Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the internet...
...Thanks to reader Mel for
mentioning that actress
Piper Laurie will be 91 on Sunday, January 22nd. Happiest birthday wishes to her!
...I always enjoy Leonard Maltin's "New and Notable book" roundups. Here's a
brand-new list for January 2023.
BALLERINA ON A HORSE, about Western leading lady Nell O'Day, looks great! I got
HOLLYWOOD: THE ORAL HISTORY by Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson at Christmas but haven't been able to crack it open yet.
...Steven Spielberg has a
documentary on composer John Williams in the works.
...There's a
trailer out for
MARLOWE (2023), starring Liam Neeson as Raymond Chandler's famed detective. Jessica Lange, Diane Kruger, and Danny Huston costar. This one gets a "Yes" from me.
...Regal Cinemas, currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is closing 39 theaters across the country. Locally the list includes the Regal Edwards Metro Pointe in Costa Mesa.
...My favorite restaurant, El Cholo, celebrates its centennial this year.
...I really enjoyed Colin's review of THUNDERHOOF (1948) at Riding the High Country. Preston Foster, Mary Stuart, and William Bishop star, directed by Phil Karlson.
...
BLONDIE: THE COMPLETE 1957 TELEVISION SERIES will be released on Blu-ray by ClassicFlix in April. Arthur Lake and Pamela Britton star.
...As someone who enjoys tracking and tallying my movie viewing annually, I enjoyed the 2022 roundup at Phyllis Loves Classic Movies.
...Glenn Erickson reports that there's a 3D Blu-ray in the works for SOUTHWEST PASSAGE (1954) starring Rod Cameron, Joanne Dru, and John Ireland.
...Rachel reviews Alan Ladd and Virginia Mayo in THE BIG LAND (1957) at her blog Hamlette's Soliloquy. I think we saw it similarly; quoting my own review, it's "standard issue," but "sometimes that's what hits the spot."
...Coming from
Running Press in May:
WARNER BROS.: 100 YEARS OF STORYTELLING by Mark Vieira. Vieira is the author of beautiful, well-written film books such as
HARLOW IN HOLLYWOOD (cowritten with Darrell Rooney).
Variety has a story on the new book.
...Shout! Factory is releasing SORRY, WRONG NUMBER (1948) on Blu-ray in March. Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster star.
...Non-film books on my wish list this year include
100 MORNING TREATS by Sarah Kieffer, who's written some of my favorite baking books, and
QUEEN VICTORIA'S DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW by John Van der Kiste. The cookbook is due in May; the royalty bio is also releasing in the U.S. in May but will be out in the UK in February.
...Notable Passings: The great
Gina Lollobrigida has
passed away at the age of 95. I was very fortunate to see her
in person at a screening of TRAPEZE (1956) and the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival (seen here in a TCM press photo). I find her particularly delightful opposite Rock Hudson in
COME SEPTEMBER (1961)...
Famed Lindy Hop dancer
Jean Veloz, the second wife of dancer
Frank Veloz, has
died at 98. Her onscreen dance scenes included THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT (1945) with Jack Benny...RYAN'S HOPE soap star
Michael Levin has
passed on at 90...
Miiko Taka, whose work included SAYONARA (1957), CRY FOR HAPPY (1961), WALK DON'T RUN (1966), and TV's SHOGUN (1980) miniseries, has
died at 90...Rock star David Crosby has
died at 81; I'm mentioning his passing here as his father was cinematographer
Floyd Crosby (HIGH NOON)...Dancer
Arthur Duncan of THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW has
died at 97...Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, will be
interred at Graceland on January 22nd. She recently passed away at the age of 54...I appreciated Toby's brief remembrance of Packy Smith at
50 Westerns From the 50s. Packy, who died in 2019, was a Western film historian who was a key player involved with the Lone Pine Film Festival.
...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my
January 14th roundup.
Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the internet...
7 Comments:
It seems like ages and ages ago I read that Liam Neeson was going to appear as Marlow in the 1950's down on his luck scuffling around for work-I thought this will probably never get made.
Today WOW! thanks for the great news although the original premise has changed a bit but the 30's setting should be even better.
Neeson like a vintage Irish Whiskey simply improves with age!
Laura I'm still watching those vintage flying flicks that you have got me addicted to-watched FLIGHT FROM GLORY last night one of the best I thought.
The more I see of Chester Morris the more I like him.
I'm looking forward to Marlowe too! Raymond Chandler is my favorite author, after all. Not sure what I think of the trailer, but I still want to see the film.
Thanks for the shout-out for my Big Land review :-) I appreciate it!
Thanks for sharing the MARLOWE trailer; I hadn’t heard about it yet. It does make it look more of an action movie than I’d expect, but I’m still interested.
Thanks too for the link to Maltin’s latest book list. I’m eyeing the Doris Day and Imagineering titles.
Sorry to hear about Arthur Duncan. He was one of my favorites on Lawrence Welk (and yes, I am quite young, but my grandparents always watched the Welk show on PBS when we visited Saturday nights, and I’ve watched for years now, too, though mostly on YouTube).
John, it was good news that MARLOWE is coming out! I'm a bit concerned about the violence level, given that it's rated R, but at this point I plan to see it. I agree about Liam Neeson!
I'm so glad you saw FLIGHT FROM GLORY -- I agree, it's one of the very best of the '30s aviation films and was a big part of turning me into a Chester Morris fan. If you haven't seen them and can find them I recommend John Ford's AIR MAIL (1932) starring Pat O'Brien and Ralph Bellamy, which I saw at a TCM Fest, and 13 HOURS BY AIR (1936) with Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett, directed by Mitchell Leisen.
Rachel, I'll be really interested in what you think of MARLOWE given your lvoe for Chandler. Glad to share your BIG LAND review especially as we are both such big Alan Ladd fans!
Seth, it seems as though MARLOWE has a waiting audience among classic film fans! I love that you remember Arthur Duncan on Lawrence Welk. Although I don't specifically remember Duncan, my grandparents also used to have the Welk show on when I spent the night on Saturday nights.
Best wishes,
Laura
Well, I just found out that Marlowe is NOT based on one of Raymond Chandler's books at all, but on a book by someone else who uses the character Philip Marlowe and makes up more adventures for him. That cools my interest in the film rather considerably. If it's showing in one of my theaters here, I'll probably still see it, but if it's only showing up in the big city, I'm probably not going to make the effort to drive an hour to see it anymore.
Wow, I had no idea re MARLOWE! Will have to read up more on it and get up to speed. Thanks for the heads up, Rachel!
Best wishes,
Laura
You're welcome! I am... honestly kinda vexed.
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