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.

On this day in movie and book history - The Last Detail (1973)

The Last Detail

directed by Hal Ashby,

written by Robert Towne,

based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan,

was released in the United States on December 12, 1973.

Music by Johnny Mandel.

Cast:

Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, Carol Kane, Michael Moriarty, Nancy Allen, Gilda Radner, Jim Hohn, Luana Anders.

Recommended reading - The Last Detail (1970)

The Last Detail

by Darryl Ponicsan.
 
First published 1970.
Published by Skyhorse.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1510727752
ISBN-13: 978-1510727755

Description:
 
The acclaimed novel that was the basis for the classic movie starring Jack Nicholson.
 

Unlike the other branches of the armed services, the navy draws its police force from the ranks, as temporary duty. The risk is that men on Shore Patrol might bring their humanity to the task. This accounts for the underlying tension in "The Last Detail", which takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. Billy Bad-Ass and Mule Mulhall, two career sailors in transit in Norfolk, awaiting permanent orders, are given a "chaser" duty. Their assignment is to escort and deliver Larry Meadows, an 18-year-old sailor, from Norfolk to Portsmouth, N.H., where he is to serve an eight-year sentence in the brig. It's good duty, on the face of it, until the two old salts realize the injustice of the sentence and are oddly affected by the true innocence of their prisoner, even though he is guilty as charged. Failure, or refusal, to carry out their duty is never a question, no matter how much they hate the detail or how wrong it seems, and yet something must be done, some gesture made in order to help their hapless prisoner survive the long ordeal he faces, and to purge their own sense of shame. "The Last Detail" was Darryl Ponicsan's first book and it catapulted him into the front rank of American novelists. It was made into the 1973 film starring Jack Nicholson, and has become a classic of the Golden Age of American cinema. This new edition of "The Last Detail" coincides with the publication of its long-awaited sequel, "Last Flag Flying", also available from The Wright Press.

On this day in movie history - No Man’s Land (1987)

No Man’s Land

directed by Peter Werner,

written by Dick Wolf,

was released in the United States on October 23, 1987.

Music by Basil Poledouris.

Cast:

Charlie Sheen, D. B. Sweeney, Randy Quaid, Brad Pitt, Lara Harris, Bill Duke, R.D. Call, Arlen Dean Snyder, M. Emmet Walsh, Al Shannon, Bernie Pock, Kenny Endoso, James F. Kelly, Lori Butler, Clare Wren, George Dzundza, Linda Carol, Danitza Kingsley, Peggy McCay, Linda Shayne, Robert Pierce, Claude Earl Jones, Jan Burrell, Channing Chase, Jessica Puscas, Molly Carter, Guy Boyd, Henry G. Sanders, Gary Riley, Jenny Gago, Scott Lincoln, Tom Santo, Michael Riley, Denis Hartigan.

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.