On November 21, 1976, Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone as
the underdog prizefighter Rocky Balboa, debuted in New York
City. The movie, which opened in theaters across the United
States on December 3, 1976, was a huge box-office hit and
received 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best
Actor and Best Original Screenplay for the then-little known
Stallone. Rocky ultimately took home three Oscars, including
one for Best Picture, and made Stallone one of the biggest
stars in Hollywood.

Sylvester Stallone and Burgess Meredith

Stallone and Carl Weathers

On November 15, 1956, Love Me Tender, featuring the singer
Elvis Presley in his big-screen debut, premieres in New York
City at the Paramount Theater. Set in Texas following the
American Civil War, the film, which co-starred Richard Egan
and Debra Paget, featured Elvis as Clint Reno, the younger
brother of a Confederate soldier.

Originally titled The Reno Brothers, the movie was renamed
Love Me Tender before its release, after a song of the same
name that Reno sings during the film.

On October 24, 1969, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,
starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as a team of bank
robbers in the Old West, opened in theaters around the United
States.

The film was a commercial and critical success, receiving seven
Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director)
and winning in the categories of Best Screenplay (William
Goldman), Best Song (Burt Bacharach’s “Raindrops Keep
Falling on My Head”), Best Score and Best Cinematography.

On October 17, 1974, Benji, a film about a stray dog who helps
rescue several kidnapped children, opens in theaters; it will
go on to become a family classic.

Written and directed by Joe Camp, Benji starred a mutt named
Higgins, who had been rescued as a puppy from a California
animal shelter and went on to appear in the 1960s TV series
Petticoat Junction and the 1971 movie Mooch Goes to
Hollywood, with Zsa Zsa Gabor.

On August 25, 1939, The Wizard of Oz, which became one
of the best-loved movies in history, opened in theaters
around the United States.

Nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture
category, The Wizard of Oz lost to the Civil War–era
epic Gone With the Wind. The Wizard of Oz won a
Best Song Oscar for “Over the Rainbow,” which
became one of Garland’s signature hits. Garland
won a special award at that year’s Oscar ceremony,
for Best Juvenile Performer.