Merry Christmas!

#MerryChristmas #HappyHolidays #Joy #Jolly

Merry Christmas - peace and joy to all:

#MerryChristmas #Peace #Joy

Anna Quindlen, on reading:

We read in bed because reading is halfway between life and dreaming,

our own consciousness in someone else's mind. 

- Anna Quindlen.

Recommended reading - Tucker’s People

Tucker’s People

by Ira Wolfert.
a.k.a. The Underworld.
 
Filmed as Force of Evil (1948), directed by Abraham Polonsky.
 
Published by Black Curtain Press.
First published 1943.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1515426157
ISBN-13: 978-1515426158
 
Description:
 

When Tucker's People was published in 1943 it was praised by the New York Times for its "blowtorch intensity." The idea for Tucker's People stemmed from Ira Wolfert's coverage as a reporter of the trial of James "Jimmy" Hines, a Tammany Hall district leader who was prosecuted by Thomas E. Dewey for letting Dutch Schultz take over the numbers game in New York. It is "a penetrating, sympathetic novel of frustration and insecurity, a story of little people, many of them decent people, battling against forces they are too feeble to resist and too simple to understand," according to the Saturday Review of Literature.

Born on this day – Eugenie Besserer:

Eugenie Besserer

Actress

December 25, 1868 – May 28,1934

Credits:

To the Last Man (1933); 6 Hours to Live (1932); Scarface (1932); Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930); In Gay Madrid (1930); A Royal Romance (1930); Seven Faces (1929); Mister Antonio (1929); Illusion (1929); Fast Company (1929); Speedway (1929); Whispering Winds (1929); Madame X (1929); Thunderbolt (1929); The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929); A Lady of Chance (1928); Lilac Time (1928); Yellow Lily (1928); Two Lovers (1928); Drums of Love (1928); The Jazz Singer (1927); Slightly Used (1927); Captain Salvation (1927); When a Man Loves (1927); The Night of Love (1927); Wandering Girls (1927); Flesh and the Devil (1926); The Fire Brigade (1926); The Millionaire Policeman (1926); Winning the Futurity (1926); Kiki (1926); The Skyrocket (1926); Bright Lights (1925); Wandering Footsteps (1925); The Circle (1925); The Coast of Folly (1925); Confessions of a Queen (1925); Friendly Enemies (1925); A Fool and His Money (1925); The Price She Paid (1924); Bread (1924); Enemies of Children (1923); Anna Christie (1923); The Rendezvous (1923); Her Reputation (1923); The Lonely Road (1923); The Strangers' Banquet (1922); June Madness (1922); The Hands of Nara (1922); Kindred of the Dust (1922); Penrod (1922); The Rosary (1922); Molly O' (1921); The Light in the Clearing (1921); The Sin of Martha Queed (1921); Good Women (1921); The Breaking Point (1921); What Happened to Rosa (1920); The Scoffer (1920); 45 Minutes from Broadway (1920); Seeds of Vengeance (1920); Fickle Women (1920); The Brand of Lopez (1920); For the Soul of Rafael (1920); The Gift Supreme (1920); The Fighting Shepherdess (1920); The Greatest Question (1919); Scarlet Days (1919); Turning the Tables (1919); Auction of Souls (1919); Little Orphant Annie (1918); The Sea Flower (1918); The Road Through the Dark (1918); The Eyes of Julia Deep (1918); A Hoosier Romance (1918); The Still Alarm (1918); The City of Purple Dreams (1918); In After Years (1917); Who Shall Take My Life? (1917); The Curse of Eve (1917); The Witness for the State (1917); Her Salvation (1917); Through the Eyes of the World (1917); The Friendship of Beaupere (1917); Little Lost Sister (1917); Beware of Strangers (1917); Twisted Trails (1916); The Crisis (1916); In the House of the Chief (1916); His Brother's Keeper (1916); The Old Man Who Tried to Grow Young (1916); The Sacrifice (1916); The Temptation of Adam (1916); The Woman Who Did Not Care (1916); A Social Deception (1916); The Grinning Skull (1916); Thou Shalt Not Covet (1916); The Devil-in-Chief (1916); I'm Glad My Boy Grew Up to Be a Soldier (1915); Just as I Am (1915); The Bridge of Time (1915); The Circular Staircase (1915); The Way of a Woman's Heart (1915); The Melody of Doom (1915); The Smouldering (1915); The Rosary (1915); The Fortunes of Mariana (1915); Ingratitude of Liz Taylor (1915); The Black Diamond (1915); The Passer-by (1915); The Vision of the Shepherd (1915); The Story of the Blood Red Rose (1914); The Tragedy That Lived (1914); Her Victory Eternal (1914); Hearts and Masks (1914); A Just Punishment (1914); Ye Vengeful Vagabonds (1914); The Man in Black (1914); What Became of Jane? (1914); When a Woman's 40 (1914); The Reporter on the Case (1914); His Fight (1914); Me an' Bill (1914); When the Night Call Came (1914); Judge Dunn's Decision (1914); The Schooling of Mary Ann (1914); The Game of Life (1914); The Fire Jugglers (1914); The Salvation of Nance O'Shaughnessy (1914); Elizabeth's Prayer (1914); Memories (1914); A Splendid Sacrifice (1914); The Mysterious Way (1913); The Master of the Garden (1913); A Cure for Carelessness (1913); Phantoms (1913); The Probationer (1913); Destiny of the Sea (1913); Only Five Years Old (1913); Sissybelle (1913); Fate Fashions a Letter (1913); The Acid Test (1913); The Unseen Defense (1913); The Ne'er to Return Road (1913); In God We Trust (1913); The Fighting Lieutenant (1913); Woman: Past and Present (1913); A Flag of Two Wars (1913); The Girl and the Judge (1913); Wamba, a Child of the Jungle (1913); Indian Summer (1913); The Tattle Battle (1913); Lieutenant Jones (1913); In the Days of Witchcraft (1913); Dollar Down, Dollar a Week (1913); Love Before Ten (1913); Diverging Paths (1913); The Spanish Parrot Girl (1913); The Governor's Daughter (1913); The Miner's Justice (1913); A Plain Girl's Love (1913); Greater Wealth (1913); The Last of Her Tribe (1912); Sammy Orpheus; or, the Pied Piper of the Jungle (1912); The Millionaire Vagabonds (1912); Opitsah: Apache for Sweetheart (1912); The Vintage of Fate (1912); Old Songs and Memories (1912); His Wedding Eve (1912); Monte Cristo (1912); The Pity of It (1912); Partners (1912); The Substitute Model (1912); The Indelible Stain (1912); Sergeant Byrne of the Northwest Mounted Police (1912); The Little Indian Martyr (1912); In the Tents of the Asra (1912); His Masterpiece (1912); The Lake of Dreams (1912); In Exile (1912); The Captain of the 'Nancy Lee' (1912); A Child of the Wilderness (1912); The Hand of Fate (1912); The End of the Romance (1912); Me an' Bill (1912); The Junior Officer (1912); As Told by Princess Bess (1912); The Danites (1912); Disillusioned (1912); Bunkie (1912); The Peacemaker (1912); The Other Fellow (1912); The Cowboy's Adopted Child (1912); George Warrington's Escape (1911); An Evil Power (1911); The Bootlegger (1911); Old Billy (1911); In the Shadow of the Pines (1911); The Blacksmith's Love (1911); The Regeneration of Apache Kid (1911); Their Only Son (1911); Slick's Romance (1911); The Profligate (1911); It Happened in the West (1911); The Craven Heart (1911); A Sacrifice to Civilization (1911); One of Nature's Noblemen (1911); Stability vs. Nobility (1911); The Still Alarm (1911); The Mother (1911); The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910).

Born on this day – Nathaniel Shilkret:

Nathaniel Shilkret

Composer

Actor

December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982

Born on this day – Humphrey Bogart:

 

Humphrey Bogart

Actor

December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957

Credits:

The Harder They Fall (1956); The Desperate Hours (1955); The Left Hand of God (1955); We're No Angels (1955); Producers' Showcase (1955); The Barefoot Contessa (1954); Sabrina (1954); The Caine Mutiny (1954); Beat the Devil (1953); The Jack Benny Program (1953); Battle Circus (1953); Deadline - U.S.A. (1952); The African Queen (1951); Sirocco (1951); The Enforcer (1951); In a Lonely Place (1950); Chain Lightning (1950); Breakdowns of 1949 (1949); Tokyo Joe (1949); Knock on Any Door (1949); Key Largo (1948); The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); Always Together (1947); Dark Passage (1947); The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947); Dead Reckoning (1946); Never Say Goodbye (1946); The Big Sleep (1946); Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946); Hollywood Victory Caravan (1945); Conflict (1945); To Have and Have Not (1944); Passage to Marseille (1944); Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943); Sahara (1943); Action in the North Atlantic (1943); Casablanca (1942); Across the Pacific (1942); The Big Shot (1942); All Through the Night (1942); The Maltese Falcon (1941); The Wagons Roll at Night (1941); High Sierra (1940); They Drive by Night (1940); Brother Orchid (1940); It All Came True (1940); Virginia City (1940); Invisible Stripes (1939); The Return of Doctor X (1939); The Roaring Twenties (1939); Dark Victory (1939); You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939); The Oklahoma Kid (1939); King of the Underworld (1939); Swingtime in the Movies (1938); Angels with Dirty Faces (1938); The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938); Racket Busters (1938); Men Are Such Fools (1938); Crime School (1938); Swing Your Lady (1938); Stand-In (1937); Dead End (1937); Kid Galahad (1937); San Quentin (1937); Marked Woman (1937); The Great O'Malley (1937); Black Legion (1937); Isle of Fury (1936); China Clipper (1936); Bullets or Ballots (1936); The Petrified Forest (1936); Two Against the World (1936); Midnight (1934); Three on a Match (1932); Big City Blues (1932); Love Affair (1932); A Holy Terror (1931); Women of All Nations (1931); Bad Sister (1931); Body and Soul (1931); A Devil with Women (1930); Up the River (1930); Broadway's Like That (1930); The Dancing Town (1928).

Born on this day – Lewis Allen:

Lewis Allen

Director

December 25, 1905 – May 3, 2000

Born on this day – Helen Twelvetrees:

Helen Twelvetrees

Actress

December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958

Credits:

A Bedtime Story (1933); A Woman of Experience (1931); All Men Are Enemies (1934); Bad Company (1931); Blue Skies (1929); Boo! (1932); Century of Cinema (1996); Complicated Women (2003); Disgraced (1933); Don't Call Me Girlie (1985); Frisco Waterfront (1935); Her Man (1930); Hollywood Round-Up (1937); Hollywood Without Make-Up (1963); Is My Face Red? (1932); King for a Night (1933); Millie (1931); My Woman (1933); Now I'll Tell (1934); One Hour Late (1934); Panama Flo (1932); Persons in Hiding (1939); Screen Snapshots, Series 14, No. 1 (1934); She Gets Her Man (1935); She Was a Lady (1934); State's Attorney (1932); Swing High (1930); The Cat Creeps (1930); The Celluloid Heroes (1995); The Ghost Talks (1929); The Grand Parade (1930); The Painted Desert (1931); The Republic Pictures Story (1991); The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935); Thoroughbred (1936); Times Square Lady (1935); Unashamed (1932); Unmarried (1939); Words and Music (1929); Young Bride (1932).

Born on this day – Maritta M. Wolff:

Maritta M. Wolff

Writer

December 25, 1918 – July 1, 2002

Credits:

Books:

Whistle Stop (1941); Night shift (1942); About Lyddy Thomas (1947); Back of Town (1953); Buttonwood (1962); The Big Nickelodeon (1963); Sudden Rain (2005).

Movies and television:

The Man I Love (1946); Whistle Stop (1946).

Born on this day – Irish McCalla:

Irish McCalla

Actress

Artist

December 25, 1928 – February 1, 2002

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1963); Have Gun - Will Travel (1963); Hands of a Stranger (1962); Five Bold Women (1960); Five Gates to Hell (1959); The Beat Generation (1959); She Demons (1958); Sheena: Queen of the Jungle (1955–1956).

Born on this day – Dick Miller:

Dick Miller

Actor

December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019

Born on this day, John Capodice:

John Capodice

Actor

Producer,

December 25, 1941 – December 30, 2024

Credits:

10th & Wolf (2006); A Family X-mas (2003); A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994); A Month of Sundays (2001); A Wake in Providence (1999); Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1995); ABC Afterschool Specials (1989); Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994); Angel (1999); Another World (1987); As the World Turns (1989); At Face Value (1999); Blasphemy the Movie (2001); Bloodlines: Murder in the Family (1993); Blossom (1991); Blue Steel (1990); Boy Meets World (1994); Brilliant But Cancelled (2002); Capital News (1990); Carolina (2003); Cattle Call (2006); Chain of Command (2000); Chicago Sons (1997); Civil Wars (1991–1992); Conversation with Mobster (2024); Cooperstown (1993); Cousin Skeeter (1999); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2007–2008); Damon (1998); Dark Room Theater (2009); Dead Last (2001); Desert Rose (2002); Detention (2010); Diagnosis Murder (1996–1999); Dilemma (1997); Double Bang (2001); Dragnet (2003); Dream On (1994); El Coyote (2019); Ellen (1997); Enemy of the State (1998); Everybody Hates Chris (2005); Executive Power (1997); Eye Wide Open (2010); Family Business (1989); Family Prayers (1993); Fever (1991); Follow Your Heart (1999); Frank and Ava (2020); General Hospital (1994–1995); George & Leo (1998); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990); Honeymoon in Vegas (1992); Hoods (1998); Hunter (1990); I Think I Want Out (2011); Independence Day (1996); Internal Affairs (1988); Internal Affairs (1990); Jacob's Ladder (1990); Jesus, Mary and Joey (2005); Johnny Garage (1983); Kate & Allie (1988); Kiss of a Stranger (1998); Knit Wits (2004); Knots Landing (1990); L.A. Law (1992); Last Call (2012); Law & Order (1990); LAX (2005); Leave My Flowers Alone (2012); Leaving L.A. (1997); Living Single (1994); Lookwell (1991); Lost Angelas (2019); Mad About You (1995); Mafia II (2010); Malcolm & Eddie (1998); Melrose Place (1992); Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills (1994); Miami or Bust: A Hoboken Bet (2012); Michael Hayes (1998); Monk (2008); Monty (2013); Moonlighting (1989); Murder One (1997); Murder, She Wrote (1994); Murphy Brown (1989); Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994); Nick & Hillary (1988); Not For Nothin' (2018); Nothin' Goes Right (1988); NYPD Blue (1993); Office Politics (2010); Out of the Black (2001); Percy & Thunder (1993); Pizza with Bullets (2010); Point of No Return (1993); Price of Glory (2000); Private Sessions (1985); Providence (1999); Q&A (1990); Q: The Winged Serpent (1982); Ringmaster (1998); Rockabye (1986); Route 66 (1993); Rude Awakening (2001); Rush It (1978); Ryan's Hope (1978); See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989); Seinfeld (1991); Shaky Ground (1992); Sharkskin (2015); Shut Up and Kiss Me! (2004); Simon Says (2000); Sinatra! Eternity (2025); Sirens (1993); Sisters (1995); Six Feet Under (2001); Speed (1994); Spenser: For Hire (1985); Spike of Bensonhurst (1988); Starting from Scratch (1988); Stone (2025); Superman: The Animated Series (1997); Tales from the Crypt (1991); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023); That's Life (2002); The Amati Girls (2000); The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest (1997); The Children of Times Square (1986); The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987); The Defectors (2001); The Doors (1991); The Ellen Burstyn Show (1986); The Equalizer (1985); The Evil Inside Me (1993); The Hard Way (1991); The Heart of Justice (1992); The Man in the Family (1991); The Misery Brothers (1995); The Phantom (1996); The Practice (1999); The Scout (1994); The Secret of My Success (1987); The Specialists (1992); The Streetsweeper (2002); The Water Engine (1992); The Wayans Bros. (1995); The West Wing (2001); The White Gorilla (1997); Three (1998); To Love, Honor and Deceive (1996); Total Security (1997); Trial by Jury (1994); True Blood (1989); True Friends (1998); Wall Street (1987); Wedding Bell Blues (1996); Will & Grace (1999); With Friends Like These (1998); Without a Trace (2009); Wizards of Waverly Place (2008).

On this day in movie history - T-Men (1947)

T-Men

directed by Anthony Mann,

written by John C. Higgins, and based on a story by Virginia Kellogg,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1947.

Music by Paul Sawtell.

Cast:
Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Meade, Alfred Ryder, Wallace Ford, June Lockhart, Charles McGraw, Jane Randolph, Anton Kosta, Art Smith, Herbert Heyes, Jack Overman, John Wengraf, Jim Bannon, William Malten.

On this day in movie history - Force of Evil (1948)

Force of Evil

directed by Abraham Polonsky,

written by Abraham Polonsky and Ira Wolfert,

based on the novel Tucker's People by Ira Wolfert,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1948.

Music by David Raksin.

Cast:

John Garfield, Beatrice Pearson, Thomas Gomez, Marie Windsor, Howland Chamberlain, Roy Roberts, Paul Fix, Stanley Prager, Barry Kelley, Beau Bridges, Paul McVey.

On this day in movie history - Paths of Glory (1957)

Paths of Glory

directed by Stanley Kubrick,

written by Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson,

based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1957.

Music by Gerald Fried.

Cast:

Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Wayne Morris, Richard Anderson, Joe Turkel, Christiane Kubrick, Jerry Hausner, Peter Capell, Emile Meyer, Bert Freed, Kem Dibbs, Timothy Carey, Fred Bell, John Stein, Harold Benedict, Leon Briggs, Paul Bös, Herbert Ellis, Wally Friedrichs, Halder Hanson, James B. Harris, Rolf Kralovitz, Ira Moore, Marshall Rainer, Roger Vagnoid.

On this day in movie and book history - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

 

To Kill a Mockingbird

directed by Robert Mulligan,

written by Horton Foote,

based on the novel by Harper Lee,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1962.

Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White, Brock Peters, Estelle Evans, Paul Fix, Collin Wilcox Paxton, James Anderson, Alice Ghostley, Robert Duvall, William Windom, Crahan Denton, Richard Hale, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, R.L. Armstrong, Walter Bacon, Eddie Baker, Bobby Barber, John Barton, Audrey Betz, Danny Borzage, John Breen, Jess Cavin, Noble 'Kid' Chissell, Jack Clinton, Steve Condit, May Couch, David Crawford, Frank Ellis, Jamie Forster, Charles Fredericks, Raoul Freeman, Herman Hack, Jester Hairston, Chuck Hamilton, Kim Hamilton, Kim Hector, Michael Jeffers, Dick Johnstone, Chester Jones, Colin Kenny, Ethan Laidlaw, Nancy Marshall, Clyde McLeod, Charles McQuary, Charles Morton, Paulene Myers, William H. O'Brien, Charles Perry, Joe Ploski, Hugh Sanders, Barry Seltzer, Edward C. Short, Mabel Smaney, Eddie Smith, Walter Smith, Cap Somers, George Sowards, Ray Spiker, Kim Stanley, Jay Sullivan, Kelly Thordsen, Arthur Tovey, George Tracy, Sailor Vincent, Max Wagner, Bill Walker, Joe Walls, Dan White, Guy Wilkerson, Chalky Williams.

Recommended reading - To Kill  Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee.
 
First published 1960.
Published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0060935464
ISBN-13: 978-0060935467
 
Description:
 
Winner of the 1961 Pulitzer Prize.
 
Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read.
 

“A first novel of such rare excellence that it will no doubt make a great many readers slow down to relish more fully its simple distinction. . . . A novel of strong contemporary national significance.” – Chicago Tribune.

 

Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South – and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred.

 

One of the most cherished stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father – a crusading local lawyer – risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

On this day in movie and book history - Move Over, Darling (1963)

Move Over, Darling

directed by Michael Gordon,

written by Bella Spewack, Sam Spewack, Leo McCarey, Hal Kanter and Jack Sher,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1963.

Music by Lionel Newman.

Cast:

Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen, Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark, Don Knotts, Chuck Connors, Edgar Buchanan, John Astin, Elliott Reid, Pat Harrington Jr., Alan Sues, Max Showalter, Eddie Quillan, Jack Orrison, Pami Lee, Leslie Farrell.

Recommended reading - Move Over, Darling

Move Over, Darling

by Marvin H. Albert.

Novelization.

Published by Dell.

Published 1963.

ASIN: B0DT1L53Q7

Description:

So you think you've got troubles? Take Nick for example – a respectable, bright, successful lawyer, blissfully enjoying his wedding night with his luscious new bride. Everything was perfect. Until his other wife showed up. Everyone thought she was dead. But here she was, beautifully, delightfully alive. And kicking. Don’t miss the riotous motion picture starring Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen.