P. D. James, on words:

Increase your word power.

Words are the raw material of our craft.

- P. D. James. 

Recommended reading - Pulp Masters (2001)

Pulp Masters

Edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg.

 
Published by Carroll & Graf.
First Edition.
Paperback.
 
ISBN-10: 0786708735
ISBN-13: 978-0786708734
 
Description:
 
A pulp-packed volume of hard-boiled crime fiction from the writers who made the mold and mastered the form.
 

John MacDonald, James M. Cain, Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block, Mickey Spillane, and Harrington Whittington – these six masters of pulp fiction at its suspenseful best distinguish this new anthology compiled by the award-winning editors of its two popular predecessors, American Pulp and Pure Pulp. Like its two popular predecessors, Pulp Masters culls its tales – in this case, five classic “novelettes” and one complete novel – from the golden age of magazine fiction in the first half of the twentieth century.

 

All six writers included in Pulp Masters in time emerged as giants in the field of crime fiction, and the stories in this volume demonstrate why. Their voices fresh, their talents raw and original, with titles like "Ordo," “College-Cut Kill,” "Stag Party Girl," "The Embezzler," and "Everybody's Watching Me," Westlake, Block, Cain, and Spillane heralded and shaped the crime story as we know it today. So did "the King of the Paperback Original" – Harrington Whittington – represented here by the novel based on his pulp short story "So Dead, My Love."

Born on this day – Albert Capellani:

Albert Capellani

Director

Writer

Producer

August 23, 1874 – September 26, 1931

Credits:

A Damsel in Distress (1919); A Dutch Love Story (1913); A Pair of White Gloves (1908); A Princess in Disguise (1904); A Slave's Love (1907); Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp (1906); Albert Capellani: Un cinema di grandeur 1905-1911 (2011); American Maid (1917); Anna Karénine (1912); Athallah (1911); Beatrice Cenci (1908); Beauty and the Beast (1908); Benvenuto Cellini (1908); Boireau émigrant (1908); Boireau lutteur (1907); Boireau roi des voleurs (1907); Camille (1915); Cinderella (1907); Cyrano et d'Assoucy (1911); Daybreak (1918); Deux collègues (1911); Don Juan (1908); Donkey Skin (1906); Drame passionnel (1906); Drink (1908); Engulfed in Quicksands (1908); Eye for Eye (1918); Fâcheuse méprise (1910); Fra Diavolo (1910); Germinal; or, The Toll of Labor (1913); Gribouille a volé la Joconde (1911); Guillaume Tell (1908); Harlequin's Story (1907); Her Dramatic Career (1909); Hernani (1910); His Sweetheart's Child (1914); In Walked Mary (1920); Jacintha la cabaretière (1911); Joan of Arc (1909); Josette (1912); La belle limonadière (1914); La Bohème (1912); La bouteille de lait (1910); La complice (1910); La danseuse de Siva (1911); La dernière charrette (1908); La haine (1910); La maison du baigneur (1914); La momie (1911); La mort de Lincoln (1910); La mort du duc d'Enghien (1912); La poupée de l'orpheline (1911); La puissance du souvenir (1910); La rançon du roi (1909); La vagabonde (1911); La vengeance de la morte (1910); La victime de Sophie (1910); La vie de Bohème (1916); La vision de Frère Benoît (1911); La zingara (1913); L'âge du coeur (1906); L'Arlésienne (1908); Le congrès des balayeurs (1912); Le corso tragique (1908); Le modèle (1914); Le nabab (1913); Le nabot (1911); Le pain des petits oiseaux (1911); Le rêve interdit (1913); Le rideau noir (1911); Le roi s'amuse (1909); Le roman d'un jour (1911); Le spoliateur (1910); Le tragique amour de Mona Lisa (1912); Le visiteur (1911); L'envieuse (1911); L'épouvante (1911); Les apprentissages de Boireau (1907); Les aventures de Cyrano de Bergerac (1912); Les deux gosses (1914 / 1916); Les deux soeurs (1911); Les étapes de l'amour (1912); Les Misérables, Part 1: Jean Valjean (1913); Les Misérables, Part 2: Fantine (1913); Les Misérables, Part 3: Cosette (1913); Les Misérables, Part 4: Cosette and Marius (1913); L'image (1910); L'intrigante (1911); L'oiseau s'envole (1911); Lucrèce Borgia (1909); Madame Du Barry (1912); Madame Tallien (1912); Manon Lescaut (1912); Marie Tudor (1913 / 1917); Marion de Lorme (1912); Mary Stuart (1908); Mortelle idylle (1906); Mr. Fuzz (1908); Mysteries of Paris (1912); Oh Boy! (1919); Our Band's Going to the Competition (1907); Out of the Fog (1919); Paganini (1911); Par respect de l'enfant (1911); Paul and Francesca (1910); Poor Mother (1906); Pour l'honneur (1910); Prix de vertu (1911); Pro Patria (1914); Puss in Boots (1908); Quatre-vingt-treize (1921); Quentin Durward (1910); Rigadin comédien (1911); Robert Bruce, épisode des guerres de l'indépendance écossaise (1911); Salomé (1908); Samson and Delilah (1908); Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 15 (1922); Sganarelle (1907); Sisters (1922); Sleeping Beauty (1908); Social Hypocrites (1918); Sous la terreur (1910); Tarakanowa et Catherine II (1909); Tarquin le Superbe (1908); The Accomplice (1910); The Bell Ringer's Daughter (1906); The Common Law (1916); The Courier of Lyons (1911); The Dark Silence (1916); The Death of the Duke D'Enghien (1909); The Easiest Way (1917); The End of Robespierre (1912); The Escape from the Tuileries (1910); The Face in the Moonlight (1915); The Feast of Life (1916); The Flash of an Emerald (1915); The Foolish Virgin (1916); The Fortune Teller (1920); The House of Mirth (1918); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1911); The Impostor (1915); The Inside of the Cup (1921); The Law of Pardon (1906); The Love Cheat (1919); The Magic Handkerchief (1908); The Marked Man (1912); The Missing Bride (1911); The Parisian Tigress (1919); The Red Lantern (1919); The Reign of Terror (1914); The Richest Girl (1918); The Siren (1913); The Six Little Drummers (1912); The Talisman or Sheep's Foot (1907); The Tower of Nesle (1909); The Tramp (1906); The Troubadour (1908); The Two Orphans (1910); The Vestal (1908); The Violin Maker of Cremona (1909); The Virtuous Model (1919); The Voice of Conscience (1906); The Wild Ass's Skin (1909); The Wild Goose (1921); The Woodchopper's Daughter (1907); The Wrestler's Wife (1906); The Young Diana (1922); Trahis (1910); Tristan et Yseult (1912); Two Daughters of Havana (1911); Two Sisters (1907); Un clair de lune sous Richelieu (1911); Un drame en wagon (1910); Un monsieur qui a un tic (1911); Veil of Happiness (1910); Voyage de Boireau (1908).

Born on this day – Gene Kelly:

Gene Kelly

Actor

Singer

Director

Dancer

Choreographer

August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996

Credits:

100 Years at the Movies (1994); 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955); 40 Carats (1973); 47th Annual Academy Awards (1975); 50 años de (2009); 8 Women (2002); A Bing Crosby Christmas (1998); A Classic Evolves: From Print to Stage to Screen (2006); A Clockwork Orange (1971); A Current Affair (2011); A Guide for the Married Man (1967); À la folie, pas du tout (1987); A Life in Words and Music (2007); A Show Business Salute to Milton Berle (1973); A Tribute to Mr. Television Milton Berle (1978); ABC 2000: The Millennium (1999); ABC Late Night (1974); AFI Life Achievement Award (1974–1992); AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies (2004); Al-yawm al-Sadis (1986); America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music (1976); American Dynasties: The Kennedys (2018); American in Paris (1964); American Masters (1987–2014); America's Sweetheart: The Mary Pickford Story (1978); An American in Paris (1951); An Evening with Gene Kelly (1974); Anatomia do Espectador (1979); Anchors Aweigh (1945); And the Oscar Goes to... (2014); Ang boyfriend kong gamol (1993); Babylon (2022); Backlot USA (1976); Beau geste (2024); Best of the Dean Martin Show (1979); Bicentennial Minutes (1974); Biography (1987–2004); Black Hand (1950); Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters (2006); Bourne to Dance (2001); Breakfast (2016); Brigadoon (1954); Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016); Broadway: The American Musical (2004); Ça c'est l'amour (2003); Call the Midwife (2014); Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (2010); Catalogue of Ships (2008); Cats Don't Dance (1997); CBS Early Morning News (1982); CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley (2018–2022); Champs-Elysées (1985); Changing Scene (1970); Changing Scene II (1970); Children's Letters to God (1969); Christmas at the Movies (1991); Christmas Gold (1982); Christmas Holiday (1944); Cinderella at the Palace (1978); Cinema (1970); Combat Fatigue Irritability (1945); Compression (2022–2023); Council of Europe (1952); Cover Girl (1944); Crest of the Wave (1954); Dancing with the Stars (2007–2014); Das Kino ist tot, es lebe das Kino: Berlinale-Beobachtungen (2020); Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Danny Thomas (1976); Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Dean Martin (1976); Deep in My Heart (1954); Der ganz normale Wahnsinn (1979); Dom DeLuise and Friends (1983); Doug Henning's World of Magic (1975); Dough (2015); Du Barry Was a Lady (1943); Easter Parade: On the Avenue (2005); El lado oscuro (2024); Entertainment Tonight (1990); Entrée Libre (2018); E-penser (2022); Eröffnung der X. Internationalen Filmfestspiele (1960); Faces of the East: Casting Flower Drum Song (2006); Family Guy (2007); Film '76 (1976); Film Fanfare (1956); Film Night (1970); Filmfestspiele Cannes 1959 (1959); Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012); For Me and My Gal (1942); Forget Paris (1995); Frank Sinatra. Die Stimme Amerikas (2015); Frank Sinatra: L.A. Is My Lady (1984); Frankenstein Punk (1986); Fred Astaire: Puttin' on His Top Hat (1980); Freedom Spectacular (1964); Friars Club Tribute to Gene Kelly (1976); Friends (1995); Gene Kelly in New York, New York (1966); Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena (1978); Gene Kelly's Wonderful World of Girls (1970); General Electric Theater (1960); Gent de paraula (2011); Gigot (1962); Gintberg på kanten (2012); Gisoku no Moses (2014); Godard Mon Amour (2017); Going Back to Xanadu (2008); Going My Way (1962–1963); Good Morning America (1979–1985); Good Morning Britain (2016); Great Hollywood Memories, Vol. I (date?); Great Performances (1987 / 1991); Great Performances (1996–2003); Happy Again (2006); Hawaii Five-0 (2018); Hello, Dolly! (1969); Hello, Dolly! Directing Dolly: Gene Kelly Remembered (2013); Here's Hollywood (1961); Here's Peggy Fleming (1968); Héros (2007); Hoge bomen: Pioniers (2007); Hollywood and the Stars (1964); Hollywood Greats (2001); Hollywood Insider (2021); Hollywood Musicals of the 50's (1999); Hollywood Rivals (2001–2002); Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999); Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1960's (2009); Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's (2009); Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing (2009); Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical Treasure (2008); Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972); Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982); Hollywood: The Golden Years (1961); Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963); Hour Magazine (1985); Huset på Christianshavn (1973); Il était une fois... Champs-Elysées (2022); I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (2019); Inherit the Wind (1960); Inside the Movie Kingdom – 1964 (1964); Invitation to the Dance (1956); It's a Big Country: An American Anthology (1951); It's Always Fair Weather (1955); It's Showtime (1976); Jack and the Beanstalk (1967); Jackie Gleason: The Great One (1988); James Bond: The First 21 Years (1983); King of Cool (2021); La galerie France 5 (2017); La nuit des Césars (1984); La rentadora (2006); Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois (2004); Le petit prince, naissance d'une étoile (2023); Legal Eagles (1986); Legend to Legend Night: A Celebrity Cavalcade (1993); Léon: The Professional (1994); Les années Hollywood de François Chalais (2019); Les Girls (1957); Leslie Caron: The Reluctant Star (2016); Let's Make Love (1960); Liberty Weekend (1986); Living in a Big Way (1947); Los Angeles 1984: Games of the XXIII Olympiad (1984); Love Is Better Than Ever (1952); Lovecraft Country (2020); Lucy Moves to NBC (1980); Lucy Moves to NBC: A Remembrance (2012); Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra (1973); Making Xanadu: The Musical Fantasy Movie (1980); Marjorie Morningstar (1958); Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's World Famous Musical Hits! (1962); MGM Parade (1955–1956); MGM Sing-Alongs: Friends (1997); MGM Sing-Alongs: Searching for Your Dreams (1997); MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992); Michael Feinstein's American Songbook (2010); Mickey's 50 (1978); Milkshake (1994); Miss Hollywood Talent Search (1985); Mobile (1971); Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood (2010); Monty and the Movies (2024); Moonlighting (1985); MsMojo (2021–2023); Musikalische Unterhaltung (1963); My Hindu Friend (2015); NBC: The First Fifty Years (1976); Newsies (1992); Night of 100 Stars (1982); North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985); Numéro un (1980); October Madness: The World Series (1965); Olivia Newton-John: Hollywood Nights (1980); Olympic Gala (1984); Omnibus (1958 / 1976 / 1980 / 2001); On Any Saturday (2008); On the Edge (2001); On the Town (1949); One from the Heart (1981); Parkinson (1975); Password (1965); Person to Person (1958); Pilot #5 (1943); Pontiac Star Parade (1959); Por Toda Minha Vida (2007); Precious Images (1986); Reflections on the Silver Screen (1994); Reflets de Cannes (1955–1959); Rembob'Ina (2021); Reporters (1981); Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again (2005); Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus - 107th Edition (1977); Rita Hayworth: The Columbia Lady (2000); Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town (1988); Royal Wedding: June, Judy and Jane (2007); Salute to Baseball (1957); Salute to Oscar Hammerstein II (1972); Salute to Sir Lew - The Master Showman (1975); Sandy Duncan Special (1974); Sawako no asa (2012); Schlitz Playhouse (1957); Screen Actors (1950); Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2010); Seder-Masochism (2018); Sendung ohne Namen (2002); Showbiz Goes to War (1982); Showbiz Today (1992); Sid & Judy (2019); Sinatra 75: The Best Is Yet to Come (1990); Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015); Singin' in the Rain (1952); Singin' in the Rain / Short movie (2008); Sins (1986); Siskel & Ebert (1996); Sobbin' Women: The Making of 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' (1997); Some of the Best: Twenty-Five Years of Motion Picture Leadership (1949); Somebody or The Rise and Fall of Philosophy (1989); Something for the Girls (1958); Steps of Freedom (2021); Steve and Eydie: Our Love Is Here to Stay (1975); Strangers with Candy (2000); Summer Stock (1950); Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949); Talking Pictures (2013); That's Dancing! (1985); That's Entertainment III: Behind the Screen (1994); That's Entertainment! (1974); That's Entertainment! / Just One More Time (1974); That's Entertainment! / The Lion Roars Again (1975); That's Entertainment! III (1994); That's Entertainment, Part II (1976); The $64, 000 Question (1955–1958); The 100 Greatest Musicals (2003); The 18th Annual Grammy Awards (1976); The 1974 Annual Entertainment Hall of Fame Awards (1974); The 1975 Annual Entertainment Hall of Fame Awards (1975); The 1982 Annual Vision Awards (1982); The 19th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1967); The 20th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1963); The 20th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1968); The 23rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1966); The 3 Tenors in Concert 1994 (1994); The 32nd Annual Academy Awards (1960); The 32nd Annual Tony Awards (1978); The 34th Annual Academy Awards (1962); The 35th Annual Academy Awards (1963); The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1981); The 40th Annual Academy Awards (1968); The 48th Annual Academy Awards (1976); The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (2004); The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980); The 56th Annual Academy Awards (1984); The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985); The 58th Annual Academy Awards (1986); The 5th Annual American Cinema Awards (1988); The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993); The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996); The Actor's Society Benefit Gala (1949); The American Ireland Fund Annual Tribute a Salute to Gene Kelly (1990); The Andy Griffith Show (1967); The Annual Friars Club Tribute Presents a Salute to Gene Kelly (1985); The Big Show (1980); The Brass Are Comin' (1969); The Cap and Gown Revue (1932); The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait (1978); The Cheyenne Social Club (1970); The Choreography of One from the Heart (2024); The Costume Designer (1950); The Cross of Lorraine (1943); The Danny Kaye Show (1963); The David Frost Show (1969); The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Frank Sinatra (1978); The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: George Burns (1978); The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Jackie Gleason (1975); The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Muhammad Ali (1976); The Dean Martin Show (1972–1974); The Devil Makes Three (1952); The Dorothy Hamill Special (1976); The Dream Studio (2004); The Ed Sullivan Show (1954–1961); The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995); The First 40 Years (1980); The Flash (2017); The Funny Side (1971); The Gene Kelly Show (1959); The Happy Road (1957); The Hollywood Palace (1964 / 1970); The Hollywood Stars of Tomorrow Awards (1967); The Intern (2015); The Jackie Gleason Show (1967–1969); The Joey Bishop Show (1969); The Julie Andrews Show (1965); The Kelly Brothers (1932); The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1979 / 1982 / 1983 / 1991); The Love Boat (1984); The Magic Lamp (1956); The Magical World of Disney (1978); The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2019); The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982); The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979); The Merv Griffin Show (1966–1972); The Messiah (2023); The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951); The Mike Douglas Show (1976); The Movies (2019); The Muppet Show (1981); The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986); The Neighbors (2012); The New Bike (2009); The Object of My Affection (1998); The Orville (2019); The Pirate (1948); The Pirate: A Musical Treasure Chest (2007); The Project (2024); The Royal Variety Performance 1983 (1983); The Stars Salute Israel at 30 (1978); The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956); The Story of Hollywood (1988); The Story of Submarine Warfare in the Pacific (1945); The Three Musketeers (1948); The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar / The Jack Paar Program (1964); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1966–1992); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 25th Anniversary Special (1987); The Tunnel of Love (1958); The Ultimate Swan Lake (1984); The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967); The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993); This Is Joan Collins (2022); This Is Your Life (1970); Thousands Cheer (1943); Today (1967–1976); Torrella, una vida pel cinema (1997); Tu cara me suena - Argentina (2014); Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years (2000); Twenty Years After (1944); Two by Dove / Great Performances: Dance in America (1981); Vacation Playhouse (1964); Viaje al centro de la tele (2020); Viva Knievel! (1977); What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain' (2002); What a Way to Go! (1964); What's My Line? (1957–1964); Women He's Undressed (2015); Words and Music (1948); Xanadu (1980); Yabba Dabba Doo! The Happy World of Hanna-Barbera (1977); Ziegfeld Follies (1945); Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (2020).

Born on this day – Robert Mulligan:

 

Robert Mulligan

Director

Producer

August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008

Credits:

Ah, Wilderness! (1959); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1955); Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965); Bloodbrothers (1978); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1967); Cinema (1971); Clara's Heart (1988); Come September (1961); Fear Strikes Out (1957); Fearful Symmetry (1998); Goodyear Playhouse (1955–1957); Gregory Peck: His Own Man (1988); Hollywood Insider (2022); Inside Daisy Clover (1965); Kiss Me Goodbye (1982); Kraft Theatre / The Philco Television Playhouse (1954–1955); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1956); Love with the Proper Stranger (1963); Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady (1982); Playhouse 90 (1957–1960); Rendezvous (1958); Same Time, Next Year (1978); Studio One (1956–1957); Summer of '42 (1971); Suspense (1952–1954); The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009); The Alcoa Hour (1955–1956); The DuPont Show of the Month (1958–1959); The Great Impostor (1960); The Making of: The Nickel Ride (2019); The Making of: The Other (2021); The Man in the Moon (1991); The Moon and Sixpence (1959); The Nickel Ride (1974); The Other (1972); The Pursuit of Happiness (1971); The Rat Race (1960); The Seven Lively Arts (1957); The Spiral Road (1962); The Stalking Moon (1968); To Kill a Mockingbird (1962); Up the Down Staircase (1967); Victor Borge: Comedy in Music (1956).

Born on this day – Nelson DeMille:

 

Nelson DeMille

Writer

August 23, 1943 – September 17, 2024

Credits:
 
Books:
 

A Poison That Leaves No Trace: With Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle (2002); An Acceptable Sacrifice (2012); Blood Lines (2023); Book Club (2014); By the Rivers of Babylon (1978); Cannibal (1975); Cathedral (1981); Citadel (2016); Condor in the Stacks (2015); Dead Dames Don't Sing (2016); Death Benefits (2012); Death Leaves a Bookmark (2012); Every Seven Years (2015); From the Queen (2015); From the Queen (2015); Getaway (2017); Hoodoo Harry (2017); In the Shadow of the Master (2003); It's in the Book (2014); MatchUp (2017); Mayday (1979); Mystery, Inc. (2015); Night Fall (2004); Plum Island (1997); Pronghorns of the Third Reich (2012); Radiant Angel / A Quiet End (2015); Reconciliation Day (2016); Remaindered (2014); Rendezvous (2012); Rides a Stranger (2013); Seven Years (2018); Spencerville (1994); Tales of Terror (1986); The Agent of Death / The Death Squad (1975); The Best American Mystery Stories 2004 (2004); The Book Case (2012); The Book of Ghosts (2013); The Book of the Lion (2015); The Book of Virtue (2012); The Book Thing (2012); The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository (2018); The Charm School (1988); The Compendium of Srem (2014); The Cuban Affair (2017); The Dark Door (2022); The Deserter (2019); The Final Testament (2013); The Gate House (2008); The General's Daughter (1992); The Girl Who Did Say No (2020); The Gold Coast (1990); The Gospel of Sheba (2014); The Hammer of God (1974); The Haze (2016); The Hemingway Valise (2018); The Honeymoon Trap (2022); The Last Honest Horse Thief (2018); The Lion (2010); The Lion's Game (2000); The Little Men (2015); The Long Sonata of the Dead (2013); The Maze (2022); The Nature of My Inheritance (2014); The Night of the Phoenix (1975); The Panther (2012); The Plot Thickens (1997); The Pretty Little Box (2018); The Quest (1975); The Rich and the Dead (2011); The Scroll (2014); The Sequel (2014); The Smack Man (1975); The Sniper (1974); The Talbot Odyssey (1984); The Terrorists (1974); The Traitor (2022); The Travelling Companion (2016); Up Country (2002); What's in a Name? (2014); Wild Fire (2006); Word of Honor (1985).

 

Movies and television:
 

History of Air Combat: Fight for the Sky: Air War Over Germany (1997); ITW ThrillerFest Banquet Awards (2015); Life or Breath (2004); Mayday (2005); Megyn Kelly Today (2018); Silent Madness (1984); The 2nd Annual Quill Awards (2006); The Charm School (2024); The General's Daughter (1999); The General's Daughter: Behind the Secrets (1999); Word of Honor (2003).

Born on this day – River Phoenix:

River Phoenix

Actor

Musician

August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993

Credits:

Stand by Me: Deleted and Alternate Scenes (2019); Dark Blood (2012); The Thing Called Love (1993); Silent Tongue (1993); Sneakers (1992); Red Hot Chili Peppers: Breaking the Girl (1992); Dogfight (1991); My Own Private Idaho (1991); I Love You to Death (1990); Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Running on Empty (1988); Little Nikita (1988); A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988); Ben E. King: Stand by Me (1986); The Mosquito Coast (1986); Circle of Violence: A Family Drama (1986); Stand by Me (1986); Family Ties (1985); Explorers (1985); Surviving (1985); Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985); Hotel (1984); It's Your Move (1984); ABC Afterschool Specials (1984); Celebrity (1984); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982–1983).

On this day in movie and book history - The Big Sleep (1946)

The Big Sleep

directed by Howard Hawks,

written by William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman,

based on the novel by Raymond Chandler,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1946.

Music by Max Steiner.

Cast:

Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers, Sonia Darrin, Dorothy Malone, Regis Toomey, Peggy Knudsen, Charles Waldron, Charles D. Brown, Bob Steele, Elisha Cook, Jr., Louis Jean Heydt, Trevor Bardette, Tommy Rafferty, Ben Welden, Tom Fadden, Theodore von Eltz.

Recommended reading:

The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler.

Published by Penguin.

First published 1939.

ISBN-10: 0241970776

ISBN-13: 978-0241970775

Description:

The Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective, Philip Marlowe.

A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.

In 1999, the book was voted 96th of Le Monde's "100 Books of the Century".

On this day in movie history - The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

The Pit and the Pendulum

directed by Roger Corman,

written by Richard Matheson,

based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1961.

Music by Les Baxter.

Cast:

Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone, Patrick Westwood, Lynette Bernay, Larry Turner, Mary Menzies, Charles Victor, Randee Lynne Jensen.

On this day in movie history - Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)

Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB

directed by George Lucas,

written by George Lucas, Matthew Robbins,

released in the United States on August 23, 1967.

Cast: Dan Nachtsheim, Joy Carmichael, David Munson, Marvin Bennett, Ralph Stell.

Remade as THX 1138 (1970), directed by George Lucas.

On this day in movie history - Dead Again (1991)

Dead Again

directed by Kenneth Branagh,

written by Scott Frank,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1991.

Music by Patrick Doyle.

Cast:

Kenneth Branagh, Andy Garcia, Emma Thompson, Lois Hall, Richard Easton, Jo Anderson, Patrick Montes, Raymond Cruz, Robin Williams, Wayne Knight, Patrick Doyle, Erik Kilpatrick, Gordana Rashovich, Derek Jacobi, Obba Babatundé, Christine Ebersole, Vasek Simek, Hanna Schygulla, Gregor Hesse, John Gould Rubin, Campbell Scott, Steven Culp, Yvette Freeman, Miriam Margolyes, Ralph G. Morse, Peter Riga, Tina Rucker, Anthony Welch.

On this day in movie history - Down, Out & Dangerous (1995)

Down, Out & Dangerous

directed by Noel Nosseck,

written by Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1995.

Music by Mark Snow.

Cast:

Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison, Cynthia Ettinger, Steve Hytner, Christine Cavanaugh, Melinda Culea, Stuart Pankin, Jason Bernard, George DiCenzo, Sarah MacDonnell, Virginia Hawkins, Lyla Graham, Joe Nesnow, Richard Narita, David J. Partington, Michael Bard Bayer, Leonard Kelly-Young, Carole Wyand, Rusty Schwimmer, David Jean Thomas.