Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...New on Blu-ray from Twilight Time: Pat Boone and Shirley Jones in APRIL LOVE (1957). A remake of HOME IN INDIANA (1944), it can be purchased from Screen Archives Entertainment.

...As I write, there are currently some low, low prices at the TCM Shop. For instance, the John Ford Columbia Collection is just $14.99, and Conversations With Robert Osborne is $4.99.

...The children's "curtain" playclothes from THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) were auctioned off on April 30th.

...Happy birthday to French actress Danielle Darrieux, who turned 98 on May 1st. Darrieux films previously reviewed here include the delightful THE RAGE OF PARIS (1938), costarring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., as well as RICH, YOUNG and PRETTY (1951) and FIVE FINGERS (1952).

...Lots of great reviews at so many sites lately! Here are just a few: Caftan Woman on Bing Crosby and Joan Blondell in EAST SIDE OF HEAVEN (1939)...Leonard Maltin and Glenn Erickson on the new 42ND STREET (1933) Blu-ray...The new Criterion release THE RIVER (1951), also reviewed by Glenn Erickson, looks interesting...Mike Clark reviewed RIDE THE PINK HORSE (1947) for Home Media Magazine. Like me, he found it played better the second time around. And it was great to see his positive words on Robert Montgomery's ONCE MORE, MY DARLING (1949), which I think is one of the funniest romantic comedies of the '40s...Ivan reviewed the new Olive Films release of STRANGER AT MY DOOR (1956), which stars Macdonald Carey, for ClassicFlix...Cliff reviewed Spencer Tracy and James Stewart in THE MURDER MAN (1935) at Immortal Ephemera...and Toby reviewed Robert Mitchum's THUNDER ROAD (1958) on Blu-ray at The Hannibal 8.

...I'm really delighted that LAWMAN (1958-1962) is being released from the Warner Archive. This favorite Warner Bros. Western stars John Russell, Peter Brown, and (beginning with Season 2) Peggie Castle. It's currently an exclusive at Critics' Choice Video so I expect it to turn up at the WB Shop in a few weeks.

...Over at ClassicFlix, Westerns expert Boyd Magers has written about another Warner Archive TV Western release, THE DAKOTAS (1962-63).

...Twitter users visit movie theaters more often than the average American.

...A movie on the 1985 "New Coke" disaster? Could be fun.

...Out this week: THE OFFICIAL JOHN WAYNE WAY TO GRILL, written with the participation of Wayne's son Ethan.

...Attention Southern Californians: Here's a list of outdoor movie screenings to enjoy this summer in the Los Angeles area.

...And if you're in London this summer, you can see movies in the Charing Cross Tube station! That's unusual...

...I certainly would have loved to be at this weekend's nitrate festival put on by George Eastman House. I have fond memories of the shimmering nitrate prints seen in L.A. revival houses in the '70s.

...Notable Passings: Director-Writer Richard L. Bare died in Newport Beach, California, on March 28, 2015. He was 101 years old. Bare created the long-running Joe McDoakes series of movie shorts, and he directed countless Warner Bros. TV episodes for shows such as MAVERICK, CHEYENNE, and LAWMAN...Richard Corliss, the film critic at Time Magazine for the past 35 years, recently passed away at 71. Last year he wrote the book MOM IN THE MOVIES...Actress Jayne Meadows, the widow of Steve Allen and the sister of the late actress Audrey Meadows, died on April 26th at the age of 95. Early in her career Meadows was memorable in films such as LADY IN THE LAKE (1947), seen at the left, and THE LUCK OF THE IRISH (1948)...Actress Suzanne Crough, who played little Tracy Partridge on THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY (1970-74), has passed away suddenly at 52...Screenwriter-novelist Don Mankiewicz has died at 93.

...Lovely news from London yesterday, the birth of a baby girl to William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. There are lots of great color photos at the Daily Mail site. A name is expected to be announced in a day or so, after the baby meets her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. (Update: The baby's name has been announced: She is Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge.)

...It continues to be unusually busy around here these days, hence no roundup last weekend. For more recent links, be sure to visit the April 19th roundup!

Have a great week!