Florida Winter: 1960, Part Nine

By the end of 1960, the United States of America had elected a new President, John F. Kennedy. At the cinemas, meanwhile, we were obsessed with sex and the mythologizing of nations. As witness:

Imitation Kurosawa: 1960, Part Eight

In October 1960, JFK floated the idea of a Peace Corps while Khruschev banged his shoe at the United Nations. And at the movies:

Got Me Feeling Like A...: 1960, Part Seven

In September 1960, OPEC is founded, The Flintstones premieres on ABC, and the first-ever televised presidential debate takes place between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. And there was much at the cinema, too, but the big story was Psycho.

Psycho was a bit of a gamble for director-producer Alfred Hitchcock, who insisted on making it, even when his parent studio Paramount balked. But Hitchcock loved a challenge, and making a commercial film out of a particularly nasty horror novel like Robert Bloch's was certainly one of his biggest. Ultimately, he filmed on the Universal lot, using the quick-acting crew from his then-popular television program, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, waving his usual fee in exchange for 60% stake, and financing much of it himself; Paramount would only have to distribute. He broke all the rules: the heroine was a criminal, the most sympathetic character is a serial killer, a toilet flushes on screen...he even broke the rules of exhibition, instilling a policy where, for fear of spoilers, no one was admitted into the cinema once the film had begun (at a time when people would wander freely once they bought a ticket - it's where the phrase, "This is where we came in," originated from). 

The film was, as you must know, a massive hit, which made Hitchcock's "deal" with Paramount a sound financial decision on his part. The sets used for the film are still on display and visited by thousands of tourists daily at Universal Studios Hollywood's Backlot Tour. Bernard Herrmann's iconic score and the shower scene it accompanies are recognizable even by people who've never seen the film, so often have they been referenced and parodied. But the original still entices, and there are retro screenings (like the one I attended back in 2000) all year round, all over the world . There are even action figures and computer games, three sequels and one remake, and a surprisingly well-received television adaptation. Psycho is its own economy, and it all started here, in September 1960 - among these films:

Roger Corman Double Feature: 1960, Part Six

August 1960 saw the continuing liberation of African colonies into their own nations - that was the theme of 1960, which was deemed the Year of Africa, but August saw the largest number: between August 1 and August 17, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Niger, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo (the great 2024 documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat gets into this), and Gabon all became liberated from France, and Dahomey from France and Portugal, joining seven other African nations that had decolonized earlier that year. Seventeen nations in all established independent governments by the end of the year. 

Meanwhile, at American cinemas...:

Genre Pics: 1960, Part Five

July 1960 saw the introduction of the 50-star flag of the United States of America, one year after Hawaii was welcomed as the 50th State. It ended with the Woolworth's counter officially serving its first Black customer and the Republicans naming Richard Nixon their nominee for President of the United States. Meanwhile, at the movies, one of cinema's greatest franchises began its eight-film, four-year run, cementing its star as the King of Horror...

Among other film releases, of course:

Delays: 1960, Part Four

Well, it's been a week, but things get busy in life. Let's return to Summer 1960.

In June 1960, two Best Picture nominees debuted in cinemas. One, The Apartment, would finish at #8 in the Top 10 Box Office Performers of the Year, win Best Picture, and inspire a Neil Simon-Burt Bacharach-Hal David musical called Promises, Promises, which won many Tonys across the decades and gave us "I'm Never Gonna Fall in Love Again." The other, Elmer Gantry, so burrowed into my brain when I watched it in college that I then read the book, gave the book to my mother, got the opera on CD from the library, plotted out a remake, and still quote to this day.

They are but two of the ten releases I want to talk about today:

Eight Years Later, The Year After: 1960, Part Three

In April 1960, the United States launched the first weather satellite, and in May 1960, the Soviets shot down an American plane and captured its pilot, while Mossad tracked Adolf Eichmann to Buenos Aires and kidnapped him. But most importantly, the Oscars for the films of 1959 were held, and we've covered that year...gosh. I thought maybe five years ago, at most, but: turns out it was almost a decade ago. And eight years later, we're here at one year after.

 Here's a taste of what April/May 1960 had to offer: