“…Babbles He Killed Three”

September 13, 2021
1940, PM


“A Faded Photograph”; Whispering Jack Smith; Charles Kenny; Nick Kenny; Richard Howard; Publication date: September 13, 1940


The New York Times, September 13, 1940

GURINO CONFESSES TO THREE MURDERS

Ring’s ‘Toughest Trigger Man’ Implicates Himself in Four Others, O’Dwyer Says

KILLED TWO IN APARTMENT

Gained Access When Confederate, Now In Death House, Wore Woman’s Clothes As Ruse

District Attorney William O’Dwyer of Kings County announced late yesterday that Vito Gurino, the Brooklyn murder syndicate’s “toughest trigger man,” who was arrested Wednesday night after dashing into a Roman Catholic Church Shrieking hysterically that he was about to be killed, had confessed to three underworld “contract” murders and implicated himself in four others…
The New York Times, September 13, 1940


PM, September 13, 1940

Gurino Babbles He Killed Three

Vito Gurino, the tearful triggerman, has confessed to six of the seven murders of which he is suspected, PM learned today from a source close to the Brooklyn District Attorney…
PM, September 13, 1940


Brooklyn Eagle, September 13, 1940, p.4

GURINO’S RECORD AF ARRESTS RUNS GAMUT OF CRIME

Homicide, Robbery, Dope Charges Mark Career of Gang Gunman

The full police record of Vito Gurino, former triggerman of the Murder-for-Money Gang, now a fear-driven prisoner charged with murder, afraid to “squeal” and afraid not to follows:


“A Faded Photograph”; Whispering Jack Smith; Charles Kenny; Nick Kenny; Richard Howard; Publication date: September 13, 1940


PM, September 13, 1940

“I was never a rat in my life – I was never a rat!”

September 12, 2021
1940, PM


“Practice Makes Perfect”; Billie Holiday; Roberts; Gold; Publication date: September 12, 1940


PM, September 12, 1940

Alleged Trigger Man of Murder, Inc. Runs Squealing to Church for Safety

Vito Gurino weighs 225 pounds. He is several inches under the romantic six feet, and he squeals much louder than any pig Armour ever heard of. He tumbled into a Catholic church last night wailing for sanctuary, screaming for mercy and begging for his wife and children…
PM, September 12, 1940


The New York Times, September 12, 1940

Murder Ring Fugitive Seeks Haven in Church; ‘Trigger Man’ hysterical in Fear of Killers

Shrieking hysterically that he was about to be killed, Vito Gurino, supposedly “toughest trigger man” of the Brooklyn murder ring exposed by District Attorney William O’Dwyer, sought sanctuary last night in the Roman Catholic Shrine of the Sea at Twenty-first Street and Tenth Avenue…

…Gurino meanwhile kept shouting:
“I was never a rat in my life – I was never a rat!”

Later he added:
“If they leave me alone, I’ll go away – I’ll never squeal. But if they don’t leave me alone I’ll squeal. They’ll kill me! They’ll kill my wife and children!”
The New York Times, September 12, 1940


Weegee (1899-1968), Vito Gurino, 1940, Screenshot


“The Same Old Story”; Billie Holiday; Field; Oliphant; Publication date: September 12, 1940

“…not insane…”

September 11, 2021
1940, PM


“Psycho” (Original Motion Picture Score); Bernard Herrmann, Danny Elfman, Bernard Herrmann; Steve Bartek; 1998

Alienist May Examine Strauss 3 Times Daily
Harry (Pittsburgh Phil) Strauss’s lawyer obtained an unusual concession from the court yesterday. Despite the verdict of state alienists that his client was not insane…”
PM, September 11, 1940


“Broken Hearted Lover”; Delmore Brothers; Alton Delmore; Publication date: September 11, 1940

Her Movie Name Is Veronica Lake
Her real name is Veronica Kane, and she is the 21-year-old… daughter of a commercial artist…
PM, September 11, 1940


“Love Has Been the Ruin of a Many Young Maid”; Texas Jim Lewis And His Lone Star Cowboys; Cindy Walker; Publication date: September 11, 1940

Bernard Herrmann, young composer-conductor…”

PM, September 11, 1940


Elmer Bernstein Conducts The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Bernard Herrmann Film Scores; 1993 (samples)

Tracklist (samples):

1. Citizen Kane
2. The Devil and Daniel Webster
3. The Man Who Knew Too Much
4. Psycho
5. The Wrong Man
6. Vertigo
7. North by Northwest
8. The Bride Wore Black
9. Fahrenheit 451
10. Taxi Driver
11. Bernard Herrmann on Film Music

“Art Notes”

September 10, 2021
1941, exhibition


“Says Who? Says You, Says I!”; Cab Calloway and his Orchestra.; Cab Calloway; Mercer; Arlen; Harding; Publication date: September 10, 1941


Daily Worker, September 10, 1941, p.7

…Weegee’s (Arthur Fellig) exhibition is proving so popular at the Photo League that it is being extended one week to Sept. 23. A new and second edition of the exhibition is now on view at the Photo League Gallery, at 31 E. 21st St. Hours 1 to 10 week days, 2 to 6, Saturdays.
Daily Worker, September 10, 1941, p.7


“Laughing Boy Blues”; Woody Herman And His Orchestra; Woody Herman and The Laughing Boy; Sammy Cahn; Saul Chaplin; Publication date: September 10, 1941

“Due To Increase In MURDERS”

September 9, 2021
1941, PM


“Body and Soul”; Dinah Shore; Henry Levine and his Dixieland Octet of NBC’s Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street; Heyman; Sour; Eyton; Green; Publication date: September 9, 1941


PM, September 9, 1941, p.18

PM’s Weegee Exhibits More Of His Police-News Photos

Our Police Headquarters photographer, Weegee, got his name in all the camera magazines last month when the Photo League put on a show of his news pictures. Yesterday, prompted by gallery-visitor response to the first, the League opened a second edition of the exhibition in its clubroom at 31 E. 21st St. The new show, a complete change of pictures from the first, will run throgh Sept. 27 – 1 to 10 p.m. weekdays, 2 to 6 on Saturdays, no admission charge. Above, in a photo by one of the League members, Weegee puts finishing touches to the display. Typical comments in the visitors’ book: “Great pictures”… “Terrific”… “Could do better with a Brownie”… Have gone away for the week end to recuperate.”


“Miss You”; Dinah Shore; Charlie, Harry and Henry M. Tobias; Publication date: September 9, 1941

“Buggsy was laughing…”

September 9, 2021
1940, PM


“Laughing Record”; 1960


PM, September 9, 1940, p.9

Pittsburgh Phil Pleads Insanity

Strauss-Goldstein Trial Opens; Right to Be Examined by Psychiatrist Granted

…This was the prelude today of the trial of Martin (Buggsy) Goldstein and Harry (Pittsburgh Phil) Strauss, of Brooklyn’s Murder, Inc, for the 1939 murder of Irving (Puggy) Feinstein…


“Woman Laughing (Continuous)”; 1960

“When Is a Subject too Old to Photograph?”

September 8, 2021
1940, PM


“Goin’ to Chicago Blues“; Joe Turner; Freddie Slack Trio; Count Basie; James Rushing; Publication date: September 8, 1941

New York Is a City Of Flat Topped Roofs
By Ralph Ingersoll
(Photos by Alan Fisher)


“Watch the Birdie“; Sonny Dunham and his Orch.; Don Raye; Gene dePaul; Harriet Clark; Publication date: September 8, 1941

When Is a Subject too Old to Photograph?
By Ralph Steiner
(Photos by Harold Corsini)

…What the photographer must realize is this: the Brooklyn Bridge is old, but life goes on around and over and under it, and life is always new. Mother and Child is an older subject than Brooklyn Bridge, yet it is still a good subject for painters and photographers who are sensitive enough to the ever-new qualities in their relationship.

The photographs of Brooklyn Bridge on this page look new because they show the relationship between the bridge and its neighbors. The elements are old but they add up to a new total.

If a photographer follows in the footsteps of the great who have gone before, [they] will end up without having made any interesting footsteps [themselves]. No artist in any medium has ever slavishly copied the approach and style of a great master and become a master in [their] own right. Strike out for yourself: see and photograph things you like in such a way that others will know why you like them. And since there is no one in the world exactly like you – this sounds like the last line of a love letter – your photographs will be fresh and interesting.

The Problem of Keeping City Kids Off the Streets
By Raymond Abrashkin
(Photographs by Mary Morris)

PLAY PLACES: There Aren’t Enough Satisfactory Playgrounds in New York
…and Many Kids Think It’s More Fun to Run Wild in the Streets
(Photographs by Mary Morris)

PM, September 8, 1940


“Rocks in My Bed“; Joe Turner; Freddie Slack Trio; Duke Ellington; Publication date: September 8, 1941

“Hints For Homemakers…”

September 7, 2021
1945, Naked City


“Sherry Lynn Flip,” by Slam Stewart Trio; Errol Garner; Stewart; Harold West; Publication date: September 7, 1945


Daily Argus, September 7, 1945

…”Naked City,” by Arthur Fellig, is a collection of satiric photographs, showing a cross-section of life in New York…”

“…held on display for one week at the Public Library so that readers may have an opportunity to examine them before they are circulated.”
Daily Argus, September 7, 1945, p.4


“Blue, Brown, and Beige,” by Slam Stewart Trio; Errol Garner; Stewart; Harold West; Publication date: September 7, 1945

“Ladies keep their money in their stockings…”

July 18, 2021
1941, Naked City


“Don’t Worry ‘Bout That Mule”; Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five; Louis Jordan; C. Stewart; W. Davis; D. Groaner; F. Moore; July 18, 1945


PM, July 18, 1945

From the Editor

Rave Notice

There’s a new book in the stores today by Weegee, who bills himself as “the famous” – and is.

It’s a book of pictures – pictures such as you’ve never seen before, except maybe in PM. it is called Naked City, published by Essential Books, sells for $4 – and is worth it…


“Buzz Me,” Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five; Louis Jordan; F. Moore; D. Baxter; July 18, 1945


PM, July 18, 1941

Wrong Number: At least that’s the expression on Rainbow’s face…


“Wrong Number”; Red River Dave; McEnery; The Texas Tophands; 1949

Lepke Asks… Tarzan Swings… In the Wee Wee Hours…

July 17, 2021
1941


“Novachord Solos”; Kern; Washington; Romberg; Rodgers; Bassman; Fred Feibel; Harbach; Youmans; Caesar; Hammerstein II; Williams; Hickman; Hart; Cole Porter; July 17, 1941


The New York Times, July 17, 1941

Lepke Asks Change of Venue

A few great recordings released today, July 17, 1941:


“No Answer”; Andy Kirk And His Clouds of Joy; Henry Wells; Guy Wood; Al Hoffman; Maurice Siegler; July 17, 1941


“Tarzan Of The Apes – Part 1”; Tarzan Players; Edgar Rice Burroughs; July 17, 1941


“Wee Wee Hours”; Big Bill Broonzy; July 17, 1941