News From the Lake for the Week of July 10th, 2013

The news is a tad late this week because up until today there was little news to report.  While it’s still a slow week I have a bit of upcoming Blu-ray news as well as TCM’s announcement of the upcoming Summer Under the Stars series next month.

TCM has announced the actors and actresses set to grace televisions throughout the month of August as part of Summer Under the Stars.  To the uninitiated, Summer Under the Stars is a month-long tribute to various golden era stars with each day being a marathon dedicated to a particular actor/actress.  This summer, TCM is proud to announce sixteen actors/actresses will be making their first-time appearance during the event including Joan Fontaine, Natalie Wood, Hattie McDaniel, Rex Harrison, and Mickey Rooney; that’s on top of the fifteen other returning stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, and Bette Davis.  Thirty films will also be receiving a first-time première on TCM including Belle De Jour, This Above All, and The Fan.  You’ll  also be able to watch special editions of The Essentials and The Essentials, Jr.  Summer Under the Stars is a special time of year for classic film fans, so pick a star you love and prepare to spend 24-hours enjoying their work.  The complete Summer Under the Stars schedule is available on the TCM website.

New on Blu-ray and DVD

We’ll start with what’s new from Olive Films.  They’ve announced a September 17th release date for the Yul Brynner actioner Escape From Zahrain.  Directed by Ronald Neame and co-starring Sal Mineo, there’s no details on any possible bonus content.

Also from Olive on September 17th is The Atomic City.  This 1952 thriller stars Gene Barry as a nuclear physicist whose son is kidnapped.  The ransom demands are simple: our hero must provide codes to the atomic bomb.  The film was originally released by Olive on DVD in 2011, and there’s a strong possibility that bonus features will be carried over.

And finally, from Warner Archive is the concluding volume in The Andy Hardy Film Collection.  Volume 2 of the series contains some of the most well-known installments of the Mickey Rooney film series including Love Finds Andy Hardy (co-starring Judy Garland and Lana Turner) and The Courtship of Andy Hardy (co-starring Donna Reed).  This ten-DVD collection is a must-buy for fans of the series.  You can order it via Warner Archive’s website, and remember these are made to order!

That’s all from the Lake this week!