Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Rupert at Classic Movies Digest recently shared his thoughts on one of my favorite movies, Tyrone Power in THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940).

...Susan King of the L.A. Times interviewed century-old Luise Rainer, who was recently in town for the TCM Festival.

...Did you know that Robert Osborne received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? A well-deserved honor. Here's video. It's in front of the Ricardo Montalban Theatre.

...Tom of Motion Picture Gems has started a lovely new blog, Olivia and Joan: Sisters of the Silver Screen. He features lots of beautiful photos and posters, information on their films, and even their current mailing addresses. Nice job!

...I'm curious about another new website, The Montgomery Experiment. Looks like it's still under construction.

...The Nanny State strikes again: Santa Clara, California, has criminalized Happy Meal toys.

...ROSES'S HEAVENLY CAKES by Rose Levy Beranbaum was the big winner among the Best Cookbooks of 2009 announced by the IACP.

...Actress Janine Turner (NORTHERN EXPOSURE) has an interesting off-camera project, Constituting America. Her mission is to educate America's young people about the U.S. Constitution. The website includes blog entries analyzing the Federal Papers.

...The Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall at Tokyo Disneyland looks amazing.

...Good stuff from the TCM Blog: The always-interesting Moira Finnie reviews RIDE, VAQUERO! (1953) starring Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, and Anthony Quinn, while R. Emmet Sweeney takes a look at Robert Ryan and Joan Bennett in THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH (1947).

...For the politically inclined, here's some of this week's most interesting reads: David Limbaugh looks at "Strikingly Unpresidential" behavior...Dennis Kneale shares Limbaugh's concerns...Robert Weissberg of American Thinker muses on A Stranger in Our Midst...Peggy Noonan has thoughts on "The Big Alienation"...Scott Johnson of Power Line riffs on the President's recent "At some point you've made enough money" quote by retorting "At Some Point You Have Grabbed Enough Power"...John Hinderaker and Hugh Hewitt point out that -- unlike Hurricane Katrina -- the offshore oil spill was a federal responsibility from Day One...and rounding out the week, Byron York sizes up the hysteria from some over Arizona attempting to uphold basic U.S. immigration law.

...TV Shows on DVD reports a date has been firmed up for the rumored release of the '70s TV series ELLERY QUEEN to DVD: it's coming August 24th. More details when available. (May 18, 2010 Update: The date has been changed to September 21st.) (June 5, 1020 Update: The date is now changed once more, to September 28th.)

...Kenneth Turan of the L.A. Times recently wrote an interesting article on the restoration of Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS (1927), which was screened at the TCM Festival.

...The Hollywood Sign was saved from encroaching development last week!

...The American Spectator recently ran a lovely tribute to the late actress Dixie Carter. Those who know Carter only as the ardently liberal Julia Sugarbaker of DESIGNING WOMEN may discover another side of Carter in this article.

...Those who read the Dixie Carter tribute may wish to visit this photo gallery of her funeral service. Carter's DESIGNING WOMEN costars were in attendance.

...Lou Lumenick reviews the TORCHY BLANE series which has just come out on DVD-R from the Warner Archive. Between 1936 and 1939 Torchy was played by Glenda Farrell, Jane Wyman, and Lola Lane (seen at left).

...Alert for Southern Californians: UCLA has just started a new series, "From Nitrate to Digital." Susan King has info at the L.A. Times, and here is UCLA's calendar.

...Speaking of nitrate films, the British Film Institute will also be having a nitrate film festival in London this summer.

Have a great week!