On this day in movie history - Sudden Impact (1983):

Sudden Impact

directed Clint Eastwood,

written by Joseph Stinson,

based on a story by Earl E. Smith, Charles B. Pierce, Chuck Pfarrer and Dean Riesner,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1983.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman, Paul Drake, Audrie Neenan, Jack Thibeau, Michael Currie, Albert Popwell, Mark Keyloun, Kevyn Major Howard, Bette Ford, Nancy Parsons, Joe Bellan, Wendell Wellman, Mara Corday, Russ McCubbin, Robert Sutton, Nancy Fish, Carmen Argenziano, Lisa Britt, Bill Reddick, Lois De Banzie, Matthew Child, Mike Johnson, Nick Dimitri, Michael Maurer, Pat DuVal, Christian Phillips, Steven Kravitz, Dennis Royston, Melvin Thompson, Jophery C. Brown, William Upton, Lloyd Nelson, Christopher Pray, James McEachin, Maria Lynch, Ken Lee, Morgan Upton, John X. Heart, David Gonzales, Albert Martinez, David Rivers, Robert Rivers, Harry Demopoulos, Lisa London, Tom Spratley, Eileen Wiggins, John Nowak, John Bleifer, Cynthia Brian, Christine Card, Michael V. Gazzo, Conrad Hurtt, Camryn Manheim, Dihlon McManne, Meathead (the dog).

On this day in movie history - 48 Hrs. (1982):

48 Hours

directed Walter Hill,

written by Roger Spottiswoode, Walter Hill, Larry Gross and Steven E. de Souza,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1982.
Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Sonny Landham, Brion James, Kerry Sherman, Jonathan Banks, James Keane, Tara King, Greta Blackburn, Margot Rose, Denise Crosby, Olivia Brown, Todd Allen, Bill Dearth, Ned Dowd, Jim Haynie, Jack Thibeau, Jon St. Elwood, Clare Torao, Sandy Martin, Matt Landers, Peter Jason, Bill Cross, Chris Mulkey, Marcelino Sánchez, Bennie E. Dobbins, Walter Scott, W.T. Zacha, Begonya Plaza, Loyd Catlett, B.G. Fisher, Reid Cruickshanks, R.D. Call, Brenda Venus, Gloria Gifford, Nick Dimitri, John Dennis Johnston, Rock A. Walker, Dave Moordigian, J. Wesley Huston, Gary Pettinger, Marquerita Wallace, Angela Robinson Witherspoon, Jack Lightsy, John Hauk, Bob Yanez, Clint Smith, Luis Contreras, Suzanne M. Regard, Ola Ray, Bjaye Turner, The Bus Boys, Larry Clardy, Robert Cole, Steven G. Felix, Fritz Ford, Bob Harks, Vic Johnson, Michael D. Jones, David LeBell, Gus Loundermon, Brian O'Neal, Kevin O'Neal, Erika Pearson, Tony Roque, Richard Wakasa.

On this day in movie history - The Brink’s Job (1978 movie & book):

The Brink’s Job

directed William Friedkin,

written by Walon Green,

based on the book Big Stick-Up at Brinks by Noel Behn,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1978.
Music by Richard Rodney Bennett.

Cast:

Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands, Paul Sorvino, Sheldon Leonard, Gerard Murphy, Kevin O'Connor, Claudia Peluso, Patrick Hines, Malachy McCourt, Walter Klavun, Randy Jurgensen, John Brandon, Robert Prosky.

Recommended reading:

Big Stick-Up at Brinks

By Noel Behn.

First published 1976.

Published by Putnam.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0399118977

ISBN-13: 978-0399118975

Description:

A riveting and frequently hilarious insider account of one of the twentieth century’s most outrageous capers.

On the evening of January 17, 1950, armed robbers wearing Captain Marvel masks entered the Brink’s Armored Car building in Boston, Massachusetts. They walked out less than an hour later with more than $2.7 million in cash and securities. It was a brazen and expertly executed theft that captured the imaginations of millions of Americans and baffled the FBI and local law enforcement officials.

But what appeared on the surface to be the perfect crime was, in fact, the end result of a mind-boggling series of mistakes, miscalculations, and missteps. The men behind the masks were not expert bank robbers but a motley crew of small-time crooks who bumbled their way into a record-breaking payday and managed to elude the long arm of the law for six years.

New York Times bestselling author Noel Behn tape-recorded nearly one thousand hours of interviews with the surviving robbers, including motormouthed mastermind Tony Pino, a character so colorful he might have been dreamed up by a Hollywood screenwriter, to tell the uncensored story of the heist forever known as “the Great Brink’s Robbery.” Fun and suspenseful from first page to last, Behn’s true-crime classic was the basis for The Brink’s Job (1978), the Academy Award–nominated film directed by William Friedkin and starring Peter Falk and Peter Boyle.

“It had me riveted with suspense, but it also made me laugh until I got hiccups.” – Cosmopolitan.

“A King Kong of crime entertainment . . . that no movie could match . . . The Brink’s job [was] a kind of D-Day event in the annals of crime . . . Glorious.” – Kirkus Reviews.

“One minute you’re laughing your head off. The next minute you chill with fear. Crooks and crime at their best. Pure magic!” – Harold Robbins.

“The best book about criminals ever written, a rich and beautiful depiction of their lives as well as their work, a book that elevates them from moving-picture types to complete, vivid humans. Noel Behn has taken one of the most extraordinary crimes of the century and turned it into a living tapestry. It’s a wonderful book.” – Paddy Chayefsky, Academy Award–winning screenwriter of Network.

“Reads like a Hollywood screenplay, except that it really happened.” – John Barkham Reviews.

On this day in music history - Hotel California, by the Eagles (1976):

Hotel California

Album by the Eagles,

released December 8, 1976.

Track list:

Hotel California; New Kid in Town, Life in the Fast Lane; Wasted Time; Wasted Time; Victim of Love; Pretty Maids All in a Row; Try and Love Again; The Last Resort.

On this day in television history - Space 1999 (1975):

Space 1999

Season 1. Episode 14.

Episode entitled: Earthbound.

Released December 8, 1975.

Directed by Charles Crichton.

Written by Anthony Terpiloff.

Series created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson.

Music by Barry Gray.

Cast:

Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Roy Dotrice, Christopher Lee, Prentis Hancock, Clifton Jones, Zienia Merton, Anton Phillips, Nick Tate, Tony Allyn, Emily Bolton, Sarah Bullen, Loftus Burton, Andy Dempsey, Roy Everson, Alan Harris, Joy Harrison, Christine Hewett, Barbara Kelly, Rhonda Parker, Robert Phillips, Quentin Pierre, Suzanne Roquette, Angela Staines.

On this day in the Star Trek universe:

Star Trek (1966 & 1967)

Star Trek

Season 1. Episode 13.

Episode entitled: The Conscience of the King.

Released December 8, 1966.

Directed by Gerd Oswald.

Written by Barry Trivers.

Created by Gene Roddenberry.

Music by Alexander Courage, Joseph Mullendore.

Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley, Arnold Moss, Barbara Anderson, Grace Lee Whitney, William Sargent, Natalie Norwick, David Somerville / David-Troy, Karl Bruck, Marc Grady Adams, Bruce Hyde, Tom Anfinsen, Majel Barrett, Bill Blackburn, Frank da Vinci, Carey Foster, Robert H. Justman, Jeannie Malone, Eddie Paskey, Ron Veto.

Star Trek

Season 2. Episode 12.

Episode entitled: The Deadly Years.

Released December 8, 1967.

Directed by Joseph Pevney.

Written by David P. Harmon.

Created by Gene Roddenberry.

Music by Alexander Courage.

Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Charles Drake, Sarah Marshall, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, Felix Locher, Carolyn Nelson, Laura Wood, Beverly Washburn, Frank da Vinci, Roger Holloway, Eddie Paskey, Frieda Rentie.

On this day in music history - Symphony No. 7, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1813):

Symphony No. 7

by Ludwig van Beethoven,

was first performed in Vienna on December 8, 1813.
Symphony in four movements.
Opus 92, in A Major.
Composed: 1811–1812.