Gloria Steinem, on writing:

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else.

- Gloria Steinem.

Recommended reading - Film Noir Reader 4: The Crucial Films and Themes

 

Film Noir Reader 4: The Crucial Films and Themes

by Alain Silver and James Ursini.
 
Published by Limelight.
Published 2004.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0879103051
ISBN-13: 978-0879103057
 
Description:
 

The earlier Film Noir Readers, which now boast a combined sale of well over 30 000 copies, have all quite deliberately conveyed a sweeping overview of the classic period, demonstrating how broad and inclusive noir movies are. Film Noir Reader 4 moves in a different direction. Its purpose is to identify the key films and motifs of noir and to analyze in depth the prototypical pictures that, while vivid examples of certain cinematic themes, bend and break their molds to find new ways to enthrall and frighten us. Like its predecessors, Film Noir Reader 4 is generously illustrated and features essays by such respected film critics and scholars as Robin Wood, J.P. Telotte, R. Barton Palmer, and Robert Porfirio. All have as their purpose to explain why and how these classic films work; the way screenplay, direction, acting, cinematography, editing and all the other filmmaking crafts blended together to produce work that exemplifies both a particular movement in film history and the innovations that keep the noir style fresh and compelling.

Born on this day – Sydney Greenstreet:

Sydney Greenstreet

Actor

December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954

Credits:

Malaya (1949); It's a Great Feeling (1949); Flamingo Road (1949); The Velvet Touch (1948); The Woman in White (1948); Ruthless (1948); The Hucksters (1947); That Way with Women (1947); The Verdict (1946); Devotion (1946); Three Strangers (1946); Christmas in Connecticut (1945); Pillow to Post (1945); Conflict (1945); Hollywood Canteen (1944); The Conspirators (1944); The Mask of Dimitrios (1944); Between Two Worlds (1944); Passage to Marseille (1944); Background to Danger (1943); Casablanca (1942); Across the Pacific (1942); They Died with Their Boots On (1941); The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Born on this day – Jane Burr:

Jane Burr

Writer

December 27, 1882 – 1958; Exact date of death unknown.

Credits:

City Dust; I Build My House; Letters of a Dakota Divorcee; Marble & Mud; Married Men; Rare Antique: Fourteen Radio Plays; That Woman; The Glorious Hope; The Passionate Spectator.

Movie:

The Arnelo Affair (1947).

Born on this day – Marlene Dietrich:

Marlene Dietrich

Actress

Singer

December 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992

Credits:

Just a Gigolo (1978); Paris When It Sizzles (1964); Judgment at Nuremberg (1961); Touch of Evil (1958); Witness for the Prosecution (1957); The Montecarlo Story (1956); Around the World in 80 Days (1956); Rancho Notorious (1952); No Highway in the Sky (1951); Stage Fright (1950); Jigsaw (1949); A Foreign Affair (1948); Golden Earrings (1947); The Room Upstairs (1946); Kismet (1944); Follow the Boys (1944); Pittsburgh (1942); The Spoilers (1942); The Lady Is Willing (1942); Manpower (1941); The Flame of New Orleans (1941); Seven Sinners (1940); Destry Rides Again (1939); Angel (1937); Knight Without Armor (1937); I Loved a Soldier (1936); The Garden of Allah (1936); Desire (1936); The Devil Is a Woman (1935); The Scarlet Empress (1934); The Song of Songs (1933); Blonde Venus (1932); Shanghai Express (1932); Dishonored (1931); Morocco (1930); The Blue Angel (1930); Nights of Love (1930); The Ship of Lost Men (1929); Three Loves (1929); I Kiss Your Hand Madame (1929); The Art of Love (1928); Café Elektric (1927); Sein größter Bluff (1927); Kopf hoch, Charly! (1927); Der Juxbaron (1927); A Modern Du Barry (1926); Madame Doesn't Want Children (1926); Manon Lescaut (1926); Dance Fever (1925); Der Sprung ins Leben (1924); The Countess of Paris (1923); The Tragedy of Love (1923); Man by the Roadside (1923); So sind die Männer (1923); Im Schatten des Glücks (1919).

Born on this day – Dorris Bowdon:

Dorris Bowdon

Actress

December 27, 1914 – August 9, 2005

Credits:

The Moon Is Down (1943); Jennie (1940); The Grapes of Wrath (1940); Drums Along the Mohawk (1939); Young Mr. Lincoln (1939); Down on the Farm (1938); Always Goodbye (1938).

Born on this day – Nick Dimitri:

Nick Dimitri

Actor

Stuntman

December 27, 1932 – October 20, 2021

Born on this day – Christopher Benjamin:

Christopher Benjamin

Actor

December 27, 1934 – January 10, 2025

Credits:

Angel (2007); Angels (1976); Anything More Would Be Greedy (1989); Armchair Theatre (1967); Armchair Thriller (1978); A Gentlemen's Club (1988); A Likely Lad (1992); Ace of Wands (1970); Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round (1998); A Spy at Evening (1981); Baffled (1972); BBC Play of the Month (1968–1971); Between the Wars (1973); Black Silk (1985); Blott on the Landscape (1985); Boon (1987); Bowler (1973); Brass (1990); Brief Encounter (1974); Budgie (1972); Call Me Mister (1986); Campion (1990); Can You Hear the Earth Scream (2006); Casanova (1987); Casualty (1992); Chintz (1981); Churchill's People (1975); Comedy Matinee (1961); Crown Court (1972–1981); Cyrano de Bergerac (1985); Death in the Streets (1970); Dempsey and Makepeace (1986); Detective (1968); Dick Turpin (1979–1982); Doctor Who (1970–1977 / 2008 / 2009); Doctor Who: Short Trips (2017); Doctor Who: Target Novelisation Audiobooks (2013); Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles (2009); Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited (2013); Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures (2008); Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures (2013–2017); Doctor Who: The Sixth Doctor - The Last Adventure (2015); Doctor Who: The Sixth Doctor Adventures (2012); Doctors (2009); Donkeys' Years (1980); Don't Knock Yourself Out (2007); Down to Earth (2004); EastEnders (1999); Father Brown (1974); Feet First (1979); Forget-Me-Not-Lane (1975); Foyle's War (2003); Fraud Squad (1969); Gangsters (1976); Get Some In! (1978); Great Performances (1988); Hadleigh (1976); Haggard (1990); Hard Times (1994); Hawk the Slayer (1980); Heartbeat (2006); Hennes meget kongelige høyhet (1968); Holding On (1977); Holding the Fort (1980–1982); Honour, Profit & Pleasure (1985); Inspector Morse (1992); It Takes a Worried Man (1981–1983); ITV Play of the Week (1965–1966); ITV Playhouse (1968); Jack the Ripper (1973); Jackanory Playhouse (1978); Jago & Litefoot (2010–2021); Jason King (1971); Judge John Deed (2003–2006); King & Castle (1988); Koroshi (1968); Late Night Horror (1968); Leonardo (2003); Little Big Time (1971); London's Burning (1992); Looking for Victoria (2003); Lovejoy (1994); Love's Labour's Lost (1965); Magic Grandad (1994); Maigret (1992); Man at the Top (1971); Melba (1988); Midsomer Murders (2005); Minder (1984); Murder Most English: A Flaxborough Chronicle (1977); My Son Reuben (1975); Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width (1971); New Scotland Yard (1973); Orlando (1966); Paul Temple (1970); Play for Today (1980–1981); Poldark (1975–1976); Premiere (1978); Pride and Prejudice (1995); Pride and Prejudice Revisited (2005); 'Pride and Prejudice': The Making of... (1999); Private Affairs (1975); Public Eye (1968); Quick Before They Catch Us (1966); Ramshackle Road (1968); Ring of Bright Water (1969); Rooms (1977); Rosemary & Thyme (2006); Rumpole of the Bailey (1991); Runaway Railway / Junket 89 (1970); Salut champion (1981); Saracen (1989); Scorpion Tales (1978); Secret Agent (1967); Seesaw (1998); Seven Times Seven (1969); Shades of Greene (1976); Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1994); She-Wolf of London (1991); Shine on Harvey Moon (1982); Shoestring (1980); Softly Softly: Task Force (1970–1976); Special Branch (1974); Spy! (1980); Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990); Strauss Dynasty (1991); Suspense (1962); Sword of Honour (2001); Target (1977); The Adventures of Black Beauty (1973); The Avengers (1966–1968); The Baron (1966); The Birds Fall Down (1978); The Black Velvet Gown (1991); The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1985); The Devil's Crown (1978); The Diary of Anne Frank (1987); The Diary of River Song (2019); The Double Dealers (1974); The English Programme (1985); The Fellows (1967); The Forsyte Saga (1967); The Fortunes of Nigel (1974); The Gamblers (1967); The Gold Robbers (1969); The History of Mr. Polly (1980); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1976); The Index Has Gone Fishing (1987); The Last Hurrah (2010); The Last Salute (1998); The Legend of Tarzan (2016); The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982); The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns (1999); The Man in Room 17 (1965); The Merry Wives of Windsor (2011); The Onedin Line (1972); The Paternoster Gang (2020); The Plague Dogs (1982); The Prisoner (1967–1968); The Prisoner Video Companion (1990); The Protectors (1972); The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986); The Roads to Freedom (1970); The Saint (1968); The Sandbaggers (1978); The Saturday Play (1998); The Squirrels (1976); The Strauss Family (1972); The Tichborne Claimant (1998); The Tomorrow People (1994); The Villains (1965); The Way We Live Now (1969); The Wednesday Play (1965); The White Rabbit (1967); The Worlds of Doctor Who (2014); Theatre 625 (1967); Theatre Night (1988); Thérèse Raquin (1980); Thirty-Minute Theatre (1967); Thriller (1974); Time Space Visualiser (2020); Treasure Island (1999); Upstairs, Downstairs (1973); Van der Valk (1973); Very Like a Whale (1980); Vienna 1900 (1973); Village Hall (1975); We, the Accused (1980); When the Boat Comes In (1977); Where There's a Will (1989); Whodunnit? (1978); Wilde Alliance (1978); Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981); Yes, Honestly (1977); Yes, Prime Minister (1987); Young Charlie Chaplin (1989); Z Cars (1965).

Born on this day – John Amos:

John Amos

Actor

Writer

Producer

December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024

Credits:

20/20 (2018); 30 Rock (2010); 3rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (1997); 704 Hauser (1994); A Woman Like That (1997); Act of Faith (2014); Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980); All About the Andersons (2003–2004); All Over Again (2001); Althea (2014); American Flyers (1985); American Lowrider (2010); American Masters (2002 / 2015 / 2016); Ascension Day (2007); Bad Asses on the Bayou (2015); Ballers (2019); Beauty and the Beast (1988); Because of Charley (2021); Bicentennial Minutes (1975); Block Party (2022); Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988); Booo Chapter One (2025); CBS at 75 (2003); Christmas Belles (2019); Christmas in Miami (2021); Clippers (1991); Coming 2 America (2021); Coming to America (1988); Contrast of Evil (2013); Cops and Robin (1978); Crossing Over: How Roots Captivated an Entire Nation (2007); Dance of the Dwarfs (1983); Die Hard 2 (1990); Die Hard 2: The Bad Guys - Villains' Profile (1990); Dinah! (1975–1976); Disappearing Acts (2000); Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006); E! True Hollywood Story (2000); Ebony/Jet Showcase (1989); Entertainment Tonight (2020); Extra (2015–2019); For Better or Worse (1995); For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots (2010); Future Cop (1976–1977); Get Gotti (2023); Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast (2016–2017); Good Morning America (1977); Good Times (1974–1976); Hardcastle and McCormick (1984); Hauntsville (2016); Here's Boomer (1981); History of the Sitcom (2021); Hollywood Priest: The Story of Fr. Bud Kieser (2021); Hologram Man (1995); Hunter (1984–1985); I Love the '70s (2003); I Love the '80s Strikes Back (2003); In the House (1995–1997); Indie Cinema Showcase (2021); Information Processing (1971); Inside TV Land (2001); Insight (1982); Janet Russell Presents STAR POWER (2015); Johnny Staccato (1989); Judge Amos (2015); Keeping Up with the Joneses (1972); King of the Hill (1998); Let's Do It Again (1975); Lichnyy nomer (2004); Lie to Me (2010); Life After (2012); Live in Front of a Studio Audience: 'All in the Family' and 'Good Times' (2019); Live with Kelly and Mark (1989); Lock Up (1989); Love, American Style / Segments: Love and the Split-Up; Love and the Hiccups (1971–1972); Mac (1992); Madea's Witness Protection (2012); Mafia's Greatest Hits (2012); Martin (1997); Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration (2015); Maude (1973–1974); Me Time (2022); Men in Trees (2006–2008); Mercy for Angels (2015); Mr. Dugan (1979); Murder Was the Case: The Movie / Segment: Natural Born Killaz (1995); Murder, She Wrote (1987); My Baby's Daddy (2004); My Name Is Earl (2008); Night Trap (1993); Norman Lear: A Life on Television (2023); Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (2016); Nubbin & Friends (2016–2017); NYC 22 (2012); One Life to Live (1968); Oprah: Where Are They Now? (2017); Pioneers of Television (2013–2014); Police Story (1976); Prime Nostalgia Podcast (2021); Psych (2007); Remembering 'Roots' (2002); Ricochet (1991); Roots (1977); Royal Pains (2010); Sanford and Son (1973); See It Loud: The History of Black Television (2023); Shadow Hills (2011); Sister Circle Live (2018); Something to Sing About (2000); Speechless (2008); Sports Theater with Shaquille O'Neal (1998); Stills of the Movement: The Civil Rights Photojournalism of Flip Schulke (2009); Stingray (1987); Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971); Tamales and Gumbo (2015); Tavis Smiley (2006); The 11th Annual Publicists Guild of America Awards (1975); The 1st TV Academy Hall of Fame (1984); The 2nd Annual Black Achievement Awards (1979); The 2nd Annual TV Land Awards (2004); The 3rd Annual People's Choice Awards (1977); The 4th Annual TV Land Awards (2006); The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2007); The 5th Annual TV Land Awards (2007); The Arsenio Hall Show (1990); The A-Team (1984); The Beastmaster (1982); The Beastmaster Chronicles (2020); The Bob Show (2012); The Chris Rock Show (1997); The District (2000–2001); The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994–1995); The Funny Side (1971); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1974–1978); The Howard Stern Show (1990); The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (2014); The Last O.G. (2018); The Last Rifleman (2023); The Law (2009); The Leslie Uggams Show (1969); The Love Boat (1983); The Magical World of Disney (1983); The Marsha Warfield Show (1990); The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977); The Merv Griffin Show (1971); The Mike Douglas Show (1975); The Mo'Nique Show (2010); The Movies That Made Us (2021); The National Disaster Survival Test (1977); The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1972); The Nicole Barrett Show (2015); The Outer Limits (2000); The Players Club (1998); The President's Plane Is Missing (1973); The Ranch (2016–2017); The Righteous Gemstones (2022); The Rockford Files: Shoot-Out at the Golden Pagoda (1997); The Seventies (2015); The Tim Conway Comedy Hour (1970); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1974); The Truth About Santa Claus (2020); The Watermelon Heist (2003); The Wendy Williams Show (2017); The West Wing (1999–2004); The World's Greatest Athlete (1973); Today (2016); Tony Orlando and Dawn (1975); Touched by an Angel (1995); Touched by Love (1980); Trapper John, M.D. (1984); TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004); TV Land Confidential (2005–2007); TV Land Moguls (2009); Two and a Half Men (2010); Two Evil Eyes (1993); Two Evil Eyes / Segment: The Black Cat (1990); Two's Company (1973); Uncle Tom II: An American Odyssey (2022); Uncut Gems (2019); Vanishing Point (1971); Voodoo Moon (2006); Walker, Texas Ranger (1997); Willa (1979); Without a Pass (1991); You Are the Jury (1987); Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell (2019); Zombie Hamlet (2012).

Born on this day – Shashawnee Hall:

Shashawnee Hall

Actor

Director

Producer

December 27, 1961 – March 29, 2021

On this day in television history - M Squad (1957)

M Squad
Season 1. Episode 14.

Episode entitled: The Palace Guard.

Released December 27, 1957.

Directed by Bernard Girard.

Written by Jack Laird and Wilton Schiller.

Music by Stanley Wilson.

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Whit Bissell, Alix Talton, Paul Newlan, William Boyett, Paul Bryar, Noreen Arnold, Charles Tannen, George Byrnes, Paul Hahn, John Culwell, Billy Nelson, Charles Perry.

On this day in music history - The album Just the Two of Us, by Secret Garden (2013)

Just the Two of Us

by Secret Garden

was released on December 27, 2013

Track list:

Sometimes When It Rains; Heartstrings; Awakening; The Promise; Reflection; Ode to Simplicity; Poeme; Sortie; Just the Two of Us; Songs from a Secret Garden; En Passant; Papillon; Belonging; Serenade to Spring; Song at the End of the Day.

On this day in music history - The album Once in a Red Moon, by Secret Garden (2019)

Once in a Red Moon

by Secret Garden

was released on December 27, 2019.

Track list:

Awakening; You Raise Me Up; Silent Wings; Greenwaves; Invitation; Duo; Belonging; Gates Of Dawn; The Promise; Fairytale; Once In A Red Moon; Elegie.

On this day in music history - Film Score Piano, by Fiona Joy Hawkins (2019)

Film Score Piano

Track by Fiona Joy Hawkins,

released December 27, 2019.