Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Happiest birthday wishes to June Lockhart, who turned 95 on Thursday, June 25th. My tribute from the occasion of her 90th birthday may be found here.

...Christopher Nolan's new film TENET (2020), originally scheduled for theatrical release on July 17th, had recently rescheduled to July 31st. It was just announced it's been pushed back a couple more weeks, to August 12th. That news was quickly followed by Disney announcing the studio is delaying the release of the live-action MULAN (2020) from July 24th to August 21st.

...Musso & Frank Grill reopened yesterday, June 26th. Like many California restaurants, it's been closed since mid-March due to the pandemic. The 101-year-old Hollywood restaurant posted a letter to customers on its website.

...As anticipated, the Star Wars Celebration I was due to attend in Anaheim this August has been postponed. It will take place in 2022.

...Recently published by Bear Manor Media: ADAMANT: THE LIFE AND PURSUITS OF DOROTHY MCGUIRE by Giancarlo Stampalia. McGuire fans should also be aware that it doesn't sound like a typical biography: "ADAMANT is intended not as a definitive biography, but rather as an attempt, which investigates, reveals and examines, with microscopic tenacity, the many facets of McGuire’s personal and professional history... The loose strands of philosophical, literary and spiritual leitmotifs that are woven through the book’s exploration and culminate in its unusual conclusion make it less a biography than a moral, or alchemical, study of Dorothy McGuire. This loving tribute takes the metaphysical route and makes observations not only about its immediate subject but also about the art of acting, personal evolution and virtues, and, most importantly, the act itself of writing a biography."

...Speaking of Dorothy McGuire, here's a nice older post on her classic film CLAUDIA (1943) at Dominique Revue's "Cinema Coffee."

...Thanks to Andy at Journeys in Darkness and Light for the heads up on an interesting upcoming Blu-ray release: Inner Sanctum Mysteries, a six-film set. Blu-ray.com shows it releasing in July, while Amazon has a September release date. All six films star Lon Chaney Jr., and the supporting casts include Patricia Morison, Paul Kelly, Anne Gwynne, Jean Parker, and many more familiar faces. (September Update: Amazon now shows the Blu-ray set releasing October 20, 2020.)

...Back in 2016 I covered the absurd California law which prevented IMDb from publishing actors' ages on IMDb Pro accounts. I was amazed the law was passed as, among other things, it seemed a clear violation of the First Amendment. It's taken a while, but last week the 9th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the law as unconstitutional.

...Coming to Blu-ray in September from the Criterion Collection: BRUTE FORCE (1947) and THE NAKED CITY (1948).

...The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana reopened a few days ago. Its current big exhibit, Inside the Walt Disney Archives, originally due to close at the end of August, has been extended through mid-October.

...The Academy Museum in Los Angeles is now scheduled to open in April 2021. My husband and I certainly didn't envision, when we became charter members in March of last year, that we wouldn't be able to visit for over two full years! Some of the delay has been due to the museum's own planning and construction issues, while of course more recently COVID is to blame as well. All membership terms have been adjusted to reflect the new date.

...Did you know that the dress worn by Glinda the Good Witch (Billie Burke) in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) was previously worn by Jeanette MacDonald in SAN FRANCISCO (1936)? Fascinating stuff.

...Coming from Kino Lorber's Studio Classics line in September: The Cary Grant Collection, consisting of LADIES SHOULD LISTEN (1934), WEDDING PRESENT (1936), and BIG BROWN EYES (1936). I reviewed DVD editions of the latter two films in 2008 and look forward to revisiting them. WEDDING PRESENT will have a commentary track by Kat Ellinger, while BIG BROWN EYES will have a track by Nick Pinkerton.

...Here's a piece on Hayley Mills by former Los Angeles Times classic film writer Susan King, written for TCM's Tumblr page.

...Notable Passings: Britain's beloved World War II songstress Vera Lynn has passed on at the age of 103. In 2013 I reviewed her in the film WE'LL MEET AGAIN (1943), which takes its title from her most famous song...I've seen reports this morning of the passing of actress Taryn Power at the age of 66. Power, whose best-known film was SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER (1977) with Patrick Wayne and Jane Seymour, was the daughter of Tyrone Power and Linda Christian. Survivors include her sister, Romina Power, and her half-brother Tyrone Power Jr.

...There was no Around the Blogosphere roundup last weekend. Additional links of interest to classic film fans were most recently posted here on June 13th.

Have a great week!