Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Carole Lombard was born on this date in 1908. For those who may have missed it the first time around, here's a link to my 2011 post on my college internship at a historic home in Redlands, California, where I discovered some rather amazing photos of Carole taken when she was 11-year-old Jane Peters.

...Coming next February from Turner Classic Movies: OSCAR, a new documentary on the Academy Awards which will debut on the network February 1, 2014.

...Last week I shared the news regarding the 2014 dates for the TCM Classic Film Festival. TCM has an ad on YouTube guaranteed to make any classic film fan want to be there. Will McKinley posted some good festival tips at Cinematically Insane.

...2014 will be the "Year of Ann Blyth" at Another Old Movie Blog. This sounds like a great project!

...At Outspoken and Freckled, Kellee Pratt writes about attending the Buster Keaton Celebration in Kansas a few days ago. She has some great photos as well as a look at what was on the schedule.

..."The Hardest Working Legend Around": I really enjoyed this peek into Vin Scully's work ethic. He'll be 86 soon, and next year will be his 65th season with the Dodgers.

...In another baseball story, former manager Tony La Russa works to save and find homes for animals. Who knew?

...Colin has recently reviewed SADDLE THE WIND (1958) at Riding the High Country. I especially appreciated what he writes about Robert Taylor: "The more often I watch Robert Taylor’s westerns, particularly those of the late 50s, the more I come to view him as one of the most significant figures in the genre." There's also a long, interesting conversation in the comments; in fact, Colin writes that post drew more comments than any of his other film reviews! (I was, in fact, pleasantly surprised to discover this blog was mentioned in the conversation; sincere thanks to Colin and John!) I wrote about SADDLE THE WIND fairly briefly back in 2007; I'd like to take another look at it soon, in the context of a much deeper appreciation for Robert Taylor's work myself.

...Over at The Kitty Packard Pictorial, Carley conducted a delightful interview with Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood.

...The latest reviews by Glenn Erickson at DVD Savant include DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK (1939) and THE BIG COMBO (1955), two very different films which are each visually stunning.

...New cookbook just out: THE ROMNEY FAMILY TABLE by Ann Romney...Due out later this month: THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS: A YEAR OF HOLIDAYS by Ree Drummond. The PIONEER WOMAN cookbooks have been particular successes with my family so I'll definitely be getting her newest title.

...One year when I was a teen we took a bus tour of movie star homes on my birthday. The most memorable street was Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, then home to Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, and Rosemary Clooney. I was sorry to read last week that Ira Gershwin's former home on Roxbury was recently demolished.

...L.A. then and now is also a theme of Robby's newest post at Dear Old Hollywood, looking at locations for the Robert Mitchum-Robert Ryan film THE RACKET (1951). THE RACKET was reviewed here briefly in 2006.

...Found on YouTube: The hard-to-find Jerome Kern musical CENTENNIAL SUMMER (1946), starring Jeanne Crain and Linda Darnell. Shhhh, and pass it on! These movies have a way of disappearing without warning, so anyone interested should check it out soon. When I met Robert Osborne at the TCM Festival last spring, this was the movie I told him I hoped he'd be able to show on TCM in the future -- and he said he'd love to be able to do it!

...I was interested to learn Sterling Hayden's 1963 memoir WANDERER is still in print.

...Notable Passings: Longtime Paramount producer A.C. Lyles has passed on at the age of 95. Lyles was spry and savvy, still working decades after others might have retired; I got a kick out of seeing him walk by at the TCM Festival in 2012...As a young child one of the first TV shows I loved was DANIEL BOONE, so I was sad to learn of the passing of Patricia Blair, who played Becky, at the age of 80. She's seen in the photo at the right with Fess Parker, Veronica Cartwright, and Darby Hinton. Blair also starred with Chuck Connors on THE RIFLEMAN...I was very sorry to learn that writer Tom Clancy has died at 66. Several of my family members have loved his books; I particularly recall a Christmas vacation when my husband couldn't put down THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN.

Have a great week!