Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

 ...The great news keeps coming from the Warner Archive Collection. In addition to a long list of films coming out in late July and early August, another batch of Blu-rays has just been announced for August 18th. Titles include John Ford's THE WINGS OF EAGLES (1957) and SERGEANT RUTLEDGE (1960), plus appealing films from Warner Bros. and MGM such as TORRID ZONE (1940), ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (1942), and THE HUMAN COMEDY (1943). BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938 (1937) and MONTANA (1950) are also on the list!

...The Warner Archive Collection has also announced a 4K release of OUT OF THE PAST (1947) for September 2nd; the set will have two discs, a 4K and a regular Blu-ray. I rarely cover 4K releases here, as I'm not upgrading my collection beyond Blu-rays and have no personal interest, but this is a special film which is important to many, so I'm sharing the information.

...From the great Farran Smith Nehme, for CineConnections: "Love Hurts: Romance in Film Noir."

...Due out in late July: A limited edition Blu-ray release of THE OUTFIT (1973) from Arrow Video. Glenn Erickson has a review. The movie stars Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker, but it's the supporting cast that will make a classic film fan's eyes pop: Jane Greer, Robert Ryan, Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook Jr., Timothy Carey, Roy Roberts, Emile Meyer, Richard Jaeckel, and Sheree North. For those keeping score, that's three players from THE KILLING alone!

...Glenn Erickson has also just reviewed the new Warner Archive Blu-ray of LETTY LYNTON (1932).

...A new telling of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE has just debuted on Netflix. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter has a review.

...Kino Lorber has just announced the upcoming release of another Lino Ventura film, THE SILENT ONE (1973), costarring Robert Hardy. Ventura is an actor I've really come to appreciate in recent months thanks to Kino Lorber's French noir releases.

...The American Cinematheque will be screening Joan Crawford and Jack Palance in SUDDEN FEAR (1952), introduced by the great film historian Foster Hirsch, at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre on July 29th.

...My sincere thanks to Christine of ClassicFilmLA for alerting me to several more interesting Southern California classic film events happening in the near future, starting with another screening with an appearance by Foster Hirsch. He'll be hosting WILD IN THE COUNTRY (1961) with Millie Perkins at the Monterey Park Public Library on August 1st.

...More from Christine: I was interested to learn that Arizona State University has a fashion design museum in Los Angeles, the FIDM. An exhibit on MGM's great costume designer Adrian will run from August to December...The Burbank Museum and the Burbank Historical Society will be hosting a screening of the documentary BEYOND GODOLPHIN: THE HANK JONES STORY (2026) on July 25th. The film is about actor Hank Jones, who appeared in a number of Disney films in the late '60s and '70s, starting with BLACKBEARD'S GHOST (1968). Although I already had plans that date, I'm quite interested in this and hope there will be a chance to see the documentary another time in the future. Thank you again for sharing all the interesting news, Christine!

...Notable Passing: Sad news for those of us who love EMERGENCY! (1972-79), actor Randolph Mantooth has passed away at the age of 80. Mantooth memorably played paramedic Johnny Gage. As I've written in my story on the 2022 50th anniversary celebration of the show and again in a Blu-ray review of the series, the L.A. County-set EMERGENCY! had a huge impact on paramedic programs becoming standard across the entire country; the show also encouraged countless numbers of people to become firefighters or paramedics. Mantooth (at right in this photo) and Kevin Tighe (left), who played his partner Roy DeSoto and became a lifelong close friend, have supported paramedic programs throughout their lives since the series, and even co-produced a documentary on paramedics.

...Notable Passing: Disney Legend Don Iwerks has passed on at 96. Iwerks was the son of another Disney Legend, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit creator Ub Iwerks, and the father of documentarian Leslie Iwerks. Don Iwerks' many achievements included developing the Circle Vision camera used to film AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, a childhood favorite of mine at Disneyland which I'd love to have the chance to see again. He also worked on the sodium vapor process for combining live action with animation in MARY POPPINS (1964).

...More Notable Passings: Actress Joanna Pettet and actress Antoinette Bower have each passed away at the age of 93. Each worked steadily, especially in TV, over decades.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my July 4th column.

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Tonight's Movie: Black Widow (1954)

This week I finally caught up with a film which has long been on my "to watch" list, BLACK WIDOW (1954).

BLACK WIDOW isn't the 2021 Marvel movie, which I saw and reviewed upon its release, but rather a '50s murder mystery with a terrific cast, including two top-drawer leading ladies.

In a story which is at times rather reminiscent of ALL ABOUT EVE (1950), ambitious young Nancy Ordway (Peggy Ann Garner, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN) comes to New York and works her way into the circle of several prominent members of the Broadway theatrical community.

Nancy has barely arrived in town when she finagles her way into using the empty apartment of producer Peter Denver (Van Heflin) and his actress wife Iris (Gene Tierney), ostensibly for "writing." Nancy also goes to lunch with Brian Mullen (Reginald Gardiner), the husband of famed stage actress Carlotta "Lottie" Marin (Ginger Rogers).

Nancy's relationship with Peter is innocent on his end, if calculated on hers; he's just a nice, somewhat oblivious guy who lets himself be manuevered into lending out his apartment while he and Iris are away during the day. (It has good light, you see -- you'd think Nancy was an artist rather than a writer.)

Then one day Peter and Iris, who's been away nursing her sick mother, come home to the apartment and...find a body! It's initially thought to be a suicide, but murder is quickly suspected, and Peter seems to be in a heap of trouble, given he'd been letting Nancy visit the apartment on a daily basis. Detective Bruce (George Raft) is on the case.

I'll keep my plot description limited to the above, as there are many twists and turns which I enjoyed watching unfold for the first time.

While the movie might not be a classic, it's nonetheless a very entertaining 95 minutes; how could it not be, with that cast? I had a good time watching it.

The movie was written and directed by Nunnally Johnson, and his script kept me guessing "whodunit" till pretty far into the movie.

The cast are all enjoyable, including Rogers as an over-the-top actress not known for her kindness; Lottie must be a very good actress to stay employed, given her habitual sharpness and sarcasm towards so many people. I also especially liked Tierney as Heflin's kind, patient wife. Iris is also a Broadway star, but with a much nicer personality. Both actresses are great favorites of mine so it was fun to see them costarring in this film.

Heflin does a nice job convincingly portraying a chump who has no ulterior motives when it comes to young Nancy, though his agressiveness "interviewing" Nancy's friend Claire (Virginia Leith, A KISS BEFORE DYING) seems out of character. Perhaps one might chalk it up to desperation?

I especially liked Gardiner as Rogers' rather emasculated husband, living in the shadow of her glory (and on her bank account). Raft doesn't have a dramatic arc and is more of a storytelling device as the investigating detective, but his button-down persona and gravitas are just right for the part.

Garner is annoying in the extreme as manipulative Nancy, who we come to learn uses pretty much every single person she meets as just another stepping stone toward greater glory. Eve Harrington, move over!

Unfortunately Garner and Rogers are both saddled with those awful '50s curly "poodle cuts" which do nothing for a woman except age her. I'll never understand why that style caught on. (Ironically, the femme fatale seen on the movie poster does not have a short haircut!) Tierney also has somewhat short hair but looks better than the other two women, if a tad bit matronly for someone who was only 33 when the movie was filmed.

It's an irony, given the movie's star power, that perhaps the most enjoyable performance comes from a one-scene player, Hilda Simms; Simms plays Anne, a woman Heflin interviews about Nancy while doing some detective work of his own. Simms is extremely natural and likeable, immediately sending me to Google to try to figure out who she was; she did some Broadway work including the title role in the original 1944 production of ANNA LUCASTA.

Additional players in the film include Otto Kruger, Cathleen Nesbitt, Mabel Albertson, and Skip Homeier.

The movie was filmed in CinemaScope by Charles G. Clarke; the format has the advantage of providing plenty of room for the large cast to spread out.

I watched this movie via the Fox Film Noir DVD #22. It comes with nice extras including a commentary track by Alan K. Rode, featurettes on Tierney and Rogers, still and poster galleries, an isolated score track, and the trailer (in which, curiously, Gardiner's name is twice misspelled). Eddie Muller and Foster Hirsch are among those who appear in the featurettes, along with Rode; they look quite young, given that the featurettes were made close to two decades ago.

The movie also had a Blu-ray release from the late, lamented Twilight Time.

I think most fans of mysteries and the cast will like this one, as I did. It's a fun hour and a half.

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Tonight's Movie: Moana (2026)

As a longtime member of Disney's D23 Club, I've had the opportunity over the years to attend some fun advance preview screenings of Disney films.

Those experiences have included TANGLED (2010) on the Disney Studios lot and CINDERELLA (2015) at the late, lamented AMC theater at Downtown Disney.

Earlier this week I attended my first D23 advance screening in quite some time, a preview of Disney's new live-action version of MOANA (2026) at the AMC in Orange, California.

I'm as tired as anyone of Disney making live-action versions of their films, although I truly loved CINDERELLA and found THE LITTLE MERMAID (2023) fairly entertaining. That said, since I've had positive experiences at D23 screenings and it was taking place fairly close to my home, I decided to give the new version of MOANA a whirl.

Things started out on a fun note when we were presented with some "swag" as we checked in, a MOANA-themed blanket and pen. Vouchers for free popcorn and soda were included with the ticket as well.

MOANA, of course, is a new version of Disney's wonderful animated musical MOANA (2016); it's hard to believe it's been an entire decade since that movie was released!

As was the case with THE LITTLE MERMAID before it, the MOANA trailer did not impress, but remembering that THE LITTLE MERMAID was better than I'd expected, I was hopeful I'd enjoy MOANA.

As it turned out, I was thoroughly entertained by MOANA and found it an unexpected, delightful surprise. While I had a number of criticisms of THE LITTLE MERMAID, I had no issues at all with MOANA, other than the bathroom "humor" which seems to find its way into every single Disney film in recent years, most recently TOY STORY 5 (2026); I'll never understand that.

I found MOANA to be a lovely rendering of the now-familiar story which was very well cast. Catherine Laga'aia was delightful in the title role as the adventurous chief's daughter who loves the sea and wants to save her tribe's dying island.

Laga'aia is on screen most of the movie, and I enjoyed her expressive features, sense of humor, and sparkling clear voice; her performance of "How Far I'll Go" was thrilling. Laga'aia communicated a sense of pure joy which was completely winning.

Among the supporting cast I especially liked Frankie Adams as Moana's mother Sina. She looked very familiar yet I don't seem to have seen any of her prior work. She was beautiful and did a very nice job conveying her emotions through relatively few words.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who voiced the demigod Maui in the original film, also enacts the part here; he has a wild-looking wig but is such fun in the part that the crazy hair is soon forgotten, or at least forgiven. He's quite funny as Moana's "frenemy," who strongly resists helping her in the quest to save her island but ultimately, of course, capitulates and proves himself a hero.

Funnily enough, this live-action film also had a fair amount of animation, whether it's Moana's crazy pet chicken Heihei or Maui's tattoos.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that MOANA is the best of Disney's live-action remakes; he didn't count the excellent CINDERELLA among that number as he didn't consider it a true remake. I agree on both points.

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter pronounced MOANA "charming" and "directed with verve." Not all critics were so positive, but I completely agreed with these takes and cite them here to hopefully bolster the chances that potential audiences will give the movie a chance. It's a film which truly deserves to be seen and enjoyed.

Dare I say...I actually might have liked it better than the original? Or certainly at least equivalent to it. I love animated films, especially from Disney, and yet...I truly enjoyed watching this musical staged with live actors; moments such as the islanders' production number, "Where You Are," really struck a chord. And I can't understate how good Laga'aia is in the title role.

I was amazed to find it near the very top of my list of the new films I've seen so far this year. I smiled throughout and will definitely be watching it again in the future.

MOANA runs 115 minutes. It was directed by Thomas Kail and filmed by Oscar Faura.

MOANA is rated PG. Other than the bathroom humor, there are a handful of mildly scary moments, most involving the scary fire goddess at the heart of Moana and Maui's quest.

Recommended.

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Tonight's Movie: Rose-Marie (1936) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The great releases keep coming from the Warner Archive Collection, with a packed slate of fantastic titles scheduled all summer long.

One of the Blu-rays I've been most excited to see is the brand-new release of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in one of their most beloved films, ROSE-MARIE (1936).

I reviewed the Warner Archive DVD of this film a decade ago, in 2016, and it was a joy to return to it via the Blu-ray. The Blu-ray, from a 1080p HD master from 4K scans of the "best available preservation elements," looks and sounds terrific.

Jeanette plays Marie de Flor, a famous Canadian opera singer who is distressed when she learns her brother John, nicknamed Jack (James Stewart), a convicted felon, has escaped prison after learning his application for parole was denied.

Marie heads into the wilds of Canada hoping to find and help her brother, motivated more by love than common sense, especially given that Jack killed a Mountie as he fled prison.

Once in Canada she is robbed and abandoned by her guide (George Regas), but Mountie Sergeant Bruce (Eddy) comes to her aid. Sergeant Bruce and Marie develop feelings for one another, but his sworn duty to find and bring in Jack necessarily complicates their burgeoning love.

MacDonald and Eddy are magical together; she's a firecracker opposite his calmer persona, but it's worth noting that Eddy is way better than some critics would suggest. The duo's personas balance once another in the best ways; there are good reasons they were such a popular team.

Much of the movie was shot outdoors, in the Lake Tahoe area, and the "fresh air" setting combined with MacDonald and Eddy's singing makes the film very special. Their duets are moving; when they reprise "Indian Love Call" at the end of the film, it gets me every time. There's just something about the beautiful music, the innocent performances, and the lovely music that makes me tear up.

The movie also has some real dramatic heft. The scene where Sergeant Bruce and Jack ride away from Rose-Marie is quite powerful, as Jack tells the sergeant something he'd like him to share with his sister in the future. Stewart only has a couple of scenes, but he makes the most of them.

The screenplay of this 113-minute film was by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and Alice Duer Miller, from the play by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach.

The movie was directed by W.S. Van Dyke and filmed in black and white by William Daniels.

The excellent supporting cast includes Reginald Owen, Alan Mowbray, Una O'Connor, Robert Grieg, and, in a single scene, David Niven (billed Nivens in the opening credits).

Disc extras consist of a cartoon, LITTLE CHEESER (1936); the short: HOLLYWOOD: THE SECOND STEP (1936); the trailer; and multiple radio shows including a Screen Guild Players production of ROSE-MARIE with Nelson and Eddy. The Blu-ray also includes a song selection menu for instant access to replay favorite musical moments.

I'm hoping that even more MacDonald-Eddy Blu-rays are on the way, following the releases of ROSE-MARIE and SWEETHEARTS (1938), and I encourage their many fans to support this release in order to help make that dream a reality.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: Come Live With Me (1941) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

It's hard to believe that it's been close to a dozen years since I reviewed the COME LIVE WITH ME (1941) DVD released by the Warner Archive Collection!

In addition to reviewing the DVD, I also previously posted a brief review of the film way back in 2006.

Clearly, it's a movie I like a great deal, revisiting it every few years, so I'm especially happy that it's now just been released on an absolutely lovely Blu-ray.

The exquisite Hedy Lamarr was never more beautiful than in this film. She plays "Johnny" Jones, an Austrian refugee on the verge of being deported from the U.S. back to her native country.

The prospect of deportation is upsetting to Johnny for two reasons; one is that she expects to be killed upon returning to Austria, as her father has previously been "eliminated" for expressing opinions which angered the wrong people.

The other reason she doesn't want to leave is that she's in love with publisher Barton Kendrick (Ian Hunter). Kendrick, alas, is a married man with a smart and understanding wife, Diana (Verree Teasdale); he expects in time he'll be able to divorce Diana and marry Johnny but things are not yet at that point.

When a sympathetic deportation agent (Barton MacLane) suggests to Johnny that she get married in order to remain in the U.S., she promptly proposes to Bill Smith (James Stewart), a penniless writer she chanced to meet. Johnny offers Bill an income, allowing him to work on his writing, in exchange for a temporary marriage "in name only."

Bill is soon smitten with his platonic wife and begins a wonderful manuscript which quickly sells...to publisher Barton Kendrick. Kendrick buys it at his wife Diana's urging, but as he begins to read it he realizes the circumstances sound familiar...and becomes apoplectic as he realizes another man is in love with his would-be fiancee.

As I wrote in my 2014 review, the plotting isn't quite perfect; the transition of Johnny's affections from Kendrick to Bill is fairly abrupt, and the film could have used more than its 86 minutes to more thoroughly delineate the evolution of her relationship with Bill. (One also tends to wonder how a character as intelligent as Johnny became involved with a married man in the first place! The script does what it can to soften things, but still.)

That said, these minor issues in Patterson McNutt's screenplay seem to melt away every time I see this film, which as outlined above is one I return to often. While I noted in a past review that Stewart's character is on the cranky side, I particularly noticed on this viewing how well he conveys his longing for Johnny.

The concluding bits about fireflies and flashlights play perfectly every single time and leave this viewer very happy.

I feel that the light touch of director Clarence Brown is a big reason the film works as well as it does. While the script directs the characters to do things that in other hands might render them unappealing, all four of the film's leads remain enjoyable thanks to movie's overall pleasant, upbeat tone.

In fact, when Kendrick realizes near movie's end that his wife has maneuvered the situation with Bill and Johnny to suit herself and her affection for her husband, Kendrick exclaims with admiration for Diana.

Brown, incidentally, has had several films released by the Warner Archive recently, including POSSESSED (1931), which I just reviewed, and LETTY LYNTON (1932), which I'll be reviewing in the very near future.

The film was beautifully shot in black and white by George Folsey, which is showed off to perfection in this Blu-ray print, taken from a 1080p HD master from 4K scans of the original nitrate camera negative.

Even if the movie was a poor one, just spending an hour and a half or so looking at Hedy Lamarr in exquisite Adrian dresses would be enjoyable. And happily, it's a very likeable film for many more reasons.

The supporting cast includes Adeline De Walt Reynolds, Edward Ashley, Donald Meek, Ann Codee, and Frank Faylen.

Disc extras consist of a pair of shorts, AMERICA PREFERRED (1941) and FROM THE FOUR CORNERS (1941); the cartoon OFFICER POOCH (1941); and the trailer.

Recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: The Long Arm (1956) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

A few days ago I reviewed CAGE OF GOLD (1950), my first film watched from Kino Lorber's Brit Noir Collection I.

I'll be watching more from that set soon, but first I jumped over to the new Brit Noir Collection II, also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and watched THE LONG ARM (1956).

THE LONG ARM, also known in Britain as THE THIRD KEY, is exactly my kind of movie, a police procedural with enjoyable leads and extensive, interesting location shooting.

THE LONG ARM, like the other two films in the set, stars Jack Hawkins. Here he plays Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Tom Halliday. It's of note that a couple years later he also played a Scotland Yard detective, in John Ford's GIDEON'S DAY (1958), which I hope to see soon.

Halliday is teamed for the first time with the younger Detective Sergeant Ward (John Stratton) and tasked with solving the overnight break-in of a safe.

It's a curious mystery as a supposed night watchman (Richard Leech) had let in police officers when the business's alarm went off -- but it turns out the real overnight watchman is in the hospital after emergency appendix surgery. It appears it was the burglar impersonating the watchman.

Soon there's another safe break-in at a different business, this time time resulting in a murder when the getaway car runs down a young worker (Ian Bannen).

Halliday and Ward painstakingly put together a series of clues and eventually arrive at a theory...

I love procedurals and found this a completely engrossing 96 minutes. The clues are nicely paced and interesting as they are discovered, creating a story which is both logical and believable.

Scenes with Halliday's wife (Dorothy Alison) and son (Michael Brooke) are somewhat less interesting, but they paint a sympathetic picture of what home life is like for a detective when he's in the middle of a hot case.

Hawkins is an actor I appreciate more as I see each of his movies, and he and Stratton, as his coworker, develop a friendly bantering relationship as they get to know one another, making this a fun watch.

Hawkins and Stratton, incidentally, had previously worked together on the excellent World War II film THE CRUEL SEA (1953). Director Charles Frend and cinematographer Gordon Dines also worked on both films.

The screenplay for THE LONG ARM was by Janet Green and Robert Barr from Barr's story, with additional dialogue by Dorothy and Campbell Christie.

The solid cast includes Geoffrey Keen as one of Halliday's colleagues; he's a familiar face as the minister of defence in several 007 movies, including my favorite THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977).

I've also seen Ian Bannen in a number of films from his long career, including EYE OF THE NEEDLE (1981), NIGHT CROSSING (1982), and HOPE AND GLORY (1987).

A sad note: None of the film's three leads, Hawkins, Stratton, or Alison, made it out of their 60s, dying at 62, 65, and 66, respectively.

The Blu-ray print and sound quality are excellent.

Disc extras consist of a commentary track by Laurence Lerman, plus half a dozen trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

Recommended.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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Tonight's Movie: Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004)

Independence Day weekend is always a good time to watch a patriotic film of any kind, and so I decided to watch IKE: COUNTDOWN TO D-DAY (2004), in which Tom Selleck stars as General Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower.

I bought this film in a sale several years ago but as so often happens, hadn't caught up with it yet simply due to so many viewing options. I lent the DVD to my late father in 2019, who commented "Very high recommendation on this film. Selleck was excellent."

My interest in seeing the film right now was sparked in part by my enjoyment of the new film PRESSURE (2026), as well as a D-Day revisit of THE LONGEST DAY (1962) last month.

IKE: COUNTDOWN TO D-DAY is a TV-movie which originally aired on cable's A&E Channel.

Written by Lionel Chetwynd and directed by Robert Harmon, the film traces General Eisenhower's decision-making process in the weeks and days leading up to D-Day on June 6, 1944.

Following the factual outlines of history means that IKE unfolds fairly similarly to PRESSURE, although in that case the focus was not just on Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) but meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott). In IKE Stagg is a supporting character in several scenes, played by Christopher Baker.

I found the contrasts between Selleck and Fraser's portrayals of Eisenhower interesting, having seen them spaced about a month apart. Selleck portrays Eisenhower as more confident and less emotional than Fraser's more hot-tempered Ike; Selleck's relatively calm and buttoned-down persona is more in line with my mental images of Eisenhower. He insists to Churchill that he must have full command; he receives data from his many colleagues but is then firm and decisive.

That said, Ike does lay into his colleagues when it's needed. In that vein, my husband felt the movie didn't do right by General Patton (Gerald McRaney), turning him into too much of a cartoon in his single scene, which I felt was a fair criticism.

Otherwise, I found it quite an engrossing 89 minutes which I enjoyed very much; it's not often I wish a film were longer, but I would have been happy if it ran closer to the 100 minutes of PRESSURE, just because I found it a very engaging and interesting watch.

One of the scenes I especially enjoyed was General Eisenhower presenting the D-Day plans to King George (Mick Rose) and Queen Elizabeth (Carol Seay), a bit of history with which I hadn't previously been familiar.

The supporting cast includes Ian Mune as Winston Churchill, Timothy Bottoms as Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, Bruce Phillips as General Montgomery, James Remar as General Omar Bradley, and John Bach as Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory.

The movie was filmed by David Gribble.

A curious note: Ike is seen watching the Technicolor film COVER GIRL (1944), but it's projected for the soldiers in black and white.

IKE: COUNTDOWN TO D-DAY would make a good double bill with DARKEST HOUR (2017), which focuses on Churchill during the earlier years of the war. It would also play well with THE GALLANT HOURS (1960), another film which focuses on high-level decision making by military leaders during the war, in that case Fleet Admiral Halsey (James Cagney.

The IKE DVD includes a commentary track with Selleck plus the writer and director, as well as a featurette. Optional English-language captions are provided.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Happy Independence Day, and Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America!

...A new biography of director Frank Capra is on the way: FRANK CAPRA by Sam Wasson is due out from Harper in October.

...Farran Smith Nehme, aka the Self-Styled Siren, has republished a terrific piece she wrote in 2012 on I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE (1951) with Susan Hayward, George Sanders, and Dan Dailey.

...Colin's latest essay at Riding the High Country is on THE FILE ON THELMA JORDON (1949) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey, directed by Robert Siodmak.

...Coming soon from Kino Lorber Studio Classics: MURDER BY THE CLOCK (1931) starring William "Stage" Boyd (not the William Boyd who played Hopalong Cassidy), Lilyan Tashman, and Regis Toomey...A release date has been firmed up for THE WAR WAGON (1967), coming from Kino Lorber on Blu-ray or 4K. It will be out August 25th.

...Glenn Erickson's new reviews include the Warner Archive Blu-ray release of THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO (1944) starring Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, and a terrific cast.

...Thoughts on Westerns: Chris Yogerst has written about "10 Classic Western Movies No One Talks About Anymore" for MovieWeb. Although I found the title exaggerated, Chris's opinions are always worth checking out...I also enjoy Hannah Long's reviews and ratings of Westerns at Letterboxd.

...More reviews I've enjoyed recently: Katie Carter takes a look at TOY STORY 5 (2026) at her site Katie at the Movies...DforDoom reviews WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1956) at Classic Movie Ramblings...and at 50 Westerns From the 50s Toby reviewed Errol Flynn in SAN ANTONIO (1945), out on Warner Archive Blu-ray.

...Wish I'd been able to see one of director Guillermo del Toro's presentations on Alfred Hitchcock at the Academy Museum Theater, I've heard good things from several people. Jim Hemphill wrote about it for Indiewire.

...It's always fun to check out the latest movies watched by Phyllis of Phyllis Loves Classic Movies.

 

...Notable Passings: Actor Joby Baker, who worked in films and TV steadily from the '50s through the '80s, has died at 92...British actress Penelope Keith has passed on at 86.

 

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my June 27th column.

 

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Happy 4th of July!

Happy 250th birthday, America!

This year's Independence Day studio publicity photos feature Piper Laurie. Here's another shot from the same session:

May God continue to bless and protect the United States of America.

Happy Independence Day!

Previous Independence Day photos: 2012 (Susan Hayward), 2013 (Susan Hayward and Virginia Dale), 2014 (Vera-Ellen and Cyd Charisse), 2015 (Ava Gardner), 2016 (Jeanne Crain), 2017 (Debbie Reynolds and Jane Powell), 2018 (Alexis Smith), 2019 (Ann Blyth), 2020 (Ann Miller), 2021 (Penny Edwards), 2022 (Gloria DeHaven), 2023 (Doris Day), 2024 (Joan Caulfield), and 2025 (Carole Landis).

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TCM in July: Highlights

Happy July and Happy Summer!

It's now time for a detailed look at July schedule on Turner Classic Movies.

This post is being published a bit later than usual due to a heavy workload ahead of the holiday weekend. There are lots of fun things ahead this summer on TCM!

July will feature a "theme month" for the Star of the Month programming, featuring "Singers as Stars." Films with a wide variety of singers, with backgrounds in jazz, rock, country, big bands, and more will be featured on Monday evenings.

The TCM Spotlight on Tuesdays features American independent filmmakers.

The July Noir Alley films will be ANGEL FACE (1953) on July 4th and 5th, BLUES IN THE NIGHT (1941) July 11th-12, DARK PASSAGE (1947) on the 18th and 19th, and THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (1956) on July 25th and 26th.

Eddie Muller's Summer of Darkness, featuring some of the greatest film noir titles of all time, continues on Friday evenings this month. Every title is a classic -- by all means, tune in!

Also of note: John Carpenter has curated and is cohosting evenings of horror films on July 16th and 23rd, and Alicia Malone hosts "Summer Romance" again this month on Sundays.

Here's a look at just some of the interesting programming ahead in July.

...Late on July 3rd is the TCM premiere of AGAINST ALL ODDS (1984), the Jeff Bridges-Rachel Ward remake of OUT OF THE PAST (1947). Jane Greer, star of the original film, is in the supporting cast, along with Paul Valentine, who played Joe in the original.

...The Musical Matinee franchise features 1776 (1972) on Independence Day. Other musicals airing on the 4th are (of course!) YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) and THE MUSIC MAN (1962).

...The Sunday lineup on July 5th includes the very good marital melodrama CASS TIMBERLANE (1947), starring Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, and Zachary Scott.

...July 6th, the first evening of the "Singers as Stars" series, includes a film I've never seen, NEW ORLEANS (1947), featuring Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.

...The first Spotlight series evening on American Independent filmmakers on July 7th includes THE HITCH-HIKER (1953), directed by Ida Lupino.

...July 9th features movies set in hot weather, including HEAT LIGHTNING (1934), starring Aline MacMahon, Preston Foster, Glenda Farrell, and Ann Dvorak, among others. A very worthwhile film.

...Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery, and Ann Harding star in WHEN LADIES MEET (1933) on July 11th. Can't beat that cast!

...There's more Robert Montgomery on July 12th, when he's teamed with Bette Davis in the entertaining JUNE BRIDE (1948).

...July 13th presents a day of films with screenplays by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, including one of my favorite MGM musicals, the colorful GOOD NEWS (1947).

...TCM honors Jill Clayburgh on July 15th, premiering three of her films including the entertaining STARTING OVER (1979), costarring Burt Reynolds and Candice Bergen.

...Ginger Rogers receives a birthday salute on July 16th. The eight films shown include HAVING WONDERFUL TIME (1938), a perfect summertime film, and one of my favorites from her collaboration with Fred Astaire, CAREFREE (1938).

...There's more Ginger on July 17th as party of a lineup about babies and children, with her classic BACHELOR MOTHER (1939).

...Dave Karger's Musical Matinee features Margaret O'Brien in MGM's THE UNFINISHED DANCE (1947) on July 18th. It's an interesting movie with a good supporting cast, including Cyd Charisse, Karin Booth, Danny Thomas, and Elinor Donahue.

...I've never seen the Julie Andrews-Walter Matthau version of LITTLE MISS MARKER (1980), so my DVR will be running when the film makes its TCM premiere on July 19th. Also showing that night: the 1934 Shirley Temple version of the story.

...July 20th features films directed by the great Clarence Brown, including the classic MGM Americana THE HUMAN COMEDY (1943).

...A day of films with the word "lucky" in the title on July 21st includes Ginger Rogers and Ronald Colman in LUCKY PARTNERS (1940). Ginger fans have many chances to enjoy her in July!

...The Val Lewton classic THE LEOPARD MAN (1943) will air on July 23rd. It stars Dennis O'Keefe and Jean Brooks. There's more Lewton that evening, including CAT PEOPLE (1942). Both THE LEOPARD MAN and CAT PEOPLE were directed by Jacques Tourneur.

...It's always a good time to watch THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)! It airs on July 25th.

...Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard star in I SEE A DARK STRANGER (1946), also known as THE ADVENTURESS, on July 26th.

...One of my favorite days on the schedule is a dozen "B" films written by Robert E. Kent. Lots of fun stuff to explore, some of the films under an hour long. I called one of the films, BULLET SCARS (1942), a "peach of a 'B' movie," and called I WAS FRAMED (1942) "pleasant." The day also includes an all-time favorite "B," TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE (1945), starring Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford. Tune in June 27th!

...I had the pleasure of revisiting Val Lewton's I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) at this year's Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival. It stars Frances Dee and Tom Conway, directed by Jacques Tourneur. Conway appears in multiple films on TCM this month, including CAT PEOPLE and TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE. I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE is on July 29th.

...There's a strong day of Edward G. Robinson films on July 30th, including THE STRANGER (1946) with Orson Welles and Loretta Young.

...The month concludes on July 31st with a day of pre-Code crime films including the delightful PENTHOUSE (1933), starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy.

For more on TCM in July 2026, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in July along with TCM's online schedule.

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