This Day in Pop Culture for October 7

1982: From Broadway Gold to Movie Flop

If we’ve learned anything about the Broadway musical Cats, it’s that some things just don’t translate to film.

T.S. Eliot originally wrote his poetry book, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, for his godchildren. The book was a childhood favorite of Andrew Lloyd Webber who created the musical stage show, Cats of which it is based. The show doesn’t feature any dialogue outside of the song numbers and the thin storyline is loosely built around the poems.

Cats features a group of felines called the Jellicles who gather every year for an event called the “Jellicle choice” where the group decides which one of the cats will be chosen to ascend to the Heaviside Layer (aka heaven). Each of the poems introduces another cat. It is most famous for the song “Memory” which was originally portrayed by Betty Buckley of Eight is Enough fame.

Cats premiered in London on May 11, 1981, and on Broadway on this day in 1982. A huge hit, the American production ran through September 10, 2000. Even so, America has had a love/hate relationship with musical. On the sitcom Caroline in the City, which aired on NBC from 1995-1998, one of Caroline’s neighbors was a “cat” in the stage production and the sitcom often poked fun of the show.

The musical was first adapted to a direct-to-video film in 1998 before it was developed for a feature film in 2019. The movie starred James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson and Francesca Hayward. Simply put – it was not a hit.

Critics and audiences pretty much hated the movie. As for Webber, he said that film convinced him to get a therapy dog. But the legacy of Cats continues on. A new version of the show debuted off-Broadway in 2024. (Images: TVDB)

1960: ‘Spartacus’ Arrives in Theaters

A historic scene from the film 'Spartacus' featuring Kirk Douglas leading a group of warriors on horseback, holding swords and preparing for battle. — *(TVDB)*

Inspired by the true-life events of a leader of a slave revolt during the Third Servile War, Spartacus arrived in movie theaters on this day. Kirk Douglas played the title role, and the movie also stars Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Jean Simmons and Tony Curtis.

Director Anthony Mann was removed after three weeks of shooting and was replaced with Stanley Kubrick. It became the only film that Kubrick directed where he did not have complete artistic control.

The screenwriter for the film, Dalton Trumbo, was blacklisted at the time in Hollywood. John F. Kennedy, who was the President-elect at the time, crossed the American Legion picket line to watch the film as a way of protesting the blacklisting.

Spartacus won four Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ustinov), Art Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design. Spartacus became a huge hit for Universal Studios that wasn’t surpassed until 1970’s Airport.

1971: “The French Connection” Begins

Based on Robin Moore’s nonfiction book of the same name, The French Connection is about two New York Police Department detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) and their takedown of a heroin smuggler who just so happen to also be French. Many believe that the movie is one the best movies ever made not to mention one of cinema’s best car chases.

Opening on this day in 1971, The French Connection was nominated for eight Academy Awards. It won five for Best Picture, Director (William Friedkin), Actor (Hackman), Screenplay (based on material from another medium) and Film Editing.

Four years later, Hackman and Scheider resumed their roles (the only two from the first film) for the sequel. French Connection II was directed by John Frankenheimer. Although it was a worthy second chapter and did well in the theaters, it didn’t have the same impact as the first.

Then in 1986, Popeye Doyle, a made-for-TV movie was shown on NBC as a sequel to both films. It starred Ed O’Neill. The hope was for the film to be turned into a regular series, but it wasn’t picked up.