We have a big day for music today. But ultimately, the day belongs to a filmmaker.

On this day in 1853, the great French composer Andre Messager was born. He wrote very lively and lyrical compositions like Solo de concours, which we hear here:

Rock music innovator Bo Diddley was born in 1928. He was one of the most important people responsible from changing the blues into rock music. Here he is doing his signature song “Bo Diddley”:

The singer-songwriter Patti Smith is 67 today. Here she is back in 1976 doing “Horses” and Billy Roberts’ “Hey Joe”:

Other birthdays: painter Louis-Jean-Francois Lagrenee (1724); Miss America host Bert Parks (1914); singer-songwriter Del Shannon (1934); bluegrass musician John Hartford (1937); singer Davy Jones (1945); comedian Tracey Ullman (54); and golfer Tiger Woods (38).

The day, however, belongs to the great film director Carol Reed who was born in 1906. He is known for films such as Odd Man Out, The Fallen Idol, and the musical Oliver! But I mostly know him for having directed one of my very favorite films, The Third Man.

Here is the trailer for The Third Man. It is absolutely terrible. “He’ll have you in a dither with his zither”? Oh my God! But the film really is great. Like The Fallen Idol, it was written by Graham Greene. If you have never seen it, you really must. And if you have, it is worth watching again. It is always even better than you remember:

Happy birthday Carol Reed!