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.

On this day in movie history - Les Diaboliques (1955 movie & novel):

Les Diaboliques

aka Diabolique, The Devils, The Fiends,

directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot,

written by Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jérôme Géronimi, René Masson and Frédéric Grendel,

based on the novel She Who Was No More by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac,

was released in France on January 29, 1955.
Music by Georges Van Parys.

Cast:

Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Jean Brochard, Thérèse Dorny, Michel Serrault, Georges Chamarat, Robert Dalban, Camille Guérini, Jacques Hilling, Jean Lefebvre, Aminda Montserrat, Jean Témerson, Jacques Varennes, Georges Poujouly, Yves-Marie Maurin, Noël Roquevert, Pierre Larquey, Jean-Pierre Bonnefous, Christian Brocard, Jean Clarieux, Henri Coutet, Michel Dumur, Johnny Hallyday, Henri Humbert, Zappy Max, Roberto Rodrigo, Madeleine Suffel, Jimmy Urbain.

Recommended reading:

She Who Was No More

By Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.

Filmed as Les Diaboliques, a.k.a. Diabolique, The Devils, The Fiends (1955), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

ASIN: B00TNBPJ9O

Published by Pushkin Vertigo.

English language translation edition 2015.

Published 2015.

First published 1951.

Description:

Every Saturday evening, travelling salesman Ferdinand Ravinel returns to his wife, Mireille, who waits patiently for him at home. But Ferdinand has another lover, Lucienne – an ambitious doctor – and together the adulterers have devised a murderous plan.

Drugging Mireille, the pair drown her in a bathtub. But before the "accidental" death can be discovered, the corpse mysteriously disappears. So begins the unraveling of Ferdinand's plot, and his sanity.

This classic of French noir fiction was adapted for the screen by Henri-Georges Clouzot as Les Diaboliques (The Devils; The Fiends), starring Simone Signoret and Véra Clouzot, the film which in turn inspired Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. A second movie version, Diabolique, followed in 1996, starring Sharon Stone.

Born on this day – Eddie Van Halen:

Eddie Van Halen

Musician

Songwriter

January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020

On this day in movie history - Six Bridges to Cross (1955):

Six Bridges to Cross

directed by Joseph Pevney,

written by Sydney Boehm,

based on They Stole $25,000,000 – And Got Away with It by Joseph F. Dinneen,

inspired by the true 1950 Brink’s Robbery,

was released in the United States on January 19, 1955.
Music by Frank Skinner and Herman Stein.

Cast:

Tony Curtis, George Nader, Julie Adams, Jay C. Flippen, Sal Mineo, Jan Merlin, Richard Castle, William Murphy, Kendall Clark, Don Keefer, Harry Bartell, Tito Vuolo, Gina Aguglia, Ronald Anton, Peter Avarmo, John S. Barratt, Nicky Blair, Ted Bliss, Edward F. Bowers, William Brackman, Paul Bretanus, Ralph Brooks, Charles Buswell, Joseph Cammarata, Gordon B. Clarke, Tom Coleman, Hal Conklin, William Conley, John J. Connolly, Charles J. Conrad, Harry Cooper, Henry M. Coughlin, John F. Dacey, Sayre Dearing, Kem Dibbs, James Diorio, Paul Dubov, Sam Finn, Diane Flaherty, William Flannery, Carl Frank, Jack Gargan, Grant Gordon, Joe Gray, Herbert Gross, Claudia Hall, Chuck Hamilton, Kathleen Hooper, John Hormel, Helen Keeton, Elizabeth Kerr, Manuel P. Kurland, Scott Lee, Peter Leeds, Carey Loftin, Robert Lynn, Edmund M. MacClosky, Helen Mayon, Bob McElroy, James McGah, Edward McNally, Joe McTurk, Doris Meade, Harold Miller, Carl Moore, Dan Moynihan, John J. Muldoon, Mary Newton, William H. O'Brien, Carl O'Bryan, Robert Paolucci, Kenneth Patterson, Pennachi, Michael F. Powers, Joseph Quaranta, George Ramsey, Harry Raven, John Regan, Edward Richardson, Di Di Roberts, Kenny Roberts, Nandy Robie, Charles F. Roche, William Ryan, Cosmo Sardo, Frank E. Sawin Jr., Anabel Shaw, Edward R. Skrickus, James Stone, Hal Taggart, Janice Thomas, Clifford F. Tobey, Larry Turner, Charles Victor, Jean Goodale Wales, Robert T. Walley, Roger White, Howard Wright.

On this day in movie history - Bad Day at Black Rock (1955):

Bad Day at Black Rock

directed by John Sturges,

written by Millard Kaufman and Don McGuire,

was released in the United States on January 13, 1955.
Based on the short story Bad Time at Honda by Howard Breslin,

published in The American Magazine (1947).
Music by André Previn.

Cast:

Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Russell Collins, Walter Sande, Walter Beaver, Billy Dix, Mickey Little, K.L. Smith, Robert Griffin, Harry Harvey, Bobby Johnson, Francis McDonald.

Born on this day – Chuck Connelly:

Chuck Connelly

Painter

January 7, 1955 – April 13, 2025

Credits:

Movies and television:

Chuck Connelly: Into the Light (2021); New York Stories / Segment: Life Lessons (1989); The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not for Sale (2008).

Born on this day – Clarence Gilyard:

Clarence Gilyard

Professor

Actor

Writer

December 24, 1955 – November 28, 2022

Credits:

227 (1987); A Matter of Faith (2014); artScene (2013); Boondoggle (1999); CHiPs (1982–1983); Christmas on the Coast (2017); Die Hard (1988); DieHard is Back (2020); Diff'rent Strokes (1981); Eleanor's Bench (2020); Fan des années 80 (2010); From Above (2013); L.A. Takedown (1989); Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002); Left Behind: The Movie (2000); Legacy of a Spy (2021); Little Monsters (2012); Making the Grade (1982); Matlock (1989–1993); Off the Mark (1987); Orange Bowl Parade (1997); Riptide (1984); Simon & Simon (1986); Solomon's Universe (1985); Sons of Thunder (1999); Soul Train (1996); The 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2023); The Beast (2016); The Duck Factory (1984); The Facts of Life (1979); The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990); The Karate Kid Part II (1986); The Kid with the 200 I.Q. (1983); The Making of 'Left Behind II: Tribulation Force' (2002); The Making of 'Left Behind: The Movie' (2000); The Perfect Race (2019); The Sector (2016); The Track (2015); Things Are Looking Up (1984); Top Gun (1986); Top Gun 2: Back to Traffic School (2012); Walker Texas Ranger 3: Deadly Reunion (1994); Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001); Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005); Walker: Behind the Scenes with TV's Toughest Cop (1996).

Born on this day – David Breashears:

David Breashears

Cinematographer

Writer

Producer

Mountaineer

December 20, 1955 – March 14, 2024

Credits:

Books:

Every Man For Himself? (an article published in American Alpine Journal) (1988); Last Climb (1999); High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places (1999); Everest: Mountain Without Mercy (1997).

Movies and television:

20/20 Wednesday (1997); ABC News Saturday Night (1998); Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright (1995); Ancient Graves: Voices of the Dead (1998); Ascent of Mount Everest (1983); CBS This Morning (2012); Charlie Rose (1997); Chasing Ice (2012); Cliffhanger (1993); Dangerous Earth (2016); Everest (1998); Everest (2015); Everest: The Death Zone (1998); Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine (1992); Expedition Earth (1990); Frontline (1983–2008); Frontline/World (2008); Galahad of Everest (1991); Great Wonders of the World (1993); Ice Climb (1993); Metanoia (2014); Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa (2002); Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1998); Mount Everest, the East Face (1981); Mummies Revealed (2001); Nova (1997–2016); Remnants of Everest: The 1996 Tragedy (2007); Seven Years in Tibet (1997); The Making of Everest: On Location in the Death Zone (1997).

On this day in movie history - I Died a Thousand Times (1955):

I Died a Thousand Times

directed by Stuart Heisler,

written by W. R. Burnett,

was released in the United States on November 9, 1955.
Music by David Buttolph.

Cast:

Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lori Nelson, Lee Marvin, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Lon Chaney Jr., Earl Holliman, Perry Lopez, Richard Davalos, Howard St. John, Nick Adams, Dennis Hopper, Ralph Moody, Olive Carey, Dub Taylor, Paul Brinegar, James Millican.

On this day in movie history - Rebel Without a Cause (1955):

Rebel Without a Cause

directed by Nicholas Ray,

written by Stewart Stern and Irving Shulman,

based on a story by Nicholas Ray,

was released in the United States on October 27, 1955.
Music by Leonard Rosenman.

Cast:

James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Dennis Hopper, Edward Platt, Steffi Sidney, Marietta Canty, Virginia Brissac, Beverly Long, Ian Wolfe, Frank Mazzola, Robert Foulk, Jack Simmons, Tom Bernard, Nick Adams, Jack Grinnage, Clifford Morris, Dorothy Abbott, David Alpert, Jimmy Baird, Paul Birch, Harold Bostwick, Paul Bryar, John Close, Chuck Hamilton, Chuck Hicks, Skipper Huerta, Louise Lane, Nelson Leigh, David McMahon, Edward McNally, Peter Miller, Ralph Moratz, Bruce Noonan, House Peters Jr., Stephanie Pond-Smith, Charles Postal, Nicholas Ray, Gus Schilling, Almira Sessions, Joel Smith, Bert Stevens, Dick Wessel, Robert B. Williams.