On this day in movie history - The Bishop Murder Case (1929):

The Bishop Murder Case,

directed by David Burton and Nick Grinde,

written by S.S. Van Dine and Lenore J. Coffee,

based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine,

was released in the United States on December 31, 1929.
Music by William Axt.

Cast:
Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams, Roland Young, Alec B. Francis, George F. Marion, Zelda Sears, Bodil Rosing, Carroll Nye, Charles Quatermaine, James Donlan, Sidney Bracey, Clarence Geldart, Delmer Daves, Nellie Bly Baker.

Born on this day – John Denver:

John Denver

Singer

Songwriter

Guitarist

Actor

December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997

Born on this day – Rosalind Cash:

Rosalind Cash

Actress

December 31, 1938 – October 31, 1995

Born on this day – Rex Allen:

Rex Allen

Actor

Singer

Songwriter

December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999

Born on this day – Suzy Delair:

Suzy Delair

Actress

Singer

Dancer

Comedian

Vaudevillian

December 31, 1917 – March 15, 2020

Born on this day – Arletta Duncan:

Arletta Duncan

Actress

December 31, 1914 – October 28, 1985

Credits:

Damaged Goods (1937); Mile a Minute Love (1937); Hook and Ladder (1935); Menace (1934); Unknown Blonde (1934); The Gallant Fool (1933); The Fighting Champ (1932); Back Street (1932); Fast Companions (1932); Night World (1932); Frankenstein (1931).

Born on this day – Janet Chandler:

Janet Chandler

Actress

Model

December 31, 1911 – March 16, 1994

Credits:

Rough Riding Ranger (1935); Now or Never (1935); Million Dollar Haul (1935); The Drunkard (1935); Cyclone of the Saddle (1935); Cowboy Holiday (1934); The Great Gamble (1934); Born to Fight (1932); The Golden West (1932); She Wanted a Millionaire (1932); Inez from Hollywood (1924); The Three Musketeers (1921).

Born on this day – Roy Rowland:

Roy Rowland

Director

December 31, 1910 – June 29, 1995

Born on this day – Charles Lederer:

Charles Lederer

Writer

Director

December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976

Credits:

Ocean's Eleven (2001); Kiss of Death (1995); Kismet (1967); Destry (1964); A Global Affair (1964); Mutiny on the Bounty (1962); Follow That Dream (1962); Ocean's Eleven (1960); Can-Can (1960); It Started with a Kiss (1959); Never Steal Anything Small (1959); The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958); Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957); Matinee Theatre (1957); The Spirit of St. Louis (1957); Gaby (1956); Kismet (1955); TV de Vanguarda (1955); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953); Monkey Business (1952); Fearless Fagan (1952); O. Henry's Full House (1952); The Thing from Another World (1951); On the Loose (1951); Wabash Avenue (1950); Red, Hot and Blue (1949); I Was a Male War Bride (1949); The Lady from Shanghai (1947); Her Husband's Affairs (1947); Ride the Pink Horse (1947); Kiss of Death (1947); Slightly Dangerous (1943); The Youngest Profession (1943); Fingers at the Window (1942); Love Crazy (1941); Comrade X (1940); I Love You Again (1940); His Girl Friday (1940); Eternally Yours (1939); Broadway Serenade (1939); Within the Law (1939); Double or Nothing (1937); Mountain Music (1937); Baby Face Harrington (1935); Cock of the Air (1932); The Front Page (1931).

Born on this day – Henri Matisse:

Henri Matisse

Artist

December 31, 1869 – November 3, 1954

Roberto Bolano, on reading:

Reading is like thinking,

like praying,

like talking to a friend,

like expressing your ideas,

like listening to other people's ideas,

like listening to music,

like looking at the view,

like taking a walk on the beach.

- Roberto Bolano.

Born on this day – Andrew Shapter:

Andrew Shapter

Director

Writer

Cinematographer

December 30, 1966 – February 23, 2019

Born on this day – Fred Ward:

Fred Ward

Actor

Producer

December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022

Born on this day – John McPherson:

John McPherson (center, seated behind camera)

Cinematographer

Director

Writer

December 30, 1941 - December 21, 2007

Born on this day – Jack Riley:

Jack Riley

Actor

Comedian

Writer

December 30, 1935 – August 19, 2016

Born on this day – Del Shannon:

Del Shannon

Musician

Singer

Songwriter

Actor

December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990

Born on this day – Jack Lord:

Jack Lord

Actor

Director

Producer

December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998

Born on this day – Véra Clouzot:

Véra Clouzot

Actress

Writer

December 30, 1913 – December 15, 1960

Born on this day – Rosina Lawrence:

Rosina Lawrence

Actress

Singer

December 30, 1912 – June 23, 1997

Born on this day – Nancy Coleman:

Nancy Coleman

Actress

December 30, 1912 – January 18, 2000

Born on this day – Jeanette Nolan:

Jeanette Nolan

Actress

December 30, 1911 – June 5, 1998

Born on this day – Carol Reed:

Carol Reed

Director

Producer

December 30, 1906 – April 25, 1976

Born on this day – Letizia Quaranta:

Letizia Quaranta

Actress

December 30, 1892 – January 9, 1977

Born on this day – Rudyard Kipling:

Rudyard Kipling

Writer

December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936

Credits:

Puck of Pook's Hill (1906); Rewards and Fairies (1910); The Jungle Book (1893); The Second Jungle Book (1895); The Light That Failed (1890); The Naulahka - A Story Of East And West (1892); Captains Courageous (1897); The Story of the Gadsbys (1899); Under The Deodars (1899); Kim (1901); They (1905); With the Night Mail (1909); The Man Who Would Be King (1888); The Return of Imray (1891); The Cat That Walked by Himself (1902); Plain Tales from the Hills (1888); The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Stories (1888); Life's Handicap (1891); Barrack-Room Ballads (1893); Many Inventions (1893); Soldiers Three (1899); Indian Tales (1899); Just So Stories (1902); The Five Nations (1903); Traffics and Discoveries (1904); Kipling Poems (1907); The Day's Work (1908); Actions and Reactions (1909); Sea Warfare (1916); A Diversity of Creatures (1917); The Eyes of Asia (1919); Rudyard Kipling's Verse (1923); The Man Who Was (1924); Debits And Credits (1926); Limits And Renewals (1932); All The Mowgli Stories (1933); Phantoms and Fantasies (1965); Complete Verse (1972); Kiplings Science Fiction (1987); The Complete Supernatural Stories of Rudyard Kipling (1987); Kipling's Fantasy Stories (1992); The Science Fiction Stories of Rudyard Kipling (1994); Selected Stories of Rudyard Kipling (1999); The Mark of the Beast and Other Horror Tales (2000); The Elephant, The Hare And The Black Cobra (2003); Victorian Short Stories of Troubled Marriages (2005); Rudyard Kipling's Tales of Horror and Fantasy (2008); Ten Stories (2017); The Adventures of Mowgli: Stories from the Jungle Book (2018); The Elephant's Child (1900); Letters of Marque (2009); Red Riding Hood (2008); Cinderella (2008); Jack and the Beanstalk (2008); Hansel and Gretel (2008); Beauty and the Beast (2008); Snow White (2009); Rumpelstiltskin (2009); Sleeping Beauty (2009); The Three Little Pigs (2009); Rapunzel: The Graphic Novel (2009); The Ugly Duckling (2009); The Princess and the Pea (2009); The Emperor's New Clothes (2009); Thumbelina (2009); The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan (2010); John Henry, Hammerin' Hero (2010); Pecos Bill, Colossal Cowboy (2010); The Legend of Johnny Appleseed (2010); The Bremen Town Musicians (2011); The Golden Goose (2011); Tom Thumb (2011); The Elves and the Shoemaker (2011); How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin (2012); How the Leopard Got His Spots (2012); How the Camel Got His Hump (2012); How the Elephant Got His Trunk (2012); Rudyard Kipling's Just So Comics (2013); Tall (2014); A Cat of a Different Color (2020); A Cat of Perfect Taste (2020); A Cat of Disdainful Looks (2020); A Cat of Strange Lands (2020); A Cat of Cozy Situations (2020); A Cat of Heroic Heart (2020); A Cat of Artistic Sensibilities (2021); A Cat of Fantastic Whims (2021); A Cat of Feral Instincts (2021); 50 Great Short Stories (1952); A St. Nicholas Anthology (1969); The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories (1984); Famous and Curious Animal Stories (1989); A Separate Star: A Tribute to Rudyard Kipling (1989); Tales of the Occult (1989); The Amis Story Anthology (1992); H.P. Lovecraft's Book of Horror (1993); 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories (1993); Fantasy Stories (1994); The Anthology of Love and Romance (1994); Spellbound (1995); World War One British Poets: Brooke, Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg and Others (1997); Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories (1997); Time Machines (1997); A Treasury of Five-Minute Stories (2000); Dark (2000); On Glorious Wings (2003); The World's Greatest Horror Stories (2004); The Little Big Book of California (2005); H. P. Lovecraft's Book of the Supernatural (2006); Rotten English: A Literary Anthology (2007); Empire Tales (2008); Tales Before Narnia: The Roots of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction (2008); Stories to Get You Through the Night (2010); 50 Classic Novellas (2011); The Most Dangerous Game and Other Stories of Adventure (2011); The Phantom Coach (2014); That Glimpse of Truth (2014); Red Sky (2014); The Dover Anthology of Cat Stories (2015); Writers: Their Lives and Works (2018); The Occult Fiction Collection (2019); 30 Occult & Supernatural Masterpieces You Have to Read Before You Die (2019); A Cat of Disdainful Looks (2020); Classic Cat Stories (2020); Hungry for Blood – Ultimate Halloween Collection (2023).

Plato, on books:

A house that has a library in it has a soul.

- Plato.

On this day in movie history - A Man Called Otto (2022):

A Man Called Otto,

directed by Marc Forster,

written by David Magee,

based on the novel A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman,

was released in the United States on December 29, 2022.
Music by Thomas Newman.

Cast:
Tom Hanks, Truman Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Cameron Britton, Juanita Jennings, Emonie Ellison, Peter Lawson Jones, Laval Schley, Mike Birbiglia, David Magee, John Higgins.

On this day in movie history - Blue Valentine (2010):

Blue Valentine,

directed by Derek Cianfrance,

written by Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis,

was released in the United States on December 29, 2010.
Music by Grizzly Bear.

Cast:
Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman, Mike Vogel, Marshall Johnson, Jen Jones, Maryann Plunkett, James Benatti, Barbara Troy, Carey Westbrook, Ben Shenkman, Eileen Rosen, Enid Graham, Ashley Gurnari, Jack Parshutich, Samii Ryan, Mark Benginia, Timothy Liveright, Tamara Torres, Robert Russell, Michelle Nagy, Felicia Reid, Melvin Jurdem, Alan Malkin, Derik Belanger, Isabella Frogoletto, Madison Ledergerber, Jaimie Jensen, Joseph Basile, Ian Bonner, Robert Eckard, Michael J. Kraycik, Corey Sullivan.

Born on this day – Jon Polito:

Jon Polito

Actor

December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016