Sunday, December 23, 2012

Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...the "Almost Christmas" edition!

...Here are some wonderful vintage photos of Christmas in Southern California, which I found when they were re-Tweeted earlier today by USC. Here's one sample from the USC University Archives, Tommy Trojan on the USC Campus at Christmas 1961.

...Japan is apparently hooked on Kentucky Fried "Christmas Chicken." This is a fun article from the Smithsonian.

...Did you know that Bing is now NORAD's official Santa tracker? Although it's no longer "official," Santa's journey can also be tracked on Google.

...There's a good discussion this week at 50 Westerns From the 50s about the latest additions to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Titles added this year include the Western 3:10 TO YUMA (1957). But how is it that one of the greatest Westerns ever made, RIO BRAVO (1959), isn't yet on the list?! The shootout pictured here, with Ricky Nelson and John Wayne, might be my favorite movie shootout of any Western ever.

...The Los Angeles Times has info on a variety of cooking apps.

...I enjoyed this article from Salon with thoughts on collecting books, movies, and music in the digital age.

...This week's "Watch List" at Greenbriar Picture Shows included mini-reviews of COW COUNTRY (1953), an Edmond O'Brien Western I really liked, and an enjoyable Tom Conway-Robert Wise "B" mystery, CRIMINAL COURT (1946). I'm always happy to see other classic film fans reviewing these fun, lesser-known titles, and you know Greenbriar will always have terrific photos to go along with the reviews!

...This week Another Old Movie Blog looked at two Christmasy detective movies, ALIAS BOSTON BLACKIE (1942) and LADY IN THE LAKE (1947). ALIAS BOSTON BLACKIE looks like fun, with a cast including Chester Morris, Adele Mara, and Lloyd Bridges. I'm looking forward to checking out that series. LADY IN THE LAKE stars Robert Montgomery as Philip Marlowe and costars Audrey Totter, who just celebrated her 95th birthday.

...Thanks also to Jacqueline for her comment pointing me to a collection of radio shows available for download at the Internet Archive.

...DVD Savant has chosen his 15 "Most Impressive Discs of 2012." It's a diverse grouping; the only one on the list our family owns is the wonderful UPA Jolly Frolics Collection from the TCM Vault.

...I also enjoyed a review at Mentor's Camper of Bette Davis and Paul Lukas in WATCH ON THE RHINE (1943). Hoping to see this one in 2013!

...Cliff profiles Sara Haden at Immortal Ephemera. It was interesting to learn more about the background of Andy Hardy's "Aunt Milly."

...Paul's been blogging up a storm at Lasso the Movies. It's fun to check out his takes on his recent viewing.

...I'm intrigued by BROKEN CITY (2013), starring Mark Wahlberg, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Crowe, and Kyle Chandler. It opens January 18th. Here's the trailer.

...Scroll down this post at First Showing for the final trailer for LES MISERABLES (2012), featuring Samantha Barks singing "On My Own," with many more clips than seen in previous trailers. I hope to see LES MIS before New Year's.

...Good news for Southern Californians: UCLA will be celebrating Valentine's Day by showing the lushly romantic HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT (1937), which was directed by Frank Borzage and stars Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur. It will be playing with Mary Pickford's last film, SECRETS (1933), costarring Leslie Howard.

...Notable Passings: Frank Beardsley, the real-life father depicted by Henry Fonda in YOURS, MINE AND OURS (1968), has passed on at the age of 97. The Beardsley family's story was also told in Helen Beardsley's book WHO GETS THE DRUMSTICK?...Boot Hill reports the passing of Jeni LeGon, who will forever be remembered by me as Ann Miller's dog-wrangling maid in the holiday perennial EASTER PARADE (1948). LeGon danced in I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) and STORMY WEATHER (1943) and appeared in a number of other films. She was 96. The New York Times and Washington Post published obituaries.

...The Los Angeles Times had a touching article, "Newtown is 'Not Going to Miss Christmas,'" which mentions some of the acts of kindness recently taking place in that grief-stricken town, including free homemade pies and visits from therapy dogs.

...For more Christmas-related links which remain relevant today, please visit last year's Christmas Eve Roundup, as well as "Almost Christmas!" roundups from 2009 and 2010.

Have a great week, and Merry Christmas!

2 Comments:

Blogger Jacqueline T. Lynch said...

Thanks so much for the mention, and a very Merry Christmas to you and your family. I picked up that "Jolly Frollics" DVD set to give as a present this Christmas. Looks like a great collection.

5:07 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

You're very welcome, Jacqueline! I'm sure that the recipient of "Jolly Frolics" is going to have a good time with it -- a very nice cross-section of cartoons, including some familiar from childhood and some I'd never seen before!

Best wishes,
Laura

12:03 PM  

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