On this day in movie history - The Birds (1963):

The Birds

directed by Alfred Hitchcock,

written by Evan Hunter,

based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier,

was released in the United States on March 28, 1963.

Cast:

Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Tippi Hedren, Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Ruth McDevitt, Lonny Chapman, Joe Mantell, Doodles Weaver, Malcolm Atterbury, John McGovern, Karl Swenson, Richard Deacon, Elizabeth Wilson, Bill Quinn, Doreen Lang, Morgan Brittany, Darlene Conley, Valerie Ferdin, Betsy Hale, Alfred Hitchcock, Dal McKennon, Mike Monteleone, Bob Morgan, Renn Reed, Arnold Roberts, Jeannie Russell, Bill Scully, Rory Stevens, Tomm Wells, Mitch Zanich.

Recommended reading - The Wall (1963):

The Wall

By Marlen Haushofer.

Translated by Shaun Whiteside.

Afterword by Claire Louise-Bennett.

First published 1963.

Published by New Directions.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0811231941

ISBN-13: 978-0811231947

Description:

While vacationing in a hunting lodge in the Austrian mountains, a middle-aged woman awakens one morning to find herself separated from the rest of the world by an invisible wall. With a cat, a dog, and a cow as her sole companions, she learns how to survive and cope with her loneliness.

Allegorical yet deeply personal and absorbing, The Wall is at once a critique of modern civilization, a nuanced and loving portrait of a relationship between a woman and her animals, a thrilling survival story, a Cold War-era dystopian adventure, and a truly singular feminist classic.

"An extraordinarily interesting writer, always underappreciated." – Elfriede Jelinek.

"The Wall is a wonderful novel. It is not often that you can say only a woman could have written this book, but women in particular will understand the heroine's loving devotion to the details of making and keeping life, every day felt as a victory against everything that would like to undermine and destroy. It is as absorbing as Robinson Crusoe." – Doris Lessing.

"Brilliant in its sustainment of dread, in its peeling away of old layers of reality to expose a raw way of seeing and feeling. Doris Lessing once remarked that only a woman could have written this novel, and it's true: I know of no closer study in claustrophobia and liberation, and of an independence whose severity is at once ecstatic and doomed. I’ve read The Wall three times already and am nowhere near finished." – Nicole Krauss.

Marlen Haushofer (1920–1970) was an Austrian author of short stories, novels, radio plays, and children’s books. Her work has had a strong influence on many German-language writers, such as the Nobel Prize–winner Elfriede Jelinek, who dedicated one of her plays to her. The Wall was adapted a film, directed by Julian Pölsler and starring Martina Gedeck.

On this day in movie history - The Raven (1963):

The Raven

directed by Roger Corman,

written by Richard Matheson,

based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe,

was released in the United States on January 25, 1963.
Music by Les Baxter.

Cast:

Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court, Olive Sturgess, Jack Nicholson, Connie Wallace, William Baskin, Aaron Saxon, Leo Gordon, Dick Johnstone.

Recommended reading - Days of Wine and Roses (1958 & 1963)

Days of Wine and Roses (1958 & 1963)

Days of Wine and Roses

By J.P. Miller.

Published by Dramatist's Play Service.
Teleplay first published 1958.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0822202816
ISBN-13: 9780822202813

Description:

In the fast-moving milieu of Madison Avenue, social drinking is almost an occupational necessity, and one that fast-rising young Joe Clay adopts with too ready ease. Unfortunately, the girl he meets and marries shares his proclivity, and while they continue to tell themselves that they drink because they choose to, it is soon apparent that their habit has become a serious problem. But their failure to acknowledge this plunges them headlong into the shattering events of the play a career in shambles, a marriage destroyed, the esteem of friends and family lost, and a child who has become the innocent victim of their obsession. In the poignant ending of the play a spectre of hope arises but, more important, so does a galvanizing awareness of the depth of their torment, and of the lesson which their compulsive self-destruction must have for others.

Days of Wine and Roses

By David Westheimer.

Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN: B0000CLO9H

Published 1963.

Published by Bantam Books.

Description:

A story of Brandy Alexander and the insidious way alcohol can destroy a life. Based on J.P. Miller's play and includes three still pictures on back cover from the movie of the same name.

On this day in movie history - Move Over, Darling (1963):

Move Over, Darling

directed by Michael Gordon,

written by Bella Spewack, Sam Spewack, Leo McCarey, Hal Kanter and Jack Sher,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1963.
Music by Lionel Newman.

Cast:

Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen, Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark, Don Knotts, Chuck Connors, Edgar Buchanan, John Astin, Elliott Reid, Pat Harrington Jr., Alan Sues, Max Showalter, Eddie Quillan, Jack Orrison, Pami Lee, Leslie Farrell.

Born on this day – Carrie Hamilton:

Carrie Hamilton

Actress

Writer

December 5, 1963 – January 20, 2002

Credits:

Lunchtime Thomas (2001); The Pretender (2000); P.1 (1999); The X-Files (1999); Brooklyn South (1998); Touched by an Angel (1997); Walker, Texas Ranger (1995); Cool World (1992); A Mother's Justice (1991); Thirtysomething (1991); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1991); Equal Justice (1991); Murder, She Wrote (1990); Checkered Flag (1990); Carol & Company (1990); The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989); Single Women Married Men (1989); Tokyo Pop (1988); Knightwatch (1988); Shag (1988); Tokyo Pop (1988); Hostage (1988); Fame (1986–1987); Love Lives On (1985).