On this day in movie history - Ransom (1996)

Ransom

directed by Ron Howard,

written by Richard Price and Alexander Ignon,

based on a story by Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum,

was released in the United States on November 8, 1996.

Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Brawley Nolte, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor, Liev Schreiber, Donnie Wahlberg, Evan Handler, Nancy Ticotin, Michael Gaston, Kevin Neil McCready, Paul Guilfoyle, Allen Bernstein, José Zúñiga, Dan Hedaya, Iraida Polanco, John Ortiz, Mike Hodge, Paul Geier, Louisa Marie, Edward Francis Joseph, A.J. Benza, Peter Anthony Tambakis, Tony Hoty, Daniel May Wong, John Short, Ed Jupp Jr., Stephen Oates, Gene Harrison, Mick O'Rourke, Henry Kingi Jr., Roy Farfel, Lex D. Geddings, Donna Hanover, Rosanna Scotto, Tony Potts, John Finnerty, Todd Hallowell, Joe Bacino, Carl S. Redding, James Georgiades, Christian Maelen, David Vadim, Addie O'Donnell, Judy Hudson, Mitzie Pratt, Lynne Redding, Michael Countryman, Chris Lopata, John Hartmann, Anton Evangelista, Richard Price, Joseph Badalucco Jr., Dell Maara, Tommy Allen, John Dorish, Brad Brewer, Darren Brown, Marvin Brown, Glenn King, Cheryl Howard, James Ritz, Anna Marie Wieder, Joan D. Lowry, Craig Castaldo, Teodorina Bello, Jane Jenkins, Lori Tan Chinn, Carl Don, Nathaniel Freeman, Phil Parolisi, Rafael Osorio, Leslie Devlin, Lewis Dodley, John Brian Rogers, Jeffrey H. Kaufman, Mark Smith, James Patrick Whalen Sr., Kim Snyder, Panicker Upendran, Eric Attio, Steve Axelrod, Carl Burrows, Glenn J. Cohen, Gregory D'Angelo, Cynthia Daddona, Brian Donahue, Jeff Eigen, Todd Ellison, Philippe Hartmann, Marshall Dancing Elk Lucas, Rawleigh Moreland, Christopher Tracy, Keith Leon Williams, Robert 'Bobby Z' Zajonc.

On this day in movie and reading history - Night and the City (1992 and 1938)

Night and the City

directed by Irwin Winkler,

written by Richard Price,

based on the novel by Gerald Kersh,

was released in the United States on October 23, 1992.

Music by James Newton Howard.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Jessica Lange, Cliff Gorman, Alan King, Jack Warden, Eli Wallach, Barry Primus, Gene Kirkwood, Gerard Murphy, Clem Caserta, Anthony Canarozzi, David W. Butler, Byron Utley, Margo Winkler, Maurice Shrog, Regis Philbin, Joy Philbin, Richard Price, Franklin Dennis Jones, Thomas Mikal Ford, Peter Bucossi, Bert Randolph Sugar, Nathaniel E. Johnson, Brenda Denmark, Barry Squitieri, Lisa Vidal, Carol Woods, Joseph D'Onofrio, Michael Badalucco, Deborah Watkins, Nandan Sage, Harsh Nayyar, Ben Lin, John Polce, Rosalind Malloff, Kennan Scott, Henry Milligan, Victor Machado, Chuck Low, Lou Polo, Louis Cantarini, John Quinn, Philip Carlo, Cameron Lane, Sharrieff Pugh, Mitchell Tex Low, Mick Cunningham, Dave Reilly, Leslie Bart, Ann Devaney, Lorenzo Palminteri, Catherine Russell, Ed Bannister, David Boston, Angel Brown, Alfred Cole, Ronnie Cuber, Dan Gifford, Gary Gold, Jennifer C. Johnson, Diane Kimbrell, Leslie Lawrence, John Maczko, Felicia Peluso, Michael Rispoli, Beverley Sutherland, Michael Tenaglia, Paul Zimmerman.

Recommended reading:

Night And The City

by Gerald Kersh.

Published by London Books.

First published 1938.

ISBN-10: 0995721734

ISBN-13: 9780995721739

Description:

Harry Fabian is a cockney wide boy trying to make it big in the Soho underworld of the 1930s. He is a Flash Harry in an expensive suit, a chancer operating in a cosmopolitan corner of the city where villains, spivs, prostitutes and strong-arm men thrive. But his ambition and reckless nature are pushing him towards more and more extreme acts - and a day of reckoning. Night And The City is a classic work of social-realist fiction that captures the vibrant yet seedy underbelly of London between the world wars. Its author Gerald Kersh was high-profile, prolific and hugely popular at his peak, but would later drift into hardship and obscurity. His writing is now being rediscovered. A maverick character in his own right, Kersh's life was as colourful as those of his most flamboyant creations. As well as a highly respected novel, Night And The City was twice filmed - in 1950 and 1992 - and it is the first of these adaptations that is today regarded as one of the best of the British film-noir genre. Directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark and Googie Withers, it was shot in a post-war landscape heavy with menace and charm - just like the book on which it was based.

On this day in movie history - Sea of Love (1989)

Sea of Love

directed by Harold Becker, and written by Richard Price,

was released in the United States on September 15, 1989.

Music by Trevor Jones.

Cast:

Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker, William Hickey, Richard Jenkins, John Spencer, Michael O'Neill, Paul Calderón, Gene Canfield, Larry Joshua, Christine Estabrook, Barbara Baxley, Patricia Barry, Luis Antonio Ramos, Rafael Báez, Damien Leake, Jacqueline Brookes, Nancy Beatty, Hugh Thompson, Christopher Maleki, Lorraine Bracco, Samuel L. Jackson.