This week we cover the period between 22nd – 28th March as we look back at the the fascinating history of the film industry. We love to celebrate the history of cinema here at More Movies and we really enjoy delving into and highlighting some of the most interesting moments in the world of movies, including milestone releases, births and deaths of the industry’s most notable characters, along with other historic happenings.
Scottish actor John Laurie, famous for his roles in The Edge of the World, The 39 Steps and The Way Ahead, was born in Dumfries, Scotland
25th March, 1897
American actress Gloria Swanson, famous for his roles in Sunset Boulevard, Queen Kelly and Sadie Thompson, was born in Chicago, Illinois
27th March, 1899
American actress Joan Crawford, famous for her roles in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Mildred Pierce and The Women, was born in San Antonio, Texas
23rd March, 1905
American actress Mary Treen, famous for her roles in It’s a Wonderful Life, They Give Him a Gun and I Love a Soldier, was born in St Louis, Missouri
27th March, 1907
English director David Lean, famous for his films Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and The Bridge on the River Kwai, was born in Croydon, England
25th March, 1908
American actor Grégoire Aslan, famous for his roles in Cet homme est dangereux, Marry Me! Marry Me! and Checkerboard, was born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
28th March, 1908
Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, famous for his films Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, was born in Tokyo, Japan
23rd March, 1910
American animator Joseph Barbera, one of the co-founders of Hanna-Barbera, was born in Manhattan, New York
24th March, 1911
Irish actor Wilfrid Brambell, famous for his roles in A Hard Day’s Night, Holiday on the Buses and Steptoe and Son Ride Again, was born in Dublin, Ireland
22nd March, 1912
American actor Karl Malden, famous for his roles in On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire and One-Eyed Jacks, was born in Chicago, Illinois
22nd March, 1912
American novelist and screenwriter Budd Schulberg, famous for writing On the Waterfront, was born in New York City
27th March, 1914
American actor Strother Martin, famous for his roles in Cool Hand Luke, Rooster Cogburn and True Grit, was born in Kokomo, Indiana
26th March, 1919
English actor Patrick Troughton, famous not only as the second Doctor in Doctor Who but for his roles in Jason and the Argonauts, The Omen and The Gorgon, was born in Mill Hill
25th March, 1920
French actress Simone Signoret, famous for her roles Madame Rosa, Casque d’Or and Room at the Top, was born in Wiesbaden, Germany
25th March, 1921
American actor Norman Fell, famous for his roles in Ocean’s 11, Three’s Company and The Graduate, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
24th March, 1924
British child actor Frederick “Freddie” Bartholomew, famous for his roles in Anna Karenina, David Copperfield and Captains Courageous, was born in London, England
28th March, 1924
American actor James Maxwell, famous for his roles in Private Potter, The Traitors and Ransom, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts
23rd March, 1929
American actor Steve McQueen, famous for his roles in Bullitt, The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, was born in Beech Grove, Indiana
24th March, 1930
Canadian actor William Shatner, most famous for his role as James T. Kirk in the Star Trek films, was born in Montreal, Quebec
22nd March, 1931
American actor Leonard Nimoy, most famous for his role as Spock in the Star Trek films, was born in Boston, Massachusetts
26th March, 1931
Charlie Chaplin receives France’s distinguished Legion of Honor
27th March, 1931
Influential Nazi Propaganda film Triumph of the Will, commissioned by Adolf Hitler and directed by Leni Riefenstahl, was released with it’s infamous images showing the Nuremberg rallies
28th March, 1935
The Great Ziegfeld, directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring William Powell and Luise Rainer, premiered in Los Angeles
22nd March, 1936
American film composer Angelo Badalamenti, famous for his compositions for Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, was born in Brooklyn, New York
22nd March, 1937
Wuthering Heights, directed by William Wyler and starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier, premiered in Los Angeles
24th March, 1939
American actor James Caan, famous for his roles in Misery, The Godfather and El Dorado, was born in The Bronx, New York
26th March, 1940
American actor Austin Pendleton, famous for his roles in Short Circuit, My Cousin Vinny and What’s Up, Doc?, was born in Warren, Ohio
27th March, 1940
James Stewart is inducted into the Army, becoming the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II
22nd March, 1941
English actor and writer Richard O’Brien, most famous for writing, and playing the role of Riff Raff, in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, was born in Cheltenham, England
25th March, 1942
American singer and actress Diana Ross, famous for his roles in The Wiz, Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues, was born in Detroit, Michigan
26th March, 1944
American film director and screenwriter Curtis Hanson, famous for his films LA Confidential, 8 Mile and Wonder Boys, was born in Reno, Nevada
24th March, 1945
American actor Terry Alexander, famous for his roles in Day of the Dead, Amateur and House III: The Horror Show, was born in Detroit, Michigan
23rd March, 1947
Canadian comedian and actor Martin Short, famous for his roles in Three Amigos!, Father of the Bride and Clifford, was born in Hamilton, Ontario
26th March, 1950
Singin’ in the Rain, directed by Stanley Donen and star Gene Kelly, premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City
27th March, 1952
English child actor Matthew Garber, famous for his role as Michael Banks in Mary Poppins, was born in London, England
25th March, 1956
British actor Robert Newton, famous for his roles in Long John Silver, Treasure Island and Oliver Twist, died from a heart attack aged 50
25th March, 1956
American actor Matthew Modine, famous for his roles in Full Metal Jacket, Vision Quest and The Dark Knight Rises, was born in Loma Linda, California
22nd March, 1959
American actress Kelly LeBrock, famous for her roles in Weird Science, The Woman in Red and Hard to Kill, was born in New York City
24th March, 1960
American director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino, famous for his films Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee
27th March, 1963
Hungarian-American actor Peter Lorre, famous for his roles in M, Casablanca and The Beast with 5 Fingers, died from a stroke aged 59
23rd March, 1964
American actress Sarah Jessica Parker, famous for her roles in Hocus Pocus, Footloose and Sex and the City, was born in Nelsonville, Ohio
25th March, 1965
Scottish actor Duncan Macrae, famous for his roles in Casino Royale, The Kidnappers and Rockets Galore!, died aged 61
23rd March, 1967
Anglo-Irish screenwriter and film director Martin McDonagh, famous for his films Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Seven Psychopaths and In Bruges, was born in London, England
26th March, 1970
American actor Vince Vaughn, famous for his roles in Swingers, Wedding Crashers and Dodgeball, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
28th March, 1970
English comedian and actor Nick Frost, famous for his roles in Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and Paul, was born in Dagenham, England
28th March, 1972
American actor Jim Parsons, famous for his roles in The Boys in the Band, Home and A Kid Like Jake, was born in Houston, Texas
24th March, 1973
American actress Alyson Hannigan, famous for her role as Michelle Flaherty in the American Pie film series, was born in Washington, D.C.
24th March, 1974
American actress Reese Witherspoon, famous for her roles in Home Again, Wild and Hot Pursuit, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana
22nd March, 1976
English actress Keira Knightley, famous for her roles in Pride & Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean and Atonement, was born in London, England
26th March, 1985
American singer-songwriter and actress Lady Gaga, famous for her roles in A Star is Born, Machete Kills and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, was born in New York City
28th March, 1986
American actress Joan Shawlee, famous for her roles in Some Like It Hot, Buck Privates Come Home and Bowery to Bagdad, died of cancer aged 61
22nd March, 1987
English actor Patrick Troughton, famous not only as the second Doctor in Doctor Who but for his roles in Jason and the Argonauts, The Omen and The Gorgon, died of a heart attack aged 67
28th March, 1987
At the 70th Academy Awards, Titanic was nominated for fourteen awards, tying the record with All About Eve. It won eleven awards, including Best Picture, tying the record for most awards for a film with Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
23rd March, 1998
Groundbreaking film The Matrix, directed by The Wachowskis and starring Keanu Reeve, Lawrence Fishburne and Carrie-Ann Moss, premiered in the U.S.
24th March, 1999
American animator William Hanna, one of the co-founders of Hanna-Barbera, died aged 90
22nd March, 2001
27th March, 2002
Austrian-born American film director Billy Wilder, famous for his films Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard and Double Indemnity, died aged 95
27th March, 2002
British actor Peter Ustinov, famous for his roles in Death on the Nile, Logan’s Run and Evil Under the Sun, died aged 82
28th March, 2004
After some initial hesitation, Emma Watson signs on to appear as Hermione in the final three Harry Potter films
23rd March, 2007
American actor Richard Widmark, famous for his roles in Kiss of Death, The Alamo and Cheyenne Autumn, died aged 93
24th March, 2008
English-American actress Elizabeth Taylor, famous for her roles in Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, died aged 79
23rd March, 2011
The Black Panther becomes the highest grossing superhero film in America earning $630.9m
26th March, 2018
Apple introduces new TV streaming platform Apple TV+, featuring original movies and tv shows for a subscription, to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney+
25th March, 2019
Science fiction captain of the USS Enterprise James T Kirk, was born in Iowa on Planet Earth
22nd March, 2233
Well there we have our picks for this week in film history between 22nd – 28th March.
Be sure to check back next week for some more fun film facts and tidbits. If you think we missed something important, be sure to let us know in the comments.
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