On this day in movie history - The Blue Knight (1973 TV mini-series & novel):

The Blue Knight

directed by Robert Butler,

written by E. Jack Newman,

based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh,

a four-part made-for-TV film,

was originally broadcast on NBC from November 11 – 14, 1973.
Music by Nelson Riddle.

Cast:

William Holden, Lee Remick, Joe Santos, Sam Elliott, Eileen Brennan, Vic Tayback, Anne Archer, Lucille Benson, Ja'net DuBois, Mario Roccuzzo, Jamie Farr, David Moody, Gloria LeRoy, Richard Collier, Kenneth Wolger, George DiCenzo, Raymond Guth, Emile Meyer, Ernest Esparza III, John Quade, Janit Baldwin, Arell Blanton, Helen Boll, Simmy Bow, Don Calfa, Lou Cutell, Alan Fudge, John Furlong, Stan Haze, Howard Hesseman, Randy Kirby, Jon Korkes, Arthur Malet, Karmin Murcelo, Rudy Ramos, Paul Reid Roman, Lee Weaver, Jason Wingreen, Richard 'Dub' Wright, Harry Arnie, Katharine Bard, James Beach, Nanci Beck, Norland Benson, Roxanne Bonilla, Claire Brennen, Thomas Paul Carey, Ric Carrott, Stanley Bennett Clay, Patrick Dennis-Leigh, Larry Duran, Joseph X. Flaherty, Ben Frommer, Eddra Gale, Janie Greenspun, Raven Grey Eagle, Margie Haber, Monika Henreid, Janear Hines, Jan-Minika Hughes, J.S. Johnson, Richard E. Kalk, Wayne King Sr., Dudley Knight, Maryann Krakow, Bob Lauher, Norma Lee, David Lipp, Jay W. MacIntosh, E. Jack Neuman, Douglas T. O'Dell, Tim O'Denning, Danny 'Big Black' Rey, Richard Sarradet, Jeffrey Sayre, Christopher Seitz, Ken Smedberg, Nick St. Nicholas, Michael Stearns, Jack Tesler, Russell Thorson, Tom Tolbert, Dino Washington, John Sylvester White, Clint Young.

Recommended reading:

The Blue Knight

By Joseph Wambaugh.

First published 1972.

Published by Grand Central Publishing.

Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0446509191

ISBN-13: 978-0446509190

Description:

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Gritty, luminous, and ultimately stunning, this novel is Wambaugh at his best – a tale of a street cop on the hardest beat of his life.

The Blue Knight.

Twenty and two. Those are the numbers turning in the mind of William "Bumper" Morgan: twenty years on the job, two days before he "pulls the pin" and walks away from it forever. But on the gritty streets of L.A., people look at Bumper like some kind of knight in armor – they've plied him with come-ons, hot tips, and the hard respect a man can't earn anywhere else. Now, with a new job and a good woman waiting for him, a kinky thief terrorizing L.A.'s choice hotels, and a tragedy looming, Bumper Morgan is about to face the only thing that can scare him: the demons that he's been hiding behind his bright and shiny badge...

“Marvelous … realistic, frightening, touching in its humanity. – Detroit Free Press.

“An extraordinary piece of craftsmanship.” – Los Angeles Times.

On this day in television history – The World at War (1973 documentary & book):

The World at War

documentary created by Jeremy Isaacs,

directed by David Elstein,

released in the United Kingdom on October 31, 1973.

Music: The World at War Theme composed by Carl Davis.

Narrated by Laurence Olivier.

Episode Titles: A New Germany (1933–1939); Distant War (September 1939 – May 1940); France Falls (May–June 1940); Alone (May 1940 – May 1941); Barbarossa (June–December 1941); Banzai!: Japan (1931–1942); On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942); The Desert: North Africa (1940–1943); Stalingrad (June 1942 – February 1943); Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic (1939–1944); Red Star: The Soviet Union (1941–1943); Whirlwind: Bombing Germany (September 1939 – April 1944); Tough Old Gut: Italy (November 1942 – June 1944); It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942–1944); Home Fires: Britain (1940–1944); Inside the Reich: Germany (1940–1944); Morning (June–August 1944); Occupation: Holland (1940–1944); Pincers (August 1944 – March 1945); Genocide (1941–1945); Nemesis: Germany (February–May 1945); Japan (1941–1945); Pacific (February 1942 – July 1945); The Bomb (February–September 1945); Reckoning (April 1945); Remember; The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler; The Final Solution - Auschwitz: Part One; The Final Solution - Auschwitz: Part Two; Hitler's Germany: The People's Community (1933–1939); Hitler's Germany: Total War (1939–1945); Secretary to Hitler; From War to Peace; The Making of the Series: The World at War; Making of the Series - A 30th Anniversary Retrospective; Experiences of War; Restoring the World at War.

Recommended reading:

The World at War

By Mark Arnold-Forster.

Published by Signet.

First published 1973.

ISBN-10: 0451057759

ISBN-13: 978-0451057754

Description:

The Second World War was the largest and most appalling military conflagration in history. It killed millions of people. It destroyed much of the old Europe. It altered the world balance of political and economic power. Its consequences are incalculable and are everywhere with us still. In his now classic book, The World at War, Mark Arnold-Forster tells the story of the War in a simple, bold and highly readable way. He illuminates each of the main theatres individually, so that the complex development of the various military campaigns can be easily followed. Making use of original documents as well as first-hand interviews, he has produced a history which is both authoritative and intensely vivid.

On this day in movie history - The Outfit (1973):

The Outfit

directed and written by John Flynn,

based on the novel by Richard Stark,

was released in the United States on October 19, 1973.
Music by Jerry Fielding.

Cast:

Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker, Robert Ryan, Timothy Carey, Richard Jaeckel, Sheree North, Felice Orlandi, Marie Windsor, Jane Greer, Henry Jones, Joanna Cassidy, Tom Reese, Elisha Cook Jr., Bill McKinney, Anita O'Day, Archie Moore, Tony Young, Roland La Starza, Edward Ness, Roy Roberts, Toby Andersen, Emile Meyer, Roy Jenson, Philip Kenneally, Bern Hoffman, John Steadman, Paul Genge, Francis De Sales, James Bacon, Army Archerd, Tony Trabert, Lee de Broux, Raven Grey Eagle, Bob Harks, Charles Knapp, Mike Ragan, Jeannine Riley, George Savalas, Jeffrey Sayre, Arthur Tovey, Ralph Volkie.

On this day in movie history - Charley Varrick (1973):

Charley Varrick

directed by Don Siegel,

written by Dean Riesner and Howard A. Rodman,

based on the novel The Looters by John H. Reese,

was released in the United States on October 19, 1973.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, Andrew Robinson, Sheree North, Norman Fell, Benson Fong, Woodrow Parfrey, William Schallert, Jacqueline Scott, Marjorie Bennett, Rudy Diaz, Colby Chester, Charlie Briggs, Priscilla Garcia, Scott Hale, Charles Matthau, Hope Summers, Monica Lewis, James Nolan, Tom Tully, Albert Popwell, Kathleen O'Malley, Christina Hart, Craig R. Baxley, Al Dunlap, Virginia Wing, Don Siegel, John Vernon, Robert D. Carver, Joe Conforte, Art Cribbs, Carol Daniels, Thom Dunbar, Richard R. Hogan, Fred Little, Holly Nutter, Fred Scheiwiller, Bob Steele, Carlos Velasquez, Walt Wallace.

On this day in movie history - Badlands (1973):

Badlands

directed and written by Terrence Malick,

was released in the United States on October 15, 1973.
Inspired by the true Charles Starkweather case (1957-58).
Music by George Tipton, Carl Orff and James Taylor.

Cast:

Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Ramon Bieri, Alan Vint, Gary Littlejohn, John Carter, Bryan Montgomery, Gail Threlkeld, Charles Fitzpatrick, Howard Ragsdale, John Womack Jr., Dona Baldwin, Ben Bravo, Emilio Estevez, Li Po Lung, Terrence Malick, Charlie Sheen.

On this day in movie history - Mean Streets (1973):

Mean Streets

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Martin Scorsese and Mardik Martin,

was released in the United States on October 14, 1973.

Cast:

Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, David Proval, Amy Robinson, Richard Romanus, Cesare Danova, George Memmoli, Harry Northup, Martin Scorsese, David Carradine, Jeannie Bell, Robert Carradine, Lois Walden, Juli Andelman, Catherine Scorsese.

On this day in television history - World on a Wire (1973 TV series & novel):

World on a Wire

Original title: Welt am Draht,

2-part mini-series directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder,

written by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Fritz Müller-Scherz,

based on the novel Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye,

released in Germany on October 14, 1973.

Music by Gottfried Hüngsberg.

Cast:

Klaus Löwitsch, Barbara Valentin, Mascha Rabben, Karl Heinz Vosgerau, Wolfgang Schenck, Günter Lamprecht, Ulli Lommel, Adrian Hoven, Ivan Desny, Joachim Hansen, Kurt Raab, Margit Carstensen, Ingrid Caven, Gottfried John, Rudolf Lenz, Lilo Pempeit / Lieselotte Eder, Heinz Meier, Peter Chatel, Rainer Hauer, Ernst Küsters, El Hedi ben Salem, Karl Scheydt, Solange Pradel, Bruce Low, Elma Karlowa, Maryse Dellanoy, Werner Schroeter, Magdalena Montezuma, Christine Kaufmann, Rainer Langhans, Corinna Brocher, Dora Karras-Frank, Katrin Schaake, Peter Gauhe, Christiane Maybach, Walter Sedlmayr, Eddie Constantine, Rudolf Waldemar Brem, Peter Kern, Karsten Peters, Peter Moland, Doris Mattes, Wolfgang Hess, Arnold Marquis.

Recommended reading:

Simulacron-3

By Daniel F. Galouye.

Afterword by Mike Resnick.

Published by Phoenix Pick.

First published 1964.

ISBN: 9781612420202

ISBN10: 1612420206

ASIN: 1612420206

Description:

A virtual-reality novel from a time before virtual reality, Simulacron-3 is a prophetic tale of a future where nothing is as it appears to be. Douglas Hall is part of a team that builds an artificial environment to simulate reality. This enables them to get public opinion polls without waiting for the opinions of people around them. But then something goes terribly wrong and his partners on the program start disappearing. But is it a simulated disappearance, or is someone out to get them all? And what is the true nature of reality? Stories based on Simulacron-3 have been adapted for both television and movies, and the book is considered a favorite of many of the masters of science fiction.