On this day in movie history - Opening Night (1977):

Opening Night

directed and written by John Cassavetes,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1977.
Music by Bo Harwood.

Cast:

Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell, Paul Stewart, Zohra Lampert, Laura Johnson, John Tuell, Ray Powers, John Finnegan, Louise Lewis, Fred Draper, Katherine Cassavetes, Lady Rowlands, Carol Warren, Briana Carver, Angelo Grisanti, Meade Roberts, Eleanor Zee, David Rowlands, Sharon Van Ivan, Jimmy Christie, James Karen, Jimmy Joyce, Sherry Bain, Sylvia Davis Shaw, Peter Lampert, Josh Becker, Peter Bogdanovich, Seymour Cassel, Robert Dassanowsky, Peter Falk, Jana Howard, Ronisue Kiser, William Kramer, Patrick Labyorteaux, Robert Leader, Naomi Stevens.

On this day in movie history - The Brink’s Job (1978 movie & book):

The Brink’s Job

directed William Friedkin,

written by Walon Green,

based on the book Big Stick-Up at Brinks by Noel Behn,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1978.
Music by Richard Rodney Bennett.

Cast:

Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands, Paul Sorvino, Sheldon Leonard, Gerard Murphy, Kevin O'Connor, Claudia Peluso, Patrick Hines, Malachy McCourt, Walter Klavun, Randy Jurgensen, John Brandon, Robert Prosky.

Recommended reading:

Big Stick-Up at Brinks

By Noel Behn.

First published 1976.

Published by Putnam.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0399118977

ISBN-13: 978-0399118975

Description:

A riveting and frequently hilarious insider account of one of the twentieth century’s most outrageous capers.

On the evening of January 17, 1950, armed robbers wearing Captain Marvel masks entered the Brink’s Armored Car building in Boston, Massachusetts. They walked out less than an hour later with more than $2.7 million in cash and securities. It was a brazen and expertly executed theft that captured the imaginations of millions of Americans and baffled the FBI and local law enforcement officials.

But what appeared on the surface to be the perfect crime was, in fact, the end result of a mind-boggling series of mistakes, miscalculations, and missteps. The men behind the masks were not expert bank robbers but a motley crew of small-time crooks who bumbled their way into a record-breaking payday and managed to elude the long arm of the law for six years.

New York Times bestselling author Noel Behn tape-recorded nearly one thousand hours of interviews with the surviving robbers, including motormouthed mastermind Tony Pino, a character so colorful he might have been dreamed up by a Hollywood screenwriter, to tell the uncensored story of the heist forever known as “the Great Brink’s Robbery.” Fun and suspenseful from first page to last, Behn’s true-crime classic was the basis for The Brink’s Job (1978), the Academy Award–nominated film directed by William Friedkin and starring Peter Falk and Peter Boyle.

“It had me riveted with suspense, but it also made me laugh until I got hiccups.” – Cosmopolitan.

“A King Kong of crime entertainment . . . that no movie could match . . . The Brink’s job [was] a kind of D-Day event in the annals of crime . . . Glorious.” – Kirkus Reviews.

“One minute you’re laughing your head off. The next minute you chill with fear. Crooks and crime at their best. Pure magic!” – Harold Robbins.

“The best book about criminals ever written, a rich and beautiful depiction of their lives as well as their work, a book that elevates them from moving-picture types to complete, vivid humans. Noel Behn has taken one of the most extraordinary crimes of the century and turned it into a living tapestry. It’s a wonderful book.” – Paddy Chayefsky, Academy Award–winning screenwriter of Network.

“Reads like a Hollywood screenplay, except that it really happened.” – John Barkham Reviews.

On this day in movie history - A Woman Under the Influence (1974):

A Woman Under the Influence

directed and written by John Cassavetes,

was released in the United States on November 18, 1974.
Music by Bo Harwood.

Cast:

Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands, Katherine Cassavetes, Matthew Labyorteaux, Matthew Cassel, Christina Grisanti, George Dunn, Mario Gallo, Eddie Shaw, Angelo Grisanti, Charles Horvath, James Joyce, John Finnegan, Cliff Carnell, Frank Richards, Hugh Hurd, Leon Wagner, Dominique Davalos, Xan Cassavetes, Pancho Meisenheimer, Sonny Aprile, Ellen Davalos, Joanne Moore Jordan, John Hawker, Sylvester Words, Elizabeth Deering, Jackie Peters, Elsie Ames, N.J. Cassavetes.

On this day in movie history - Gloria (1980):

Gloria

directed and written by John Cassavetes,

was released in the United States on October 1, 1980.
Music by Bill Conti.

Cast:

Gena Rowlands, Julie Carmen, Tony Knesich, Gregory Cleghorne, Buck Henry, John Adames, Lupe Garnica, Jessica Castillo, Tom Noonan, Ronald Maccone, George Yudzevich, Gary Howard Klar, William E. Rice, Frank Belgiorno, J.C. Quinn, Alex Stevens, Sonny Landham, Harry Madsen, Shanton Granger, John Pavelko, Ray Baker, Ross Charap, Irvin Graham, Michael Proscia, T.S. Rosenbaum, Santos Morales, Meta Shaw Stevens, Marilyn Putnam, John Finnegan, Gaetano Lisi, Richard M. Kaye, Steve Lefkowitz, George Poidomani, Lawrence Tierney, Asa Adil Qawee, Vincent Pecorella, Iris Fernandez, Jade Bari, David Resnick, Thomas J. Buckman, Joe Dabenigno, Bill Wiley, John M. Sefakis, Val Avery, Walter Dukes, Janet Ruben, Ferruccio Hrvatin, Edward Wilson, Basilio Franchina, Carl Levy, Warren Selvaggi, Nathan Seril, Vladimir Drazenovic, Edward Jacobs, Brad Johnston, Jerry Jaffe, Chris McCabe Adams, Maja Niles, Jerry Schram, Filomena Spagnuolo.

On this day in television history – Johnny Staccato (TV show & book):

Johnny Staccato

Season 1. Episode 1.

Episode entitled: The Naked Truth.

Released September 10, 1959.

Directed by Joseph Pevney.

Written by Richard Berg.

Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast: John Cassavetes, Eduardo Ciannelli, Chick Chandler, Michael Landon, Stacy Harris, Nick Cravat, Ruta Lee, Robert H. Harris, Frank Sully, Shelly Manne, Pete Candoli, Red Norvo, Red Mitchell, John / Johnny Williams, Barney Kessel, Monica Lewis, Joe Ploski.

Recommended reading:

Johnny Staccato

By Frank Boyd.

Published by Gold Medal Books.

Published 1960.

ASIN: B0DSZXQGML

Description:

A smooth man on the ivories, hot on the trigger, and cool in a jam – he’s the toughest private eye to hit America in a decade.