On this day in movie history - Lady in Cement (1968):

Lady in Cement

directed by Gordon Douglas,

written by Marvin H. Albert and Jack Guss,

based on the novel by Marvin H. Albert,

was released in the United States on November 20, 1968.

Music by Hugo Montenegro.

Cast:

Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, Richard Conte, Martin Gabel, Lainie Kazan, Pat Henry, Dan Blocker, Steve Peck, Virginia Wood, Richard Deacon, Frank Raiter, Peter Hock, Alex Stevens, Christine Todd, Mac Robbins, Tommy Uhlar, Rey Baumel, Pauly Dash, Andy Jarrell, Al Algiro, Robert 'Buzz' Henry, Lanita Kent, Joe E. Lewis, Charlene Mathies, Shirley Parker, B.S. Pully, Jilly Rizzo, Chris Robinson, Coz Serrapere, Dick Sterling, Bunny Yeager.

On this day in movie history - They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968):

They Came to Rob Las Vegas

directed by Antonio Isasi,

written by Antonio Isasi, Lluis Josep Comeron, Jorge Illa and Jo Eisinger, based on the novel by André Lay,

was released in Spain on October 31, 1968.
Music by Georges Garvarentz.

Cast:

Gary Lockwood, Elke Sommer, Lee J. Cobb, Jean Servais, Georges Géret, Jack Palance, Fabrizio Capucci, Roger Hanin, Gustavo Re, Daniel Martín, Maurizio Arena, Enrique Ávila, Gérard Tichy, Rubén Rojo, Ingrid Spaey, Carlos Ballesteros, Luis Barboo, Rossella Bergamonti, Antonio Casas, Beni Deus, Fernando Hilbeck, José Marco, Julio Pérez Tabernero, George Rigaud, Lorenzo Robledo.

Recommended reading - The Valachi Papers (1968):

The Valachi Papers

By Peter Maas.

Published by Harper Perennial.

First published 1968.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 006050742X

ISBN-13: 978-0060507428

Description:

“As fascinating as fiction, a bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members." – New York Times Book Review.

The First Inside Account of the Mafia.

The Valachi Papers is a biography written by Peter Maas, telling the true story of former mafia member Joe Valachi, a low-ranking member of the New York based Genovese crime family, was the first ever government witness coming from the American Mafia itself. His account of his criminal past revealed many previously unknown details of the Mafia. The book was made into a film (The Valachi Papers), released in 1972, starring Charles Bronson as Valachi. In October 1963, Valachi testified before Senator John L. McClellan's congressional committee on organized crime, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations. In the so-called Valachi hearings he gave the American public a firsthand account of Mafia activities in the United States.

In the 1960s a disgruntled soldier in New York's Genovese Crime Family decided to spill his guts. His name was Joseph Valachi. Daring to break the Mob's code of silence for the first time, Valachi detailed the organization of organized crime from the capos, or bosses, of every Family, to the hit men who "clipped" rivals and turncoats. With a phenomenal memory for names, dates, addresses, phone numbers – and where the bodies were buried – Joe Valachi provided the chilling facts that led to the arrest and conviction of America's major crime figures.

The rest is history.

Never again would the Mob be protected by secrecy. For the Mafia, Valachi's name would become synonymous with betrayal. But his stunning exposé broke the back of America's Cosa Nostra and stands today as the classic about America's Mob, a fascinating tale of power and terror, big money, crime. . . and murder.

The bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members.

“A highly readable narrative…. A story littered with bodies and unsolved crimes, betrayals and beatings, oaths, ritual, and revenge.” – Newsweek.

“A classic on crime.” – Life.

On this day in movie history - Bullitt (1968):

Bullitt

directed by Peter Yates,

written by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner,

based on the novel Mute Witness, by Robert L. Pike,

was released in the United States on October 17, 1968.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, Norman Fell, Georg Stanford Brown, Justin Tarr, Carl Reindel, Felice Orlandi, Vic Tayback, Robert Lipton, Ed Peck, Pat Renella, Paul Genge, John Aprea, Al Checco, Bill Hickman, Mal Alberts, Scott Beach, Mary Benoit, Barbara Bosson, Roger Bowen, Joy Carlin, Brandy Carroll, Joanna Cassidy, Julie Christy, Robert Cleaves, Tony Dario, Michael L. Davis, Jim Demarest, Chuck Dorsett, Thomas Duncan, Marjorie Eaton, Walker Edmiston, Sam Edwards, Mimi Fariña, Shirley Fitzgerald, Dick Geary, Frank Gerstle, Dennis Gribbon, Bob Harks, Stacy Harris, Bill Jones, Stu Klitsner, Jean Le Bouvier, Margo Lungreen, Larry D. Mann, Claire Merrill, Kathleen Morrissey, Ned Moss, Vic Perrin, Charlene Polite, Angel Sanchez Jr., Suzanne Somers, Eron Tabor, Liz Treadwell, John Vick, Erick Vinther, Regina Waldon.

On this day in movie history - Coogan’s Bluff (1968):

Coogan’s Bluff

directed by Don Siegel,

written by Herman Miller, Dean Riesner and Howard Rodman,

based on the novel by Herman Miller,

was released in the United States on October 2, 1968.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark, Tisha Sterling, Don Stroud, Betty Field, Tom Tully, Melodie Johnson, James Edwards, Rudy Diaz, David Doyle, Louis Zorich, Meg Myles, Marjorie Bennett, Seymour Cassel, John Coe, Skip Battyn, Albert Popwell, Conrad Bain, James Gavin, Albert Henderson, James McCallion, Syl Lamont, Jess Osuna, Jerry Summers, Antonia Rey, Marya Henriques.

Born on this day – Iris Junik:

Iris Junik

Actress

August 26, 1968 – March 29, 2009

Recommended reading - The Wages of Fear (1950):

The Wages of Fear

Original title: Le Salaire de la peur.

By Georges Arnaud.

Originally published in 1950.

This English language translation edition was published in 1968.

Paperback.

Avon edition.

ASIN: B000VDT4KS

Description:

Las Piedras, beaching port. There are hundreds of them, coming from who knows where, to forget the impasse of their existence in the tropics. For a handful of dollars, these low-rankers are ready to do anything. Ready to face kilometers of impassable track, behind the wheel of a dilapidated truck, to transport nitroglycerin. At the slightest deviation, at the slightest shock, it is death. An epic of pure anguish...

Book cover artwork from other editions:

On this day in movie history - The Detective (1968):

The Detective,

directed by Gordon Douglas,

written by Abby Mann,

based on the novel by Roderick Thorp,

was released in the United States on May 28, 1968.
Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:
Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Ralph Meeker, Jack Klugman, Horace McMahon, Lloyd Bochner, William Windom, Tony Musante, Al Freeman Jr., Robert Duvall, Pat Henry, Patrick McVey, Dixie Marquis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Renée Taylor, Jim Inman, Tom Atkins, Jacqueline Bisset, Mikel Angel, Ted Beniades, Mark Dawson, James Dukas, Jan Farrand, Don Fellows, Tom Gorman, Sharon Henesy, Richard Krisher, Lou Krugman, Paul Larson, Alan Manson, Bette Midler, Earl Montgomery, Peg Murray, Lou Nelson, George Plimpton, Frank Raiter, Jilly Rizzo, Jose Rodriguez, Joe Santos, Diane Sayer, Arnold Soboloff, Philip Sterling, Stephen Wright, Peter York.