Happy New Year!

Just a quick note before raising a glass of champagne to 2006: Ben Ohmart of Bear Manor Media emailed me with the news that Scott O'Brien's "Kay Francis: I Can't Wait to Be Forgotten" ships today! Looking forward to reading that along with my copy of Mick LaSalle's "Complicated Women" I received for Christmas.

Also, in case you missed it earlier in 2005, the Balboa will be running the newly restored "Baby Face" along with another Barbara Stanwyck pre-code classic, "Night Nurse" in early February. Kudos to the Balboa for putting together some wonderful schedules sure to please film buffs in the Bay Area.

Young Loretta Young

TCM is offering quite a few pre-code treats in January, including a bevy of Loretta Young's early films on the anniversary of her birth on Friday, January 6th.

(all times Pacific)

3:00 AM Road To Paradise (1930) Loretta plays a dual role in this early talkie thriller.

4:15 AM Big Business Girl (1931) How far can Loretta and Joan Blondell go in business - on brains alone?

5:30 AM The Right of Way (1931)
A married lawyer with amnesia falls in love with another woman.

6:45 AM Life Begins (1932)
First National/Warner's favorites Aline McMahon and Glenda Farrell add some witty retorts to this drama set in a maternity ward.

8:00 AM Play-Girl (1932)
Early Vitaphone singing sensation Winnie Lightner shares the bill with Loretta in this romantic drama.

9:15 AM Weekend Marriage (1932)
When her husband loses his job, a woman risks her marriage to become the breadwinner.

10:30 AM The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) One of TCM's January Cult Movie Picks - with Aline McMahon and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

TCM is also showing Young's famous "The Bishop's Wife," while Fox Movie Channel is showing some more Young pre-codes in January: 1933's "The Devil's in Love" and "Born to Be Bad" (1934) with Cary Grant and The Aldrich Family's Jackie Kelk.

Merry Christmas!

It's a White Christmas here in Maine at the parents' house. Not much news on the classic movie front lately, but Amazon has posted the Busby Berkeley box set for preorder. Also, a reminder for those in San Francisco that the Castro Theatre will be showing many Busby films during the holiday week, so enjoy the season!

Happy Holidays and happy movie viewing!

"The Busby Berkeley Collection" DVD Box Set Due in March

As expected, Warner Home Video has officially announced a six-disc "Busby Berkeley Collection" box set dancing your way on 3/21/06. Joining "42nd Street" on DVD and exclusive to the set are the classics "Gold Diggers of 1933," "Footlight Parade," "Dames," and "Gold Diggers of 1935." Each disc is chock full of extras, including new featurettes showcasing the behind the scenes stories of the films themselves, in addition to trailers, radio promos, and vintage cartoons and featurettes from the Warner Brothers library. And the sixth disc? It contains a compilation of 20 Busby Berkeley musical numbers and rarities (nearly three hours of his signature showstoppers), including "The Lady in Red" from 1935's "In Caliente," and the finale from "Gold Diggers of 1937." MSRP is $59.95, but most stores will discount to around $40-$45. Don't miss these restored and remastered dancin' feet!