On this day in movie history - Violent City (1970):

Violent City

Italian title: Città violenta,

aka The Family,

directed by Sergio Sollima,

written by Sauro Scavolini, Gianfranco Galligarich, Lina Wertmüller and Sergio Sollima,

based on a story by Dino Maiuri and Massimo De Rita,

was released in Italy on September 17, 1970.
Music by Ennio Morricone.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, Jill Ireland, Umberto Orsini, Michel Constantin, Ray Saunders, Benjamin Lev, Peter Dane, Corinne Dunne, Richard Dunne, Iver Gilborn, Denny Hulme, Rémy Julienne, Stirling Moss, Beryl Salvatore, George Savalas, Jo Siffert, Robert Spafford, Goffredo Unger, Arnold Williams.

On this day in movie history - Hard Times (1975):

Hard Times

aka The Streetfighter,

directed by Walter Hill,

written by Walter Hill, Bryan Gindoff and Bruce Henstell,

based on a story by Bryan Gindoff and Bruce Henstell,

was released in France on August 13, 1975.
Music by Barry De Vorzon.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, Margaret Blye, Michael McGuire, Felice Orlandi, Edward Walsh, Bruce Glover, Robert Tessier, Nick Dimitri, Frank McRae, Maurice Kowalewski, Naomi Stevens, Lyla Hay Owen, John Creamer, Robert Castleberry, Becky Allen, Joan Kleven, Anne Welsch, Fred Lerner, Jimmy Nickerson, Chuck Hicks, Walter Scott, Max Kleven, Valerian Smith, Bob Minor, Larry Martindale, Charles W. Schaefer Jr., Leslie Bonano, Ronnie Philips, Greater Liberty Baptist Church Choir and Congregation, Ron Centanni, M.C. Gainey, Brion James, Laura Misch Owens.

Born on this day – Jill Ireland:

Jill Ireland

Actress

Singer

April 24, 1936 – May 18, 1990

On this day in movie history - Love and Bullets (1979):

Love and Bullets

directed by Stuart Rosenberg,

written by Wendell Mayes and John Melson,

was released in the United States on December 9, 1979.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Rod Steiger, Henry Silva, Strother Martin, Bradford Dillman, Michael V. Gazzo, Paul Koslo, Val Avery, Sam Chew Jr., Billy Gray, Jerome Thor, Joseph Roman, Albert Salmi, John Hallam, Sidney Kean, Richard Graydon, Alan Bryce, Robin Clarke, Andy Romano, Lorraine Chase, Raynold Gideon, Ramon Chavez, Rik Colitti, Joe Bellucci, Ray Le Fre, Richard Brose, Lon Carli, Karen Wyeth, James Keane, J. Kenneth Campbell, Michael L. Cooley, Alex Donnelley, Gene Earl, Sapp Gruber, Hans Kronig, Marco Lopez, Charles Lucia, Michael Parrent, Clifford A. Pellow, Josef Rainer, Earl W. Smith.

On this day in movie history - The Valachi Papers (movie & book):

The Valachi Papers

directed by Terence Young,

written by Stephen Geller, Massimo De Rita and Dino Maiuri,

based on the book by Peter Maas,

was released in the United States on October 27, 1972.
Music by Armando Trovajoli and Riz Ortolani.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari, Joseph Wiseman, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Amedeo Nazzari, Fausto Tozzi, Pupella Maggio, Angelo Infanti, Guido Leontini, María Baxa, Mario Pilar, Franco Borelli, Alessandro Sperli, Natasha Chevelev, Anthony Dawson, Fred Valleca, John Alarimo, Calogero Azzaretto, Joe Don Baker, Steve Belloise, Angelo Boscariol, Nestore Cavaricci, Massimo Ciprari, Giacomo De Michelis, Bruno Di Luia, Gianni Di Segni, Richard Dunne, Arny Freeman, Alfonso Giganti, Ron Gilbert, Frank Gio, Syl Lamont, Imelde Marani, Isabelle Marchall, Jason McCallum, Franco Ressel, Sabine Sun, Robert Trout, Steve Vignari.

Recommended reading:

The Valachi Papers

By Peter Maas.

Published by Harper Perennial.

First published 1968.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 006050742X

ISBN-13: 978-0060507428

Description:

“As fascinating as fiction, a bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members." – New York Times Book Review.

The First Inside Account of the Mafia.

The Valachi Papers is a biography written by Peter Maas, telling the true story of former mafia member Joe Valachi, a low-ranking member of the New York based Genovese crime family, was the first ever government witness coming from the American Mafia itself. His account of his criminal past revealed many previously unknown details of the Mafia. The book was made into a film (The Valachi Papers), released in 1972, starring Charles Bronson as Valachi. In October 1963, Valachi testified before Senator John L. McClellan's congressional committee on organized crime, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations. In the so-called Valachi hearings he gave the American public a firsthand account of Mafia activities in the United States.

In the 1960s a disgruntled soldier in New York's Genovese Crime Family decided to spill his guts. His name was Joseph Valachi. Daring to break the Mob's code of silence for the first time, Valachi detailed the organization of organized crime from the capos, or bosses, of every Family, to the hit men who "clipped" rivals and turncoats. With a phenomenal memory for names, dates, addresses, phone numbers – and where the bodies were buried – Joe Valachi provided the chilling facts that led to the arrest and conviction of America's major crime figures.

The rest is history.

Never again would the Mob be protected by secrecy. For the Mafia, Valachi's name would become synonymous with betrayal. But his stunning exposé broke the back of America's Cosa Nostra and stands today as the classic about America's Mob, a fascinating tale of power and terror, big money, crime. . . and murder.

The bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members.

“A highly readable narrative…. A story littered with bodies and unsolved crimes, betrayals and beatings, oaths, ritual, and revenge.” – Newsweek.

“A classic on crime.” – Life.