Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...The Lady Eve's Reel Life is sponsoring a wonderful blogathon on May 5th, Power-Mad, celebrating the centennial of Tyrone Power's birth. Needless to say, I had to be part of this great celebration of my favorite actor! So far over two dozen bloggers are signed up, each one reviewing a different film. I'll be watching THIS ABOVE ALL (1942), costarring Joan Fontaine, for the very first time and am really looking forward to it.

...Here's a great-looking book I spotted in the TCM boutique at the recent festival, which I intend to purchase in the future: FIVE CAME BACK: A STORY OF HOLLYWOOD AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Mark Harris. The book chronicles the wartime experiences of five famed directors, John Ford, George Stevens, William Wyler, Frank Capra, and John Huston, telling "the untold story of how Hollywood changed World War II, and how World War II changed Hollywood."

...A book I purchased at the TCM boutique: EDGAR G. ULMER: A FILMMAKER AT THE MARGINS by Noah Isenberg. I grabbed it right away as I was interested to learn more about HER SISTER'S SECRET (1946), a really interesting low-budget film seen at the TCM Festival, which starred Margaret Lindsay and Nancy Coleman.

...For those who may have missed the mention amidst my coverage of the TCM Classic Film Festival, TCM's great Watch TCM app is now available for the Kindle Fire.

...Kevin Costner hopes to make a Western trilogy. Speaking of Costner, I really enjoyed his DRAFT DAY (2014) last month, despite being a bit formulaic, and it was nice to see that Leonard Maltin had the same opinion.

...Here's John McElwee at Greenbriar Picture Shows, counting his movie blessings.

...A new coffee table photo book: MOM IN THE MOVIES by Richard Corliss in collaboration with TCM, published by Simon & Schuster. The book includes sidebar essays by "friends of TCM" such as Eva Marie Saint, Jane Powell, Tippi Hedren, and Illeana Douglas.

...Coming to DVD from Timeless Media: Season 2 of Dick Powell's ZANE GREY THEATRE. The set will have all 30 episodes. Season 1 came out in 2009 from VCI. The Caftan Woman recently wrote about the show for the "Big Stars on the Small Screen" Blogathon.

...Speaking of the Caftan Woman, her "One for April" choice on TCM is one of my all-time favorite movies, RIO GRANDE (1950) starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. It airs on TCM Tuesday, April 22nd. I'll have more on the forthcoming big John Wayne week on TCM in the near future.

...There's a great piece on Dan Duryea and THE UNDERWORLD STORY (1950) by Mark at Where Danger Lives. This Warner Archive DVD is in my "to watch" stack!

...A new book from Johns Hopkins University Press: MUSIC IN THE SHADOWS: NOIR MUSICAL FILMS by Sheri Chinen Biesen. Biesen is also the author of BLACKOUT: WORLD WAR II AND THE ORIGINS OF FILM NOIR.

...Rick recently reviewed the little-known Disney film THE SWORD AND THE ROSE (1952) at ClassicFilm and TV Cafe. THE SWORD AND THE ROSE stars Glynis Johns and Richard Todd. I thought it was terrific when I saw it in February, and I also loved Todd and Johns in Disney's ROB ROY: THE HIGHLAND ROGUE (1953).

...The Classic Film and TV Cafe hosted a James Stewart Blogathon last week with over two dozen bloggers participating. Visit the Cafe for a roundup of links. Among the many posts I enjoyed reading were the Caftan Woman on one of my favorites, BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), and Lindsay on THE NAKED SPUR (1953), which I just saw for the first time in February.

...There's a Romantic Comedy Blogathon coming May 1st, cosponsored by Backlots and Carole & Co.

...Coming from Criterion in July: The Essential Jacques Demy, a collection including THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964) and THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT (1967).

...Doris Day recently made an appearance at a 90th birthday party; she looks great, and it's wonderful for her fans to see her appearing so happy.

...From KCET: "10 Old-School Restaurant Exteriors." (Via Robby.)

...Helen Mirren played Alma Hitchcock in HITCHCOCK (2012), and she's now been cast as another filmmaker's wife, in a period drama about blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo will be played by Bryan Cranston of BREAKING BAD.

...Coming to DVD: Season 2 of James Arness and Bruce Boxleitner in HOW THE WEST WAS WON will be released on July 15th.

...Royalty Watch: Here's adorable photos of little Prince George visiting a zoo in Sydney, Australia on Easter Sunday. Cute photos from an earlier appearance in New Zealand are here.

...So much cuteness! A shy rescue cat becomes best buddies with the family dog. Check out the adorable video.

...Attention Southern Californians: Next Saturday, April 26th, there is a free 35mm screening of THE NARROW MARGIN (1952) at the Egyptian Theatre, along with a tribute to producer Stanley Rubin. The tribute is at 2:00 p.m. and the screening, introduced by Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation, will be at 3:00. A reception follows.

...Last Friday evening was the opening night of a free series at UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater honoring the TV work of actor Norman Lloyd. The series runs through June 8th. The 99-year-old Lloyd was recently interviewed by Susan King of the Los Angeles Times.

...Notable Passings: Actress Mary Anderson (seen here), the widow of cinematographer Leon Shamroy, has passed away at the age of 96. Anderson was one of the last surviving cast members of GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), in which she played the small role of Maybelle Merriwether; her other films included THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943), LIFEBOAT (1944), and WILSON (1944)...Dorothy Mitchum, the widow of Robert Mitchum, has passed on at the age of 94. The Mitchums were married for 57 years and had three children.

Happy Easter, and have a great week!