February 14, 1927: Director Alfred Hitchcock first tries his hand at suspense with The Lodger, based on the Jack the Ripper murders.
February 15, 1927: Whatever “It” is, starlet Clara Bow has it in abundance, as can be seen in director Clarence Badger’s film of that name.
February 14, 1931: In a role he made all his own on Broadway for three years, Bela Lugosi is Dracula, in Tod Browning’s film version of Bram Stoker’s classic novel.
February 10, 1940: Cartoon cat-and-mouse antagonists Tom (known in the film as Jasper) and Jerry make their debut in MGM’s Puss Gets the Boot.
February 15, 1943: Pin-up queen Betty Grable leaves impressions of her legendary legs in cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
February 13, 1959: Two weeks into the shooting of Spartacus, producer/star Kirk Douglas fires director Anthony Mann and replaces him with Stanley Kubrick.
February 12, 1976: Rebel Without a Cause co-star Sal Mineo, 37, is found stabbed to death in the parking lot outside his West Hollywood apartment.
February 10, 1982: The German WWII submarine drama Das Boot (The Boat) opens in America and becomes the most popular foreign film to date.
February 15, 1985: John Hughes taps into ’80s teen zeitgeist with his detention dramedy The Breakfast Club, starring Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson.
February 13, 1991: Anthony Hopkins is serial killer Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster an FBI trainee in Jonathan Demme‘s intense thriller The Silence of the Lambs, which opens today.