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.

Born on this day – Gena Rowlands:

Gena Rowlands

Actress

June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024

Credits:

1985 Stuntman Awards (1985); 47th Annual Academy Awards (1975); 77 Sunset Strip (1963); 87th Precinct (1961–1962); A Child Is Waiting (1963); A Constant Forge (2000); A Fuller Life (2013); A Question of Love (1978); A Woman Under the Influence (1974); Academy Originals: What Movies Mean to Me (2015); Adventures in Paradise (1960); AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars: America's Greatest Screen Legends (1999); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960); All About My Mother (1999); An Early Frost (1985); And the Oscar Goes to... (2014); Another Woman (1988); Anything for John (1993); Applause (2009); Appointment with Adventure (1955); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1955); Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023); Best Friends for Life (1998); Bette Davis: Größer als das Leben (2017); Bicentennial Minutes (1974); Bienvenue à Cannes (2007); Biography (1996–1998); Biography (2005); Blow up: Le web magazine cinéma d'Arte (2022); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963); Bonanza (1963); Breaking Point (1963); Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003); Broken English (2007); Burke's Law (1964); Campus, le magazine de l'écrit (2004); Cartelera (1998); Casting The Skeleton Key (2005); Ceremonia de inauguración - 56º Festival internacional de cine de San Sebastián (2008); Charlie Rose (1997–2004); Charms for the Easy Life (2002); Cinéastes de notre temps (1969); Cinema 3 (1992); Cinéma cinémas / Segment: 'Cassavetes 'Love Stream' plans n° 145, 146, 147' (1983–1985); Circle of Fear (1972); Columbo (1975); Crazy in Love (1992); Dr. Kildare (1964); E! Live from the Red Carpet (2016); Edge of Outside (2006); Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014); Entertainment Tonight (2014–2024); Exploring Voodoo/Hoodoo (2005); Face of a Stranger (1991); Faces (1968 / 2011); Faerie Tale Theatre (1983); Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012); Fräulein Berlin (1984); Garrison's Gorillas (1968); Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film (2018); Gena's Love Spell (2005); General Electric Theater (1958); Gloria (1980); Goodyear Playhouse (1955); Grace & Glorie (1998); Great Performances / Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (2021); He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (2001); Heart of the Festival (2002); Here's Hollywood (1962); Hollywood Mavericks (1990); Hope Floats (1998); Hysterical Blindness (2002); I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes - the Man and His Work (1984); Intimate Portrait (2001); Into the Morning: Willa Cather's America (1975); Jerry Visits (1972); John Cassavetes: To Risk Everything to Express It All (1996); Johnny Staccato (1959); Just Remembering (2021); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963–1965); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1955); Laramie (1959); Les rendez-vous du dimanche (1976); Light of Day (1987); Ljuset håller mig sällskap (2000); Lonely Are the Brave (1962); Los 10 magníficos (2008); Love Streams (1984); Machine Gun McCain (1969); Marcus Welby, M.D. (1974); Markham (1959); Maury (1995); Medical Center (1971–1973); Minnie and Moskowitz (1971); Monk (2009); Montana (1990); National Memorial Day Concert (2003); NCIS (2010); Nederland C (1985); Nick Quarry (1968); Night on Earth / Segment: Los Angeles (1991); Numb3rs (2006); Olive (2011); Once Around (1991); Opening Night (1977); Over Easy (1978); Parallel Lives (1994); Paris, I Love You / Segment: Quartier Latin (2006); Parts Per Billion (2014); Paulie (1998); Persepolis (2007); Person to Person (1958); Peter Falk versus Columbo (2019); Peyton Place (1967); Playing by Heart (1998); Ponds Theater (1955); Premio Donostia a Ben Gazzara (2005); Rembob'Ina (2024); Return to Cameroun (1993); Riverboat (1959); Robert Montgomery Presents (1955); Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (2023); Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992); Run for Your Life (1966); Shadows (1958); She's So Lovely (1997); Silent Cries (1993); Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014); Something to Talk About (1995); Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006); Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979); Studio One (1955); Stump the Stars (1964); Taking Lives (2004); Target: The Corruptors (1961); Ted & Venus (1991); Tempest (1982); The 11th IFP/West Annual Independent Spirit Awards (1996); The 12th Annual CableACE Awards (1991); The 1998 Annual Muse Awards (1998); The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2001); The 32nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1975); The 33rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1976); The 34th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1977); The 35th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1978); The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1981); The 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1986); The 39th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1987); The 3rd Annual Family Television Awards (2001); The 40th Annual Academy Awards (1968); The 43rd Annual Golden Globe Awards 1986 (1986); The 44th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1992); The 46th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1989); The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981); The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962–1964); The Betty Ford Story (1987); The Brink's Job (1978); The Color of Love: Jacey's Story (2000); The David Frost Show (1971); The Dick Cavett Show (1968); The Dick Powell Theatre (1963); The Ed Sullivan Show (1956–1957); The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967); The High Cost of Loving (1958); The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003); The Islanders (1961); The Linkletter Show (1964); The Lloyd Bridges Show (1963); The Long, Hot Summer (1966); The Making of 'the Mighty' (1999); The Marilyn Denis Show (2011); The Merv Griffin Show (1968); The Mighty (1998); The Mike Douglas Show (1974); The Movie Show (1995); The Movies (2019); The Neon Bible (1995); The Notebook (2004); The Oscars (2016); The Road West (1967); The Skeleton Key (2005); The Skeleton Key: Deleted Scenes (2005); The Spiral Road (1962); The Tab Hunter Show (1960); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1968–1975); The View (2007); The Virginian (1963); The Way of the World (1955); The Weekend (1999); Thursday's Child (1983); Tony Rome (1967); Top Secret (1954); Two-Minute Warning (1976); Unfortunate Circumstances (2017); Unhook the Stars (1996); Up Close with Carrie Keagan (2007); What If God Were the Sun? (2007); Wild Iris (2001); Women on Top: Hollywood and Power (2003); Yellow (2012); Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004).

On this day in movie history - Machine Gun McCain (1969):

Machine Gun McCain

Italian title: Gli intoccabili,

English translation: The Untouchables,

directed by Giuliano Montaldo,

written by Mino Roli, Israel Horovitz and Giuliano Montaldo,

based on the novel Candyleg by Ovid Demaris,

was released in Italy on April 1, 1969.
Music by Ennio Morricone.

Cast:

John Cassavetes, Britt Ekland, Peter Falk, Gabriele Ferzetti, Pierluigi Aprà, Luigi Pistilli, Margherita Guzzinati, Claudio Biava, Steffen Zacharias, James Morrison, Florinda Bolkan, Tony Kendall, Salvo Randone, Gena Rowlands, Maria Mizar, Euplio Moscusu, Mirella Pamphili, Raffaele Triggia, Gaetano Imbró, Silvana Bacci, Franco Riti, Jack Ackerman, Annabella Andreoli, Val Avery, Carla Brait, Nat Bush, Ennanno Consolazione, Carol Doda, Dan Gregory, Tery Hare, Werner Hasselmann, Billy Lee, Giuseppina Quinn, Dennis Sallas, Karen Valenti, Bill Vanders.