On this day in movie history - The Last Detail (1973 movie & novel):

The Last Detail

directed by Hal Ashby,

written by Robert Towne,

based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan,

was released in the United States on December 12, 1973.
Music by Johnny Mandel.

Cast:

Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, Carol Kane, Michael Moriarty, Nancy Allen, Gilda Radner, Jim Hohn, Luana Anders.

The Last Detail

By Darryl Ponicsan.

First published 1970.

Published by Skyhorse.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1510727752

ISBN-13: 978-1510727755

Description:

The Acclaimed Novel That Was the Basis for the Classic Movie Starring Jack Nicholson.

Unlike the other branches of the armed services, the navy draws its police force from the ranks, as temporary duty. The risk is that men on Shore Patrol might bring their humanity to the task. This accounts for the underlying tension in "The Last Detail", which takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. Billy Bad-Ass and Mule Mulhall, two career sailors in transit in Norfolk, awaiting permanent orders, are given a "chaser" duty. Their assignment is to escort and deliver Larry Meadows, an 18-year-old sailor, from Norfolk to Portsmouth, N.H., where he is to serve an eight-year sentence in the brig. It's good duty, on the face of it, until the two old salts realize the injustice of the sentence and are oddly affected by the true innocence of their prisoner, even though he is guilty as charged. Failure, or refusal, to carry out their duty is never a question, no matter how much they hate the detail or how wrong it seems, and yet something must be done, some gesture made in order to help their hapless prisoner survive the long ordeal he faces, and to purge their own sense of shame. "The Last Detail" was Darryl Ponicsan's first book and it catapulted him into the front rank of American novelists. It was made into the 1973 film starring Jack Nicholson, and has become a classic of the Golden Age of American cinema. This new edition of "The Last Detail" coincides with the publication of its long-awaited sequel, "Last Flag Flying", also available from The Wright Press.

On this day in television history - M Squad (1958):

M Squad

Season 2. Episode 12.
Episode entitled: The Windows.
Released December 12, 1958.
Directed by Bernard L. Kowalski.
Written by Joel Murcott.
Music by Benny Carter.

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Herbert Ellis, John Goddard, Jeanne Vaughn, Joel Ashley, Chris Fortune, Jeane Wood, Sheldon Allman, William White.

On this day in movie history - On Dangerous Ground (1951 movie & novel):

On Dangerous Ground

directed by Nicholas Ray and Ida Lupino,

written by A. I. Bezzerides and Nicholas Ray,

based on the novel Mad with Much Heart by Gerald Butler,

was released in the United States on December 12, 1951.
Music by Bernard Herrmann.

Cast:

Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond, Charles Kemper, Anthony Ross, Ed Begley, Ian Wolfe, Sumner Williams, Gus Schilling, Frank Ferguson, Cleo Moore, Olive Carey.

Mad with Much Heart

By Gerald Butler.

First published 1945.
ASIN: B0006AQZEY
Published by: Rinehart & company, inc.
Hardcover.

Description:

Filmed as On Dangerous Ground (1951), directed by Nicholas Ray and Ida Lupino.

On this day in movie history - Big Town After Dark (1947):

Big Town After Dark

directed by William C. Thomas,

written by Whitman Chambers,

based on the radio series Big Town,

was released in the United States on December 12, 1947.
Music by Darrell Calker.

Cast:

Phillip Reed, Hillary Brooke, Richard Travis, Ann Gillis, Joe Sawyer, Robert Kent, Charles Arnt, Joseph Allen, Vince Barnett, William Haade, Fred Aldrich, Don Barclay, Benny Bartlett, Gregg Barton, Gladys Blake, Dorothy Christy, Sumner Getchell, John Holland, Richard Keene, Frank Marlowe, Mary Newton, Anne O'Neal, Marin Sais, Arthur Space, Forrest Taylor, Dorothy Vaughan, Guy Wilkerson.

On this day in movie history - Safe in Hell (1931):

Safe in Hell

directed by William A. Wellman,

written by Joseph Jackson and Maude Fulton,

based on the play by Houston Branch,

was released in the United States on December 12, 1931.
Music by Leo F. Forbstein.

Cast:

Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, John Wray, Ivan F. Simpson, Victor Varconi, Morgan Wallace, Nina Mae McKinney, Charles Middleton, Clarence Muse, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Noble Johnson, Cecil Cunningham, Sam Appel, Lionel Belmore, Ted Billings, Rondo Hatton, Kenneth MacDonald, Chris-Pin Martin, Dick Rush, Harry Semels, Harold Waldridge.

Born on this day – Wings Hauser:

Wings Hauser

Actor

Director

Writer

December 12, 1947 – March 15, 2025

Credits:

A Soldier's Story (1984); Airwolf (1985); Arli$$ (1997–2002); Aspen (1977); Avenging Angel (2007); Baretta (1976); Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991); Bedroom Eyes II (1989); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1994–1996); Bones (2008); Broken Bars (1995); Bump in the Night (1991); Cannon (1975); Castle (2016); Champagne and Bullets (1993); China Beach (1990–1991); Clean and Narrow (2000); Cold Case (2007); Coldfire (1990); Comedy Central Roasts (2010); Command 5 (1985); Criminal Minds (2010); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2013); CSI: Miami (2003); Dark Horse (1985); Dead Man Walking (1988); Deadly Force (1983); Dinah! (1979); Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014); Emergency! (1977); Eve N' God: This Female is Not Yet Rated (2019); Exiled in America (1992); Eyes (2005); First to Fight (1967); Frame Up (1991); Frame-Up II: The Cover-Up (1992); Freddy's Nightmares (1990); Ghost Dancing (1983); Going Home (1996); Guns & Lipstick (1995); Hardball (1990); Hardcastle and McCormick (1985); Hawaii Five-0 (2015); Hear No Evil (1982); High Tide (1994–1997); Homework (1982); Hostage (1986); House (2005); Humbucker (2018); Hunter (1984); In Between (1991); JAG (1996); Jessie (1984); Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986); Kingpin (2003); Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1995); L.A. Bounty (1989); Life Among the Cannibals (1999); Lightning Force (1991–1992); Living to Die (1990); MacGruder and Loud (1985); Magnum, P.I. (1981); Marked for Murder (1990); Marker (1995); Mind, Body & Soul (1992); Monk (2006); Movin' On (1976); Murder, She Wrote (1985–1996); Mutant (1984); Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery (2006); Nightmare at Noon (1988); No Safe Haven (1987); Original Gangstas (1996); Out of Sight, Out of Mind (1990); Pale Blood (1990); Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel (1987); Reason to Die (1990); Rizzoli & Isles (2016); Roseanne (1992–1993); Route 66 (1993); Rubber (2010); Savage Season (2001); Saving Grace (2008); Skins (1994); Space Rangers (1993); Street Asylum (1990); Sweet Revenge (1984); Tales from the Hood (1995); Terror in the Aisles (1984); The Art of Dying (1991); The A-Team (1985); The Blue Lizard (2002); The Carpenter (1988); The Defenders (2010); The Fall Guy (1983); The Highwayman (1987); The Insider (1999); The Killers Edge (1991); The Last Precinct (1986); The Long Hot Summer (1985); The Making of 'Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time' (1991); The Mentalist (2009); The Merv Griffin Show (1980); The Ruining (2004); The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1988); The Stone Angel (2007); The Wind (1986); The Young and the Restless (1977–2010); The Young Riders (1992); Third Watch (2005); 3:15 the Moment of Truth (1986); Timothy and the Angel (1976); Top Priority: The Terror Within (2012); Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987); Uncommon Valor (1983); Vendetta: No Conscience, No Mercy (2004); Vice Squad (1982); Victim of Desire (1995); Viva Laughlin (2007); Walker, Texas Ranger (1994); Watchers III (1994); Welcome to Hell (2017); Welcome to the Basement (2013); Who'll Stop the Rain / aka Dog Soldiers (1978); Wilding (1990); Working Class Actor (2025); Your New Day (1980).

Born on this day – Dickey Betts:

Dickey Betts

Guitarist

Singer

Songwriter

Composer

December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024

Credits:

Albums:

Atlanta's Burning Down (1978); Bougainvillea's Call: The Very Best of Dickey Betts 1973-1988 (2006); Dickey Betts & Great Southern (1977); Highway Call (1974); Let's Get Together (2001); Live at the Coffee Pot 1983 (2016); Live from the Lone Star Roadhouse (2018); Official Bootleg Vol.1 (2021); Pattern Disruptive (1988); Ramblin' Man: Live at the St. George Theatre (2019); Rockpalast: 30 Years of Southern Rock 1978–2008 (2010); The Collectors #1 (2002); The Official Bootleg (2007).

Movies, video and television:

2004 Jammys: The Theatre at Madison Square Garden (2004); American Revolutions: Southern Rock (2005); And So It Goes (2014); Beat Shazam (2017); Belushi (2020); Big Fish (2003); Bird on a Wire (1990); Casey's Shadow (1978); Chicago Hope (1996); Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man (2020); Clear History (2013); Cockfighter (1974); Cold Case (2008); Comedian (2002); David Letterman (2011); Dickey Betts & Great Southern: Back Where It All Begins - Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum (2005); Dickey Betts & Great Southern: Back Where It All Begins - Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum (2005); Dickey Betts Band: Ramblin' Live at the St. George Theater (2018); Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009); Erik (2016); Fear (1996); Field of Dreams (1989); Fresh Off the Boat (2016); Guitar Hero II (2006); Guitar Hero: World Tour (2008); Incendiary (2008); Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (2020); Ken Park (2002); Lassie (1994); Late Show with David Letterman (2000); Miami Vice (1986); Mongrels (2010); Morning Joe (2021–2022); Musicians for Disaster Relief 05' (2005); My Generation (2000); Nash Bridges (1996); Ohne Filter (1991); Outside Providence (1999); Psych (2008); Push, Nevada (2002); Radio Arrow (1998); Rock Legends (2017); Rock n' Roll Fantasy Camp (2006); Southern Rock at the BBC (2012); Southern Voices, American Dreams (1985); Supernatural (2005–2008); The 47th Annual Grammy Awards (2005); The Allman Brothers Band: Brothers of the Road (1985); The Allman Brothers Band: Live at Great Woods (1992); The Big Interview with Dan Rather (2018); The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1995); The Cowboy Way (1994); The Exorcist (1973); The Full Moon Show (1992); The Good Guys (2010); The History of Rock 'n' Roll (1995); The Holdovers (2023); The Old Grey Whistle Test (1978); The Shipping News (2001); The Simpsons (2007–2023); The Three Stooges (2012); The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2016–2017); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1990); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2012); The Waterboy (1998); Top Gear (2007–2010); Turn It Up! (2014); Unplugged (1990); Volunteer Jam (1976); Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Nightclub (2008); When Harry Met Sally... (1989).