at theaters: august 2, 1967

Opened in movie theaters 46 years ago today:

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT  (Rod Steiger, Sidney Poitier; directed by Norman Jewison)

Review: “Marvelous social thriller hasn’t dated one bit–tough, funny, and atmospheric, with unbeatable acting and splendid Quincy Jones score.”  —Leonard Maltin

Trivia: The first major Hollywood film in color that was lit with proper consideration for a person of African descent. Haskell Wexler recognized that standard strong lighting used in filming tended produce too much glare on that kind of dark complexion and rendered the features indistinct. Accordingly, Wexler toned it down to feature Poitier with better photographic results. —wikipedia

Quote: “There’s white time in jail and there’s colored time in jail. The worst kind of time you can do is colored time.”

> Where’s it playing?

starDate: peter o’toole

Peter O’Toole

Born: August 2, 1932, Ireland or England
Mother, father: nurse, metal worker/football player/bookmaker
As a child, was scared of: nuns
Served in : the Royal Navy
Film debut: THE DAY THEY ROBBED THE BANK OF ENGLAND (1959)
Nominated for: eight Academy Awards (no wins)
Recommended films as director: THE STUNT MAN, MY FAVORITE YEAR, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, BECKET…

movieDate: august 2, 1943

ON THIS DAY in 1943, during World War II, Lieutenant and later President John F. Kennedy saved all but two of his crew when their U.S. Navy torpedo boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer. This event was dramatized  in the 1963 biographical film, PT 109, starring Cliff Robertson.

> Where’s it playing?