On this day in movie history - Straight Time (1978 movie & novel):

Straight Time

directed by Ulu Grosbard and Dustin Hoffman,

written by Alvin Sargent, Edward Bunker and Jeffrey Boam,

based on the novel No Beast So Fierce by Edward Bunker,

was released in the United States on March 17, 1978.
Music by David Shire.

Cast:

Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh, Rita Taggart, Kathy Bates, Sandy Baron, Jake Busey, Tina Menard, Stephanie Ericsson, Dave Kelly, Don Sommese, Kit Jee Wong, Peter Kwong, Jane Howard, Ronald L. Mellinger, Michael Blakley, John Colton, Edward Bunker, Corey Rand, John Gilgreen, Mary Craven, Peter Jurasik, Enid Hendershot, James Ray, Stuart I. Berton, Barry Cahill, Susan Sherman, Francesca Drown, Emily Le Rue, Ernest Taylor III, Fran Ryan, Bob Jarvis, Mark F. Hill, Mags Kavanaugh, Daniel Nunez, John McKinley Robertson, Mary Margaret Robinson, Deborah Sahagun.

Recommended reading:

No Beast So Fierce

By Edward Bunker.

Filmed as Straight Time (1978), directed by Ulu Grosbard and Dustin Hoffman.

Published by NO EXIT PRESS.

First published 1973.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1842432664

ISBN-13: 978-1842432662

Description:

“One of the great crime novels.” – James Ellroy.

An angry and mercilessly suspenseful novel about an ex-con's attempt to negotiate the "straight world" and his swan dive back into the paradoxical security of crime. It is airtight in its construction, almost photorealistic in its portrayal of L. A. lowlife and utterly knowledgeable about the terrors of liberty, the high of the quick score and the rage that makes the finger tighten on the trigger of the gun.

On this day in movie history - The Big Sleep (1978):

The Big Sleep

directed and written by Michael Winner,

based on the novel by Raymond Chandler,

was released in the United States on March 13, 1978.
Narrated by Robert Mitchum.
Music by Jerry Fielding.

Cast:

Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Richard Boone, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, Edward Fox, John Mills, James Stewart, Oliver Reed, Harry Andrews, Colin Blakely, Richard Todd, Diana Quick, James Donald, John Justin, Simon Fisher Turner, Martin Potter.

On this day in movie history - Blue Collar (1978):

Blue Collar

directed by Paul Schrader,

written by Paul Schrader and Leonard Schrader,

based on an article by Sydney A. Glass,

was released in the United States on February 10, 1978.
Music by Jack Nitzsche.

Cast:

Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Bellaver, George Memmoli, Lucy Saroyan, Lane Smith, Cliff De Young, Borah Silver, Chip Fields, Harry Northup, Leonard Gaines, Milton Selzer, Sammy Warren, Jimmy Martinez, Jerry Dahlmann, Denny Arnold, Rock Riddle, Stacey Baldwin, Steve Butts, Stephen P. Dunn, Speedy Brown, Davone Florence, Eddie Singleton, Ava Singleton, Vermettya Royster, Jaime Carreire, Victoria McFarland, Gloria Delaney, Rosa Flores, Crystal McCarey, Debra Fay Walker, Gino Ardito, Sean Fallon Walsh, Jerry Snider, Colby Chester, Donl Morse, William Pelt, Tracey Walter, Almeria Quinn, Lee McDonald, Rodney Lee Walker, Jeannine Oppewall, Jimmy Williams.