Carole Landis--RIP

Above, the Carole Landis crime scene photo as it was published in The Times, July 6, 1948.

nce again, here are our two detectives, John Laymen and Emmett Jones, looking at poor old Carole Landis on the bathroom floor. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed that nobody mentioned what I find to be the most interesting detail in this photo. elow, let's get a closer look. Sure enough, there's a set of keys hanging from the door of the cabinet where she's lying. I can't claim to be an expert on fancy Los Angeles homes of the 1940s (a shout-out to Nathan Marsak), but I have never encountered a bathroom that had a cabinet that locked with a key (perhaps I have led a sheltered life). I suppose there are several reasons for having one. One possibility is that it was an early attempt at baby-proofing; Lord knows the old newspapers are full of stories about children poisoning themselves with ant paste or their parents' medicine. hatever the reason, I'm beginning to suspect that Landis was using this locking cabinet as some sort of home safe. The inventory of her estate listed quite a bit of jewelry and the fact that she was found resting her head on a jewelry box makes much more sense if she kept her valuables in this cabinet. Wouldn't it be fun to look in the cabinet? Maybe we can. Email me