Merry Christmas!

Best wishes to all for a very Merry Christmas! 

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New Western RoundUp Column: Westerns Celebrating 75 Years

I'm happy to say that my newest Western RoundUp article for Classic Movie Hub has just been published.

My new column focuses on Westerns celebrating their 75th anniversaries in 2025, discussing why 1950 was a significant year for the Western genre.

Please click over to Classic Movie Hub to check it out, and, as always, thanks very much for reading!

Previous Classic Movie Hub Western RoundUp Column Links: June 2018; July 2018; August 2018; September 2018; October 2018; November 2018; December 2018; January 2019; February 2019; April 5, 2019; April 30, 2019; May 2019; June 2019; July 2019; August 2019; September 2019; October 2019; November 2019; December 2019; January 2020; February 2020; March 2020; April 2020; May 2020; June 2020; July 2020; August 2020; September 2020; October 2020; November 2020; December 2020; January 2021; February 2021; March 2021; May 2021; June 2021; June 2021 (No. 2); July 2021; August 2021; September 2021; November 2021; December 2021; December 2021 (No. 2); January 2022; February 2022; March 2022; April 2022; May 2022; June 2022; July 2022; August 2022; September 2022; November 2022; November 2022 (No. 2); January 2023 (No. 1); January 2023 (No. 2); March 2023; April 2023; May 2023 (No. 1); May 2023 (No. 2); June 2023; July 2023; September 2023; September 2023 (No. 2); October 2023; November 2023; December 2023; January 2024; February 2024; March 2024; April 2024; May 2024; June 2024; July 2024; August 2024; September 2024; October 2024; November 2024.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Kino Lorber has announced a March 4th release date for the Dark Side of Cinema XXIV collection, which will contain UNION STATION (1950), JENNIFER (1953), and THE CROOKED CIRCLE (1957). I especially look forward to a new commentary track on UNION STATION by Alan K. Rode.

...The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray release of THE SPANISH MAIN (1945) has been pushed back slightly, from December 17th to December 31st. This month's other WAC Blu-ray releases, MR. LUCKY (1943), NORA PRENTISS (1947), and THE TALL TARGET (1951), have arrived and will be reviewed here in due course.

...The January streaming lineup at the Criterion Channel will include a collection titled "Love in Disguise," including LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932) and MIDNIGHT (1939), along with nine other great films.

...Kristina of Speakeasy and Gill of RealWeegieMidgetReviews will be hosting a Journey to Italy blogathon at the end of January.

...The recently rebooted Hallmark streaming service, Hallmark+, will begin streaming films the day after they appear on Hallmark Channel in 2025.

...In her Classic Movie Hub column Noir Nook, Karen Burroughs Hannsberry writes about things she's thankful for in the film noir genre.

...Notable Passings: Diane Delano, who played Officer Semanski on NORTHERN EXPOSURE (1991-95), has passed on at 67...Jill Jacobson, who played P.I. Erin Jones on FALCON CREST (1985-87), has died. Depending on the source, she was 70 or 71.

...With Christmas quickly approaching, it's a relatively slow news week. The annual Christmas movie marathon is now underway at Turner Classic Movies; the complete schedule, including review links, may be found here. I'd like to wish all my readers a very happy Christmas!

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my December 14th column.

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TCM Remembers 2024

The annual TCM Remembers tribute video was released today by Turner Classic Movies.

As always, TCM has done a superb job honoring so many people whose work will live on thanks to the wonder of film.

The video may also be watched on YouTube or Twitter.

Past TCM tribute posts: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

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Quick Preview of TCM in January

Here's a quick preview of what's coming to TCM in January 2025!

George Raft will be the January Star of the Month. Around 20 Raft films will be shown on Tuesday evenings over the course of the month.

There are a number of good Raft films on the schedule; I particularly like NOCTURNE (1946).

The TCM Spotlight on Fridays will focus on movies with dream sequences, including THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), SPELLBOUND (1945), and THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (1947).

The January Noir Alley titles will be SUSPENSE (1946), DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946), WITHOUT PITY (1948), and WOMAN ON THE RUN (1950).

WITHOUT PITY is an Italian film with which I'm unfamiliar. Of the titles I've seen I especially enjoy SUSPENSE, starring film noir ice queen Belita, seen here. Her skating numbers are sensational.

Alfred Hitchcock will be showcased on the evenings of the 15th and the 22nd. There will be memorial tributes to Teri Garr and Kris Kristofferson on the 9th and 13th, respectively.

Other filmmakers receiving multifilm tributes in January include Marion Davies, Ernst Lubitsch, John Cassavetes, Julie Adams, Dane Clark, Bette Davis, Elvis Presley, Charles Bronson, Judy Holliday, Kay Francis, Conrad Veidt, Mark Sandrich, Cyd Charisse, Jeanette MacDonald, and Gene Hackman.

New Year's Day will feature concert films followed by a trio of THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! movies.

Additional January programming themes include screwball comedies, the number seven, farm films, swashbucklers, time travel, Mounties, '40s MGM musicals, Tennessee Williams adaptations, and the Hildegarde Withers mystery series.

There are still several blank spots scattered throughout the schedule. I'll have full programming details here around New Year's.

Related post: Book Review: The George Raft Films.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...A relatively light pre-Christmas news week is topped by Kino Lorber Studio Classics announcing February 25th release dates for THE CONQUEROR (1956) and the Pierce Brosnan miniseries NOBLE HOUSE (1988).

...There's been discussion board chatter about a new Kino Lorber deal to release some Universal films, including HOLD THAT BLONDE! (1945) with Veronica Lake and Eddie Bracken and DEAR RUTH (1947) with Joan Caulfield and William Holden.

...Film Masters releases Eric Linden in HERE'S FLASH CASEY (1937) on Blu-ray on December 17th. At The Hannibal 8 Toby Roan reports that Film Masters will also be releasing MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954).

...Glenn Erickson's latest CineSavant reviews at Trailers From Hell include the Criterion Collection's release of SCARFACE (1932) and the Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray edition of BODY AND SOUL (1947).

...This week we remember favorites Betty Grable, born December 18, 1916, and Irene Dunne, born December 20, 1898. Please visit my photo-filled tribute to Grable here and my Dunne tribute here.

...WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) begins a multi-day Fathom Events run in theaters nationwide beginning on Sunday, December 15th.

...Movie Zyng is having a big "Buy 3 Get 33% Off" Warner Archive sale through midnight December 16th.

...Notable Passings: Actor Michael Cole, the last surviving lead cast member of TV's THE MOD SQUAD (1968-73), has passed away at the age of 84...Actor Mark Withers, who played Ted Dinard on DYNASTY in 1981, has died at 77.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my December 7th column.

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Tonight's Movie: The Preacher's Wife (1996)

I'm always happy to discover a new Christmas film, and this year I've enjoyed watching THE PREACHER'S WIFE (1996) for the first time.

I had heard of THE PREACHER'S WIFE but frankly disregarded it, as it's a loose remake of the classic Christmas favorite THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1947). Nearly 30 years after its original release, I decided I would finally give THE PREACHER'S WIFE a try when a friend recommended it, and I'm glad I did.  

Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott adapted the newer film from the 1947 screenplay by Robert Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici, which was in turn based on the Robert Nathan novel THE BISHOP'S WIFE.

The general outlines of the original story are definitely there, but the movie is different enough in style, tone, and humor to stand on its own as a completely different and worthwhile viewing experience - including gospel music!

Denzel Washington plays Dudley, an angel sent to earth to help a troubled inner-city pastor, the Rev. Henry Biggs (Courtney B. Vance). Henry's church is struggling, and his marriage to Julia (Whitney Houston) isn't in the best shape either.

Adding to the stress is their young son Jeremiah (Justin Pierre Edmund) losing his best friend Hakim (Darvel Davis Jr.), when Hakim is taken into foster care.

Along the way Dudley helps Henry and Julia reconnect, while also changing the heart of a developer, Joe (Gregory Hines), who has his eye on the church property.

THE PREACHER'S WIFE may not be a classic on the level of the Cary Grant original - how could it be? - but I found it an entertaining and ultimately uplifting Christmastime watch in which good things happen for nice people.

Everyone involved is quite likeable, with Washington a charmer as the angel and Vance moving as the pastor dealing with poor church finances, an exploded boiler, and a young man (William James Stiggers Jr.) he'd helped being unexpectedly arrested.

Houston doesn't have the emotional range of the two male leads, but she's attractive and performs smoothly as the sometimes-exasperated wife, and when she has the chance to sing, which is fairly often, it's pure joy.

Houston's mother, Cissy Houston, who passed away just a few weeks ago, plays Mrs. Havergal, while Jenifer Lewis (THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG) plays Houston's movie mother. The cast also includes Loretta Devine, Lionel Richie, Paul Bates, and Charlotte D'Amboise, daughter of dancer Jacques D'Amboise.

My main criticism is I think the film's 123 minutes runs a few minutes long. Otherwise, this film is pleasant December viewing and I will definitely watch it again.

The movie was directed by Penny Marshall and filmed by Miroslav Ondricek. It was filmed in Portland, Maine, as well as locations in New York and New Jersey.

I watched THE PREACHER'S WIFE on DVD.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...The Warner Archive Collection has announced that the complete TV series CHEYENNE (1955-63) will be released on Blu-ray on January 28th. The collection - previously released in single-season DVD sets by the Warner Archive - will include all 107 episodes, "meticulously remastered from 4K scans of the original camera negatives."

...Also coming from the Warner Archive Collection, on February 11th: TOM AND JERRY: THE COMPLETE CINEMASCOPE COLLECTION.

...It was just announced that the Max streaming service will be featuring many more classic-era films which are shown on Turner Classic Movies.

...At The Digital Bits, Stuart Galbraith IV reviews Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray release of CATTLE DRIVE (1951) starring Joel McCrea...and Virginie Pronovost reviews another Western, THE PLUNDERERS (1960), at The Wonderful World of Cinema. THE PLUNDERERS stars Jeff Chandler.

...I seem to have missed the news from last spring that a long-lost Clara Bow film, THE PILL POUNDER (1923), was found in Omaha, Nebraska.

...Kino Lorber has announced a February 4th release date for the Dark Side of Cinema XXIII Blu-ray collection, featuring ROPE OF SAND (1949), KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE (1950), and NEVER LOVE A STRANGER (1958)...And coming to Blu-ray from Kinoi Lorber on February 25th, John Wayne and Susan Hayward in THE CONQUEROR (1956).

...Although I'm not a 4K enthusiast, I very much enjoyed Glenn Erickson's thoughts on LITTLE WOMEN (1994), just released in the 4K format.

...The GILMORE GIRLS TV series has been very briefly revived by way of a new Walmart commercial. The 30-second ad manages to hit every note perfectly.

...ClassicFlix has announced the future DVD release of another rare TV series, LOCK UP (1959-61), starring Macdonald Carey.

...Notable Passings: Wayne Northrop (seen here), who starred on both DAYS OF OUR LIVES and DYNASTY, has passed away at the age of 77. Survivors include his wife of 43 years, GENERAL HOSPITAL actress Lynn Herring...Thom Christopher, who starred on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, has died at the age of 84. He also appeared in several episodes of BUCK ROGERS IN THE 21ST CENTURY (1981)...Screenwriter Marshall Brickman, who won an Oscar for ANNIE HALL (1977), has died at 85.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my November 30th column.

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