On this day in movie history – Army of Shadows (1969 movie & novel):

Army of Shadows

a.k.a. L'armée des ombres,

directed and written by Jean-Pierre Melville,

based on the novel by Joseph Kessel,

released in France on September 12, 1969.

Music by Éric Demarsan.

Cast: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret, Claude Mann, Paul Crauchet, Christian Barbier, Serge Reggiani, André Dewavrin, Alain Dekok, Alain Mottet, Alain Libolt, Jean-Marie Robain, Albert Michel, Denis Sadier, Georges Sellier, Marco Perrin, Hubert de Lapparent, Colin Mann, Anthony Stuart, Michel Fretault, Gérard-Antoine Huart, Percival Russel, Michel Dacquin, Jeanne Pérez, Pierre Vaudier, Jacques Marbeuf, Franz Sauer, Marcel Bernier, Gaston Meunier, Françoise Bonnot, Adrien Cayla-Legrand, Nathalie Delon, Jacques Léonard.

Recommended reading:

Army of Shadows

by Joseph Kessel.

Translated by Haakon Chevalier.
Published by Contra Mundum Press.
First published 1943.
ISBN-10: 194062522X
ISBN-13: 9781940625225

Description:

THIS IS THE TRUTH, THOUGH THE FORM IS FICTION…

The terrible and inspiring truth about the French underground, the way it's men and women operate, fight, die, a story full of nobility, heroism, and brutal violence. First published in its English translation in 1944, this is the fictionalized account of French writer Joseph Kessel's own experiences as a member of the French Resistance in World War II.