Born on this day – Mae West:

Mae West

Actress

Singer

Comedian

Writer

August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980

Born on this day – Edna Maison:

Edna Maison

Actress

August 17, 1892 – January 11, 1946

Credits:

The Mysterious Mr. Browning (1918); A Rich Man's Darling (1918); Love's Turmoil (1917); The Jewel of Death (1917); Mister Vampire (1916); Through Baby's Voice (1916); The Dumb Bandit (1916); The One Woman (1916); After the Play (1916); Undine (1916); The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916); A Daughter of Penance (1916); Buck Simmons, Puncher (1916); Manna (1915); Was She a Vampire? (1915); Vanity (1915); Her Mysterious Escort (1915); One Man's Evil (1915); Under the Crescent (1915); Roses and Thorns (1915); Courage (1915); The Grim Messenger (1915); The Love of Mary West (1915); When Jealousy Tumbled (1915); Her Adopted Mother (1915); The Recoil (1915); The Vaudry Jewels (1915); Lure of the West (1915); The Unmasking (1915); Their Island of Happiness (1915); A Girl of the Pines (1915); The King and the Man (1914); The Heart of a Magdalene (1914); Siss Dobbins, Oil Magnate (1914); Nan of the Hills (1914); The Senator's Lady (1914); Suspended Sentence (1914); The Padrone's Ward (1914); The Mayor's Manicure (1914); The Actress (1914); Richelieu (1914); Be Neutral (1914); A Modern Melnotte (1914); The Angel of the Camp (1914); The Storm Bird (1914); This Is the Life (1914); The Divorcee (1914); The Barnstormers (1914); Kate Waters of the Secret Service (1914); The Pearl of the Sea (1914); The Spy (1914); The Woman in Black (1914); The Brand of Cain (1914); The Masked Rider (1914); Heart Strings (1914); The Transformation of Prudence (1914); Old California (1914); The Taint of an Alien (1914); Risen from the Ashes (1914); Pitfalls (1914); Dangers of the Veldt (1914); Cupid Incognito (1914); The Way of a Woman (1914); By Radium's Rays (1914); The Merchant of Venice (1914); The Option (1914); The Cycle of Adversity (1914); Them Ol' Letters (1914); Three Children (1913); What Happened to Freckles (1913); Freckles' Fight for His Bride (1913); Her Legacy (1913); How Freckles Won His Bride (1913); The Lesson the Children Taught (1913); Playmates (1913); The Kid (1913); The Revelation (1913); The Struggle (1913); Mother (1913); The Little Skipper (1913); The Village Blacksmith (1913); The Death Stone of India (1913); The Second Home-Coming (1913); The Proof of the Man (1913); Poleon the Trapper (1913); The Idol of Bonanza Camp (1913); In Slavery Days (1913); On El Camino Real (1913); A Pig's a Pig (1913); The Bear Hunter (1913); The Spectre Bridegroom (1913); The Faithful Yuma Servant (1913); The Bear Trap (1912); The Padre's Gift (1912); Fate's Decree (1912); A Double Reward (1912); The Branded Arm (1912); Misleading Evidence (1912); For the Sake of the Papoose (1912); A Redman's Friendship (1912); The Girl Sheriff (1912).

Recommended reading - Pulp Fiction: The Crimefighters (2006):

Pulp Fiction: The Crimefighters

Edited by Otto Penzler.

Published by Quercus.
Hardcover.
Published 2006.

ISBN-10: 1905204566
ISBN-13: 978-1905204564

Description:

“These stories still cut, still tear, still even shock …

These guys went places maybe they shouldn’t and we love them for it.”

– Harlan Coben.

Some writing has an edge that time just can’t dull.
Welcome to the world of pulp fiction.
Within these pages are the very best crime stories from the pulp magazines of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
These are stories of the mean streets of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
These are stories in which danger and death are always just around the corner.
These are the stories which created crime fiction as we know it today.

Recommended reading - Pulp Fiction to Film Noir: The Great Depression and the Development of a Genre (2012):

Pulp Fiction to Film Noir:
The Great Depression and the Development of a Genre

By William Hare.

Published by McFarland.

Paperback.

Published 2012.

ISBN-10: 0786466820

ISBN-13: 978-0786466825

Description:

During the Great Depression, pulp fiction writers created a new, distinctly American detective story, one that stressed the development of fascinating, often bizarre characters rather than the twists and turns of clever plots. This new crime fiction adapted brilliantly to the screen, birthing a cinematic genre that French cinema intellectuals following World War II christened "film noir." 

Set on dark streets late at night, in cheap hotels and bars, and populated by the dangerous people who frequented these locales, these films introduced a new antihero, a tough, brooding, rebellious loner, embodied by Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon and Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep. This volume provides a detailed exploration of film noir, tracing its evolution, the influence of such legendary writers as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and the films that propelled this dark genre to popularity in the mid-20th century.

Lisa Scottoline, on writing:

The truth is that every writer,

whether it's fiction or nonfiction,

is trying to write something truly original and that's what I think I'm doing.

- Lisa Scottoline.

On this day in movie history - The Usual Suspects (1995):

The Usual Suspects

directed by Bryan Singer,

written by Christopher McQuarrie,

was released in the United States on August 16, 1995.
Music by John Ottman.

Cast:

Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, Suzy Amis, Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Hedaya, Paul Bartel, Carl Bressler, Phillipe Simon, Jack Shearer, Christine Estabrook, Clark Gregg, Morgan Hunter, Ken Daly, Michelle Clunie, Louis Lombardi, Frank Medrano, Ron Gilbert, Vito D'Ambrosio, Gene Lythgow, Bob Elmore, David Powledge, Bob Pennetta, Billy Bates, Smadar Hanson, Castulo Guerra, Peter Rocca, Bert Williams, Jaime H. Campos, John Gillespie, Johnathan Gorman, Peter Greene, Michael McKay, Christopher McQuarrie, Ralph Moratz, Scott B. Morgan, Mike Nyman, Grace Sinden.

On this day in movie history - Uncle Buck (1989):

Uncle Buck

directed and written by John Hughes,

was released in the United States on August 16, 1989.
Music by Ira Newborn.

Cast:

John Candy, Jean Louisa Kelly, Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffmann, Garrett M. Brown, Elaine Bromka, Amy Madigan, Jay Underwood, Brian Tarantina, Laurie Metcalf, Suzanne Shepherd, Mike Starr, William Windom.