On this day in television history - The Asphalt Jungle (1961):

The Asphalt Jungle

directed by Herman Hoffman, Gerald Mayer and Joseph M. Newman,

was released in the United States on April 2, 1961 and ran for one season until June 25, 1961.
Inspired by The Asphalt Jungle (1950), directed by John Huston, based on the novel by W. R. Burnett.
Music by Calvin Jackson.

Cast:

Jack Warden, Arch Johnson, William Smith, Dallas Mitchell, George Kennedy, Bernard Kates, Terry Becker, Milton Selzer, Adam Williams, Barnaby Hale, Frank Maxwell, Ted Knight, Norma Crane, Douglas Odney, Robert Vaughn, John Ireland, Skip Homeier, Fritz Weaver, Philip Carey, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Paul Stewart, Leo Penn, Edward Binns, Robert Douglas, Ellen Madison, Eric Berry, Vera Miles, Beverly Garland, Joyce Meadows, Virginia Christine, Linda Watkins, Ross Elliott, Paul Carr, Malcolm Atterbury, Robert F. Simon, Alexander Scourby, Leora Dana, Sydney Pollack, Lurene Tuttle, Ken Lynch, Eileen Ryan, Val Avery, Steve Brodie, Erin O'Brien, Paul Genge, Suzi Carnell, Carl Don, Gavin MacLeod, Morgan Woodward, Dabbs Greer, Robert H. Harris, Arthur Batanides, Jena Engstrom, Robert Sampson, Emile Meyer, Guy Raymond, Barry Russo, John Astin, Elizabeth MacRae, Josip Elic, Maxine Stuart, Nora Marlowe, Lew Gallo, James Bonnet, Robert Bailey, Jerry Wayne, Zolya Talma, Yvette Vickers, John Harmon, Than Wyenn, Jan Arvan, Hugh Sanders, Jack Reitzen, Mary Lawrence, Charles Cantor, Kay Doubleday, Pat Meikle, Michael Constantine, Ellen Corby, Robert Brubaker, Joan Tompkins, Will J. White, Jay Adler, Frank Behrens, Iphigenie Castiglioni, Ken Tilles, Frank Overton, Henry Beckman, James Seay, Warren J. Kemmerling, Gene Roth, Ollie O'Toole, Lou Krugman, Felix Deebank, Joan Staley, Everett Sloane, Frank Ferguson, Abraham Sofaer, Adrienne Marden, John Zaremba, Brad Morrow, Miriam Goldina, Marianne Stewart, Joseph Mell, Arny Freeman, Clegg Hoyt, David White, Joseph Ruskin, Natalie Trundy, William Keene, Dori Simmons, Michael Parks, Warren Parker, Joe Turkel, James Westerfield, Gene Coogan, Ken Berry, John Davis Chandler, Ian Wolfe, Robert Bice, Richard George.

On this day in movie history - Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995):

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead

directed by Gary Fleder,

written by Scott Rosenberg,

was released in the United States on December 1, 1995.
Music by Michael Convertino.

Cast:

Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Jack Warden, Steve Buscemi, Fairuza Balk, Gabrielle Anwar, Christopher Walken, Michael Nicolosi, Bill Cobbs, Marshall Bell, Glenn Plummer, Don Stark, Harris Laskawy, Willie Garson, David Stratton, Deborah Strang, Sarah Trigger, Jenny McCarthy, Buddy Guy, Ray Allison, Scott Holt, Greg Rzab, Wiley Harker, Joe Drago, Chuck Bacino, Don Cheadle, Tom Lister Jr., Bill Long, Cheree Jaeb , Sarah Levy Arbess, Larissa Michieli, Larry Raben, Lynn Applebaum, Taylor Hayle, Archie Smith, Harriet Medin, Bill Bolender, Susan Merson, Bill Erwin, Nate Ingram, Jacob Bergener, Larry Curry Jr., Ruthay, Selina Mathews, Phil Boardman, William Denis, Danny Romo, Steve Abbott, Craig Braginsky, Josh Charles, Pamela Goode, Paul Henderson, Christopher C. Romero, Eric Lloyd Scott.

On this day in movie history - Night and the City (movie & novel):

Night and the City

directed by Irwin Winkler,

written by Richard Price,

based on the novel by Gerald Kersh,

was released in the United States on October 23, 1992.
Music by James Newton Howard.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Jessica Lange, Cliff Gorman, Alan King, Jack Warden, Eli Wallach, Barry Primus, Gene Kirkwood, Gerard Murphy, Clem Caserta, Anthony Canarozzi, David W. Butler, Byron Utley, Margo Winkler, Maurice Shrog, Regis Philbin, Joy Philbin, Richard Price, Franklin Dennis Jones, Thomas Mikal Ford, Peter Bucossi, Bert Randolph Sugar, Nathaniel E. Johnson, Brenda Denmark, Barry Squitieri, Lisa Vidal, Carol Woods, Joseph D'Onofrio, Michael Badalucco, Deborah Watkins, Nandan Sage, Harsh Nayyar, Ben Lin, John Polce, Rosalind Malloff, Kennan Scott, Henry Milligan, Victor Machado, Chuck Low, Lou Polo, Louis Cantarini, John Quinn, Philip Carlo, Cameron Lane, Sharrieff Pugh, Mitchell Tex Low, Mick Cunningham, Dave Reilly, Leslie Bart, Ann Devaney, Lorenzo Palminteri, Catherine Russell, Ed Bannister, David Boston, Angel Brown, Alfred Cole, Ronnie Cuber, Dan Gifford, Gary Gold, Jennifer C. Johnson, Diane Kimbrell, Leslie Lawrence, John Maczko, Felicia Peluso, Michael Rispoli, Beverley Sutherland, Michael Tenaglia, Paul Zimmerman.

Recommended reading:

Night And The City

By Gerald Kersh.

Published by London Books.

First published 1938.

ISBN-10: 0995721734

ISBN-13: 9780995721739

Description:

Harry Fabian is a cockney wide boy trying to make it big in the Soho underworld of the 1930s. He is a Flash Harry in an expensive suit, a chancer operating in a cosmopolitan corner of the city where villains, spivs, prostitutes and strong-arm men thrive. But his ambition and reckless nature are pushing him towards more and more extreme acts - and a day of reckoning. Night And The City is a classic work of social-realist fiction that captures the vibrant yet seedy underbelly of London between the world wars. Its author Gerald Kersh was high-profile, prolific and hugely popular at his peak, but would later drift into hardship and obscurity. His writing is now being rediscovered. A maverick character in his own right, Kersh's life was as colourful as those of his most flamboyant creations. As well as a highly respected novel, Night And The City was twice filmed - in 1950 and 1992 - and it is the first of these adaptations that is today regarded as one of the best of the British film-noir genre. Directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark and Googie Withers, it was shot in a post-war landscape heavy with menace and charm - just like the book on which it was based.

Born on this day – Jack Warden:

Jack Warden

Actor

September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006

On this day in movie history - And Justice for All (1979):

And Justice for All

directed by Norman Jewison,

written by Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson,

was released in the United States on September 15, 1979.
Music by Dave Grusin.

Cast:

Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Lahti, Sam Levene, Robert Christian, Thomas Waites, Larry Bryggman, Craig T. Nelson, Dominic Chianese, Victor Arnold, Vincent Beck, Michael Gorrin, Baxter Harris, Joe Morton, Alan North, Tom Quinn, Beverly Sanders, Connie Sawyer, Charles Siebert, Robert Symonds, Keith Andes.

On this day in movie history - The Lawbreakers (1961):

The Lawbreakers

directed by Joseph M. Newman,

written by Paul Monash and W.R. Burnett,

was released in the United States on August 15, 1961.

Music by Johnny Mandel.

A remake of the pilot episode of the 1961 The Asphalt Jungle TV series.

Inspired by the movie The Asphalt Jungle (1950), directed by John Huston, based on the novel by W. R. Burnett.

Cast:

Jack Warden, Vera Miles, Robert Douglas, Arch Johnson, Douglas Odney, Robert H. Harris, Ken Lynch, Robert Bailey, Mary Lawrence, James Seay, Marianne Stewart, Jay Adler, John Zaremba, David White, Noreen Corcoran, Don C. Harvey, Kenner G. Kemp, Eddie Marr, William Smith, Bert Stevens.

On this day in movie history - Heaven Can Wait (1978 movie & play):

Heaven Can Wait

directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry,

based on the play by Harry Segall,

was released in the United States on June 28, 1978.
Music by Dave Grusin.

Cast:

Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden, Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon, Buck Henry, Vincent Gardenia, Joseph Maher, Hamilton Camp, Arthur Malet, Stephanie Faracy, Jeannie Linero, Harry D.K. Wong, George J. Manos, Larry Block, Frank Campanella, Bill Sorrells, Dick Enberg, Dolph Sweet, R.G. Armstrong, Ed Peck, John Randolph, Richard O'Brien, Joseph F. Makel, Will Hare, Lee Weaver, Roger Bowen, Keene Curtis, William Larsen, Morgan Farley, William Bogert, Robert E. Leonard, Joel Marston, Earl Montgomery, Robert C. Stevens, Bernie Massa, Peter Tomarken, William Sylvester, Lisa Blake Richards, Charlie Charles, Nick Outin, Jerry Scanlan, Jim Boeke, Marvin Fleming, Deacon Jones, Les Josephson, Jack Snow, Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis, Benjie Bancroft, Arline Bletcher, Joe Corolla, Charlie Cowan, Garrett Craig, Paul D'Amato, Robert Fortier, Allan Graf, Bryant Gumbel, Jim Healy, Chick Hearn, Ray Pourchot, Nick Raymond, Elliott Reid, Roberto Rodriguez, Byron Webster.

Recommended reading:

Heaven Can Wait

Comedy-Fantasy in Three Acts

By Harry Segall.

Filmed as:

Here comes Mr. Jordan (1941), directed by Alexander Hall.

Heaven Can Wait (1978), directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry.

ASIN: B000GVIZMI

Published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Published 1941.

Description:

Mr. Jordan is checking passengers who are to depart in an airplane for the Hereafter. The routine is interrupted by the arrival of Joe Pendleton, an attractive prizefighter, who refuses to admit he is dead and induces Jordan to look up the "records," which reveal that Joe is not scheduled to arrive for another 60 years! But, as Joe starts to return to earth to continue his fighting, word reaches Heaven that Max Levene, Joe's manager, thinking he had been killed, had Joe's body cremated, and Joe has no body to return to. Jordan promises to find Joe another body and is informed that the wealthy Jonathan Farnsworth is about to be murdered by his wife. So, Joe suddenly finds himself in the home of the financier, visible as Joe to the audience but apparently as Farnsworth to Mrs. Farnsworth, and the public. The comedy begins when the pompous "Farnsworth" unaccountably goes into training as a fighter. In addition, "Farnsworth" decides to share his wealth and right the wrong "he" did to charming Bette Logan's father. Bette, having despised Farnsworth, finds herself falling in love with him and he with her. Just as Joe (still in Farnsworth's body) is about to get a chance to become a fighter, Jordan reports that Farnsworth does not approve of Joe's treatment of his body (and money) and is raising a fuss to have it back. While deciding on another body for Joe, Jordan receives a flash that K.O. Murdock, the champion, has been mysteriously shot. As K.O. is about to be counted out Jordan transfers Joe's spirit into the body of K.O. in time to have K.O. remain champ. There are still problems to be straightened out when Joe really becomes Murdock and loses memory of his previous existence-includingBette. Fortunately, they meet and fall in love again-and Mr. Jordan is free to head for the Hereafter, his earthly task accomplished."

On this day in movie history - Donovan’s Reef (1963):

Donovan’s Reef

directed by John Ford,

written by Frank S. Nugent and James Edward Grant,

based on a story by Edmund Beloin,

was released in the United States on June 12, 1963.

Music by Cyril Mockridge.

Cast:

John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen, Jack Warden, Cesar Romero, Dick Foran, Dorothy Lamour, Marcel Dalio, Mike Mazurki, Jacqueline Malouf, Cherylene Lee, Jeffrey Byron, Edgar Buchanan, Jon Fong, John Alderson, Frank Baker, Clyde Cook, Carmen Estrabeau, Harold Fong, Dan Ford, H.W. Gim, Duke Green, Frank Hagney, Sam Harris, Tom Harris, Freda Jones, June Y. Kim, Richard Kipling, Carl M. Leviness, King Lockwood, Cliff Lyons, Mae Marsh, Michelle Mazurki, Midori, Ron Nyman, Yvonne Peattie, John Qualen, Branscombe Richmond, Chuck Roberson, Scott Seaton, Charles Seel, Leslie Sketchley, John Stafford, Sara Taft, Ralph Volkie, Aissa Wayne, Patrick Wayne, Lee Woodd.