Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I'm delighted to announce that I will again be covering this year's TCM Classic Film Festival as a member of the accredited media. This will be my sixth year covering the festival, and it's always a highlight of the movie year for me and many other classic film fans. I'll have more on what to expect at this year's festival before it opens on April 26th, along with ongoing real-time Tweets while it's taking place and plenty of post-festival coverage. In the meantime, check out my post on the latest announcements, and scroll to the end of that post for even more links with information on the 2018 festival. For anyone who's been on the fence about going, it's not too late to make plans to attend!

...Classic film fans in town early for the TCM Classic Film Festival may want to make plans to tour the Oakridge Estate. The Friends of the Oakridge Estate will be conducting tours at 10:00 a.m. on both April 21st and April 22nd, 2018. Oakridge, built in 1937, is the former home of Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor, and later Jack Oakie. Click here to visit the website and register. (March 26th Update: The 10:00 a.m. tours both days are now sold out and a 1:00 p.m. tour has been added on Saturday the 21st. If you're interested, best to sign up immediately! Additional Update: A Sunday afternoon tour has been added as well!)

...Prior to the TCM Classic Film Festival I'll once again be attending the annual Noir City Hollywood Festival, celebrating its 20th year with a slate of films set entirely in Los Angeles and Southern California. The schedule was unveiled a few days ago; I'll have a detailed run-down posted here in early April.

...Is this the end for Necco Wafers?! Say it isn't so!

...This weekend I enjoyed revisiting LEAP YEAR (2010) for the first time since 2010. Good movie which tickles my funnybone. It stars Amy Adams, and I'd completely forgotten her costar was Matthew Goode so that was a nice surprise when I pulled the case off the shelf! (P.S. This time around I noted some influences from 1945's I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! which I hadn't keyed in on last time. Part of the fun of revisiting movies is there's always something new to discover.)

...Fellow blogger Lara Fowler of Backlots had a media credential to cover the oral arguments in a hearing regarding Olivia de Havilland's lawsuit against FX last week. The hearing was to determine whether the case will move forward to a jury trial. Lara's report may be found at Backlots. For more, Cari Beauchamp's account of the hearing was posted at LA Observed. A decision is expected fairly soon. (March 26th Update: Olivia de Havilland has lost at the appellate level and the case has been remanded to the lower court with instructions to dismiss it. Here's more from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Lara's analysis of the decision is also available at Backlots.)

...Reviewed by CineSavant Glenn Erickson at Trailers from Hell: Ingrid Bergman's Swedish Years, an Eclipse set coming in April from Criterion Collection.

...ClassicFlix will be releasing DOWN THREE DARK STREETS (1954) and 5 STEPS TO DANGER (1957) on Blu-ray and DVD in late April. My 2013 review of DOWN THREE DARK STREETS, starring Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman, is here, and my review of Roman and Sterling Hayden in 5 STEPS TO DANGER is here. ClassicFlix has been doing a very nice job providing high-quality releases.

...A great resource to find where movies and TV shows are available to watch via streaming: JustWatch.com.

...Raquel has a fabulous new list of upcoming film-related books at her blog Out of the Past. Many interesting titles I'd like to check out! Just one book among many: STERLING HAYDEN'S WARS, a biography of the multitalented man by Lee Mandel, coming in May from the University Press of Mississippi. There's truly something for everyone on this list so be sure to scan the entire thing!

...Another book on the list, HERBERT MARSHALL: A BIOGRAPHY by Scott O'Brien, was just reviewed by Jocelyn at Classic Film Observations & Obsessions. It's from Bear Manor Media. Incidentally, Marshall is on the cover of one of the books on Raquel's list which intrigues me most, HOW DID LUBITSCH DO IT? by Joseph McBride.

...An additional bio coming later this year, which I learned of at Jocelyn's blog: CLAIRE TREVOR: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF THE QUEEN OF NOIR by Derek Sculthorpe, published by McFarland.

...Coming this fall: BING CROSBY: SWINGING ON A STAR - THE WAR YEARS 1940-1946, the second volume on Crosby by Gary Giddins. The publisher is Little, Brown & Company.

...Another book tip from Raquel: VINTAGE SIGNS OF AMERICA by Debra Jane Seltzer, from Amberley Publishing.

...I recently thoroughly enjoyed the short documentary SRIRACHA (2013), which is available to stream on Amazon. Great "foodie" history and a wonderful American success story, by way of Vietnam and a couple other countries! It's informative and entertaining. Recommended.

...Lots of pre-Codes coming from the Warner Archive in April 2018, plus Kay Francis in COMET OVER BROADWAY (1938).

...More on MoviePass and its efforts to improve customer service, from Deadline.

...Karie Bible, the official tour guide at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, recently made a series of appearances on KTLA Ch. 5 news, taking viewers through the cemetery to mark Women's History Month. Videos of the interviews may be found on the KTLA website.

...Paula Prentiss was recently interviewed by Texas Monthly.

...For more recent links on classic movies and more, please check out my March 4th link roundup.

Have a great week!