Born on this day – Simon Oakland:

Simon Oakland

Actor

August 28, 1915 – August 29, 1983

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1963); Adventures in Paradise (1959–1962); Alexander the Great (1963); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1957–1960); Ben Casey (1962); Bicentennial Minutes (1974); Big Town (1951); Black Saddle (1959); Black Sheep Squadron (1976–1978); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963); Bonanza (1963–1969); Brenner (1959); Bret Maverick (1982); Bronco (1960); Bullitt (1968); Bus Stop (1962); Cade's County (1972); Cain's Hundred (1962); Captain David Grief (1960); Captain Nice (1967); Car 54, Where Are You? (1962); Celebrity Bowling (1973); Charlie's Angels (1980); Chato's Land (1972); Checkmate (1961); CHiPs (1979–1982); Chubasco (1968); Cimarron Strip (1967); Cinemassacre's Monster Madness (2007); Combat! (1963–1965); Crosscurrent (1971); Dan August (1971); Daniel Boone (1965–1969); David Cassidy - Man Undercover (1978–1979); Deadline (1959–1961); Decoy (1957–1958); Directions (1964); Dundee and the Culhane (1967); East Side/West Side (1963); Ellery Queen (1975); Emperor of the North (1973); Evening in Byzantium (1978); Follow That Dream (1962); Follow the Sun (1961); General Electric Theater (1961); Gentle Ben (1967); Get Smart (1965); Gibbsville (1976); Good Morning World (1968); Goodyear Playhouse (1956); Gunsmoke (1956–1965); Happy Mother's Day, Love George (1973); Have Gun - Will Travel (1958); Hawaii Five-O (1968–1975); Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962); I Spy (1956); I Want to Live! (1958); Ironside (1969–1973); It Takes a Thief (1968); Judd for the Defense (1968); Key West (1973); Kojak (1976); Kolchak: Crackle of Death (1974); Kolchak: Demon and the Mummy (1975); Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–1975); Kraft Theatre (1956–1958); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1961–1962); Laramie (1960); Lou Grant (1982); Marcus Welby, M.D. (1976); Matt and Jenny (1980); Medical Center (1970–1972); Men Into Space (1959); Mission: Impossible (1967); Mod Squad (1969); Mr. Broadway (1964); Mr. Novak (1964); Murder, Inc. (1960); My Favorite Martian (1963); Naked City (1959); Off to See the Wizard (1968); On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970); Outlaws (1961); Perry Mason (1960–1961); Police Story (1976); Producers' Showcase (1957); Profiles in Courage (1965); Psycho (1960); Purex Summer Specials (1962); Quincy, M.E. (1978–1982); Rawhide (1963–1965); Ready for the People (1964); Red Light (1949); Route 66 (1962); S.W.A.T. (1975); Saints and Sinners (1962); Scandalous John (1971); Slattery's People (1965); Stoney Burke (1963); Suspense (1950); Switch (1978); Tales of Wells Fargo (1962); Tarzan (1967); The Alaskans (1959); The Alcoa Hour (1956); The Big Story (1956); The Big Valley (1969); The Bill Dana Show (1963); The Brothers Karamazov (1958); The Buccaneer (1958); The Defenders (1961–1965); The Dennis Wholey Show (1969); The Desperate Hours (1955); The Detectives (1960); The Doctors and the Nurses (1962–1965); The F.B.I. (1969); The Feather and Father Gang (1977); The Felony Squad (1967); The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1978); The Hunting Party (1971); The Law and Mr. Jones (1961); The Littlest Hobo (1982); The Man and the City (1971); The Mike Douglas Show (1967); The Name of the Game (1968–1970); The New Breed (1961); The New Perry Mason (1973); The Night Stalker (1972); The Night Strangler (1973); The O. Henry Playhouse (1957); The Outer Limits (1964); The Outsider (1968); The Plainsman (1966); The Raiders (1963); The Reporter (1964); The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960); The Rockford Files (1977–1979); The Rogues (1965); The Sand Pebbles (1966); The Satan Bug (1965); The Sheriff of Cochise (1956); The Silent Force (1970); The Silent Service (1958); The Starlost (1973); The Ten Commandments (1959); The Thin Man (1958); The Third Man (1959); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1971); The Trials of O'Brien (1965); The Twilight Zone (1961–1963); The Untouchables (1962–1963); The Virginian (1965); The Web (1953); The Wide World of Mystery (1975); The Wild Wild West (1968); The Young Lawyers (1970); Third of a Man (1962); Tightrope (1959); Toma (1973–1974); Tony Rome (1967); Tucker's Witch (1983); Unsolved (1960); Vega$ (1981); Wagon Train (1960–1962); Wall of Noise (1963); West Side Story (1961); Who Has Seen the Wind? (1965); Who Was That Lady? (1960); You Are There (1953–1955); Young Dr. Kildare (1973); Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (1977); Zane Grey Theatre (1959–1960).

When you read a line that is so well-written ...

When you read a line that is so well-written, you just close the book and stare at the wall for a minute...

- Anonymous.

Recommended reading - Early Film Noir: Greed, Lust and Murder Hollywood Style (2003):

Early Film Noir:
Greed, Lust and Murder Hollywood Style

By William Hare.

Published by McFarland & Company.

Paperback.

Published 2003.

ISBN-10: 0786416297

ISBN-13: 978-0786416295

Description:

The name is French and it has connections to German expressionist cinema, but film noir was inspired by the American Raymond Chandler, whose prose was marked by the gripping realism of seedy hotels, dimly lit bars, main streets, country clubs, mansions, cul-de-sac apartments, corporate boardrooms, and flop houses of America.

Chandler and the other writers and directors, including James M. Cain, Dashiell Hammett, Jane Greer, Ken Annakin, Rouben Mamoulian and Mike Mazurki, who were primarily responsible for the creation of the film noir genre and its common plots and themes, are the main focus of this work. It correlates the rise of film noir with the new appetites of the American public after World War II and explains how it was developed by smaller studios and filmmakers as a result of the emphasis on quality within a deliberately restricted element of cities at night. The author also discusses how RKO capitalized on films such as Murder, My Sweet and Out of the Past – two of film noir's most famous titles – and film noir's connection to British noir and the great international triumph of Sir Carol Reed in The Third Man.

Contents: Foreword; Introduction; Film Noir: Chandler and the American Institution with a French Name; A Blend of Three Great Talents: Double Indemnity (1944); Women of Danger and RKO's Noir Factory; Dmytryk and the RKO Team; Jane Greer: Hollywood's Unforgettable Femme Fatale; Laura (1944); An Obsession in White and a Final Reckoning: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946); British Noir: The Third Man (1949) and Across the Bridge (1957); Synopses of Major Films; Bibliography; Index.

Jesse Owens, on dreams:

We all have dreams.

But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.

- Jesse Owens.

On this day in movie history - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014):

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu,

written by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bó,

was released at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on August 27, 2014.
Music by Antonio Sánchez.

Cast:

Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Kenny Chin, Jamahl Garrison-Lowe, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Jeremy Shamos, Andrea Riseborough, Katherine O'Sullivan, Damian Young, Keenan Shimizu, Akira Ito, Natalie Gold, Merritt Wever, Edward Norton, Michael Siberry, Clark Middleton, Amy Ryan, William Youmans, Lindsay Duncan, Paula Pell, David Fierro, Hudson Flynn, Warren Kelley, Joel Marsh Garland, Brent Bateman, Donna Lynne Champlin, Valentino Musumeci, Taylor Schwencke, Craig muMs Grant, Kyle Knauf, Dave Neal, Kelly Southerland, Roberta Colindrez, Catherine Peppers, Frank Ridley, Janis Corsair, Rakesh Shah, Bill Camp, Malachi Weir, Jackie Hoffman, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Glenn Wein, Ebrahim Jaffer, Rain Noe, Susan Blackwell, Anna Hardwick, Dusan Dukic, Helena-Alexis Seymour, Ian Finlay, Alexandra Aristy, Marshall Axt, Robbin Banx, Thomas J. Bellezza, Kevin Berrey, Paula Blum, Dave Bobb, Roger Brenner, Bryan Burton, Teena Byrd, Brian Cheeks, Kymberly Clark, Richard R. Corapi, Alan Davis, Casey Davis, Johanna Day, Madeline Farbstein, James Farley, Zach Fouche, Z. Frankie, Les Gardonyi, David H. Holmes, David Itchkawitz, Joseph Anthony Jerez, Benjamin Kanes, Kenneth Kopolovicz, Anna Kuchma, Kamron Leal, Tracy Michael Lynch, Rachael Ma, Keith Mackler, Vanessa Malanga, Alex Malaos, Raymond Mamrak, Michelle E. Mancini, Lynn Marocola, Nicholas Marocola, Chris McFarland, Chuck McMahon, Laura Merrill, Teresa Meza, Leslie C. Nemet, Thelma O'Leary, Philip Odango, Carrie Ormond, And Palladino, Stephen Payne, Raffaello Perfetto, Rich Petrillo, Joe Michael Phillips, Josephine Pizzino, Jon Douglas Rainey, Dawn Ressy, Dwayne Rivera, Charles J. Rosa, Shade Rupe, Gary Ryder, Stuart Schnitzer, Nancy Ellen Shore, Bomber Hurley Smith, Janet Stanwood, John Stepanian, Janelle Tedesco, Paul Thornton, Stella Toppan, Millie Torchetti, Wyatt Unger, Stefano Villabona, Bill Walters, Dorothy Weems, Kelli Wilcoxen.

On this day in music history:

Bel Canto by Renée Fleming & Patrick Summers (2002)

Saturate by Breaking Benjamin (2002)

Intervention by Helen Jane Long (2012)

Bel Canto

Album by Renée Fleming and Patrick Summers,

released August 27, 2002.

Track list: Bellini / La sonnambula: “Ah!..se una volta sola”; Bellini / La sonnambula: “Ah!..non credea mirarti”; Bellini / La sonnambula: “Ah! non giunge uman pensiero”; Donizetti / Maria Padilla: “Abbracciami”; Donizetti / Maria Padilla: “Il piu tenero suon d’arpa morende”; Donizetti / Maria Padilla: “Ah! non sai qual prestigio si cela”; Rossini / Semiramide: Introduzione; Rossini / Semiramide: “Bel raggio lusinghier”; Rossini / Semiramide: “Dolce pensiero di quell’istante”; Bellini / Il pirata: Introduzione; Bellini / Il pirata: “Ah! s’io potessi dissipar le nubi”; Bellini / Il pirata: “Col sorriso d’innocenza”; Bellini / Il pirata: “Oh sole! ti vela di tenebre oscure”; Rossini / Armida: “D’Amor al dolce impero”; Rossini / Armida: “Gli augei tra fronde e fronde”; Rossini / Armida: “La fresca eta sen fugge”; Rossini / Armida: “Ah! si, godete amanti”; Donizetti / Lucrezia Borgia:”M’odi, ah m’odi, io non t’imploro”; Donizetti / Lucrezia Borgia: “Figlio!...Figlio!...Ola, qualcuno!”; Donizetti / Lucrezia Borgia: “Era desso il figlio mio”.

Saturate

Album by Breaking Benjamin,

released August 27, 2002.

Track list: I Wish I May; Medicate; Polyamorous; Skin; Natural Life; Next to Nothing; Water; Home; Phase; No Games; Sugarcoat; Shallow Bay.

Intervention

Album by Helen Jane Long,

released on August 27, 2012.

Track list: Truth Has No Temperature; White Barry Formula; 5AM; Cabin Fever; Truth Has No Temperature; Coulda; Fonk; We Are Techno.

On this day in movie history - The 13th Warrior (1999 movie & book):

The 13th Warrior

directed by John McTiernan,

written by William Wisher, Jr. and Warren Lewis,

based on the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton,

was released in the United States on August 27, 1999.
Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:

Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Vladimir Kulich, Dennis Storhøi, Omar Sharif, Anders T. Andersen, Richard Bremmer, Tony Curran, Mischa Hausserman, Neil Maffin, Asbjorn Riis, Clive Russell, Daniel Southern, Oliver Sveinall, Sven Wollter, Albie Woodington, John DeSantis, Eric Avari, Maria Bonnevie, Susan Willis, Yolande Bavan.

Recommended reading:

Eaters of the Dead

Full title:

Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922

By Michael Crichton.

Filmed as The 13th Warrior (1999), directed by John McTiernan.

Mass Market Paperback.
Published by Harper.
First published 1976.
ISBN 13: 9780061782633
ISBN 10: 0061782637
ASIN: 0061782637

Description:

The year is A.D. 922.  A refined Arab courtier, representative of the powerful Caliph of Baghdad, encounters a party of Viking warriors who are journeying to the barbaric North. He is appalled by their Viking customs — the wanton sexuality of their pale, angular women, their disregard for cleanliness . . . their cold-blooded human sacrifices. But it is not until they reach the depths of the Northland that the courtier learns the horrifying and inescapable truth: He has been enlisted by these savage, inscrutable warriors to help combat a terror that plagues them — a monstrosity that emerges under cover of night to slaughter the Vikings and devour their flesh . . .