Sunday, December 04, 2011

Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...Barry Livingston of MY THREE SONS has a new book out, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNIE: FROM MY THREE SONS TO MAD MEN, A HOLLYWOOD SURVIVOR TELLS ALL. In an interview with Susan King in the Los Angeles Times, Livingston remembers MY THREE SONS star Fred MacMurray as "a sweet man."

...The L.A. Times ran an interesting interview yesterday with Richard Rhodes, the author of the new book on Hedy Lamarr and her inventions, HEDY'S FOLLY.

...Home Media Magazine reports that Amazon should ship a whopping 4 million Kindle Fires by the end of the year. I'm going to be looking for one under our tree, and so is our college-age son.

...Sir Roger Moore, who is 84, stars in the new Hallmark Channel movie A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS (2011), which is airing multiple times this month. Susan King interviewed Moore in the L.A. Times.

...Leonard Maltin recently shared thoughts on British TV mysteries on DVD. I'd like to catch up with TOMMY & TUPPENCE at some point, with James Warwick and Francesca Annis (LILLIE).

...At Another Old Movie Blog, Jacqueline has a series of posts underway on the aftermath of World War II, Uneasy Victors. The first film discussed was A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948), with Jean Arthur, John Lund, and Marlene Dietrich. I confess this film didn't do much for me when I saw it, despite my being a fan of both Arthur and the underrated Lund, but after reading Jacqueline's commentary and the comments which follow, I feel as though I should give it another chance!

...Mike Clark of Home Media Magazine reviews the Twilight Time release of THE LEFT HAND OF GOD (1955), starring Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney.

...At Classic Movies Digest, Rupert pays tribute to one of my favorite movies, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944). He plans more Christmas movie posts over the course of the month.

...I enjoyed discovering the Roy Rogers Christmas film TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (1950) last Christmastime, thanks to Toby at 50 Westerns From the 50s. I was delighted to come across another post giving this film a thumbs up at Kevin's Movie Corner. It's a fun movie to add to the Christmas viewing rotation.

...ClassicFlix has a list of five Columbia Classics titles coming in January, including Ann Miller in CAROLINA BLUES (1944) and Tom Neal, Evelyn Keyes, and Bruce Bennett in THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT A SOLDIER (1943).

...Actor Gaius Charles, who played "Smash" on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, has graduated from Drew Theological School. He plans to return to acting, saying "Acting can be a ministry, as well." (Via LarsRood.)

...This extended commercial for the new DALLAS series is hilariously bad. It's interesting to note that the only actors in the ad who seem to have any charisma are the "old guys," Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy.

...Here's a lovely story on a fan meeting Jane Powell published in the Guardian. (Via KC at Classic Links.)

...Toby's got an interesting project in the works on the making of Marlon Brando's ONE-EYED JACKS (1961). Stay tuned! He's got a Tumblr page of photos set up as a preview. It includes a great photo of Ben Johnson, one of my faves.

...I was happy to see a new post by Moira at Skeins of Thought! It includes some lovely Christmas photos and biographical information on Ginger Rogers and Boris Karloff, an interesting combination!

...Judy posted a detailed essay on LOVE IS A RACKET (1932) at Movie Classics. Pre-code fans will want to be sure to check it out. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Frances Dee, and Ann Dvorak. (For additional reading on this film, I reviewed it in 2008.)

...The Academy will be celebrating the centennial of Paramount Studios by screening WINGS (1927), the first Best Picture winner, on January 18th. The screening at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater will include live organ music. Information is at the Academy website.

...Has it really been four decades since THE HOMECOMING (1971)?! The WALTONS family recently reunited on TODAY.

...Notable Passing: Margie Peterson, who made a $100 million gift to the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles last spring (link here), has passed away at the age of 76.

...London's Daily Telegraph and the Independent have published obituaries for POLDARK actor Richard Morant, whose passing was noted here two weeks ago.

...The incomparable Deanna Durbin is 90 years old today! Here's a link to last year's birthday tribute.

Have a great week!

7 Comments:

Blogger Jacqueline T. Lynch said...

Thank you so much for the mention and link. Some films, and some actors, grow on us; some never do. I think your reviews are always fair.

5:49 PM  
Blogger KC said...

Thanks for the mention. I always feel like I link to too much stuff from The Guardian, but that piece was impossible to resist! I've always thought Jane Powell and Dickie Moore seemed like such charming people.

8:47 PM  
Blogger Judy said...

Thanks so much for the mention, Laura, much appreciated, and I will enjoy dipping into this collection of links.. I've just read your review of 'Love is a Racket' and am pleased to hear you liked the movie too. The number and variety of films you cover are incredible - something new and interesting nearly every day! Judy

12:19 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

Thank you all very much for the comments!

Jacqueline, thank you for that feedback on my reviews, that means a great deal coming from a blogger I admire. :) I'm always open to trying things again, as I've found that over time my attitudes about a number of things have changed, including film noir (used to be "to dark" for me!), Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck.

You're very welcome, KC! I think it's great you regularly check out the British papers like the Guardian. You find the most interesting stories! I try to visit the Telegraph's obituaries regularly, as they are typically so complete, but I don't always remember!

Judy, I really appreciated your detailed thoughts on the movie! Fun to compare notes, so to speak. :) I appreciate your kind words very much, and I'm always so happy to know when others are enjoying my blog!

Best wishes,
Laura

12:28 AM  
Blogger DorianTB said...

Laura, you've certainly put together a cornucopia of great things to check out on the Blogosphere this week! I was especially pleased to see your nice shoutout for Jacqueline T. Lynch's "Uneasy Victors" blog series. I'll have to check out Roger Moore's TV Christmas movie, too!

8:35 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

Hi Dorian,

I hope very much you'll enjoy checking out some of the links! :)

Jacqueline always does the most interesting job putting films in historical context. I really like the perspective she brings to learning more about and enjoying classic films.

I'm going to be DVR-ing that Hallmark film too! :) I've been a Moore fan since I discovered him in MAVERICK reruns many moons ago.

Best wishes,
Laura

8:47 AM  
Blogger Judy said...

I should have said, wow to that screening of 'Wings' with the original colour tints - I hope the print makes it to the BFI in London eventually, as it would be great to see it on the big screen!

12:54 AM  

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