Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...The Bay Area edition of the Noir City Film Festival, originally scheduled for this month, has been rescheduled for March 24th-27th. As previously planned, this year's festival moves from its longtime home at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco and will be held at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland.

...DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022), originally due out late last year and then scheduled for March 18th, has had its release date moved again, to May 20th.

...Coming to Blu-ray in April from ClassicFlix: The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5.

...Surprising news was announced Friday, January 28th: The TCM Shop is closing down as of February 22, 2022. Per an email, their "approved partner" is now Critics' Choice. The email also said they have "exciting plans underway" to sell TCM branded merchandise.

...Ben Mankiewicz recently interviewed actor James Hong for CBS. A video is here. Viewers may not know his name but will surely recognize his face, as he's been in movies and TV since the mid '50s.

...The new remake of NIGHTMARE ALLEY (2022) will be shown in some theaters in black and white.

...The TCM Classic Film Festival made some announcements last week. I was particularly pleased to learn that the Craig Barron and Ben Burtt presentation of THE FLAME AND THE ARROW (1950), originally scheduled for the cancelled 2020 festival, will be happening at this year's fest! Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo star, directed by Jacques Tourneur. Other additions to the schedule include Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten in the very special PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948), directed by William Dieterle; THE GUNFIGHTER (1950) with Gregory Peck, directed by Henry King; and a screening of THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) to celebrate the centennial of Judy Garland's birth.

...After Yvette Mimieux's recent passing, Jessica shared a link to an excellent Forbes piece on LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (1962) by Will Jeakle. Mimieux is seen here with George Hamilton in a still from the film.

...At Riding the High Country Colin has reviewed SOUTHWEST PASSAGE (1954) with Rod Cameron, Joanne Dru, and John Ireland.

...Theresa of CineMaven's Essays From the Couch has a roundup of great entries for her For the Umpteenth Time Blogathon, held a few days ago. I recognize the names of some favorite films and know some favorite bloggers participated, so be sure to check out some (or all!) of the links.

...Coming to Blu-ray in March from the Warner Archive Collection: A STAR IS BORN (1937), starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, plus two Lux Radio Theater productions, a 1937 performance with Gaynor and Robert Montgomery, and a 1942 edition with Judy Garland and Walter Pidgeon; CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS (1942) starring James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, and Brenda Marshall; and a special two-disc set of the Cinerama film THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM (1962), with both letterboxed and "Smileboxed" formats.

...Coming to Blu-ray in mid-February: Disney's CHIP 'N' DALE RESCUE RANGERS: THE COMPLETE SERIES.

...At Watching Classic Movies KC has reviewed the new Warner Archive Blu-ray releases of NATIONAL VELVET (1944) and IVANHOE (1952).

...Notable Passings: Actor Morgan Stevens has died at 70. He played Paul Northridge, who married Erin Walton in A WEDDING ON WALTON'S MOUNTAIN (1982), and was the son of Richard Kiley and Eva Marie Saint in the excellent A YEAR IN THE LIFE (1986), a miniseries which was followed by a short-lived TV series (1987-88). His other TV work included FAME (1982-84) and MELROSE PLACE (1995). He had not appeared on screen since 1999...Peter Robbins, who voiced Charlie Brown in the TV classics A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965) and IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN (1966), has died at 65...Jazz pianist Beegie Adair has passed away at the age of 84. Marc Myers pays tribute at JazzWax. I've enjoyed her albums Quiet Christmas and Winter Romance for over a dozen years, and her passing has prompted me to add more of her music to my collection.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my January 22nd roundup.

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