On this day in movie history - The Wages of Fear (movie & novel):

The Wages of Fear

French title: Le Salaire de la peur,

directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot,

written by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Jérome Geronimi,

based on the novel by Georges Arnaud,

was released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on April 15, 1953.
Music by Georges Auric.

Cast:

Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter van Eyck, Véra Clouzot, William Tubbs, Darío Moreno, Jo Dest, Antonio Centa, Luis De Lima, Grégoire Gromoff, Josep Palau i Fabre, Faustini, Seguna, Darling Légitimus, René Baranger, Pat Hurst, Evelio Larenagas, Jeronimo Mitchell, Ricardo, François Valorbe, Rico Zermano.

Recommended reading:

The Wages of Fear

Original title: Le Salaire de la peur.

By Georges Arnaud.

Originally published in 1950.

This English language translation edition was published in 1968.

Paperback.

Avon edition.

ASIN: B000VDT4KS

Description:

Las Piedras, beaching port. There are hundreds of them, coming from who knows where, to forget the impasse of their existence in the tropics. For a handful of dollars, these low-rankers are ready to do anything. Ready to face kilometers of impassable track, behind the wheel of a dilapidated truck, to transport nitroglycerin. At the slightest deviation, at the slightest shock, it is death. An epic of pure anguish...

December in movie history - Assignment to Kill (1968):

Assignment to Kill

directed and written by Sheldon Reynolds,

was released in the United States in December, 1968.
Exact release date unknown.
Music by William Lava.

Cast:

Patrick O'Neal, Joan Hackett, John Gielgud, Herbert Lom, Eric Portman, Peter van Eyck, Oskar Homolka, Leon Greene, Kent Smith, Philip Ober, Fifi D'Orsay, Éva Szörényi, Cynthia O'Neal, Betty Bresler, Karl Bruck, Albert D'Arno, Walter Friedel, Walter Janovitz, Joanne Ludden, Martin Miller, Ann Prentiss, Charles H. Radilak, Erik Sorenson.