On this day in movie history - Midnight Express (1978)

Midnight Express

directed by Alan Parker,

written by Oliver Stone, and based on the book by Billy Hayes and William Hoffer,

was released in the United States on October 6, 1978.

Music by Giorgio Moroder.

Cast:

Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Paul L. Smith, Randy Quaid, Norbert Weisser, John Hurt, Kevork Malikyan, Yashaw Adem, Mike Kellin, Franco Diogene, Michael Ensign, Gigi Ballista, Peter Jeffrey, Michael Giannatos.

On this day in movie history - The Missouri Breaks (1976)

The Missouri Breaks

directed by Arthur Penn,

written by Thomas McGuane,

was released in the United States on May 19, 1976.

Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Kathleen Lloyd, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, John McLiam, John P. Ryan, Sam Gilman, Steve Franken, Richard Bradford, James Greene, Luana Anders, Danny Goldman, Hunter von Leer, Virgil Frye, R.L. Armstrong, Daniel Ades, Dorothy Neumann, Charles Wagenheim, Vern Chandler, Mark Montgomery, Scott Palmer.

On this day in movie history - The Long Riders (1980)

The Long Riders

directed by Walter Hill,

written by Bill Bryden, Steven Phillip Smith, Stacy Keach, James Keach, Walter Hill,

released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 15, 1980.

Music by Ry Cooder.

Cast:

David Carradine, Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine, James Keach, Stacy Keach, Dennis Quaid, Randy Quaid, Kevin Brophy, Harry Carey Jr., Christopher Guest, Nicholas Guest, Shelby Leverington, Felice Orlandi, Pamela Reed, James Remar, Fran Ryan, Savannah Smith Boucher, Amy Stryker, James Whitmore Jr., John Bottoms, West Buchanan, Edward Bunker, Martina Deignan, Allan Graf, Chris Mulkey, Thomas Myers, Marlise Karlin / Pieratt, Glenn Robards, Tim Rossovich, Lin Shaye, Gary Watkins, Peter Jason, Duke Stroud, Steve Chambers, William Traylor, J. Don Ferguson, Hugh McGraw, Prentiss Rowe, Stuart Mossman, Michael Lackey, Mitch Greenhill, Bill Bryson, Tom Sauber, Jimmy Medearis, Edgar McLeod, Luis Contreras, Kalen Keach, R.B. Thrift, Ry Cooder, George D. Miklos, Bill Rampley, Bill Willens.

On this day in movie history - Moonshine Highway (1996)

Moonshine Highway

directed and written by Andy Armstrong,

was released in the United States on May 5, 1996.

Music by Steve Dorff.

Cast:

Kyle MacLachlan, Randy Quaid, Maria del Mar, Alex Carter, Gary Farmer, Jeremy Ratchford, Leslie Carlson, Dennis Fitzgerald, Raliegh Wilson, Michael Copeman, Jody Racicot, Rick Roberts, Lori Hallier, Eleanor Joy Lind, Dick Callahan, Doug Lennox, David Cronenberg, Beau Starr, Andy Armstrong, Stuart Hughes, J. Winston Carroll, Todd Schroeder, Mike Lee, Jason Deline.

On this day in television history - Murder in the Heartland (1993)

Murder in the Heartland

a made-for-TV miniseries directed by Robert Markowitz,

written by Michael O'Hara,

was released in the United States on May 3, 1993.

Based on the true Charles Starkweather murder case (1957-1958).

Music by Patrick Williams.

Cast:

Tim Roth, Fairuza Balk, Kate Reid, Brian Dennehy, Randy Quaid, Roberts Blossom, Tom Bower, Rondi Reed, Bob Gunton, Ryan Cutrona, Angie Bolling, Jake Carpenter, Heather Kafka, Don Bloomfield, John Hussey, James Hansen Prince, John S. Davies, Mark Walters, Jennifer Griffin, Milo O'Shea, Gerry Bamman, Jeff Perry, Connie Cooper, Jimmy Ray Pickens, Valentina Marie Lomborg, Tom Smith, Renée Zellweger, Darryl Cox, Marco Perella, John Cantwell, Chamblee Ferguson, Gary Mitchell Carter, Suzi McLaughlin, Joan Arenstein.

On this day in movie and book history - The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974 and 1959)

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

directed by Ted Kotcheff,

written by Mordecai Richler and Lionel Chetwynd,

based on the novel by Mordecai Richler,

was released in the United States on April 11, 1974.

Music by Stanley Myers and Andrew Powell.

Cast:

Richard Dreyfuss, Micheline Lanctôt, Jack Warden, Randy Quaid, Joseph Wiseman, Denholm Elliott, Henry Ramer, Joe Silver, Zvee Scooler, Robert Goodier, Alan Rosenthal, Barry Baldaro, Allan Kolman, Barry Pascal, Susan Friedman, Jacques Durette, Jonathan Robinson, Edward Resmini, Henry Gamer, Lou Levitt, Sonny Oppenheim, Lionel Schwartz, Mickey Eichen, Robert Desroches, Judith Gault, Norman Taviss.

Recommended reading:

 

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

by Mordecai Richler.
 
Filmed as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), directed by Ted Kotcheff.
 
Published by Gallery Books.
First published 1959.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0671028472
ISBN-13: 978-0671028473
 
Description:

It is time to recognize Mr. Richler as one of North America's most powerful novelists. – The Washington Times.

A rasping humor pervades the book....It burgeons with its special talent and a vulgar vitality. – Chicago Tribune.
 
A fast-moving, entertaining, and bawdy novel. – The Washington Times.

Funny in the biting, subversive manner of Joseph Heller and Philip Roth. – Los Angeles Times.
 
Duddy Kravitz [is] Richler's most famous creation. – Minneapolis Star Tribune.
 

Richler has been praised for his clear-eyed vision and his realistic style.... The total effect is as brash and blatant as a sports car rally -- and as suggestive of power. It comes off brilliantly. – Alfred Kazin, The New York Times Book Review.

From Mordecai Richler, one of our greatest satirists, comes one of literature's most delightful characters, Duddy Kravitz -- in a novel that belongs in the pantheon of seminal twentieth century books.

Duddy -- the third generation of a Jewish immigrant family in Montreal -- is combative, amoral, scheming, a liar, and totally hilarious. From his street days tormenting teachers at the Jewish academy to his time hustling four jobs at once in a grand plan to "be somebody," Duddy learns about living -- and the lesson is an outrageous roller-coaster ride through the human comedy. As Richler turns his blistering commentary on love, money, and politics, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz becomes a lesson for us all ... in laughter and in life.