On 5 December 1963 the American
romantic thriller "Charade" premieres in the USA. The film,
directed by Stanley Donen and written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm,
stars Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn and
George Kennedy. The film was entirely filmed on location in Paris and
Megève. The musical score was written by Henry Mancini with animated
titles by Maurice Binder. Charade received very positive reviews, it
has been referred to as "the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock
never made."
At first Cary Grant, 59 at the time,
turned down the role because he felt he would be too old pursuing the
much younger Audrey Hepburn, 33 at the time. Screenwriter Peter Stone
reworked the script by removing all of the romantically aggressive
lines from Grant's character.
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Cary Grant
Synopsis
Regina "Reggie" Lampert
(Audrey Hepburn), on a skiing holiday in Megève, tells her friend
Sylvie Gaudel (Dominique Minot) that she will divorce her husband.
Afterwards she meets a charming stranger, Peter Joshua (Cary Grant).
When she returns to her flat in Paris she finds it completely empty.
Police inspector Edouard Grandpierre (Jacques Marin) notifies her
that Charles has been murdered...
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn
Main Cast
Audrey Hepburn as Regina Lampert
Cary Grant as Brian Cruikshank (alias
Peter Joshua, alias Alexander "Alex" Dyle, alias Adam
Canfield)
Walter Matthau as Carson Dyle (alias
Hamilton Bartholomew)
James Coburn as Tex Panthollow
George Kennedy as Herman Scobie
Thomas Chelimsky as Jean-Louis Gaudel
Dominique Minot as Sylvie Gaudel
Jacques Marin as Insp. Edouard
Grandpierre
Jacques Marin
George Kennedy and Cary Grant
Awards
Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Edgar for Best
Motion Picture: Peter Stone (US, 1964)
David di Donatello Award, Golden Plate
For the artistic contribution: Universal Pictures (Italy, 1964)
BAFTA Film Award for Best British
Actress: Audrey Hepburn (UK, 1965)
The French fashion designer Yves Saint
Laurent presents his first rather conservative collection under his
own label on 29 January 1962 at Hôtel Forain, rue Spontini 30bis
Paris. In July follows the second collection with more adventurous
items that hint at street chic, such as suits with tunics.
Yves Henri Donat
Matthieu-Saint-Laurent, born on 1 August 1936 in French Algeria, grew
up with his two younger sisters, Michèle and Brigitte. In his early
teen years he created dresses for his mother and sisters. At the age
of 18 in 1954 he went to the Ecole Chambre Syndicale de la Haute
Couture in Paris. In 1955 Yves Saint Laurent meets Christian Dior
and he begins working as his assistant. After a short while he starts
to design for Dior’s accessories lines and contributes ideas for
the couture collection.
Yves Saint Laurent Debut (1962)
Yves Saint Laurent Debut (1962)
Yves Saint Laurent Debut (1962)
On 23 October 1957 Christian Dior dies
of a heart attack and in November the company announces that Yves
Saint Laurent will be its new design head.
Yves Saint Laurent Debut (1962)
In January 1958 Yves Saint Laurent
presents his first couture collection for Dior, including his famous
trapeze dresses. The same year in August he shows his Arc Line
collection for Dior with looser silhouettes and longer,
below-the-knee hemlines.
Yves Saint Laurent Debut (1962)
Yves Saint Laurent Debut (1962)
In September 1960 Yves Saint Laurent
was conscripted to serve in the French Army during the Algerian War
of Independence. There was speculation that Marcel Boussac, owner of
Dior, had put pressure on the government not to conscript Saint
Laurent in 1958 and 1959 but reversed his demand and asked that the
designer be conscripted after the disastrous 1960 season so that he
could be replaced. Saint Laurent was in the military for 20 days when
he received news that he had been fired by Dior and replaced by Marc
Bohan. He suffers a mental breakdown and is admitted to Val-de-Grâce,
a psychiatric hospital in Paris.
Yves Saint Laurent Dress (1962)
Yves Saint Laurent Dress (1962)
After his release from the hospital in
November 1960, Saint Laurent sued Dior for breach of contract and
won. In November 1961 Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé
started their own fashion house with funds from Atlanta millionaire
J. Mack Robinson. Ukrainian-French painter, commercial poster artist,
and typeface designer, Adolphe Mouron Cassandre designed the iconic
"YSL" logo in December 1961
In 1961 Ford of Britain introduces the
new Ford Consul Classic (109E RHD / 110E LHD) ("Consul 315" as
export version). The car was intended to fill the gap between the
smaller Ford Anglia (105E) and the larger Ford (Consul) Cortina (Cortina
Mk I). The car was available with two or four doors. It had a four
headlamp front grille, Ford Anglia style "reverse slope"
rear window and large "gull wing" tail-fins. Mechanically
it was similar to the Anglia, and used a slightly larger 1340cc Ford
Kent Engine.
Predecessor: Ford Consul Mk II
Prototype Ford Consul Classic: Apollo with Ford Anglia nose
Prototype Ford Consul Classic: Apollo
Ford Consul Classic 2-doors
Ford Consul Classic 4-doors
Ford Consul Classic 4-doors
After only one year in production the
model was replaced by a slightly improved 116E (RHD) / 117E (LHD)
with a 1500cc Ford Kent engine.
The Ford Consul Capri, codename "Sunbird", was the two-door coupé version of the Classic. The
Consul Capri included four headlights, variable speed wipers, front
disc brakes, dimming dashboard lights, and a cigar lighter. The
four-speed transmission was available with either a column or a floor
gearchange. In February 1963 a GT version became available.
Prototype Ford Consul Capri: Sunbird
Prototype Ford Consul Capri: Sunbird
Ford Consul Capri
Ford Consul Capri
The Ford Consul Classic was was
replaced, after a three-year production, in 1963 by the Ford Corsair
which was based on the Ford (Consul) Cortina (Cortina Mk I). Only
111,225 Classics and 18,716 Capris were produced, making it one of
the rarest UK Fords.
Successor: Ford Corsair with 60s icons Jean Shrimpton and Jim Clark
On January 2, 1960 aged just 40,
Italian cyclist Angelo Fausto Coppi died in Tortona, Italy, after
contracting malaria during an exhibition race in Burkina Faso. Fausto
Coppi was the dominant cyclist before and after the Second World War.
His many successes earned him the title "Il Campionissimo"
("Champion of Champions"). He received a total of 130 victories
between 1940 and 1959.
Angelo Fausto Coppi was born in
Castellania on 15 September 1919 as one of five children of Domenico
Coppi and Angiolina Boveri. As a child he had a poor health and was
hardly interested in school. He left school age 13 to work for a
local butcher in Novi Ligure. Cycling to and from the butcher shop
and meeting cyclists interested him in racing. At the age of 15
Fausto rode and won his first amateur race. He took a racing licence
at the start of 1938 and won his first professional race, at
Castelleto d'Orba.
Fausto Coppi and his first racing cycle
His first career success was in 1940,
winning the Giro d'Italia at the age of 20. In 1942 he set a world
hour record (45.798 km at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan) which
stood for 14 years until it was broken by Jacques Anquetil in 1956.
His career was then interrupted by the Second World War. In 1946 he
resumed racing and achieved remarkable successes from 1946 to 1954
Coppi was never once recaught once he had broken away from the rest.
Fausto Coppi setting the hour record (1942)
Fausto Coppi and Jean Robic in the Tour de France (1952)
Fausto Coppi Tour de France Victory (1952)
Major Victories
Giro d'Italia five times (1940, 1947,
1949, 1952, 1953)
Tour de France twice (1949 and 1952)
World Championship (1953)
Giro di Lombardia five times (1946,
1949, 1948, 1949, 1954)
Milan – San Remo three times (1946,
1948, 1949)
Paris–Roubaix (1950)
La Flèche Wallonne (1950)
Setting the hour record (45.798 km,
1942)
Fausto Coppi (left) and rival Gino Bartali (right)
Sersi Coppi, Louison Bobet and Fausto Coppi
Fausto Coppi and Alfa Romeo 1900 (1952)
On 22 november 1945 Coppi married Bruna
Ciampolini and on 1 November 1947 their only daughter Marina Coppi
was born in Genova. The marriage with Bruna was not a happy one and
in 1948 Coppi had an affair with Giulia Occhini ("La Dama Bianca"),
the wife of an Italian doctor, Enrico Locatelli. Coppi and Occhini
married in Mexico, yet the marriage was never recognised in Italy.
Their only son, Angelo Fausto Maurizio Coppi, known as Faustino, was
born in Buenos Aires on May 13, 1955.
Marina Coppi and her father Fausto Coppi on a cycle (1952)
Fausto Coppi Victory at the World Championship
with Giulia Occhini, "La Dama Bianca" here in black (1953)
When Coppi returned to Italy just
before Christmas 1959, after taking part in celebrations for the
independence of Burkina Faso with other Italian and French cyclists,
he had a fever that he thought was a simple influenza. His doctors
thought likewise but Coppi had malaria from which he died. The French
rider, Raphaël Géminiani, who shared a room with Coppi during the
trip had the same symptoms, but he was treated in time with quinine
and survived. Fausto Coppi was buried in Castellania near the grave
of his brother Serse Coppi on 4 January 1960.
Fausto Coppi funeral: last farewell from Giulia Occhini ("La Dama Bianca") (1960)
The Italian film "Una gionata
particolare" ("A Special Day") premieres on the Cannes film
Festival on 17 May 1977. The Italian release followes on 12 August
1977. Directed by Ettore Scola the film stars Sophia Loren, Marcello
Mastroianni and John Vernon. The film is an Italian-Canadian
co-production, it figures on the list of the 100 Italian films to be
saved.
The film is set in Rome in 1938, it
follows a woman and her neighbor who stay home the day Adolf Hitler
visits Benito Mussolini. A film about war, family, tolerance, women's
condition, fanaticism, homosexuality, a story about humanity set in a
inhumane fascist background.
Sophia Loren as Antonietta
Synopsis
On 8 May 8 1938 Hitler visits Mussolini
in Rome. Antonietta (Sophia Loren) stays home doing domestic tasks
while her fascist husband Emanuele and her six children take of to
follow the parade. The whole building is empty only Gabriele
(Marcello Mastroianni), a neighbor across the complex stays at home.
Gabriele is a radio broadcaster who has been dismissed and is about
to be deported to Sardinia because of his anti-fascist opinion and
his homosexuality...
Marcello Mastroianni as Gabriele
Main Cast
Sophia Loren as Antonietta
Marcello Mastroianni as Gabriele
John Vernon as Emanuele
Françoise Berd as Caretaker
Patrizia Basso as Romana
Tiziano De Persio as Arnaldo
Maurizio Di Paolantonio as Fabio
Antonio Garibaldi as Littorio
Vittorio Guerrieri as Umberto
Alessandra Mussolini as Maria Luisa
Nicole Magny as Officer's Daughter
Marcello Mastroianni as Gabriele and Sophia Loren as Antonietta
Striking is the cameo of the then
14-year-old Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of the fascist
leader and a niece of lead actress Sophia Loren. The son of Benito
Mussolini is in fact married to a sister of Sophia Loren. Alessandra
plays the role of daughter Maria Luisa.
John Vernon as Emanuele and Alessandra Mussolini as Maria Luisa
Awards
National Board of Review Award for Top
Foreign Film (USA, 1977)
Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film:
Italy (USA, 1978)
César for Best Foreign Film (Meilleur
film étranger): Ettore Scola (France, 1978)
David di Donatello Award for Best
Director (Migliore Regia): Ettore Scola (Italy, 1978)
David di Donatello Award for Best
Actress (Migliore Attrice): Sophia Loren (Italy, 1978)
Golden Globe for Best Film (Miglior
Film): Ettore Scola (Italy, 1978)
Golden Globe for Best Actor (Migliore
Attore): Marcello Mastroianni (Italy, 1978)
Golden Globe for Best Actress (Migliore
Attrice): Sophia Loren (Italy, 1978)
Silver Ribbon (Italian National
Syndicate of Film Journalists) for Best Actress (Migliore Attrice
Protagonista): Sophia Loren (Italy, 1978)
Silver Ribbon (Italian National
Syndicate of Film Journalists) for Best Screenplay (Migliore
Sceneggiatura): Maurizio Costanzo, Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola
(Italy, 1978)
Silver Ribbon (Italian National
Syndicate of Film Journalists) for Best Musical Score (Migliore
Musica): Armando Trovajoli (Italy, 1978)
In December
1976 the first word processor for home computers, "Electric
Pencil", is released by Michael Shrayer. The original version was
created for the MITS Altair 8800 in
December 1976.
The TRS‑80 (Tandy/Radio Shack, Z-80
microprocessor) version was released almost two years later and it
dominated the market until the introduction of "Scripsit" by
Tandy/Radio Shack in 1978.
Michael Shrayer
Michael
Shrayer purchased an MITS Altair 8800 computer
kit in 1975. He expanded the Altair with a paper punch, video
display, and keyboard and began writing machine language programs.
What became known as "Electric Pencil" started as an improvement
to an editor assembler package called "Software Package 1" or "SP-1".
Shrayer decided he didn’t want to use a typewriter to write the
documentation for "SP-1" but to use his Altair instead. There were no
suitable programs available, so he decided to write his own.
MITS Altair 8800
The "Electric Pencil" program was
quite unique and Shrayer began selling it through his own company,
Michael Shrayer Software, Inc. By 1980 78 different versions were
created for different home computers and operating systems. "Electric
Pencil" remained on the market into the 1980s, including a version for
the IBM PC in 1983.
