Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...As mentioned in my year in review, last year I had an unusually busy work schedule due to undergoing training on new equipment for my business. Combined with writing commitments such as my Western Roundup column for Classic Movie Hub, that meant that somehow 11 months have flown by since I wrote my last Around the Blogosphere This Week column. I've missed doing it, so here's a new roundup post for the new year!

...Thanks to Dean Street Press for sending me a Kindle edition of their upcoming release, VERONICA: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF VERONICA LAKE. Dean Street is bringing this 1969 book back into print next month, with a new introduction by Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation and Turner Classic Movies.

...LAWMAN (1958-62) starring John Russell, Peter Brown, and Peggie Castle is one of my favorite TV Westerns. (You can read my review of the Season 1 DVD set here and Season 2 here.) I was thus excited to learn about the upcoming book LAWMAN: A COMPANION TO THE CLASSIC TV WESTERN SERIES by Bill Levy, published by Bear Manor Media. It will be out in March.

...Here are 10 essential Yasujiro Ozu films from the British Film Institute.

...Netflix streaming recommendation: I have really enjoyed Taco Chronicles, an interesting and educational documentary. (Just don't watch it when you're hungry!) Here's a review from Eater.com, and here's a guide for great tacos available in Los Angeles.

...This 2013 BBC article on the missing John Wayne-Ann Rutherford film THE OREGON TRAIL (1936) and the Lone Pine Film Festival remains interesting. At the Lone Pine Film Festival a couple years ago, guide Don Kelsen used stills from the film to take visitors on a tour of the "lost" movie's locations. There's a terrific edition of the LONE PINE AND THE MOVIES annual available from Amazon, which I highly recommend. It's 124 pages long and has a great deal of information on the film, including many photos.

...I've reviewed most of the GOURMET DETECTIVE MYSTERIES which air on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. I'm happy that a new film in the series, ROUX THE DAY (2020), will air on January 19th. Dylan Neal, Brooke Burns, and Bruce Boxleitner star. Neal and his wife Becky Southwell have again written the screenplay.

...As regular readers know from my reviews, Kino Lorber has consistently interesting releases with terrific extras. I'm especially excited about their March lineup, which includes Blu-ray releases of CANYON PASSAGE (1946) and NIGHT PASSAGE (1957). Both releases will have commentary tracks by Toby Roan of 50 Westerns From the 50s. (And for those who may have missed the news in my TCM Remembers 2019 post, NIGHT PASSAGE leading lady Dianne Foster passed away last July at the age of 90. The news was not widely reported.)

...Coming this fall from GoodKnight Books: FILM NOIR STYLE: THE KILLER 1940S by Kimberly Truhler of GlamAmor.

...Turner Classic Movies General Manager Jennifer Dorian has decided to leave after two decades with Turner. Her replacement, recommended by Jennifer herself, is TCM's Pola Changnon. Farewell and sincere thanks to Jennifer for her great tenure, and congratulations to Pola!

...Here's Leonard Maltin's review of THE MOVIE MUSICAL! by Jeanine Basinger. This book is thick (over 600 pages!) and beautifully designed. I've only just begun reading it but can confidently say that Basinger's books are always worth reading, which is backed up by Mr. Maltin's review.

...The '80s TV series THIRTYSOMETHING (1987-91) will have a reboot, focused on the children of the original characters. At the time the series ended, the children on the series were Janie and Leo (Michael and Hope's children), Ethan and Brittany (Elliot and Nancy's children), and Emma (Gary and Susannah's daughter). Original stars Ken Olin (Michael), Mel Harris (Hope), Timothy Busfield (Elliot), and Patricia Wettig (Nancy) are scheduled to appear.

...Congratulations to my friend Victoria Mature, who is featured in this year's Noir City Film Festival posters! The San Francisco edition of the festival opens later this month. Noir City Hollywood opens on March 5th; incidentally, unlike the past few years, Noir City Hollywood will take place a month before the TCM Fest, rather than the prior week.

...Royalty Watch: Here's an interesting article from Nippon.com on the postponed marriage of Princess Mako, eldest daughter of Crown Prince Akishino. (Given what's been going on with the immature and disappointing behavior of Prince Harry and his wife this past week, perhaps extra caution before marrying royalty isn't a bad thing...!)

...Remembering Rod Taylor: My 2014 birthday tribute to the Australian-born actor, who was born January 11, 1930.

...Coming to the beautiful American Legion Post 43 Theater on Saturday, January 18th: Charlie Chaplin's THE GOLD RUSH (1925), presented in 35mm by Retroformat Silent Films. Cliff Retallick will provide live musical accompaniment, with an introduction by Allison Anders. Ticket info is here.

...Here's a 2019 CNET article on going to the movies alone. I've done it since I was a teenager and have never understood the reluctance of some to see films solo. I love going with family and friends, but I never let having to go alone at times stop me! It's not like you chat during the movie itself anyway...

...Notable Passings: Edd Byrnes of TV's 77 SUNSET STRIP (1958-64) has died at 87...Christopher Beeny, who played Edward the footman on UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS (1971-75), has passed on at 78.

There's much more I could share, but I'll end here, and hopefully it won't be another 11 months before the next edition of this column. Have a great week!