Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I'm back from an eight-day road trip and have a couple weeks' worth of news to share!

...Coming in June from the University Press of Kentucky: JAYNE MANSFIELD: THE GIRL COULDN'T HELP IT by Eve Golden. Laura Wagner of Classic Images, always a tough, fair critic, calls the book "one of the best star bios ever," which certainly got my attention. I know little about Mansfield, and it sounds like this is the book to rectify that.

...Speaking of reading, it's time to sign up for the 2021 Summer Reading Challenge at Out of the Past. Raquel Stecher has been encouraging classic film book reading via this annual challenge since 2013!

...Big news while I was away last week: After a tumultuous three years -- including shutting down the FilmStruck streaming service, laying off all of the key staff of the Warner Archive, and the unimpressive launch of the confusingly named HBOMax streaming service -- AT&T is throwing in the towel on running a media company and spinning off its entertainment assets in a deal with Discovery. If the deal is approved, Discovery will control the media assets going forward. I'm hopeful that a company which understands channels as "lifestyle brands" (Food Network, HGTV) will do a good job with Turner Classic Movies. We'll see.

...Just arrived for my review stack from ClassicFlix: The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Vol. I, a collection of 11 shorts from 1929-30. Volume 2, with 11 more shorts from 1930-31, is coming in July.

...And coming from ClassicFlix in August: The Black Beauty Collection, a two-film set with BLACK BEAUTY (1946) and COURAGE OF BLACK BEAUTY (1957). The first film stars the always-interesting Mona Freeman, while the second film stars Johnny Crawford of TV's THE RIFLEMAN, who just recently passed away.

...Wonderful news for fans of Hallmark's MURDER, SHE BAKED mystery movie franchise: It's just been announced that the cast is reuniting to make their first film in the series in four years. This sixth movie in the series will air this summer on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.

...A collection of Mitzi Gaynor's TV specials is now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

...After seeing the new trailer, I'm definitely excited to watch Liam Neeson's new film THE ICE ROAD (2021), streaming on Netflix this summer.

...Leonard Maltin recently wrote "Hollywood vs. Saboteurs and Spies," including ESPIONAGE AGENT (1939), starring Joel McCrea.

...New reviews from CineSavant Glenn Erickson: THE WHISTLE AT EATON FALLS (1951), recently shown on Turner Classic Movies as part of its virtual festival, and HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT (1937), now out from the Criterion Collection. Glenn's colleague Charlie Largent has reviewed IT HAPPENED TOMORROW (1944), a new Kino Lorber/Cohen Film Collection release which I'll also be reviewing here.

...Here's Jeff Arnold's West on one of my all-time favorite films, WAGON MASTER (1950).

...Upcoming Blu-ray release dates announced by Kino Lorber: FOUR FRIGHTENED PEOPLE (1934), directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Claudette Colbert, will be out on August 3rd; O.S.S. (1946), starring Alan Ladd and Geraldine Fitzgerald, is out on August 10th; and PETER IBBETSON (1935), starring Gary Cooper and Ann Harding, is also out on the 10th. Also coming: Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine in Billy Wilder's THE EMPEROR WALTZ (1948) on August 17th, with a commentary track by film historian Joseph McBride. BACK STREET (1941), starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan, is "coming soon"; the 1961 Susan Hayward remake is out on August 10th.

...Here in Southern California, Dodger Stadium returns to full capacity on June 15th. The "Big A" in Anaheim will be back to 100% capacity two days later.

...Bob Furmanek of the 3-D Film Archive, who served as official archivist for the Abbott and Costello Estates, is teaming with ClassicFlix to release Season One of TV's ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW, which was filmed on 35mm in 1951. The set will contain 26 episodes. Preorders are being solicited via a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the restoration of this release, which is planned for December 2021 or sooner.

...Disney historian Dave Bossert has an article on the "Spandules" and Air Force training for Cartoon Research.

...Our friend Caftan Woman has been in the hospital as she continues to recover from her kidney transplant, but she's occasionally posting, including an article today on the HOW THE WEST WAS WON TV series. Sending her continued warm wishes!

...Big news for classic film fans in Southern California: The American Cinematheque's Aero Theatre will reopen June 10th -- here's a great reopening video -- and the Cinematheque will now also be screening films in a third theater, the Los Feliz 3 on Vermont. The Los Feliz 3, which has 144 seats and is able to screen films in 35mm, will be running films seven days a week. The Egyptian Theatre is undergoing extensive remodeling by its new owner, Netflix, and will reopen next year.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my May 8th roundup.

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