"Broken Hearts of Hollywood"

Filming in the forecourt of Grauman's Egyptian for "Broken Hearts of Hollywood" (Warner Bros., 1926). It's a shot by L.A. photographer Robert Board. Thanks to Grauman-focused historian Kurt Wahlner for spotting this when it went for sale online. Visit his site about the Chinese: GraumansChinese.org. The title of this film and "Warner Bros." was written on the back.    

Kurt notes that the readerboard on the roof says "Estelle Taylor - Jack Dempsey - Monday." See a detail from the photo. Estelle had married Jack in San Diego on February 25, 1925. The couple were acting as hosts on June 21, 1926 for the evening screenings of "Sparrows" and "The Black Pirate."   

 

 The ad in the Times on June 21. So the photo was taken a day, or a few days, before June 21st.

 

An article, also from the Times issue of June 21.  

The film is the tale of a former movie star returning to Hollywood for a comeback. Her daughter follows her and they get cast in the same film as mother and daughter. Troubles ensue including a shooting. It was directed by Lloyd Bacon. The cinematography was by Virgil Miller. The film features Patsy Ruth Miller, Louise Dresser, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Jerry Miley, Stuart Holmes, Barbara Worth and... wait for it... Sid Grauman. 

Sid's and his fellow performers from the film's "theatre sequence" are in this shot taken in the Egyptian forecourt. It appears on IMDb with no date about what publication it was from.   

See the pages about the Egyptian Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of this 1922 vintage movie palace along with hundreds of photos. It's located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd., between McCadden Place and Las Palmas Ave.  

On IMDb: "Broken Hearts of Hollywood" 

"Broken Hearts of Hollywood" was released August 14, 1926. This poster is one that appears on IMDb.  The site notes that there's a surviving print of the film at the George Eastman House in Rochester. 

 

 

"The Truth About Hollywood." This presentation was a two page ad in the August 28, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News. It's on Internet Archive, where you can zoom in to read all the tabloid gossip in the Hollywood Sentinel!

There was also a 1926 indie production from Jaffe Films called just "Broken Hearts" that starred Lila Lee and Maurice Schwartz. It was released on February 16.