On this day in movie and book history - Night and the City (1950)

Night and the City

directed by Jules Dassin,

written by Austin Dempster, William E. Watts and Jo Eisinger,

based on the novel by Gerald Kersh,

was released in the United States on June 9, 1950.

Music by Benjamin Frankel and Franz Waxman.

Cast:

Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Hugh Marlowe, Francis L. Sullivan, Herbert Lom, Aubrey Dexter, Maureen Delany, Stanislaus Zbyszko, Mike Mazurki, Ada Reeve, Charles Farrell, Ken Richmond, Edward Chapman, James Hayter, Gibb McLaughlin, Dirk Bogarde.

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.

Born on this day – Richard Widmark:

Richard Widmark

Actor

Producer

December 26, 1914 – March 24, 2008

On this day in movie history - Kiss of Death (1947)

Kiss of Death

directed by Henry Hathaway,

written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer,

based on a story by Eleazar Lipsky,

was released in the United States on August 13, 1947.

Music by David Buttolph.

Cast:

Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Howard Smith, Karl Malden, Robert Adler, Rollin Bauer, Harry Bellaver, Dennis Bohan, Nina Borget, Susan Cabot, Alexander Campbell, Harry Carter, Dort Clark, Eva Condon, Harry Cooke, Harold Crane, Frank DeKova, James Doody, Mildred Dunnock, Arthur Foran Jr., David Fresco, Harold Gary, Don Giovanni, Marilee Grassini, James Charles Heard, Eda Heinemann, Lou Herbert, Herbert Holcombe, Arthur Holland, Harry Kadison, Robert Karnes, Ronald King, Arthur Kramer, John Kullers, Harry Landers, Perc Launders, Franklyn Lenthall, Paul Lilly, Pat Malone, Iris Mann, John Marley, Gregg Martell, Charles McClelland, Norman McKay, Richard Midgley, Carl Milletaire, Millard Mitchell, Mary Morrison, Consuela O’Connor, Gloria O’Connor, William O’Leary, Wendell K. Phillips, Yvonne Rob, Stephen Roberts, Anthony Ross, Mel Ruick, Jack Rutherford, Lee Sanford, Bernard Sell, George Shelton, Irene Shirley, J. Scott Smart, A. George Smith, John Stearns, Richard Taber, Victor Thorley, Lawrence Tiernan, Tito Vuolo, Milton Wallace, Jesse White, Bill Zuckert.