This Day in Pop Culture for August 11

1934: The First Prisoners Come to Alcatraz

It was on this day in 1934 that the very first civilian prisoners were sent to the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. Now considered a tourist attraction near San Francisco, Alcatraz was designed to hold the worst of the worst bank robbers, murderers and other offenders including Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman) and George “Machine Gun” Kelly to name a few.

The first group of 137 prisoners arrived on the island at 9:40 a.m. The staff were highly trained in security but lack rehabilitation skills. During its 29 years of operation, 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, but no prisoner successfully made it off the island (however there are five listed as “missing and presumed drowned” but no one know for sure). (Image: Wikimedia)

2021: Goofy Game Show: ‘Family Game Fight’

Following in the steps of Ellen’s Game of Games, Family Game Fight! starred real-life married couple, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard who not only hosted the show, but participated in it as well.

Here, two families of four would compete against each other with the help of the hosts in a battle to win $100,000. Not only was the show similar to Ellen DeGeneres’ show, it was also executively produced by her. Games included in the series included “Air Heads” (where contestants were blasted in the face with air due to a wrong answer), “Between the Sheets” (where the hosts lying in a bed wearing blindfolds had to find hidden objects under their sheets and describe them to each other) and “Brain Freeze” (where wrong answer led to all team members getting ice water pour down their backs).

2016: The Rebirth of ‘Pete’s Dragon’

Disney’s live action movie with an animated dragon is a beloved movie of many. However, the 1977 Pete’s Dragon pales in comparison to more successful movies like Mary Poppins. It opened to mixed reviews by critics. So, it was surprising to learn that the studio decided to do a remake of the film. As it turns out, the remake looks nothing like the original tale.

The original movie was set during the early 1900’s while the new film is a modern tale. The older movie was a musical and remake was not.

While the first movie’s plot took place in Maine, the second was set in the Pacific Northwest. The 1977’s dragon was a 2D cartoon while the 2016 version featured a one that was furry instead of sporting dragon scales.

The new Dragon starred Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford and newcomer Oakes Fegley as Pete. Despite its good reviews and improved script, it failed to make much of an impact in theaters.

1937: Émile Zola’s Life

Directed by William Dieterie, The Life of Émile Zola is a biographical movie about French author Émile Zola. The movie starred Paul Muni as Zola telling the story of his career as an author, his friendship with the painter Paul Cézanne, his achievement writing the novel, Nana and his involvement in the Dreyfus affair. The movie also starred Gloria Holden, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut and Vladimir Sokoloff.

The Life of Émile Zola was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won three. It was the second biographical movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture. It also won for Best Supporting Actor (Schildkraut) and Best Screenplay. (Image: Wikipedia)