In one of Hollywood’s zaniest movie premiere stunts, Mel Brooks’
1974 western spoof Blazing Saddles screens at the Pickwick Drive-
In Theater in Burbank, California. Guests attend not in cars—but
on horseback.
Mel Brooks will be 99 years old on the 28th of June.
Stanley Kubrick’s black comic masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove or:
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb opened in
theaters to both critical and popular acclaim.
The movie’s popularity was evidence of changing attitudes
toward atomic weapons and the concept of nuclear deterrence.
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
A scene from “Dr. Strangelove,” in which the bomber pilot (played by actor Slim Pickens) rides a nuclear bomb to its
target in the Soviet Union.
George C. Scott
On December 26, 1973, The Exorcist, a horror film starring
the actress Linda Blair as a girl possessed by an evil spirit,
made its debut in theaters; it went on to earn a reputation
as one of the scariest movies in history.
The post-holiday release served to help The Exorcist sell
tickets, as most moviegoers had time off.
It was the highest-grossing Christmas week release after
1997’s Titanic, and is still in second place.
William David Friedkin
(August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023)
The film The Graduate opened at two theaters in New York:
the Coronet on Third Avenue and the Lincoln Art Theater
on Broadway.
The film, based on a 1963 novel by Charles Webb, had a
simple premise: As its screenwriter explained it, “this kid
graduates college, has an affair with his parents’ best friend
and then falls in love with the friend’s daughter.”
Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman starred in the film that
received seven nominations at the 40th Academy Awards,
including for Best Picture and Best Director, the latter being
the film’s sole win.
The movie is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most
influential films of all time.
(From Wikipedia)
Director James Cameron’s epic drama Titanic, the story of the
real-life luxury ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank on
its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than
1,500 passengers and crew, opened in theaters.
Titanic catapulted its young stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate
Winslet to international fame and won 11 Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Music (the song
“My Heart Will Go On,” sung by Celine Dion).
The film also immortalized the line “I’m the king of the world!,”
which Cameron famously repeated during the Oscar ceremony,
as he picked up his gold statuette for Best Director.
James Francis Cameron
