Stephen King, on books:

Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. 

What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.

- Stephen King.

Recommended reading - Big Stick-Up at Brinks

Big Stick-Up at Brinks

by Noel Behn.
 
First published 1976.
Published by Putnam.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0399118977
ISBN-13: 978-0399118975
 
Description:
 
A riveting and frequently hilarious insider account of one of the twentieth century’s most outrageous capers.
 

On the evening of January 17, 1950, armed robbers wearing Captain Marvel masks entered the Brink’s Armored Car building in Boston, Massachusetts. They walked out less than an hour later with more than $2.7 million in cash and securities. It was a brazen and expertly executed theft that captured the imaginations of millions of Americans and baffled the FBI and local law enforcement officials.

 

But what appeared on the surface to be the perfect crime was, in fact, the end result of a mind-boggling series of mistakes, miscalculations, and missteps. The men behind the masks were not expert bank robbers but a motley crew of small-time crooks who bumbled their way into a record-breaking payday and managed to elude the long arm of the law for six years.

 

New York Times bestselling author Noel Behn tape-recorded nearly one thousand hours of interviews with the surviving robbers, including motormouthed mastermind Tony Pino, a character so colorful he might have been dreamed up by a Hollywood screenwriter, to tell the uncensored story of the heist forever known as “the Great Brink’s Robbery.” Fun and suspenseful from first page to last, Behn’s true-crime classic was the basis for The Brink’s Job (1978), the Academy Award–nominated film directed by William Friedkin and starring Peter Falk and Peter Boyle.

 

“It had me riveted with suspense, but it also made me laugh until I got hiccups.” – Cosmopolitan.
 

“A King Kong of crime entertainment . . . that no movie could match . . . The Brink’s job [was] a kind of D-Day event in the annals of crime . . . Glorious.” – Kirkus Reviews.

 

“One minute you’re laughing your head off. The next minute you chill with fear. Crooks and crime at their best. Pure magic!” – Harold Robbins.

“The best book about criminals ever written, a rich and beautiful depiction of their lives as well as their work, a book that elevates them from moving-picture types to complete, vivid humans. Noel Behn has taken one of the most extraordinary crimes of the century and turned it into a living tapestry. It’s a wonderful book.” – Paddy Chayefsky, Academy Award–winning screenwriter of Network.

 

“Reads like a Hollywood screenplay, except that it really happened.” – John Barkham Reviews.

Born on this day – Wallace Worsley:

Wallace Worsley (left), with cameraman, Robert Newhard (right),

filming The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923).

Wallace Worsley

Director

Actor

December 8, 1878 – March 26, 1944

Credits:

The Power of Silence (1928); Shadow of the Law (1926); The Man Who Fights Alone (1924); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923); Is Divorce a Failure? (1923); Nobody's Money (1923); A Blind Bargain (1922); Enter Madame (1922); Rags to Riches (1922); When Husbands Deceive (1922); Grand Larceny (1922); Voices of the City (1921); The Beautiful Liar (1921); The Ace of Hearts (1921); Don't Neglect Your Wife (1921); The Highest Bidder (1921); The Penalty (1920); The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1920); The Street Called Straight (1920); A Woman of Pleasure (1919); Playthings of Passion (1919); Diane of the Green Van (1919); Adele (1919); The Goddess of Lost Lake (1918); A Law Unto Herself (1918); Wedlock (1918); Social Ambition (1918); Honor's Cross (1918); An Alien Enemy (1918); The Turn of a Card (1918); Madam Who? (1918); Alimony (1917); A Man's Man (1917); Borrowed Plumage (1917).

Born on this day – Ursula Grabley:

Ursula Grabley

Actress

December 8, 1908 – April 3, 1977

Credits:

...und das ist die Hauptsache!? (1931); 1A in Upper Bavaria (1937); A Soldier's Love Is True Indeed (1932); Abu Kasems Pantoffeln (1957); Adieu, Prinzessin (1961); Affäre Dreyfus (1959); Annette in Paradise (1934); At the Strassburg (1934); Bashful Felix (1934); Damen und Husaren (1965); Das Konzert (1931); Das Ministerium ist beleidigt (1954); Das Missverständnis (1960); Das Tankmädel (1933); Defraudanten (1954); Der arme Millionär (1939); Der blaue Diamant (1935); Der bunte Traum (1952); Der Fächer (1956); Der Kommissar (1969–1972); Der Läufer von Marathon (1933); Der Schrecken vom Heidekrug (1934); Der schwarze Husar (1932); Der Storch streikt (1931); Der unmögliche Herr Pitt (1938); Derrick (1977); Die Galerie der großen Detektive (1955); Die Insel der Krebse (1975); Die Kronzeugin (1937); Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank - 1. Trimester: Zur Hölle mit den Paukern (1968); Die Nacht vor der Premiere (1959); Die Panne (1961); Die Sache mit dem Hermelin (1939); Die Sache mit Kasanzew (1957); Drei Frauen im Haus (1968); Dreizehn unter einem Hut (1950); Ein Fall für Titus Bunge (1967); Ein Fingerhut voll Mut (1960); Ein Leutnant für Emmeline (1964); Ein Mädel vom Ballett (1937); Eine geschiedene Frau (1974); Export in Blond (1950); For Once I'd Like to Have No Troubles (1932); Frei nach Mark Twain (1971); Frühlingsstimmen (1933); Geständnis unter vier Augen (1954); Grossalarm (1938); Großer Ring mit Außenschleife (1966); Hals- und Beinbruch (1969); Hamburg Transit (1972); Hexenschuß (1960); Himmel, Amor und Zwirn (1960); Hot Blood (1936); Hurrah! I'm a Papa (1939); Ich bin gleich wieder da (1939); Im Bann des Eulenspiegels (1932); Ist mein Mann nicht fabelhaft? (1933); Kampf um Blond (1933); Katharina Knie (1929); Lärm um Weidemann (1935); Life Goes On (1945); Mach' mich glücklich (1935); Mamitschka (1955); Man nennt es Liebe (1953); Miss Molly Mill (1970); Mittagspause (1961); Modell Lu, der Lebensweg eines Hutes (1939); Motiv Liebe (1972); Nie hab ich nie gesagt (1962); Ohne dich wird es Nacht (1956); Peter im Schnee (1937); Ride to Freedom (1937); Romance in Budapest (1933); Rosalinde (1957); Sanatorium total verrückt (1954); Sie schreiben mit (1962–1963); Solistin Anna Alt (1945); Stahlnetz (1959); Tatort (1975); The Call of the Jungle (1936); The Old Fox (1977); The Tannhof Women (1934); The Yellow House on Pinnasberg (1970); Tote zahlen keine Steuern (1963); Under the Bridges (1946); Vatertag (1955); Vorsicht, Falle! - Nepper, Schlepper, Bauernfänger (1976); Zu Befehl, Frau Feldwebel (1956); Zum goldenen Anker (1932); Zwielicht (1940); Zwischen den Zügen (1961).

Born on this day – Lee J. Cobb:

Lee J. Cobb

Actor

December 8, 1911 – February 11, 1976

Credits:

12 Angry Men (1957); Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937); Alle origini della mafia (1976); American Masters (1989–2003); Anna and the King of Siam (1946); Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man (1970); Arthur Miller on Home Ground (1979); Bad Men of the West (1974); Blood, Sweat and Fear (1975); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963); Boomerang! (1947); Buckskin Frontier (1943); But Not for Me (1959); Call Northside 777 (1948); Captain from Castile (1947); Cinemassacre's Monster Madness (2007); Come Blow Your Horn (1963); Compression (2024); Coogan's Bluff (1968); Danger on the Air (1938); Day of Triumph (1954); Death of a Salesman (1966); Double Indemnity (1973); Dr. Max (1974); Exodus (1960); Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane (1944); Frontier Justice (1958); General Electric Theater (1960–1962); Golden Boy (1939); Goodyear Playhouse (1956); Gorilla at Large (1954); Green Mansions (1959); Gunsmoke (1974); Heat of Anger (1972); Henry Fonda: The Man and His Movies (1982); Hopalong Cassidy: Public Hero #1 (2001); How the West Was Won (1962); In Like Flint (1967); Incendiary Attack for Japanese Cities (1945); Inside the Jury Room (2008); Johnny O'Clock (1947); La legge violenta della squadra anticrimine (1976); La polizia sta a guardare (1973); Last Moments (1974); Lawman (1971); Lights Out (1951); Lux Video Theatre (1955); Macho Callahan (1970); Mackenna's Gold (1969); Mafia (1968); Man of the West (1958); Mark il poliziotto spara per primo (1975); McCloud (1973); Medic (1955); Men of Boys Town (1941); Miami Exposé (1956); Movie Night Extravaganza (2022); Naked City (1961); Nick the Sting (1976); North of the Rio Grande (1937); On the Waterfront (1954); Our Man Flint (1966); Paris Calling (1941); Party Girl (1958); Playhouse 90 (1957–1959); Producers' Showcase (1955); Role Model: Gene Wilder (2008); Rustlers' Valley (1937); Sirocco (1951); Somerset Maugham TV Theatre (1951); Startime (1960); Strictly Courtroom (2008); Studio One (1957); Suddenly an Eagle (1976); Tales of Tomorrow (1951); That Lucky Touch (1975); The 12th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1960); The 27th Annual Academy Awards (1955); The 31st Annual Academy Awards (1959); The 50th Annual Tony Awards (1996); The Alcoa Hour (1956); The Brazen Bell (1962); The Brothers Karamazov (1958); The Bull of the West (1972); The Dark Past (1948); The Dean Martin Show (1970); The Devil's Children (1962); The DuPont Show of the Month (1959–1960); The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1961); The Exorcist (1973); The Family Secret (1951); The Fighter (1952); The Final Hour (1965); The Ford Television Theatre (1954); The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962); The Garment Jungle (1957); The Great Ice Rip-Off (1974); The Left Hand of God (1955); The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970); The Linkletter Show (1967); The Luck of the Irish (1948); The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950); The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973); The Merv Griffin Show (1973); The Miracle of the Bells (1948); The Moon Is Down (1943); The Phantom Creeps (1939 / 1949); The Racers (1955); The Road to Denver (1955); The Song of Bernadette (1943); The Tall Texan (1953); The Three Faces of Eve (1957); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1964); The Trap (1959); The Vanishing Shadow (1934); The Virginian (1962–1966); The Young Lawyers (1970–1971); They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968); Thieves' Highway (1949); This Thing Called Love (1940); To Confuse the Angel (1970); Tonight We Raid Calais (1943); Trapped Beneath the Sea (1974); Ultimatum (1973); Vincent Van Gogh: A Self-Portrait (1961); Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959); Winged Victory (1944); Yankee Pasha (1954); Zane Grey Theatre (1956–1958).

 

Born on this day – Maximilian Schell:

Maximilian Schell

Actor

Writer

Director

Producer

December 8, 1930 – February 1, 2014

Credits:

Les brigands (2015); Flores negras (2009); The Brothers Bloom (2008); Die Rosenkönigin (2007); Terra X - Rätsel alter Weltkulturen (2007); Einstein - Superstar der Wissenschaft (2007); Der Fürst und das Mädchen (2003–2007); The Shell Seekers (2006); House of the Sleeping Beauties (2006); Die Alpenklinik (2006); Die Liebe eines Priesters (2005); The Return of the Dancing Master (2004); Coast to Coast (2003); Alles Glück dieser Erde (2003); Der Bestseller - Mord auf italienisch (2002); Liebe, Lügen, Leidenschaften (2002); Meine Schwester Maria (2002); Festival in Cannes (2001); The Song of the Lark (2001); Fisimatenten (2000); I Love You, Baby (2000); Joan of Arc (1999); Wer liebt, dem wachsen Flügel... (1999); Deep Impact (1998); Vampires (1998); Left Luggage (1998); The Song of the Lark (1997); The Eighteenth Angel (1997); Telling Lies in America (1997); Biography (1997); Through Roses (1997); The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996); Little Odessa (1994); Abraham (1993); Candles in the Dark (1993); Justiz (1993); A Far Off Place (1993); Stalin (1992); Miss Rose White (1992); Labyrinth (1991); Young Catherine (1991); Wiseguy (1990); The Freshman (1990); The Rose Garden (1989); An American Place (1988); Laughter in the Dark (1986); Peter the Great (1986); The Assisi Underground (1985); Morgen in Alabama (1984); Marlene (1984); Les îles (1983); The Phantom of the Opera (1983); The Chosen (1981); Arch of Triumph (1980); The Diary of Anne Frank (1980); The Black Hole (1979); Together? (1979); Tales from the Vienna Woods (1979); Avalanche Express (1979); Players (1979); Julia (1977); A Bridge Too Far (1977); Cross of Iron (1977); St. Ives (1976); The Day That Shook the World (1975); End of the Game (1975); The Man in the Glass Booth (1975); The Odessa File (1974); The Pedestrian (1973); Pope Joan (1972); Paulina 1880 (1972); Trotta (1971); First Love (1970); Simón Bolívar (1969); Krakatoa: East of Java (1968); Heidi (1968); The Castle (1968); Counterpoint (1967); Beyond the Mountains (1967); The Deadly Affair (1967); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1967); Die venezianischen Zwillinge (1966); Return from the Ashes (1965); Der seidene Schuh (1965); Letters of Mozart - Briefe Mozarts (1964); Topkapi (1964); The Condemned of Altona (1962); The Reluctant Saint (1962); Five Finger Exercise (1962); Judgment at Nuremberg (1961); Hamlet (1960); Family Classics: The Three Musketeers (1960); Goodyear Theatre (1960); Alcoa Theatre (1960); Sunday Showcase (1960); Buick-Electra Playhouse (1960); The Fifth Column (1960); Eine Dummheit macht auch der Gescheiteste (1959); Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959); The Eighty Yard Run (1959); Die sechste Frau (1959); Die Bernauerin (1958); Kinder der Berge (1958); The Young Lions (1958); Die Letzten werden die Ersten sein (1957); Taxichauffeur Bänz (1957); Ein Herz kehrt heim (1956); Die Ehe des Dr. med. Danwitz (1956); The Girl from Flanders (1956); Reifende Jugend (1955); The Plot to Assassinate Hitler (1955); Sons, Mothers and a General (1955).

Born on this day – Valora Noland:

Valora Noland

Actress

December 8, 1941 – March 27, 2022

Credits:

Beach Party (1963); Burke's Law (1963–1965); Dr. Kildare (1963); Laramie (1962); Mannix (1967); Muscle Beach Party (1964); Sex and the College Girl (1964); Star Trek (1968); Summer Children (1965); The Donna Reed Show (1963–1965); The DuPont Show of the Week (1963); The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966); The Passionate Strangers (1966); The Rifleman (1961); The Virginian (1967); The War Wagon (1967); Up Your Teddy Bear (1970); Wagon Train (1964).

Born on this day – Sólveig Anspach:

Sólveig Anspach

Director

Writer

December 8, 1960 – August 7, 2015

On this day in music history - Symphony No. 7, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1813)

Symphony No. 7

by Ludwig van Beethoven,

was first performed in Vienna on December 8, 1813.

Symphony in four movements.

Opus 92, in A Major.

Composed: 1811–1812.

On this day in music history - Hotel California, by the Eagles (1976)

Hotel California

by the Eagles,

was released on December 8, 1976.

On this day in television history - Bonnie & Clyde (2013)

Bonnie & Clyde

a two-part miniseries directed by Bruce Beresford,

written by John Rice and Joe Batteer,

was released in the United States on December 8 – 9, 2013.

Based on the true 1934 Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow case.

Theme music by John Debney.

Cast:

Emile Hirsch, Holliday Grainger, Lane Garrison, Sarah Hyland, Holly Hunter, William Hurt, Austin Hebert, Elizabeth Reaser, Desmond Phillips, Aaron Jay Rome, Garrett Kruithof, Jonathan Vane.

On this day in movie history - The Brink’s Job (1978)

The Brink’s Job

directed William Friedkin,

written by Walon Green,

based on the book Big Stick-Up at Brinks by Noel Behn,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1978.

Music by Richard Rodney Bennett.

Cast:

Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands, Paul Sorvino, Sheldon Leonard, Gerard Murphy, Kevin O'Connor, Claudia Peluso, Patrick Hines, Malachy McCourt, Walter Klavun, Randy Jurgensen, John Brandon, Robert Prosky.

On this day in movie history - 48 Hrs. (1982)

48 Hrs.

directed Walter Hill,

written by Roger Spottiswoode, Walter Hill, Larry Gross and Steven E. de Souza,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1982.

Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Sonny Landham, Brion James, Kerry Sherman, Jonathan Banks, James Keane, Tara King, Greta Blackburn, Margot Rose, Denise Crosby, Olivia Brown, Todd Allen, Bill Dearth, Ned Dowd, Jim Haynie, Jack Thibeau, Jon St. Elwood, Clare Torao, Sandy Martin, Matt Landers, Peter Jason, Bill Cross, Chris Mulkey, Marcelino Sánchez, Bennie E. Dobbins, Walter Scott, W.T. Zacha, Begonya Plaza, Loyd Catlett, B.G. Fisher, Reid Cruickshanks, R.D. Call, Brenda Venus, Gloria Gifford, Nick Dimitri, John Dennis Johnston, Rock A. Walker, Dave Moordigian, J. Wesley Huston, Gary Pettinger, Marquerita Wallace, Angela Robinson Witherspoon, Jack Lightsy, John Hauk, Bob Yanez, Clint Smith, Luis Contreras, Suzanne M. Regard, Ola Ray, Bjaye Turner, The Bus Boys, Larry Clardy, Robert Cole, Steven G. Felix, Fritz Ford, Bob Harks, Vic Johnson, Michael D. Jones, David LeBell, Gus Loundermon, Brian O'Neal, Kevin O'Neal, Erika Pearson, Tony Roque, Richard Wakasa.

On this day in movie history - Sudden Impact (1983)

Sudden Impact

directed Clint Eastwood,

written by Joseph Stinson,

based on a story by Earl E. Smith, Charles B. Pierce, Chuck Pfarrer and Dean Riesner,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1983.

Music by Lalo Schifrin.

 

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman, Paul Drake, Audrie Neenan, Jack Thibeau, Michael Currie, Albert Popwell, Mark Keyloun, Kevyn Major Howard, Bette Ford, Nancy Parsons, Joe Bellan, Wendell Wellman, Mara Corday, Russ McCubbin, Robert Sutton, Nancy Fish, Carmen Argenziano, Lisa Britt, Bill Reddick, Lois De Banzie, Matthew Child, Mike Johnson, Nick Dimitri, Michael Maurer, Pat DuVal, Christian Phillips, Steven Kravitz, Dennis Royston, Melvin Thompson, Jophery C. Brown, William Upton, Lloyd Nelson, Christopher Pray, James McEachin, Maria Lynch, Ken Lee, Morgan Upton, John X. Heart, David Gonzales, Albert Martinez, David Rivers, Robert Rivers, Harry Demopoulos, Lisa London, Tom Spratley, Eileen Wiggins, John Nowak, John Bleifer, Cynthia Brian, Christine Card, Michael V. Gazzo, Conrad Hurtt, Camryn Manheim, Dihlon McManne, Meathead (the dog).

On this day in movie history - 12 Monkeys (1995)

12 Monkeys

directed by Terry Gilliam,

written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1995.

Inspired by the short movie La Jetée (1962), directed by Chris Marker.

Music by Paul Buckmaster.

Cast:

Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, David Morse, Christopher Plummer, Jon Seda, Christopher Meloni, Michael Chance, Vernon Campbell, H. Michael Walls, Bob Adrian, Simon Jones, Carol Florence, Bill Raymond, Ernest Abuba, Irma St. Paule, Joseph Melito, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Wilfred Williams, Rozwill Young, Nell Johnson, Frederick Strother, Rick Warner, Frank Gorshin, Anthony 'Chip' Brienza, Joilet Harris, Drucie McDaniel, John Blaisse, Louis Lippa, Stan Kang, Pat Dias, Aaron Michael Lacey, Charles Techman, Jann Ellis, Johnnie Hobbs Jr., Janet Zappala, Thomas Roy, Harry O'Toole, Korchenko, Chuck Jeffreys, LisaGay Hamilton, Felix Pire, Matt Ross, Barry Price, John Panzarella, Larry Daly, Arthur Fennell, Karl Warren, Paul Meshejian, Robert O'Neill, Kevin Thigpen, Lee Golden, Joseph McKenna, Jeff Tanner, Faith Potts, Michael Ryan Segal, Annie Golden, Lisa Talerico, Stephen Bridgewater, Ray Huffman, Jodi Dawson, Jack Dougherty, Lenny Daniels, Herbert C. Hauls Jr., Charley Scalies, Carolyn Walker, Tiffany Baldwin, Bart the Bear, Al Brown, C.J. Byrnes, Phillip V. Caruso, Tom Detrik, Donald Faison, Kelly Farnan, Joe Gerety, Laura Glas, Robert Gleason, John Hagy, Adam Hatley, Bonnie Love, Julie Mabry, Raymond Mamrak, Sal Mazzotta, Roger Pratt, Allelon Ruggiero, Renee Spei, Richard Stanley, Thang, Ruth Leon Weiman, Susan Wool-Rush.