News From the Lake for September 18th, 2013

A true hodgepodge of things today for this week’s news post.  I’ll be giving you access to watch an awesome production on the life of Greta Garbo; there’s also information on where you can see a rare Mary Pickford short and meet Pickford biographer Christel Schmidt; and finally, DVD and Blu-ray news!

Greta Garbo created a person of mystery, especially in her reclusive final years.  Several works have attempted to “capture” who Garbo was in her life, and a new play hopes to contribute something new.  Garbo Dreams is site-specific solo play with the apparatus of using a “hidden camera” to catch the famous recluse and facilitate her talk to the audience.  The play will be performing live tonight in at 6pm in New York, but, if you’re like me, you won’t be able to see it live.  Thankfully, the fine folks putting it on will be streaming it for audiences around the world to watch.  Sadly, because WordPress hates me, I’m unable to include the play on the page so please head over to the UStream link at 6pm Eastern, 3pm Pacific to enjoy the play (I will be at school, so hopefully there’s a replay).  You can celebrate Garbo’s birthday by watching Garbo Dreams here.

It’s always extraordinary to hear about rare films being found in unexpected places.  It’s just been announced that Mary Pickford’s film debut in the 1911 short, Their First Misunderstanding, – put out by Independent Moving Picture Company (IMP) – has been discovered.  The print was taken to the Library of Congress who spruced it up and restored it.  If you live in New Hampshire you can see an exclusive showing of Their First Misunderstanding on October 11th at the Alumni Recital Hall of Keene State College’s Redfern Art Center.  The short will be played alongside two other Pickford films: Sparrows (1926) and The Dream (1911).  Special guest Christal Schmidt will be hosting the showing.  If you recall, Schmidt wrote the fantastic Pickford biography/compendium Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies which I reviewed.  Schmidt will also be in Washington D.C. September 21st to sign copies of her book.  You can meet her at the National Book Festival on the National Mall from 10:55am to 11:40am, September 21st with a signing of her book at noon.

New on DVD/Blu-ray

Olive Films: Olive has slated November 19th as the day you can own The Bells of St. Mary’s on Blu-ray and DVD.  The Bing Crosby/Ingrid Bergman starrer will only have one bonus feature: an essay by film critic R. Emmet Sweeney which is an improvement on the absolutely bare DVD that came out previously.

Warner Archive: Warner Archive casts an eye on Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Bette Davis for this week’s assortment of films.  They’ll be putting out three movies starring the duo: Parachute Jumper (1932), Love is a Racket (1932), and The Working Man (1933).  They’ll also be putting out the 1960 exploitation comedy Sex Kittens Go to College starring curvalicious Mamie Van Doren.  You can order all Warner Archive films courtesy of their website.

Criterion: Criterion is going into the 1970s with a few of their December releases.  December 3rd you can snag the Robert Altman classic, Nashville (1975), and on December 10th they’ll be putting out Grey Gardens (1976) on Blu-ray.

DON’T FORGET: I’m still giving away a Blu-ray copy of A Letter to Three Wives courtesy of 20th Century Fox.  Check out my review with details on how to enter.