April 12, 1911: Cartoonist Winsor McCay brings his popular Little Nemo in Slumberland characters to animated life in Little Nemo and the Princess.
April 10, 1915: The controversy over D.W. Griffith‘s portrayal of blacks in The Birth of a Nation rages on, as thousands protest the film.
April 7, 1927: Upon the centenary of the military leader’s death, French director Abel Gance releases an epic achievement, the landmark Napoleon.
April 12, 1932: The first “all-star” (John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, et al.) movie, MGM’s Oscar-winning Grand Hotel, opens.
April 11, 1938: The first step towards industry child labor reform is taken when The Kid star Jackie Coogan sues his mother and stepfather to recover his earnings.
April 10, 1952: Gene Kelly eschews bumbershoot and poncho for his most famous dance number in Singin’ in the Rain.
April 11, 1955: Marty, the first film made from a TV teleplay, opens and will go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
April 7, 1960: Respected British director Michael Powell comes under fire for his latest, Peeping Tom, a psychological drama about a deranged killer.
April 10, 1972: A grateful Charlie Chaplin, 82, takes the stage at L.A.’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to accept an honorary Academy Award for his body of work.
April 9, 1975: Arthurian legend will never be the same, as the outrageous comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail opens in London.
April 8. 2011: Sidney Lumet, director of Dog Day Afternoon and Network, dies at 86 from cancer.
April 8, 2013: Former Mousketeer and Beach Party co-star Annette Funicello passes away from complications of multiple sclerosis at the age of 70.