Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I'm excited my friends Kim Luperi (I See a Dark Theater) and Danny Reid (Pre-Code.com) have announced their upcoming book from TCM and Running Press, PRE-CODE ESSENTIALS: MUST-SEE CINEMA FROM HOLLYWOOD'S UNTAMED ERA, 1930-1934. They've been working on this book for quite a while, and I'm really looking forward to reading it! It will be published October 28, 2025.

...Last November I mentioned an upcoming book by my friend Mary Mallory, FIRST WOMEN OF HOLLYWOOD: FEMALE PIONEERS IN THE EARLY MOTION PICTURE BUSINESS. It's out this month from Lyons Press! Mary's previous work includes HOLLYWOOD CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS: 1920-1970.

...In more book news, Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times has given a positive review to LOVE, QUEENIE: MERLE OBERON, HOLLYWOOD'S FIRST SOUTH ASIAN STAR. It was written by Mayukh Sen and is being published this week by W.W. Norton & Company. Thanks to Elizabeth for sending me info on this book.

...Christy Putnam of Christy's Inkwells has reviewed the newly revised and expanded edition of Eddie Muller's DARK CITY DAMES, coming from TCM and Running Press in early April.

...Glenn Erickson has a dual review up at Trailers From Hell of the new Powerhouse Indicator Region B Blu-ray releases of Joan Crawford's HARRIET CRAIG (1950) and QUEEN BEE (1953). Both discs include plentiful extras.

...Kino Lorber Studio Classics has announced a six-film Abbott & Costello Horror Collection to be released in 4K at a future date.

...On May 13th Kino Lorber releases a special edition of CRACK IN THE WORLD (1965) and a Library of Congress restoration of the silent film RAMONA (1928), starring Dolores Del Rio and Warner Baxter. Ben Model composed the score for the RAMONA disc.

...The Warner Archive Collection's Monogram Matinee Vol. 1 collection will be released March 25th and is now available for preorder from Amazon and Movie Zyng. I hope as many people as possible will support this release to encourage more Western sets coming out in the future!

...Attention Southern Californians: Cinecon has announced a one-day "pop-up" festival to be held April 6th at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo. Details are still to be announced. Thanks to Craig for the alert on Twitter. (Update: The schedule is now available.)

...On the afternoon of March 9th Jeremy Arnold will present the "B" crime film THE CRIMSON CANARY (1945) in 35mm at the American Cinematheque's Los Feliz Theatre. I really enjoyed this movie when Jeremy introduced this film at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival. It stars Noah Beery Jr. and features musical performances by Coleman Hawkins and Josh White. Jeremy has recently shown beautiful 35mm prints of PERSONS IN HIDING (1939) and THE PREVIEW MURDER MYSTERY (936) at the Los Feliz, and I hope more "B" movies will be coming to the Los Feliz in the future!

...Notable Passing: The great Gene Hackman passed away around February 17th-18th, under currently mysterious circumstances. His wife and a pet dog were also found deceased in the family home. Reflecting on his career, my first screen memory of Hackman was in SUPERMAN (1978), and his costar Valerie Perrine paid tribute to him on Twitter. I've seen surprisingly few of his films, with NO WAY OUT (1987) being a particular favorite I've enjoyed several times (seen here with costar Kevin Costner). Coincidentally I recently put together a stack of his films I want to see, including NARROW MARGIN (1990), WYATT EARP (1994), CRIMSON TIDE (1995), ABSOLUTE POWER (1997), and THE REPLACEMENTS (2000). These films all came out when I had infants and very young children so I'm sure that's why I missed them around the time of original release, and I'm overdue to catch up! A TCM Remembers video honoring Hackman may be viewed here, and I suspect they will honor him with a marathon tribute in due course.  (March 7th Update: Medical examiners and law enforcement now have what seems to be a solid working theory on the deaths of Hackman and his wife.)

...More Notable Passings: Actress Olive Sturgess has died at the age of 91. I first knew her from a pair of MAVERICK episodes, "Last Wire From Stop Gap" (1960) and "The Golden Fleecing" (1961). She worked very steadily in '50s and early '60s TV, especially Westerns, and was also in THE RAVEN (1963) with Vincent Price. Sadly she had recently lost her longtime home in the Pacific Palisades fire. Her interview with Mike Fitzgerald for the Western Clippings site is fascinating...TV director Michael Preece, who worked on DALLAS and many other shows, has passed on at 88...Michelle Trachtenberg, who costarred on TV's BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, has sadly died at the young age of 39. Her Disney film ICE PRINCESS (2005) was popular with my daughters...The August 2024 death of KNOTS LANDING costar James Houghton, who later was an Emmy-winning writer for THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, has been belatedly announced by his wife. He was 75.

...And Even More Notable Passings: Thanks very much to Damon Romine for informing me of the passing of actress Pilar Del Rey at the age of 95. I didn't initially recognize her name, but reviewing her credits I've seen quite a bit of her work, including in BLACK HORSE CANYON (1954) and GIANT (1956). She's seen here with Joanne Dru in THE SIEGE AT RED RIVER (1954)...Tommy Dix, a costar of the MGM musical BEST FOOT FORWARD (1943), has died at 101. He was also in that musical's original Broadway cast...Joseph Wambaugh, an L.A. police officer who became a well-known novelist and screenwriter, has passed on at the age of 88. James Woods, a star of Wambaugh's THE ONION FIELD (1979), called Wambaugh "one of the finest human beings I ever met."

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my February 22nd column.

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