Sunday is Mother’s Day which highlights our 7 day celebration of births, deaths, notable moments in history and holidays. As a side note, if you don’t heed the advice of MHT for what the best choice to watch for Mother’s Day and instead go with the actual 2016 movie Mother’s Day, do me (and your mother) one favor. Don’t torture your mother by making her watch it, too. Let’s see what is happening this week:
May 12: The Body of the Lindbergh Baby is Found (1932)
Watch: Crime of the Century (1996)
Available on Amazon & iTunes
The nation was stunned when the baby of Charles Lindbergh was abducted, held for ransom and found murdered on May 12, 1932. Two years later, Richard Hauptmann was arrested, convicted and eventually executed. The HBO movie Crime of the Century details the crime, investigation and trial. The Golden Globe and Emmy nominated film asserts the possibility that Hauptmann was framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
May 13: Daphne Du Maurier Was Born (1907)
Watch: The Birds (1963)
Available on Amazon & iTunes
Daphne Du Maurier was a famed novelist who released books from the 1930s until her death in 1989. Her work has been developed into many films including My Cousin Rachel which is expected in theaters on June 9th. In the meantime, if you’d like to get more familiar with Du Maurier’s work but aren’t much of a reader, there are plenty of options including the Academy Award winning Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman’s Creek, Hungry Hill, The Scapegoat and Don’t Look Now. Even My Cousin Rachel already received the film treatment in the 1950s which makes the 2017 version a remake of sorts. Alfred Hitchcock (who also made Rebecca and Jamaica Inn) directed The Birds which is based on a short story Du Maurier wrote and even though she wasn’t the biggest fan of the film, The Birds was recognized as the 7th greatest thriller of all time by the American Film Institute.
May 14: Mother’s Day
Watch: Terms of Endearment (1983)
Available on Amazon & iTunes
After taking mom to brunch, grab a box of tissues and pull up a few seats to watch the 1983 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. If you are somehow not familiar with the film, the cast features Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, Danny DeVito and John Lithgow and the film was written and directed by James L. Brooks. Burt Reynolds was the original choice for the supporting role Jack Nicholson later took on and turned into a Best Supporting Actor winning performance. As Reynolds stated, “There are no awards in Hollywood for being an idiot.”
May 15: Governor George Wallace Shot (1972)
Watch: George Wallace (1997)
Available on Amazon & iTunes
On a campaign stop in Laurel, Maryland in 1972, Alabama Governor and presidential candidate George Wallace was shot and paralyzed from the waist down. Wallace had a long and storied political career up until that point and it is captured in the 1997 television movie George Wallace which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries/Motion Picture Made for TV as well as won Gary Sinise an Emmy for his portrayal of Wallace and Angelina Jolie a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Wallace’s second wife Cornelia.
May 16: First Academy Awards Takes Place (1929)
Watch: Wings (1927)
Available on Amazon & iTunes
Sure, you could cheat and watch a more recent Academy Award winner in recognition of the anniversary of the first Academy Awards. The first winner of Best Picture was Wings and should be the one you take in if you really want to do it right. The silent war film starred Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen and a 26-year old Gary Cooper. Wings beat out The Racket and 7th Heaven most likely making it the first Academy Award winner people thought shouldn’t have won… but that’s every year, isn’t it? Remember, if you decide to cheat, La La Land didn’t win.
May 17: Brown vs. Board of Education is Decided (1954)
Watch: Separate But Equal (1991)
Available on Amazon, iTunes & Netflix
It might be 3 hours and 10 minutes long but Separate But Equal is worthy of watching if you’d like a detailed dramatization of the court case that dismantled the legal validity of racial segregation. The miniseries starred Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster, Richard Kiley and Cleavon Little. The landmark case changed the landscape of the U.S. and paved the way for the civil rights movement.
May 18: Facebook Raises $16 Billion in Largest Tech IPO in U.S. History (2012)
Watch: The Social Network (2010)
Available on Amazon & iTunes
If you don’t know what Facebook is, I’m not really sure how you found this fledgling website. However, if you want the dramatically altered history of how Facebook was created with a heavy dollop of Aaron Sorkin, you should check out The Social Network. The 2010 film became only the third film in history (joining Schindler’s List and L.A. Confidential) to win the big four critic’s awards for Best Picture and also took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture – Drama. It was also nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture and won 3 but lost out to The King’s Speech for the top prize.