Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...It's been quite a while since my last link roundup. Here we go with some catching up!

...Friday evening I rewatched Van Heflin in GRAND CENTRAL MURDER (1942), which I reviewed here in 2007. Kind of a silly plot, but the movie looks great and has a marvelous cast, including Virginia Grey, Sam Levene, and Cecilia Parker; you can guess it will be a fun film when names like Tom Conway and Stephen (aka Horace) McNally don't even show up until around tenth billing! Even further down in the credits are marvelous character actor faves like Millard Mitchell, Frank Ferguson, and Arthur Space. The first time I saw the movie was thanks to TCM; it's now available from the Warner Archive.

...The annual O Canada Blogathon is coming up! It will be hosted by Kristina of Speakeasy and Ruth of Silver Screenings from February 9-11. I'm signed up to write about the Russell Hayden-Adele Mara "B" Western ("Northerner"!) RIDERS OF THE NORTHWEST MOUNTED (1943).

...Another great-looking blogathon is on tap for February: The Singing Sweethearts Blogathon, celebrating Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, will take place at Pure Entertainment Preservation Society from February 12-14.

...TCM's FilmStruck streaming service will be going international. TCM is teaming with Warner Bros. on the venture, which will be branded FilmStruck Curzon in the UK.

...A very exciting series is coming to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York next month: Martin Scorsese Presents Republic Rediscovered: New Restorations from Paramount Pictures. The series takes place February 1-15, with a second part scheduled for August 9-23. Paramount is currently restoring the Republic library, which will be "returned to wide distribution." Kino Lorber has been releasing some great-looking restored Republic titles of late, with the wonderful Ray Milland Western A MAN ALONE (1955) among the titles coming this year. Toby Roan of 50 Westerns From the 50s has worked on commentaries for some of the Kino releases, including the upcoming SINGING GUNS (1950), and says "the quality of the material coming out of Paramount is incredible."

...Speaking of Toby, he's providing the commentary for Kino's February release of the silent film THE COVERED WAGON (1923), which I anticipate reviewing here next month.

...A batch of pre-Codes is on the way from the Warner Archive in early February, including Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in I LIKE YOUR NERVE (1931) and Warren William, Joan Blondell, and Genevieve Tobin in GOODBYE AGAIN (1933). Check out the Archive's pre-order page for upcoming titles.

...For those who love "Malt Shop Novels" by authors such as Anne Emery, Lenora Mattingly Weber, Rosamund du Jardin, and Betty Cavanna, the New York Times recently ran an article on Image Cascade, which has been republishing the books for the last two decades.

...Fantastic news: THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1950), which I loved at last year's Noir City Hollywood Festival, has now been restored by the Film Noir Foundation and UCLA. It will screen on Turner Classic Movies in June, to be followed by a Blu-ray release from Flicker Alley, with extras produced by the Film Noir Foundation. Flicker Alley and the FNF did a fantastic job on their Blu-ray releases of TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949) and WOMAN ON THE RUN (1950) so this is great news all the way around. THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF stars Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, and John Dall and features great San Francisco locations, which I visited last summer (photos here).

...Coming in May from Rowman & Littlefield: THE ESSENTIAL JAMES GARNER by Stephen H. and Paul J. Ryan. "This book looks at the key feature films, made-for-television movies, and television episodes of Garner’s career...The authors also highlight the best episodes of Garner’s two iconic television shows, MAVERICK and THE ROCKFORD FILES."

...Coming to public television's MASTERPIECE THEATRE in May, the BBC's new production of LITTLE WOMEN. Emily Watson plays Marmee, Michael Gambon is Mr. Laurence, and Angela Lansbury portrays Aunt March. Dylan Baker, who memorably played suspected murderer Colin Sweeney in several episodes of THE GOOD WIFE, is an interesting casting choice as Mr. March.

...I periodically link to the Mystery File blog and encourage my readers to check it out regularly, as periodically there are some interesting film reviews, such as CRIME WAVE (1954), SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDOWN (1960), and A GENTLEMAN AFTER DARK (1942).

...Attention Southern Californians: The series Working Girls: America's Career Women on Screen opens at UCLA on Friday, February 2nd and runs through March 24th. The series will run concurrently with the ongoing Michael Curtiz retrospective. Titles include WORKING GIRL (1988), SHE MARRIED HER BOSS (1935), BABY FACE (1933), DESK SET (1957), THE BEST OF EVERYTHING (1959), and 9 to 5 (1980).

...Notable Passings: Bradford Dillman, whose career in films and TV spanned four decades, has passed on at 87. His passing comes less than a month after the death of his PIRANHA (1978) costar Heather Menzies. Director Joe Dante Tweeted a nice photo of Dillman and Menzies on the set along with Kevin McCarthy...Mouseketeer Doreen Tracey passed on at 74. I was fortunate to meet her at a Destination D event back in 2010; a couple of photos are at the link...Actress Heather North recently died at 71. North starred with Kurt Russell in Disney's THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE (1971), voiced Daphne in the SCOOBY-DOO cartoons, and appeared in DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Her husband was the late soap opera producer-director Wes Kenney...Actor Rance Howard, the father of Ron and Clint Howard, died in late November at the age of 89...A belated tip of the cap to actor John Hillerman, who was so memorable on the ELLERY QUEEN (1975-76) and MAGNUM, P.I. (1980-88) TV series. Hillerman passed on in November at the age of 84.

Have a great week!