Born on this day – Robert Trebor:

Robert Trebor

Actor

Director

June 7, 1953 – March 11, 2025

Credits:

52 Pick-Up (1986); Baywatch (1989); Boomtown (2003); Dark Justice (1992); Dying on the Edge (2001); Empty Nest (1989); Face of Fire (1959); Frank's Place (1988); Gorp (1980); Hail, Caesar! (2016); Hercules and the Lost Kingdom (1994); Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1999); Hip-Hop Headstrong (2010); Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004); JoAnne (2011); Joe Bash (1986); Magnum Force (1973); Making Mr. Right (1987); Meet Market (2004); Miami Vice (1985 / 1988); Murphy Brown (1989); My Demon Lover (1987); Night Court (1990); Out of the Darkness (1985); Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1991); Raise Your Voice (2004); Simon & Simon (1986); Tales from the Crypt (1992); Talk Radio (1988); The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (1999); The Devil's Rejects (2005); The First Time (1981); The Nutt House (1992); The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985); The Sex O'Clock News (1985); The Shadow (1994); The Streets of San Francisco (1973); The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993); Turk 182 (1985); Universal Soldier (1992); Wedding Daze (2004); Xena: Warrior Princess (1996–1999).

Recommended reading - Meet Me at the Morgue, by Ross Macdonald (1953):

Meet Me at the Morgue

By Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

First published 1953.

ISBN-10: 0307740773

ISBN-13: 9780307740779

Description:

“My favorite . . . [Macdonald] is first among those novelists who raised the genre from its roots in pulp fiction to serious literature.” – P.D. James, from Talking About Detective Fiction.

“[The] American private eye, immortalized by Hammett, refined by Chandler, brought to its zenith by Macdonald.” – New York Times Book Review.

“Macdonald should not be limited in audience to connoisseurs of mystery fiction.  He is one of a handful of writers in the genre whose worth and quality surpass the limitations of the form.” – Los Angeles Times.

“Most mystery writers merely write about crime.  Ross Macdonald writes about sin.” – The Atlantic.

“Without in the least abating my admiration for Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, I should like to venture the heretical suggestion that Ross Macdonald is a better novelist than either of them.” – Anthony Boucher.

“[Macdonald] carried form and style about as far as they would go, writing classic family tragedies in the guise of private detective mysteries.” – The Guardian (London).

“[Ross Macdonald] gives to the detective story that accent of class that the late Raymond Chandler did.” – Chicago Tribune.

Somebody in Pacific Point is guilty of a kidnapping, but what probation officer Howard Cross wants to find most is innocence: in an ex-war hero who has taken a tough manslaughter rap, in a wealthy woman with a heart full of secrets, and in a blue-eyed beauty who has lost her way. The trouble is that the abduction has already turned to murder, and the more Cross pries into the case the further he slips into a pool of violence and evil. Somewhere in the California desert the whole scheme may come down on the wrong man. Somewhere Cross is going to find the last piece of a bloody puzzle – a mystery of blackmail, passion, and hidden identities that might be better left unsolved.

Recommended reading - The Bloody Spur, by Charles Einstein (1953):

The Bloody Spur

By Charles Einstein.

Filmed as While the City Sleeps (1956), directed by Fritz Lang.

Inspired by the true 1946 case of the Chicago serial killer William Heirens.

Published by Black Curtain Press.
First published 1953.
ISBN-10: 1627551158
ISBN-13: 9781627551151

Description:

HELP ME FOR GOD’S SAKE.
Later the doctors would use these words to decipher the riddle of a perverted killer.
Right now, the lipstick scrawl signaled the start of New York's greatest manhunt.

On this day in movie history - Cry of the Hunted (1953):

Cry of the Hunted

directed by Joseph H. Lewis,

written by Jack Leonard,

based on a story by Marion Wolfe,

was released in the United States on May 8, 1953.
Music by Rudolph G. Kopp.

Cast:

Vittorio Gassman, Barry Sullivan, Polly Bergen, William Conrad, Mary Zavian, Robert Burton, Harry Shannon, Jonathan Cott, Frank Arnold, Sonia Charsky, Harry Cheshire, Jay Lawrence, Nolan Leary, Eugene Mazzola, Inez Palange, Fred Santley, George Selk, Bill Walker, Helen Winston.

Born on this day – Phillip Borsos:

Phillip Borsos

Director

Producer

Writer

May 5, 1953 – February 2, 1995

Credits:

Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990); Cooperage (1976); Do It with Joy (1977); Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995); Highway Heartbreaker (1992); Hollywood North (2003); Inventing Grace, Touching Glory (2003); Nails (1979); One Magic Christmas (1985); Spartree (1978); The Cider House Rules (1999); The Grey Fox (1982); The Mean Season (1985); The Night Before the Morning After (1980); The Shadow (1994); Tootsie (1982); Weird Science (1985); We're Talkin' Serious Money (1992).

On this day in movie history - The Wages of Fear (1953):

The Wages of Fear

French title: Le Salaire de la peur,

directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot,

written by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Jérome Geronimi,

based on the novel by Georges Arnaud,

was released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on April 15, 1953.
Music by Georges Auric.

Cast:

Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter van Eyck, Véra Clouzot, William Tubbs, Darío Moreno, Jo Dest, Antonio Centa, Luis De Lima, Grégoire Gromoff, Josep Palau i Fabre, Faustini, Seguna, Darling Légitimus, René Baranger, Pat Hurst, Evelio Larenagas, Jeronimo Mitchell, Ricardo, François Valorbe, Rico Zermano.

On this day in movie history - One Girl’s Confession (1953):

One Girl’s Confession

directed and written by Hugo Haas,

was released in the United States on April 6, 1953.
Music by Václav Divina.

Cast:

Cleo Moore, Hugo Haas, Glenn Langan, Helene Stanton, Anthony Jochim, Burt Mustin, Leonid Snegoff, James Nusser, Russ Conway, Mara Lea, Gayne Whitman, Leo Mostovoy, Martha Wentworth, Roy Engel, Jan Englund, Joseph Mell, Frank Mills.

On this day in movie history - The Blue Gardenia (1953):

The Blue Gardenia

directed by Fritz Lang,

written by Charles Hoffman,

based on the novella The Gardenia by Vera Caspary,

was released in the United States on March 28, 1953.
Music by Raoul Kraushaar.

Cast:

Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr, Jeff Donnell, Richard Erdman, George Reeves, Ruth Storey, Ray Walker, Nat King Cole, Dolores Fuller.