Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...ClassicFlix has new DVD and Blu-ray announcements for this September and October: Coming to DVD in September are YOUNG AND WILLING (1943) and SILVER QUEEN (1942), with Vol. 3 of the ClassicFlix restorations of THE LITTLE RASCALS shorts coming to Blu-ray in October. YOUNG AND WILLING has a great cast including William Holden, Susan Hayward, Eddie Bracken, Martha O'Driscoll, and Robert Benchley. SILVER QUEEN, which I reviewed via Turner Classic Movies in 2014, stars Priscilla Lane and George Brent. Last week I mentioned another Brent film coming from ClassicFlix this fall, INTERNATIONAL LADY (1942).

...Happy 10th anniversary to my friend Kristina and her blog Speakeasy. Kristina recent resumed blogging with her always-interesting Movie Diary. I love Kristina's eclectic viewing tastes!

...My friend KC's A Classic Movie Blog has a new name and address: Watching Classic Movies. She also has a new podcast; the first episode features Jane Russell biographer Christina Rice.

...VCI Entertainment periodically releases films from classic-era Mexican cinema; the latest title is ESPALDAS MOJADAS (1955), now available on Blu-ray and DVD. One of their previous releases is UNA FAMILIA DE TANTAS (1949).

...Coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics on October 26th: HOT SATURDAY (1932) with Randolph Scott, Nancy Carroll, and Cary Grant.

...I have two outstanding books on the Disneyland Hotel by Don Ballard on my Disney bookshelf. An updated second edition of Ballard's DISNEYLAND HOTEL: THE EARLY YEARS, 1954-1988 will be released by Old Mill Press in August. Details are here. Ballard's other book on the hotel is DISNEYLAND HOTEL 1954-1959: THE LITTLE MOTEL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ORANGE GROVE.

...It's the conclusion of Legends of Western Cinema Week! Full details at the link. Posts celebrating Westerns include Caftan Woman on a favorite Audie Murphy film, NO NAME ON THE BULLET (1959), and Hamlette on THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER (1965). It's great to have Caftan Woman blogging regularly again after her lengthy hospitalization this spring! The latter film was a favorite of our oldest son when he was younger, and I've somehow never gotten around to seeing it. It's amazing how many John Wayne movies I still need to see for the first time, given how much I love him. I've been watching my way through his '40s films fairly regularly over the last couple of years but there are obviously many more to catch from the ensuing decades!

...My take on the Disney+/Marvel series LOKI (2021) and its finale: Really liked the series, didn't like the last episode. Who knew that the grand finale would basically be a character (Jonathan Majors as Kang) giving a speech? While I would have been fine with some ends left open for Season 2, which was announced as an end credits tag scene, viewers needed some sense of resolution in the last episode. This wasn't it. Otherwise, the series was stylish, with wonderful art direction; had a good supporting cast with nice turns by Owen Wilson (Mobius), Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie), and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Ravonna Renslayer); and, as always, a terrific performance by Tom Hiddleston as the mercurial God of Mischief, Loki. I'm looking forward to Season 2.

...In September Reel Weegie Midget Reviews will be hosting the No True Scotsman Blogathon celebrating all things Scottish. Details are here.

...This Thursday, July 29th, I'm due to attend an opening night D23 screening of JUNGLE CRUISE (2021) at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. JUNGLE CRUISE, which stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt, was one of many films which had plans for a 2020 release pushed back due to COVID shutdowns. A trailer is here. It looks like a lighthearted adventure in the vein of KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1950). I should have a review up here by sometime next weekend. (Update: My review, which includes event photos, is now posted!)

...The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which at long last opens on September 30th, has announced a number of its initial screenings and events. I am scheduled to take a free member tour of the museum on September 27th, a few days before the opening.

...Attention Southern Californians: On Saturday, July 31st, the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles will be hosting an event in Orange County, a 1930s Fly-in Drive-in Movie Experience. The society will be screening an aviation-themed double bill of FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933) starring Randolph Scott, Dolores del Rio, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers, and LOVE ON THE RUN (1936) starring Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and Franchot Tone. Details on the event, which takes place in Tustin, are here. I plan to attend!

...Notable Passing: Bandleader Elliot Lawrence has died at 96. Marc Myers pays tribute at JazzWax.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my July 17th roundup.

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