Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #55 :: August 11•17

New Line Cinema

As the Summer movie season begins to wind down, there are fewer blockbusters and other movies of note being released this week, but there are still quite a few that deserve attention. This week gave us the first feature film to star Laurel & Hardy, the film that launched the career of Greer Garson, the eleventh Andy Hardy film, the first pairing of Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, the first major film role for Sharon Stone, a gritty musical, the first lead roles for Ethan Hawke and Teri Polo, an all-star comedy, and two very different 3D films released on the same day. Let’s take a look at the movies that premiered this week and see if your favorites are on the list!

1921

There were no new movies released this week in 1921.

1931

August 15 – Pardon Us

Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Marlowe, Wilfred Lucas, James Finlayson, Walter Long, Tiny Sandford, Charlie Hall
Director: James Parrott
Studio: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: This was Laurel & Hardy’s first starring feature-length film. The film’s working title was The Rap, and was to be a two-reel comedy, but there was enough film to make it a feature. The film received lukewarm reviews, and Stan Laurel withdrew it from distribution to add new scenes and delete unnecessary ones. A musical score by Leroy Shield was also added and the film was released on August 15, 1931, a year after it was first previewed. The preview version ran 70 minutes, while the released version ran 56 minutes. The original preview version has been released on DVD in 2011 as part of Laurel and Hardy: The Essential Collection. A Spanish-language version of the film was also produced simultaneously, along with Italian, German and French versions. The Italian and French versions are now lost, while parts of the German version exist and have been released on DVD. Laurel & Hardy were irreplaceable in these versions and spoke their lines phonetically while other cast members were re-cast with appropriate actors.

1941

August 12 – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Cast: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter, Barton MacLane, C. Aubrey Smith, Peter Godfrey, Sara Allgood, Frederic Worlock, William Tannen, Frances Robinson, Denis Green, Billy Bevan, Forrester Harvey, Lumsden Hare, Lawrence Grant, John Barclay, Colin Kenny, Lydia Bilbrook, Alec Craig
Director: Victor Fleming
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s, Inc.
Trivia: Based on the 1886 Gothic novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. This is a direct remake of the 1931 version with Frederic March. Both relied heavily on Thomas Russell Sullivan’s 1887 stage adaptation of the story. MGM acquired the film rights to the 1931 version from Paramount and then hid the film away to avoid competition with their version, and was considered lost until it was made available again beginning in 1967. Spencer Tracy wanted Katherine Hepburn, whom he’d not yet met (they first met in 1942 on Woman of the Year), to play both the roles played by Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner, the ‘bad’ and ‘good’ woman who turned out to be the same person. Bergman was cast as the ‘good’ woman and Turner the ‘bad’, but Bergman had tired of playing virtuous characters and pleaded with Victor Fleming to switch their roles. After a screen test, he agreed to the swap. The film was nominated for three Oscars: Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), Best Film Editing, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture. Due to the Production Code, the character of Ivy Peterson (or Pearson, or Pierson … sources vary and the character is not in Stevenson’s original story), had to be changed from the 1931 version’s prostitute to a barmaid. Tracy has said this is his least favorite film of his. One review described his performance as Hyde as a ‘rampant ham’. Tracy thought this was the end of his career. Tracy turned down a role in The Philadelphia Story for this. Vivien Leigh turned down the Ivy role for That Hamilton Woman. Originally, the film was to be shot in England with Robert Donat starring, but World War II prevented that from happening.

August 15 – Blossoms in the Dust

Cast: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden, Samuel S. Hinds, Kathleen Howard, George Lessey, William Henry, Henry O’Neill, John Eldredge, Clinton Rosemond, Theresa Harris, Charles Arnt, Cecil Cunningham, Ann Morriss, Richard Nichols, Pat Barker, Marc Lawrence
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Mervyn LeRoy Productions, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on June 26, 1941. The film launched Greer Garson’s career. It was the first of eight films that paired Garson with Walter Pidgeon. It was Oscar nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Garson, her first of five consecutive nominations), Best Cinematography, Color, and Best Picture, and won for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color. The 4-year-old who played Tony was named Pat Barker. It was learned at the Fort Worth premiere that Pat was actually Patricia. Black actress Theresa Harris is clearly wearing ‘blackface’ makeup as her natural skin tone photographed too light, and with color photography just beginning to gain polish and sophistication, Gone With the Wind, with darker skinned Black actors, was the only color film to serve as a template for photographing Black actors. A 60-minute version of the film was performed on Lux Radio Theater on February 16, 1942 with Garson, Pidgeon and Feliz Bressart reprising their roles.

August 15 – Life Begins for Andy Hardy

Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Patricia Dane, Ray McDonald, Judy Garland
Director: George B. Seitz
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: The 11th of 16 ‘Andy Hardy’ films. It was the last to feature Judy Garland. Four songs had been recorded for the film by Garland but none were used.

1951

Paramount Pictures

August 14 – A Place in the Sun

Cast: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Keefe Brasselle, Fred Clark, Raymond Burr, Herbert Heyes, Shepperd Strudwick, Frieda Inescort, Kathryn Givney, Walter Sande, Ted de Corsia, John Ridgely, Lois Chartrand, Paul Frees
Director: George Stevens
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The film was screened at Cannes on April 5, 1951 before beginning its rollout across the US on August 14. Based on the 1925 novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the 1926 play, also titled An American Tragedy. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won six: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography – Black-and-White, Best Costume Design – Black-and-White, Best Film Editing, Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. It also won the very first Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama, and was nominated for three others. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1991. Kathleen Freeman appears in an uncredited role. Production Code administrator Joseph Breen cautioned that a line of dialogue made a direct reference to abortion. The line from Alice to her doctor, ‘Doctor, you’ve got to help me,’ was changed to ‘Somebody’s got to help me.’ Director George Stevens threatened to sue any TV station in 1965 that inserted commercials into the broadcast of the film without his specific approval of the ad. Elizabeth Taylor’s and Montgomery Clift’s beach scene was filmed in October in Lake Tahoe. Crew members had to hose snow off the ground prior to filming. This was the first of three films to pair Taylor and Clift. The movie was filmed in 1949, but withheld from release by Paramount so it did not compete with Sunset Boulevard at the Oscars. Stevens was happy with the delay, which gave him extra time to edit the film. This was Anne Revere’s last film role until 1970 because she had been blacklisted by Hollywood for being a member of the American Communist Party. Stevens opted to film the movie in black-and-white because he felt the vibrancy of Technicolor did not fit the film’s mood. The interior of the Eastman Mansion is the same set from Sunset Boulevard redressed. Norma Desmond’s staircase can be clearly seen. This was Hans Drier’s final art director credit.

August 16 – The Guy Who Came Back

Cast: Paul Douglas, Linda Darnell, Joan Bennett, Don DeFore, Billy Gray, Zero Mostel, Edmon Ryan, Ruth McDevitt, Walter Burke, Henry Kulky
Director: Joseph M. Newman
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Based on story by W.G. Fay. Film debut of Ruth McDevitt.

August 17 – Lost Continent

Cast: Cesar Romero, Hillary Brooke, Chick Chandler, John Hoyt, Acquanetta, Sid Melton, Whit Bissell, Hugh Beaumont, Murray Alper
Director: Sam Newfield
Studio: Lippert Pictures
Trivia: The film was shot in 11 days. Black-and-white footage at the prehistoric escarpment was tinted a mint green color to produce an eerie effect for the theatrical release prints, but these sequences were not shown on TV prints. The tint was restored for home video release in the late 1980s. The film was featured in the second season of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

August 17 – The Tall Target

Cast: Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson, Ruby Dee, Richard Rober, Leif Erickson, Will Geer, Florence Bates, Tom Powers, Katherine Warren, Regis Toomey, Victor Kilian, James Harrison
Director: Anthony Mann
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Based on the alleged Baltimore Plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln. Percy Helton and Barbara Billingsley appeared uncredited as train passengers. Years before the film was made, Joseph Losey was attached to direct, and he planned to cast Lena Horne in the role played by Ruby Dee. All of the train stations mentioned in the film are accurate and are still used today by Amtrak. The exception is Darby Junction which is now a station on the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s Wilmington/Newark regional rail line, but it would have been the first stop south of Philadelphia in the film’s historic era.

1961

August 15 – Marines, Let’s Go

Cast: Tom Tryon, David Hedison, Tom Reese, Linda Hutchings, Barbara Stuart, David Brandon, Steve Baylor, Peter Miller, Rachel Romen, Hideo Inamura, Vince Williams, Fumiyo Fujimoto, Heihachirô Ôkawa
Director: Raoul Walsh
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: This was the next to last film for director Raoul Walsh. Filmed on location in Japan with extras from the US Marine Corps. Battle scenes were filmed in Okinawa which substituted for Korea. President Kennedy was considering directors to make PT 109 and screened the film to sample Walsh’s work. He didn’t like the movie and Walsh didn’t get the job.

1971

August 13 – Die Screaming, Marianne

Cast: Susan George, Barry Evans, Chris Sandford, Judy Huxtable, Leo Genn, Kenneth Hendel, Paul Stassino, Alan Curtis, Anthony Sharp, John Laurimore, Martin Wyldeck
Director: Pete Walker
Studio: Pete Walker Film Productions
Trivia: The film opened in the UK on August 13, 1971, but apparently did not receive a US theatrical release. Also known as Die, Beautiful Marianne. Ian McShane was the first choice for the role of Eli, which went to Barry Evans.

1981

August 13 – Gallipoli

Cast: Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins, Charles Yunupingu, Ron Graham, Gerda Nicolson, Robert Grubb, Tim McKenzie, David Argue, Steve Dodd, Robyn Galwey, Don Quin, Phyllis Burford, Marjorie Irving, Bill Hunter, Diane Chamberlain, Peter Ford, Geoff Parry, John Morris, Stan Green, Max Wearing, Jack Giddy
Director: Peter Weir
Studio: Associated R&R Films, distributed by Roadshow Film Distributors (Australia), Paramount Pictures (International)
Trivia: The film premiered in Sydney, Australia on August 7, 1981 before its general release on August 13. It opened in the US on August 28. Screenwriter David Williamson has a cameo as a soldier playing Australian football in Egypt. The R&R in the film company name are Rupert Murdoch and Robert Stigwood. 400 skilled male horse riders were requested, but only 200 showed up. The other 200 are women dressed as men. It took three years to secure funding for the film, and was the most expensive Australian film produced at the time.

August 14 – An Eye for an Eye

Cast: Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree, Matt Clark, Mako Iwamatsu, Maggie Cooper, Rosalind Chao, Professor Toru Tanaka, Stuart Pankin, Terry Kiser, Mel Novak, Dorothy Dells, Dov Gottesfeld, Nigel Davenport
Director: Steve Carver
Studio: Adams Apple Production Company, South Street Films, Westcom Barber International, distributed by Embassy Pictures (U.S.), New World-Mutual (Canada)
Trivia: André the Giant was the first choice for The Professor. They cast Professor Toru Tanaka because he’d be more believable and cheaper. He wore platform shoes to appear taller.

PolyGram Pictures

August 14 – Deadly Blessing

Cast: Maren Jensen, Sharon Stone, Susan Buckner, Jeff East, Colleen Riley, Douglas Barr, Lisa Hartman, Lois Nettleton, Ernest Borgnine, Michael Berryman, Kevin Cooney
Director: Wes Craven
Studio: PolyGram Pictures, Inter Planetary, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: This was the last acting role for Maren Jensen, whose career was cut short after contracting Epstein-Barr Syndrome. It was also the last major film role for Susan Buckner, who is more well-known as Patty Simcox in Grease. Buckner was pregnant during filming. Ernest Borgnine was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. A real spider was dropped into Sharon Stone’s mouth, but she refused to do the scene unless it was defanged. A movie theater marquee displays the title Summer of Fear, which was a Wes Craven TV movie that starred Jeff East. The film’s ending with the incubus coming out of the floor was imposed on Craven by the producers.

August 14 – Nobody’s Perfekt

Cast: Gabe Kaplan, Alex Karras, Robert Klein, Susan Clark, Arthur Rosenberg, Paul Stewart, Alex Rocco, James Cromwell, Peter Bonerz
Director: Peter Bonerz
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Based on the novel Two for the Price of One by Tony Kenrick. Directorial feature debut of Peter Bonerz. Also the first feature film for Gabe Kaplan. Filmed on location in Miami.

1991

August 14 – The Commitments

Cast: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle, Dave Finnegan, Bronagh Gallagher, Félim Gormley, Glen Hansard, Dick Massey, Johnny Murphy, Kenneth McCluskey, Andrew Strong, Colm Meaney, Anne Kent, Andrea Corr, Gerard Cassoni, Ruth & Lindsay Fairclough
Director: Alan Parker
Studio: Beacon Pictures, The First Film Company, Dirty Hands Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held on August 7, 1991. It opened in Canada on August 14, with a limited US release on the same day. The film expanded in the US on September 13. The film did not open in the UK until October 4. Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Roddy Doyle. The film is the first in a series known as ‘The Barrytown Trilogy’, followed by The Snapper (1993) and The Van (1996). The film won four of its six 1992 BAFTA nominations: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. It received an Oscar nomination for Best Film Editing. Director Alan Parker has a cameo as an unnamed producer at Eejit Records. The casting process took two months of visits to local clubs in Dublin to find musicians to appear in the film. Van Morrison was considered for the role of Joey ‘The Lips’ Fagan, but the meeting with Parker did not go well. Morrison still offered the use of his music in the film. Bob Hoskins was also considered. Johnny Murphy was the only cast member who did not actually play his instrument in the film. Peter Rowan, who appears as a skateboarder who asks to audition for the band, had appeared on the covers of U2’s albums Boy (1980) and War (1983). Parker rehearsed with the cast for five weeks before production began. None of the music in the film is original, and was chosen from a ‘short list’ of 1,000 possible choices. Parker listened to more than 300 songs which he narrowed down to 75. The finished film features 68 different musical cues and 52 songs. 24 songs were chosen to be performed by the cast. The songs were recorded live on set. Glen Hansard clashed with Parker during filming, making it a less than enjoyable experience. It was almost 20 years before he saw the film. There is an unconfirmed theory that Glen Hansard’s unnamed character in Once is the same character from this film because the first scene in Once seems to pick up from the last seen of The Commitments with the character busking in the streets of Dublin.

August 15 – Once Upon a Time in China

Cast: Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Jacky Cheung, Rosamund Kwan, Kent Cheng, Yuen Kam-fai, Yen Shi-kwan, Jonathan Isgar, Steve Tartalia, Mark King, Lau Shun, Yau Kin-kwok, Wong Chi-yeung, Yuen Cheung-yan, Jimmy Wang, Colin George, Hung Yan-yan, Wu Ma, Shih Kien, Simon Yam
Director: Tsui Hark
Studio: Golden Harvest, Paragon Films, Film Workshop, distributed by Golden Harvest
Trivia: The film opened in Hong Kong on August 15, 1991. It played in Austin, Texas starting February 25, 1992, and New York City from May 20, 1992. Released in the Philippines as Enter the New Game of Death. The first installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series. Jet Li’s voice was dubbed because he does not speak Cantonese. He spoke Mandarin while filming. Jet Li injured his knee badly during an action scene, and had to be doubled for some of the final fight scene shots. In close-ups and medium shots he was in a cast.

August 15 – Proof

Cast: Hugo Weaving, Geneviève Picot, Russell Crowe, Heather Mitchell, Jeffrey Walker, Daniel Pollock, Frankie J. Holden, Frank Gallacher, Saskia Post, Belinda Davey, Cliff Ellen, Tania Uren, Robert James O’Neill, Anthony Rawling, Darko Tuscan
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Studio: Roadshow Entertainment
Trivia: The film premiered at Cannes in May 1991 before its Australian release on August 15. The film opened in the US on March 20, and was screened at the USA Film Festival on April 26, 1992. It took four years to go from script to finished film. Russell Crowe attempted to develop a friendship with Hugo Weaving to help make their friendship on screen believable, but he found the only common interest they shared was Doctor Who.

August 16 – Mystery Date

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Teri Polo, Brian McNamara, Fisher Stevens, BD Wong, Tony Rosato, Don S. Davis, James Hong, Victor Wong, Ping Wu, Duncan Fraser, Jerry Wasserman, Terry David Mulligan, Merrilyn Gann, Stephen Chang, Russell Jung, Michele Little, Allan Lysell, Donna Lysell, Keith Beardwood, Sharlene Martin, Celia Martin, Ian Black, Karen Campbell, Sean Orr, Dave ‘Squatch’ Ward, Peter Williams, Constance Barnes, Todd Duckworth
Director: Jonathan Wacks
Studio: Orion Pictures
Trivia: First lead roles for both Ethan Hawke and Teri Polo. Metal band GWAR has a brief cameo.

August 16 – The Borrower

Cast: Rae Dawn Chong, Don Gordon, Tom Towles, Antonio Fargas, Neil Giuntoli, Larry Pennell, Tracy Arnold
Director: John McNaughton
Studio: Cannon Pictures, Vision Pictures, Atlantic Entertainment Group (uncredited), distributed by Cannon Films
Trivia: The film was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 25, 1991. Mädchen Amick has a small role as a rock groupie. A poster for John McNaughton’s Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer can be seen in one scene. Audio from a TV commercial for the movie can also be heard in the hospital scene. Atlantic Entertainment Group was the film’s original producer but the company closed, leaving the film on the shelf for three years before it was picked up by Cannon.

August 16 – The Doctor

Cast: William Hurt, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth Perkins, Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin, Charlie Korsmo, Wendy Crewson
Director: Randa Haines
Studio: Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (United States), Warner Bros. (International)
Trivia: Loosely based on Dr. Edward Rosenbaum’s 1988 book, A Taste Of My Own Medicine. Rosenbaum also has a cameo in the film as himself. Warren Beatty was originally announced as the star of the film.

2001

August 15 – The Fourth Angel

Cast: Jeremy Irons, Forest Whitaker, Jason Priestley, Briony Glassco, Charlotte Rampling, Lois Maxwell, Timothy West, Joel Pitts, Anna Maguire, Holly Boyd, Kal Weber, Ian McNeice, Serge Soric, Ivan Marevich
Director: John Irvin
Studio: New Legend Media, Norstar Entertainment, Rafford Films, Sky Pictures, distributed by Global Cinema Group
Trivia: The film opened in France on August 15, 2001. It debuted in Canada on January 18, 2002, but only got a home video release in the US on August 19, 2003. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Robin Hunter (aka Robin Neillands). The film takes its title from Revelation 16:8: ‘The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire’. This was Lois Maxwell’s final film.

August 17 – American Outlaws

Cast: Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, Ali Larter, Gabriel Macht, Gregory Smith, Harris Yulin, Will McCormack, Kathy Bates, Timothy Dalton, Ronny Cox, Terry O’Quinn, Nathaniel Arcand, Ty O’Neal, Joe Stevens, Muse Watson
Director: Les Mayfield
Studio: Morgan Creek Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held on August 14, 2001. Cast members spent six weeks at a ranch learning to ride horses for the film. Colin Farrell rode the same horse he trained with in the film. Farrell did as many of his own stunts as the director would allow. Young actor Gregory Smith became so good with a gun, the wranglers nicknamed him ‘Secret Weapon’. A short shot of a paddle wheel steamer is taken from the film Maverick.

August 17 – Rat Race

Cast: John Cleese, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green, Vince Vieluf, Lanei Chapman, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Kathy Najimy, Brody Smith, Jillian Marie Hubert, Rowan Atkinson, Dave Thomas, Wayne Knight
Director: Jerry Zucker
Studio: Fireworks Pictures, Alphaville Films, Zucker Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held on July 30, 2001. Inspired by Stanley Kramer’s 1963 film It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Credited cameos include Silas Weir Mitchell, Paul Rodriguez, Dean Cain, Brandy Ledford, Colleen Camp, Christopher Peterson, Deborah Theaker, Charlotte Zucker, Rance Howard, Gloria Allred, Smash Mouth, Manoj Sood, Guy Cohen, Chris Myers, and Kevin Frazier. Kathy Bates appears in an uncredited cameo. Diamond Dallas and Kimberly Page appeared as themselves but were cut from the final film. The deleted scene is available on the DVD. The original idea for the race was to start in Las Vegas, Nevada and end in Las Vegas, New Mexico but it was thought this would confuse audiences. Shooting was to begin in Las Vegas, Nevada in May 2000 but delayed until the Fall to avoid shooting in 100 degree temperatures. Filming began in August 2000 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada along highways standing in for Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico highways. Desert scenes were shot in the Canadian town of Drumheller. Scenes involving Cuba Gooding Jr. and the group of Lucy impersonators were shot in the Canadian Rockies. Scenes at the Venetian in Las Vegas took six days (after six months of negotiations). 1,000 extras were needed for the Vegas shoot. Ely, Nevada stood in for Silver City, New Mexico. The final six weeks of production took place in Southern California. Though one of the leads, Vince Vieluf does not appear in any of the film’s promotional material due to an agent who tried to secure him star billing and failed. Vieluf fired the agent. Jason Alexander was in line to play Zack before Wayne Knight got the role (NEWMAN!). Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes were offered the roles of Blaine and Duane, which Smith turned down, and he had no recollection of receiving the offer until he found the letter from Paramount. Ironically Smith and Mewes starred in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which opened a week later. Jerry Goldsmith had originally been selected to score the film but dropped out for health reasons. Elmer Bernstein conducted a score that was rejected.

2011

August 11 – 30 Minutes or Less

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Dilshad Vadsaria, Michael Peña, Bianca Kajlich, Fred Ward, Brett Gelman, Rebecca Cox, Rick Irwin, Torey Adkins
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Studio: Columbia Pictures, Media Rights Capital, Red Hour Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Trivia: The film opened in Curacao and Aruba on August 11, 2011, followed by the US and Canada on August 12. The film was released in the UK on September 16. The Taco Boy restaurant in the film is a real restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is still in business.

August 12 – Final Destination 5

Cast: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, P. J. Byrne, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Courtney B. Vance, Tony Todd, Brent Stait, Chasty Ballesteros
Director: Steven Quale
Studio: New Line Cinema, Practical Pictures, Zide/Perry Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film’s world premiere was at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 4, 2011, followed by a Hollywood premiere on August 10. The second highest grossing film of the franchise and the first to get mostly positive reviews. The film’s original title was 5nal Destination, but that was changed a few months later. Ashley Tisdale auditioned for the role of Candice before Ellen Wroe was cast. Tony Todd returned to the franchise after missing the fourth film due to scheduling conflicts. The bridge scene is the longest ‘opening disaster’ scene of the franchise, clocking in at 4 minutes and 44 seconds. The picture that Olivia knocks off her desk was taken at Devil’s Flight, the roller coaster from Final Destination 3. The restaurant that Sam works in is called Le Cafe Miro 81. This cafe was seen at the end of Final Destination in Paris. A picture of Roy standing next to the #6 racecar, which caused the crash on the racetrack in The Final Destination, is seen in the bar. On the bus ride, a truck carrying logs which caused the accident in Final Destination 2 can be seen. As has become common with the franchise, many of the characters share the same last names as famous horror directors including Friedkin, Hooper, and Castle. The second film in the franchise to be shot in 3D. A new Final Destination film was announced as being in development in January 2019, described as a ‘re-imagining’ of the franchise. Original star Devon Sawa has expressed interest in returning to the franchise.

20th Century Fox

August 12 – Glee: The 3D Concert Movie

Cast: Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Jenna Ushkowitz, Harry Shum Jr., Chord Overstreet, Ashley Fink
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Studio: Ryan Murphy Productions, 20th Century Fox Television, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: The film premiered on August 6, 2011. Jane Lynch appears as Sue Sylvester in the opening scene only available on the home video release. The film was produced during the cast’s 13-date North American concert tour in May 2010. Ryan Murphy stated that due to production on the series, the tour dates were limited so a film would allow a greater number of people to experience the tour, with the 3D processing allowing for a more immersive experience. Seven 3D camera rights were used during filming of the concert scenes. Edits were done live as if it were a television production, which contributed to just a six-week post-production schedule.

August 17 – The Inbetweeners Movie

Cast: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas, Emily Head, Laura Haddock, Tamla Kari, Jessica Knappett, Lydia Rose Bewley, Theo James, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Anthony Head, Belinda Stewart-Wilson, Martin Trenaman, Robin Weaver, David Schaal, Victoria Willing, Alex Macqueen, Greg Davies, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Lauren O’Rourke, David Avery, Cush Jumbo, Storme Toolis, Aimee Kelly
Director: Ben Palmer
Studio: Bwark Productions, Film4 Productions, Young Films, distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors
Trivia: The film opened in the UK on August 17, 2011, but only received a limited US release beginning on September 7, 2012. Based on the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners. The film was intended as an ending to the TV series. It’s success in the UK led to a sequel released in 2014. The film is known simply as The Inbetweeners in North America. Anthony Head is Emily Head’s father. While the movie is set in Crete (Greece), it was filmed in Majorca (Spain).

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