Columbia Pictures
We’re still in the middle of January, and while there were several films released this month throughout the last 100 years, not many of them are memorable … or are memorable for all the wrong reasons. There are two groundbreaking German films on the list this week, a cult classic from David Cronenberg, and a big budget film based on a classic radio and TV series that failed to generate enough interest to get a sequel made. Let’s take a look at the films released this week through the years and see if you remember any of them.
1921
- No new films were released this week in 1921.
1931
January 17 – Other Men’s Women
- Cast: Grant Withers, Mary Astor, Regis Toomey, James Cagney, Fred Kohler, J. Farrell MacDonald, Joan Blondell, Lillian Worth, Walter Long
- Director: William A. Wellman
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film was previewed and reviewed in 1930 under the title The Steel Highway. A copy of the film is preserved in the Library of Congress. This was Cagney’s third film. A remake of the film under the original title was announced in 1937 but appears to have never been produced.
1941
January 16 – The Face Behind the Mask
- Cast: Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe, George E. Stone, John Tyrrell, Cy Schindell, Stanley Brown, James Seay, Charles C. Wilson, Warren Ashe, George McKay
- Director: Robert Florey
- Studio: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted from the radio play Interim, written by Thomas Edward O’Connell. Florey had made contributions to Universal’s Frankenstein before James Whale was hired to direct, and went on to direct Murders in the Rue Morgue. The script was written specifically for Peter Lorre.
1951
January 17 – Storm Warning
- Cast: Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day, Steve Cochran, Lloyd Gough, Hugh Sanders, Dale Van Sickel
- Director: Stuart Heisler
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Lauren Bacall was originally cast in the role eventually played by Rogers. Bacall had turned down the role and was placed on suspension by Warner Bros.
January 18 – The Sinner
- Cast: Hildegard Knef, Gustav Fröhlich, Änne Bruck, Wera Frydtberg, Robert Meyn, Jochen-Wolfgang Meyn, Andreas Wolf
- Director: Willi Forst
- Studio: Junge Film-Union Rolf Meyer, distrbuted by Herzog-Filmverleih
- Trivia: One of the first German films to break the taboos of nudity, suicide and euthanasia. With politicians and the Roman Catholic Church protesting the film, it was banned which actually made it a landmark of the German film industry. Perhaps because of the scandal, it became a breakthrough role for Knef.
January 19 – The 13th Letter
- Cast: Linda Darnell, Charles Boyer, Michael Rennie, Constance Smith, Françoise Rosay, Judith Evelyn, Guy Sorel, June Hedin
- Director: Otto Preminger
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film is a remake of the French film Le Corbeau (The Raven, 1943) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.
January 19 – Grounds for Marriage
- Cast: Van Johnson, Kathryn Grayson, Paula Raymond, Barry Sullivan, Reginald Owen, Lewis Stone, Richard Hageman, Richard Anderson, Firehouse Five Plus Two
- Director: Robert Z. Leonard
- Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: June Allyson and Robert Walker were meant to be the original leads. When Walker was replaced with Johnson, Grayson was cast opposite him in her first non-singing role. It was their first film together. While the film lost money for MGM, Johnson and Grayson reprised their roles for a 1952 Lux Radio Theater broadcast.
1961
- No new films were released this week in 1961.
1971
January 13 – Murphy’s War
- Cast: Peter O’Toole, Siân Phillips, Philippe Noiret, Horst Janson, John Hallam, Ingo Mogendorf, Harry Fielder, George Roubicek
- Director: Peter Yates
- Studio: Hemdale, Michael Deeley-Peter Yates Films, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1969 novel by Max Catto. Yates wanted to make the film in 1969 with Frank Sinatra, but Sinatra dropped out, delaying production. Yates is said to have turned down The Godfather to make this film. O’Toole and Phillips were married at the time of filming. The pair had appeared in two previous films together, Becket and Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Producer Michael Deeley said the shoot was the toughest of his career and led to the breakup of his professional partnership with Yates. After Lawrence of Arabia, O’Toole decided to never do his own stunts again, but he did talk himself into doing swimming and flying stunts for the film.
1981
January 14 – Lili Marleen
- Cast: Hanna Schygulla, Giancarlo Giannini, Mel Ferrer, Karl-Heinz von Hassel, Erik Schumann, Hark Bohm, Gottfried John, Karin Baal, Christine Kaufmann, Udo Kier, Roger Fritz, Rainer Will, Raúl Gimenez, Adrian Hoven, Willy Harlander
- Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Studio: Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), CIP Filmproduktion GmbH, Rialto Film, Roxy Films, distributed by United Artists Classics (US)
- Trivia: The film was based on the autobiographical novel Der Himmel hat viele Farben (The Heavens Have Many Colors) by Lale Andersen, but her last husband said the film bore little relation to her real life. This was the only one of Fassbinder’s 23 films to be submitted by Germany for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, but it was not nominated. It was also one of the few he shot in English for American distribution, and was later dubbed in German.
AVCO Embassy Pictures
January 14 – Scanners
- Cast: Stephen Lack, Jennifer O’Neill, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside, Robert Silverman, Mavor Moore, Anthony Sherwood, Fred Doederlein, Victor Désy, Louis Del Grande, Alex Stevens
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Studio: AVCO Embassy Pictures (USA & Canada), Manson International (International)
- Trivia: Despite lukewarm reviews, the film was one of the first Canadian films to be successful at the international box office. It has since become a cult classic. The film was based on two scripts by Cronenberg, The Sensitives and Telepathy 2000, which he planned to pitch to Roger Corman before starting work on The Brood. Most Canadian films of the era were 100% funded through the Capital Cost Allowance tax shield and the film was rushed into production without a finished script or sets to claim the subsidies. The film was shot on location mainly in Quebec and Toronto, but mostly kept the setting to a generic North American city as the film was being marketed to international audiences. For the film’s famous exploding head scene, after many attempts at explosive devices failed to give the desired effect, FX supervisor Gary Zeller told the crew to run the cameras and get inside the trucks with the doors and windows closed. He then laid on the floor behind the dummy and shot it in the back of the head with a shotgun. The film spawned several sequels, and a remake was announced in 2007 with Saw II, III and IV director Darren Lynn Bousman attached. The project fell through after Bousman stated he’d not do the project without Cronenberg’s blessing which was not granted. A TV series was announced in 2011 and 2017 but neither project materialized.
January 16 – Fear No Evil
- Cast: Stefan Arngrim, Elizabeth Hoffman, Kathleen Rowe McAllen, Frank Birney, Daniel Eden, John Holland, Barry Cooper, Alice Sachs, Paul Haber, Roslyn Gugino, Richard Jay Silverthorn, Mari Anne Simpson, Joyce Bumpus, Patricia Decillis, Chris DeVincentis
- Director: Frank LaLoggia
- Studio: LaLoggia Productions, distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures
- Trivia: The film was shot mainly in Rochester, NY under the working title Mark of the Beast. Snowfall delayed the filming of the climactic sequence. It took four months of post-production special effects to complete the sequence. The film had a preview screening in Long Beach, CA on November 25, 1980, followed by a screening in Rochester for cast, crew and local residents in December 1980.
1991
January 18 – Eve of Destruction
- Cast: Gregory Hines, Renée Soutendijk, Kurt Fuller, Michael Greene, John M. Jackson
- Director: Duncan Gibbins
- Studio: Nelson Entertainment, Interscope Communications, distributed by Orion Pictures
- Trivia: This was Soutendijk’s first American film. Kevin McCarthy has an uncredited role in the film. After the US opening, the film subsequently opened in France on August 7, 1991 and the Netherlands on December 6, 1991.
January 18 – Flight of the Intruder
- Cast: Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson, Rosanna Arquette, Tom Sizemore, J. Kenneth Campbell, Jared Chandler, Dann Florek, Madison Mason, Ving Rhames, Christopher Rich, Douglas Roberts, John Corbett, Scott N. Stevens, Justin Williams
- Director: John Milius
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the novel by by Stephen Coonts. This was Milius’ last film as as director to date. Fred Thompson appears in an uncredited role as a JAGC Captain, and David Schwimmer has a bit part as a Squadron Duty Officer. John McTiernan was originally set to direct, but he dropped out and served as executive producer. Richard Gere was originally cast but dropped out and was replaced by Dafoe. The film was made with the complete cooperation of the US Navy. Ed O’Neill took on a small, uncredited role as a favor to his friend Milius, but test audiences laughed when he appeared, associating him with his Al Bundy character on Married… with Children. The role was recast and the scenes were reshot. Milius said making the film was one of the worst experiences of his career due to the studio’s interference.
January 18 – Once Around
- Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Danny Aiello, Laura San Giacomo, Gena Rowlands, Roxanne Hart, Danton Stone, Tim Guinee, Greg Germann, Griffin Dunne, Cullen O. Johnson, Glenn Russell Turk
- Director: Lasse Hallström
- Studio: Cinecom Entertainment Group, Double Play Productions, Dreyfuss/James Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
January 18 – White Fang
- Cast: Ethan Hawke, Jed the Wolfdog, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Seymour Cassel Susan Hogan, James Remar, Pius Savage, Bill Moseley, Bart the Bear
- Director: Randal Kleiser
- Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
- Trivia: Based on Jack London’s 1906 novel. A sequel to the film, White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf, was released in 1994.
2001
January 17 – The Closet (Le placard)
- Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte, Michel Aumont, Michèle Laroque, Jean Rochefort, Laurent Gamelon, Alexandra Vandernoot, Michèle Garcia, Edgar Givry, Armelle Deutsch, Vincent Moscato, Thierry Ashanti, Stanislas Crevillén
- Director: Francis Veber
- Studio: Miramax Films
- Trivia: The film was screened at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Newport International Film Festival, and the Seattle International Film Festival before going into limited release in the US. Daniel Auteuil was named Best Actor at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
January 19 – The Amati Girls
- Cast: Cloris Leachman, Mercedes Ruehl, Dinah Manoff, Sean Young, Lee Grant, Sam McMurray, Matt Winston, Sal Viscuso, Anna Berger, John Capodice, Robert Picardo, Carol Ann Susi, Jay Acovone, Mark Harmon, Jamey Sheridan, Paul Sorvino
- Director: Anne De Salvo
- Studio: Fox Family Channel, Heritage Group, distributed by Providence Entertainment
January 19 – Dogtown and Z-Boys
- Cast: Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, Jeff Ament, Steve Caballero, Skip Engblom, Craig Stecyk, Tony Hawk, Henry Rollins, Tom Sims, Peggy Oki, Jeff Ho
- Director: Stacy Peralta
- Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
- Trivia: The film’s $400,000 budget was provided by Vans, Inc. The film won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival: the Audience Award and Directing Award. The film also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary in 2001.
January 19 – The Pledge
- Cast: Jack Nicholson, Patricia Clarkson, Benicio del Toro, Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren, Tom Noonan, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Mickey Rourke, Sam Shepard, Harry Dean Stanton, Dale Dickey, Costas Mandylor, Michael O’Keefe, Lois Smith, Brittany Tiplady, Eileen Ryan
- Director: Sean Penn
- Studio: Clyde Is Hungry Films, Epsilon Motion Pictures, Franchise Pictures, Morgan Creek Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1958 novella The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, which was written to refine the screenplay Dürrenmatt wrote for the 1958 German film It Happened in Broad Daylight.
2011
January 14 – The Dilemma
- Cast: Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly, Channing Tatum, Queen Latifah, Chelcie Ross, Amy Morton, Clint Howard, Talulah Riley
- Director: Ron Howard
- Studio: Imagine Entertainment, Spyglass Entertainment, Wild West Picture Show Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film was shot on location entirely in Chicago. It was Howard’s first comedy film since directing How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000. The film’s working titles included Cheaters and What You Don’t Know. The film had its world premiere in Chicago on January 6, 2011.
January 14 – The Heart Specialist
- Cast: Wood Harris, Zoe Saldana, Brian J. White, Mýa, Scott Paulin, David S. Lee, Kenneth Choi, Marla Gibbs, Jenifer Lewis, Method Man, Leon, Jasmine Guy, Terrence J, Ed Asner, Thomas ‘Nephew Tommy’ Miles
- Director: Dennis Cooper
- Studio: Freestyle Releasing
- Trivia: The film premiered at the Boston Film Festival under the title Ways of the Flesh in 2006. The film remained unreleased until 2011 when Freestyle gave it a limited theatrical release.
January 14 – The Green Hornet
- Cast: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, David Harbour, Edward James Olmos, Jamie Harris, Chad Coleman, Edward Furlong, Analeigh Tipton, Jill Remez, Reuben Langdon, Jerry Trimble
- Director: Michel Gondry
- Studio: Columbia Pictures, Original Film, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: The film premiered in Los Angeles on January 10, 2011. Based on the character of the same name by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker that originated in a 1930s radio program. With a finished screenplay in 1993, George Clooney was originally set to star but dropped out to do Batman and Robin in 1995. Greg Kinnear was said to be next in line for the lead role. Jason Scott Lee had signed to play Kato. Gondry was hired to direct in 1997 and rewrote the screenplay. After 18 months, the project was shelved after Mark Wahlberg had been offered the lead role in early 1997. Gondry eventually left the project. Universal entered into talks with Jet Li to play Kato in April 2000. Christopher McQuarrie was hired to write a new screenplay, but it was unfinished by October 2000 and Li went on to make The One while still attached to the project. After $10 million was invested in developing the film, Universal once again shelved the project in November 2001, by which time Li was no longer involved. Paramount and Columbia Pictures were interested in the project but Miramax won the bidding war for a planned 2005 release. Miramax worked with car companies for product placement opportunities that would also provide Miramax the ‘hero car’ for the film and $35 million in additional marketing. Kevin Smith was hired to direct and write a new screenplay in February 2004. Smith approached Jake Gyllenhaal for the lead role but by February 2006, Smith was no longer involved with the project (he did, however, write the Green Hornet comic from Dynamite Entertainment which has had a run of 11 issues). In March 2007, the film rights were acquired by Original Film for Columbia Pictures. Seth Rogen was hired to star and write the script in July 2007 with partner Evan Goldberg. Sony announced a June 25, 2010 release date, and Stephen Chow was signed to direct and co-star as Kato. Chow dropped out in December over creative differences, but remained on as Kato. Coming full circle, Gondry was hired to direct on February 25, 2009. Chow then dropped out completely due to scheduling conflicts, and the release date was pushed to July 9, 2010. Jay Chou was cast as Kato in August 2009. Nicolas Cage was in talks to play the villain and Cameron Diaz was negotiating to play the love interest. Principal production finally began on September 2, 2009. Cage was not satisfied with the direction Rogen and Goldberg were taking the Benjamin Chudnofsky character and declined the role. TV’s original Green Hornet Van Williams was approached for a cameo role but he turned it down. The film was shot entirely in the Los Angeles area. 29 Imperial Crown sedans were used as the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty. 26 were wrecked during production while three remained in pristine condition. The film’s July 9, 2010 release date was pushed to December 22, then to January 14, 2011 to allow time for 3D post-conversion. The film earned nearly $228 million against a budget said to be as high as $120 million. If the film had been shot in another city that offered tax incentives and had not been converted to 3D, the budget would have been much lower and the film would have been considered a box office success. Because of the cost to returns ratio, there were no plans for a sequel. Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to the character in 2016 with plans for a reboot, but Amasia Entertainment won the film rights to the character in January 2020 and is partnering with Universal Pictures to produce The Green Hornet and Kato.
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