Saturday, August 13, 2022

Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...There was extremely exciting Blu-ray news from Kino Lorber this week: The announcement of four more Kino Lorber Studio Classics Dark Side of Cinema sets "coming soon," which will bring the total number of sets up to 15! Some of the movies I'm familiar with from film noir festivals, while some I'd never heard of! Here are the newly announced sets, with previous reviews hyperlinked:

*Volume XII: UNDERTOW (1949), OUTSIDE THE WALL (1950), HOLD BACK TOMORROW (1955).

*Volume XIII: SPY HUNT (1950), THE NIGHT RUNNER (1957), STEP DOWN TO TERROR (1958).

*Volume XIV: UNDERCOVER GIRL (1950), ONE WAY STREET (1950), APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW (1957).

*Volume XV: MAN AFRAID (1957), THE GIRL IN THE KREMLIN (1957), THE TATTERED DRESS (1957).

*As mentioned in the announcement, sets I through VIII are currently available, and indeed, I have reviewed a majority of titles through the eighth set, with more reviews to come. Sets IX and X will be out in October and XI will be released in November, followed by the just-announced collections. According to a comment on Twitter, we may get even more sets after XV comes out. (And Audie Murphy, too!) Stay tuned for more information!

...Also coming from Kino Lorber: ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS (1964), which will be out on Blu-ray this October. This movie was shown frequently (on giant reels of film!) when I was in elementary school. I think both book and movie were popular here because the story was set on the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast, but the story of a girl accidentally abandoned when her tribe flees the island always bothered me.

...More exciting Blu-ray news, this time from Flicker Alley! This November Flicker Alley will be releasing a Blu-ray/DVD combo set of EL VAMPIRO NEGRO (1953), also known as THE BLACK VAMPIRE. This Argentinian version of "M," which was previously filmed in 1931 and 1951, was a highlight of the October 2021 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival. I didn't get a chance to review it then due to attending multiple film fests along with travel last fall, but I'll be reviewing it as part of this new release. As is always the case with Flicker Alley's collaborations with the Film Noir Foundation, the extras look terrific; they include a featurette on the three different versions of "M." Participants in the extras include familiar names such as Eddie Muller, Alan K. Rode, and Imogen Sara Smith.

...At The Screwball Girl, Olympia Kiriakou writes about Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray in SWING HIGH, SWING LOW (1937), which I was fortunate to see at UCLA's Mitchell Leisen tribute a dozen years ago.

...Here's a nice guest post on Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in CHARADE (1963) by Emina Melonic for Power Line.

...The L.A. City Council has voted to increase police funding for Hollywood. It's good to see a turnaround in attitudes toward policing over the last couple of years, as additional police resources are very much needed in L.A.

...I've shared an interview or two with Gene Kelly and Betsy's Blair's daughter Kerry in the past, but her memories are always fun to read. Here's one from last fall which I came across this week.

...Notable Passings: Roger E. Mosley, who played T.C. on TV's MAGNUM, P.I. (1980-88), has passed on at 83...Anne Heche has died following an accident, age 53. I remember her particularly for the Hallmark Hall of Fame Christmas film SILVER BELLS (2005).

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my August 6th roundup.

2 Comments:

Blogger Seth said...

Warner Archive emailed me this week about a "4 for $49" sale and wondered if you'd seen it. I'm not familiar with the website, and it ends tomorrow, August 14.

https://www.moviezyng.com/warner-august-4-for-49

How sad about Anne Heche, especially to me, because of this: "...while Heche is legally dead according to California law, her heart is still beating and she has not been taken off life support in order to allow OneLegacy Foundation enough time to find recipients who will be a match."

8:54 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

Hi Seth!

I'm familiar with MovieZyng as that site fulfills Flicker Alley's "manufactured on demand" releases such as CHILDREN OF DIVORCE (1927).

I commented on Twitter last week that it struck me as odd that Amazon is the Warner Archive's "official" store, yet WAC is heavily promoting a sale at a completely different site. I would love to know more from a business standpoint about what the agreements are, etc., but at this juncture I'm mystified. Despite that, if you are interested you should be able to purchase from MovieZyng with confidence.

Yes, I honestly wasn't quite sure at first whether to say Anne has passed away, given the unusual circumstances, but decided in doing so I was conforming to the other reporting. I sincerely hope that her organs will bring health and longer lives to others, and I wish her family the best at this sad time.

Best wishes,
Laura

10:50 PM  

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