August 24, 1969
The French Connection
by Robin Moore
Little, Brown & Co., 1969
Note that National General Pictures had the first option on the book; by the time they released William Friedkin's film of Matt Crowley's play THE BOYS IN THE BAND some six months after this ad appeared, 20th Century Fox had secured the rights to
The French Connection. The movie would go on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Friedkin). Fifteen years later, National General founders Samuel Schulman and Irving H. Levin produced Friedkin's TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., based on the novel
Money Men by Gerald Petievich.