This just in from Are Myklebust:

[Here is another entry to the list of a Disney-film within a non-Disney film that I have discovered;

“Portrait of Jennie” (1948), with Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. The film is directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick (Vanguard Films).

In this very strange film, there is a sequence where Joseph Cotten’s character is having a conversation with an old doorman at a (cinema) theatre. In the background you can see an old Mickey Mouse short from the early 1930s being screened.

The whole film can be watched on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmF3rL2HadU

The sequence with the Mickey Mouse short can been seen from ca. 29:50.
I haven’t been able to identify the short, but perhaps David Gerstein or someone else can help?]

[UPDATE:
Hello, Didier.  I tried to post a comment on your Disney History Blog website, but I don't think it worked the last few times, so I am sending it by e-mail:

The Mickey Mouse cartoon seen in the background in "Portrait of Jennie" is 1931's "The Delivery Boy."  In the first few scenes, Mickey and Minnie are singing and dancing to a jazzy version of the song "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree."  Later, they are playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" on the piano.  Some of the piano scenes are out of order.  No scenes of Pluto or farm animals were included, except for a brief final shot of a pig holding a saxophone (through which a smaller pig is pumping water).  During this sequence in the movie theater, the images from "The Delivery Boy" are reversed because Joseph Cotten and  Felix Bressart are behind the screen.

Jeff Peterson]

The Disney Books Network has just been updated.

I am definitely looking forward to reading this upcoming book.

This just in from my good friend Harald:

[Something your blog readers may enjoy: recently Saturday Evening Post issues from the 1950s were uploaded to the Internet Archive. Included are also the issues from 1956/57 containing the 8-part series "My Dad, Walt Disney" written by Diane Disney Miller and Pete Martin. As far as I know this is the first time all 8 parts are available on the internet.

Check out the first part at DIX.

The other parts are linked as related entries.

Regards and Happy Easter,

Harald]

Those who know me also know that I am not planning to go see the new Dumbo movie. I understand why those live-action remakes are made, I know that some of them are good (and some even great) movies, and I have nothing against them philosophically, but I am just not really interested and prefer to stay with my untainted memories of the animated classics.

All this being said, I received yesterday the book The Art and Making of Dumbo and I was blown away by it. This is clearly one of the best "making of" art books that I have ever seen. The research that the author, Leah Gallo, conducted to write the text is breathtaking, the amount, quality and variety of illustrations is unparalleled, and the whole volume was clearly laid out by someone that is truly passionate about her subject matter.

What makes the book even more valuable from my standpoint, though, is the first chapter, which deals with the making of the original, animated movie. Like the rest of the book it is meticulously researched and represents the best history of the making of Dumbo that I have ever read to date, complete with very precise end-notes.

Sadly, the chapter contains a small mistake. A few years ago, in Walt's People - Volume 9, I re-released Mark Langer's interview with Ken O'Connor, complete with the introduction that Mark had written for its original publication in Animation Journal. Unfortunately, author Leah Gallo, when she read that introduction to the interview thought that I had written it and ended up quoting from it attributing the quote to me. You now know that the quote is from historian Mark Langer.

That being clarified, I really recommend Leah's book, especially if you enjoyed Tim Burton's movie.

I was excited to learn about the release of this new German book. The title and the introduction article are written in German, but the comic pages inside are facsimile copies from the British Mickey Mouse Weekly and in English. I just ordered a copy.

[NOTE ABOUT THE BELOW: I have now heard from a few of you who have read this book and the feedback is a negative one. This is apparently not a very good read at all for various reasons. A shame.]

I just received this new book (which I have not read yet) about Milicent Patrick, better known to all of us as the Disney artist Mildred Rossi. (Thanks to Michael Golberg for the heads up about the book).

I am excited to see a complete biography written about Mildred Rossi and even more pleased to see that the author got in touch with my friend and fellow Disney historian Mindy Johnson to get information about Mildred's Disney years. Can't wait to start reading.

 This just in from Caleb Nelson:

[Below is information about the world premiere compact disc release of George Bruns' music for the Disney film Johnny Tremain:

I have been researching this title since 2003, and am very excited this CD has become a reality. Hope you enjoy the CD!

Jim Lochner's liner notes are marvelous and Kay Marshall's booklet design complements Peter Ellenshaw's production design for the film itself.

There are several emotional high points that George Bruns scores beautifully. His music goes all the way from despair and fear to exhilaration. His music also seems to sound like Ellenshaw's production design and matte paintings, if that makes any sense:-) ]