5th – 11th April: Discover This Fascinating Week in Film History

This week we cover the period between 5th – 11th April 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.

British Academy Award winning actor George Arliss, famous for his roles in Disraeli, The Devil and The Green Goddess, was born in London, England

10th April, 1868

Canadian actor Walter Huston, famous for his roles in The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Dodsworth, was born in Toronto, Ontario

6th April, 1883

British actor Donald Calthrop, famous for his roles in Blackmail, Scrooge and Rome Express, was born in London, England

11th April, 1888

George Eastman begins selling his Kodak flexible rolled film for the first time

6th April, 1889

Canadian actress Mary Pickford, famous for her roles in Coquette, Rosita and The Poor Little Rich Girl, was born in Toronto, Ontario

8th April, 1892

American actor Spencer Tracy, famous for his roles in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Adam’s Rib and Woman of the Year, was born in Milwaukee

5th April, 1900

American actress Bette Davis, famous for her roles in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Jezebel and All About Eve, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts

5th April, 1908

Australian actor, choreographer and dancer Robert Helpmann, famous for his roles in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Don Quixote and The Red Shoes, was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia

9th April, 1909

American actor Stanley Adams, famous for his roles in Lillies of the Field, Trooper Hook and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, was born in New York City

7th April, 1915

American actor Gregory Peck, famous for his roles in To Kill a Mockingbird, Roman Holiday and The Omen, was born in San Diego, California

5th April, 1916

British actor Eric Porter, famous for his roles in Little Lord Fauntleroy, Antony & Cleopatra and The 39 Steps, was born in London, England

8th April, 1928

Swedish actor Max Von Sydow, famous for his roles in The Exorcist, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Shutter Island, was born in Lund, Sweden

10th April, 1929

French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, famous for his roles in The Professional, The Big Risk and Casino Royale, was born in Paris, France

9th April, 1933

Harlem actor Billy Dee Williams, famous for his roles in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Batman and Lady Sings the Blues, was born in New York City

6th April, 1937

American director Francis Ford Coppola, famous for his films in The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and The Conversation, was born in Detroit, Michigan

7th April, 1939

Welsh film director Peter Greenaway, famous for his films The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The Draughtsman’s Contract and The Pillow Book, was born in Newport, Wales

5th April, 1942

Canadian actor Walter Huston, famous for his roles in The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Dodsworth, died from an aneurysm aged 67

7th April, 1950

American actor Bill Irwin, famous for his roles in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Interstellar and My Blue Heaven, was born in Santa Monica, California

11th April, 1950

American actor Steven Seagal, famous for his roles in Under Siege, Above the Law and Hard to Kill, was born in Detroit, Michigan

10th April, 1951

Hong Kong martial arts actor Jackie Chan, famous for his roles in Rush Hour, Police Story and The Karate Kid, was born in Hong Kong

7th April, 1954

American actor Dennis Quaid, famous for his roles in The Parent Trap, Innerspace and Dragonheart, was born in Houston, Texas

9th April, 1954

Marty, directed by Delbert Mann and starring Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair, premiered in New York

11th April, 1955

12 Angry Men, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb, was released in the U.S.

10th April, 1957

Australian-New Zealand actor Russell Crowe, famous for his roles in A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator and Robin Hood, was born in Wellington, New Zealand

7th April, 1964

American actor Paul Rudd, famous for his roles in Clueless, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Ant-Man, was born in Passaic, New Jersey

6th April, 1969

Swedish-American artist and chief illustrator for The Walt Disney Company during the 1930s Gustaf Tenggren, famous for his work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia and Pinocchio, died aged 73

9th April, 1970

American film noir actress Cathy O’Donnell, famous for her roles in They Live by Night, The Man from Laramie and Side Street, died aged 46

11th April, 1970

American reclusive billionaire, filmmaker and aviator Howard Hughes, famous for his films Hell’s Angels, The Outlaw and Scarface, died aged 70

5th April, 1976

All the President’s Men, directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, was released in the U.S.

9th April, 1976

Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel, California. Makes his day.

8th April, 1986

American actor Haley Joel Osment, famous for his roles in The Sixth Sense, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Pay it Forward, was born in Los Angeles, California

10th April, 1988

American actress Kristen Stewart, famous for her roles in Twilight, Charlie’s Angels and Underwater, was born in Los Angeles, California

9th April, 1990

English actress Daisy Ridley, famous for her roles in Star Wars: the Force Awakens, Chaos Walking and Peter Rabbit, was born in London

10th April, 1992

American actor Marlon Brando makes anti-Semitic remarks about Hollywood on Larry King Live, stating that the “Jews control Hollywood”

6th April, 1996

British actress Greer Garson, famous for her roles in The Valley of Decision, Goodbye, Mr Chips. and Mrs. Miniver, died aged 92

6th April, 1996

American actress Claire Trevor, famous for her roles in Born to Kill, Stagecoach and Murder, My Sweet, died aged 91

8th April, 2000

British actor Peter Jones, famous for his roles in School for Scoundrels, Chariots of Fire and Carry on England, died aged 79

10th April, 2000

Welsh actor, comedian, singer and goon Harry Secombe, famous for his roles in Oliver!, Svengali and Sunstruck, died aged 79

11th April, 2001

American actor John Agar, famous for his roles in Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Sands of Iwo Jima, died aged 81

7th April, 2002

American actor Charlton Heston, famous for his roles in Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments and Planet of the Apes, died aged 84

5th April, 2008

Star Trek film reboot, directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, premiered in Austin, Texas

6th April, 2009

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner, premiered in Los Angeles

11th April, 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man 2, directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, premiered in London

10th April, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, premiered in Toyko

10th April, 2017

Earth’s 1st contact with the extra-terrestrial Vulcan species in the Star Trek universe

5th April, 2063

Well there we have our picks for this week in film history between 5th – 11th April.

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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