On this day in movie history – Pitfall (1948 movie & novel):

Pitfall

directed by André de Toth,

written by Karl Kamb, André de Toth and William Bowers,

based on the novel The Pitfall by Jay Dratler,

was released in the United States on August 24, 1948.
Music by Louis Forbes.

Cast:

Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr, John Litel, Byron Barr, Jimmy Hunt, Ann Doran, Selmer Jackson, Margaret Wells, Dick Wessel.

Recommended reading:

The Pitfall

By Jay Dratler.

Introduction by Jay Dratler Jr. & Timothy J. Lockhart.

Published by Stark House Press.

First published 1939.

ASIN: B0BGMFDDKV

ISBN-13: 979-8886010084

Description:

Jon Forbes is a happily married screenwriter in Hollywood when his cop friend Mac tells him about a gal named Mona he’s interested in. Her husband is in jail, and she knows that Mac is the cop who put him there. So, Mac asks Forbes to set her up for him. Take her out, introduce her to him as a friend.

But that’s where Forbes’s troubles begin. Because happily married or not, Mona gets into his blood immediately. And he into hers. And now he’s not only lying to his wife, but trying to avoid Mac as well. He and Mona have no idea where this will lead, but they both know it can’t end well. But neither of them figure just how far Mac will go to get Forbes out of the way once he discovers his friend’s betrayal. Nor what Forbes will do to protect his own.

On this day in movie history - L'amore a.k.a. Love (1948 movie & play):

L'amore

a.k.a. Love,

directed by Roberto Rossellini,

written by Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Anna Benvenuti, Tullio Pinelli,

based on the play The Human Voice by Jean Cocteau,

released at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on August 21, 1948.

Music by Renzo Rossellini.

Cast: Anna Magnani, Federico Fellini, Peparuolo, Amelia Robert.

Recommended reading:

The Human Voice

Play by Jean Cocteau.

Translated by Daniel Raggett.

Published by Oberon Books.

Oberon Modern Plays.

First published 1929.

ISBN-10: 1786826542

ISBN-13: 978-1786826541

Description:

'I'm whispering into your ear – and we couldn't be further apart.'

A woman, a phone call, a final conversation. In this extraordinary and prophetic monologue, a woman fights for the person she loves. Jean Cocteau's iconic play explores our desperate need for human relationships – and the machine that has changed them forever.

On this day in movie history - The Amazing Mr. X (1948):

The Amazing Mr. X

aka The Spiritualist,

directed by Bernard Vorhaus,

written by Crane Wilbur, Muriel Roy Bolton and Ian McLellan Hunter,

was released in the United States on July 29, 1948.
Music by Alexander Laszlo.

Cast:

Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Cathy O'Donnell, Richard Carlson, Donald Curtis, Virginia Gregg, Harry Mendoza, Norma Varden.

Born on this day – Leon Vitali:

Leon Vitali

Actor

Casting director

July 26, 1948 – August 19, 2022

Credits:

Arena: Making 'The Shining' (1980); Barry Lyndon (1975); Comedy Playhouse (1975); Crime of Passion (1973); Crown Court (1972–1973); Director's Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein (2015); Dixon of Dock Green (1975); Edge of Outside (2006); Eyes Wide Shut (1999); Filmworker (2017); Follyfoot (1973); Full Metal Jacket (1987); Hadleigh (1971); Hamlet (1985); Haunted, Horrifying Sounds from Beyond the Grave (2018); I Am What You Imagine (2023); In the Bedroom (2001); Inter Rail (1981); ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1973); Justice (1971); Kubrick Remembered (2014); Kubrick's Universe: The Stanley Kubrick Podcast (2018–2022); Little Children (2006); Long Voyage Out of War (1971); Love Story (1973); Mackan (1977); Mafia Junction (1973); Notorious Woman (1974); Please Sir! (1971); Prometheus: The Life of Balzac (1975); Public Eye (1971); Romeo & Juliet (2013); Room 237 (2012); Secrets of 'The Shining': Live from the First Annual Stanley Film Festival (2013); Shooting 'Full Metal Jacket' (1986); Softly Softly: Task Force (1970); Stanley and Us (1999); Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001); Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (2008); TCM Remembers 2022 (2022); Terror of Frankenstein (1977); The Burning Cold (2022); The Fenn Street Gang (1971–1972); The Roads to Freedom (1970); The Shining (1980); Up the Workers (1973–1976); Van der Valk (1973); Z Cars (1971).

On this day in movie history - Blonde Ice (1948):

Blonde Ice

directed by Jack Bernhard,

written by Kenneth Gamet,

based on the novel Once Too Often by Whitman Chambers,

was released in the United States on July 24, 1948.
Music by Irving Gertz.

Cast:

Robert Paige, Leslie Brooks, Russ Vincent, Michael Whalen, James Griffith, James Griffith, Emory Parnell, Walter Sande, John Holland, Mildred Coles, Selmer Jackson, David Leonard.

On this day in movie history - Key Largo (1948):

Key Largo

directed by John Huston,

written by Richard Brooks and John Huston,

based on the play by Maxwell Anderson,

was released in the United States on July 16, 1948.
Music by Max Steiner.

Cast:

Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, Thomas Gomez, Harry Lewis, John Rodney, Marc Lawrence, Dan Seymour, Monte Blue, William Haade, Jay Silverheels, Rodd Redwing.