Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #187 :: February 21•27

Columbia Pictures

As February winds down, there were a number of new releases across the last century with one bona fide classic that made history at the Oscars. 1924 has a few surviving films this week, and 1934 has that classic plus a musical with no songs. 1944 gave us a wartime propaganda film that many in the cast later regretted, a second wartime film that was rushed to completion before it became dated, and a Bugs Bunny cartoon that introduced a new trio of characters. 1953 produced a filmed stage production in 3D that was never released in 3D, saw Shelley Winters return to the big screen, and produced a Western that was adapted into a TV series. 1964 gave us a sexploitation film that may have inspired Stanley Kubrick’s final film, while 1974 rolled out a horror anthology and a pseudo-documentary about ancient aliens. 1994 put Luke Perry in the rodeo ring in a true-life story, 2004 gave us the most financially successful religious film of all time, and 2014 saw the release of a documentary about a Broadway star, and a historical disaster movie in 3D. Scroll down the list to learn more and tell us if your favorites are celebrating this week!

1924

• February 21 – America (USA, United Artists)
• February 21 – Comin’ Thro the Rye (UK, Ideal Films)
• February 21 – Damaged Hearts (USA, Film Booking Offices of America)
• February 23 – Flapper Wives (USA, Selznick Pictures)
• February 24 – North of Nevada (USA, Film Booking Offices of America)
• February 24 – The Stranger (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• February 24 – The White Sin (USA, Film Booking Offices of America)
• February 25 – Ride for Your Life (USA, Universal Pictures)

Flapper Wives, The Stranger and Ride for Your Life are considered lost films. A print of The White Sin is preserved in the Library of Congress.

America is also known as Love and Sacrifice, and is an adaptation of Robert W. Chambers’ 1905 novel The Reckoning. During filming of the Revolutionary War drama, a soldier’s arm was blown off, and some cast members visited neighboring towns to raise funds for him.

Comin’ Thro the Rye was based on the 1875 novel of the same name by Helen Mathers. The title is an allusion to to the Robert Burns 1782 poem ‘Comin’ Through the Rye’. It was released in the US sometime in 1925.

Damaged Hearts marked the feature film debut of Brian Donlevy. The Stranger is based on a 1918 novel, The First and the Last, by John Galsworthy.

1934

• February 22 – Beggars in Ermine (USA, Monogram Pictures)
• February 22 – It Happened One Night (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• February 23 – Bolero (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• February 23 – Dancing Man (USA, Pyramid Productions)
• February 23 – Death Takes a Holiday (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• February 23 – I Believed in You (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• February 23 – No More Women (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• February 23 – The Mystery of Mr. X (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• February 24 – I’ve Got Your Number (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• February 26 – The Poor Rich (USA, Universal Pictures)

It Happened One Night is based on the August 1933 short story ‘Night Bus’ by Samuel Hopkins Adams. One of the last romantic comedies produced before the rigid Motion Picture Code went into effect four months after the film’s release. It was the first of three films to win the five major Academy Awards — Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1993. The film underwent an extensive restoration in 2013. The copyright was renewed in 1962, meaning the film will enter the public domain on January 1, 2030. Neither Clark Gable or Claudette Colbert were the first choices for the leads. Myrna Loy turned the film down, but later stated the finished film bore little resemblance to the script she was given. Neither Colbert or Gable were happy with the screenplay either, which Capra understood, thus allowing Robert Riskin to do a rewrite. Bette Davis wanted the lead but was under contract to Warner Brothers which refused to lend her out. Colbert had previously worked with director Frank Capra on her first film, For the Love of Mike, which was such a disaster neither wanted to work together again. She agreed to the role only if her salary was doubled to $50,000 and filming was completed in time for her already planned vacation. Gable was allegedly lent to Columbia by MGM as punishment for turning down a role at his own studio, but the truth is that he was under contract and being paid by MGM even though the studio had no work for him at the time.

Bolero is considered a musical but contains no songs. The film contains two scenes, Carole Lombard in her underwear and a fan dance by Sally Rand with strategically placed fans, that would have been banned had the Production Code been in effect when the film was released.

Death Takes a Holiday is based on the 1924 Italian play La morte in vacanza by Alberto Casella, as adapted in English for Broadway in 1929 by Walter Ferris. The Mystery of Mr. X is based on the 1933 novel X v. Rex by Philip MacDonald (under the pen name Martin Porlock). The film was remade in 1952 as The Hour of 13. The working title for I’ve Got Your Number was Hell’s Bells.

1944

• February 21 – Arizona Whirlwind (USA, Monogram Pictures)
• February 21 – Voodoo Man (USA, Monogram Pictures)
• February 23 – The Purple Heart (USA, 20th Century Fox)
• February 24 – Sailor’s Holiday (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• February 25 – Before the Raid (USA, short, Ministry of Information)
• February 25 – On Approval (UK, General Film Distributors)
• February 25 – Passport to Destiny (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• February 26 – Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (USA, short, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• February 26 – The Navy Way (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• February 26 – The Zoot Cat (USA, short, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Voodoo Man was one of the last two films Bela Lugosi made for Monogram Pictures. The film’s original title was Tiger Man, by author Andrew Colvin, but the title was later changed with no credit for Colvin.

The Purple Heart featured a supporting role from 18-year-old Farley Granger. The film was the first to deal with the Japanese treatment of POWs and centered on the ‘show trial’ of eight US airmen who took part in the April 18, 1942, Doolittle Raid on Japan. Three of the eight were subsequently executed and one later died as a POW. The film ran into opposition from the US War Department which feared the film would provoke reprisals from the Japanese government. In later years, many of the principal cast members, including Dana Andrews, regretted some of the films distasteful aspects.

On Approval, released in the US on January 27, 1945, is the second film adaptation of the play On Approval by Frederick Lonsdale. The first was released in 1930. The 1944 film changed the time period from the 1920s to the late Victorian era when the film’s story would have been much more shocking. It features a rare screen performance from Beatrice Lillie.

Passport to Destiny was originally titled Dangerous Journey but was changed to Passport to Adventure to avoid confusion with Warner Brothers’ Desperate Journey. The title was again changed to Passport to Destiny. The film was one of six films in production in 1943 about Hitler. The film stars Elsa Lanchester as a British woman caught up in the London blitz who, with the help of a ‘magic charm’ from her husband, journeys to Germany to ‘give Hitler what for’. The production was rushed to completion ‘before some soldier got to Hitler before Elsa’. The film was intended to be a comedy but the screenplay failed on every level. Critics remarked that only Lanchester’s charm made the film bearable.

Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears marks the first appearance of Chuck Jones’ dysfunctional version of The Three Bears. Mel Blanc provided the voices of Bugs Bunny and Papa Bear (sounding like Yosemite Sam but with a higher pitch), Bea Benaderet voiced Mama Bear, and Kent Rogers voiced the dim-witted Junior (Stan Freberg is often incorrectly cited as the voice of Junior).

The Zoot Cat is the 13th Tom and Jerry short.

1954

• February 21 – Bitter Creek (USA, Allied Artists)
• February 22 – Top Banana (USA, United Artists)
• February 24 – Bait (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• February 25 – Dangerous Mission (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• February 25 – Tennessee Champ (USA, Loew’s, Inc.)
• February 25 – The Maggie (UK, General Film Distributors)
• February 26 – No Barking (USA, short, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• February 27 – Overland Pacific (USA, United Artists)
• February 27 – Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• February 27 – The Boy from Oklahoma (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

Top Banana was based on the Broadway musical of the same name, with Phil Silvers, Rose Marie, Judy Lynn, Jack Albertson and Joey Faye reprising their roles for the film. The film was produced in 3D and was shot in five days as it was presented on stage, with the 3D process giving audiences the feeling that they were watching a live theatrical performance. Unfortunately, the film was in production during the release of The Robe in Cinemascope which caused a wane in the 3D fad and the film was only released in a ‘flat’ version. All of Rose Marie’s musical numbers were cut from the final film because she had a sharp retort to a producer who had made sexual overtures to her, and she claims the numbers were cut for revenge. The film processing lab went out of business a year after the film was completed, and it is presumed all of the original elements were junked. An edited 16mm print, missing about 15 minutes, is all that exists. It is the only 3D film of the era that is lost.

Dangerous Mission was produced by Irwin Allen, who would go on to become known as ‘The Master of Disaster’ for a series of 1970s disaster films he produced, and was filmed in 3D although it’s not clear if the film was released in 3D. The film is also known as Glacier and Rangers of the North.

Tennessee Champ marked a return to films for Shelley Winters after a two year absence because of her marriage to Vittoria Gassman. The Maggie was released in the US as High and Dry on August 30, 1954. The film’s working title was Highland Fling. A billboard seen in No Barking reads ‘Don Foster for Mayor’. Foster was one of the film’s animators. Overland Pacific was one of the first films to use blood squibs to simulate someone being shot. Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue was the last Disney film released through RKO Radio Pictures.

The Boy from Oklahoma became the basis for the Western TV series Sugarfoot, with three of the film’s cast members — Louis Jean Heydt, Sheb Wooley, and Slim Pickens — reprising their roles from the movie. Dennis Hopper took over the role of Billy the Kid from James Griffith for the series, with Will Hutchins replacing Will Rogers Jr. as the lead. The film was the last from Michael Curtiz as a contract director at Warner Brothers, where he had worked exclusively since 1926.

1964

• February 21 – Sin in the Suburbs (USA, Jovin Films)
• February 25 – The Cat Above and the Mouse Below (USA, short, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• February 26 – He Rides Tall (USA, Universal Pictures)
• February 26 – One Man’s Way (USA, United Artists)

Sin in the Suburbs is said to have inspired Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut.

The Cat Above and the Mouse Below is the second of 34 Tom and Jerry shorts produced by Chuck Jones.

1974

Amicus

• February 23 – From Beyond the Grave (UK, Columbia-Warner Distributors)
• February 27 – Busting (USA, United Artists)
• February 27 – Chariots of the Gods (USA, Sun International)
• February 27 – Man on a Swing (USA, Paramount Pictures)

From Beyond the Grave was released in the US on November 7, 1975. The anthology film is based on the short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes. It was the last of a series of horror anthologies produced by Amicus.

Busting is the theatrical directorial debut of Peter Hyams, following the success of his TV movie Goodnight, My Love, and was the main inspiration for the TV series Starsky & Hutch. Both the film and the series featured Antonio Fargas. Elliott Gould was hired after Hyams saw him on The Dick Cavett Show. Ron Leibman was cast as Gould’s partner but was quickly fired and replaced with Robert Blake, as Gould and Hyams felt the new pair had a better contrast.

Chariots of the Gods was originally released in West Germany as Erinnerungen an die Zukunft (Memories of the Future) on April 26, 1970. The film was banned in East Germany one day after its release. The film is based on Erich von Däniken’s book Chariots of the Gods? which theorizes aliens impacted early human life and development. The film, re-edited and dubbed into English, was Oscar nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

Man on a Swing based on the non-fiction book The Girl on the Volkswagen Floor (1971) by journalist William Arthur Clark.

1984

• February 22 – Emmanuelle 4 (USA, Cannon Film Distributors)
• February 23 – Undercover (AUS, Roadshow Entertainment)
• February 24 – Yeh Desh (India, Bharati International)

Emmanuelle 4 is the last credited film for composer Michel Magne, who committed suicide ten months after the film’s release.

Undercover did not receive a US theatrical release. The film’s investors wanted an American actor in the cast, and Dennis Quaid was to play the lead but Actors Equity objected. They also objected to the director’s second choice but approved the third, Michael Paré.

Yeh Desh is a remake of the 1982 Malayalam film Ee Nadu.

1994

New Line Cinema

• February 25 – 8 Seconds (USA, New Line Cinema)
• February 25 – Belle Époque (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• February 25 – Sugar Hill (USA, 20th Century Fox)

Belle Époque was originally released in Spain on December 4, 1992. The film won nine Goya Awards including Best Film, as well as the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1994.

2004

• February 25 – The Passion of the Christ (USA, Newmarket Films)
• February 27 – Decoys (Canada, Christal Films)
• February 27 – Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (USA, Lions Gate Films)
• February 27 – Twisted (USA, Paramount Pictures)

The dialogue of The Passion of the Christ is entirely in reconstructed Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin. Director Mel Gibson was initially against having the film subtitled. The film earned Oscar nominations for Makeup, Cinematography and Original Score. During filming of one scene, assistant director Jan Michelini was struck by lighting twice, and minutes later star Jim Caviezel was also struck. Gibson originally wanted to title the film The Passion, but the title had already been registered by Miramax for another film. The US title was then announced as The Passion of Christ, but was changed to The Passion of the Christ for all markets. Gibson produced the film without outside funding, his production company spending $30 million on production costs and $15 million on marketing. Faced with protests of the film being antisemitic, 20th Century Fox passed on distributing the film, and to avoid the embarrassment of other studios also turning down the film Gibson distributed it himself, screening the film for large groups of evangelical audiences to build word of mouth before the film’s release. The ploy worked and the film earned $612 million worldwide, and was the highest grossing R-rated film in the US at the time. Gibson re-edited the film in 2005 to cut about five minutes of the most extreme violence but the MPAA still gave the film an R-rating so it was re-released unrated for a limited three week run as The Passion Recut, earning just $567,692. 20th Century Fox did eventually release the film to home video.

Decoys premiered in the US on home video on September 7, 2004.

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights is a standalone prequel to Dirty Dancing. Patrick Swayze makes an appearance as a dance class instructor. The original screenplay was titled Cuba Mine, and was to be a serious political romance story, documenting, among other stories, how the Cuban revolution transformed from idealism to terror. That film was never produced but served as the basis for what was to be a Dirty Dancing sequel, although not a single line of dialogue remains in the rewritten script, and the political theme is all but erased. Natalie Portmand and Ricky Martin were considered for the lead roles.

2014

Sony Pictures Releasing

• February 21 – Barefoot (USA, limited, Roadside Attractions)
• February 21 – Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (USA, limited, Sundance Selects)
• February 21 – In Secret (USA, limited, Roadside Attractions)
• February 21 – My Dog the Space Traveler (USA, Dreamscape Cinema)
• February 21 – Pompeii (USA, Sony Pictures Releasing)
• February 26 – Non-Stop (France, StudioCanal)

Barefoot is a remake of the 2005 German film Barfuss. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me was released just five months before Stritch’s death, and was dedicated to the memory of James Gandolfini, who died before the film’s release.

In Secret is also known as Thérèse, and is based on Émile Zola’s classic 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin and the 2009 stage play by the same name penned by Neal Bell.

Pompeii was the last film from FilmDistrict before it merged with Focus Features. The film was shot in Toronto. Director Paul W. S. Anderson shot the film in native 3D. Keifer Sutherland was Razzie nominated for Worst Supporting Actor.

Non-Stop was released in the US and Canada on February 28, 2014. It is the second collaboration for Liam Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra after 2011’s Unknown. It was the first film to be made at York Studios in Queens, New York.