On this day in movie history - The Maltese Falcon (movie & novel):

The Maltese Falcon

directed and written by John Huston,

based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett,

was released in the United States on October 18, 1941.
Music by Adolph Deutsch.

Cast:

Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook Jr., James Burke, Murray Alper, John Hamilton, Walter Huston.

Recommended reading:

The Maltese Falcon

By Dashiell Hammett.

Introduction by Richard Russo.

First published 1930.

Published by Vintage Crime / Black Lizard.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0679722645

ISBN-13: 978-0679722649

Description:

“Hammett … wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before.” – Raymond Chandler.

Detective Sam Spade is a private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. When his partner is killed during a stakeout, he is drawn into the hunt for a fantastic treasure with a dubious provenance – a golden bird encrusted with jewels. Also on the trail are a perfumed grifter named Joel Cairo, an oversized adventurer named Gutman, and Spade’s new client Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime.

These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammett’s coolly glittering gem of detective fiction, a novel that has haunted generations of readers.

“Hammett’s prose [is] clean and entirely unique. His characters [are] as sharply and economically defined as any in American fiction.” – The New York Times.

On this day in movie history - Black Angel (1946):

Black Angel

directed by Roy William Neill,

written by Roy Chanslor,

based on the novel The Black Angel by Cornell Woolrich,

was released in the United States on August 2, 1946.
Music by Frank Skinner.

Cast:

Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford, Constance Dowling, Wallace Ford, Hobart Cavanaugh, Freddie Steele, John Phillips, Ben Bard, Junius Matthews, Marion Martin, Archie Twitchell, Maurice St. Clair, Vilova, Robert Williams.

On this day in movie history - I’ll Give a Million (1938):

I’ll Give a Million

directed by Walter Lang,

written by Boris Ingster and Milton Sperling,

based on a story by Giaci Mondaini and Cesare Zavattini,

was released in the United States on July 22, 1938.
Music by Cyril Mockridge.

Cast:

Warner Baxter, Marjorie Weaver, Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt, John Carradine, J. Edward Bromberg, Lynn Bari, Fritz Feld, Sig Ruman, Christian Rub, Paul Harvey, Charles Halton, Frank Reicher, Frank Dawson, Harry Hayden, Stanley Andrews, Lillian Porter, Luis Alberni, Rafaela Ottiano, Georges Renavent, Rolfe Sedan, Eddie Conrad, Egon Brecher, Frank Puglia, Michael Visaroff, Alex Novinsky, Armand Kaliz, William Arnold, George Bookasta, Eugene Borden, Jack Chefe, André Cheron, Marcelle Corday, Gennaro Curci, Adrienne D'Ambricourt, Antonio D'Amore, Albert D'Arno, George Davis, Jean De Briac, Zoia De Groot, Victor De Linsky, Mario Dominici, Tex Driscoll, Constant Franke, Elisabeth Fröhlich, Rosina Galli, Helen Giere, Joseph Kamaryt, Louis LaBey, Jacques Lory, Ludwig Lowry, Fred Malatesta, Alphonse Martell, Alex Melesh, Louis Mercier, Torben Meyer, Adolph Milar, Christina Montt, Alexander Palasthy, Manuel París, Albert Pollet, Paul Porcasi, Jules Raucourt, Joseph Romantini, Harry Semels, Pepi Sinoff, George Sorel, Charles Tannen, Laura Treadwell, Mary Treen, Jacques Vanaire, Frederik Vogeding, Marek Windheim, Wolfgang Zilzer.

On this day in movie history - The Mask of Dimitrios (1944):

The Mask of Dimitrios

directed by Jean Negulesco,

written by Frank Gruber,

based on the novel A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler,

was released in the United States on July 1, 1944.

Music by Adolph Deutsch.

Cast:

Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, Steven Geray, Florence Bates, Eduardo Ciannelli, Kurt Katch, Marjorie Hoshelle, Georges Metaxa, John Abbott, Monte Blue, David Hoffman.

Born on this day – Peter Lorre:

Peter Lorre

Actor

June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964

On this day in movie history - Quicksand (1950):

Quicksand

directed by Irving Pichel,

written by Robert Smith,

was released in the United States on March 24, 1950.
Music by Louis Gruenberg.

Cast:

Mickey Rooney, Jeanne Cagney, Barbara Bates, Peter Lorre, Taylor Holmes, Art Smith, Red Nichols, Wally Cassell, Richard Lane, Patsy O'Connor, John Gallaudet, Minerva Urecal, Sidney Marion, Jimmie (Jimmy) Dodd, Lester Dorr, Kitty O'Neil, Jack Elam.

On this day in movie history - The Raven (1963):

The Raven

directed by Roger Corman,

written by Richard Matheson,

based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe,

was released in the United States on January 25, 1963.
Music by Les Baxter.

Cast:

Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court, Olive Sturgess, Jack Nicholson, Connie Wallace, William Baskin, Aaron Saxon, Leo Gordon, Dick Johnstone.