Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Be watching for For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon now underway at many classic movie blogs. Click the title of this post for more info from the Self-Styled Siren.

...Lou Lumenick posts on WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? (1945), an obscure Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin musical showing Monday on Fox Movie Channel. It stars Fred MacMurray, Joan Leslie, and June Haver; Haver would marry MacMurray several years later.

...New book: SARGENT'S DAUGHTERS: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A PAINTING by Erica Hirshler was published last fall. I especially loved seeing John Singer Sargent's paintings on last year's trip to London. The book looks quite interesting.

...The Hollywood Walk of Fame celebrates 50 years this month. Fun trivia: actor Preston Foster was the first name given a star in a 1958 demonstration project; Stanley Kramer was the first honored when the official construction began in 1960.

...Motion Picture Gems celebrates Valentine's Day by paying tribute to Deanna Durbin in I'LL BE YOURS (1947), a loose remake of THE GOOD FAIRY (1935). That's one of a shrinking number of films still on my "Durbin films to see" list.

...Last week KC spotlighted the career of actress Louise Beavers at Classic Movies. I love Beavers in HOLIDAY INN (1942); she adds an extra dash of something special to the movie. She was in over 160 movies and TV shows. I'm always happy to see her face when she turns up in a movie cast.

...I've heard good things about a sequel to one of my favorite books, Frances Hodgson Burnett's A LITTLE PRINCESS. WISHING FOR TOMORROW by Hilary McKay was published a few weeks ago.

...Here's more on the Laura Ingalls Wilder "LauraPalooza!" coming to Minnesota this summer. Links were also posted here last November.

...At the Classic Film and TV Cafe, the Lady Eve posted a wonderful two-part interview with Edna May Wonacott Green. Green is the one-time child actress who was so effective in Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943). It's refreshing to hear such positive memories from a child actress. Joseph Cotten sounds like a nice guy...

...At the TCM Movie Morlocks blog, Suzidoll has a fascinating post on Nina Foch in MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945), directed by Joseph H. Lewis (GUN CRAZY).

...Joel McCrea and Frances Dee owned a huge ranch in Ventura County. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the Ventura County Star, it will be open for tours in the future. Here is a nice photo of McCrea and Dee's grandson, Wyatt McCrea.

...Luise Rainer, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, will be appearing at the TCM Classic Film Festival in April. If only the Festival weren't priced out of reach of many fans...

...This week Glenn Erickson reviewed MGM's multi-story film THE STORY OF THREE LOVES (1953), which I was fortunate to see in the past at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

...Jennifer Rubin writes at Commentary about the perils of having a professor (actually, he was a lecturer) as President, who would prefer to bypass Congress -- and the will of the people -- and impose his own "elegant, academically approved" health care plan on the nation. What odd wording. In a related story, Kyle-Anne Shiver explains the extremely significant role which government policies have played in the "obesity epidemic" which is now receiving attention from the White House. And some are asking if the nation really needs a "Presidential scold."

...This weekend a series of Clint Eastwood films started at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. More details from Susan King at the L.A. Times. A 35-film Eastwood DVD Megaset arrives on Tuesday.

Have a great week!