Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #35 :: March 24•30

Warner Bros. Pictures

There were a lot of films released this week over the last 90 years (none were released in 1921), but few of them were very memorable. There were a lot of big screen debuts this week including Bette Davis, Lon Chaney Jr., Keir Dullea, Kathy Bates, Georgia Engel, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dennis Farina, William Petersen, James Belushi, Robert Prosky, Frank Whaley, Eddie Griffin, and Danny Trejo as ‘Machete’. Let’s take a look at the list and see if any of your favorites are on the list!

1921

• No films were released this week in 1921.

1931

March 29 – Bad Sister

• Cast: Conrad Nagel, Sidney Fox, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Winninger, Emma Dunn, ZaSu Pitts, Slim Summerville, Bert Roach, David Durand
• Director: Hobart Henley
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1913 novel The Flirt by Booth Tarkington, which had been filmed in 1916 and 1922. Bette Davis’ first feature film. Davis was required to change a baby in one scene and was not told the baby was a boy. When she undid the diaper, she was so embarrassed her face reddened enough to appear dark grey on the black and white film. Davis was so distraught by her performance, she and her mother left the premiere before the credits rolled, crying all the way home thinking her career was over. It was the first of seven films in which Davis and Bogart appeared together. This was also Sidney Fox’s first film. The film’s original title was What a Flirt, then changed to Gambling Daughters, and then Bad Sister right before its release. The film has been preserved in the Library of Congress.

1941

March 28 – Man-Made Monster

• Cast: Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney, Jr., Anne Nagel, Frank Albertson, Samuel S. Hinds, William B. Davidson, Ben Taggart, Constance Bergen, Ivan Miller, Chester Gan, George Meader, Frank O’Connor, John Dilson, Russell Hicks
• Director: George Waggner
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: This was Lon Chaney Jr’s horror film debut and helped him secure a contract with Universal and his role in The Wolf Man, also release in 1941. The film has been re-released under several different titles including Electric Man, The Mysterious Dr. R and The Atomic Monster. Byron Foulger appeared as an Alienist but the scene was deleted just prior to the film’s release although he still receives screen credit. In 1936, Boris Karloff was selected for the role played by Chaney, with Bela Lugosi as his co-star. The film was scrapped because it was too close in plot to the Karloff/Lugosi film The Invisible Ray. At a budget of $86,000, it was one of the cheapest films Universal made in 1940. A rubber suit worn by Chaney weighed 70 pounds. The bus crash scene at the beginning of the movie was re-used in the serial Mystery of the River Boat.

1951

March 25 – Rawhide

• Cast: Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Edgar Buchanan, Hugh Marlowe, Jack Elam, George Tobias, Dean Jagger, Jeff Corey, James Millican, Louis Jean Heydt, Judy Ann Dunn
• Director: Henry Hathaway
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film is a remake of Fox’s Show Them No Mercy. Everett Sloane was originally cast as Tevis, but Susan Hayward complained about his roughness in a scene in which he threw her to the floor and he was replaced by Jack Elam. Tyrone Power took a liking to Elam and convinced Fox boss Darryl F. Zanuck to give him a contract. This was Hayward’s first film for Fox. When the film was shown on television in the 1960s it was retitled Desperate Siege to avoid confusion with the TV series Rawhide which starred Clint Eastwood. In the final gun battle, Power squeezes off 11 shots from his six-shooter without reloading. The film is the inspiration for Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.

March 30 – Cause for Alarm!

• Cast: Loretta Young, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Cowling, Margalo Gillmore, Bradley Mora, Irving Bacon, Georgia Backus, Don Haggerty, Art Baker, Richard Anderson
• Director: Tay Garnett
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film had its premiere in Washington D.C. on February 2. The film was shot in 14 days. The film’s producer considered Judy Garland for the lead before giving the role to his wife, Loretta Young, after retaining a lawyer to tell her husband that he was discriminating against her because she was his wife.

1961

March 24 – Town Without Pity

• Cast: Kirk Douglas, Barbara Rütting, Christine Kaufmann, E. G. Marshall, Hans Nielsen, Ingrid van Bergen, Robert Blake, Richard Jaeckel, Frank Sutton, Mal Sondock, Karin Hardt, Gerhart Lippert, Alan Gifford, Max Haufler, Rose Renée Roth, Eleonore von Hoogstraten, Egon von Jordan, Philo Hauser
• Director: Gottfried Reinhardt
• Studio: Mirisch Company, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The film opened in West Germany on March 24 but did not get a US release until October 10. Based on the 1960 novel Das Urteil (The Verdict) by German writer Gregor Dorfmeister, who wrote under the pen name Manfred Gregor. At Douglas’ suggestion, the film was rewritten, without credit, by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo. The song ‘Town Without Pity’, performed by Gene Pitney, was nominated for an Academy Award. Christine Kaufmann’s American film debut.

March 26 – Dondi

• Cast: David Janssen, Patti Page, Walter Winchell, Mickey Shaughnessy, Robert Strauss, Arnold Stang, Louis Quinn, Gale Gordon, Dick Patterson, Susan Kelly, John Melfi, Bonnie Scott, William Wellman Jr., Nola Thorp, Joan Staley, David Kory
• Director: Albert Zugsmith
• Studio: Albert Zugsmith Productions, Photoplay Associates, distributed by Allied Artists Pictures
• Trivia: A sequel and TV series were planned but never materialized due to the poor performance of the film at the box office. The entire film score was played on one harmonica. Mario Lanza’s son Damon was considered for the role of Dondi, but Lanza’s agent asked for too much money. The role went to David Kory, who was found playing on the street. Dondi comic strip creators Irwin Hasen and Gus Edson had cameo roles as police officers. This was Joan Staley’s first credited role. The film was included in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way).

March 26 – The Hoodlum Priest

• Cast: Don Murray, Larry Gates, Cindi Wood, Keir Dullea, Logan Ramsey, Vince O’Brien
• Director: Irvin Kershner
• Studio: United Artists
• Trivia: Based on the life of Father Charles ‘Dismas’ Clark of St. Louis. Don Murray co-produced and co-wrote under the pseudonym Don Deer, his nickname as a track and field athlete in high school. The film debut of Keir Dullea.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

March 29 – Gorgo

• Cast: Bill Travers, William Sylvester, Vincent Winter, Christopher Rhodes, Joseph O’Conor, Bruce Seton, Martin Benson, Basil Dignam, Barry Keegan, Dervis Ward, Mick Dillon
• Director: Eugène Lourié
• Studio: King Brothers Productions, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (US), British Lion-Columbia Ltd (UK)
• Trivia: The film first opened in Japan on January 10 ahead of its US release on March 29. Though a British-made film (a UK-US-Ireland co-production), it did not premiere in the UK until October 27 in London before its general release on November 27. The film was intended to be set in Japan as an homage to Godzilla, then changed to France before settling on the British Isles. Southern Australia was also considered but producers decided audiences ‘wouldn’t care’ is a monster attacked Australia, plus the lack of recognizable landmarks to be destroyed was also cited. Mick Dillon was the man inside the Gorgo and Ogra suits. With the younger Gorgo being smaller, sets were built larger to give the proper scale. Every member of the credited cast is male, with females only visible in crowd scenes. A novelization of the film was published in conjunction with the release of the film. Charlton Comics also published a 23-issue comic from 1961-1965, with work from Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko. The comic was renamed Fantastic Giants with its 24th issue, which ended up being its last. Scenes of Gorgo being driven through the streets of London were filmed on a Sunday while hardly anyone was on the street. Director Lourié was forced by producers to add military action to the film. He later acquired a 35mm print for private use and cut out all of the military stock footage. The film’s plot elements were ‘borrowed’ by the writers of Jaws 3D.

March 30 – One-Eyed Jacks

• Cast: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Ben Johnson, Katy Jurado, Pina Pellicer, Slim Pickens, Larry Duran, Sam Gilman, Timothy Carey, Míriam Colón, Elisha Cook Jr., Rodolfo Acosta, Tom Webb, Ray Teal, John Dierkes, Philip Ahn, Margarita Cordova, Hank Worden
• Director: Marlon Brando
• Studio: Pennebaker Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The only film directed by Brando, it was intended to be directed by Stanley Kubrick from a screenplay by Sam Peckinpah, but a dispute with the studio led to their replacement. Kubrick wanted Spencer Tracy for the role of Sheriff Longworth, but Brando’s production company already had Karl Malden on salary and refused to replace him. This may have led to Kubrick’s departure from the film. Rod Serling wrote an adaptation of the 1956 novel The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones for producer Frank P. Rosenberg, but was rejected. When Karl Malden was asked who really wrote the film, he replied, ‘There is one answer to your question — Marlon Brando, a genius in our time.’ Brando’s original cut of the film ran five hours. When the studio cut it to 141 minutes, most of the excess footage was destroyed. Filming began on December 2, 1958 but was not completed until the Fall of 1960. This was Paramount’s last film released in VistaVision. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2018. A 4K restoration of the film supervised by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and The Film Foundation was screened at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, then released on Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection. The film’s title was referenced in Twin Peaks as the name of a brothel. Brando’s saddle was reused in the film The Magnificent Seven by Eli Wallach — which was shot after One-Eyed Jacks but released before. Five days into shooting, the film was already two weeks behind schedule.

1971

March 24 – Brother John

• Cast: Sidney Poitier, Will Geer, Bradford Dillman, Beverly Todd, Ramon Bieri, Warren J. Kemmerling, Lincoln Kilpatrick, P. Jay Sidney, Richard Ward, Paul Winfield, Zara Cully, Michael Bell, Howard Rice, Darlene Rice, Harry Davis, Lynn Hamilton
• Director: James Goldstone
• Studio: E&R, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: Columbia Pictures was denied the use of the name Kane for this picture by a 3-man industry panel on April 24, 1970. RKO claimed the moniker would be detrimental to the movie Citizen Kane (1941) which was still in re-issue.

March 28 – Taking Off

• Cast: Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry, Georgia Engel, Tony Harvey, Audra Lindley, Paul Benedict, Vincent Schiavelli, David Gittler, Ike Turner, Tina Turner, Linnea Heacock, Rae Allen, Frank Berle, Philip Bruns, Gail Busman, Carly Simon, Kathy Bates, Shellen Lubin, Shelley Ackerman, Lois Dengrove, Bonnie Marcus, Jessica Harper
• Director: Miloš Forman
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered at MoMA on February 24. This was Miloš Forman’s first US film. The film won the Grand Prix at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. The story was inspired by The Beatles’ ‘She’s Leaving Home’. Kathy Bates’ film debut, credited as Bobo Bates. Also the film debuts of Vincent Schiavelli and Georgie Engel.

1981

March 27 – Eyes of a Stranger

• Cast: Lauren Tewes, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John DiSanti, Peter DuPre, Gwen Lewis, Kitty Lunn, Timothy Hawkins, Ted Richert, Toni Crabtree, Robert Small, Stella Rivera, Dan Fitzgerald, Jose Bahamonde, Luke Halpin, Ru Flynn
• Director: Ken Wiederhorn
• Studio: Georgetown Productions Inc., distributed by Warner Bros.
• Trivia: The film first opened in Japan on February 11. This was the film debut of Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was flown in as a last minute replacement for another actress. Many of makeup artist Tom Savini’s effects were cut for the film to receive an R-rating. An uncut version was released on DVD. The film was envisioned as a traditional thriller but mid-way through production it was decided to embrace the then current ‘slasher’ genre and add more gore and violence. The head in the aquarium is not a prop, it is the actor sticking his head through the bottom of the aquarium, agreeing to do the shot because he was able to hold his breath. The cleaver to the neck shot was run in reverse. The prop cleaver was actually pulled away from the actor’s neck during filming.

March 27 – Thief

• Cast: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi, Robert Prosky, Tom Signorelli, Dennis Farina, Nick Nickeas, W.R. Bill Brown, Norm Tobin, William Petersen, John Santucci, Gavin MacFadyen, Chuck Adamson, Sam Cirone, Spero Anast, Hal Frank, Patti Ross
• Director: Michael Mann
• Studio: United Artists
• Trivia: Michael Mann’s feature film debut. Based on the 1975 novel The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar by ‘Frank Hohimer’ (the pen name of real-life jewel thief John Seybold). Mann hired real-life thieves a technical advisers on the film, lending to the film’s attention to detail. This was the first film appearance for Dennis Farina, William Petersen, James Belushi and Robert Prosky. The film’s original title was Violent Streets, and debuted at the 34th Cannes Film Festival. A false front was built onto a real house that was to be destroyed with explosives, but the actual house was damaged so severely that it had to be demolished. Jeff Bridges was Mann’s original choice to play Frank but was rejected because he was too young and inexperienced to play a hardened criminal. Al Pacion was also considered but had to turn down the role due to scheduling conflicts. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider were also considered. John Belushi was in Chicago filming The Blues Brothers at the same time and visited brother Jim on set frequently. James Caan prepared for the role of Frank by hanging out with real thieves in Chicago.

1991

March 29 – Career Opportunities

• Cast: Frank Whaley, Jennifer Connelly, Dermot Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, John M. Jackson, Jenny O’Hara, Noble Willingham, Barry Corbin, Wilbur Fitzgerald, William Forsythe
• Director: Bryan Gordon
• Studio: Hughes Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Frank Whaley’s first lead role. The film was shot at a Target store outside of Atlanta, although the film takes place in Illinois. The film was a box office failure, and producer John Hughes distanced himself from it, calling it cheap and vulgar, and wanting his name removed but Universal refused because of the success of Home Alone. Jennifer Connelly expressed her disdain for the film’s marketing which used a gratuitous shot of her riding a horse in the film’s trailer. The film was released direct-to-video in the UK as One Wild Night. John Candy has an uncredited cameo in the film.

March 29 – The Five Heartbeats

• Cast: Robert Townsend, Leon Robinson, Michael Wright, Tico Wells, Harry J. Lennix, Hawthorne James, Chuck Patterson, Diahann Carroll, John Canada Terrell, Roy Fegan, Harold Nicholas, Troy Beyer, Theresa Randle, Lamont Johnson, Carla Brothers, Tressa Thomas
• Director: Robert Townsend
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Co-written with Keenen Ivory Wayans, the film was originally set up at Warner Bros. in 1988 but the studio passed on the project, and Wayans moved on to develop his FOX sketch comedy show In Living Color. Robert Townsend revived the project in 1990 at 20th Century Fox. Denzel Washington was considered for the role of Eddie Kane Jr. but was not cast due to budget concerns. Whitney Houston was considered for the role of Baby Doll but turned it down because she felt the role was too small. Diahann Carroll turned down a role in Boyz n the Hood for this movie. This was Eddie Griffin’s first film.

2001

March 30 – Someone Like You

• Cast: Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman, Marisa Tomei, Ellen Barkin, Catherine Dent, Peter Friedman, Laura Regan
• Director: Tony Goldwyn
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film’s New York City premiere was held on March 28. Released as Animal Attraction in the UK. Based on Laura Zigman’s 1998 novel Animal Husbandry. This was the first time all three Judds participated in a project together, with mom Naomi playing a makeup artist and sister Wynonna performing the first end credits song. The film features a prominent shot of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. The DVD was released one week after the 9/11 attacks making it the first DVD release to instantly be outdated by the tragedy. The voice over on the nature show Jane watches was performed by the film’s director Tony Goldwyn. Goldwyn objected to the film’s title change from the book but gave in after some persuasion from the marketing department. Eddie Alden’s phone number is the same number used in Memento, Fight Club, Harriet the Spy and an episode of Millennium. This was Jackman’s third Hollywood film and his first romantic comedy. Jennifer Aniston was originally announced as the lead for the film in 1998.

March 30 – The Tailor of Panama

• Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis, Leonor Varela, Brendan Gleeson, Harold Pinter, Catherine McCormack, Daniel Radcliffe, Martin Ferrero, Lola Boorman, David Hayman, Mark Margolis, John Fortune, Jon Polito, Dylan Baker, Jonathan Hyde, Lisa Dwan
• Director: John Boorman
• Studio: Merlin Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 11. Based on John le Carré’s 1996 novel. Le Carré co-wrote the screenplay. The novel and film are inspired by Graham Greene’s 1958 novel Our Man in Havana. While the novel is set in the 1990s, the film is set in the present day. This was Daniel Radcliffe’s feature film debut.

Troublemaker Studios

March 30 – Spy Kids

• Cast: Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming, Teri Hatcher, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Robert Patrick, Tony Shalhoub, Mike Judge, George Clooney, Kara Slack, Evan Sabara, Angela Lanza, Richard Linklater, Johnny Reno, Guillermo Navarro
• Director: Robert Rodriguez
• Studio: Troublemaker Studios, distributed by Dimension Films
• Trivia: The film held its world premiere on March 18. A special extended version of the film was released on August 8, 2001. The special edition was to be released on DVD but it never materialized even though a director’s commentary and interviews had already been recorded for it. The special edition was finally released on Blu-ray in 2011 to coincide with the film’s tenth anniversary and to promote the release of the fourth film in the franchise. Carla Gugino was reluctant to take the role as Ingrid, the mother of an 8 and 12 year old at the age of 29, but Rodriguez revealed that his own mother had children of similar ages by the time she was 30. Angie Harmon had been considered for Ingrid but was unable to accept because of her commitment to Law & Order. Kelly Preston was also considered but had just given birth and was unavailable. Brie Larson auditioned for the role of Carmen Cortez. Elizabeth Olsen also reportedly auditioned for a role. Many exterior shots were filmed in Chile. This was Rodriguez’s first film to be rated PG. This was the first film in which Danny Trejo portrays the character Machete. This is the last movie Rodriguez would shoot on film. The film was Number 1 at the US box office for three weeks straight.

March 30 – Tomcats

• Cast: Jerry O’Connell, Shannon Elizabeth, Jake Busey, Horatio Sanz, Jaime Pressly, Bernie Casey, David Ogden Stiers, Candice Michelle, Heather Stephens, Julia Schultz, Rachel Sterling, Marisa Petroro, David St. James
• Director: Gregory Poirier
• Studio: Revolution Studios, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: The first film released by Revolution Studios, pitched to the studio with a producer, script, two stars and a shooting plan already in place. Shannon Elizabeth’s husband at the time, Joseph D. Reitman, has a cameo as a man trying to pick up her character at the end of the film. Bill Maher has an uncredited cameo. This was Dakota Fanning’s first movie appearance and Bernie Casey’s last. Several featured extras were cast by the filmmakers working closely with Mediatrip.com.

2011

March 21 – Sucker Punch

• Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn, Gerard Plunkett, Patrick Sabongui, Malcolm Scott
• Director: Zack Snyder
• Studio: Legendary Pictures, Cruel and Unusual Films, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film first opened in Buenos Aires on March 21, then expanded to several international markets on March 24, including Coatia, Hungary and the Netherlands, before its North American release on March 25. This was Zack Snyder’s first film based on an original concept. Snyder had put the film aside in 2007 to work on Watchmen, and Warner Bros. agreed to distribute the film after Watchmen‘s success. Snyder cut many crucial scenes to garner the film’s PG-13 rating but stated the home video release would be closer to his original vision. Snyder wanted to have an ‘all-female’ cast for the film after working with an ‘all-male’ cast on 300. Amanda Seyfried was originally cast for the lead role of Babydoll but had to turn it down due to her commitment to HBO’s Big Love. Brie Larson auditioned for a role in the film. Evan Rachel Wood had been cast but had to drop out due to her commitment to HBO’s True Blood and the stage production of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. She was replaced by Jena Malone. Emma Stone had been offered a role but had to turn it down due to a schedule conflict with her film Easy A. Freida Pinto was considered for the role of Amber before it went to Jamie Chung. The cast went through twelve weeks of training and fight evaluations before filming began. The leads were trained to deadlift up to 250 pounds. Warner Bros. announced the film would be released in 3D, but that decision was later reversed. Scott Glenn’s role was written specifically for him. Angelina Joile was considered for the role of Dr. Vera Gorski. The boy on the bus steps who looks back at Sweet Pea is the young Rorschach (including the same outfit) from Zack Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation. The film has a body count of 421.