Charting the man behind a mystical city

Last Sunday evening at the Silent Movie Theater, a clip from the 1938 astrological murder mystery "When Were You Born?" was shown as part of an "Occult L.A." program curated by the author Erik Davis. In the clip, legendary occult scholar Manly P. Hall, who had also written the movie's script, appeared on screen to introduce the concept of astrology. With penetrating blue eyes, thick dark hair and a rakish mustache, Hall had the looks of a silent film star, and he radiated intensity as he explained the various personality traits of the different sun signs -- Leos are loyal, Capricorns are brave, and so on. But that's not all: "Astrology can solve crime!" he exhorted. "It has solved many crimes in the past."

At this the audience burst into laughter: Yet another absurd Hollywood twist. It wasn't the late Hall's finest moment -- in fact, he'd done the scene reluctantly. But afterward he held out hope that "When Were You Born?," the first major motion picture to treat the subject of astrology seriously, might help "open the way for a great cycle of occult philosophy," he wrote.

The film was a bomb, but the fact that this obscure clip was being screened before a sold-out crowd of artists, intellectuals and spiritual seekers shows that the cycle of Hall's influence continues. And it may grow in the coming months, for Process Media has just published "Master of the Mysteries," the first biography of Manly Palmer Hall, written by Louis Sahagun (who is a staff writer at The Times).

In his lifetime, Hall befriended notables as disparate as Bela Lugosi and John Denver. For his writings alone he was made an honorary 33rd-degree Freemason (the highest honor), and even Elvis was a fan, sending Priscilla Presley to one of the world renowned orator's lectures because he was afraid of getting mobbed himself.

Aimed to be 'high priest'

Hall died in 1990 at age 89, and it wasn't until a few year later that Sahagun, who'd written his obituary, began to delve deeply into his history and body of work -- which includes more than 200 books, most notably his magnum opus, "The Secret Teachings of All Ages."

"It turned out he was a pretty darn good writer," Sahagun said. "His books were strange and absolutely fascinating, and his whole raison d'etre was applying ancient philosophies to solve modern problems. . . . He wanted to be the high priest, the hierophant, of Southern California."