Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...My recent "Gone Too Soon" post on actress Gail Russell has been adapted and posted at MovieFanFare. I appreciate MovieFanFare sharing this post with their readers, and I'm especially happy to have the chance to share thoughts on one of my favorite actresses with a wider audience.

...MAD MEN returned to TV tonight after an absence of roughly a year and a half. I enjoy "speed watching" the show; I like keeping up with the overall plots and taking in the sets and costumes, but I'm not interested in burying myself in its endlessly depressing darkness for every second of a full episode. (Honestly, if the show were all one knew of the '60s you'd think no one in that era was ever happy.) I do a fair amount of fast-forwarding. Heresy, perhaps, but it works for me. Motorcyle Boy has a good post on the show at The Lady Eve's Reel Life. I also enjoyed Robert Lloyd's review in the L.A. Times.

...I had no idea before today that Jared Harris, who's so good playing Lane Pryce on MAD MEN, is the son of the late Richard Harris.

...The Pioneer Woman's Cajun Chicken Pasta looks fantastic, although I think I might try substituting some simple olive oil with garlic for the wine & cream sauce.

...Jill has posted some great Life Magazine photos of James Stewart's return from wartime service at The Cinementals.

...And be sure to catch the ongoing "March in March" tribute to actor Fredric March at Jill's other blog, Sittin' on a Backyard Fence. I unfortunately ran out of time to offer a contribution myself to the "free for all" this weekend, but there are tons of good posts. One of my favorites was by Cliff at Immortal Ephemera, but be sure to check them all out!

...A review at A Shroud of Thoughts has convinced me I need to try the '60s TV series MY LIVING DOLL. Be sure to read the comments carefully; there is some special feedback.

...Musicals with remote pit orchestras? That's just weird.

...Actress Julie Adams has a Facebook page. If you're on Facebook, stop by and say hello!

...Greenbriar Picture Shows has some great new posts on THE BURNING HILLS (1956), starring Natalie Wood and Tab Hunter, and WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956) with Dana Andrews and an all-star cast. As is always the case at Greenbriar, they're packed with excellent photos.

...Colin recently reviewed THE BRIBE (1949) at his blog Riding the High Country. I enjoyed this movie, which stars Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, and Vincent Price and was directed by Robert Z. Leonard. In the comments, Blake Lucas offers the interesting rumor that Vincente Minnelli directed the climactic fireworks sequence. I could see that being a possibility; it's an especially stylish and memorable scene.

...I always enjoy Barrie Maxwell's columns at The Digital Bits, and his latest is especially interesting, focusing on the career of David O. Selznick and the availability of Selznick's films on DVD.

...Out this week on DVD from Olive: Ray Milland, Joan Fontaine, and Teresa Wright in SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR (1952), reviewed by Glenn Erickson; and Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund in NO MAN OF HER OWN (1952), which I loved last year.

...Attention Southern Californians: There's a new Warner Bros. TV exhibit at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills.

...Notable Passing: Lincoln Hall, who remarkably survived a night on Everest without equipment in 2006, has passed away at the age of 56. The cause was mesothelioma.

Have a great week!