Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Coming from Leonard Maltin this fall: STARSTRUCK: MY UNLIKELY ROAD TO HOLLYWOOD. I'm really looking forward to this memoir, which will be published October 12th by GoodKnight Books.

...Favorites Priscilla Lane and William Lundigan were born on June 12th. In honor of their birthdays, here is my 2014 tribute to Lane, who was born in 1915, and my 2016 tribute to Lundigan, born in 1914. Both have been updated over the years with new film review links.

...Coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber in September: ARABESQUE (1966) starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. "Coming soon" from a new 2K master is NOW AND FOREVER (1934) starring Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, and Shirley Temple.

...Coming in September from Scott Eyman: 20TH CENTURY-FOX: DARRYL F. ZANUCK AND THE CREATION OF THE MODERN FILM STUDIO, to be published by TCM and Running Press. Eyman's most recent book, CARY GRANT: A BRILLIANT DISGUISE, was reviewed here earlier this year, and I'll be reviewing this new book as well.

...The latest cookbook from Ree Drummond will be out in October: THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS: SUPER EASY!. Her cookbooks never disappoint.

...Currently available for a great price at Amazon: A 7-CD Nat King Cole set originally released in 2019: HITTIN' THE RAMP: THE EARLY YEARS, 1936-1943. Leonard Maltin wrote about it last year. I've seen it priced very substantially over the current $61.30, which prorates to $8.76 per disc.

...Blu-rays coming out later this month from Universal include a trio of Deanna Durbin films, THAT CERTAIN AGE (1938), MAD ABOUT MUSIC (1938), and NICE GIRL? (1941). It's rather interesting as Kino Lorber felt that their Deanna Durbin Collection I didn't sell well enough to warrant a Volume II. Glad to see her films continuing to be made available to new audiences in nice prints.

...A used book which arrived in my mailbox today: HOLLYWOOD AND THE GREAT FAN MAGAZINES, a 1971 book compiling classic-era fan magazine articles, edited by Martin Levin.

...Given that El Cholo is my all-time favorite restaurant, Glenn Erickson's new column on the restaurant and Roger Corman's MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954) was delightful. I have to see that one now!

...Here's a short but interesting article on Jane Russell from Architectural Digest.

...I've been delighted to see a couple of fellow bloggers write about Disney's wonderful THE MANDALORIAN series recently. Rachel of Hamlette's Soliloquy covered it for Femnista ("The Mandalorian: Cowboys in Outer Space"), and it also just received a write-up at Jeff Arnold's West. In my view THE MANDALORIAN is most definitely a Western, mixing spins on THE RIFLEMAN, HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, and other classic film and TV Westerns with samurai and sci-fi influences. I'd also add that between THE MANDALORIAN and WANDAVISION, Disney+ has single-handedly given me the best, most satisfying television of the last couple years.

...On July 9th Rudolph Valentino expert Donna Hill will be giving an online presentation on the actor for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Libraries. It's free; registration is here. Donna is the author of RUDOLPH VALENTINO, THE SILENT IDOL: HIS LIFE IN PHOTOGRAPHS.

...Buster Keaton's OUR HOSPITALITY (1923) will receive a drive-in screening at Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills on July 10th. Registration is here.

...An Apple store will open in the Tower Theatre building in Downtown Los Angeles later this month. I photographed the theater on a 2014 bus tour of the area.

...Notable Passings: Clarence Williams III, a star of TV's THE MOD SQUAD (1968-73), has passed away at 81. He also starred with Kellie Martin in the MYSTERY WOMAN Hallmark movie series from 2003 to 2007...TV producer Douglas S. Cramer has died at 89. His long career included nighttime soap favorites DYNASTY (1981-89) and THE COLBYS (1985-87)...Actress Claudia Barrett has died at 91. She appeared in Westerns with Monte Hale and Allan "Rocky" Lane and was particularly known for the sci-fi film ROBOT MONSTER (1953)...I recently learned that Fred MacMurray's oldest daughter, Susan Carole MacMurray Pool, died in December 2019, at the age of 79.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my June 5th roundup.

Tweet