Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I had a wonderful four days at the D23 Expo and D23 Day at Disneyland. The most memorable Expo moments for me revolved around seeing Hayley Mills in person! Watching her duet "Let's Get Together" from THE PARENT TRAP (1961) live with Lesley Ann "Cinderella" Warren was almost an out-of-body experience, steeped in nostalgia. (Click on the photo to enlarge for a closer look.) I came home to a very heavy workload which has prevented me from resuming blogging before today, but I hope to share more about it here before long.

...By the way, did you know that Hayley stars as an FBI profiler in a brand-new M. Night Shyamalan film, TRAP (2024)?

...Coming to Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection this November: SCARFACE (1932), starring Paul Muni, Boris Karloff, George Raft, and Ann Dvorak, directed by Howard Hawks.

...Here's an overview of "New and Notable Books" from Leonard Maltin.

...Another new book is out next month from Disney Editions: DREAM CHASING: MY FOUR DECADES OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE WITH WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING by Bob Weis.

...The latest film reviews from some of my favorite sites: Colin reviews Tony Curtis and Gilbert Roland in THE MIDNIGHT STORY (1957) at Riding the High Country...Jessica reviewed OKLAHOMA! (1955) at her site Comet Over Hollywood...This week CineSavant Glenn Erickson has reviewed NORTHWEST PASSAGE (1940) and MARIE: A TRUE STORY (1985) at Trailers From Hell. Both films are new Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray releases. I expect to review MARIE here in a few weeks.

...Check out the fun "Film Friday" post by Kristina at Speakeasy. She's also recently reviewed the "B" films ISLE OF MISSING MEN (1942) and IDENTITY UNKNOWN (1945); the latter film was also recommended to me by historian Jeremy Arnold.

...The Criterion Channel's September streaming lineup includes "Courtroom Dramas" and "Rebels at the Typewriter: Women Screenwriters of the 1930s."

...Exciting news from Kino Lorber Studio Classics: The previously announced Dark Side of Cinema XXII collection now has a release date of October 15th, and Volume XXIII was just announced! Volume XXII will feature commentary tracks by Alan K. Rode for THE ENFORCER (1951) and THE SCARLET HOUR (1956), while Jeremy Arnold does the honors for PLUNDER ROAD (1957); this is especially exciting for me as I first saw both THE ENFORCER and THE SCARLET HOUR at Rode's Arthur Lyons Film Noir Fest. Volume XXIII promises some wonderful exploration with the lesser-known titles ROPE OF SAND (1949), KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE (1950), and NEVER LOVE A STRANGER (1958).

...I spoke with historian J.B. Kaufman briefly at last weekend's D23 Expo and had the chance to tell him how much I enjoy his "Movie of the Month" column. For August he's reviewed Francis Ford in THE CRAVING (1918), which is available from Ben Model's Undercrank Productions. As mentioned here in June, Kaufman most recently co-authored a new book from the Hyperion Historical Alliance, WALT DISNEY & EL GRUPO IN LATIN AMERICA. My copy recently arrived and it's beautiful!

...Notable Passings: NCIS producer George Schenck, the son of classic film producer Aubrey Schenck and great-nephew of classic era studio heads Nicholas and Joseph Schenck, has passed away at 82...Famed agent Jay Kanter has died at 97. Kanter's storied life is recounted in this interesting obituary by Mike Barnes...Actor Robert Logan (77 SUNSET STRIP) has passed on at 82...Game show host Peter Marshall (THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES), the brother of the late actress Joanne Dru, has died at 98. Early in his career Marshall had a comedy act with Tommy Noonan, who was the half-brother of Dru's husband John Ireland...LASSIE trainer Bob Weatherwax, the son of original Lassie trainer Rudd Weatherwax, has passed away at 83. Weatherwax came from a family of animal trainers; his uncle Jack trained "Toto" for THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939).

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my August 3rd column.

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