Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...A quarter century after publishing MY LIFE, Debbie Reynolds has written a new autobiography, UNSINKABLE: A MEMOIR. Given its April 2nd publication date, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Debbie were to have a book signing at the TCM Classic Film Festival in late April. Wouldn't that be grand? Let's hope.

...Apparently there is as much campaigning in regard to the annual Oscars obituary roll call as there is for actual awards. Honestly, the Academy's obituary segment hasn't impressed me much -- the goofs have included mixing up Jennifer Jones and Jean Simmons and leaving Harry Morgan out of the montage. I'd rather watch a TCM Remembers tribute. (Incidentally, TCM killed the video of last year's montage, which was embedded straight from the TCM website...what gives?)

...Linda Alexander, the author of the excellent biography A MAVERICK LIFE: THE JACK KELLY STORY, recently spoke at a Friends of the Library luncheon in nearby Huntington Beach, the city where he served as a city councilman and mayor. I wish I'd been able to attend! Linda's next book is a biography of Allan "Rocky" Lane. She is also the author of RELUCTANT WITNESS: ROBERT TAYLOR, HOLLYWOOD, AND COMMUNISM.

...While we're on the subject of MAVERICK, a reminder that Season 2 will be available on DVD on April 23rd!

...Somehow I missed the news that a permanent exhibit of John Wayne memorabilia opened last summer at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. It can be found on the 2nd Floor of the George Lucas Building. Items on display include his rifle from STAGECOACH, his Congressional Medal, his hats from RIO BRAVO (1959) and HONDO (1953), his eyepatch from TRUE GRIT (1969), photos from his college days at USC, plus posters and stills. If you pay the exhibit a visit, be sure to also stop by Frank Sinatra Hall at the Norris Theater.

...The latest releases from the Warner Archive include a batch of Clark Gable titles. NEVER LET ME GO (1953), costarring Gene Tierney, is a definite buy for me; it may be a tad hokey but I found it very romantic and really enjoyed it. Other Gable titles being released are POLLY OF THE CIRCUS (1932) and KEY TO THE CITY (1950), which I reviewed in 2007.

...Another film due out soon from the Archive which I really enjoyed is CHEYENNE (1947), directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, and Janis Paige.

...Several drafts of Laurence Olivier's unproduced screenplay for MACBETH, missing for decades, were recently discovered.

...Two Glenn Ford films are coming to the Criterion Collection on May 14th: JUBAL (1956) and 3:10 TO YUMA (1957). This is a Glenn Ford spring, as he's also the star of a new set from the TCM Vault Collection, Glenn Ford - Undercover Crimes, which is due out March 18th.

...While I was at the Criterion site, I stumbled across an Eclipse set, The First Films of Samuel Fuller, which came out in 2007. I'm not sure how I'd missed this interesting set until now -- it includes I SHOT JESSE JAMES (1949) with Preston Foster, John Ireland, Reed Hadley, and Barbara Britton, and THE BARON OF ARIZONA (1950) with Vincent Price and Ellen Drew.

...Noir fans should be sure to read Kristina's profile of actress Jean Gillie, the star of DECOY (1946), at Speakeasy. While you're there, hang around to read Kristina's movie reviews, link roundups, DVD shopping lists, and more!

...My fellow Chester Morris fans will want to be sure to check out this Chester Morris website, which has lots of great photos.

...Several months ago some Georgetown Cupcakes were shipped to my daughter's place of business as a thank you gift. She thought it was the best cupcake she'd ever had. We just learned that a branch of Georgetown Cupcakes opened in Los Angeles last November. Looking forward to trying them sometime.

...There may be a new film produced about the Dunkirk evacuation during WWII. I'm all for it, as I found the 1958 film on that topic something of a disappointment, failing to capture the scale of what was accomplished. I just hope the new film isn't filled with the overly obvious use of CGI which plagues some new films. When it's readily apparent to the audience that you're using green screens, you're not doing it right.

...Harrison Ford confirmed to star in Disney's new STAR WARS movies? My younger daughter joked she wouldn't believe anything about the upcoming STAR WARS films until she's in the theater and the credits are rolling.

...At Hollywood Comet, Jessica prepared a very thorough Valentine's Day post about Hollywood's successful long-term marriages. It's uplifting to realize how many there were!

...Want to know if there's anything in a movie during or after the end credits? There's an app for that!

...Kyle Chandler is going to star in a Showtime pilot called VATICAN. Interesting timing given the historic news from Rome this past week.

...At Cinematically Insane, Will writes about the great "1933" pre-Code festival at New York's Film Forum. What a fantastic series!

...Among the many interesting reviews I've read of late, here are a few: At The Stalking Moon, Jeff reviewed FANTASTIC VOYAGE (1966), which looks like lots of fun...At Classic Movie Man, Stephen compares the plot of Ginger Rogers' FIFTH AVENUE GIRL (1939) to DOWNTOWN ABBEY, which both feature very politically active chauffeurs...Mike Clark of Home Media Magazine reviewed the new Warner Archive release DEATH IN SMALL DOSES (1959), starring Peter Graves and Mala Powers...the Self-Styled Siren wrote an intriguing review of Jean Simmons in HOME BEFORE DARK (1958)...Vienna of Vienna's Classic Hollywood shares my love for "B" movies -- I'd love to see Virginia Grey in SMOOTH AS SILK (1945), one of her recently reviewed titles.

...And even more reviews! The Greenbriar Picture Shows "Watch List" is always interesting; titles this week include Linda Darnell, Lynn Bari, and Benny Goodman in SWEET AND LOWDOWN (1944)...At Journeys in Classic Film, Kristen reviews Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in THE GLASS KEY (1942). I just took a fresh look at that one last month...Mark reviews Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright in Andrew Stone's THE STEEL TRAP (1952) at Where Danger Lives...Judy of Movie Classics writes about Loretta Young and David Niven in ETERNALLY YOURS (1939)...and today Rupert of Classic Movies Digest reviewed a Joan Bennett film I really liked, THE MAN I MARRIED (1940).

...There's a lovely tribute to the late John Kerr at Classic Montgomery. There's a beautiful photo from SOUTH PACIFIC (1958), and I also learned something new about Kerr's background.

Have a great week!