May 23, 1963 - Luchino Visconti’s version of Tommasi di Lampedusa’s best-selling novel, “The Leopard,” won the Gold Palm grand prize tonight at the 16th Cannes Film Festival. (Mr. Visconti is pictured left with Marina Vlady and Richard Harris.) “The Leopard,” produced by Titanus Films of Rome and released by 20th Century-Fox, is the drama of a prince who witnesses the slow decline of an era in his native Sicily. It stars Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, and Alain Delon. “To Kill a Mockingbird” became the ninth U.S. entry in the festival’s history to win a major prize, taking the Gary Cooper Award. The Universal production, directed by Robert Mulligan, was commended for “the manner in which it exalts human solidarity” in a unanimous decision by the jury. Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and Federico Fellini’s “8½” were screened out of competition at the festival.
