it is of los angeles in the 30s and 40s. it's like time travel. or a visual american cultural history book. a highly romanticized book, of course! it's dreamy. the drive-in is one of my favorite things in the film...

and as of this writing, that drive-in is on the chopping block, scheduled to be demolished, replaced by, egads! condos. so a movement is afoot. please do what you can to help save this "hollywood classic"...

the save the derby website also offers a glimpse into the work of wayne mcallister, the consulting architect...hopefully, they'll be able to provide some information on the architect of roland h. crawford, since a quick and dirty google search doesn't offer much. the message board has a few neat photos.

and for you film trivia buffs, know that monty's gorgeous beach house was owned by the director of mildred pierce, michael curtiz. The house survived until the el nino storms of 1983.