Dorothy Day, on writing:

Writing is hard work.

But if you want to become a writer you will become one.

Nothing will stop you.

- Dorothy Day.

Recommended reading – Scarface

 

Scarface

by Armitage Trail.
 
Published by Must Have Books.
First published 1930.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1773237152
ISBN-13: 978-1773237152
 
Filmed as:
Scarface (1932), directed by Howard Hawks.
Scarface (1983), directed by Brian De Palma.
 
Description:
 

Scarface is the iconic fictionalization of one of history's most notorious gangsters, Al Capone. It follows Tony Guarino's harsh upbringing on the streets of Chicago, where a young man unwilling to contemplate a life of humble poverty hungers to reach the big time. Tony has grown up in a world where every gangster is a hero and every cop an enemy, so his path to power is paved with force and brutality. At only eighteen, Tony shoots dead gang boss Al Spingola, and this is just the beginning of his uncompromising journey into organized crime. He eventually becomes the most powerful and feared man in the Chicago underworld, luxuriating in a world of opulence, dames, and danger. But while Tony struggles to balance a life of violence with a code of honors, Scarface ultimately proves an ancient maxim - the fate of those who live by the sword.

Scarface was first published in 1930 and remains one of the most potent evocations of the origins of American gangster culture ever committed to print, and an ever-green work of cult fiction.

Born on this day – T. Hayes Hunter:

T. Hayes Hunter

Director

Writer

December 1, 1884 – April 14, 1944

Credits:

Josser on the Farm (1934); The Green Pack (1934); Warn London (1934); The Ghoul (1933); Sally Bishop (1932); Edgar Wallace's White Face the Fiend (1932); Criminal at Large (1932); Bachelor's Folly (1931); The Man They Couldn't Arrest (1931); The Silver King (1929); The Scarlet Daredevil (1928); A South Sea Bubble (1928); One of the Best (1927); Wildfire (1925); The Sky Raider (1925); Trouping with Ellen (1924); The Recoil (1924); Damaged Hearts (1924); The Light in the Clearing (1921); Earthbound (1920); The Cup of Fury (1920); Desert Gold (1919); Once to Every Man (1918); The Border Legion (1918); The Crimson Stain Mystery (1916); Father and Son (1916); Judy Forgot (1915); The Tip-Off (1915); The Seats of the Mighty (1914); The Adventures (1913); The Vampire (1913); Farmer Allen's Daughter (1912); While Father Telephoned (1913); Getting Rich Quick (1912); Papa's Double (1912).

Born on this day – Ray Taylor:

Ray Taylor

Director

Writer

Producer

December 1, 1888 – February 15, 1952

Born on this day – Otho Lovering:

Otho Lovering

Director

Writer

Editor

December 1, 1892 – October 25, 1968

Born on this day – Violet Schram:

Violet Schram

Actress

December 1, 1898 – March 20, 1987 

Credits:

A Box of Tricks (1917); A Soldier of the Legion (1917); Big Happiness (1920); Chubby Takes a Hand (1917); Graft (1915); Hell's Border (1922); Lightning Hutch (1926); Perils of the Secret Service (1917); Pride of Sunshine Alley (1924); Riders of the Dawn (1920); Shoes (1916); The Bar-C Mystery (1926); The Danger Man (1930); The Gray Wolf's Ghost (1919); The Hollywood Reporter (1926); The International Spy (1917); The Sheriff of Mojave (1921); The Storm Woman (1917); The Wrong Mary Wright (1917); Toby's Bow (1919); What Love Can Do (1916); White Lies (1920); Wolves of the Border (1923).

Born on this day – William H. Daniels:

William H. Daniels

Cinematographer

Producer

December 1, 1901 – June 14, 1970

Born on this day – Mary Martin:

Mary Martin

Actress

Singer

Producer

December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990

Born on this day – Bruce Brown:

Bruce Brown

Director

Cinematographer

Writer

Producer

December 1, 1937 – December 10, 2017

Born on this day – Richard Pryor:

 Richard Pryor

Actor

Comedian

December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in August 1986.

Born on this day – Remo Girone:

Remo Girone

Actor

December 1, 1948 – October 3, 2025 

Credits:

A Modern Fable (2007); Alcide De Gasperi: Il miracolo incompiuto (2016); All You Ever Wished For (2018); Alle origini della mafia (1976); Amici di Maria de Filippi (2002); Antonio's Syndrome (2016); Ballando con le stelle (2005); Breath of Life (1990); Cafe Europa (1990); Cento cuori (2023); Charlemagne (1993); Che fare? (1979); Corleone (1978); Crimes (2007); Dalla notte all'alba (1992); David Troll (2017); Delitto di stato (1982); Dietro la pianura (1994); Dio vede e provvede (1995 / 1996); Diritto di difesa (2004); Don't Stop Me Now (2019); Emigratis (2017); Ether (2018); Everybody Loves Diamonds (2023); Fantaghirò: Cave of the Golden Rose (1996); Felicità - La stagione della rinascita (2021); Fondi '91 (2013); Ford v Ferrari (2019); Fra due battiti (2021); Fuori scena (1986); Furore (1997); Furore: Il vento della speranza (2018); G.R.A (2023); Giallo alla regola (1988); Giocare d'azzardo (1982); Giochi d'equilibrio (1998); Gottes mächtige Dienerin (2011); Heaven (2002); Il 7 e l'8 (2007); Il bacio azzurro (2015); Il circo delle meraviglie (2024); Il commissario Rex (2008); Il diritto alla felicità (2021); Il garofano rosso (1976); Il grande Torino (2005); Il segreto di Otello (2015); Il sole nero (2007); Infernet (2016); Italians (2009); Jolly (2024); Killing Eve (2018); La bambina dalle mani sporche (2005); La Bettina (1976); La braca dei Biassoli (1975); La COVID Vita (2020); La piovra (1987–2001); La Prova (2000); La ragazza dei miei sogni (2017); La seconda ombra (2000); La signora della città (1996); La surface de réparation (2002); La vie devant (2022); L'amara scienza (1985); L'amore oltre la vita (1999); L'angelo con la pistola (1992); Le ali (2008); Le chemin perdu (1980); L'elefante bianco (1998); L'eretico - Un gesto di coraggio (2004); Li chiamarono... briganti! (1999); Live by Night (2016); Lo scialo (1987); Lupo bianco (2022); Maicol Jecson (2014); Malamore (1982); Marquise (1997); Mary of Nazareth (2012); Meraviglie: La penisola dei tesori (2020–2022); Mezzaestate (1991); Misstake (2008); Morte di una ragazza perbene (1999); Morte di una strega (1996); Mothers (2017); My Name Is Vendetta (2022); Nel giardino delle rose (1990); Numero Uno (1995); O la va, o la spacca (2004); Our Land (2006); Partita doppia (1993); Passato e presente (2017); Peopling the Palaces at Venaria Reale (2007); Per amore (2002); Per finta e per amore (2002); Persona non grata (2005); Pirates: Blood Brothers (1999); Pop Culture Beast's Halloween Horror Picks (2014); Prigioniera di una vendetta (1993); Psyco: Delitti per gioco (2005); Quijote (2006); Rock Paper Scissors (2013); Rome Wants Another Caesar (1974); Rosso Mille Miglia (2015); Round Trip (2004); Sa mère, la pute (2001); Sabato Italiano (2005); Services sacrés (2009); Servo d'amore (1995); Shades of Truth (2015); Signora Ava (1975); Sospetti (2000); Sospetti 3 (2005); Stauffenberg (2004); Strada Pia (1983); The Antichrist (1974); The Duchess of Langeais (2007); The Equalizer 3 (2023); The Jewel (2011); The Men of 'Live by Night' (2017); The Octopus: A Conversation with Remo Girone (2010); The Seagull (1977); The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003); The Unfinished Portrait (2019); The Voyage of Captain Fracassa (1990); Torno Sabato (2001); Un taxi dans la nuit (1998); Una vita in regalo (2003); Una vittoria (1988); Voice from the Stone (2017); Vörös Colibri (1995); Vostro onore (2022); Walking to Paris (2025); Welcome Mr. President (2013).

Born on this day – Treat Williams:

Treat Williams

Actor

Writer

Aviator

December 1, 1951 – June 12, 2023

Born on this day – Julee Cruise:

Julee Cruise

Singer

Songwriter

Actress

December 1, 1956 – June 9, 2022

Credits:

Albums:

Floating into the Night (1989); The Voice of Love (1993); The Art of Being a Girl (2002); My Secret Life (2011).

Movies and television:

Alice in Wonderland (1983); Beavis and Butt-Head (1995); Behind the Music (1992); Blue Velvet (1986); Chromatics: Shadow (2017); Cinéma, de notre temps (1989); El club lento (2023); Free Enterprise (1998); Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1992); Kinetica (2001); Nutcracker (2001); Popular Voices at the BBC (2017); Psych (2010); Puss in Boots (1983); Saturday Night Live (1990); Scream (1996); Secrets from Another Place: Creating Twin Peaks (2007); Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023); TCM Remembers 2022 (2022); Tele 5 dígame (1991); The Company (2003); The Dream (2017); The Marvelous Land of Oz (1981); The Media Show (1991); The Music of David Lynch Benefit Concert (2015); The Red Shoes (1985); The Wind in the Willows (1983); Too Young to Die (2012); Top of the Pops (1990); Twin Peaks (1989–1990); Twin Peaks (2017); Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992); Until the End of the World (1991); VIP noche (1991).

Born on this day – Ray Chan:

 

Ray Chan

Art director

Production designer

December 1, 1967 – April 23, 2024

Credits:

Alien vs. Predator (2004); Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023); Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015); Avengers: Endgame (2019); Avengers: Infinity War (2018); Blood Diamond (2006); Children of Men (2006); Deadpool & Wolverine (2024); Doctor Strange (2016); Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023); Enigma (2001); Five Seconds to Spare (2000); Flyboys (2006); Fool's Gold (2008); Guardians of the Galaxy (2014); Hackers (1995); Heartlands (2002); How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008); Johnny English (2003); King Arthur (2004); Knight and Day (2010); Marvel Studios: Assembled (2021); Monte Carlo (2011); Nanny McPhee (2005); National Treasure (2004); Robin Hood (2010); Robinson Crusoe (1997); Screen Two (1994–1996); Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019); Stoned (2005); The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021); The Honeymooners (2005); The Hunger (1997–2000); The Lost Son (1999); The Secret Rapture (1993); The Wings of the Dove (1997); Thor: The Dark World (2013); Thunderbirds (2004); Wrath of the Titans (2012).

On this day in movie history - Highway 301 (1950)

Highway 301

directed and written by Andrew Stone,

was released in the United States on December 1, 1950.

Narrated by Edmon Ryan.

Music by William Lava.

Cast:

William P. Lane Jr., John S. Battle, W. Kerr Scott, Steve Cochran, Virginia Grey, Gaby André, Edmon Ryan, Robert Webber, Wally Cassell, Aline Towne, Richard Egan, Edward Norris.

December in movie history - Assignment to Kill (1968)

Assignment to Kill

directed and written by Sheldon Reynolds,

was released in the United States in December 1968.

Exact release date unknown.

Music by William Lava.

Cast:

Patrick O'Neal, Joan Hackett, John Gielgud, Herbert Lom, Eric Portman, Peter van Eyck, Oskar Homolka, Leon Greene, Kent Smith, Philip Ober, Fifi D'Orsay, Éva Szörényi, Cynthia O'Neal, Betty Bresler, Karl Bruck, Albert D'Arno, Walter Friedel, Walter Janovitz, Joanne Ludden, Martin Miller, Ann Prentiss, Charles H. Radilak, Erik Sorenson.

On this day in movie history - Chandler (1971)

Chandler

directed by Paul Magwood,

written by John Sacret Young,

based on a story by Paul Magwood,

was released in the United States on December 1, 1971.

Music by George Romanis.

Cast:

Warren Oates, Leslie Caron, Alex Dreier, Mitchell Ryan, Gordon Pinsent, Charles McGraw, Richard Loo, Gloria Grahame, Royal Dano, Walter Burke, Marianne McAndrew, Scatman Crothers, Lal Baum, Charles Shull, John Mitchum, James Sikking, Vickery Turner, Ray Kellogg, Ernest Lawrence, Eugene Jackson, Eddie Marks, Frederick Stanley II.

On this day in movie history - Scarface (1983)

Scarface

directed by Brian De Palma,

written by Oliver Stone,

based on the novel by Armitage Trail,

was released in the United States on December 1, 1983.

Music by Giorgio Moroder.

Cast:

Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Míriam Colón, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Ángel Salazar, Arnaldo Santana, Pepe Serna, Michael P. Moran, Al Israel, Dennis Holahan, Mark Margolis, Michael Alldredge, Ted Beniades, Albert Carrier, Caesar Cordova, Geno Silva, Richard Belzer, Lana Clarkson, Charles Durning, Dennis Franz, Garnett Smith, Tony Perez, John Brandon.

On this day in movie history - Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead

directed by Gary Fleder,

written by Scott Rosenberg,

was released in the United States on December 1, 1995.

Music by Michael Convertino.

Cast:

Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Jack Warden, Steve Buscemi, Fairuza Balk, Gabrielle Anwar, Christopher Walken, Michael Nicolosi, Bill Cobbs, Marshall Bell, Glenn Plummer, Don Stark, Harris Laskawy, Willie Garson, David Stratton, Deborah Strang, Sarah Trigger, Jenny McCarthy, Buddy Guy, Ray Allison, Scott Holt, Greg Rzab, Wiley Harker, Joe Drago, Chuck Bacino, Don Cheadle, Tom Lister Jr., Bill Long, Cheree Jaeb , Sarah Levy Arbess, Larissa Michieli, Larry Raben, Lynn Applebaum, Taylor Hayle, Archie Smith, Harriet Medin, Bill Bolender, Susan Merson, Bill Erwin, Nate Ingram, Jacob Bergener, Larry Curry Jr., Ruthay, Selina Mathews, Phil Boardman, William Denis, Danny Romo, Steve Abbott, Craig Braginsky, Josh Charles, Pamela Goode, Paul Henderson, Christopher C. Romero, Eric Lloyd Scott.

On this day in movie history - Point Blank (2010)

Point Blank

French title: À bout portant,

directed by Fred Cavayé,

written by Fred Cavayé and Guillaume Lemans,

was released in France on December 1, 2010.

Music by Klaus Badelt.

Cast:

Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gérard Lanvin, Elena Anaya, Mireille Perrier, Claire Pérot, Moussa Maaskri, Pierre Benoist, Valérie Dashwood, Virgile Bramly, Nicky Naudé, Adel Bencherif, Chems Dahmani, Grégoire Bonnet, Brice Fournier, Patrice Guillain, Max Morel, Diane Stolojan, David Saada, Arnaud Maillard, Laurence Pollet-Villard, Julie Mouamma, Bénédicte Dessombz, Grégoire Guist'hau, Sylvia Amicone, Frédéric Kontogom, Dorothée Tavernier, Bertrand Disset, Jean-Charles Rousseau, Frederic Dessains, Sebastien Vandenberghe, Jean Selesko, Sylvain Maury, Marie-Catherine Soyer, Léa Philippe, Angelo Aybar, Jacques Colliard, Frans Boyer, Philippe Couerre, Eric Malo, Arnaud Klein, Jade Breidi, Robin De Lano, Cedric Cirotteau, Renée Fleming, John Sehil.