Around the Blogosphere This Week...

...has had its return unavoidably delayed.

Plans for it to resume today have had to be postponed. All is well, but there is a little too much unexpectedly going on this weekend.

The column should return by Halloween. Thanks to my faithful readers for their patience!

In the meantime, here's a fun photo of Beau Bridges and his wife dancing at a party on the TCM Classic Cruise last week.

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Tonight's Movie: Rhythm on the River (1940) - A Universal Blu-ray Review

An engaging musical from Paramount Pictures, RHYTHM ON THE RIVER (1940), was just released on Blu-ray by Universal.

The movie has a sparkling cast, including Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Basil Rathbone, and Oscar Levant, plus a slew of familiar supporting faces.

Rathbone plays Broadway composer Oliver Courtney, who actually isn't a composer at all; Bob Sommers (Crosby) writes the music for Oliver's songs, and Cherry Lane (Martin) writes the lyrics.

The catch is, both Bob and Cherry think they're collaborating with Oliver, only to eventually learn they've actually been composing songs with each other! Oliver has merely been the go-between, letting each of them think he's been writing the other half of the songs.

The clever premise came from a story by Billy Wilder and Jacques Thiery, turned into a screenplay by Dwight Taylor. The strong script is part of the reason RHYTHM ON THE RIVER is a better film than Crosby and Martin's BIRTH OF THE BLUES (1941), reviewed here earlier this year.

(As a side note, RHYTHM ON THE RIVER and BIRTH OF THE BLUES are just two of a number of Crosby Blu-ray releases in recent months.)

I commented in my review of BIRTH OF THE BLUES that Crosby and Martin were "a rather bland team," but that wasn't the case at all here; they work well together dramatically and as a singing team. When their characters fall for each other, both as composers and romantically, it's very believable.

I'll add that famed Broadway performer Martin doesn't always come across particularly strongly on film, but she does quite well in this movie, and she also has nice hairstyles and is photographed to good effect by Ted Tetzlaff.

As was the case with BIRTH OF THE BLUES, RHYTHM ON THE RIVER was directed by Victor Schertzinger.

The movie runs 92 minutes and features a nice blend of humor and music, with Rathbone and Levant heading up the comedy department. Familiar faces who pop up in the movie include Jeanne Cagney (billed as Jean), William Frawley, Charley Grapewin, James Flavin, and Charles Lane.

Lane has a particularly fun bit as a preoccupied song buyer who, appearances to the contrary, has heard every word of a song demo by Crosby and Martin's characters.

John Scott Trotter and Ken Carpenter turn up in entertaining roles late in the film, playing a band leader and radio announcer, which is fun given that both men actually worked with Crosby on the radio.

RHYTHM ON THE RIVER was previously released on multiple DVDs, including a 2017 Universal Vault Series DVD. It also came out on a VHS tape back in 1994.

The Blu-ray print is for the most part quite good, if just a bit too grainy at a couple points, with some mild damage also occasionally apparent. That said, overall this is a nice-looking disc with adequate sound; more work could have been done on both aspects, but it's an entirely enjoyable watch and I'm glad to have this film available on Blu-ray.

Like many other Universal Blu-ray releases, there are no extras on the disc, but optional English captions are provided.

Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Universal for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. It may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week...

...will not appear this weekend, as I'm on the TCM Classic Cruise.

For anyone who missed it, be sure to check out my post on the cruise's guests and schedule.

The column will return next Saturday, October 24th.

For the most recent classic film links, please visit my October 3rd column.

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Tonight's Movie: Gideon's Day (1958)

GIDEON'S DAY (1958), known in the U.S. as GIDEON OF SCOTLAND YARD, is just the kind of film I like: A "day in the life" police procedural featuring Jack Hawkins in almost every scene.

GIDEON'S DAY is one of the least-known films from director John Ford, but while there's nothing particularly Fordian about it -- other than the presence of Ford regular Anna Lee -- that's not really a negative. It's an engaging, well-made 91 minutes which I quite enjoyed.

The movie was written by written by T.E.B. Clarke based on the novel by J.J. Maric, aka John Creasey. As the movie begins, Chief Inspector George Gideon (Hawkins) breakfasts with his family, including his wife Kate (Lee), oldest daughter (Anna Massey, in her film debut), and two younger children (Malcolm and Mavis Ranson).

He's then off to work, though not without receiving a driving ticket on the way, followed by a long, arduous day at work. Honestly, Gideon does so much and goes so many places I'm not sure how he did it all in a single day, but whether or not it was physically possible, it was quite entertaining!

One of the things I appreciated was that when Gideon came home after his long day, which included being threatened with being shot, his wife doesn't complain that he's come home late and missed seeing his daughter's concert or visiting relatives; instead she's delighted to see him and sets about getting him a meal. Her warm reaction conveyed an appreciation for his dangerous, hard job, and that him getting home safely at day's end was the most important thing.

I also speculated that the gap in the Gideons' children's ages may have been due to his wartime service, and if that were the case, it would doubly explain why she was so glad to see him.  She had perspective.

As a growing fan of Jack Hawkins (THE CRUEL SEA) I thoroughly enjoyed him in this as the engaged, hyper-competent police inspector. He faces a wide variety of challenges during the day, but other than dealing with his parking ticket and trying to remember to pick up salmon for his wife, he keeps his cool and is quite likeable.

Andrew Ray, as the young constable who tickets Gideon and later dates his daughter, has what I'd call a "Patrick Wayne part" as the earnest young man trying to do the right thing who nonetheless manages to irritate his superior.

I'm always glad to see Dianne Foster; as I've shared before, her son is an oral surgeon who has treated most of my family over the years. It's interesting to me that she was in the cast despite the movie being set in England. Foster also worked with Ford that year on THE LAST HURRAH (1958). She only has a couple of scenes here but she's quite striking and does a good job.

The movie, made at MGM British Studios, was filmed by Freddie Young and the uncredited Charles Lawton Jr. At times the film's pastels almost have a Trucolor look. It's an attractive film, particularly Inspector Gideon's kitchen.

The movie was released on DVD in the U.S. as part of the 5-film TCM Vault John Ford: The Columbia Films Collection; it has an introduction by Leonard Maltin plus stills and poster galleries, but no optional subtitles.

This year I upgraded to the Powerhouse Indicator Blu-ray, which although released in the UK is Region A. The disc shares with the TCM version Maltin's introduction and some image galleries, but it has several more extras, including the choice of watching the movie with U.S. or UK titles, plus a number of featurettes; the featurettes include a brief yet informative piece on the film's London and other locations.

Unlike the TCM Vault DVD, the Indicator Blu-ray disc has optional English subtitles, which was a selling point for me along with the additional extras and upgraded print quality.

GIDEON'S DAY may perhaps be the least "Ford-like" film I've yet seen, but I liked it quite well and will definitely return to it again in the future.

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The 2026 TCM Classic Cruise

This week I'll be on my first-ever TCM Classic Cruise, which takes place October 13th through 18th, 2026.

The cruise will take place aboard the Disney Wonder, which sails out of San Diego, making stops in Ensenada and at Catalina Island.

Despite being a lifelong Southern Californian, I've never visited Catalina, so I'm looking forward to that. Our activities include a tour of the Avalon Theatre and Casino.

I will probably remain on the ship rather than visiting Ensenada, enjoying the ship and the afternoon movies that day.

There are a number of interesting guests scheduled for the cruise, including Beau Bridges, Jane Alexander, Dyan Cannon, and Tina Sinatra; special effects artist Dennis Muren; Gisele Galante Chulack, the daughter of Olivia de Havilland; film historians Leonard Maltin and Bruce Goldstein; and longtime Disney animator Andreas Deja.

I saw Deja give a great presentation at the 2012 Destination D event in Anaheim.

Like the TCM Classic Film Festival, the cruise screens a number of movies simultaneously, with guests having to make hard choices.

Some of the interesting screenings on the cruise include:

*The MGM "B" movie WITHIN THE LAW (1939), starring Ruth Hussey

*Hitchcock's THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) with James Stewart and Doris Day

*APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER (1951) starring Alan Ladd

*Gisele Galante Chulack at THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) and THE HEIRESS (1949)

*Dyan Cannon at THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973) and HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1978)

*Andreas Deja at THE LION KING (1994) and WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988)

*Dennis Muren at THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)

*Beau Bridges at THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS (1989)

*Jane Alexander at NIGHT CROSSING (1982), a Disney film I haven't seen since it came out - Bridges costars, so I wonder if he might come too

*Tina Sinatra at FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) and PAL JOEY (1957)

*JUDGE HARDY'S CHILDREN (1938) and LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY (1938)

*TWO GUYS FROM MILWAUKEE (1946)

*THE TALL T (1957)

*ISLE OF MISSING MEN (1942)

*CAPTAIN KIDD (1945)

*STATE FAIR (1945)

*MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940)

*GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)

...and even more!

Granted, some of these films will be shown poolside, so I'll need to see whether movies can be truly seen and enjoyed in that format, but even if I decide against seeing movies poolside, there will be more than enough options to keep me busy.

(October 19th Update: The poolside screenings worked surprisingly well, especially after dark. Sound quality was excellent, and the sound was not drowned out by ambient noise on the Lido deck, which had been a concern for me. I loved my experience watching MY FAVORITE WIFE poolside!)

It should be a grand five days at sea!

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Tonight’s Movie: The Majestic (2001)

Last month I was fortunate to make my second trip to Alaska, spending nine days cruising the Inside Passage and more, including a day in Victoria, British Columbia.

I was also fortunate to have a good friend on board, and during sea days Molly and I had the chance to enjoy a couple of movies together thanks to her large iPad. We watched a favorite comedy, THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942), and later in the trip she introduced me to THE MAJESTIC (2001).

Jim Carrey stars in THE MAJESTIC. I don't believe I'd ever seen a Carrey film before, as most of his titles simply don't hold appeal, but I was intrigued by Molly's description of the plot and the fact that the cast included veteran actors such as Martin Landau and James Whitmore. As it turned out, Carrey was also quite good in what is mostly a dramatic performance.

My enjoyment of the film deepened when, in the early going, I recognized the small town where it was set as Ferndale, California, which we visited on a road trip in the summer of 2025. It's a beautiful town filled with Victorian homes, seen in my photo here, and I'll share some additional photos of Ferndale at the end of this post.

Bringing things full circle, Ferndale was the hometown of Guy Fieri, the chef behind a hamburger stand on our cruise ship! It really can be a small world.

Returning to THE MAJESTIC, which is set in the early '50s, screenwriter Peter Appleton (Carrey) finds his career crashing and burning due to suspected Communist ties, related to a girl he dated in college.

Peter gets drunk and then literally crashes out near a small town, coming to with no memory. The local doctor (David Ogden Stiers) expects Peter's memory will eventually return, but in the meantime there's a bigger story going on: Everyone in town believes Peter is the long-lost son of elderly Harry Trimble (Martin Landau), whose soldier son Luke went missing during World War II.

Peter moves in with Harry, who receives a new lease on life and is inspired to reopen his closed-up movie theater, The Majestic. Peter also slowly begins a romance with Luke's fiance Adele (Laurie Holden).

Months happily pass by, and then one day The Majestic shows a film which Peter wrote; as he finds himself curiously familiar with the dialogue, memories of his true life start flooding back...

I was very pleasantly surprised by THE MAJESTIC, though I shouldn't have been, given that my tastes are so similar to my friend Molly's! It was a true "feel good" movie in the manner of Frank Capra. 

The most negative I could say about the film is that some of its 152 minutes should have been cut for a tighter pace, but on the whole I quite liked this film, which was written by Michael Sloane and directed by Frank Darabont.

I particularly enjoyed Landau, in a sweet-natured performance as Luke's father; Gerry Black as the theater's longtime head usher; and Holden as Luke's fiancee, who has become an attorney. Holden was a new name to me, although she has appeared in a number of well-known TV series.

The cast also includes Hal Holbrook, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn, Brent Briscoe, Ron Rifkin, and Amanda Detmer.

The movie was filmed by David Tattersall and scored by Mark Isham.

THE MAJESTIC is available on DVD and Blu-ray.  I recommend that those who aren't familiar with this film check it out.

To conclude, here are a few more photos of lovely Ferndale, taken in June 2025.

Click on any photo to enlarge it for a closer look.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week...

...will not appear this weekend, as I'm attending the Lone Pine Film Festival.

The column will also not appear next weekend, when I'll be on the TCM Classic Cruise.

I have a few posts prescheduled for while I'm offline, so please check back from time to time for new content.

Around the Blogosphere This Week will return on Saturday, October 24th.

For my most recent classic film links, please visit my October 3rd column.

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Repost: Tonight's Movie: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

NOTE: A few days ago I attended the "Encore" theatrical screening of AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019), which included a couple new "tag" scenes for the upcoming AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY (2026).

As I wrote at the end of my review of SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026), I'm not certain whether I'll be seeing DOOMSDAY, and the new scenes weren't the pull for my seeing ENDGAME again. 

Rather, I wanted to revisit what I consider a singularly brilliant conclusion to the Marvel movies which had gone before.  I deeply enjoyed revisiting all 181 minutes of this film, and I want to encourage any Marvel fans to do likewise.

And so, at last, we come to the conclusion of this era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019), which I saw yesterday, was a remarkable capstone to the 20 Marvel films previously reviewed here since July 2015. (The total is upped to 21 previous reviews if TV's AGENT CARTER is included.) I can't imagine a better way to have ended the series.

This review will necessarily be relatively brief and detail free so that, as the Twitter hashtag says, I #DontSpoiltheEndgame.

When last we saw our heroes in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), arch villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) had just erased half of humankind with what is now called "The Snap." I wrote of INFINITY WAR: "How I ultimately feel about this film will have quite a bit to do with my reaction to Part 2 when it's released in May 2019. It's really all one big story, and it's far from over at this juncture."

The story is now completed, and I am more than satisfied. In rather a remarkable feat, the movie simultaneously wraps up not just INFINITY WAR but ideas lingering from past films. I was particularly grateful for the exquisite last scene; Marvel really did right by its fans.

The movie is simultaneously elegiac and funny, successfully straddling a variety of tones; it has a wealth of quotable lines which I suspect are already entering the popular culture lexicon. It allows for moments both big and small, with quiet, intimate scenes between closely connected characters, as well as epic sequences certain to gladden the heart of any Marvel fan. It's probably the fastest 181 minutes I'll ever spend in a movie theater, and it's very possible I'll go back and do it all over again, there is so much to take in and appreciate about this film.

Pretty much everyone who's anyone in the MCU is in this film, and the lengthy closing credits feel like a curtain call for the actors who've participated in the series over the past decade, with special credits tributes to the original six Avengers, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Each of these six actors shines in this film -- and who could have foreseen when watching the original THOR (2011) the extent to which the god of Thunder would become such hilarious comic relief?

I agree with Leonard Maltin, who wrote, "It is escapist entertainment of a very high order, and an achievement that has no true precedent in the history of motion pictures. No series...from Tarzan to James Bond, has ever attempted to incorporate so many moving parts in one conclusive film."

AVENGERS: ENDGAME was directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo and filmed by Trent Opaloch. The score was by Alan Silvestri.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG-13. As with most Marvel films, the violence is of the non-gory variety, though there are moments which could potentially upset young children. There is also some limited yet notable swearing. The many positive themes include love of family and friends, the value of kindness to others, teamwork, and placing others above one's own priorities.

I'm so glad I was persuaded to begin watching the Marvel films nearly four years ago, as they have given me so many hours of movie pleasure, and I particularly appreciate that the filmmakers honored their viewers by working hard to maintain the quality to the very end, and then some. Watching AVENGERS: ENDGAME felt a bit like unwrapping the biggest present on Christmas morning, and it turned out to be exactly what I wanted.

Previous Marvel reviews: IRON MAN (2008), IRON MAN 2 (2010), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011), THOR (2011), THE AVENGERS (2012), IRON MAN 3 (2013), THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014), AGENT CARTER (2015), ANT-MAN (2015), AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015), CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), DOCTOR STRANGE (2016), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017), SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017), THOR: RAGNAROK (2017), BLACK PANTHER (2018), AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (2018), and CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019).

Update: My review of the coda to AVENGERS: ENDGAME, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019).

Update: AVENGERS: ENDGAME is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

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Eva Marie Saint Dies at 102

Alas, the time has come to say goodbye to the great Eva Marie Saint.

Saint has passed away today at the age of 102.

As I shared in my centennial birthday tribute, I was very fortunate to see her in person multiple times over the years, including on stage with Henry Fonda in THE FIRST MONDAY IN OCTOBER. I'm very grateful to have had those experiences; she was a delightful person in every way.

Eva Marie Saint had a wonderful long life, including not only a great career but a happy marriage and family. Still, it's never easy when one of the classic movie greats passes from the scene. I take comfort in knowing that her work will live on for as long as movies exist.

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Quick Preview of TCM in November

Here's a brief peek ahead at what's coming to Turner Classic Movies in November!

Burt Lancaster will be the November Star of the Month, with his films screening on Tuesday evenings.

The TCM Spotlight theme will be band leaders.

The November Noir Alley films will star off with a repeat of the Halloween Val Lewton triple bill on November 1st: THE LEOPARD MAN (1943), THE SEVENTH VICTIME (1943), and CAT PEOPLE (1952).

Over the following four weekends the Noir Alley films will be BREAKDOWN (1952), SLANDER (1957), NORA PRENTISS (1947), and THE GREAT FLAMARION (1945). BREAKDOWN, starring William Bishop, is a TCM premiere.

Filmmakers celebratesd with multi-film tributes in November include Ann Rutherford, James Stewart, Sally Field, Jose Iturbi, Edward Sedgwick, and Mike Nichols.

That's all the information I've been able to gather about the November to this point, but it's a tantalizing look ahead!

I'll have much more about the November schedule posted here around November 1st. In the meantime, enjoy Myrna Loy as the October Star of the Month!

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