1960s Timeline

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Aug 2, 2021

Movies: Mantle, Maris, Berra to Appear with Doris Day and Cary Grant in Comedy

Aug. 2, 1961 - Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra will appear as themselves in "That Touch of Mink," a comedy starring Cary Grant and Doris Day, who will be with the baseball stars in a dugout sequence. As the script now reads, each player has one line and no word is more than two syllables. The players will not have to wear make-up. At one point in the script, Miss Day objects loudly and strenuously to the umpire's call against a Yankee batter. The umpire walks over

Aug 1, 2021

Movie: French-Language "Purple Noon," Starring Alain Delon

Aug. 1, 1961 - René Clément's "Purple Noon" will open on Aug. 10 at the Little Carnegie Theatre in New York. The cast of the French-language color melodrama includes Alain Delon (pictured), Marie Laforet and Maurice Ronet. Tom Ripley (Delon) is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser. But there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classicmovies #celebrities

Jul 31, 2021

Movie: Anthony Franciosa and Claudia Cardinale to Star in Italian Drama "Careless"

July 31, 1961 - Anthony Franciosa (right) will leave for Rome on Thursday to start pre-production for "Careless," a romantic drama based on the novel "As a Man Grows Older" by Italo Svevo. Mauro Bolognini will direct. Emilio Brentani (Franciosa) leads a peaceful and uneventful life with his older sister Amalia until the day he meets Angiolina Zarri (Claudia Cardinale, left), a beautiful but unreliable young woman. Unfortunately for him, Emilio falls madly in love with her. #m

Jul 31, 2021

Otto Preminger Acquires Rights to Best-Selling Religious Novel "The Cardinal"

July 31, 1961 - Screen rights to the late Henry Morton Robinson's best-selling religious novel, "The Cardinal," have been acquired by Otto Preminger (pictured). The producer-director plans to make the film next spring as his first project after "Advise and Consent." The novel, dealing with a New England prelate of Irish descent who rises to cardinal's rank in the Roman Catholic Church in the years between the two World Wars, will require "a large, all-star cast, color, wide s

Jul 30, 2021

New Movie: "The Fiercest Heart"

July 30, 1961 - "The Fiercest Heart," a Twentieth Century-Fox dramatization of the novel by Stuart Cloete, arrives this week at neighborhood theatres. George Sherman directed the CinemaScope period adventure, which features Stuart Whitman (left), Juliet Prowse (right), Raymond Massey and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Two British soldiers in 1830s South Africa flee military discipline and join a group of Boers heading north on "the Great Trek." In between fighting off Zulu attacks, on

Jul 29, 2021

Eiji Okada, Star of "Hiroshima, Mon Amour," to Make Hollywood Debut with Brando

July 29, 1961 - Eiji Okada, the Japanese actor who portrayed the hero in "Hiroshima, Mon Amour," named last year's best foreign-language import by the New York Film Critics, will make his Hollywood screen debut as a Southeast Asian soldier in Universal's "The Ugly American." Marlon Brando will star in the film. George Englund will direct. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classicmovies #celebrities

Jul 27, 2021

Giants-Dodgers Game to Be Filmed for Use in Movie "Experiment in Terror"

July 27, 1961 - Next month three Hollywood cameramen will film a game at San Francisco's Candlestick Park between the Giants and the Dodgers. Though baseball sequences have been used in movies before, this is said to be the first time that cameramen will be covering an entire major league game for a movie. Usually in films that require shots of a baseball game the director uses footage out of film libraries. The filming is for a suspense movie called "Experiment in Terror," s

Jul 27, 2021

Movie: "Francis of Assisi"

July 27, 1961 - Today's new film is "Francis of Assisi," a Twentieth Century-Fox biographical drama, with Bradford Dillman, Dolores Hart and Stuart Whitman. Plato A. Skouras produced the film, which was photographed in color in Italy and directed by Michael Curtiz. An invitational charity screening of the picture at New York's Rivoli Theatre last night raised $10,565 for foreign missions of the Third Order of St. Francis. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #cl

Jul 26, 2021

Jocelyn Brando Joins Brother Marlon in Cast of "The Ugly American"

July 26, 1961 - Jocelyn Brando (left), Marlon Brando's older sister, will play the featured role of Pat Hingle's wife in Universal's "The Ugly American," starring Mr. Brando. It will go before the cameras in Indonesia early next month. The film tells the story of American ambassador Harrison MacWhite (Brando), who travels to a Southeast Asian country beleaguered by rival factions. MacWhite views the political situation only in the simplest terms: as a struggle between commun

Jul 25, 2021

Actress Madlyn Rhue in Serious Condition after Car Crash

July 25, 1961 - Madlyn Rhue, an actress, is in serious condition from injuries received in a head-on automobile collision in Hollywood, hospital attendants said today. Miss Rhue, 25 years old, is appearing with Sal Mineo and Yul Brynner in "Escape from Zahrain," a film now in production. Miss Rhue debuted in show business at age 17 as a dancer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City. She has appeared on many television shows, including "The Untouchables," "Perry Mason" a

Jul 25, 2021

Film "Homicidal" Will Include Special "Fright Break" for Viewers

July 25, 1961 - Opening at local theatres today is "Homicidal," a horror-thriller film produced and directed by William Castle. Glenn Corbett, Jean Arless and Eugene Leontovich are in the Columbia release. There will be a special "fright break" during the showing of "Homicidal." A sign outside the theatre reads: "All those too timid to take the climax of this film will be welcomed to the 'Coward's Corner' - whereupon their admission price will be 'sneerfully' refunded." #movi

Jul 23, 2021

Movie: "Tammy Tell Me True" with Sandra Dee and John Gavin

July 23, 1961 - Scheduled to arrive in local theatres this week is "Tammy Tell Me True," a romantic comedy with Sandra Dee and John Gavin. The Eastmancolor comedy film was directed by Harry Keller and is based on Cid Ricketts Sumner's 1959 novel of the same name, which the New York Times described as "a cheerful change of pace from current novels of conflict and depression." A wholesome river girl (Dee) floats her boat to college and meets a professor (Gavin) who finds her ch

Jul 23, 2021

Edward G. Robinson to Narrate Crime Documentary on NBC-TV

July 23, 1961 - Edward G. Robinson will be the narrator of "Cops and Robbers," a documentary of crime in America from pre-Revolutionary days to the present. It will be televised by NBC on Jan. 21. Mr. Robinson is famous for his tough-guy roles as gangsters in such films as "Little Caesar" (1931) and "Key Largo" (1948) (pictured). #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classicmovies #celebrities

Jul 22, 2021

McQueen to Star in World War II Picture "Hell Is for Heroes"

July 22, 1961 - Steve McQueen (pictured right with Nick Adams), who once served a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, is currently filming "Hell is for Heroes," a World War II picture directed by Don Siegel. McQueen has declared flatly that he is determined to make his character, Private John Reese, the rankest heel ever let loose on screen or tube. "Only one thing matters to 'Reese,' the fellow I play," says McQueen. "That's staying alive. Reese knows four or five ways to stay a

Jul 22, 2021

Film: "The War Lover" with Steve McQueen

July 22, 1961 - Shirley Ann Field, who appeared in the British film "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning," will co-star with Steve McQueen in Columbia's "The War Lover," taken from the John Hersey World War II novel. The war itself is not the most important element of the film. Instead it focuses on the character of Captain Buzz Rickson (McQueen) and his determination to serve himself and get what he wants – antagonizing everyone else in the process. #movienight #movietime #mov

Jul 20, 2021

Sidney Poitier Buys House in Pleasantville, NY

July 20, 1961 - Sidney Poitier (pictured with producer David Susskind), young Negro stage and screen star, has purchased a 12-room Tudor house on a seven-acre site in Pleasantville, New York. Mr. Poitier, who played the male lead in both the Broadway and film productions of "A Raisin in the Sun," moved into his new house with his wife Juanita and their four daughters. In "A Raisin," Mr. Poitier interpreted the role of a young Negro whose family met opposition after purchasing

Jul 20, 2021

First Castings for World War II Epic "The Longest Day"

July 20, 1961 - First castings have been announced for Darryl F. Zanuck's production of "The Longest Day," the Cornelius Ryan book on the D-Day landings, which Twentieth Century-Fox will release. Pre-production work has begun, with Mr. Zanuck using Paris as a base of operations. Signed for the French segment of the film were Jean Louis Barrault (as a priest), Christian Marquand (as head of the French Commandos) and Daniel Gelin (as a paratrooper sergeant). The production will

Jul 19, 2021

Comedian Mort Sahl on BBC-TV

July 19, 1961 - Mort Sahl made his British debut today on a BBC television program. As usual, the comedian wore a sweater and open-necked shirt and carried a rolled-up newspaper. He did not lampoon British customs or personalities, concentrating on his familiar American targets. His greatest targets were President Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and even Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy. The Daily Mail reported that the BBC had received "a number of calls" after the show,

Jul 19, 2021

Susan Strasberg Signed for Contemporary Drama "Until Tomorrow"

July 19, 1961 - Susan Strasberg (pictured), who has been living in Rome for the last six months, has been signed for the starring role in Titanus Films' "Until Tomorrow," a contemporary drama to include location filming in Paris and Italy. Her co-star in the project, which Turi Vasile will direct, is Sami Frey, the French actor who appears opposite Brigitte Bardot in "The Truth." #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classicmovies #celebrities

Jul 18, 2021

William Holden to Star in Adventure Film "The Lion"

July 18, 1961 - William Holden (right) has been signed for a leading role in "The Lion," the adaptation of Joseph Kessel's novel, which 20th Century-Fox will produce in Kenya in October. The cast will also include Capucine (left), Trevor Howard and Pamela Franklin. The British CinemaScope adventure film will be directed by Jack Cardiff. In Kenya, when young Tina (Franklin) befriends a lion and embraces local customs, her mother (Capucine) summons Tina's American father (Holde