This Week In Film History: 06.13.10
June 19, 1905: The first “nickelodeon” opens its doors, on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh, charging a five-cent fee. First attraction: The Great Train Robbery.
June 16, 1916: The merger of Famous Players and Jesse Lasky Feature Play Co. brings together Lasky, Adolph Zukor and Samuel Goldfish (Goldwyn).
June 13, 1935: RKO’s Becky Sharp is released, becoming the first feature film to be shot entirely in three-color Technicolor.
June 13, 1936: Thirteen-year-old Edna Mae Durbin is signed to a contract by Universal. A month later her name will be changed to “Deanna.”
June 16, 1943: Over the objections of her playwright father, Eugene, 18-year-old Oona O’Neill weds 54-year-old Charlie Chaplin.
June 16, 1960: Unprecedented secrecy surrounds the opening of Alfred Hitchcock‘s Psycho, with the director stipulating no patron be admitted once the film starts.
June 17, 1970: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, sexploitation maestro Russ Meyer‘s first major studio film (co-written by critic Roger Ebert), opens.
June 15, 1988: The diamond-themed comedy Bull Durham, with Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, spurs a revival of interest in minor-league baseball.