Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Leading off this week with some great news for those of us in Southern California: LAURA (1944) will be screening at the Egyptian Theatre on February 20th. It will be introduced by Dana Andrews' daughter, Susan. Carl Rollyson will be there that evening signing copies of his excellent biography, HOLLYWOOD ENIGMA: DANA ANDREWS. LAURA will be screened in digital format.

...I love the evocative still from DAY OF THE OUTLAW (1959) Toby posted at 50 Westerns From the 50s. Hope those of you in snowy regions are staying warm!

...A new cookbook coming in mid-February: NIGELLISSIMA: EASY ITALIAN-INSPIRED RECIPES by Nigella Lawson. Lawson's FEAST is one of my favorite cookbooks; her recipe for Sticky Garlic Potatoes is a family favorite.

...And a new-to-me cooking blog I recently started exploring: Cooking the Books with Kelly-Jane, written by a Scottish cook.

...Blockbuster announced last week it's closing 300 more stores. Can the end be far off?

...Netflix, on the other hand, has had better news for its investors of late.

...ARGO (2012) comes out on DVD February 19th.

...Kim of GlamAmor has a photo report on the Loretta Young Centennial celebration at the Hollywood Museum.

...For anyone who may have missed the news, Disney has confirmed that J.J. Abrams will direct the upcoming STAR WARS film.

...The script for Season 1 of DOWNTON ABBEY comes out on February 5th, with Season 2 to follow.

...If the New York Times can be believed -- not always a given -- some restaurants aren't too happy with the trend to photograph meals. You'd think the publicity would be welcome.  I had a sense the issue was exaggerrated for the sake of the article; the facts were pretty thin, but I was interested the issue was raised.

...Reviews, reviews, and more reviews: Kevin writes about THE LAST HUNT (1956), starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger, at Kevin's Movie Corner...Riding the High Country reviews John Garfield and Maureen O'Hara in THE FALLEN SPARROW (1943)...Judy compares the original OKLAHOMA! (1955) with the 1999 Hugh Jackman version at Movie Classics...Classic Movies Digest reviews the excellent HOLD BACK THE DAWN (1941), which will be shown on TCM in February. It stars Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, and Paulette Goddard...The recent reviews at Vienna's Classic Hollywood include Richard Conte in THE SPIDER (1945) and a B Movie Roundup. Dorothy Patrick in LONELY HEART BANDITS (1950) sounds like fun!

...New book: WHITE BREAD: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE STORE-BOUGHT LOAF by Aaron Bobrow-Strain just came out last week. Sounds rather interesting.

...A list of 50 films not nominated for Best Picture includes iconic titles such as SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952), REAR WINDOW (1954), VERTIGO (1958), and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980).

...More reviews! I was delighted Raquel recently enjoyed the MGM "college musical" DANCING CO-ED (1939). It's a cute movie with a great cast including Lana Turner, Ann Rutherford, Richard Carlson, and Artie Shaw...Jacqueline writes about PARRISH (1961), with Claudette Colbert and Troy Donahue, at Another Old Movie Blog...Over at Where Danger Lives, Mark reviews William Holden and Nancy Olson in UNION STATION (1950)...Jennifer discusses Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire in the lovely film THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE (1945) at Virtual Virago...Paul keeps up an amazing pace at Lasso the Movies, be sure to drop in regularly to read about his latest viewing...and I loved the review of Loretta Young and Brian Aherne in A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1943) at Grand Old Movies. It's a delightful film I'd like to rewatch soon.

...Thanks to Raquel for passing on word of this upcoming title, MUSICALS ON THE SILVER SCREEN: A GUIDE TO THE MUST-SEE MOVIE MUSICALS by Leonard Kniffel. It's due in June.

...The Noir City fest is underway in San Francisco. Lara at Backlots writes about opening night, which featured an appearance by Peggy Cummins at GUN CRAZY (1950). I'm so glad I had a similar opportunity last April at the TCM Classic Film Festival! Cummins returned for a double bill of HELL DRIVERS (1957) and CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957). There's more info on the series at Hell on Frisco Bay. I'm anxious to hear what titles will be shown at Noir City Hollywood this spring!!

...Glenn Erickson's latest reviews at DVD Savant include INDISCREET (1958) from Olive Films and EXPERIMENT IN TERROR (1962) from Twilight Time. I saw INDISCREET countless times growing up but haven't seen it in many years. Time for a fresh look? I really loved EXPERIMENT IN TERROR last May at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

...Notable Passings: Boot Hill shared the news that actress Merry Anders passed on last October at the age of 80. Anders guest-starred in four episodes of my favorite MAVERICK series and did a great deal of other TV work. Her film THE DALTON GIRLS (1957) is available on DVD-R from MGM...Former Cal State Long Beach choral director Frank Pooler, who served as a mentor to Karen and Richard Carpenter and cowrote the holiday classic "Merry Christmas, Darling," has died at 86.

Have a great week!