Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...For anyone who missed the news in this month's TCM Highlights roundup, on Monday, May 3rd, the American Film Institute will celebrate Robert Osborne's birthday by putting his Turner Classic Movies intros online.

...Welcome back to Caftan Woman, who recently got home and wrote her first blog post following last month's kidney transplant surgery. I'm sure all my readers join in me sending best wishes for her smooth continued recovery!

...Two films directed by Jean Renoir are coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber July 20th: NANA (1926) and WHIRLPOOL OF FATE (1925). Both films will have commentary tracks by Nick Pinkerton. Also coming in July: THE GREAT GABBO (1929), starring Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson.

...Coming soon to Kino Lorber Studio Classics, a Blu-ray release of Claude Rains in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (1935).

...At Once Upon a Screen Aurora wrote about the delightful LURED (1947), a mystery directed by Douglas Sirk starring George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, and Boris Karloff. Her essay was originally published in The Dark Pages.

...Jocelyn of Classic Film Observations & Obsessions has written about a film that's a big favorite of mine, LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932), starring Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier. It's part of her impressive "50 Years of Film in 50 Weeks" project.

...A teaser trailer is now on YouTube for the remake of WEST SIDE STORY (2021).

...Congratulations to Christina Lane, who has won the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Critical or Biographical book for PHANTOM LADY: HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER JOAN HARRISON, THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN BEHIND HITCHCOCK.

...Jenna Coleman, known for TV's VICTORIA and DOCTOR WHO, will star in the TV series THE WAR ROOMS, about women who worked in Churchill's London bunker during World War II. The show is set to span multiple seasons, with each season covering a 12- to 18-month period.

...Looking for ideas on what to watch during next week's virtual TCM Classic Film Festival? In addition to my own look at festival highlights, here are some excellent overviews from Angela at The Hollywood Revue and Aurora at Once Upon a Screen. (With sincere thanks to Aurora for sharing the link to my site in her post!) I invite anyone who's written a similar post to share the link in the comments!

...The always-interesting actor Stanley Tucci has a memoir, TASTE: MY LIFE THROUGH FOOD, due out in October. Tucci is also the author of a pair of attractive cookbooks, THE TUCCI COOKBOOK and THE TUCCI TABLE.

...Speaking of cookbooks, country singer Trisha Yearwood has a new cookbook out this fall, TRISHA'S KITCHEN: EASY COMFORT FOOD FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I read last week that she's still without a sense of taste or smell since having COVID two months ago and hope that resolves for her positively soon.

...April 30, 2021 was a joyous day here in Orange County with the reopening of Disneyland. Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times explains a few of the reasons why it matters so much (beyond the thousands of jobs it provides!). Welcome back, Disneyland! Looking forward to being back there before long.

...Notable Passings: I was very sorry to learn (via Colin at Riding the High Country) of the recent passing of Mark Fertig, who blogged at Where Danger Lives and Cin-Eater. The header of Where Danger Lives is one of the most beautiful in the classic film blogosphere, and Mark did wonderful work touching up and sharing gorgeous film noir posters. His last post at Where Danger Lives a few months ago was on WHY GIRLS LEAVE HOME (1945), starring Lola Lane. Mark was a professor at Susquehanna University; his obituary is here. A sad loss, far too young.

...More Notable Passings: I was also sad to learn of the passing of Johnny Crawford, a one-time Mouseketeer best known as Mark McCain on TV's THE RIFLEMAN (1958-63). I had the pleasure of meeting him at the 2014 Lone Pine Film Festival (photograph here) and am glad I was able to tell him of my happy memories watching THE RIFLEMAN reruns as a child. He was a truly sweet man, and I'm so sorry he's left us.

...And more Notable Passings: May Wynn, the first wife of Jack Kelly (MAVERICK), has passed away at the age of 93. Her films included THE CAINE MUTINY (1954), from which she adopted her acting name, and Westerns including THEY RODE WEST (1954) and THE VIOLENT MEN (1955). Under her real-life married name, Donna Custer, she worked at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic School in Newport Beach, California, for nearly three decades, and it was the church which confirmed her passing...Anne Douglas, the widow of Kirk Douglas, has passed away at the age of 102. Her husband passed on last year, age 103.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my April 24th roundup.

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