On this day in movie history - The Barton Mystery (1949)

The Barton Mystery

a.k.a. Le mystère Barton,

directed and written by Charles Spaak,

based on the play The Barton Mystery by Walter C. Hackett,

was released in France on August 19, 1949.

Music by Daniel Lesur.

Cast:

Françoise Rosay, Fernand Ledoux, Madeleine Robinson, Georges Lannes, Nathalie Nattier, Loleh Bellon, Jacques Torrens, Maurice Teynac, Jean Marchat, Victor Vina, Régine Dancourt, Jacques Mattler, Robert Moor, Geneviève Morel.

On this day in movie history - Electra Glide in Blue (1973)

Electra Glide in Blue

directed by James William Guercio,

written by Robert Boris,

based on a story by Robert Boris and Rupert Hitzig,

was released in the United States on August 19, 1973.

Music by James William Guercio.

Cast:

Robert Blake, Billy "Green" Bush, Mitchell Ryan, Jeannine Riley, Elisha Cook, Royal Dano, Hawk Wolinski, Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Lee Loughnane, Walter Parazaider, Joe Samsil, Jason Clark, Michael Butler, Susan Forristal, Nick Nolte.

On this day in movie history - Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez,

written by Frank Miller,

based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller,

was released in the United States on August 19, 2014.

Music by Robert Rodriguez and Carl Thiel.

Cast:

Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Jaime King, Juno Temple, Stacy Keach, Marton Csokas, Jude Ciccolella, Jamie Chung, Julia Garner, Lady Gaga, Alexa PenaVega, Patricia Vonne, Bart Fletcher, Alejandro Rose-Garcia, Samuel Davis, Mike Davis, Kimberly Cox, Alcides Dias, Billy Blair, Mickey Rourke, Rob Franco, Daylon Walton, Eloise DeJoria, Bob Schreck, Lawrence Varnado, Jimmy Gonzales, Tommy Townsend, Robert Lott, Gregory Kelly, Patrick Sane, Greg Ingram, Will Beinbrink, Dimitrius Pulido, John Wirt, Emmy Robbin, Luis Albert Acevedo Jr., Christian Bowman, Johnny Reno, Holt Boggs, Shane Bryant, Scott K. Butler, Gene Cervenka, Mike Lobo Daniel, Maria Engler, Rob Faubion, Heaven Fearn, Osvaldo Fernandez, Rebecca Franchione, Sylvia Froman, Oliver George, Callie Hernandez, Lacey Hernandez, Kea Ho, Breona Horne, Holly Jee, Duane Johnson, Stephen Latham, Chris Lemchi, Lindsey Lemke, Johnny Lozano, David Maldonado, Robin McGee, Frank Miller, Dan Murphy, Jay Pennington, Darryl Perrilloux, Tanner Priest, Robert Rodriguez, Jenna Saab, Alex Sparrow, Gary Teague, Brian Thornton, Heath Young.

Wally Lamb, on writing:

 

I like to be surprised.
The best writing is when it defies me, when it starts going a different way than I had planned.
- Wally Lamb.

Recommended reading - The Barbarous Coast (1956)

 

The Barbarous Coast

by Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Paperback.
 
ISBN-10: 0307279030
ISBN-13: 978-0307279033
 
Description:
 
“Ross Macdonald writes like a son of a bitch.” – Anthony Boucher.
 

“Not since the novels of Nathanael West has the theme of American innocence grinding to a stop at the polluted waters of the Pacific so consistently reverberated through a body of writing.” – Detroit News.

 

The beautiful, high-diving blonde had Hollywood dreams and stars in her eyes but now she seems to have disappeared without a trace. Hired by her hotheaded husband and her rummy “uncle,” Lew Archer sniffs around Malibu and finds the stink of blackmail, blood-money, and murder on every pricey silk shirt. Beset by dirty cops, a bumptious boxer turned silver screen pretty boy, and a Hollywood mogul with a dark past, Archer discovers the secret of a grisly murder that just won't stay hidden.

 

Lew Archer navigates through the watery, violent world of wealth and privilege, in this electrifying story of obsession gone mad.
 
“Macdonald makes a routine story of ocean-side murder among the rich take on a hard-edged, glistening solidity.” – AudioFile.

Born on this day – Laura Wood:

Laura Wood

Actress

August 18, 1901 – May 9, 1982

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1959); General Electric Theater (1958); Gomer Pyle: USMC (1966); Highway Patrol (1956); How I Became a Nudist (1968); Medic (1955); My Three Sons (1968); Official Detective (1957); Six She's and a He (1963); Star Trek (1966–1967); Sweet Bird of Aquarius (1970); The Rebel (1960); This Sporting House (1969).

Born on this day – Shelley Winters:

Shelley Winters

Actress

August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006