On this day in movie history - Magnum Force (1973):

Magnum Force

directed by Ted Post,

written by John Milius and Michael Cimino,

based on a story by John Milius,

was released in the United Kingdom on December 13, 1973.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Kip Niven, Robert Urich, Felton Perry, Maurice Argent, Margaret Avery, Richard Devon, Tony Giorgio, Jack Kosslyn, Bob March, Bob McClurg, John Mitchum, Russ Moro, Clifford A. Pellow, Albert Popwell, Christine White, Adele Yoshioka, Clarence 'Buzz' Anderson, Don Anderson, Susheela Asregadoo, Nina B. Blake, Kenneth Boyd, John Bracci, Marcia Brandwynne, Christopher Brooks, Art Brown, Jeff Carter, Willie Carter, Al Cingolani, Reuben Collins, Cab Covay, Paul D'Amato, Michael L. Davis, Brenda Dennis, Cash Earley, Aaron Edwards, Drew Eshelman, Debra A. Estok, Robert Feero, Peter Fitzsimmons, Ray K. Goman, Joseph Gostanian, Nicholas Grabien, Wayne Grace, J. Peter Hanson, Lisa Herman, Barbara Herring, Will Hutchins, Jay Jacobus, George R. Kalange, Gwyn Karon, Craig Kelly, Edgy Lee, John Lester, Lucy Lowry, Bruce Mackey, Ron Magers, Angela May, Linda McClure, Ricci McGee, Terence McGovern, Janet McGrath, Don Michaelian, Joe Miksak, Lynn Mortensen, Niels Mortensen, Bruce Neckels, Eugene A. Nelson, Ben Niems, Tom O'Neill, Rudy Ortega, Tony Piazza, Charles Raino, George Reading, Jack Rosenblaum, Ray Saunders, Jack Schmidt, Robert E. Simpson, Karna Small, Melvina Smedley, Windrim Smith, Suzanne Somers, Owen Spann, William Swan, Steve Treacy, Robert Trebor, Ed Vasgersian, Conni Venturi, John Vick, Robert V.R. Ware, Carl Weathers, Johnny Weissmuller Jr., Joseph Whipp, William L. Williams, Phil Wilson, Jeff Wynne.

On this day in movie history - The Getaway (1972):

The Getaway

directed by Sam Peckinpah,

written by Walter Hill,

based on the novel by Jim Thompson,

was released in the United States on December 13, 1972.
Music by Quincy Jones.

Cast:

Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers, Al Lettieri, Slim Pickens, Richard Bright, Jack Dodson, Dub Taylor, Bo Hopkins, Roy Jenson, John Bryson.

The Telephone Box (1972) - it’s enough to give you phone phobia!

La Cabina / The Telephone Box (1972)

Shortly before New Year, we watched Phone Booth (2002) again, a great thriller starring Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, Radha Mitchell, and Kiefer Sutherland.

Farrell plays an unscrupulous New York publicist who answers a ringing phone in a booth he’s standing next to.

The caller warns him he’ll be killed if he attempts to leave the booth … and … the story develops from there.

The claustrophobic atmosphere of Phone Booth reminded me of a 1972 Spanish short movie I saw on TV during the mid-‘80’s called La Cabina (aka The Telephone Box).

A unfortunate guy (José Luis López Vázquez), in a world long before the invention of the cell phone, attempts to make a call in a street booth.

The door closes on him as he discovers the phone doesn’t work.

He tries to leave, but the door is locked tight.

He’s trapped in there a long time as a crowd of onlookers gather … and … the story develops from there.

La Cabina is quirky and dated, but still worth the half-hour to watch, with an original story that delivers a surreal and scary twist.

Although street booths have mostly disappeared, La Cabina is a great reason to own a cell phone … but then you have to consider what happened in Stephen King’s novel: Cell.

Yikes!

I read that folks in Spain, shortly after La Cabina was released on December 13, 1972, took to preventing the door in phone booths from shutting completely by keeping their foot in the gap.

I can’t imagine why.

On this day in movie history - Le Doulos (1962):

Le Doulos

aka The Finger Man,

directed and written by Jean-Pierre Melville,

based on the novel by Pierre Lesou,

was released in Italy on December 13, 1962.
Music by Paul Misraki.

Cast:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Jean Desailly, René Lefèvre, Marcel Cuvelier, Philippe March, Fabienne Dali, Monique Hennessy, Carl Studer, Christian Lude, Jacques De Leon, Jack Leonard, Paulette Breil, Philippe Nahon, Charles Bayard, Daniel Crohem, Charles Bouillaud, Michel Piccoli.

Born on this day – Robert Prosky:

Robert Prosky

Actor

December 13, 1930 – December 8, 2008

Born on this day – Christopher Plummer:

Christopher Plummer

Actor

December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021

Born on this day – James Wright:

James Wright

Writer

December 13, 1927 – March 25, 1980

Credits:

Poems:

A Blessing; A Note Left In Jimmy Leonard's Shack; A Poem About George Doty In The Death House; A Winter Daybreak Above Vence; As I Step Over A Puddle At The End Of Winter...; At The Executed Murderer's Grave; Autumn Begins In Martins Ferry, Ohio; Beginning; Bologna: A Poem About Gold; Depressed By A Book Of Bad Poetry...; Fear Is What Quickens Me; Goodbye to the Poetry of Calcium; Having Lost My Sons, I Confront The Wreckage Of The Moon...; Hook; In Response To A Rumor That The Oldest Whorehouse In Wheeling...; Lying In A Hammock At William Duffy's; May Morning; Northern Pike; On The Skeleton Of A Hound; Outside Fargo, North Dakota; Rip; Saint Judas; Small Frogs Killed On The Highway; The Jewel; The Journey; The Lambs on the Boulder; The Last Pieta, in Florence; To A Blossoming Pear Tree; To The Muse; Trying To Pray.

Books:

A Wild Perfection: The Selected Letters of James Wright (2005); Above the River, The Complete Poems (1990); Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio—Broadside (1963); Collected Poems (1971); James Wright, In Defense Against This Exile. Letters To Wayne Burns (1985); Moments of the Italian Summer (1976); Saint Judas (1959); Selected Poems (2005); Shall We Gather at the River (1967); The Branch Will Not Break (1963); The Delicacy and Strength of Lace: Letters Between Leslie Marmon Silko and James Wright (2009); The Green Wall (1957); The Temple at Nîmes (1982); This Journey (1982); To a Blossoming Pear Tree (1977); Two Citizens (1973).