Social and Historical Timeline:

Here is a list of important dates and films released around that time, based on real life events, the films may not relate to that time period:

• 1922—Joyce's Ulysses published
• 1927—Farnsworth demonstrates working model of a television; Lemaitre proposes big bang theory
• 1928—Fleming discovers penicillin
• 1929—Hubble proposes theory of expanding universe; U.S. stock market crash precipitates global depression
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• 1936—Keynes's The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
• 1939—Hitler invades Poland; World War II begins
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• 1942—Nazi leaders at Wannsee Conference coordinate “final solution to the Jewish question”
• 1945—Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; first electronic computer, ENIAC, is built; Arab League launches modern pan-Arabism
• 1946—First meeting of U.N. General Assembly; Churchill's “Iron Curtain” speech marks beginning of cold war
• 1947—Gandhi's civil disobedience movement leads to an independent India
• 1949—Communist victory in China under Mao Zedong
Films released in 1940
• Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) — Story of George M. Cohan, the actor-singer-dancer-playwright-songwriter-producer-theatre owner-director-choreographer known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway"
• Sergeant York (1941) — Story of Sergeant Alvin York, the most decorated American soldier of World War I.
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• 1950s—Abstract expressionism introduced
• 1953—Watson, Crick, and Franklin discover DNA's structure
• 1954—Brown v. Board of Education begins unravelling of U.S. racial segregation
• 1957—Russia launches first satellite, Sputnik I
• 1959—Mary and Louis Leakey uncover hominid fossils

Films released in the 50’s
• Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) is a film detailing the life of silent movie actor Lon Chaney, Sr.
• The Dam Busters (1955) - story of the famous raids against German dams in World War II.
• All About Eve (1950)
• To Hell and Back (film) (1955) - Story of Audie Murphy, America's most decorated soldier.
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• 1969—Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the Moon; Internet (ARPA) goes online
Films released in the 60’s
• The Great Escape (1963) — Allied prisoners stage a mass breakout of Stalag Luft III.
• The Longest Day (1962) - Story of the WWII D-Day Invasion.
• The Miracle Worker (1962) — Story of Helen Keller.
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• 1980—Smallpox eradicated
• 1981—Scientists identify AIDS
• 1989—Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
Films released in the 80’s
• Glory (1989) — Based on the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. Directed by Edward Zwick.
• Mississippi Burning — Based on the FBI investigation following the 1964 slayings of three political activists. Directed by Alan Parker.
• The Accused (1988) — Based on the 1983 rape of Cheryl Araujo at Big Dan's Tavern in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
• Nayagan (1987) — Based on the life of Underworld Don Varadarajan Mudaliar.
• The Last Emperor (1987) - Based on the life of Chinese emperor Pu Yi.
• Cry Freedom (1987) - Based on the life of South African activist Steve Biko.
• The Untouchables (1987) - Loosely based on the 1930s crackdown on Chicago gangster Al Capone by FBI agent Elliott Ness.
• Hoosiers (1986) — Based loosely on the story of the 1953-54 Milan High School basketball team, winners of that year's Indiana state high school basketball championship despite representing a school of about 160 students.
• The Delta Force (1986) — Based heavily on the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985. Directed by Menahem Golan.
• At Close Range (1986) — Based on rural Pennsylvania crime family led by Bruce Johnston, Sr. Directed by James Foley.
• Marie (1985) — Based on Marie Ragghianti's exposure of the 1970s Tennessee parole board scandals; adapted from the book Marie: A True Story by Peter Maas.
• The Right Stuff (1983) - Based on Tom Wolfe's 1979 book about the test pilots involved in early high-speed aeronautical research and the United States' first attempt at manned spaceflight.
• 10 to Midnight (1983) - Parallels the murders committed by Richard Speck. Directed by J. Lee Thompson.
• The Entity (1981) - Based on the book by Frank deFelitta. Directed by Sidney J. Furie.
• Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) — Adapted from the book by Loretta Lynn and George Vecsey. Directed by Michael Apted.
• The Elephant Man (1980) — Story of Joseph Merrick. Directed by David Lynch.
• Amadeus (1984)- Adapted for the screen by Peter Shaffer, who also wrote the play on which it was based. Directed by Milos Forman. The film was based upon the theory that composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was murdered by fellow composer Antonio Salieri

I am at this moment doing some more research for newer films and historical events to link them to.

SIDENOTE: My Alfred Hitchcock time line is not on the blog as it is on a separate sheet.