Author Archives: dcaligari

May 9, 1958 – Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Vertigo starring James Stewart and Kim Novak premiered in San Francisco on this date. There is a 25 year age difference between James Stewart and Kim Novak, who were 49 and 24 respectively when the film was shot in 1957.  Alfred Hitchcock was embittered at the critical andContinue reading “Bunkies, this film is even weirder than you think”

May 9, 1973 –Paramount Pictures comedy Paper Moon, directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal. Madeline Kahn, and John Hillerman, opened on this date. Orson Welles, a close friend of director Peter Bogdanovich, did some uncredited consulting on the cinematography. It was Welles who suggested shooting black and white photography through aContinue reading “Paper Moon premiered”

May 9 1953 – The Looney Tunes short, Ant Pasted, directed by Friz Freleng, starring Elmer Fudd, debuted on this date. This was one of the few Elmer Fudd cartoons without either Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck.

May 8, 1942 – The Merrie Melodies short, The Draft Horse, directed by Chuck Jones, debuted on this date. This cartoon marked a new change in direction for Chuck Jones, where he eschewed the slow-paced, Disney-inspired style for which his earlier cartoons from the late-1930s and early-1940s have been known in favor of making fast-pacedContinue reading “The Draft Horse premiered”

May 8, 1954 – The Looney Tunes short, Hot-Rod and Reel!, directed by Chuck Jones, starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, debuted on this date. The original sci film classic The Fly was still four years away from release when this short, with its monstrous fly, premiered.

May 9, 1970 –The Guess Who started a three-week run at No.1 on the Billboard Charts with their single American Woman. on this date. Fortunately for The Guess Who, American radio stations either didn’t hear this as a protest song or didn’t care. With a monster riff and the word “American” in the title, itContinue reading “American Woman topped the charts”

May 9, 1964 –The Beatles’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand had been the number one album for over three and a half months straight. Louis Armstrong’s show tune Hello Dolly! finally ended the record-breaking run on this day, knocking the Beatles out of first place in the music charts.

May 8, 1970 –Just shortly after the break up of the Beatles was announced, Apple Records released The Beatles final original album Let It Be, on this date. Although Let It Be topped album charts in both the US and the UK, and sales were very good, the album did not receive good reviews andContinue reading ““I Dig a Pygmy” by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids”

May 5, 2022 –Bono and The Edge of U2 played an acoustic set at a subway station in Kyiv that has been converted into a bomb shelter, on this date. Their appearance is in support of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia months earlier. Please keep the people of Ukraine in your thoughts.

May 8, 1943 – Another Tex Avery masterpiece, Red Hot Riding Hood, was released on this date. Director Tex Avery was famous for his off the wall cartoons, which were aimed more toward adult audiences than children. Here, however, he pushed the limits of what was considered acceptable, and in several places the film wasContinue reading “Red Hot Riding Hood premiered”