On this day in movie history - Excalibur (1981):

Excalibur

directed by John Boorman,

written by Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman,

based on the prose The Death of Arthur by Thomas Malory,

was released in the United States on April 10, 1981.
Music by Trevor Jones.

Cast:

Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Nicol Williamson, Robert Addie, Gabriel Byrne, Keith Buckley, Katrine Boorman, Liam Neeson, Corin Redgrave, Niall O'Brien, Patrick Stewart, Clive Swift, Ciarán Hinds, Liam O'Callaghan, Michael Muldoon, Charley Boorman, Gerard Mannix, Garrett Keogh, Emmet Bergin, Barbara Byrne, Brid Brennan, Kay McLaren, Eamon Kelly, Hilary Joyalle, Conor Lambert, Prudence Wright Holmes.

On this day in television history - M Squad (1959):

M Squad

Season 2. Episode 28.

Episode entitled: The Crush Out.

Released April 10, 1959.

Directed by Virgil W. Vogel.

Written by Ric Hardman.

Music by Count Basie and Stanley Wilson.

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, William Phipps, Tyler McVey, James Chandler, Robert Burton, Michael Rye, Ashley Cowan, Mike Ragan, Patricia Lloyd, Carl McIntire.

On this day in movie history - 12 Angry Men (1957 movie & play):

12 Angry Men

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by Reginald Rose,

based on the 1954 teleplay Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose,

was released in the United States on April 10, 1957.
Music by Kenyon Hopkins.

Cast:

Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber, Rudy Bond, Tom Gorman, James Kelly, Billy Nelson, John Savoca, Walter Stocker.

Recommended reading:

Twelve Angry Men

Teleplay by Reginald Rose.

Introduction by David Mamet.

Filmed as:

12 Angry Men (1957), directed by Sidney Lumet.

12 Angry Men (1997), directed by William Friedkin.

Paperback.

Published by Penguin Classics.

First published 1954.

ISBN 13: 9780143104407

ISBN 10: 0143104403

ASIN: 0143104403

Description:

A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a clear-eyed way not affected by their personal prejudices or biases. Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men and allows a fuller picture to form of them—and of America, at its best and worst.

After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, and award-winning, run on Broadway.

On this day in movie history - Fear in the Night (1946 movie & novel):

Fear in the Night

directed and written by Maxwell Shane,

based on the story Nightmare by Cornell Woolrich,

was released in the United States on April 10, 1947.
Music by Rudy Schrager.

Cast:

Paul Kelly, Kay Scott, DeForest Kelley, Ann Doran, Charles Victor, Robert Emmett Keane, Jeff York, Joey Ray, Loyette Thomson, Gladys Blake, Jack Collins, Leander De Cordova, Christian Drake, Stanley Farrar, Julia Faye, John Harmon, Michael Harvey, Stuart Holmes, Richard Keene, Janet Warren.

Recommended reading:

Nightmare

By Cornell Woolrich.

Filmed as Fear in the Night (1946), directed and written by Maxwell Shane.

Paperback.

Published by Dell.

Published 1964.

ASIN: B0027Q9XOO

Description:

Anthology of six short stories. Story titles: I'll Take You Home, Kathleen / aka One Last Night; Screen Test / aka Preview to Death; I O U / aka I.O.U.–One Life; Three O'Clock; Nightmare / aka And So To Death; Bequest / aka Implacable Bequest.