On this day in movie history - Grumpy Old Men (1993):

Grumpy Old Men

directed by Donald Petrie,

written by Mark Steven Johnson,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1993.
Music by Alan Silvestri.

Cast:

Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Ossie Davis, Buck Henry, Christopher McDonald, Steve Cochran, Joe Howard, Isabell O'Connor, Buffy Sedlachek, John Carroll Lynch, Charles Brin, Oliver Osterberg, Joel Edwards, Steven Mark Hahn, Sharon Howard, Larissa Lowthorp, Katie Sagona, Katie Wahlquist.

On this day in movie history - Grumpier Old Men (1995):

Grumpier Old Men

directed by Howard Deutch,

written by Mark Steven Johnson,

was released in the United States on December 22, 1995.
Music by Alan Silvestri.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Sophia Loren, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ann Morgan Guilbert, James Andelin, Marcus Klemp, Max Wright, Cheryl Hawker, Wayne A. Evenson, Allison Levine, John Patrick Martin, Adam Ward, Ryan Waldoch, James Cada, Jaclyn Ross, Kyle Christopherson, Jeffrey L. Smith, Geraldo Rivera, Warren Schueneman, Jack Mitsch, Sterling Robson, Gregory Schuneman, Denny Schusted, Michelle Johnston, Wallace Olson, Carl Johnson, Eugene Karels, Lawrence Grivna, Joel Edwards, Larissa Lowthorp, Johnny Luckett, Tammara Melloy, Shirley Stoler, Ryan Wotherspoon.

Born on this day – Burgess Meredith:

Burgess Meredith

Actor

Director

November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997

On this day in movie history - Street of Chance (1942 movie & novel):

Street of Chance

directed by Jack Hively,

written by Garrett Fort,

based on the novel The Black Curtain by Cornell Woolrich,

was released in the United States on October 3, 1942.

Music by David Buttolph.

Cast:

Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor, Louise Platt, Sheldon Leonard, Frieda Inescort, Jerome Cowan, Adeline De Walt Reynolds, Arthur Loft, Clancy Cooper, Paul Phillips, Keith Richards, Ann Doran, Cliff Clark, Edwin Maxwell, Kenneth Chryst, Kernan Cripps, Ralph Dunn, Ruth Gillette, Gladden James, Milton Kibbee, Helen MacKellar, James C. Morton, Reed Porter, Harry Tyler, Dorothy Vernon, Bess Wade, George Watts, Gloria Williams, Sonny Boy Williams.

Recommended reading:

The Black Curtain

By Cornell Woolrich.

Filmed as Street of Chance (1942), directed by Jack Hively.

First published 1941.

Published by Centipede Press.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1613471475

ISBN-13: 978-1613471470

Description:

A man is accused of a murder he cannot remember…

In a nightmare scenario, Frank Townsend has an apparently minor accident on his way home but he arrives to find his wife gone and doesn’t recognize his apartment. He had gone to work on a normal day but didn’t return for more than three years. Suffering from amnesia, he has to rediscover who he is, where he has been, and what he has done. A curtain has fallen to cut off all memories of his life.

First among the memories he wants to recover is whether he has committed the murder of which he has been accused. A mysterious stranger with a gun has been following him while he attempts to simultaneously understand what has happened in his past while doing all he can to extricate himself from a seemingly hopeless situation and regain his reputation. He does not yet know that he is in great jeopardy and there is no one he can trust to rescue him from the abyss.

The Black Curtain is the second of Cornell Woolrich’s celebrated “black” books, following The Bride Wore Black, which established his reputation as America’s greatest noir writer. It was adapted into film as the classic Street of Chance, starring Burgess Meredith and Claire Trevor.

On this day in movie history - State of Grace (1990):

State of Grace

directed by Phil Joanou,

written by Dennis McIntyre,

was released in the United States on September 14, 1990.
Music by Ennio Morricone.

Cast:

Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturro, John C. Reilly, R.D. Call, Joe Viterelli, Burgess Meredith, Marco St. John, Mo Gaffney, Deirdre O'Connell, Thomas G. Waites, Michael Cumpsty, Michael Cunningham, Jaime Tirelli, Vincent Pastore, Michael Cambridge, Daniel O'Shea, Thomas F. Duffy, Sandra Beall, Vincent Guastaferro, Johnny Williams, John Roselius, Louis Eppolito, John MacKay, John Ottavino, Tim Gallin, Timothy Klein, Jack Wallace, Frank Girardeau, Michael P. Moran, Frank Coletta, Paul-Felix Montez, Freddi Chandler, Tommy Sullivan, Ben Fine, Saasha Costello, Catherine Stewart, Carl Burrows, Victor Competiello, Patricia Holihan, David Hummel, Anibal O. Lleras, James Russo, Charlie Sara, Anthony Welch.