-
1904
Account film started to turn into the prevailing and more well known type of film-production creation. "Story films," albeit more costly to make than realities (day by day life scenes), or narrative like records of information occasions, were being delivered in more prominent numbers. -
1920
Co-director Paul Wegener's expressionistic thriller The Golem: How He came into the world (1920, Germany) (otherwise known as Der Golem, Wie er in Bite the dust Welt Kam, or The Golem) was the third of a progression of movies, gone before by two lost movies: The Golem (1915, Germ.) (also known as Der Golem) and the short parody The Golem and the Moving Young lady (1917, Germ.) -
1932
The film career of 4 year-old child star Shirley Temple (born in 1928), probably the most famous child actress in history, began when she appeared in eight exploitative one-reeler shorts, in a series from Educational Pictures called the 'Baby Burlesks'. In the short take-offs, toddlers played adult roles and wore provocative clothing. Her first film appearance was in the first film of the series titled Runt Page (1932). Her feature film debut was in The Red-Haired Alibi (1932). -
1943
The precursor of Italian neo-realism was Luchino Visconti's gritty Ossessione (1943, It.), the Italian director's first film. Loosely adapted from James M. Cain's pulp novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, it enraged fascist censors and inspired the term neo-realism. The movement would really take hold from the mid-40s to the mid-50s, with its main exponents being Visconti, Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica. -
1955
Indian director Satyajit Ray's first film, the low-budget, coming-of-age tale Pather Panchali (1955, India) (aka The Song of the Road, or The Lament of the Path), was the first of an "Apu Trilogy" followed by Aparajito (1956) (aka The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (1959) (aka The World of Apu). It realistically portrayed low-class poverty in India through the eyes of its adolescent protagonist Apu (Subir Banerjee). It was the first Indian film to receive major critical attention internationally. -
1966
The character of Batman made his first appearance in film since two Batman serials in 1943 and 1949, in the feature film Batman (1966). It was a campy, zany, silly, and comical film, spun-off from the 1966-68 TV show, with cheap special effects and tongue-in-cheek humor. -
1978
Marlon Brando broke the $3 million mark for an actor's earnings, when he was reportedly paid a salary of $3.7 million and over 11 percent of the gross (his total earnings were $14 million) for his 10-minute cameo appearance (shot over 12 days) as Jor-El, the title character's father in the blockbuster Superman: The Movie (1978). He also received top-billing (with Gene Hackman) over Christopher Reeve. -
1987
Timothy Dalton was the new 007 British agent James Bond, appearing initially in The Living Daylights (1987), the 15th film in the James Bond franchise. [Dalton appeared in only one other Bond film, Licence to Kill (1989)]. Dalton was credited with reinvigorating the Bond character by making him brooding, moody and darker. It was also the first of two films with a new love-starved Miss Moneypenny (Caroline Bliss). It was the first change in the Miss Moneypenny casting in 25 years (in 14 films). -
1999
Director Sam Mendes' American Beauty (1999) was the Best Picture-winning film. It also won four other major Oscars: Best Actor, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Screenplay. The drama took in $130 million (domestic) in revenue and was the 13th highest-ranked film of the year. -
2004
Clint Eastwood became the oldest winner to date in the Best Director Oscar category, at the age of 74 (and 272 days), for Million Dollar Baby (2004), which had seven nominations. Three of the nominations went to director/producer/star Eastwood, resulting in four wins including Best Picture, Best Director (Eastwood), Best Actress (Hilary Swank) and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). This was Eastwood's third directorial nomination and second Best Director win. -
2017
Writer/director and legendary film-maker George A. Romero, who essentially launched the modern zombie film sub-genre, died at the age of 77. His most influential film, influenced by Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend, was the low-budget, black and white, gory B-movie cult classic Night of the Living Dead (1968). It told about a group of people (with an heroic black male lead) trapped in a remote Pennsylvania farmhouse who became prey to a horde of slow-moving, ravenous zombies. -
2021
Canadian actor Christopher Plummer died at the age of 91 on February 5, 2021. His most well-remembered and notable performance was opposite Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965). Plummer also had roles in The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Insider (1999), and The Last Station (2009), among others. He had two notable Academy Award-related honors. At the age of 82, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Beginners (2010), becoming the oldest person to win an acting award.