Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 20th to 30th, 2026 - UPDATE #10

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links to join Prime Video, or to shop at my MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

TREATS: From AnotherCookie?:  There is a new online cookie retailer, "AnotherCookie?" The cookies are delicious.

-------------------

NEWS:

DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney began another round of layoffs, the third this year. The axed employees came from human resources and IT departments.

AMAZON - From Deadline:  Amazon Prime Video has renewed "Reacher" for a sixth season as a smash hit Season 4 comes to an end.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 9/25 to 9/27/2026 weekend box office is Disney/Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame Encore" with an estimated take of 26 million dollars.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Sabrina Carpenter and Margaret Qualley are joining Tom Holland in his biopic of the legendary Hollywood star, Fred Astaire.

MOVIES - From WorldofReel:  There is a teaser for "Gremlins 3," as word comes that the film has been delayed to an October 2028 release.  The film will be directed by Chris Columbus and not by Joe Dante, who directed "Gremlins" and "Gremlins 2."

OSCARS - From Variety:  Universal Pictures will begin an Oscar campaign for Anne Hathaway in the "Best Supporting Actress" category for her performance as "Penelope" in Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey."

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 9/18 to 9/20/2026 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "Resident Evil" with an estimated take of 60 million dollars.

DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney has hired its first CTO - chief technology officer.  It's Karendeep Anand, who was CEO of the generative AI chatbot company, "Character.AI."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American actor, Dennis Haskins, has died at the age of 75, Sunday, September 27, 2026.  Haskins was best known for the role of "Principal Richard Belding" in the former NBC teen sitcom, "Saved By the Bell" (1989-93); its spinoff, "Saved By the Bell: The New Class" (1993-2000); and in various related series.  Haskins also appeared in numerous TV series, including "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Good Morning, Miss Bliss," the Disney Channel series, in which he originated the role of Richard Belding.

From Deadline:  English singer-songwriter and recording artist, Pete Byrne, has died at the age of 74, Monday, September 14, 2026.  Byrne was best known for being the lead singer of the 1980s synth-pop band, "Naked Eyes."  The band had four "Billboard Top 40" hits.  That includes 1982's "Always Something There to Remind Me" (No. 8 on Billboard), a reworking of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song, "(There's) Always Something to Remind Me" and 1983's "Promises, Promises" (No. 11 on Billboard).  Byrne was also a member of the early 80s New Wave band, "Neon," which would split up into the Naked Eyes and the English pop-rock band, "Tears for Fears."

From THR:  Stage, film and television actor and voice performer, James Sloyan, has died at the age of 85, Wednesday, July 22, 2026.  His family announced his passing over the 9/18 to 9/20/2026 weekend  Sloyan may be best known for playing four "Star Trek" species over three "Star Trek" series (''The Next Generatin," "Deep Space Nine," and "Voyager") during the 1990s.  He also appeared in such TV series as "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "Quantum Leap," and "The X-Files," to name a few.  Sloyan also provided the voiceover for "Lexus" commercials for almost two decades.

-----------------

Review: Crosby and Astaire Keep "HOLIDAY INN" Open with Crooning and Hoofing

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 73 of 2021 (No. 1811) by Leroy Douresseaux

Holiday Inn (1942)
Running time:  101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Mark Sandrich
WRITERS:  Claude Binyon-screenplay; Elmer Rice-adaptation (based on an idea by Irving Berlin)
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  David Abel (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Ellsworth Hoagland
COMPOSERS:  Irving Berlin (songs and music); Robert Emmett Dolan (musical direction)
Academy Award winner

MUSICAL/COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring:  Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers, Irving Bacon, Marek Windheim, James Bell, John Gallaudet, Shelby Bacon, and Joan Arnold

Holiday Inn is a 1942 musical, comedy and romance film from director Mark Sandrich.  The film is based on an idea by legendary American song writer and composer, Irving Berlin, who also wrote twelve songs specifically for this film.  The most famous of the film's songs is “White Christmas,” which went on to be the biggest hit record in the career of one of Holiday Inn's stars, Bing Crosby, and also the best selling record of all time.  Holiday Inn is set at an inn that is open only on holidays, and the story focuses on a love triangle involving a singer, a dancer, and a beautiful up-and-coming young female performer.

Holiday Inn opens on Christmas Eve at the Midnight Club in New York City.  Crooner (singer) Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), hoofer (dancer) Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire), and signer-dancer Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale) have a popular musical act.  Jim plans for tonight to be his last performance.  He is retiring and moving to Midville, Connecticut where he will be a farmer.  Jim wants Lila to retire with him, and she has previously accepted his marriage proposal.  However, she has fallen in love with Ted and wants to continue working as his partner in a new act.  Jim accepts this and bids them goodbye.

Over the next year, Jim does not have much success running a farm.  So on Christmas Eve, a year after he retired, Jim is back in NYC.  He tells Ted and his agent, Danny Reed (Walter Abel), that he wants to turn the farm into an entertainment venue that opens only on holidays.  He has named it the “Holiday Inn.”  Ted and Danny are amused at the idea, and Ted is not interested in performing there.

However, Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), an aspiring young singer and dancer, does find her way to the Holiday Inn.  There, she finds Jim, his African-American housekeeper, Mamie (Louise Beavers), and her two small children, son Vanderbilt (Shelby Bacon) and daughter Daphne (Joan Arnold).  The homey feeling that permeates the Inn and Jim's new song, “White Christmas,” convince Linda to stay.  But old rivals are conspiring to return and ruin Jim's plans again.

First, I have to be honest with you, dear readers.  I never really watched very much of those Bing Crosby holiday television specials that ran decades ago and now, still occasionally pop up on vintage TV channels.  I do, however, love to watch the films in which he appeared.  The man dazzles me, and I just love his singing voice.  He doesn't need to try hard; he seems to be amazing just naturally.

Watching Holiday Inn for the first time just recently also gave me a chance to really start to appreciate Fred Astaire.  He's amazing on film, and now, I see why the late “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, was such a fan of his.  It's the same as Crosby – he doesn't even have to try hard.  Astaire just seems naturally an incredible dancer and performer.

The production values on Holiday Inn are beautiful, obviously so even in black and white.  In fact, Holiday Inn features some of the most beautiful and sharp black and white photography that I have ever seen in a Golden Age Hollywood film.  Director Mark Sandrich, a highly respected director in his day, makes this simple story, with its nonsensical plots and narrative, seem like it is almost high art.

Crosby and Astaire's co-stars, Marjorie Reynolds (as Linda) and Virginia Dale (as Lila), are also delightful, especially Reynolds in a larger role than Dale's.  Reynolds makes Linda seem like the equal, in terms of stage performance, of both Jim and Ted.  They bring Irving Berlin's wonderful songs to life with the kind of professionalism and skill that makes such songs into hits or at least into memorable tunes.  Besides the great “White Christmas,” there are a number of stand-out songs in this film, such as “Happy Holiday” and “Be Careful, It's My Heart.”

Like some Hollywood films from the first half of the twentieth-century, Holiday Inn has characters in “blackface,” which is when White actors blacken their face to play racist and stereotypical caricatures of Black people.  In this film, it occurs during the “Lincoln's Birthday” holiday performance when Crosby's Jim and Reynold's Linda perform a song called “Abraham.”  Crosby's blackface makeup is not the worst that I have seen, but Reynold's get-up, a sort of female “picaninny” with fake ponytails radiating from her head like sunbeams, is horrible.  However, the song “Abraham” is weak, and the sequence in which it is performed is forgettable.  Honestly, I had forgotten the song, the performance, and the blackface less than a minute after it finished.

For me, Holiday Inn is a magical Christmas movie.  No, the film does not depict all 15 holidays that Jim plans to celebrate at the Holiday Inn, but the ones that really count seem to be Christmas Eve-Christmas and New Year's Eve-New Year's Day.  And in these moments, the film is most lovable and at its most enchanting.  Holiday Inn is not my favorite Christmas movie.  That would be the Holiday Inn semi-remake, 1954's White Christmas (also starring Bing Crosby), which takes its inspiration and title from the beloved song.  Still, Holiday Inn is special because it introduced the biggest Christmas song of all time, Irving Berlin's “White Christmas.”  For that reason, I will always try to find my way back to Holiday Inn … especially during the Christmas season.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, December 25, 2021


1943 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Music, Original Song” (Irving Berlin for the song “White Christmas”); 2 nominations: “Best Writing, Original Story” (Irving Berlin) and “Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture” (Robert Emmett Dolan)


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-------------------