Double the Terror! "The Giant Gila Monster" and "The Killer Shrews" released in 1959!

Wow!  Imagine what it was like June 25, 1959 when two B&W horror classics were released the same day!  "The Giant Gila Monster" and "The Killer Shrews" were thrust upon an unsuspecting public. Oh, the terror!  The horror!

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan released 1982

I'm glad to read I'm not the only one who thinks this is the best movie out all the ones with the  cast from original Star Trek.  "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan" was released June 4, 1982, was a sequel to the original series episode "Space Seed" starring Ricardo Montalban.  The difference in release dates between "Space Seed" and "Star Trek II" is 15 years, which is the same difference in the time in which these events are to have happened.

Ricardo Montalban did not wear a prosthetic chest.  That's his real chest, folks!

"Godzilla Raids Again" released 1955

Following on the heels of the success of "Godzilla", Toho managed to film and release "Godzilla Raids Again" in less than six months after the original release. It would be May 1955 before American audiences would get to see it as "Gigantis, the Fire Monster". WTF?

It is the only film in which Godzilla's spines do not glow while he is releasing his radioactive breath.  It is also the only Godzilla film in which George Takei (Lt. Hikaru Sulu from Star Trek) appears.

First Oklahoma Land Run April 22, 1889

The first of five Oklahoma Land Runs started at noon April 22, 1889.  On March 3, 1889 President Benjamin Harrison declared 1.9 million acres, the present day counties of Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma and Payne, would be open for settlement at noon April 22.  No one was supposed to jump the gun.  People started lining up seven weeks before the date, and by the start date 50,000 "Boomers"  were camped at the borders.

A gun was fired precisely at noon and by nightfall, the towns of Norman, Oklahoma City, Kingfisher, and Guthrie had sprung up.  Some people had entered the area before the gun was fired and cases against  these "Sooners" clogged up the courts for years.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-oklahoma-land-rush-begins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rush_of_1889

First Space Shuttle Launched 1981!

The launch of the first space shuttle, Columbia (STS-1), took place April 12, 1981, with Commander John Young and Pilot Bob Crippen on board.  They orbited the earth 37 times in just over 2 days.  By coincidence, Columbia was launched on the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic spaceflight in Vostok 1. 

"King Kong" released in 1933

The original motion picture "King Kong" was released April 7, 1933 to record crowds, essentially bringing RKO back from the edge of bankruptcy. It grossed $90,000 its first weekend, which was a record at that time.

Over time, the movie has been edited to delete some clips, but most of them have been restored.  All except one: the man-eating spiders.  When the movie was first released, the scene where King Kong knocks sailors off a log and into a ravine where they are eaten alive by giant monsters upset many of the movie-goers and many left the theatre.  The director Merian C. Cooper removed the clip the very next day.  This clip has never been found.  For the remake in 2005, Peter Jackson recreated this scene magnificently. 

Here is Jackson's recreation:

First Jazz recording released 1917

Every now and then, I come across a gem of a story like this one, something that I haven't known of before.  On March 7, 1917, the first jazz recording, by the Original Dixieland Jass Band was released for sale in the US.  It featured Nick LaRocca on trumpet, Larry Shields on clarinet, Eddie Edwards on trombone, Henry Ragas on piano and Tony Sbarbaro on drums. 

The song was Dixieland Jass Band One-Step, an instrumental.  I found a recording of it (see below).  Listen for the clarinet!  Wow!

"Airport" released 1970

The movie that started it all, "Airport" was released March 5, 1970.  Three forgettable sequels followed, the fourth and last was one of the worst movies ever.  A pity, since the orginal with an all-star cast including the recently passed George Kennedy.  Helen Hayes won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and Maureen Stapleton won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

The Pointer Sisters release "That's A Plenty" 1974

The Pointer Sisters released their second studio album, That's A Plenty, February 1974.  It was their second album to be certified gold.  All four sisters lent their voices to the album.  The song "Fairytale" became a cross-over hit on the country charts, which allowed them to be the first African-American vocal group to perform at the Grand Ole Opry!  You go, girls!

"The Fog" released 1980

Okay, I admit it.  This is one of my guilty pleasures, "The Fog" was released February 8, 1980.  I saw this for the first time on a black & white television on an OKC station. It wasn't as scary as the station led us to believe but it was interesting enough to grab my attention.  The remake in 2005 with Tom Welling (Superman) was good.  I enjoyed it, but the campy plot-hole ridden original was the best.

"Planet of the Apes" released 1968

One of the classic sci-fi movies, Planet of the Apes, was released February 8, 1968.  It starred Charleston Heston in his first nude scene and still had only a 'G' rating!  Go figure!

The movie's line "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape." was voted as the #66 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100). 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063442/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv

Ingrid Berman was offered the role of Zira but turned it down.  She regretted her decision when the movie became a success and she would have had a chance to star opposite Charlton Heston.

Here's the 66th most classic movie quote of all time.

"Blazing Saddles" released in 1974

"Blazing Saddles", released February 7, 1974, was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for Madeline Kahn.  This is one of my favorite movies of all time.  Bravo has listed it as #9 on a list of the funniest movies of all time.  WTF are the first eight?

Here is one reason Madeline Kahn was nominated for an Oscar.  I liked Ingrid Bergman in "Murder On the Orient Express" but Madeline was on screen much longer than 8 minutes, so she clearly should've got the Oscar.

Walt Disney releases "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1938

February 4, 1938, Walt Disney Studios released "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", its first full-length animated feature.  Adjusted for inflation, it's the highest grossing movie to date.  It is also the first movie to have a soundtrack recording album released with it.


If it was only this easy:

Luna 9 makes a soft landing on the moon, 1966

A replica of Luna 9

The Soviet space program managed to make a soft landing on the moon, February 3, 1966 with Luna 9.  The previous successful venture by the Soviets was Luna 3 which circled the moon in 1956 and send back images of the 'dark' side.  After that, they had several failures in a row to make a soft landing on the moon.  Luna 4 and Luna 6 both missed the moon, and now Luna 6 is somewhere out there in the cosmos.  Lunas 5, 7 and 8 all crashed onto the moon's surface.  Finally, Luna 9 was successful, landing in Oceanus Procellarum.  It sent signals for 3 days before Earth lost contact with it.

Apollo 1 disaster in 1967

Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, Lt. Col. Edward H. White, the astronaut who had performed the first United States extravehicular activity during the Gemini program; and Roger B. Chaffee, an astronaut preparing for his first space flight, died during a test when a fire swept through the capsule. They died of cardiac arrest brought on by high levels of carbon monoxide.

The review board charged with investigating the accident identified five major factors which combined to cause the fire and the astronauts' deaths:

• An ignition source most probably related to exposed electrical wiring and leak-prone plumbing
• Pure oxygen atmosphere at high pressure
• Flammable materials in the cabin
• A hatch cover which could not be quickly removed at high pressure
• Inadequate emergency preparedness

The Apollo program was grounded for a while until significant  changes to the design of the capsule could be conducted.

Def Leppard releases "Pyromania" in 1983

Def Leppard released their third studio album, "Pyromania" January 20, 1983, one of my most favorite albums of all time.  It was the first to feature Phil Collen on guitar.  It reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 18 on the UK Albums chart.  It sold over ten million copies in the US, and was certified diamond by Recording Industry Association of America.  "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph" both reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart.

"The Book of Eli" released in 2010

This film is one of my guilty pleasures and I can think of a lot of worse things to do than watch Denzel Washington for a couple of hours.  I like the post-apocalyptic theme in movies and books, even though they're always depressing.  "The Book of Eli" did have some sort of hope for the future of mankind.

In this scene, Professor Dumbledore and Madame Olympe Maxime help Eli battle Sirius Black and his group of thugs.

Disney releases "20000 Leagues Under the Sea" in 1954

On December 23, 1954, Walt Disney Studios released its classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", recording the first ever video-bomb by a shark!

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" premiered in 1966

One of the most beloved Christmas specials of all time, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", first aired December 18, 1966.

"Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" released in 2001

This one ranks down at the bottom of my list, just above "Godzilla's Revenge".  I mean, come on, guys!!  King Ghidorah as a good guy and the G-Man is evil?  How much sake had you been drinking that day?

Here's the trailer in Japanese.  Makes about as much sense as the rest of the movie.