On this day in movie history - Kiss Me Deadly (1955 movie & novel):

Kiss Me Deadly

directed by Robert Aldrich,

written by A. I. Bezzerides and Robert Aldrich,

based on the novel by Mickey Spillane,

was released in the United States on April 20, 1955.
Music by Frank De Vol.

Cast:

Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, Wesley Addy, Marian Carr, Marjorie Bennett, Mort Marshall, Fortunio Bonanova, Strother Martin, Mady Comfort, James McCallion, Robert Cornthwaite, Silvio Minciotti, Nick Dennis, Ben Morris, Jack Elam, Paul Richards, Jesslyn Fax, James Seay, Percy Helton, Leigh Snowden, Jack Lambert, Jerry Zinneman, Maxine Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers, Kitty White, Sam Balter, Joe Hernandez, Eddie Beal, Leonard Bremen, Yvonne Doughty, John George, Charles Lane, Art Loggins, Mara McAfee, Leonard Mudie, Bing Russell, Robert Sherman, Max Wagner, Trude Wyler.

Recommended reading:

Kiss Me Deadly

By Mickey Spillane.

Filmed as Kiss Me Deadly (1955), directed by Robert Aldrich.

Published by Orion.

First published 1952.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1409158691

ISBN-13: 978-1409158691

Description:

# 6 in the Mike Hammer series.

Before Jack Reacher . . . there was Mike Hammer.

One night, a blonde jumps out in front of PI Mike Hammer's car. She's so scared he doesn't have much choice but to give her a ride. At a police roadblock, he discovers she's on the run from a sanatorium, but he passes her off as his wife. Other people besides the police are after the blonde, and these people play rough. Real rough.

The blonde turns out to be the star witness against some big-time mobsters. Mike has blundered into something unimaginably big, but the Feds don't want him involved – and take his PI licence and gun.

For Mike, it's a chance to strike a blow against evil on a grand scale. He discovers that something representing a great deal of money, and a lot of power, has gone missing, and that some people will go to any lengths to get it back . . .

On this day in movie history - Rififi (1955 movie & book):

Rififi

French title: Du rififi chez les hommes,

directed by Jules Dassin,

written by Auguste Le Breton, Jules Dassin and René Wheeler,

based on the novel by Auguste Le Breton,

was released in France on April 13, 1955.
Music by Georges Auric.

Cast:

Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel, Janine Darcey, Pierre Grasset, Robert Hossein, Marcel Lupovici, Dominique Maurin, Magali Noël, Marie Sabouret, Claude Sylvain, Jules Dassin, Armandel, Alain Bouvette, Alice Garan, André Dalibert, Jacques David, Émile Genevois, Marcelle Hainia, Marcel Lesieur, Daniel Mendaille, Huguette Montréal, Lita Recio, Fernand Sardou, Jean Bellanger, Jacques Besnard, Teddy Bilis, Jenny Doria, René Hell, Gilbert Moreau, Maryse Paillet, Marcel Rouzé, Roger Rudel.

Recommended reading:

Rififi

By Alastair Phillips.

Ciné-File French Film Guides.

Published by I.B.Tauris.

Published 2009.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1848850557

ISBN-13: 978-1848850552

Description:

Du rififi chez les hommes (1955), directed by the exiled American film director Jules Dassin, recounts the nail-biting tale of a Parisian gangster heist gone wrong. Famed for its extended dialogue free robbery sequence, it is both a classic French film noir and one of the greatest, most influential crime films. In this lively companion to the film, Alastair Phillips reveals Dassin’s role as a director of socially conscious Hollywood film noir and argues that his seminal contribution to the regeneration of the thriller in post war France therefore uniquely complicated relations between French genre cinema and American mass culture.

Phillips also examines the film's innovative narrative construction and use of sound, its performance style and mise-en-scène, and discusses the film's legacy, showing how even today, the term ""Rififi"" remains a byword for both criminal glamor and the enduring virtues of French popular classical filmmaking.

Recommended reading - The Name Is Archer, by Ross MacDonald (1955):

The Name Is Archer

By Ross MacDonald.

Part of the Lew Archer mystery series.

Paperback

Published by Grand Central Pub.

First published 1955.

ISBN 13: 9780446361569

ISBN10: 0446361569

ASIN: 0446361569

Description:

Anthology containing the following stories: Find the woman; Gone girl; The bearded lady; The suicide; Guilt-edged blonde; The sinister habit; Wild goose chase; Midnight blue; Sleeping dog.

On this day in movie history - The Big Combo (1955):

The Big Combo

directed by Joseph H. Lewis,

written by Philip Yordan,

was released in the United States on March 25, 1955.

Music by David Raksin.

Cast:

Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, Jean Wallace, Robert Middleton, Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, Helen Walker, Jay Adler, John Hoyt, Ted de Corsia, Helene Stanton, Roy Gordon, Whit Bissell, Steve Michaell, Baynes Barron, James McCallion, Tony Michaels, Brian O'Hara, Bruce Sharpe, Michael Mark, Philip Van Zandt, Donna Drew.

Born on this day – Glenne Headly:

Glenne Headly

Actress

March 13, 1955 – June 8, 2017

Credits:

2 Days in the Valley (1996); A Girl Thing (2001); AFI Life Achievement Award (2008); And the Band Played On (1993); Around the Bend (2004); Babe: Pig in the City (1998); Bartleby (2001); Bastard Out of Carolina (1996); Bowery Dawn (1972); Breakfast of Champions (1999); Comeback Season (2006); Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2008); Dial a Prayer (2015); Dick Tracy (1990); Dick Tracy Special (2010); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Featurette (1988); Doctor Detroit (1983); Don Jon (2013); Eleni (1985); Encore! Encore! (1998–1999); ER (1996–1997); Eulogy (2004); Fandango (1985); Four Friends (1981); Frasier (1995); Future Man (2017); Getting Even with Dad (1994); Grand Isle (1991); Grey's Anatomy (2008); Hotel Room (1993); It's a Good Day: The Making of 'Around the Bend' (2005); Just Getting Started (2017); Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2005); Living with Ed (2009); Lloyd in Space (2002); Lonesome Dove (1989); Making Babies (2018); Making Mr. Right (1987); Merry Xmas (2015); Monk (2003–2006); Mortal Thoughts (1991); Mr. Holland's Opus (1995); My Own Country (1998); Nadine (1987); On Golden Pond (2001); Ordinary Magic (1993); Paperhouse (1988); Parks and Recreation (2012); Pepper Ann (2000); Pound Puppies (2012); Pronto (1997); Psych (2012); Raising Flagg (2006); Recess (1998); Rugrats (2002); Santabear's High Flying Adventure (1987); Say Goodnight, Gracie (1983); Scene Stealers (2002); Seize the Day (1986); Sgt. Bilko (1996); Stars and Bars (1988); Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 25 Years on the Edge (2000); Strange Weather (2016); The 41st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1989); The 49th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1997); The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985); The Amateurs (2005); The Burbs (2002); The Circle (2017); The Darkest Day (1999); The Fugitive (2001); The Guardian (2004); The Joneses (2009); The League (2013); The Namesake (2006); The Night Of (2016); The Oscars (2018); The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985); The Sandy Bottom Orchestra (2000); The X Files (1998); Timecode (2000); What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001); Winchell (1998); Women vs. Men (2002); Working in the Theatre (1985).

Born on this day – Alberta Watson:

Alberta Watson

Actress

March 6, 1955 – March 21, 2015

Born on this day – Rene Kirby:

Rene Kirby

Actor

February 27, 1955 – July 11, 2025

Credits:

Carnivàle (2005); Shallow Hal (2001); Stuck on You (2003).

On this day in movie history - New York Confidential (1955):

New York Confidential

directed by Russell Rouse,

written by Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse,

based on the novel New York Confidential! by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer,

was released in the United States on February 18, 1955.
Music by Joseph Mullendore.

Cast:

Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft, J. Carrol Naish, Onslow Stevens, Barry Kelley, Mike Mazurki, Celia Lovsky, Herbert Heyes, Steven Geray, William 'Bill' Phillips, Tom Powers, John Doucette.