609 ST. CLOUD ROAD: THE GABLE/LOMBARD/HITCHCOCK/DMYTRYK CONNECTION
What do Clark Gable, Carol Lombard, Alfred Hitchcock and Edward Dmytryk have in common? Well, quite a few things if you really want to parse this out. Hitchcock and Dmytryk were both directors. Dmytryk worked with Gable. Hitch worked with Lombard. Both worked with the stars in equally forgettable movies--Hitch made "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 1941, Dmytryk made "Soldier Of Fortune" in 1955. But they all shared something else and attentive readers of this weblog--both of you--will have probably already figured out what that something was: that's right, a house. Or perhaps the fact that I used an address in the title of the post helped give things away. In any event, welcome to 609 St. Cloud Road (left), in expensive and lovingly maintained Bel Air, California. Located west of Beverly Hills and north of Sunset Blvd., Bel Air has always had an extra-shiny patina about it. The properties are large, secluded, gated. The neighborhood resides behind pearly but od...