Author Archives: dcaligari

March 15, 1941 – The first of three appearances of Cecil Turtle, Tortoise Beats Hare, premiered on this date. This is the first time Bugs Bunny loses in the end, proving that Bugs isn’t completely indestructible; Cecil is one of the very few characters who was actually able to beat Bugs Bunny not once butContinue reading “We do this kinda stuff to him all through the picture!”

The Oscars are on tonight on ABC-TV. Remember It’s just an honor to wins your Oscar pool – actual betting on the results of the Oscars is illegal in most states.

March 15, 1972 –The greatest film ever about cooking for a large group and risk aversion management, The Godfather, premiered in New York City on this date. Marlon Brando wanted to make Don Corleone “look like a bulldog,” so he stuffed his cheeks with cotton wool for the audition. For the actual filming, he woreContinue reading “The offer no one could refuse”

March 15, 1956 – The landmark science-fiction film, Forbidden Planet (think The Tempest in Outer Space), premiered on this date. The famous poster for the film shows a menacing robot carrying a struggling pretty girl – a staple of “monster movie” posters from the 1950’s. In fact, no such scene occurs in the film itselfContinue reading “Forbidden Planet opened”

March 15, 1946 – Columbia Pictures released Charles Vidor’s film-noir classic, Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth and Glen Ford on this date. Harry Cohn was worried about bad publicity affecting Rita Hayworth’s box-office pull; her marriage to Orson Welles was a constant worry for him. Hayworth and Welles were, in fact, in the middle of oneContinue reading “Gilda, are you decent?”

March 15, 1975 –Electric Light Orchestra’s single Can’t Get It Out of My Head, became their first top ten single in the U.S., (with peaked at no. nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart,) on this date. Jeff Lynne recalled in an edition of VH1’s Storytellers, that he found inspiration for the song inContinue reading “Midnight on the water”

March 14, 1981 –Roxy Music had their only U.K. No. 1 single with their version of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy, on this date. Roxy Music recorded this as a tribute to Lennon, who was murdered on December 8, 1980. Bryan Ferry performs the whistling solo on the Roxy Music version. The Roxy frontman’s whistling prowessContinue reading “I was dreaming of the past …”

March 14, 2007 –The comedy-action film, Hot Fuzz, directed by Edgar Wright, and starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton and Jim Broadbent, was shown at ShoWest on this date. When in costume, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg often were assumed to be police officers. Many strangers asked them for directions, and instead of tellingContinue reading “Hot Fuzz premiered”

March 14, 1975 –Melvin Frank’s film adaptation of Neil Simon’s comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue, starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft, opened in NYC, on this date. According to the Jack Lemmon’s biography Lemmon by Don Widener, actress Anne Bancroft recounted this episode from the film’s shooting: “[Jack was] nice to a point whereContinue reading “The Prisoner of Second Avenue premiered”