Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I often lead off with news from Kino Lorber, and how could I not when the news is so good?! Kino Lorber is said to have several more film noir sets in the works, starting off with The Dark Side of Cinema V. Titles in this set are the not-on-DVD Universal Pictures films BECAUSE OF YOU (1952) with Loretta Young and Jeff Chandler; OUTSIDE THE LAW (1956) with Ray Danton; and THE MIDNIGHT STORY (1957) with Tony Curtis. I enjoyed THE MIDNIGHT STORY at the 2019 Noir City Film Festival and reviewed it here; I own it on a Region 2 DVD and am so glad it's coming to the U.S. on Blu-ray. The set will be released December 14th.

...This week Kino Lorber also released the cover art for its previously announced release of JET PILOT (1957), starring John Wayne and Janet Leigh, directed by Josef von Sternberg. The Blu-ray will contain both a 1.37 print and the 1.85.1 widescreen version of the film. It will be released November 30th. Nick Pinkerton will do the commentary track.

...Coming from Kit Parker films next January: A 2-disc Blu-ray of A WALK IN THE SUN (1945) with extras including a commentary track by Alan K. Rode and a 2014 interview with the late Norman Lloyd, who appears in the film. Dana Andrews and Richard Conte top an excellent cast, directed by Lewis Milestone.  Thanks to Dawn of the Discs for the news.

...I've been wanting to own DVDs of Irene Dunne in OVER 21 (1945) and George Montgomery in INDIAN UPRISING (1952) but have put off purchasing them due to high single-disc prices. It was thus wonderful news to discover these films are each part of upcoming multi-disc DVD sets from Critics' Choice which are less than half the cost of the single-title discs! OVER 21 will be released in a set with THEODORA GOES WILD (1936); INDIAN UPRISING will be part of a set with BATTLE OF ROGUE RIVER (1954) and MASTERSON OF KANSAS (1954).

...Alan Ladd fans will want another set from Critics' Choice which contains HELL BELOW ZERO (1954), THE BLACK KNIGHT (1954), and 13 WEST STREET (1962). There's also an Audie Murphy two-film set coming with THE QUICK GUN (1964) and ARIZONA RAIDERS (1965) and an Edmond O'Brien three-film set with 711 OCEAN DRIVE (1950), BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN (1950), and TWO OF A KIND (1951). All five of the Critics' Choice sets mentioned in this post will be released on October 5th.

...I was unfamiliar with Monogram's Teen Agers movie series and enjoyed Jessica's review of the first film in the series, JUNIOR PROM (1946), at her blog Comet Over Hollywood. JUNIOR PROM stars include Freddie Stewart and June Preisser, who had previously appeared in a few films at MGM.

...WANDAVISION (2021) received creative Emmys this weekend for Production Design and Costumes, making the show the first Emmy-winning Marvel series. The show received a total of 23 nominations.  (Update: The day after I wrote this the show also received an Emmy for the catchy song "Agatha All Along."  These days the Emmys are given at multiple ceremonies.)

...Disney had previously announced that the next D23 Expo in Anaheim, originally slated for this year, would be held on September 9th, 10th, and 11th, 2022. On September 9th Disney confirmed those dates by announcing that tickets will go on sale next January 20th, 2022. I covered the last D23 Expo in 2019.

...Last year I mentioned a new book, THE BEGINNING OR THE END by Greg Mitchell, on the 1947 film of the same name. Peter Bryant has briefly reviewed the book at his blog Let Yourself Go...to Old Hollywood.

...After the box office success of the "theaters only" SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021), Disney has announced that the remaining films on its 2021 slate will also release only theatrically, without concurrent streaming options. This applies to Marvel's THE ETERNALS (2021) and the remake of WEST SIDE STORY (2021), along with a few other titles.

...Upcoming books from TCM and Running Press: THE ESSENTIAL DIRECTORS by Sloan De Forest will be out this November, and Scott McGee's DANGER ON THE SILVER SCREEN: 50 FILMS CELEBRATING AMERICA'S GREATEST STUNTS will be published in April 2022.

...My friends Alan K. Rode and Andy Wolverton discuss Michael Curtiz and THE PROUD REBEL (1958) in this video, which I'm looking forward to watching soon. Alan, of course, wrote the definitive biography of Curtiz. The movie stars Alan Ladd and Olivia de Havilland.

...Andy also just wrote a piece on QUANTEZ (1957) with Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Malone, which I reviewed this spring when it was released on Blu-ray.

...In my mailbox last week: A two-film Mary Pickford set containing THROUGH THE BACK DOOR (1921) and CINDERELLA (1914), released by Image Entertainment and The Milestone Collection in 2005.

...Also just arrived: Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies, a recently released collection of shorts from Ben Model's Undercrank Productions.

...Last week I shared the good news that the Warner Archive Collection has a third Blu-ray collection of Tex Avery Screwball Classics coming in October. Jerry Beck previews details at Cartoon Research. he concludes with this note: "Will there be a volume 4? All I can say is...George [Feltenstein] is back, and we are already compiling and restoring some things you'll want to own -- and they won't be available from any other source."

...Notable Passings: Actor Michael Constantine, an Emmy winner for TV's ROOM 222 (1969-74) who was also beloved for his role in MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002), has passed away at the age of 94. At one point many years ago he was said to live in my area; from time to time friends saw him patronizing local businesses...Italian actor Nino Castelnuevo, seen here with Catherine Deneuve in the classic THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964), has died at 84...France's Jean-Paul Belmondo has passed away at 88. France honored him with a moving public tribute which may be seen on YouTube.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my September 4th roundup.

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