If you have nothing better to do

They' re celebrating the 10th International NYC Pickle Day down on Ludlow Street.

You really have to have an empty calendar if this is jumping out at you.


October 17, 1956-
Producer Michael Todd's adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, premiered in New York on this date.



Orson Welles was a upset he did not get a cameo in the film because Michael Todd produced a stage version by Welles. The play flopped but Todd turned the project into a film anyway and it enjoyed great success. Welles felt he gave the idea to Todd in the first place.


October 17, 1966 -
Another iconic film from the 60's, Georgy Girl, starring James Mason, Lynn Redgrave, and Alan Bates, premiered in the US on this date.



Vanessa Redgrave backed out of the role of Georgy just before shooting started. Lynn Redgrave (her sister) picked it up.


Today in History:
The Sixth Crusade ended on this date in 1244 after the Saracens ("Infidels") defeated the Franks ("Infidels") at Gaza.

But you know after the Fourth Crusade, I just stop counting.


October 17, 1777 -
At one of the turning points of the American Revolution, British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American Gen. Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y.

The surrender demonstrating American determination to gain independence. After the surrender, France sided with the Americans, and other countries began to get involved and align themselves against Britain.


October 17, 1967 -
The play Hair, full of dancing naked people, unshaved armpits, and body odor, opens at the 299-seat Anspacher Theater on Broadway. At the time, the musical's depiction of the use of illegal drugs, sexuality, profanity, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy.



The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of the "rock musical", utilizing a racially-integrated cast, and by inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-in" finale.


October 17, 1939 -
In the year that is considered the apex of the Golden age of Hollywood, Frank Capra's contribution, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was released on this date.



This was the role of a lifetime for Jimmy Steward (at the time) and it cemented his All-American wholesome imagine. I have a different read on his character and perhaps many of Steward's characters. There is something almost psychotic about his determination and earnestness.

Go back and watch the film.


October 17, 1944 -
The little known and under appreciated drama directed by Clifford Odets, None But the Lonely Heart, was released on this date.



This was Cary Grant's favorite film role. Unfortunately, the public always typecasting Grant as either the Romantic or Comic lead, didn't buy him in this dramatic role and the film flopped.


October 17, 1979 -
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Roman Catholic nun who cared for the sick and poor, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

But what she really wanted to do was direct.


October 17, 1984 -
The New York Times runs an article entitled "CIA Primer Tells Nicaraguan Rebels How to Kill." The story describes the secret manual Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare which the CIA furnished to the Contras in Nicaragua.

The booklet instructed how to kidnap and assassinate civil officials, such as judges and police.

Barnes and Noble no longer sells the primer and you cannnot back order it.

Sorry.


October 17, 1986 -
Congress passed a landmark immigration bill, the first U.S. law authorizing penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens.



Green card, I don't gotta show you no stinking green card.



And so it goes