On this day in movie history - While the City Sleeps (1956 movie & novel):

While the City Sleeps

directed by Fritz Lang,

written by Casey Robinson,

based on the novel The Bloody Spur by Charles Einstein,

was released in France on May 30, 1956.
Inspired by the true 1946 case the Chicago serial killer William Heirens.
Music by Herschel Burke Gilbert.

Cast:

Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Sally Forrest, John Drew Barrymore, James Craig, Ida Lupino, Robert Warwick, Mae Marsh, Ralph Peters, Sandra White, Larry J. Blake, Celia Lovsky, Ed Hinton, Pitt Herbert, Vladimir Sokoloff, David Andrews, Eddie Baker, Ralph Brooks, Leonard Carey, Russell Custer, John Damler, Sayre Dearing, George DeNormand, Joe Devlin, Sam Finn, Mike Lally, Andrew Lupino, Ralph Manza, Mickey Martin, Joey Ray, Cosmo Sardo, Charles Sherlock, Olan Soule, Bert Stevens, Carleton Young.

Recommended reading:

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 - The Searchers (1956 movie & books):

The Searchers

directed by John Ford,

written by Frank S. Nugent,

based on the novel by Alan Le May,

was released in the United States on May 26, 1956.
Music by Max Steiner.

Cast:

John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Olive Carey, Henry Brandon, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey Jr., Antonio Moreno, Hank Worden, Beulah Archuletta, Walter Coy, Dorothy Jordan, Pippa Scott, Patrick Wayne, Lana Wood, Gertrude Astor, Pipe Line Begishe, Exactly Sonnie Betsuie, Danny Borzage, Ruth Clifford, Carmen D'Antonio, Tommy Doss, Pete Grey Eyes, Feather Hat Jr., Nacho Galindo, Chuck Hayward, Jack Tin Horn, Harry Black Horse, Away Luna, Robert Lyden, Cliff Lyons, Peter Mamakos, Mae Marsh, Frank McGrath, Bob Many Mules, Jack Pennick, Lloyd Perryman, Prince (dog), Chuck Roberson, Smile White Sheep, Many Mules Son, Percy Shooting Star, William Steele, Chief Thundercloud, Terry Wilson, Billy Yellow.

Recommended reading:

The Searchers

By Alan Le May.

Filmed as The Searchers (1956), directed by John Ford.

Published by Harper & Brothers.
First published 1954.
ISBN-10: 0843961724
ISBN-13: 978-0843961720

Description:

On the Texas frontier, a Comanche war party attacks the Edwards ranch and kills all the inhabitants, except for the two girls carried away with them. In the name of civilization, a group of pioneers take off in hot pursuit, into a savage world of unexpected dangers, false hopes, and darkest despair.

The Searchers

By Edward Buscombe.

Published by British Film Institute.
Published 2022.
ISBN-10: 1839024690
ISBN-13: 978-1839024696

Description:

“The Searchers is an insightful analysis … Replete with a wealth of information on the production of The Searchers, and graced with thought-provoking commentary, Buscombe's book is a stimulating introduction to a great American film.” – Journal of American Culture.

John Ford's masterpiece The Searchers (1956) was voted the seventh greatest film of all time in Sight & Sound's most recent poll of critics. Its influence on many of America's most distinguished contemporary filmmakers, among them Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, and John Milius, is enormous. John Wayne's portrait of the vengeful Confederate Ethan Edwards gives the film a truly epic dimension, as does his long and lonely journey into the dark heart of America. Edward Buscombe's insightful study provides a detailed commentary on all aspects of the film, drawing on material in the John Ford archive at Indiana University, including Ford's own memos and the original script, which differs in vital respects from the film he made, to offer new insights into the film's production history.

On this day in movie history - Crime in the Streets (1956):

Crime in the Streets

directed by Don Siegel,

written by Reginald Rose,

was released in the United States on May 23, 1956.
Music by Franz Waxman.

Cast:

James Whitmore, John Cassavetes, Sal Mineo, Mark Rydell, Virginia Gregg, Peter J. Votrian, Will Kuluva, Malcolm Atterbury, Denise Alexander, Dan Terranova, Peter Miller, Steve Rowland, Robert Alexander, Doyle Baker, Paul Bryar, Richard Curtis, Shirley Heart, Frank Mills, Duke Mitchell, Jimmy Ogg, Syd Saylor, Ray Stricklyn, Paul Wallace.