Editing Chinatown (1974 film) (section)

===Origins===
The character of Hollis Mulwray was inspired by and loosely based on Irish immigrant [[William Mulholland]] (1855–1935) according to Mulholland's [[Catherine Mulholland (historian)|granddaughter]].<ref name=beast>"[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/28/william-mulholland-gave-water-to-la-and-inspired-chinatown.html William Mulholland Gave Water to LA and Inspired ''Chinatown''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915194827/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/28/william-mulholland-gave-water-to-la-and-inspired-chinatown.html |date=September 15, 2016}}" by Jon Wilkman, ''[[The Daily Beast]]'', February 28, 2016</ref><ref name=catherine/><ref name=brook/> Mulholland was the superintendent and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, who oversaw the construction of the 230-mile (370-km) [[Aqueduct (bridge)|aqueduct]] that carries water from the [[Owens Valley]] to Los Angeles.<ref name=catherine>"[https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-catherine-mulholland-20110707-story.html Catherine Mulholland dies at 88; historian wrote key biography of famed grandfather] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216014314/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-catherine-mulholland-20110707-story.html |date=December 16, 2021 }} " by Elaine Woo, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', July 7, 2011</ref> Mulholland was considered by many to be the man who made Los Angeles possible by building the Los Angeles Aqueduct in the early 1900s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Standiford |first=Les |title=Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles |publisher=Ecco: an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |year=2016 |location=New York |page=3}}</ref> The 233 mile long feat of engineering brought the water necessary for urban expansion from the Owens Valley to a Los Angeles whose growth was constrained by the limits of the Los Angeles River.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Standiford |first=Les |title=Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles |publisher=Ecco: an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |year=2016 |location=New York |pages=3, 64}}</ref> Mulholland credits Fred Eaton, then mayor of Los Angeles, with the idea to secure water for the city from the Owens Valley.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Standiford |first=Les |title=Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles |publisher=Ecco: an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |year=2016 |pages=66}}</ref>

Although the character of Hollis Mulwray was relatively minor in the film and he was killed in the early part of the movie, the events of Mulholland's life were portrayed through both the character of Mulwray and other figures in the movie. This portrayal, along with other changes to actual events that inspired ''Chinatown'', such as the time frame which was some thirty years earlier than that of the movie, were some of the liberties with facts of Mulholland's life that the movie takes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Standiford |first=Les |title=Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles |publisher=Ecco: an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |year=2016 |location=New York |pages=xv}}</ref>

Author Vincent Brook considers real-life Mulholland to be split, in the film, into "noble Water and Power chief Hollis Mulwray" and "mobster muscle Claude Mulvihill",<ref name=brook>Brook, Vincent. ''Land of Smoke and Mirrors: A Cultural History of Los Angeles''; Rutgers University Press; 2013; {{ISBN|978-0813554563}}</ref> just as Land syndicate and Combination members, who "exploited their insider knowledge" on account of "personal greed", are "condensed into the singular, and singularly monstrous, Noah Cross".<ref name=brook/>

In the film, Mulwray opposes the dam wanted by Noah Cross and the city of Los Angeles, for reasons of engineering and safety, arguing he would not repeat his previous mistake, when his dam broke resulting in hundreds of deaths. This alludes to the [[St. Francis Dam]] disaster of March 12, 1928.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Nazaryan |first=Alexander |date=April 10, 2016 |title=On the edge of L.A. lies the remains of an engineering disaster that offers a warning for us today |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2016/04/22/st-francis-dam-disaster-los-angeles-warning-engineering-445915.html |magazine=Newsweek |language=en |access-date=March 10, 2018 |archive-date=March 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311140802/http://www.newsweek.com/2016/04/22/st-francis-dam-disaster-los-angeles-warning-engineering-445915.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the character of Mulwray, who was concerned about the dam in ''Chinatown'', Mulholland's role in the disaster diverged from the events in the film. Mulholland had inspected the St. Francis Dam after the dam keeper Tony Harnischfeger requested that Mulholland personally inspect the dam after Harnischfeger became concerned about the safety of the dam upon discovering cracks and brown water leaking from the base of the dam, which indicated to him the erosion of the dam's foundation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Standiford |first=Les |title=Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles |publisher=Ecco: an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |year=2016 |location=New York |page=5}}</ref> Mulholland inspected the dam at around 10:30 in the morning, declaring that all was well with the structure.<ref name=":1" /> Just before midnight that same evening, a massive failure of the dam occurred.<ref name=":1" /> The dam's failure inundated the [[Santa Clara River Valley]], including the town of [[Santa Paula, California|Santa Paula]], with flood water, causing the deaths of at least 431 people. The event effectively ended Mulholland's career.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pollack|first=Alan|url=http://www.scvhs.org/news/dispatch36-2.pdf|title=President's Message|journal=The Heritage Junction Dispatch|publisher=Santa Clara Valley Historical Society|date=March–April 2010|access-date=October 17, 2013|archive-date=June 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609044219/http://www.scvhs.org/news/dispatch36-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Reisner">* Reisner, Marc (1986). ''Cadillac Desert''. {{ISBN|0-670-19927-3}}</ref>

The plot of Chinatown is also drawn not just from the diversion of water from the Owens Valley via the aqueduct but also from another actual event. In the movie, water is being purposely released in order to drive the land owners out and create support for a dam through an artificial drought. The event that the movie refers to occurred in late 1903 and 1904 when underground water levels plummeted and water usage rose precipitously.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Standiford |first=Les |title=Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles |publisher=Ecco: an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |year=2016 |location=New York |pages=62}}</ref> Rather than a deliberate release, Mulholland was able to figure out that because of faulty valves and gates in the water system, large quantities of water were being released in the overflow sewer system and then into the ocean.<ref name=":2" /> Mulholland was able to stop the leaks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Standiford |first=Les |title=Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angele |publisher=Ecco: an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |year=2016 |pages=63}}</ref>