On this day in movie history - Black Widow (1954 movie & novel):

Black Widow

directed by Nunnally Johnson,

written by Nunnally Johnson, Hugh Wheeler, Richard W. Webb / Patrick Quentin,

based on the novel Black Widow a.k.a Fatal Woman by Patrick Quentin,

released in the United States on October 27, 1954.

Music by Leigh Harline.

Cast: Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft, Peggy Ann Garner, Reginald Gardiner, Virginia Leith, Otto Kruger, Cathleen Nesbitt, Skip Homeier, Hilda Simms, Mabel Albertson, Edward Astran, Bea Benaderet, Mary Benoit, Nesdon Booth, Paul Bradley, Harry Carter, Paul Cristo, Oliver Cross, Frances Curry, Richard H. Cutting, Anthony De Mario, Franklyn Farnum, Dick Gordon, Robert Haines, Kenner G. Kemp, Paul Kruger, Robert Locke Lorraine, Virginia Maples, Harold Miller, Forbes Murray, Monty O'Grady, Leoda Richards, Loretta Russell, Cosmo Sardo, Jeffrey Sayre, Aaron Spelling, Bert Stevens, James Stone, Arthur Tovey, Michael Vallon, Geraldine Wall, Pat White, Frank Wilcox, Wilson Wood.

Recommended reading:

Black Widow

a.k.a Fatal Woman

By Patrick Quentin.

ASIN: B00231R78W

Published by Simon & Schuster.

Published 1952.

Description:

Duluth, a Broadway producer and amateur detective, is baffled when his wife, Iris, discovers the body of Nanny Ordway, an aspiring writer he had recently befriended.

Born on this day – Isiah Whitlock Jr.:

Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Actor

Writer

September 13, 1954 – December 30, 2025

Credits:

1408 (2007); 23 Blast (2014); 25th Hour (2002); A Christmas Carol (1981); A Fish in the Bathtub (1998); A Nick in Time (2007); All in with Chris Hayes (2025); All Square (2018); Apple & Onion (2020–2021); As the World Turns (1992); Atlanta (2016–2022); Beautiful Ohio (2006); BlacKkKlansman (2018); BoJack Horseman (2018); Bought & Sold (2003); Brooklyn's Finest (2009); Cadillac Records (2008); Cagney & Lacey (1987); Cars 3 (2017); Cars 3: Legendary (2017); Cedar Rapids (2011); Chaos (2011); Chappelle's Show (2003–2006); Charity Case (2016); CHIPS (2017); Chi-Raq (2015); Choke (2008); Cocaine Bear (2023); Constance Cooks (2026); Corporate Animals (2019); Da 5 Bloods (2020); Detachment (2011); Driving Fish (2002); Duane Hopwood (2005); Dunkin' Donuts: Oven-Toasted (2007); Ed (2001); Eddie (1996); Elementary (2017); Enchanted (2007); Europa Report (2013); Everyone Says I Love You (1996); FBI (2019); Film Festival Radio / Podcast Series (2022); GoodFellas (1990); Gotham (2015); Grand Theft Auto V (2013); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990); Gun Hill Road (2011); Harlem Aria (1999); History of Swear Words (2021); Home (2013); Honey Trap (2005); Hoppers (2026); Human Giant (2008); I Care a Lot (2020); I Hate Valentine's Day (2009); Jay & Pluto (2016); Jerome's Bouquet (2013); Jump Tomorrow (2001); Kettle of Fish (2006); Kevin Can Wait (2017); Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2012); Law & Order (1995–2004); Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–2011); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2000–2015); Liberty! The American Revolution (1997); Lightyear (2022); Limitless (2015); Live from Detroit: The Jeff Dwoskin Show (2021); Lost Holiday (2019); Louie (2012); Lucas Bros Moving Co (2014); Lucifer (2016); Lucky 7 (2013–2014); Lying and Stealing (2019); Madam Secretary (2018); Made in Hollywood (2020); Madigan Men (2000); Main Street (2010); Meet the Browns (2010); New Amsterdam (2008); New York Undercover (1996); Newlyweeds (2013); Not Fade Away (2012); NYPD Blue (2002); Ocean (1989); Onion SportsDome (2011); Person to Person (2017); Pete's Dragon (2016); Pieces of April (2003); Queen (1993); Red Dead Redemption II (2018); Red Hook Summer (2012); Rubicon (2010); Run with the Hunted (2019); Say Goodnight Kevin (2018); Seneca (2019); She Hate Me (2004); She's Gotta Have It (2017); Showtime: YouTube Channel (2021); Slavery and the Making of America (2005); Sloan Hearts Neckface (2020); Smash (2012); Son of Zorn (2017); Speed Grieving (2009); Spike Lee: American Cinematheque Tribute (2021); Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods: Casting and Crafting a Timely Epic (2021); Stealing Martin Lane (2005); Survivor's Remorse (2017); Thanks for Sharing (2012); The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014); The Blacklist (2014); The Body is Water (2026); The Carmichael Show (2015); The Divide (2014); The Good Cop (2018); The Good Wife (2011); The Jury (2004); The Kings of Napa (2022); The Lost Husband (2020); The Man in My House (2007); The Mist (2017); The Old Man & the Gun (2018); The Oscars (2026); The Residence (2025); The Spanish Prisoner (1997); The Things We Know (2008); The Unusuals (2009); The Whitlock Academy (2015–2016); The Wire (2002–2008); The Wire Odyssey (2007); Thin Ice (2017); Third Watch (1999); Triggered (2022); Twelve (2010); Under New Management (2009); Veep (2013–2015); Why Stop Now? (2012); Woke (2022); Wonderland (2000); WW 3 (2001); Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas (2018); Your Honor (2020–2023).

On this day in movie history - Down Three Dark Streets (1954):

Down Three Dark Streets

directed by Arnold Laven,

written by Gordon Gordon and Bernard C. Schonefeld,

based on the novel Case File: FBI by Mildred Gordon,

was released in the United States on September 3, 1954.
Music by Paul Sawtell.

Cast:

Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, Martha Hyer, Marisa Pavan, Max Showalter, Kenneth Tobey, Gene Reynolds, William Johnstone, Harlan Warde, Jay Adler, Claude Akins, Suzanne Alexander, Myra Marsh, Joe Basselt, William Schallert.

On this day in movie history - Naked Alibi (1954):

Naked Alibi

directed by Jerry Hopper,

written by Lawrence Roman,

based on the story Cry Copper by J. Robert Bren and Gladys Atwater,

was released in the United States on September 2, 1954.
Music by Hans J. Salter and Frank Skinner.

Cast:

Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame, Gene Barry, Marcia Henderson, Max Showalter, Billy Chapin, Chuck Connors, Don Haggerty, Stuart Randall, Don Garrett, Richard Beach, Tol Avery, Paul Levitt, Fay Roope, Joseph Mell, John Alvin, Dee Carroll, Cheryll Clarke, Dick Crockett, Dean Cromer, John Daheim, Alan DeWitt, Herbert Ellis, Michael Fox, Phil Garris, Sol Gorss, Jo Ann Greer, Brett Halsey, Beverly Ruth Jordan, Byron Keith, Kenner G. Kemp, Mike Mahoney, Frank Marlowe, Barbara Marshall, Forbes Murray, Paul Newlan, William H. O'Brien, Kathleen O'Malley, Alan Paige, Eddie Parker, Byron Poindexter, Ray Quinn, Carlos Rivero, Robert Stevenson, Jack Stoney, Max Trumpower, Frank Wilcox, Lewis Wilson, Bud Wolfe.

Born on this day – Theresa Saldana:

Theresa Saldana

Actress

Activist

Writer

August 20, 1954 – June 6, 2016

Credits:

240-Robert (1979); All My Children (1970–2011); American Playhouse (1983); An Evening at the Improv (1992); Angel Town (1990); Batman Beyond (2001); Buck James (1988); Cagney & Lacey (1985); Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1994); Carlo's Wake (1999); CBS Schoolbreak Special (1987); Confessions of Crime (1991); Defiance (1980); Diagnosis Murder (1997); Double Revenge (1988); Falcon Crest (1988); Gang Warz (2004); Home Movies (1979); Hunter (1987); I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978); Illusion Infinity (1999); Jonny Quest Versus the Cyber Insects (1995); Law & Order (1995); MacGyver (1990); Martial Law (1998); Matlock (1986); New Kids on the Block (1990); Nothing Sacred (1997); Nunzio (1978); Nurse (1981); Of Men and Angels (1989); Raging Bull (1980); Ready to Run (2000); Rocco's Star (1983); Santa Barbara (1987); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1983); Shameful Secrets (1993); She Woke Up Pregnant (1996); Simon & Simon (1986); Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980); T.J. Hooker (1983); Tales from the Darkside (1986); The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2017); The 51st Annual Golden Globe Awards (1994); The Bernie Mac Show (2003); The Chuck Woolery Show (1991); The Commish (1991–1996); The Dennis Miller Show (1992); The Evil That Men Do (1984); The Gangster Chronicles (1981); The Highwayman (1987); The Night Before (1988); The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996–1997); The Twilight Zone / Segment: Dead Woman's Shoes (1985); Thrill Seekers (1999); Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984); Werewolf (1987).

Born on this day – Felice Farina:

Felice Farina

Director

Writer

August 14, 1954 – September 18, 2023

Credits:

Suffering specials (1989); Behind the Mountains (2023); Bidoni (1995); Castro (2016); Who c'è c'è (1987); Condominium (1991); Atomic Conversations (2018); What about me SAI (2009); Do You See Me? (2014); Felipe Has Blue Eyes 2 (1993); The Bozano case (1996); Liczba doskonala (2022); Monicelli: Mario's version (2012); Fog in the Po Valley (2000); Nostos: The Return (1989); Oscar for two (1998); Patria (2014); He seems dead... but he only fainted (1986); Without brakes (2003); Marry (1988); Petrol station (1989); Strade d'acqua (2009); The Evening Tree (2024); The Physics of Water (2009); Timekeeper (2022); Last Breath (1992); See Naples and then die (2007).

Recommended reading - Find a Victim (1954):

Find a Victim

By Ross Macdonald.

Paperback.
Published 1954.

ISBN-10: 0446358924
ISBN-13: 978-0446358927

Description:

The hitchhiker rose to his knees on the side of the dark road. When Archer stopped the car and got to him, he knew he was in for a ride – for this boy was dying of a gunshot wound. In a matter of hours, Archer would be suspected by the law, hired by a target-shooting trucking magnate, and propositioned by an adulterer’s wife. A hijacked load of hootch and a band of sinners are on the loose in the hills and desert around this nice Southern California town. So is this L.A. private eye, who keeps getting blood on his hands…

“[The] American private eye, immortalized by Hammett, refined by Chandler, brough to its zenith by Macdonald.”

– New York Times Book Review.

A selection of the mysterious book club.

On this day in movie history - Human Desire (1954):

Human Desire

directed by Fritz Lang,

written by Alfred Hayes,

based on the novel La Bête humaine by Émile Zola,

was released in the United States on August 6, 1954.

Cast:

Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Edgar Buchanan, Kathleen Case, Peggy Maley, Diane DeLaire, Grandon Rhodes, Benjie Bancroft, Paul Brinegar, Minta Durfee, Jean Engstrom, Victor Hugo Greene, Don C. Harvey, Carl Lee, John Maxwell, John Pickard, Dan Riss, Scott Seaton, Allen D. Sewall, Dan Seymour, Olan Soule, Hal Taggart, John Zaremba.

On this day in movie history - Pushover (1954):

Pushover

directed by Richard Quine,

written by Roy Huggins,

was released in the United States on August 6, 1954.
Based on the novels The Night Watch by Thomas Walsh

and Rafferty by William S. Ballinger.
Music by Arthur Morton.

Cast:

Fred MacMurray, Philip Carey, Kim Novak, Dorothy Malone, E.G. Marshall, Allen Nourse, James Anderson, Joe Bailey, Tony Barrett, Walter Beaver, Richard Bryan, Robert Carson, Phil Chambers, Dick Crockett, John De Simone, Alan Dexter, Don C. Harvey, Anne Loos, Mort Mills, Ann Morriss, Paul Picerni, Murray Pollack, Paul Richards, Marion Ross, K.L. Smith, Robert Stevenson, Hal Taggart, John Tarangelo, Mel Welles, Jack Wilson.

Born on this day – Donald Gibb:

Donald Gibb

Actor

August 4, 1954 – May 12, 2026

Credits:

1st & Ten (1985–1991); 227 (1989); 8 of Diamonds (2006); Alice (1983); Alter Echo (2003); Amazon Women on the Moon (1987); Amen (1991); American Tigers (1996); Any Which Way You Can (1980); Arli$$ (1999); Benson (1985); Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1998); Black Scorpion (2001); Bloodsport (1988); Bloodsport 2 (1996); Boy Meets World (1994); Breakfast of Aliens (1993); Broken Bars (1995); Burlesque Ghost Hunters (2026); Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight (2016); Cheers (1992); Conan the Barbarian (1982); Daddy Dearest (1993); Dark Justice (1993); Days of Our Lives (1998); Dear John (1990); Doctor Doctor (1990); Durango Kids (1999); Early Edition (2000); Empty Nest (1993–1994); First Family (1993); Grind (2003); Hancock (2008); Hands (2026); Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1997); Hardcastle and McCormick (1983); Harry and the Hendersons (1993); Hearts Afire (1993); High Voltage (1997); Homeboys in Outer Space (1996); Hunter (1990); Jhon Jatenjor's Interviews (2026); Jocks (1986); Just Our Luck (1983); Kirk (1995); Knight Rider (1984); Lightning Bug (2004); Lost in America (1985); MacGyver (1991); Mafia II (2010); Magic Kid II (1994); Magnum, P.I. (1982–1983); Meatballs Part II (1984); Midnight Runaround (1994); Misery Loves Company (1995); Missing Pieces (1991); Muddling Through (1994); Murphy Brown (1995); My Two Dads (1989–1990); Nichols & Dymes (1981); Nick Danger in the Case of the Missing Yolk (1983); Night Court (1990); Oh No, Not Them (1989); Otherworld (1985); Pacific Blue (1996); Philly (2001); Quantum Leap (1992); Rage (2011); Renegade (1992–1995); Revenge of the Nerds (1984); Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987); Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994); Savate (1995); Secret Agent Man (2000); Secret Mountain Fort Awesome (2011); Seinfeld (1995); She Spies (2002); Simon & Simon (1983); Sons and Daughters (1991); Sparks (1997); Stand by Your Man (1992); Step by Step (1993–1998); Streets of Justice (1985); Stripes (1981); Svengoolie (2019); The A-Team (1983); The Biggest Fan (2005); The Facts of Life (1987); The Fantastic Two (2007); The Steve Harvey Show (2000); The X-Files (1993); The Young and the Restless (2003); They Came from Outer Space (1990); They Still Call Me Bruce (1987); Transylvania 6-5000 (1985); True Colors (1991); U.S. Marshals (1998); U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart (1987); Unhappily Ever After (1996); Veronica's Closet (2000); Weird Science (1994–1996); What's My Story? (1995); Window Theory (2005); Zork: Grand Inquisitor (1997).

On this day in movie history - On the Waterfront (1954):

On the Waterfront

directed by Elia Kazan,

written by Budd Schulberg,

was released in the United States on July 28, 1954.
Inspired by the series of articles entitled Crime on the Waterfront by Malcolm Johnson,

published in the New York Sun from November–December, 1948.
Music by Leonard Bernstein.

Cast:

Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, Leif Erickson, James Westerfield, Tony Galento, Tami Mauriello, John F. Hamilton, John Heldabrand, Rudy Bond, Don Blackman, Arthur Keegan, Abe Simon, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Balsam, Dan Bergin, Zachary Charles, Jere Delaney, Robert Downing, Michael V. Gazzo, Fred Gwynne, Thomas Handley, Anne Hegira, Pat Hingle, Katherine MacGregor, Barry Macollum, Tiger Joe Marsh, Edward McNally, Donnell O'Brien, Mike O'Dowd, Nehemiah Persoff, Johnny Seven.

On this day in movie history - Them! (1954):

Them!

directed by Gordon Douglas,

written by Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes,

based on a story by George Worthing Yates,

was released in the United States on June 19, 1954.
Music by Bronislau Kaper.

Cast:

James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens, Sean McClory, Chris Drake, Sandy Descher, Mary Alan Hokanson, Don Shelton, Fess Parker, Olin Howland, Leonard Nimoy, John Beradino, Willis Bouchey, Booth Colman, Richard Deacon, Lawrence Dobkin, Ann Doran, William Schallert, Douglas Spencer, Dub Taylor, Dorothy Green, Harry Wilson, Dick York, Jan Merlin, Walter Coy.