Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Fabulous news today from Kino Lorber Studio Classics: BOTANY BAY (1952) starring Alan Ladd, James Mason, and Patricia Medina, is "coming soon" to Blu-ray. It was directed by John Farrow. Kino Lorber also recently announced another Ladd film, THUNDER IN THE EAST (1955), will be released on Blu-ray on April 30th. I'll definitely be reviewing that one, which costars Deborah Kerr and Charles Boyer, and hopefully BOTANY BAY as well.

...Several other interesting titles are coming from Kino Lorber in April. I'll be reviewing BLUEBEARD (1944), SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR (1947), SUBMARINE COMMAND (1951), THE LOOTERS (1955), and more.

...Looking ahead to early May, Kino Lorber's Blu-ray releases will include the three-film Philo Vance Collection and the four film Republic Pictures Horror Collection.

...Here's the trailer for Kevin Costner's HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA - CHAPTER 1 (2024). Nice to recognize some familiar Moab area locations.  The trailer itself I didn't find particularly appealing, given the overall negative vision it depicts.  I'm a big Costner fan and hope the movie itself will be a good one.

...Like every other streaming service of late, Max (formerly HBO Max) will no longer allow family members not living in the same home to share log-in passwords.

...Mark Wahlberg is interested in making more family-friendly movies. I liked his film INSTANT FAMILY (2018) and hope he can do more in that vein.

...For anyone wondering why GODZILLA MINUS ONE (2023) is suddenly hard to find for viewing, Tom Brueggemann of Indiewire has the details.

...Mary Mallory wrote about Republic Pictures for a Toluca Lake magazine.

...I was amused to read that NCIS is bringing back former stars Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly to star in NCIS: EUROPE. Even after a couple decades, NCIS is the franchise that has no "quit" in it!

...Glenn Erickson's latest Blu-ray reviews for Trailers From Hell include MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (1942) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and CAUSE FOR ALARM! (1951) from ClassicFlix. CAUSE FOR ALARM! also had a positive review at Home Theater Forum. I haven't seen it since watching it on video years ago and look forward to watching the Blu-ray at some point.

...Several Disney+ series, including the highly regarded Star Wars series ANDOR, are (finally!) coming to Blu-ray on April 30th.

...Speaking of Disney releases, at The Digital Bits Bill Hunt shares updated thoughts on the deal for Sony to distribute Disney films.

...Toby's Roan's latest DVD reviews include THE LAS VEGAS STORY (1952) at The Hannibal 8 and LIGHTNING GUNS (1950) at 50 Westerns From the 50s. THE LAS VEGAS STORY stars Victor Mature and Jane Russell, while Charles Starrett stars in LIGHTNING GUNS.

...Notable Passings: Film historian David Bordwell, the author of many books on cinema, has passed away at the age of 76. After reading this interview on his recent book PERPLEXING PLOTS I decided to order it...Anne Whitfield, who had a busy career as a child actress in radio and then played General Waverly's granddaughter Susan in WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954), has passed on at 85...Actress Betty Brodel, the older sister of Joan Leslie, has passed away at the age of 104. Their sister Mary Brodel was also an actress...Jackie Loughery, who was married to Jack Webb for six years and appeared in his film THE D.I. (1957), has died at 93.

...More Notable Passings: Producer E. Duke Vincent (DYNASTY) has died at 91. He is survived by his wife of over four decades, actress Pamela Hensley (MATT HOUSTON), who announced his passing...Animation sculptor Kent Melton, who worked on numerous Disney classics, has died at 68...Jean Allison, a busy working actress in TV for over 20 years, has died at 94...I was sad to learn of the passing of singer Steve Lawrence at the age of 88. His wife and partner of 55 years, Eydie Gorme, died in 2013.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my February 24th column.

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