Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Last week I mentioned a few film festivals which had recently cancelled or were in danger of cancellation. Since then the Noir City Film Festival scheduled to take place in Oakland from January 20th through 23rd has been indefinitely postponed. Festival producer and host Eddie Muller hopes to reschedule sometime this spring.

...Following up on another story from last week, here's a Variety article, "Why Does Disney Keep Sending Pixar Movies Straight to Streaming?"

...Happiest birthday wishes to Margaret O'Brien, born January 15, 1937. Here is my 2010 birthday tribute, updated with more recent movie review links.

...From Glenn Erickson, a review of A WALK IN THE SUN (1945) starring Dana Andrews and Richard Conte. It's being released on Blu-ray this month from Kit Parker Films and MVD Entertainment Group.

...Farran Smith Nehme, aka the Self-Styled Siren, has written about the wonderful SISSI movies starring Romy Schneider. I reviewed a couple of the films here back in 2010.

...Here's information from the It's a Wonderful Movie site on how to stream Christmas and other movies from the new GAC channel. Some of the movies star actors familar from the Hallmark Channels, including Danica McKellar and Jen Lilley.

...Karen Burroughs Hannsberry has shared five of her all-time favorite noir films in her Noir Nook column at Classic Movie Hub.

...The Metzinger Sisters of Silver Scenes have a fun post up on the real-life Josie and the Pussycats band, which included Cheryl Ladd, then known as Cherie Moor. The band was created to coincide with the cartoon series, which debuted in 1970.

..."Coming soon" to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, from a brand-new 2K master: IF I WERE KING (1938) starring Ronald Colman, Frances Dee, Basil Rathbone, and Ellen Drew. What a cast! Frank Lloyd directed.

...Kino Lorber has confirmed BLUE SKIES (1946) and BACK STREET (1941) for March 22nd release, with SHAKEDOWN (1950) coming on March 29th.

...On January 18th the Film Detective will be releasing THE CAPTURE (1950), starring Teresa Wright and Lew Ayres, directed by John Sturges.

...The UCLA Film & Television Archive has rescheduled several January screenings at the Billy Wilder Theater, including a double bill of THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK (1928) and THUNDERBOLT (1939). Those films will now play on March 26th. Coming to the Billy Wilder Theater in February: A screening of STORMY WEATHER (1943).

...Notable Passing: I was saddened to learn of the death of critic, author, and playwright Terry Teachout on January 13th. He passed away in his sleep at the age of 65, less than two years after the death of his wife Hilary following a double lung transplant. Terry was a friend to all on Twitter who shared his passions, and over the last few years we had many enjoyable chats about our love for Westerns, in particular; among other things, Terry was a big fan of Audie Murphy's NO NAME ON THE BULLET (1959). This past year Terry shared with his readers the unexpected joy he felt thanks to a new love, which makes the abrupt ending of his life all the sadder. Here are tributes by his friends, mystery writer Laura Lippman (who incorporates a reference to some of my favorite books, the Betsy-Tacy series) and JazzWax's Marc Myers. I also loved a story at Ricochet about Terry's kindness to a soldier stationed in Afghanistan. Terry will be very much missed.

...More Notable Passings: Dwayne Hickman, star of TV's THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS (1959-63), has died at 87. Like his older brother Darryl, who survives him, Dwayne began as a child actor in 1940s Hollywood. He also appeared on THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW (1955-59). Here are additional obituaries from Variety and Deadline...TV director Dick Carson, the brother of Johnny Carson, has passed on at 92...I learned from Alan K. Rode that Lee Server, author of highly regarded biographies of Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner, has passed away. He was 68. (Update: Here's an obituary for Lee Server from Shelf Awareness.)

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

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