Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I'm looking forward to attending The Big Picture: Hitchcock! with my family at the Hollywood Bowl on August 31st. Lindsay will be there too! David Newman conducts the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, with Eva Marie Saint hosting an evening of music from Hitchcock films. Hard to believe it's already been four years since our last Bowl concert.

...Another exciting event on the horizon: We spent part of this weekend planning our itinerary for the Lone Pine Film Festival this October. Needless to say that's another event I'll be sharing here in due course!

...Please visit ClassicFlix for my latest article, on actress Marsha Hunt.

...Speaking of ClassicFlix, last week the company announced lower rental prices and sturdier mailers with cardboard inserts which will hopefully help reduce breakage.

...Here's a very interesting list of 5 Underrated Westerns by Jerry Entract at Rupert Pupkin Speaks. I love FORT DOBBS (1958)!

...At Cinematically Insane, Will McKinley recently shared a fun list, "5 Reasons to Watch NIGHT NURSE (1931)." It's a very entertaining pre-Code with Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell, Clark Gable, and Ben Lyon which I reviewed in 2008.

...Glenn Erickson has reviewed the new Warner Archive Blu-ray of OUT OF THE PAST (1947) at DVD Savant. I appreciate Glenn linking to my posts on the film's Bridgeport locations in his postscript, as well as to Robby's post on the movie's L.A. locations at Dear Old Hollywood. There's also an interesting note on the script from the Film Noir Foundation's Alan K. Rode. I anticipate reviewing this Blu-ray myself in the next few weeks. Word from Glenn and others is that it looks fantastic!

...Be sure to check in at the classic film blog Out of the Past, where Raquel has a roundup of reviews on film books by participants in her Summer Reading Challenge. I'm halfway through my reading list and hope to have my next review up in the next week or two!

...I have multiple books on Hedy Lamarr on my bookshelves or at least on my wish list, but here's one from 2006 I'd never heard of before: SPREAD SPECTRUM: HEDY LAMARR AND THE MOBILE PHONE by Rob Walters. Hedy is an amazing story: perhaps the most beautiful woman in the world and a key scientific inventor!

...Rick recently wrote about the very interesting "domestic noir" PITFALL (1948) at the Classic Film & TV Cafe. Dick Powell, Jane Wyatt, Lizabeth Scott, and Raymond Burr star. I was fortunate to see this one at the Million Dollar Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles a couple of years ago.

...Mark writes about OVER-EXPOSED (1956) with Cleo Moore at Where Danger Lives. I love how this site always gives me new ideas for movies to watch. Fortunately I've got this one on DVD!

...DRAFT DAY (2014), an enjoyable Kevin Costner film I reviewed in March, comes to DVD and Blu-ray on September 2nd.

...More Costner: A quarter century later, people still visit the baseball diamond in the Iowa cornfield built for FIELD OF DREAMS (1989).

...The University of Southern California heads the Hollywood Reporter's list of the Top 25 Film Schools in the United States. 75% of the first eight schools on the list are in the Los Angeles/Orange County area.

...Allison Williams, the daughter of NBC newscaster Brian Williams, has been cast in the title role in NBC's forthcoming live production of PETER PAN. Christopher Walken plays Captain Hook. While usually the same actor plays Captain Hook and Mr. Darling, NBC is breaking with tradition and having the actor who plays Smee, Christian Borle, also play Mr. Darling. The show will air on December 4th. It should be noted that unless NBC changes its practice, PETER PAN will only be live for the East Coast, an antiquated practice in my view.

...Fall cookbook season is almost here! Ina Garten has a new Barefoot Contessa title out in October, MAKE IT AHEAD. There's also a new cookbook from Martha Stewart Living next month, ONE POT: 120+ EASY MEALS FROM YOUR SKILLET, SLOW COOKER, STOCKPOT AND MORE...and A KITCHEN IN FRANCE: A YEAR OF COOKING IN MY FARMHOUSE by Mimi Thorisson looks interesting. It's out in late October.

...Colin's latest review at Riding the High Country is of the very entertaining RUN FOR THE SUN (1956) with Richard Widmark and Jane Greer.

...Here's an interesting book I recently spotted a stranger reading and promptly added to my wish list: THE GIRLS OF ATOMIC CITY: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE WOMEN WHO HELPED WIN WORLD WAR II by Denise Kieman. It came out last year. Looks like a good Kindle purchase for me.

...CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945) arrives on Blu-ray November 11th.

...Jacqueline writes about the wonderful Tyrone Power-Ann Blyth time travel film I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU (1951) at Another Old Movie Blog.

...At Shadows and Satin Karen shares her tour of the Hollywood Forever cemetery last spring. Although I've shared a couple of photos here and there, that's something I've been meaning to do since I visited it with Aurora in April. Need more blogging time...!

...Kristina of Speakeasy and Ruth of Silver Screenings have announced the O Canada blogathon, to take place October 4th through 9th, 2014. Please visit their sites for details, including the impressive list of participants signed up to date. Why not join in?! I'll be writing on Tyrone Power in PONY SOLDIER (1952) as my contribution.

...Notable Passings: Emmy-winning actor Charles Keating, a veteran of multiple soap operas including ANOTHER WORLD, has passed on at 72...Jess Marlow, a longtime Los Angeles news anchor on both KNBC and KCBS/KNXT, has died at 84.

Have a great week!