Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...August 1st marked the centennial of the birth of Jerome Moross (1913-1983), who composed one of the greatest film scores ever written, THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). The opening title featuring some of Moross's Copland-esque music can currently be found here; it was nominated for the Oscar, and it's hard for me to believe it didn't win. (The winner was Dimitri Tiomkin for THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.) Visit Moross.com to learn more about this great composer and his work. And why not order the BIG COUNTRY soundtrack?

...August 5th marks 102 years since the birth of Robert Taylor. Here's a look back at my 2011 centennial tribute to Taylor, which has been updated with links to additional movie reviews. There's also a tribute at Robert Taylor Actor.

...And for more on Robert Taylor, John DiLeo pays tribute to the great film WESTWARD THE WOMEN (1951) at ScreenSavers: "...it irresistibly mixes hard, tough action with honest sentiment...this is a movie with everything going for it. What emerges is a consistently absorbing, rousing, and even touching tale of courage and fortitude, with characters to root for wholeheartedly. Superbly photographed in black and white, WESTWARD THE WOMEN is also immensely likable and genuinely inspiring." I couldn't agree more!

...Since I've recently enjoyed Yasujiro Ozu's EQUINOX FLOWER (1958) and LATE AUTUMN (1960), I enjoyed this essay on LATE AUTUMN and AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON (1962) by Gabrielle Malcolm at PopMatters.

...Like many other DR. WHO fans, some members of my family tuned in to the BBC for Sunday's live announcement of the actor who will portray the 12th Doctor. He's 55-year-old Peter Capaldi, a Scottish actor whose credits include everything from LOCAL HERO (1983) to the recent BBC series THE HOUR.

...Have you checked out the interview videos available on the Film Noir Foundation site? I'm looking forward to listening to the talk with Joan Evans soon.

...The Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller recently participated in a podcast with George Feltenstein of Warner Archive. I'm hoping to give it a listen tomorrow.

...A little-known Western I enjoyed a lot recently was PANHANDLE (1948), starring Rod Cameron. I was happy that John McElwee called attention to this film at Greenbriar Picture Shows.

...Earlier this summer I enjoyed Bette Davis and George Brent in FRONT PAGE WOMAN (1935). I had a good time revisiting the film in my mind's eye when reading Will's fun review at Cinematically Insane, as he describes "a magical version of New York City where palm trees line the streets."

...Kristina just saw THE HOUSTON STORY (1956), another movie I recently saw. I thoroughly enjoyed her enthusiastic take on the movie.

...One of the stars of THE HOUSTON STORY was Barbara Hale...here's a great interview with her my dad found at Western Clippings. As a fan of Tim Holt's "B" Western sidekick Richard Martin, I loved reading her comment about Martin, "What a darling man!" In an interview I recently read with Jacqueline White, White said "Richard Martin was a charming guy -- real nice and tall! A good looking fellow." It's always refreshing to read that an actor one admires is "good people" off camera.

...Wow, what a movie collection...although I have trouble with the idea of separating DVDs from their cases.

...Brooke Shields continues to reinvent herself..she just directed a well-received stage production of CHICAGO at the Hollywood Bowl. Good for her. The cast included Samantha Barks of LES MISERABLES (2012).

...I heartily endorse Caftan Woman's "One for August" recommendation of Douglas Sirk's LURED (1947), showing on TCM on August 24th. It stars George Sanders and Lucille Ball, and it's quite an enjoyable, stylish movie.

...I always enjoy checking out what Paul's been watching at Lasso the Movies. Just a couple of the reviews I've recently read: WAGON MASTER (1950) and I MARRIED A WITCH (1942); the latter has an excellent analysis of Fredric March and Veronica Lake and why they work together so well in this film -- despite having zero affection for one another when the cameras weren't rolling.

...Attention Southern Californians: The Lucille's BBQ in Long Beach's Belmont Shore neighborhood will close; the employees are relocating to the new, larger Lucille's being built near Marina Pacifica at PCH and 2nd Street. Lucille's is one of our family's favorite restaurants.

...Notable Passings: Actress Gail Kobe, who went from a steadily working guest actress in episodic television to producing soap operas such as THE GUIDING LIGHT and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, has passed on at the age of 84 or 82, depending on the obituary. I particularly knew her from the "Marshal Maverick" episode of my favorite TV series, MAVERICK. She's seen here at the left..Actor Michael Ansara has also passed on, age 91. His film career went all the way back to a small role in the 1944 George Sanders film ACTION IN ARABIA and included many other films and TV series. His final credit was voicing Mr. Freeze in TV's BATMAN cartoons. Ansara was first married to Jean Byron and then Barbara Eden; he had been married to Beverly Kushida since 1977...Oscar-nominated actress Eileen Brennan has died at 80.

...Note: There will not be an Around the Blogosphere post next weekend, as I'll be spending all of Friday through Sunday at the 2013 D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Have a great week!