Born on this day – Esta TerBlanche:

Esta TerBlanche

Actress

Producer

January 7, 1973 – July 18, 2024

Credits:

All My Children (1997–2011); Daytime's Greatest Weddings (2004); Egoli: Place of Gold (1991); Germination (2013); Knew Amsterdam Radio (2023); K-T.V. (1990-1995); Miss Teen South Africa (1993); One on One with Jasper Cole (2021); Rooi Rose SuperModel 2004 (2004); Spin City (1997); The 15th Annual Soap Opera Digest Awards (1999); The 25th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1998); The 26th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1999); The 27th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2000); The Syndicate (1995–2000); Three Thieves and a Wedding (1991); WakeUp Uncensored (2021).

On this day in movie history - The Exorcist (movie & novel):

The Exorcist

directed by William Friedkin,

written by William Peter Blatty,

based on the novel by William Peter Blatty,

was released in the United States on December 26, 1973.
Music by Jack Nitzsche.
Excerpt from Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield.

Cast:

Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Father William O'Malley, Father Thomas Bermingham, Peter Masterson, Robert Symonds, Barton Heyman, Rudolf Schündler, Arthur Storch, Vasiliki Maliaros, Titos Vandis, Dick Callinan, William Peter Blatty, Mercedes McCambridge, Eileen Dietz.

Recommended reading:

The Exorcist

By William Peter Blatty.

Published by Harper Paperbacks.

First published in 1971.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 006209436X

ISBN-13: 978-0062094360

Description:

Four decades after it first shook the nation, then the world, William Peter Blatty’s thrilling masterwork of faith and demonic possession returns in an even more powerful form. Raw and profane, shocking and blood-chilling, it remains a modern parable of good and evil and perhaps the most terrifying novel ever written.

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

The Sting

directed by George Roy Hill,

written by David S. Ward,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1973.
Music by Marvin Hamlisch.

Cast:

Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, John Heffernan, Dana Elcar, Jack Kehoe, Dimitra Arliss, Robert Earl Jones, James Sloyan, Charles Dierkop, Lee Paul, Sally Kirkland, Avon Long, Arch Johnson, Ed Bakey, Brad Sullivan, John Quade, Larry D. Mann, Leonard Barr, Paulene Myers, Joe Tornatore, Jack Collins, Tom Spratley, Kenneth O'Brien, Ken Sansom, Ta-Tanisha, William 'Billy' Benedict, Jack Berle, Nick Borgani, Patricia Bratcher, Robert Brubaker, Robert Buckingham, Peter Eastman, Richard Elmore, Bob Folkerson, Kathleen Freeman, Susan French, Sig Frohlich, Ralph Gambina, Clarke Gordon, Frank Green, Jack Griffin, Bob Harks, George Holmes, Sid Kane, Bruce Kimball, Mike Lally, Alexander Lockwood, Tom McDonough, Jim Michael, Chuck Morrell, Byron Morrow, Richard Niehaus, Jessica Rains, Al Roberts, Edwin Rochelle, Clark Ross, Pearl Shear, Arthur Tovey, Guy Way.

On this day in movie history – Papillon (1973 movie & books):

Papillon

directed by Franklin J. Schaffner,

written by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr.,

based on the book by Henri Charrière,

released in the United States on December 16, 1973.

Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:

Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe, Robert Deman, Woodrow Parfrey, Bill Mumy, George Coulouris, Ratna Assan, William Smithers, Val Avery, Gregory Sierra, Ron Soble.

Recommended reading:

Papillon

By Henri Charriere.

ASIN: B01N8YET21

Published by William Morrow.

First published 1969.

Henri Charrière, called "Papillon," for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he became obsessed with one goal: escape. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, he was eventually sent to the notorious prison, Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped . . . until Papillon. His flight to freedom remains one of the most incredible feats of human cunning, will, and endurance ever undertaken. Charrière's astonishing autobiography, Papillon, was published in France to instant acclaim in 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape. Since then, it has become a treasured classic -- the gripping, shocking, ultimately uplifting odyssey of an innocent man who would not be defeated.

Banco:

The Further Adventures of Papillon

By Henri Charrière.

Published by Granada Publishing Limited.

First published 1972.

ISBN 13: 9780586040102

ISBN 10: 0586040102

ASIN: 0586040102

The sensational sequel to Papillon. Banco continues the adventures of Henri Charriere – nicknamed Papillon – in Venezuela, where he has finally won his freedom after thirteen years of escape and imprisonment. Despite his resolve to become an honest man, Charriere is soon involved in hair-raiding exploits with goldminers, gamblers, bank-robbers and revolutionaries – robbing and being robbed, his lust for life as strong as ever. He also runs night clubs in Caracas until an earthquake ruins him in 1967 – when he decides to write the book that brings his international fame.

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

The Seven-Ups

directed by Philip D'Antoni,

written by Albert Ruben and Alexander Jacobs,

based on a story by Sonny Grosso,

was released in the United States on December 14, 1973.
Music by Don Ellis.

Cast:

Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Larry Haines, Richard Lynch, Bill Hickman, Jerry Leon, Victor Arnold, Ken Kercheval, Lou Polan, Matt Russo, Joe Spinell, Robert Burr.

On this day in movie history - Magnum Force (1973):

Magnum Force

directed by Ted Post,

written by John Milius and Michael Cimino,

based on a story by John Milius,

was released in the United Kingdom on December 13, 1973.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Kip Niven, Robert Urich, Felton Perry, Maurice Argent, Margaret Avery, Richard Devon, Tony Giorgio, Jack Kosslyn, Bob March, Bob McClurg, John Mitchum, Russ Moro, Clifford A. Pellow, Albert Popwell, Christine White, Adele Yoshioka, Clarence 'Buzz' Anderson, Don Anderson, Susheela Asregadoo, Nina B. Blake, Kenneth Boyd, John Bracci, Marcia Brandwynne, Christopher Brooks, Art Brown, Jeff Carter, Willie Carter, Al Cingolani, Reuben Collins, Cab Covay, Paul D'Amato, Michael L. Davis, Brenda Dennis, Cash Earley, Aaron Edwards, Drew Eshelman, Debra A. Estok, Robert Feero, Peter Fitzsimmons, Ray K. Goman, Joseph Gostanian, Nicholas Grabien, Wayne Grace, J. Peter Hanson, Lisa Herman, Barbara Herring, Will Hutchins, Jay Jacobus, George R. Kalange, Gwyn Karon, Craig Kelly, Edgy Lee, John Lester, Lucy Lowry, Bruce Mackey, Ron Magers, Angela May, Linda McClure, Ricci McGee, Terence McGovern, Janet McGrath, Don Michaelian, Joe Miksak, Lynn Mortensen, Niels Mortensen, Bruce Neckels, Eugene A. Nelson, Ben Niems, Tom O'Neill, Rudy Ortega, Tony Piazza, Charles Raino, George Reading, Jack Rosenblaum, Ray Saunders, Jack Schmidt, Robert E. Simpson, Karna Small, Melvina Smedley, Windrim Smith, Suzanne Somers, Owen Spann, William Swan, Steve Treacy, Robert Trebor, Ed Vasgersian, Conni Venturi, John Vick, Robert V.R. Ware, Carl Weathers, Johnny Weissmuller Jr., Joseph Whipp, William L. Williams, Phil Wilson, Jeff Wynne.

On this day in movie history - The Last Detail (1973 movie & novel):

The Last Detail

directed by Hal Ashby,

written by Robert Towne,

based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan,

was released in the United States on December 12, 1973.
Music by Johnny Mandel.

Cast:

Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, Carol Kane, Michael Moriarty, Nancy Allen, Gilda Radner, Jim Hohn, Luana Anders.

The Last Detail

By Darryl Ponicsan.

First published 1970.

Published by Skyhorse.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1510727752

ISBN-13: 978-1510727755

Description:

The Acclaimed Novel That Was the Basis for the Classic Movie Starring Jack Nicholson.

Unlike the other branches of the armed services, the navy draws its police force from the ranks, as temporary duty. The risk is that men on Shore Patrol might bring their humanity to the task. This accounts for the underlying tension in "The Last Detail", which takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. Billy Bad-Ass and Mule Mulhall, two career sailors in transit in Norfolk, awaiting permanent orders, are given a "chaser" duty. Their assignment is to escort and deliver Larry Meadows, an 18-year-old sailor, from Norfolk to Portsmouth, N.H., where he is to serve an eight-year sentence in the brig. It's good duty, on the face of it, until the two old salts realize the injustice of the sentence and are oddly affected by the true innocence of their prisoner, even though he is guilty as charged. Failure, or refusal, to carry out their duty is never a question, no matter how much they hate the detail or how wrong it seems, and yet something must be done, some gesture made in order to help their hapless prisoner survive the long ordeal he faces, and to purge their own sense of shame. "The Last Detail" was Darryl Ponicsan's first book and it catapulted him into the front rank of American novelists. It was made into the 1973 film starring Jack Nicholson, and has become a classic of the Golden Age of American cinema. This new edition of "The Last Detail" coincides with the publication of its long-awaited sequel, "Last Flag Flying", also available from The Wright Press.