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The History of American Cinema: 1966

September - December

20/9 -

The MPAA announce a new, more relaxed ‘code of self-regulation to reflect the more permissive times. The announcement states that "Brutality, illicit sex, indecent exposure, vulgar or profane words and gestures, and offensive treatment of religions and racial or national groups, are noted as subjects for restraint, but interpretation in all cases... including nudity, is left to the discretion of the administrators." [ADD]

12/10 -

Shirley Temple resigns from the San Francisco Film Festival selection board in protest against the planned screening of Mai Zetterling’s Nattlek (Night Games) which deals with the subject of incest. [ADD]

19/10 -

The stockholders of Paramount Pictures agree to accept an offer of $83 per share from Charles Bluhdorn’s Gulf & Western Industries, making it the first studio to be owned by a corporate conglomerate (accounting for less than 15% of its business). [ADD]

19/10 -

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau appear on screen together for the first time in Billy Wilder’s acerbic comedy The Fortune Cookie. [ADD]

2/11 -

The Justice Department in Washington rules that the acquisition of a large portion of shares in Columbia is illegal. US law prohibits the ownership of TV stations by foreign companies, and Columbia owns Screen Gems, a TV distribution company. [ADD]

9/11 -

Former actor Ronald Reagan is elected Republican governor of California with 58% of the vote. [ADD]

Nov -

The first made-for-TV feature-length film, Fame is the Name of the Game, is screened on NBC. [ADD]

1/12 -

Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls becomes the first underground film to be shown in a mainstream cinema when it plays at the Cinema Rendezvous in New York. [ADD]

7/12 -

After 22 years with the studio, veteran director Vincente Minelli leaves MGM. [ADD]

15/12 -

Walt Disney dies in Los Angeles at the age of 65 after suffering an acute circulatory collapse following surgery for the removal of a lung tumour. [ADD]

– The National Society of Film Critics is founded. [ADD]

– The Actors Studio West is established in Los Angeles. [ADD]

– In this year 80% of US films are produced outside of the studio system: 30% are independently produced, and 50% are runaway productions (i.e. shot overseas) [ADD]

– Over the past ten years, winners of the Best Film Oscar have been directed by men whose average age is 52. Over the next ten years the average age will fall to 38. [ADD]

Other Key American Films of 1966

The Group (Sidney Lumet) [ADD]

The Wild Angels (Roger Corman) [ADD]

The History of Cinema: 1966