Curated category
American black-and-white films
- Psycho (1960 film)Alfred Hitchcock acquired the rights to Robert Bloch's 1959 novel for $9,500 in 1960. He faced a studio system that refused his usual budget and rejected his…
- Othello (1951 film)Shooting began in 1949 when the original Italian producer announced bankruptcy on one of the first days. Orson Welles poured his own money into the project…
- The Day the Earth Stood StillIn 1951, a flying saucer landed on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The United States Army surrounded it with tanks and soldiers.
- City LightsIn 1928, the film industry was rapidly shifting toward sound. Charlie Chaplin chose to ignore this trend when he began developing City Lights.
- Flash Gordon (serial)Alex Raymond launched the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934, introducing readers to a hero who would soon conquer cinema.
- Citizen KaneOn the 21st of August 1939, Orson Welles signed a contract with RKO Pictures that granted him unprecedented creative control.
- Macbeth (1948 film)In 1947, Orson Welles began promoting the notion of bringing a Shakespeare drama to the motion picture screen. He initially attempted to pique Alexander…
- Paths of GloryStanley Kubrick purchased the film rights to Humphrey Cobb's 1935 novel Paths of Glory for ten thousand dollars. The book itself drew from a real historical…
- The Birth of a NationD. W. Griffith began filming on the 4th of July 1914 and finished by October 1914. The production used approximately 150,000 feet of footage to create a…
- High NoonCarl Foreman wrote a four-page plot outline that became the foundation for High Noon. This outline closely mirrored The Tin Star, a 1947 short story by John…
- The General (1926 film)In 1862, eight Union spies stole a Confederate locomotive named the General during the American Civil War. They traveled northward for over one hundred miles…
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)Max Reinhardt arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Austria before directing his 1934 stage production at the Hollywood Bowl.
- Operator 13Richard Boleslawski directed Operator 13 in 1934 during the pre-Code era of American cinema. The film was based on stories written by Robert W.
- The Red Badge of Courage (1951 film)Stephen Crane published his novel The Red Badge of Courage in 1895. John Huston and Albert Band turned that text into a screenplay for the 1951 film.