On this day in movie and book history - Psycho (1960)

Psycho

directed by Alfred Hitchcock,

written by Joseph Stefano,

based on the novel by Robert Bloch,

was released in the United States, on June 16, 1960.

Music by Bernard Herrmann.

Inspired by the true 1957 Ed Gein murder case.

Cast:

Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, Simon Oakland, Frank Albertson, Pat Hitchcock, Vaughn Taylor, Lurene Tuttle, John Anderson, Mort Mills, Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin, Jeanette Nolan.

Recommended reading:

 

Psycho

by Robert Bloch.

Filmed as Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Published by The Overlook Press.
First published 1959.

ISBN-10: 1590203356
ISBN-13: 9781590203354

Description:

"Psycho all came from Robert Bloch's book." – Alfred Hitchcock.
"Icily terrifying!" – The New York Times.
"Robert Bloch is one of the all-time masters." – Peter Straub.

Norman Bates loves his mother. She has been dead for the past 20 years, or so people think. Norman knows better, though.

Ever since leaving the hospital, he has lived with Mother in the old house up on the hill above the Bates Motel. One night, after a beautiful woman checks into the motel, Norman spies on her as she undresses. Norman can’t help but spy on her.

Mother is there, though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

If you love to be scared, or are a fan of classic movies, then you know the story of Norman Bates, his mother, and the dark and frightening Bates Motel. Alfred Hitchcock’s taut, shocking scare-fest starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh is a classic movie, as scary today as it was in 1960 when it was first released, and this is the 1959 novel upon which the movie is based.

It was here that the legend of the Bates Motel was born.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
Edited by Richard J. Anobile.

The Film Classics Library.

Published by Universe Books.
First Edition.
Published 1974.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0876631898
ISBN-13: 978-0876631898

Description:

The Film Classics Library present the most accurate and complete reconstruction of a film in book over 1,300 frame blow-up photos shown sequentially and coupled with the complete dialogue from the original soundtrack, allow you to recapture this film classic in its entirety – at your leisure.

On this day in movie history - P.I. Private Investigations (1987)

P.I. Private Investigations

a.k.a. Private Investigations,

directed by Nigel Dick,

written by John Dahl and David W. Warfield,

based on a story by Nigel Dick,

was released in the United States on June 5, 1987.

Music by Murray Munro.

Cast:

Clayton Rohner, Ray Sharkey, Paul Le Mat, Talia Balsam, Phil Morris, Martin Balsam, William Kerwin, Anthony Zerbe, Robert Ito, Vernon Wells, Anthony Geary, Justin Lord, Richard Cummings Jr., Desiree Boschetti, Andy Romano, Sydney Walsh, Jon St. Elwood, Robert Torti, Nigel Dick.

On this day in movie and book history - 12 Angry Men (1957)

12 Angry Men

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by Reginald Rose,

based on the 1954 teleplay Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose,

was released in the United States on April 10, 1957.

Music by Kenyon Hopkins.

Cast:

Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber, Rudy Bond, Tom Gorman, James Kelly, Billy Nelson, John Savoca, Walter Stocker.

Recommended reading:

 

Twelve Angry Men

Teleplay by Reginald Rose.
Introduction by David Mamet.
 
Filmed as:
12 Angry Men (1957), directed by Sidney Lumet.
12 Angry Men (1997), directed by William Friedkin.

Paperback.
Published by Penguin Classics.
First published 1954.

ISBN 13: 9780143104407
ISBN 10: 0143104403
ASIN: 0143104403
 
Description:

A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a clear-eyed way not affected by their personal prejudices or biases. Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men and allows a fuller picture to form of them—and of America, at its best and worst.

After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, and award-winning, run on Broadway.

On this day in movie history - Two Evil Eyes (1990 movie & book):

Two Evil Eyes

Original Italian title: Due occhi diabolici,

directed by Dario Argento, George A. Romero,

written by George A. Romero, Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini, Peter Koper,

based on The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar & The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe,

released in Italy on January 25, 1990.

Music by Pino Donaggio.

Cast:

Adrienne Barbeau, Ramy Zada, Bingo O'Malley, Jeff Howell, E.G. Marshall, Harvey Keitel, Madeleine Potter, John Amos, Sally Kirkland, Kim Hunter, Holter Graham, Martin Balsam, Chuck Aber, Jonathan Adams, Tom Atkins, Mitchell Baseman, Julie Benz, Barbara Bryne, Mario Caputo, Lanene Charters, Bill Dalzell, Anthony Dileo Jr., Christine Forrest, J.R. Hall, Scott House, James MacDonald, Charles McPherson, Larry John Meyers, Jeff Monahan, Fred Moore, Christina Romero, Peggy McIntaggart, Ben Tatar, Lou Valenzi, Jeffrey Wild, Ted Worsley, Jonathan Sachar, Tom Savini.

Recommended reading:

The Complete Stories and Poems

by Edgar Allan Poe.

First published 1849.
This edition published 1966.
Published by Doubleday & Company, Inc.

Hardcover.

ISBN 13: 9780385074070
ISBN 10: 0385074077
ASIN: 0385074077

Description:

This single volume brings together all of Poe’s stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history.

On this day in movie history - Cape Fear (1991)

Cape Fear

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Wesley Strick,

based on the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald,

was released in the United States on November 15, 1991.

Music by Bernard Herrmann and Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Balsam, Illeana Douglas, Fred Thompson, Zully Montero, Craig Henne, Forest Burton, Edgar Allan Poe IV, Rod Ball, W. Paul Bodie, Joel Kolker, Antoni Corone, Tamara Jones, Roger Pretto, Parris Buckner, Margot Moreland, Will Knickerbocker, Robert L. Gerlach, Bruce E. Holdstein, Richard Wasserman, Paul Nagle Jr., Paul Froehler, Mary Ellen O'Brien, Jody Wilson, C.C. Costigan, Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, Gar Stephen, Billy D. Lucas, Ken Collins, Linda Perri, Libby Moyer, Catherine Scorsese, Charles Scorsese, Jackie Davis, George Grafas, Esther Rolle, Ken Waters.