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”
Author Archives: dcaligari
Gilda, are you decent?
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?”
Midnight on the water
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”
I was dreaming of the past …
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 …”
Hot Fuzz premiered
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”
The Prisoner of Second Avenue 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”
Come to the nerd side, we have Pi!
Today is Pi Day! Pi Day was founded by Physicist Larry Shaw in 1988. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts (read – lonely shut-ins) around the world on March 14th. ? was first used as a mathematical symbol in 1706 by William Jones. Albert Einstein’s parents conveniently arranged for him to be born onContinue reading “Come to the nerd side, we have Pi!”
Karl Marx
March 14, 1883 –“Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!” Karl Marx died of pleurisy in London on this date. While his original grave had only a nondescript stone, the Communist Party ofContinue reading “Karl Marx”
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
March 13, 1968 –The Beatles release the single Lady Madonna in the UK on this date. Paul McCartney said that this song is a tribute to women everywhere. It was inspired by a photo of a woman in Vietnam suckling her child, over the caption “Mountain Madonna.” The photo appeared in the January 1965 issueContinue reading “Wonder how you manage to make ends meet”
You can force it but it will not come
March 13, 1995 –Parlophone Records released Radiohead’s second studio album, The Bends, in the UK on this date. John Leckie, the producer of The Bends, recalled to Q magazine April 2008 the recording of the album: “I love the album but by the end of the sessions I felt devastated. Without telling me, the bandContinue reading “You can force it but it will not come”
The Haus of Dcaligari 