Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I hope MORNING GLORY (2010) is as much fun as it looks. I hadn't heard of it until today. Here's the trailer.

...A discussion thread at TCM alerted me to the existence of a lengthy, brand-new radio interview with Doris Day. I hope to listen to it in the next day or two. There's more info at Out of the Past.

...Amazon's Christmas Corner has opened for the shopping season.

...And here's something you can buy at the Christmas Corner: Bing Crosby Christmas Specials, which will be released on November 16th. This looks like a fun purchase, although those of us old enough to remember them know full well they tended to be filled with obvious lip-synching and overly cutesy moments with his kids. Still, the shows were a sure sign Christmas was near!

...Speaking of Bing, Lou Lumenick reviewed the new six-film Bing Crosby Collection in the Universal Backlot series.

...I've been enjoying Days in Mayfair, written by a U.S. cinema student studying in the UK, and the blog's beautiful photos of London. I want to go back! :)

...Dear Old Hollywood does another terrific post on Southern California location shooting, this time focusing on William Holden's UNION STATION (1950). If you like the movie, don't miss this post.

...There's a new musical theater version of Jean Webster's DADDY LONG LEGS playing in nearby La Mirada, California. The music and lyrics are by Paul Gordon. The 1955 film version had a Johnny Mercer score.

...Just a Cineast calls the fun MGM crime procedural KID GLOVE KILLER (1942) "CSI: 1942."

...Queen Elizabeth II complained to Churchill about the quality of films shown at the Royal Film Performances in the early '50s, but was pleased with Hitchcock's TO CATCH A THIEF (1955).

...Dave Kehr of the New York Times assesses the state of Blu-ray and why it's problematic for classic film fans, something I've previously discussed. Kehr writes: "...most consumers seem perfectly happy with DVD technology... For bringing the latest Hollywood blockbusters into homes, Blu-ray is without parallel. But it is less friendly to older films, foreign films and films made with antiquated technologies." Kehr also discusses the lack of access to Paramount movies, which "have for all practical purposes disappeared down a black hole."

...Greenbriar Picture Shows takes a detailed look at a Paramount film I'd love to see, Paulette Goddard and Fred MacMurray in STANDING ROOM ONLY (1944).

...And while we're talking about Paulette and Paramount, the Self-Styled Siren muses on Paulette vs. Olivia in HOLD BACK THE DAWN (1941). That film is currently available on YouTube...any port in a storm when it comes to Paramount movies these days! Hopefully TCM will pry a few more titles loose from the Paramount/Universal library to show in 2011.

...There's another "manufactured on demand" batch of DVD-R's coming from MGM/Fox, although I only found a couple of titles interesting: 99 RIVER STREET (1953) and one of Lindsay Wagner's classic TV movies, CALLIE AND SON (1981). 99 RIVER STREET airs on TCM in January. Wagner's films appear to be in demand, as two more of her best-known TV films, THE TWO WORLDS OF JENNIE LOGAN (1979) and THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF DR. MEG LAUREL (1979), have both been released on DVD-R this year.

...One of these days I hope this country decides to stop forcing all of us to change our clocks twice a year. We "spring forward" again a mere four months from now, on March 13, 2011. If people like more light at night during the summer, why not just leave the clock as it was yesterday for the next four months?

...Noir of the Week reviews HOUSE OF BAMBOO (1955), starring Robert Ryan and Robert Stack. Another movie I've got to see!

...I finally started watching THE GOOD WIFE on DVD and love it. A compelling mix of political, legal, and domestic drama, with a top-notch cast led by Julianna Margulies, Josh Charles, and Christine Baranski.

...Notable passings: two of the creators of the musical FIDDLER ON THE ROOF have recently passed away. Joseph Stein, who adapted a short story into the script and later the screenplay, recently died at the age of 98. And composer Jerry Bock has passed on at the age of 81. Bock, as noted by John DiLeo, also composed one of my very favorite musicals, SHE LOVES ME.

...I'm wishing my readers a blessed All Saints Sunday, and I recommend reading Marcia Morrissey's touching essay "What Does God Really Look Like?" Marcia is the wife of Ed Morrissey of Hot Air.

Have a great week!