Recommended reading - Badge of Evil

Badge of Evil

by Whit Masterson.

Filmed as Touch of Evil (1958), directed by Orson Welles.

Published by Adams Media.
First published 1956.

ASIN: 1440560919
ISBN-10: 9781440560910
ISBN-13: 978-1440560910

Description:

“Orson Welles based his noir masterpiece on this equally fine novel.” – The Washington Post.

Quinlan and McCoy – veteran cops who could smell out a murderer …

A dark, swift-running tale of love and hate and death under the bright California sun.

Assistant District Attorney Mitch Holt suspects the wrong people have been arrested in the murder of Rudy Linneker. But if it wasn't Linneker's daughter and her fiance, who was it? And why do two of the city's most decorated and beloved cops look like they're not shooting straight? If they've planted evidence in this case, what else are they guilty of in the past?

Happy Lunar New Year - Year of the Snake

Happiness and prosperity to all in the Year of the Snake

On this day in music history - Kids in America, by Kim Wilde (1981)

Kids in America

by Kim Wilde,

was released on January 26, 1981.

Recommended reading - Little Caesar by W.R. Burnett (1929 & 1981):

Little Caesar

by W.R. Burnett

ASIN: B0012363AA

Published by Dial.

Published 1929.

Hardcover.

First edition.

Description:

Rico is a small, pale man, but he has guts, endurance and a steely single-mindedness. When Vettori sends the gang out to rob a local nightclub, Rico shoots a cop who pulls a gun on him. They get away, but Vettori is shocked. He had told Rico, no gunplay. That’s when Rico realizes that Vettori has gone soft. He’s too old to control the gang anymore. So Rico takes over. With the faithful Otero at his side, the rest of them quickly shift their allegiances. Now the world is Rico’s. It’s his gang, and he’s calling all the shots. But there is always a weak link, someone who’s ready to spill when the bulls get tough. And sooner or later the nightclub killing is bound to catch up with him.

 

Little Caesar

By Gerald Peary.

Edited by Tino Balio.

Published by University of Wisconsin Press.

Wisconsin / Warner Bros. Screenplays.

Published 1981.

First edition.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 029908454X

ISBN-13: 978-0299084547

Description:

Little Caesar, a 1931 Hollywood gangster classic, is viewed in revivals today with nearly as much audience enthusiasm as it enjoyed a half-century ago, in the depths of the Great Depression.

In general, the Hollywood film industry responded to the dark economic conditions of the 1930s with escapist and non-topical films. The fascinating exception was the gangster film, through which the studios joined in the debate over the spiritual and economic health of the nation. Little Caesar, considered by many to be an architype of the genre, is one of the most memorable dramatizations of the discontent and alienation, the deep anxiety and hostility shared by millions of Americans during those dark years. 

On this day in television history - Justified (2015)

Justified

Season 6. Episode 1.

Episode entitled: Fate’s Right Hand.

Released January 20, 2015.

Directed by Michael Dinner.

Written by Graham Yost, Michael Dinner, Fred Golan, Chris Provenzano, Keith Schreier.

Based on the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.

Music by Steve Porcaro.

Cast:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Jere Burns, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Walton Goggins, Garret Dillahunt, Rick Gomez, Damon Herriman, Justin Welborn, Ryan Dorsey, Rolando Molina, Bill Tangradi, Natalie Zea, Cascy Beddow, Pamela Bowen, Kareem J. Grimes, Shawn Parsons, Chet Grissom, Aubrey Wood, Russell Bertolino, David Meunier.

A Dream Within a Dream, by Edgar Allan Poe

A Dream Within a Dream

by Edgar Allan Poe

 

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow-

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand-

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep- while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream? 

Recommended reading - 711 - Officer Needs Help

711 - Officer Needs Help

by Whit Masterson.

 

Filmed as Warning Shot (1967), directed by Buzz Kulik.

 

ASIN: B000CC6L22

Published by Popular Library.

First published 1965.

Paperback.

 

Description:

A Man on the run for his life...

A suspense novel to startle and shock...

Detective Sergeant Tom Valens was a tough man in a tough business--with an unblemished record, a long scar in his gut to prove his integrity and a beautiful ex-wife to prove his devotion to the Force.

Then one night he made a cop's worst mistake--and found himself alone, with ten days to clear his name and save his life. Ten chilling days which led to a gorgeous redhead named Liz, a secret potent enough to blow half of Los Angeles society sky-high, and a psychotic killer who would stop at nothing...including triple murder.

Keep warm and read a good book:

 

Keep warm and read a good book.

Recommended reading – The Cowboys

The Cowboys

by William Dale Jennings.
 
Published by Bantam.
First published 1971.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0552089796
ISBN-13: 978-0552089791
 
Description:
 

The time is 1877, the place the wild Wyoming-Montana territory. Will Anderson, a flinty old rancher, has a huge herd of cattle ripe for market when his regular hands, inflamed by gold fever, desert him. In desperation, he hires the only "men" available for the perilous 400 mile drive – a pack of scraggly schoolboys. Through skill and harsh discipline, Wil Anderson whips them from greenhorns into seasoned cowhands. But before the long drive is over, the boys discover that the price they must pay for manhood is a terrible one- murder and revenge! the stunning, heartbreaking climax of this extraordinary story will surprise you - and perhaps even sock you.

Jimmy Carter road sign

 Jimmy Carter road sign

January 9, 2025

Recommended reading – Two O’clock Courage

 

Two O’clock Courage

by Gelett Burgess.
 
Filmed as Two in the Dark (1936), directed by Benjamin Stoloff.
 
ASIN: B005D2SGQU
Published by Surinam Turtle Press.
Published 1934.
Hardcover.
 
Description:
 

This 1934 thriller is the third book under Richard A. Lupoff's Surinam Turtle imprint. A man wakes up in a park and can't remember who he is. But thanks to the help of a couple of intriguing women, he manages to remain free from arrest for a murder he MAY have committed. But he simply must figure out his identity before the cops -- or the murderer -- catch up with him. The story was made into a film called TWO IN THE DARK and the plot has been used in later films and books (notably Evan Hunter's BUDDWING and a British film called HYSTERIA) but no one has done it with the skill and style of Gelett Burgess.

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

 
M Squad

Season 2. Episode 16.

Episode entitled: The Third Shadow.

Released January 9, 1959.

Directed by James Neilson.

Written by Jack Jacobs.

Music by Benny Carter.

 
Cast:

Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Monica Lewis, Tony Travis, Alfred Shelly, Amy Fields, Richard Benedict, Guy Prescott, Ted Thorpe, Roy Engel, Stuart Holmes.

On this day in music history - The album Key of Sea, by Jennifer Thomas (2007)

Key of Sea

by Jennifer Thomas

was released on January 9, 2007.

Track list:

A Beautiful Storm; Prelude in F; Release; You By My Side; Suite Dreams; Will's Song; Old Movie Romance; Pure; O Mio Babbino Caro; The Red Aspens; Somewhere; The Tempest; Sospiro.

 

On this day in music history - The album Tonight: Welthits von Berlin bis Broadway, by Renée Fleming, Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann and Klaus Florian Vogt (2014)

Tonight: Welthits von Berlin bis Broadway

by Renée Fleming, Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann and Klaus Florian Vogt

was released on January 7, 2014.

Track list:

Lincke: Frau Luna: Berliner Luft (Live); Gershwin: Pardon My English: The Loreley (Live); Gershwin: Strike Up The Band: Overture (Live); Bernstein: West Side Story: Maria (Live); F. Loewe: My Fair Lady: I Could Have Danced All Night (Live); Weill: One Touch Of Venus: Foolish Heart (Live); Bernstein: West Side Story: Tonight (Live); Tauber: Der singende Traum: Du bist die Welt für mich (Live); Gershwin: Lady Be Good: Fascinating Rhythm (Live); Berlin: Annie, Get Your Gun: Anything You Can Do (Live); Tonight - Welthits von Berlin bis Broadway (Live).

 

Recommended reading - The Stop-motion Filmography

 

The Stop-motion Filmography

A Critical Guide to 297 Features Using Puppet Animation

by Neil Pettigrew.
 
2-Volume Set.
Published by McFarland & Company.
Published 2007.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0786431075
ISBN-13: 978-0786431076
 
Description:
 

This is a major McFarland reference work providing in-depth analyses of all puppet animation sequences in every film that has featured the process, including King Kong and Jason and the Argonauts. The focus is on how effective the sequence was and how it was executed. In addition to the analysis, each entry provides title, year of release, cast and production credits including producer, director, screenplay, director of photography, art director or production designer, music, stop-motion animators, armature builders, puppet makers, stop-motion cameramen, sequence supervisors, and more. Ratings of the film and of the effectiveness of its stop-motion sequences are also given.

 

“Gargantuan...an insightful and affectionate tribute to [puppet animation] films. Brilliant color photographs shine out alongside numerous black and white photos...recommended.” – Choice.
 
“Well-researched, well-written and a solid addition.” – Video Watchdog.
 
“Detailed…a ‘must have’.” – Famous Monsters of Filmland.
 
“Amazing...thousands of details...an important work.” – Association Internationale du Film d'Animation (ASIFA) / The International Animated Film Association.
 
“A mightily impressive tome...exhaustive...an essential book for stop motion fans.” – SFX Magazine.
 
“Staggeringly comprehensive study...provides shot-by-shot analysis of every stop-motion sequence in every known feature film that uses the process...Pettigrew’s thoroughness and accuracy border on the astounding...a work of impeccable scholarship.” – Scarlet Street.
 
“A treasure-trove of information.” – Ani-Mato.
 
“Superbly researched and informative text and illustrations...provides in-depth analyses of all puppet animation sequences...a valuable source of information...immaculately researched and written in a lucid and very readable manner” – Talking Pictures Magazine.
 

Happy New Year 2025!

#HappyNewYear #2025

On this day in music history - Nightscenes (1996)

 

Nightscenes

Album by Michael Whalen,

Released January 1, 1996.

Track list:
Evening Blurs Into The Neon; Close Your Eyes, The Right Approaches; Acquainted With The Night; Part One: Light-Sky-Stars; Part Two: Passages; Part Three: Faces; Part Four: Love; Into The Darkness Part One: The Heart Of Midninght; Into The Darkness Part Two: Journey Towards The Sunrise; It Happened On A Sunday.