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Gifted writer William Goldman had first come across the story of Butch Cassidy in the late fifties, and was immediately taken with it.

Marvin Neil Simon was born on Independence Day, 1927 in the Bronx. His father Irving was a garment salesman who struggled to make a living during the Depression. He also had a volcanic marriage to wife Mamie; young Neil would always remember putting his pillow over his ears during their many screaming matches.

As far as legendary tough guy actor Lino Ventura is concerned, to know him is to love him. The question is, do you know him? If not, you should. He happens to be a personal favorite of mine, and I want others to recognize — or be reminded of — just how talented he was. All it takes is watching some of his best films.

In the years after the smashing success of Mike Nichols’s “The Graduate” (1967), Anne Bancroft came to believe that her portrayal of Mrs. Robinson, the bored middle-aged wife and mother who seduces newly minted college grad Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), overshadowed the rest of her career.

In my childhood, one of the movies that made me fall in love with movies was “North by Northwest” (1959). To my young, dazzled eyes, this film had everything: color, sweep, excitement, suspense, romance, humor, handsome scenery and even handsomer stars. It grabbed me from the first moment and never let me go. It was the most thrilling movie I had seen up to that time.

With the gradual passing of opening movie credits, we also lost a vital element that distinguishes many so-called “classic” movies: the original music score, including a heroic, memorable opening theme. What’s the last film you remember that had a score you could hum while walking home from the theater — a piece of music you knew you'd always remember and associate with the film?

Sir Anthony Hopkins, the scarily brilliant actor who played the scarily brilliant Hannibal Lecter in 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs,” turns 80 this New Year’s Eve.