On this day in movie history - Blue Thunder (1983):

Blue Thunder

directed by John Badham,

written by Dan O’Bannon and Don Jakoby,

was released in the United States on May 13, 1983.
Music by Arthur B. Rubinstein.

Cast:

Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Daniel Stern, Candy Clark, Warren Oates, Joe Santos, Paul Roebling, David Sheiner, Anthony James, Ed Bernard, Jason Bernard, Mario Machado, James Murtaugh, Pat McNamara, Jack Murdock, Clifford A. Pellow, Robin Braxton, Anna Forrest, Paul Lambert, Phil Feldman, John Garber, Ricky Slyter, Reid Cruickshanks, Billy Ray Sharkey, Fred Slyter, John Gladstein, Ross Reynolds, Karl A. Wickman, James W. Gavin, Thomas H. Friedkin, James Read, Mickey Gilbert, William T. Lane, Lolly Boroff, Patti Clifton, Ernest Harada, Frances E. Nealy, Jose Pepe R. Gonzales, Jerry Ziesmer, Tom Lawrence, John Ashby, Tony Brubaker, Norman Alexander Gibbs, Bill M. Ryusaki, Gary Davis, Thomas Rosales Jr., Larry Randles, Peter Miller, Mike H. McGaughy, Lucinda Crosby, John Badham, Bob Bowen, Calvin Bronx, Shaaron Claridge, Eurlyne Epper, Fritz Ford, Dorothy Hack, Bob Harks, Lars Hensen, Clay Hodges, Ted King, Terry Leonard, Frank Morriss, Ve Neill, Danny Nero, Bernadette Pelletier, Hank Robinson, Walter Smith, Steve Wagner.

On this day in movie history - Fear City (1984):

Fear City

directed by Abel Ferrara,

written by Nicholas St. John,

was released in France on February 16, 1985.
Music by Dick Halligan and Joe Delia.

Cast:

Tom Berenger, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Scalia, Melanie Griffith, Rossano Brazzi, Rae Dawn Chong, Joe Santos, Michael V. Gazzo, Jan Murray, Janet Julian, Daniel Faraldo, Maria Conchita Alonso, Ola Ray, John Foster, Emilia Crow, Nina Jones, Frank Ronzio, Juan Fernández, Jim Boeke, Carl Strano, Ben Kronen, Madison Mason, Bill Henderson, Victor Rivers, Joe Palese, Joe Shea, Bob Yothers, John Roselius, Tracy Griffith, Lori Eastside, Sharon Anton, Barbara Andrews, Jim Brewer, Álvaro López, Eddie Ruffalo, Joy Michael, Linda Lee, Peter Mele, Robert Miano, Raphael Berko, Antony Ponzini, Frank Sivero, Brent Jennings, Jihmi Kennedy, Robert Giarratano, Peter Gumeny, Justin De Rosa, Adrian McKnight, John Barons, Kendall Carly Browne, Nancy Mott, Christine Greenberg, Tricia Brown, Neil Clifford, John Del Rico, Helen Kelly, Tony LaFortezza, Annabelle Larsen, Don Nakaya Neilsen, David Ward.

On this day in movie history - The Blue Knight (movie & novel):

The Blue Knight

directed by Robert Butler,

written by E. Jack Newman,

based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh,

a four-part made-for-TV film,

was originally broadcast on NBC from November 11 – 14, 1973.
Music by Nelson Riddle.

Cast:

William Holden, Lee Remick, Joe Santos, Sam Elliott, Eileen Brennan, Vic Tayback, Anne Archer, Lucille Benson, Ja'net DuBois, Mario Roccuzzo, Jamie Farr, David Moody, Gloria LeRoy, Richard Collier, Kenneth Wolger, George DiCenzo, Raymond Guth, Emile Meyer, Ernest Esparza III, John Quade, Janit Baldwin, Arell Blanton, Helen Boll, Simmy Bow, Don Calfa, Lou Cutell, Alan Fudge, John Furlong, Stan Haze, Howard Hesseman, Randy Kirby, Jon Korkes, Arthur Malet, Karmin Murcelo, Rudy Ramos, Paul Reid Roman, Lee Weaver, Jason Wingreen, Richard 'Dub' Wright, Harry Arnie, Katharine Bard, James Beach, Nanci Beck, Norland Benson, Roxanne Bonilla, Claire Brennen, Thomas Paul Carey, Ric Carrott, Stanley Bennett Clay, Patrick Dennis-Leigh, Larry Duran, Joseph X. Flaherty, Ben Frommer, Eddra Gale, Janie Greenspun, Raven Grey Eagle, Margie Haber, Monika Henreid, Janear Hines, Jan-Minika Hughes, J.S. Johnson, Richard E. Kalk, Wayne King Sr., Dudley Knight, Maryann Krakow, Bob Lauher, Norma Lee, David Lipp, Jay W. MacIntosh, E. Jack Neuman, Douglas T. O'Dell, Tim O'Denning, Danny 'Big Black' Rey, Richard Sarradet, Jeffrey Sayre, Christopher Seitz, Ken Smedberg, Nick St. Nicholas, Michael Stearns, Jack Tesler, Russell Thorson, Tom Tolbert, Dino Washington, John Sylvester White, Clint Young.

Recommended reading:

The Blue Knight

By Joseph Wambaugh.

First published 1972.

Published by Grand Central Publishing.

Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0446509191

ISBN-13: 978-0446509190

Description:

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Gritty, luminous, and ultimately stunning, this novel is Wambaugh at his best – a tale of a street cop on the hardest beat of his life.

The Blue Knight.

Twenty and two. Those are the numbers turning in the mind of William "Bumper" Morgan: twenty years on the job, two days before he "pulls the pin" and walks away from it forever. But on the gritty streets of L.A., people look at Bumper like some kind of knight in armor – they've plied him with come-ons, hot tips, and the hard respect a man can't earn anywhere else. Now, with a new job and a good woman waiting for him, a kinky thief terrorizing L.A.'s choice hotels, and a tragedy looming, Bumper Morgan is about to face the only thing that can scare him: the demons that he's been hiding behind his bright and shiny badge...

“Marvelous … realistic, frightening, touching in its humanity. – Detroit Free Press.

“An extraordinary piece of craftsmanship.” – Los Angeles Times.

On this day in movie history - The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973 movie & novel):

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

directed by Peter Yates,

written by Paul Monash,

based on the novel by George V. Higgins,

was released in the United States on June 27, 1973.
Music by Dave Grusin.

Cast:

Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats, Alex Rocco, Joe Santos, Mitchell Ryan, Peter MacLean, Kevin O'Morrison, Marvin Lichterman, Carolyn Pickman, James Tolkan, Margaret Ladd, Matthew Cowles, Helena Carroll, Jack Kehoe, Jan Egleson, Jane House, Michael McCleery, Alan Koss, Dennis McMullen, Judith Ogden Cabot, Robert Anthony, Gustave Johnson, Sheldon Feldner, Ted Maynard, Lloyd Bremseth, Ben Lautman, Bobby Orr, Falko Schilling, Donald Warnock.

Recommended reading:

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

By George V. Higgins.

Filmed as The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), directed by Peter Yates.

Introduction by Dennis Lehane.

Published by Picador.

Pubished 1970.

ISBN-10: 9780312429690

ISBN-13: 9780312429690

ASIN: 031242969X

Description:

George V. Higgins's seminal crime novel is a down-and-dirty tale of thieves, mobsters, and cops on the mean streets of Boston. When small-time gunrunner Eddie Coyle is convicted on a felony, he's looking at three years in the pen – that is, unless he sells out one of his big-fish clients to the DA. But which of the many hoods, gunmen, and executioners whom he calls his friends should he send up the river? Told almost entirely in crackling dialogue by a vivid cast of lowlifes and detectives, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is one of the greatest crime novels ever written.