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.

Recommended reading - Pulp Fiction: The Crimefighters (2006)

 

Pulp Fiction: The Crimefighters

Edited by Otto Penzler

Published by Quercus
Hardcover
 
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
 
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.

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).

Born on this day – Mae West:

 

Mae West

Actress

Singer

Comedian

Writer

August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980

Born on this day – Janet Lewis:

 

Janet Lewis

Writer

August 17, 1899 – December 1, 1998

Credits:

Poems:

A Farewell; A Gull-following Song; A Lullaby; A Lullaby; A Song for the Grandmother; A Song for the Wife of Manibozho; At Carmel Highlands; Austerity; Child in a Garden; Country Burial; Days; For Louise; Fossil; Geology; Helen Grown Old; Helen, the Sad Queen; In the Woods; Lines with a Gift of Herbs; Manibush and the Grandmother; Old Love; On an Old Woman Dying; Sunday Morning at the Artists' House; The April Hill; The Clock; The End of the Age; The Hangar.

Books, music and articles:

Against a Darkening Sky (1943 / 1985); American Poetry Review, November/December (1981); Bookman (November, 1932); Chicago Sunday Tribune Magazine of Books (February 22, 1959); Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 41 (1987); Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction, winter (1964-65); Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook: 1987 (1988); Good-Bye, Son, and Other Stories (1946 / 1986); Keiko's Bubble (1961); Late Offerings (1988); Librettist for "Easter Laudate," 1977, and "A Christmas Canticle," 1978, (1981); Los Angeles Times Book Review (November 3, 1985); Mulberry Street: An Opera (1981 / 1988); New York Times Book Review (October 2, 1932 / January 24, 1943 / April 8, 1951); Poems Old and New, 1918-1978 (1981); Poems, 1924-1944 (1950); Poetry (January, 1947); Southern Review (winter, 1966 / spring, 1980 / spring, 1982); The Ancient Ones: Poems (1979); The Birthday of the Infanta: An Opera in One Act (1977 / 1979); The Dear Past and Other Poems ,1919–1994 (1994); The Earth-Bound, 1924-1944 (1946); The Friendly Adventures of Ollie Ostrich (1923); The Ghost of Monsieur Scarron (1959); The Indians in the Woods (1922 / 1980); The Invasion: A Narrative of Events Concerning the Johnston Family of St. Mary's (1932 / 1964); The Last of the Mohicans (1976 / 1978); The Legend (1987 / 1987); The Swans: An Opera in Three Acts (1986); The Trial of Soren Qvist (1947 / 1989); The Wheel in Midsummer (1927); The Wife of Martin Guerre (1941 / 1970); The Wife of Martin Guerre: An Opera / aka The Wife: A Libretto (For an Opera in Three Acts) (1956 / 1958 / 1988); Times Literary Supplement (April 10, 1987); Women Writers of the West Coast: Speaking of Their Lives and Careers (1983).

Movies and television:

The Return of Martin Guerre (1982); Writers of Northern California (1990).

Born on this day – Raffaello Matarazzo:

 

Raffaello Matarazzo

Director

August 17, 1909 – May 17, 1966

Born on this day – Maureen O'Hara:

Maureen O'Hara

Actress

Singer

August 17, 1920 – October 24, 2015

Born on this day – Evan S. Connell:

 

Evan S. Connell

Writer

August 17, 1924 – January 10, 2013

Credits:

Books:

A Long Desire (1979); American Short Story Masterpieces (1987); At the Crossroads (1965); Deus Lo Volt! (2000); Double Honeymoon (1976); El Dorado and Other Pursuits (2002); Francisco Goya: A Life (2003); Lost in Uttar Pradesh (2008); Mr. Bridge (1969); Mrs. Bridge (1959); Notes from a Bottle Found on the Beach at Carmel (1962); Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story (2012); Points for a Compass Rose (1973); Son of the Morning Star (1984); St. Augustine's Pigeon (1980); The Alchymist's Journal (1991); The Anatomy Lesson and Other Stories (1957); The Aztec Treasure House (2001); The Best American Short Stories 1957 (1957); The Collected Stories (1995); The Connoisseur (1974); The Diary of a Rapist (1966); The Patriot (1958); The White Lantern (1980).

Movies and television:

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990); Son of the Morning Star (1991).

Born on this day – Jean Poiret:

 

Jean Poiret

Actor

Director

Writer

August 17, 1926 – March 14, 1992

Born on this day – Ted Hughes:

Ted Hughes

Writer

August 17, 1930 – October 28, 1998

Credits:
 
Books:
 

A March Calf (2019); A Ted Hughes Bestiary (2014); All Around the Year (1979); Animal Poems (1967); By Heart (2012); Cave Birds (1978); Crow (1970); Emily Dickinson (2011); Euripides' Alcestis (2011); Ffangs the Vampire Bat and the Kiss of Truth (1986); Gaudete (1977); How the Whale Became (1963); Letters of Ted Hughes (2010); Lupercal (1960); Meet My Folks (1973); Moon-Whales (1976); Moortown (1979); My Brother Bert (2009); Nessie the Mannerless Monster (1964); New and Selected Poems (2010); Remains of Elmet (2011); River (1983); Season Songs (2019); Selected Poems (1962); T. S. Eliot: A Tribute (1987); Tales of the Early World (1988); The Coming of the Kings (1970); The Dreamfighter (1995); The Earth Owl and Other Moon People (1963); The Hawk in the Rain (1957); The Iron Man aka The Iron Giant (1968); The Iron Wolf (2019); The Iron Woman (1993); The Love Pet (1985); The Thought Fox (2019); The Tiger's Bones (1974); Timmy the Tug (2009); What is the Truth? (1984); Wodwo (1967); Wolfwatching (1989).

 

Movies and television:
 

Beauty and the Beast (1982); Biography (2004); Crow (2014); Jackanory (1972–1995); Jackanory Playhouse (1972); MultiVersus (2024); Seven Crows a Secret (1994); Sylvia Plath: Inside the Bell Jar (2018); Ted Hughes: Stronger Than Death (2015); The Colossus (2010); The English Programme (1986–1998); The Iron Giant (1999); The Rain Horse (2008); The South Bank Show (1979–1981).

Born on this day – Luther Allison:

 

Luther Allison

Blues singer

Songwriter

Guitarist

August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997

Credits:

Albums:

Bad News Is Coming (1972); Blue Streak (1995); Hand Me Down My Moonshine (1994); Here I Come (1985); I Owe It All To You (2024); Learn From The Past (2022); Let's Have A Natural Ball (1985); Let's Try It Again (1992); Life Is a Bitch (1984); Live '89: Let's Try It Again (2006); Live At Montreux 1986 (2006); Live in Chicago (1999); Live in Montreux 1976-1994 (2006); Live in Paris (1979); Love Me Mama (1969); Love Me Papa (1977); Luther Allison Live in Paris 1979 (2005); Luther's Blues (1974); Montreux 1976 (Live) (2017); More From Berlin (1990); My Time Ain't Long (2023); Night Life (1976); Pay It Forward (2002); Power Wire Blues (1979); Reckless (1997); Rich Man (1995); Serious (1987); Songs From The Road (2009); Soul Fixin' Man (1994); South Side Safari (1979); Standing at the Crossroad (1977); Sweet Home Chicago (2006); The Alligator Records Years (2013); The Motown Years 1972-1976 (1996); Time (1989); Underground (2007); When The Sun Goes Down (2024); Where Have You Been? Live In Montreux 1976-1994 (1996).

Movies and television:

Chorus (1978–1980); Cooley High (1975); Die Harald Schmidt Show (1996); Karussell (1985–1987); Lieder & Leute (1982); Little Fires Everywhere (2020); Lord Thing (1970); Mad Money (2008); Magnum P.I. (2020); Musical express (1979); Nobody (2021); Taratata (1997); The Big Easy (1997); The Breed (2006); The Good Life (2014).

Born on this day – Anthony Valentine:

Anthony Valentine

Actor

August 17, 1939 – December 2, 2015

Credits:

A for Andromeda (1961); Adolf Eichmann - Begegnungen mit einem Mörder / documentary (2002); Adventure in the Hopfields (1954); After the War (1989); Age of Treason (1993); Aggie (1957); Airline (1982); Aladdin (1951); Alien Attack (1976); American Cuisine (1998); An Age of Kings (1960); Armchair Cinema (1975); Armchair Theatre (1966); Asian Connection: Midnight Orchid (1995); BBC Play of the Month (1982–1983); BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1958); Bergerac (1983); Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School (1955–1957); Biography (1995); Body & Soul (1993); Boon (1989); Born for Trouble (1955); Budgie (1971); Butterflies & Diamonds (2015); Call My Bluff (1974–1981); Callan (1967–1972); Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1953); Casualty (2009); Chuggington (2008–2010); Chuggington: Badge Quest (2011); Codename (1970); Colditz (1974); Coronation Street (2009–2010); Coronation Street at Christmas (2019); Covington Cross (1992); Dark Arts: Inside 'To the Devil a Daughter' (2018); Department S (1969); Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess (1998); Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1969); Emergency-Ward 10 (1967); Emil and the Detectives (1952); Escape to Athena (1979); Escape to Athena: Cast and Crew Interviews (1978); A Father's Revenge (1988);Fun at St Fanny's (1955); Hammer House of Horror (1980); Hannay (1989); Heartbeat (2006); Inside the Tower (2015); Intrigue (1966); It's About Time (1979); ITV Play of the Week (1958); Jefferson in Paris (1995); Johnnie's Night Out (1954); Judge John Deed (2002); Justice (1971–1974); Killer Contract (1984); Lime Street (1985); Love Story (1966); Lovejoy (1986–1991); Masada (1981); Mencius Was a Bad Boy (1951); Minder (1979–1983); Monkey Business (1993); Moon and Son (1992); Murder Is Easy (1982); My Uncle Rollo (1954); New Tricks (2005); Night of One Hundred Stars (1980); No Way Back (1949); Noel's Telly Years (1997); Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial (2006); Pathfinders (1972); Performance (1970); Poirot (2006); Pop Culture Beast's Halloween Horror Picks (2015); Pulaski: The TV Detective (1987); Put Out More Flags (1970); Raffles (1975); Raffles (1975–1977); Rex Milligan (1956); Rheingold Theatre (1953); Riders (1993); Riviera Police (1965); Robin Hood (1984–1985); Saturday Playhouse (1961); Scobie in September (1969); Softly Softly (1969); Space: 1999 (1975); Spy Trap (1973); Stars on Sunday (1974); Stay Lucky (1991); Stranger in the House (1953); Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring (1961); Sunset Song (1971); Take Three Girls (1969); Tales of the Unexpected (1980–1982); The Attorney-General (1961); The Avengers (1967–1968); The Bill (1998); The Brain Machine (1955); The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991); The Children of the New Forest (1955); The Commander: Abduction (2008); The Commander: Blackdog (2005); The Commander: Blacklight (2006); The Commander: Virus (2005); The Cornet Player (1959); The Damned (1962); The Dancing Years (1976); The Detectives (1994–1997); The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (1988); The Donati Conspiracy (1973); The Expert (1969); The Fear (1988); The Fifth Corner (1992); The Flesh and the Fiends (1960); The Girl on the Pier (1953); The House of Angelo (1997); The House of Eliott (1991); The Knock (1994–1996); The Last Detective (2007); The Last Man Out (1962); The Madhouse on Castle Street / BBC Sunday-Night Play (1961); The Monster Club / Segment: Vampire Story (1981); The Plague Dogs (1982); The Scarf (1959); The Secret Way (1954); The True Mistery of the Passion (1960); The Way to Dusty Death (1995); The Wharf Road Mob (1957); The World About Us (1980–1982); Thirty-Minute Theatre (1967); This Is Your Life (1978–1995); This Man Craig (1967); Thriller (1975); To the Devil a Daughter (1976); To the Devil... The Death of Hammer (2002); Tower of Evil (1972); Two Men Went to War (2002); Van der Valk (1992); Vice Versa (1953); Waking the Dead (2001); West 11 (1963); When TV Goes to War (2011); Whodunnit? (1974); Z Cars (1972).

On this day in movie history - Lady on a Train (1945)

Lady on a Train

directed by Charles David,

written by Edmund Beloin and Robert O’Brien,

based on a story by Leslie Charteris,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1945.

Music by Miklós Rózsa.

Cast:

Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce, George Coulouris, Allen Jenkins, Dan Duryea, Edward Everett Horton, Jacqueline deWit, Patricia Morison, Elizabeth Patterson, Maria Palmer, Samuel S. Hinds, William Frawley, Thurston Hall, Kathleen O’Malley, Lash LaRue.

On this day in movie history - Westworld (1973)

Westworld

directed and written by Michael Crichton,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1973.

Music by Fred Karlin.

Cast:

Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Alan Oppenheimer, Victoria Shaw, Dick Van Patten, Linda Gaye Scott, Steve Franken, Michael Mikler, Terry Wilson, Majel Barrett, Anne Randall, Nora Marlowe, Charles Seel, Robert Patten, Julie Marcus, Chris Holter.

On this day in movie history - Tightrope (1984)

Tightrope

directed and written by Richard Tuggle,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1984.

Music by Lennie Niehaus.

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood, Jenny Beck, Marco St. John, Rebecca Perle, Regina Richardson, Randi Brooks, Jamie Rose, Margaret Howell, Rebecca Clemons, Janet MacLachlan, Graham Paul, Bill Holliday, John Wilmot, Margie O'Dair, Joy N. Houck Jr., Stuart Baker-Bergen, Donald Barber, Robert Harvey, Ron Gural, Layton Martens, Richard Charles Boyle, Becki Davis, Jonathan Sachar, Valerie Thibodeaux, Lionel Ferbos, Eliott Keener, Cary Wilmot Alden, David Valdes, James Borders, Fritz Manes, Jonathan Shaw, Don Lutenbacher, G. Wood, Kimberly Georgoulis, Glenda Byers, John Schluter, Nick Krieger, Lloyd Nelson, David Dahlgren, Rod Masterson, Glenn Wright, Angela Hill, Ted Saari, Tommy Gotti Coleman.

On this day in movie history - The Exorcist III (1990)

The Exorcist III

directed and written by William Peter Blatty,

based on novel Legion by William Peter Blatty,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1990.

Music by Barry De Vorzon.

Cast:

George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson, Brad Dourif, Grand L. Bush, Nicol Williamson, Nancy Fish, Tracy Thorne, Barbara Baxley, Harry Carey Jr., George DiCenzo, Tyra Ferrell, Lois Foraker, Don Gordon, Mary Jackson, Zohra Lampert, Ken Lerner, Viveca Lindfors, Lee Richardson, Kevin Corrigan, Demetrios Pappageorge, Jodi Long, Samuel L. Jackson, Amelia Campbell, C. Everett Koop, Larry King, Patrick Ewing, Teresa Wright, Fabio, Colleen Dewhurst, The Lennon Sisters.

On this day in movie history - 12 Angry Men (1997)

12 Angry Men

directed by William Friedkin,

written by Reginald Rose,

based on the 1954 teleplay Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1997.

Cast:

Courtney B. Vance, Ossie Davis, George C. Scott, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Dorian Harewood, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, Jack Lemmon, Hume Cronyn, Mykelti Williamson, Edward James Olmos, William Petersen, Mary McDonnell, Tyrees Allen, Douglas Spain.

On this day in movie history - Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground (1997)

Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground

a.k.a. SUBWAY stories,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1997.

 

Directed by Bob Balaban, Patricia Benoit, Julie Dash, Jonathan Demme, Ted Demme, Abel Ferrara, Alison Maclean, Craig McKay, Lucas Platt, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld.

Written by Adam Brooks, John Guare, Lynn Grossman, Angela Todd, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld, Albert Innaurato, Danny Hoch, Julie Dash, Marla Hanson, Joe Viola, Rosie Perez.

Music by Mecca Bodega.

Story segment titles:

• Fern's Heart of Darkness
• The 5: 24
• Honey-Getter
• The Listeners
• Love on the A Train
• Manhattan Miracle
• The Red Shoes
• Sax Cantor Riff
• Subway Car from Hell
• Underground

Cast:

Bill Irwin, KRS-One, Tina North, Paul Lazar, Andre B. Blake, Anthony S. Calypso, Robert W. Castle, Marlon Cherry, Carl J. Ferrazza, Daniel Freedman, Marc Mueller, Paul Mueller, Simon Seven, Joe Toutebon, Daniel Wolff, Mari Danzi, Lara McFarlane, Angie Utt, Audrey Meyers, Denis Leary, Christine Lahti, N'Bushe Wright, Kevin Corrigan, Marie Barrientos, O.L. Duke, Ellen Gould, John C. Vennema, Sixto Ramos, Erika Greene, Steve Zahn, Jerry Stiller, Bonnie Hunt, Richard Spore, Mekhi Phifer, José Ramón Rosario, Nancy Ticotin, John Ford Noonan, Lili Taylor, Michael Rapaport, Israel Horovitz, Mercedes Ruehl, Zachary Taylor, Peter Sarsgaard, Jeremy Jordan, Bruce Smolanoff, Rob Clasen, Jay Bailey, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Ajay Naidu, Danny Hoch, Steven Randazzo, Gi Shen, Kenny Garrett, Sam Rockwell, Sol Frieder, Tammi Cubilette, Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier, Bruklin Harris, Taral Hicks, Daniel Rous, Will Hare, Rosie Perez, Michael McGlone, Gretchen Mol, Gregory Hines, Anne Heche, George T. Odom, John D. Bair, John Bryant, Christopher Del Gaudio, Mark Robert Gordon, Stacie Johnsen, Adrian Lee, Bonnie Monaghan, Steve Nuke, Frank Turek, Chris White.