1960s Timeline

Oct. 28, 1961 - The Mirisch Brothers, who have ample reason to exult over the reaction to their film production of “West Side Story,” have acquired film rights to “A Shot in the Dark.” The producers last week signed Anatole Litvak to direct and produce the movie version of the play “L’Idiote,” by Marcel Achard. The Mirisch group has budgeted the movie at $3 million. Said a spokesman: “It will be filmed, either in London or Paris, in January 1963.” Sources indicate that the Br

🎙 Check out our 2-part podcast on its star, Steve McQueen. LISTEN: Part 1 Part 2 #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #1960s #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #moviescene #moviescenes

Oct. 26, 1961 - A movie version of the Tennessee Williams play “Sweet Bird of Youth” was completed recently at the MGM studio. It stars Paul Newman as the drifter Chance Wayne and Geraldine Page as faded movie star Alexandra Del Lago. The film was adapted and directed by Richard Brooks. Mr. Williams has made significant changes to the play since the original Broadway production of 1959. The film version is said to be sanitized, with less overt sexual references. The character

Oct. 23, 1961 - “The Comancheros,” a Western drama with John Wayne, will open at New York’s Paramount Theatre on Election Day, Nov. 7. Michael Curtiz directed the 20th Century-Fox release, with Stuart Whitman, Lee Marvin, Ina Balin, and Nehemiah Persoff in the cast. Texas Ranger Jake Cutter (Wayne) arrests gambler Paul Regret (Whitman), but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves dealing with

Oct. 22, 1961 - Gig Young (left) has been signed to play the prize-fight manager in “Kid Galahad,” the role originally played by Edward G. Robinson in the 1937 version, which also featured Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and Wayne Morris. The new version, to be directed by Phil Karlson, will be a musical, starring Elvis Presley as the boxer. #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #moviescene #moviescenes #moviestarplanet #moviestagram #movies

🎙 The great actor would have been 94 today. “The Hustler” features one of his most dynamic supporting roles. Check out our podcast on that film. #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #1960s #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #moviescene #moviescenes

Oct. 18, 1961 - Opening in local theatres today is “The Devil at 4 O’Clock,” starring Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. A crusty, eccentric priest (Tracy) recruits three reluctant convicts to help him rescue a children's leper colony from a Pacific island menaced by a smoldering volcano. A “volcano” had to be specially built on farmland outside of Fallbrook, California, which was detonated using almost a ton of explosives. The explosion nearly kill

🎙 Check out our 2-part podcast on the man who played Frank Bullitt, Steve McQueen. LISTEN: Part 1 Part 2 #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #1960s #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #moviescene #moviescenes

Oct. 17, 1961 - Film critics in Stockoholm, Sweden, were applauding today the premiére of Ingmar Bergman’s “most important” production, “Through a Glass Darkly.” “Great,” “fantastic,” “his best” were some of the superlatives showered upon this story of love, faith, and a mentally ill woman. Said Mr. Bergman: “The twenty-three other pictures I have made have been only studies. This is ‘opus number one.’” The critics were awed by the performance of Harriet Anderson (pictured ce

Oct. 15, 1961 - Scheduled to open Wednesday is “West Side Story,” the adaptation of the hit Broadway musical drama with Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, and George Chakiris. The film’s opening, at the Rivoli Theatre on Broadway at 8:30 p.m., will be a benefit, with the proceeds going to the Henry Street Settlement. Showings therafter will be on a reserved-seat basis. The film, which has an overture and intermission, has a two-and-a-half-hour running ti

🎙 Check out our 2-part podcast on one of those “Seven,” Steve McQueen. LISTEN: Part 1 Part 2 #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #1960s #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #moviescene #moviescenes

Oct. 11, 1961 - Chico Marx, oldest member of the famed Marx Brothers, died today of a heart ailment. He was 70 years old. Chico and his brothers — Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo, and Gummo — created a brand of comedy all their own — joyously irreverent, supremely illogical, and funny to lowbrows and intellectuals alike. Chico was the brother with the pointed hat, the seedy velvet jacket, the deadpan face, and the “Italian” accent. Marx Brothers admirers remember one of Chico’s best l

Oct. 10, 1961 - “Back Street,” a new film version of the sentimental novel by Fannie Hurst, is at New York’s Capitol Theatre, Broadway and 51st Street. Susan Hayward, John Gavin, and Vera Miles are in the Ross Hunter production. The story follows two lovers who have limited opportunities to get together because one of them is married. This new version is different from both the 1932 and 1941 screen versions in many ways – changing the names of several characters and updating

Oct. 8, 1961 - Opening on Tuesday in local theatres is "Splendor in the Grass," a drama by William Inge, produced and directed by Elia Kazan, with Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty, in his film debut. Miss Wood and Mr. Beatty play two high-school sweethearts navigating feelings of sexual repression, love, and heartbreak. #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #moviescene #moviescenes #moviestarplanet #moviestagram #moviesoundtrack #MovieStill

Oct. 7, 1961 - Sweden's Ingmar Bergman was on both the screen and soundstages in Stockholm last week. While his latest somber drama, "Through a Glass Darkly," with Harriet Andersson playing a schizophrenic, was being evaluated by Scandinavian critics, the brooding director was at work on still another of his tortured cinematic quests for faith. The current work, "Winter Light," covers 12 hours in the life of a small-town pastor, Gunnar Bjornstrand (pictured left), who is unab

Oct. 6, 1961 - John Frankenheimer (pictured right with Burt Lancaster), the director, thinks color film should be confined, almost entirely, to musicals and travelogues. Mr. Frankenheimer completed "Birdman of Alcatraz" and "All Fall Down" this year. His next project will be to direct "The Manchurian Candidate," starring Frank Sinatra. All three pictures are in black and white. "Color," says Mr. Frankenheimer, "generally ruins good drama. There are exceptions, of course. Ther

Oct. 5, 1961 - A marriage license was issued Tuesday in the New York Municipal Building to Peter Fonda and Susan Brewer. The couple plan to be married Sunday in St. Bartholomew's Protestant Episcopal Church. Miss Brewer, whose home is in Beverly Hills, Calif., is a student at Sarah Lawrence College. Her fiancé, son of Henry Fonda, the actor, and the late Mrs. Frances Seymour Brokaw Fonda, lives at 151 E. 74th Street. He also is an actor. #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #Mov

Oct. 4, 1961 - Bette Davis (pictured in the forthcoming “Pocketful of Miracles”) has lodged a $1 million libel suit against the publishers of Modern Screen magazine. The actress charged that an article in the magazine's May issue falsely depicted her as "a pathetic, grotesque, ridiculous, and eccentric person who occupied herself by morosely ruminating about her past glories and by facing the future hopelessly, forlornly, and fearfully." #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #Mov

Oct. 4, 1961 - Today's new film is "Breakfast at Tiffany's," a comedy based on Truman Capote's novel, at the Radio City Music Hall. Audrey Hepbrun, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney are in the Paramount release, which was directed by Blake Edwards. A young New York socialite (Hepburn) becomes interested in a young man (Peppard) who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way. #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #

Oct. 4, 1961 - Anne Baxter (pictured) gave birth to a daughter in Hollywood today. The child is the first for the actress and her husband, Randolph Galt. She has another daughter, Katrina, 10 years old, by her marriage to the late John Hodiak. The couple plan to return to their ranch in Australia. #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #moviescene #moviescenes #moviestarplanet #moviestagram #moviesoundtrack #MovieStill #movieshoot #moviesc