Showing posts with label 1958. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1958. Show all posts

Friday, December 13, 2024

Recommended reading - The Getaway (1958):


The Getaway

By Jim Thompson.

First published 1958.
Published by Mulholland Books.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0316403970
ISBN-13: 978-0316403979

Description:

Doc McCoy is the most skilled criminal alive. But when for the first time in Doc's long criminal career, his shot doesn't hit the mark, everything begins to fall apart. And Doc begins to realize that the perfect bank robbery isn't complete without the perfect getaway to back it up.

THE GETAWAY is the classic story of a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, where the smallest mistakes have catastrophic consequences, and shifting loyalties lead to betrayals and chaos. The basis for the classic Steve McQueen film of the same name, as well as a 1994 remake with Alec Baldwin, Thompson's novel set the bar for every heist story that followed - but as Thompson's proved time and again, nobody's ever done it better than the master.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Recommended reading - The Gutter and the Grave (1958).


The Gutter and the Grave

By Ed McBain.

Published by Hard Case Crime.
First published 1958.
Complete and Unabridged.
ISBN-10: 0857683675
ISBN-13: 978-0857683670

Description:

Detective Matt Cordell was happily married once, and gainfully employed, and sober. But that was before he caught his wife cheating on him with one of his operatives and took it out on the man with the butt end of a .45.

Now Matt makes his home on the streets of New York and his only companions are the city’s bartenders. But trouble still knows how to find him, and when Johnny Bridges shows up from the old neighborhood, begging for Matt’s help, Cordell finds himself drawn into a case full of beautiful women and bloody murder. It’s just like the old days – only this time, when the beatings come, he may wind up on the receiving end...

Monday, September 30, 2024

On this day in television history - Naked City (1958 - 1963):


Naked City

created by Stirling Silliphant,
was released in the United States on ABC,
and ran for four seasons from September 30, 1958 – May 29, 1963.
Narrated by Herbert B. Leonard and Lawrence Dobkin.
Theme music:
This is the Naked City by George Duning,
Somewhere in the Night by Billy May,
and The Naked City Theme by Nelson Riddle.


Cast:

James Franciscus, John McIntire, Harry Bellaver, Horace McMahon, Paul Burke, Nancy Malone, Alan Alda, Michael Ansara, Ed Asner, Martin Balsam, Barbara Barrie, Orson Bean, Robert Blake, James Caan, Godfrey Cambridge, Joseph Campanella, Diahann Carroll, James Coburn, Michael Constantine, William Daniels, Sandy Dennis, Bruce Dern, David Doyle, Keir Dullea, Robert Duvall, Peter Falk, James Farentino, Peter Fonda, Conard Fowkes, Eileen Fulton, Frank Gorshin, Harry Guardino, Gene Hackman, Barbara Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper, Diana Hyland, Richard Jaeckel, David Janssen, Salome Jens, Jack Klugman, Shirley Knight, Piper Laurie, Diane Ladd, Audra Lindley, Jack Lord, George Maharis, Nancy Marchand, Sylvia Miles, Vic Morrow, Barry Morse, Robert Morse, Lois Nettleton, Leslie Nielsen, Carroll O'Connor, Susan Oliver, Marisa Pavan, Suzanne Pleshette, Robert Redford, Doris Roberts, Mark Rydell, Telly Savalas, George Segal, William Shatner, Martin Sheen, Tom Simcox, Jean Stapleton, Maureen Stapleton, Rod Steiger, Mel Stuart, Rip Torn, Cicely Tyson, Brenda Vaccaro, Dick Van Patten, Jon Voight, Christopher Walken, Deborah Walley, Jack Warden, Tuesday Weld, Dick York, Luther Adler, Eddie Albert, Robert Alda, Louise Allbritton, Kirk Alyn, Richard Basehart, Theodore Bikel, Nancy Carroll, Lee J. Cobb, Gladys Cooper, Hume Cronyn, Ludwig Donath, Diana Douglas, Betty Field, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Nina Foch, Ruth Ford, Martin Gabel, Peggy Ann Garner, Vincent Gardenia, Eileen Heckart, Barnard Hughes, Kim Hunter, Sam Jaffe, Glynis Johns, Kurt Kasznar, Abbe Lane, Eugenie Leontovich, Al Lewis, Viveca Lindfors, Ross Martin, Walter Matthau, Myron McCormick, Roddy McDowall, Burgess Meredith, Jean Muir, Meg Mundy, Mildred Natwick, Cathleen Nesbitt, Jeanette Nolan, Nehemiah Persoff, Claude Rains, Eugenia Rawls, Aldo Ray, Ruth Roman, Mickey Rooney, Albert Salmi, George C. Scott, Sylvia Sidney, Jan Sterling, Beatrice Straight, Akim Tamiroff, Lawrence Tierney, Jo Van Fleet, Eli Wallach, David Wayne, Jesse White, Cara Williams, Roland Winters, Keenan Wynn.

Sunday, September 22, 2024

On this day in television history - Peter Gunn (1958 - 1961):


Peter Gunn

was released on September 22, 1958,
and ran for three seasons until September 18, 1961.


Cast:

Craig Stevens, Lola Albright, Herschel Bernardi, Hope Emerson, Minerva Urecal, Byron Kane, Bill Chadney, Billy Barty, Herbert Ellis, Capri Candela, Morris Erby, James Lanphier, Robert Gist.

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Born on this day – Wendie Jo Sperber:


Wendie Jo Sperber


Actress

September 15, 1958 – November 29, 2005

Credits:

12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2006); 8 Simple Rules (2003–2005); 1941 (1979); A Package for Me (2002); ABC Afterschool Specials (1979); American Dad! (2006); Babes (1990–1991); Bachelor Party (1984); Back to the Future (1985); Back to the Future Part III (1990); Bette (2001); Big Packages (1996); Bosom Buddies (1980–1982); Brothers (1985); Corvette Summer (1978); Delta Fever (1987); Designing Women (1989); Desperate But Not Serious (1999); Dinosaurs (1992); Entertainment Tonight (1990); Fortune Hunter (1994); Grease (1978); Grounded for Life (2005); Harry and the Hendersons (1991); Hearts Afire (1992–1993); History of the Sitcom (2021); Home Improvement (1999); I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978); Imps* / Segment: Rock Video (1983); JAG (2003); Kirk (1995); Knots Landing (1981); Looking Back at the Future (2006); Love Affair (1994); Marblehead Manor (1987); Married... with Children (1991); Moving Violations (1985); Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (1995); Mr. Write (1994); Murphy Brown (1988); My Dinner with Jimi (2003); Noel's House Party (1996); Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1992); Partners in Life (1990); Pissed (2000); Private Benjamin (1982–1983); Showbiz Today (1998); Sorority Boys (2002); Special Collector's Edition (2011); Stewardess School (1986); Take 22: Behind the Scenes of Sequestered (2010); The First Time (1981); The Image (1990); The Importance of Being Funny in America (1987); The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A. (1995); The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1998–1999); The Stockard Channing Show (1980); Touched by an Angel (2003); Unhappily Ever After (1999); Used Cars (1980); Who's the Boss? (1990); Will & Grace (1999); Women in Prison (1987–1988); You Wish (1997).

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

On this day in movie history - The Blob (1958):


The Blob

directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. and Russell S. Doughten Jr.,
written by Theodore Simonson and Kay Linaker,
based on an idea by Irvine H. Millgate,
was released in the United States on September 10, 1958.
Music by Ralph Carmichael.


Cast:

Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, Olin Howland, Stephen Chase, John Benson, George Karas, Lee Payton, Elbert Smith, Hugh Graham, Vincent Barbi, Audrey Metcalf, Jasper Deeter, Tom Ogden, Elinor Hammer, Pamela Curran, Ralph Roseman, Charlie Overdorff, David Metcalf, Josh Randolph, George Gerbereck, Julie Cousins, Keith Almoney, Eugene Sabel, Robert Fields, James Bonnet, Tony Franke, Molly Ann Bourne, Diane Tabben, Russ Conway, Howard Fishlove, Jack H. Harris, Vincent J. Mastrangelo, Theodore Simonson.

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Recommended reading - The Doomsters (1958):


The Doomsters

By Ross Macdonald.

ASIN: 0307279049
First published 1958.
Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 9780307279040
ISBN-13: 978-0307279040

Description:

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

“Ross 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.

Hired by Carl Hallman, the desperate-eyed junkie scion of an obscenely wealthy political dynasty, detective Lew Archer investigates the suspicious deaths of Hallman’s parents, Senator Hallman and his wife Alicia. Arriving in the sleepy town of Purissima, Archer discovers that orange groves may be where the Hallmans made their mint, but they’ve has been investing heavily in political intimidation and police brutality to shore up their rancid riches. However, after years of dastardly double-crossing and low down dirty-dealing, the family seem to be on the receiving end of a karmic death-blow. With two dead already and another consigned to the nuthouse, Archer races to crack the secret before another Hallman lands on the slab.

Murder, madness and greed grace The Doomsters, where a tony façade masks the rot and corruption within.

“Ross Macdonald is one of the best writers of the whipcord thriller.” – The Bookman.

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

On this day in movie history - The Big Country (1958):


The Big Country,
directed by William Wyler,
written by James R. Webb, Sy Bartlett and Robert Wilder,
based on the novel Ambush at Blanco Canyon by Donald Hamilton,
was released in the United States on August 13, 1958.
Music by Jerome Moross.


Cast:
Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, Alfonso Bedoya, Chuck Connors, Chuck Hayward, Buff Brady, Jim Burk, Dorothy Adams, Chuck Roberson
, Bob Morgan, John McKee, Slim Talbot, Richard Alexander, Rudy Bowman, Harry Cheshire, Chuck Hamilton, George Huggins, Jay W. Jensen, Donald Kerr, Burt Mustin, Carey Paul Peck, Jonathan Peck, Stephen Peck, Ralph Sanford, Scott Seaton.

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

On this day in movie history - Vertigo (1958):


Vertigo,
directed by Alfred Hitchcock,
written by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor,
based on the novel D’entre les morts,
translation: From Among the Dead, by Boileau-Narcejac (Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac),
was released in the United States on May 28, 1958.
Music by Bernard Herrmann.


Cast:
James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Raymond Bailey, Ellen Corby, Konstantin Shayne, Lee Patrick, David Ahdar, Isabel Analla, Jack Ano, Margaret Bacon, John Benson, Danny Borzage, Margaret Brayton, Paul Bryar, Boyd Cabeen, Steve Conte, Jean Corbett, Bruno Della Santina, Roxann Delman, Harry Denny, Molly Dodd, Bess Flowers, Raoul Freeman, Joe Garcio, Joanne Genthon, Kenneth Gibson, Don Giovanni, Roland Gotti, Victor Gotti, Fred Graham, Robert Haines, Buck Harrington, Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmie Horan, Art Howard, Catherine Howard, June Jocelyn, Perk Lazelle, John Marlin, Miliza Milo, Lyle Moraine, Forbes Murray, Julian Petruzzi, Ezelle Poule, Kathy Reed, William Remick, Jack Richardson, Jeffrey Sayre, Nina Shipman, Dori Simmons, Ed Stevlingson, Sara Taft.