On May 8, 1963, with the release of Dr. No, North American
moviegoers get their first look–down the barrel of a gun–
at the super-spy James Bond (codename: 007), the immortal
character created by Ian Fleming in his now-famous series
of novels and portrayed onscreen by the relatively unknown
Scottish actor Sean Connery.

Sir Sean (Thomas) Connery
(25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020)

ROSS SIMPSON

Elvis Presley (The King of Rock and Roll) married Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on
May 1, 1967.

The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s controversial film about
the last 44 hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, opened in theaters
across the United States on February 25, 2004. Not coincidentally,
the day was Ash Wednesday, the start of the Catholic season of
Lent.

The star of action-packed blockbusters like the Lethal Weapon
series and Braveheart, Gibson was earning more than $20 million
per movie at the time he decided to direct The Passion of the
Christ, for which he received no cash compensation.

        Jim Caviezel                         Mel Gibson

On December 25, 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird, a film based
on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name
by Harper Lee, 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same
name by Harper Lee, opened in theaters.

The Great Depression-era story of racial injustice and the
loss of childhood innocence is told from the perspective 
of a young Alabama girl named Scout Finch, played in the
film by Mary Badham, who lives with her older brother Jem
(Phillip Alford) and their widowed attorney father Atticus
(Gregory Peck). While Scout, Jem and their friend Dill
(John Megna) become fascinated by the mysterious shut-in
Boo Radley (Robert Duvall).

Atticus goes to court to defend a Black man falsely accused
of raping a white woman.  

To Kill a Mockingbird was nominated for eight Academy
Awards, including Best Picture, and won three Oscars,
including Best Actor (Gregory Peck).       

Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003)

        
 
        
        
        
        
        
        
       

In Scarface, Al Pacino played Tony Montana, who arrives in Florida
from Cuba in 1980 and eventually becomes wealthy from his
involvement in the booming cocaine business. Things fall apart
when Tony becomes addicted to the drug and his world collapses
in violence. Directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay by Oliver Stone, Scarface co-starred Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Robert Loggia. The film was loosely
based on a 1932 gangster film of the same name, directed by
Howard Hawks and reportedly inspired in part by the real-life
mobster Al “Scarface” Capone. Though De Palma’s Scarface
received mixed reviews upon its initial release and was criticized
for its violence, it proved to be a success at the box-office and
went on to achieve pop-culture status.

DIRECTOR BRIAN DE PALMA