Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Vince of the blog Carole & Co. is planning a "Carole-tennial + 3" blogathon to celebrate the 103rd anniversary of Carole Lombard's birth on October 6th. I plan to participate! Visit Carole & Co. for more details.

...My 13-year-old son loves the film 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) so much he's asked us to order him a lobby card he can hang in his bedroom. :) The Self-Styled Siren, inspired by the current NY heat wave, shares some thoughts on the film in her inimitable style.

...Writer Linda Alexander Tweets that her biography of MAVERICK's Jack Kelly should be published by Bear Manor Media before the end of the year! This is great news for his many fans.

...Also thanks to Twitter, I discovered that Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood shares my admiration for the late, great singer-actress Lina Romay. Here's the tribute to Romay which was posted at Comet Over Hollywood early last January. The post inspired me to go hunting for Rhino's CD compilation Maracas, Marimbas, and Mambos: Latin Classics at MGM; I found a "Used - Very Good" copy at Amazon and it should be here tomorrow!

...CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY (1944) is one of a relatively small number of Deanna Durbin titles I have yet to watch -- I have a Region 2 DVD here which will move to the top of the mile-high viewing stack at some point! I always enjoy reading more about it as it was such an unusual film for both Durbin and her costar Gene Kelly. Rupert has posted about the film today at Classic Movies Digest.

...Over at Immortal Ephemera, Cliff's written an interesting review of SYMPHONY OF SIX MILLION (1932), a pre-Code starring Ricardo Cortez and Irene Dunne.

...At Another Old Movie Blog, Jacqueline had a great idea for a series of posts: Calamity Jane in the movies. Her intro and a post on Jean Arthur as Calamity Jane in THE PLAINSMAN (1936) are available now, with entries on CALAMITY JANE AND SAM BASS (1949), THE TEXAN MEETS CALAMITY JANE (1950), THE PALEFACE (1948), and CALAMITY JANE (1953) still to come. Calamity Jane was played in those films by Yvonne DeCarlo, Evelyn Ankers, Jane Russell, and Doris Day, respectively. I just recorded THE TEXAN MEETS CALAMITY JANE yesterday; the heavily green Trucolor look is rather eye-poppingly garish! As for CALAMITY JANE, it's in the competition for the top position among my favorite Doris Day films.

...Thanks to Missy for Tweeting the news that Nigel Havers, a favorite British actor (CHARIOTS OF FIRE, the 1986 A LITTLE PRINCESS), has joined the cast of Series 2 of DOWNTON ABBEY. Speaking of which, was Angela Lansbury joining the cast just a rumor?

...The Hawaiian estate where some of SOUTH PACIFIC (1958) was filmed is for sale; photos are here. (Via HaroldItz.) And while you're at it, don't miss the photos of Katharine Hepburn's Connecticut estate, on the market for $28 million.

...Reviews, reviews, and more reviews: Before taking his summer break, Colin posted about PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953) at Riding the High Country...Jenny the Nipper reviews SHE MARRIED HER BOSS (1935) at Cinema OCD; it's a comedy with Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, and the late Edith Fellows...Adam Lounsbery posts on the Steve Brodie-Audrey Long-Raymond Burr film noir DESPERATE (1947) at Film Noir of the Week...here's a good 2009 review of BLOOD ON THE MOON (1948), a film I revisited at UCLA earlier this month, from Octopus Cinema...and here's five fun minireviews from late June, posted at Via Margutta 51.

...Matthew of Movietone News muses on being a film buff "across the pond," where Netflix and Robert Osborne remain mysteries, but he definitely knows what Warner Archive is!

...Congrats to Toby at 50 Westerns from the 50s, who recently reached the 150,000 hits mark! Toby recently wrote about Julie Adams and BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), a most enjoyable James Stewart-Anthony Mann collaboration -- don't miss the excellent comments at Toby's site, too.

...Back in May, Rachel of MacGuffin Movies posted about her admiration of Robert Montgomery, which is certainly shared by myself and many of my readers. She's working her way through his movies, a most enjoyable project.

...My friend Jill passed on this Netflix Analyzer, which utilizes your rental history to help you determine what you're paying per DVD...Netflix subscribers may also enjoy this Chicago Tribune column: "Netflix Status: It's Complicated."

...My friend Kristina's latest column for The Landmark Report is on the marvelous Hitchcock film THE LADY VANISHES. (There's more on this film in my recent tribute to the late Googie Withers.) Kristina also has info on recent Warner Archive releases, including the film noir FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (1949), which I recently reviewed.

...The latest Glenn Erickson reviews at DVD Savant include John Mills and James Mason in VCI's TIARA TAHITI (1962), Criterion's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946), and the new Twilight Time release of THE EGYPTIAN (1954). THE EGYPTIAN rescues a commentary by James Ursini and Alain Silver that was recorded back in 2005 but never used prior to this date. Since Twilight Time releases Fox films, I wonder if they can similarly rescue extras Drew Casper of USC recorded for an unreleased second DVD set of Betty Grable films?

...From "highhurdler" at TCM's Movie Morlock's blog, a "Classic Movie Gratitude List."

...Notable Passing: Elliot Handler, the cofounder of Mattel -- he's the "-el" in the company name -- has passed away at the age of 95. Millions of little boys owe Handler their thanks, as he was the inventor of Hot Wheels.

Have a great week!