Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #222 :: October 24•30

Hemdale

This was a big week for new films making their debuts with quite a few featuring screen or directorial debuts, and many getting recognized by the Oscars and Golden Globes. 1924 saw Harold Lloyd respond to protests about the length of his previous film, 1944 reunited cast members of Casablanca, 1954 brought a groundbreaking musical to the big screen, 1964 saw the release of a favorite film of its two stars, 1974 had a film with a controversial MPAA rating, 1984 was a big year with films from Brian De Palma and James Cameron, as well as an Oscar-winning documentary, 1994 produced a film that spawned a popular, long-running TV series with several spin-offs, 2004 saw the debut of a maniacal killer, and a 2014 film helped revive Keanu Reeves’ career. Scroll down to see the films that debuted this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1924

• October 25 – The Desert Hawk (USA, Ben Wilson Productions)
• October 26 – Darwin Was Right (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• October 26 – Hot Water (USA, The Harold Lloyd Corporation)
• October 26 – Stupid, But Brave (USA, short, Reel Comedies, Inc.)
• October 26 – The Fast Worker (USA, Universal Pictures)
• October 26 – The Only Woman (USA, Norma Talmadge Film Corporation)
• October 26 – Thundering Hoofs (USA, Film Booking Offices of America)
• October 27 – Married Flirts (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• October 27 – The Story Without a Name (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• October 28 – Manhattan (USA, Paramount Pictures)

Lost films: The Desert Hawk, Darwin Was Right, The Story Without a Name.

After receiving complaints about the length of his previous film, Girl Shy, which ran 89 minutes, Harold Lloyd responded with Hot Water, which ran just 60 minutes (and at least one critic still complained it was way too long). The story was also unusual for a Lloyd film as his character was married with a family, instead of a character in search of success, recognition or romance. The ‘live turkey’ and ‘Butterfly Six automobile’ sequences were included in a 1962 compilation film Lloyd produced himself titled Harold Lloyd’s World of Comedy, which sparked a renewed interest in the comedian by a whole new generation.

The credited director of Stupid, But Brave was William Goodrich, which was a pseudonym for Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle. Arbuckle did not appear in the film. Prints of The Fast Worker are located in the collections of the UCLA Film and Television Archive and EYE Film Institute Netherlands. A print of The Only Woman with some decomposition survives in the Library of Congress, Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation collection. Prints of Thundering Hoofs are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive[3] and private collections.

Married Flirts is based on Louis Joseph Vance’s 1923 best seller Mrs. Paramor. Several big name Hollywood stars of the era appear as themselves at a party. The last known copy of the film was destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire.

The Story Without a Name is based on a novel by Arthur Stringer, which was published in conjunction with the film. A contest was held by Photoplay magazine which asked readers to select a title for the film with the winner receiving $5,000. The title Without Warning was the winning entry.

Manhattan featured Richard Dix in his first starring role. A print of the film reportedly survives at Cinemateket Svenska Filminstitutet, Stockholm.

1934

• October 24 – Doctor’s Orders (UK, British International Pictures)
• October 25 – Against the Law (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• October 26 – Gridiron Flash (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• October 26 – Marie Galante (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• October 27 – Happiness Ahead (USA, First National Pictures)
• October 29 – Dangerous Ground (UK, British & Dominions Film Corporation)
• October 29 – Sing as We Go (UK, Associated Talking Pictures)

Doctor’s Orders, also known as The Doctor’s Secret, has no known US theatrical release date. Dangerous Ground made its US premiere on TV on January 24, 1950. Sing As We Go premiered on television in the US on August 20, 1949.

Marie Galante is adapted from a French novel by Jacques Deval, which was also adapted into a French musical later the same year titled Marie Galante, with book and lyrics by Jacques Deval and music by Kurt Weill. Deval threatened to sue Fox if his name was used in connection with the film on the grounds that the story had been ‘so thoroughly mutilated and changed that it is not his work’. The film’s credits do cite Deval as the source of the story.

Happiness Ahead is preserved in the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation collection.

Dangerous Ground was produced as a quota quickie by Paramount’s British subsidiary. David Lean, who would go on to become a well-known director of classics like Lawrence of Arabia, was the film’s editor.

Sing as We Go is considered to be British musical hall star Gracie Fields’ finest film, which was written for her by J.B. Priestley. Unusual for the time, the film was shot on location in the seaside resort of Blackpool.

1944

• October 24 – Mystery of the River Boat (USA, serial, Universal Pictures)
• October 24 – The Conspirators (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• October 26 – The Unwritten Code (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• October 27 – Babes on Swing Street (USA, Universal Pictures)
• October 28 – Puttin’ on the Dog (USA, short, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• October 28 – The Old Grey Hare (USA, short, Leon Schlesinger Studios)
• October 28 – Wild Horse Phantom (USA, Sigmund Neufeld Productions)

The Conspirators is also known as Give Me This Woman. Several actors from Casablanca, including Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, are reunited in the film.

Puttin’ on the Dog is considered to be a sequel to the previous Tom & Jerry short The Bodyguard, since that film ends with Spike the dog being captured by a dog catcher, and the new short opens with Spike in the dog pound.

When The Old Grey Hare was shown on The WB, the part where baby Elmer points his toy gun at baby Bugs’ face and baby Bugs cracks his bottle of carrot juice over baby Elmer’s head was cut.

Wild Horse Phantom was the 20th film in the ‘Billy the Kid’ series starring Buster Crabbe.

1954

Otto Preminger Films

• October 24 – The Bob Mathias Story (USA, Allied Artists Pictures)
• October 27 – Bengal Brigade (USA, Universal International Pictures)
• October 27 – The Teckman Mystery (UK, Corona Productions)
• October 28 – Black Widow (USA, limited, 20th Century Fox)
• October 28 – Carmen Jones (USA, Otto Preminger Films)
• October 29 – The Golden Mistress (USA, R.K. Productions)

The Teckman Mystery has no known US theatrical release date.

Olympics gold medalist Bob Mathias portrayed himself in The Bob Mathias Story. His wife Melba also appears as herself, and the film used actual footage of Mathias’ triumphs.

Bengal Brigade is based on the 1952 novel The Bengal Tiger: a Tale of India by Edison Marshall writing as Hall Hunter. The film was released in the UK as Bengal Rifles. Rock Hudson was cast to replace Tyrone Power, who made King of the Khyber Rifles for 20th Century Fox instead.

The Teckman Mystery was based on the 1953 BBC TV serial The Teckman Biography by Francis Durbridge.

Black Widow is based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Patrick Quentin, and was filmed in CinemaScope with color by DeLuxe. Gregory Peck was originally announced as the male lead but he did not take the role. William Holden also turned it down, and Van Heflin was eventually cast. Tallulah Bankhead was the first choice for flamboyant stage actress Carlotta Marin, but she felt the role was too small. Joan Crawford also turned it down, and Ginger Rogers accepted the role, receiving top billing. George Raft accepted the role of an investigating police officer, which was playing against type for the actor known for his gangster roles.

Carmen Jones is based on the 1943 stage musical of the same name, with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music from George Bizet’s 1875 opera, Carmen, which was an adaptation of the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella of the same name. The film was shot in CinemaScope with color by DeLuxe. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1992. Director Otto Preminger dismissed the Broadway production as a series of skits loosely based on the opera and wanted to make a dramatic film with music instead of a traditional film musical, returning to the original source material to expand the story beyond the limitations imposed upon it by the opera. Preminger produced the film himself knowing no major studio would want to make an operatic film with an all-Black cast. He was surprised when Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck offered to finance the film after Preminger had requested Fox cancel his contract after completing River of No Return. Joseph Breen, of the Motion Picture Production Code, objected to Carmen’s complete lack of morals, demanding changes to the screenplay. Preminger agreed and filmed alternate takes to appease Breen, but included the more controversial ones in the finished film. Zanuck urged Preminger to submit the screenplay to Walter Francis White of the NAACP to be sure there were no objectionable racial representations in the film. White had no issues with the script. The film was the second for Harry Belafonte, who had just won a Tony Award for his performance in John Murray Anderson’s Almanac. The film was also the second for Pearl Bailey, who was familiar to audiences from her many TV appearances. Diahann Carroll auditioned for the title role but was so frightened of Preminger that she could barely focus on her scene. She was cast in the smaller role of Myrt instead. Preminger did not think Dorothy Dandridge was capable of exuding the sultry sex appeal the role of Carmen required, but when she came to his office for the audition dressed and behaving exactly as he envisioned the character, he scheduled a screen test for her and she got the part. Shortly after filming commenced, Dandridge began to doubt her ability to play the role and told her agent to advise Preminger that she was dropping out of the film. Preminger drove to her apartment to soothe her fears, and the two unexpectedly began a passionate affair. As neither Belafonte or Dandridge sang opera, LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne were hire to record their vocals. The film’s opening titles are the first to be created by Saul Bass, who also designed the film’s poster. The film’s release in France was banned until 1981 due to a technicality in French copyright laws on order of the estate of composer Georges Bizet, although the film did open the 1955 Cannes Film Festival with Preminger and Dandridge openly flaunting their relationship. Shortly after Cannes, Dandridge was offered the role of Tuptim in The King and I, but Preminger advised her not to take the supporting role as she had just proven herself a star. She complied but later regretted the decision, feeling it had been detrimental to her career. Dandridge received one of the film’s two Oscar nominations. She and the film also received two BAFTA nominations, and the film won both of its Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Most Promising Newcomer – Male for Joe Adams.

1964

• October 24 – The Lively Set (USA, Universal Pictures)
• October 27 – The Americanization of Emily (USA, Filmways Pictures)
• October 28 – Rio Conchos (USA, 20th Century Fox)
• October 29 – The Time Travelers (USA, Cal Cine)
• October 30 – Racing Fever (USA, Racing Fever Productions)

The Lively Set was the first film James Darren made under a multi-year contract with Universal. Bobby Darin was hired to write three songs for the film, but the studio liked him so much he was enlisted to compose the entire score. The film’s release was delayed from July 1964 out of respect for stunt driver Dave MacDonald, who played himself, who died in a fiery crash at the 1964 Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1964, which also killed Eddie Sachs who was also in the film. All of Sachs’ scenes and all but one featuring MacDonald were removed from the film, and neither driver was credited on-screen. The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Sound Editing.

The screenplay for The Americanization of Emily was loosely adapted from the 1959 novel of the same name by William Bradford Huie. James Garner was to play the role of Bus Cummings, with William Holden in the lead role of Charlie Madison. Holden dropped out and Garner was promoted to the lead, with James Coburn taking over the role of Bus. The film’s hairstyles, fashion and makeup has been criticized for representing 1964 instead of 1944, when the movie is set. The hotel suite party scene was filmed on November 22, 1963, the same day as President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. MGM re-released the film in 1967 under the title Emily, as the studio always felt the original title was too heavy-handed. The film was Oscar-nominated for Art Direction and Cinematography, and Julie Andrews received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actress. Andrews and Garner have both cited the film as one of their own favorites.

Rio Conchos was based on Clair Huffaker’s novel Guns of Rio Conchos published in 1958. The main female role, played by Wende Wagner in a black wig, has no English dialogue.

The Time Travelers features cameos from Playboy’s Miss June 1960, Delores Wells, and Forrest J. Ackerman. The film served as the inspiration for the TV series The Time Tunnel, and the 1967 film remake Journey to the Center of Time. The film’s working title was Time Trap.

1974

• October 24 – Stardust (UK, Goodtimes Enterprises)
• October 25 – Petersen (AUS, Bilcock & Copping Film Productions)
• October 25 – The Deathhead Virgin (USA, GWG Productions)
• October 25 – The Klansman (USA, Atlanta Productions)
• October 30 – The Savage Is Loose (USA, Campbell Devon Productions)

Stardust was released in the US on November 12, 1975. Petersen was released in the US in November 1975 as Jock Petersen.

Stardust is a sequel to 1973’s That’ll Be the Day. Ray Winstone is seen briefly as an uncredited extra in an early club performance scene in his first film appearance. The film’s working title was Sooner or Later. David Essex, Rosalind Ayres, and Keith Moon all reprised their roles from That’ll Be the Day. Karl Howman also appears in both films but with different character names, and it is not made clear if they are meant to be the same character. In the film, the band’s manager was written as an Italian-American from New York with Tony Curtis in mind, but Curtis was too expensive so the role went to Texan Larry Hagman and the part was rewritten as a Texan. Hagman credited the role with helping him develop the character J.R. Ewing on Dallas.

The Deathhead Virgin stars Jock Gaynor and Larry Ward also produced and wrote the film’s screenplay. Co-star Diane McBain later said it was the stupidest screenplay she ever had to work with.

The Klansman, based on the 1967 book of the same name by William Bradford Huie, is also known as Burning Cross. It was the film debut for O.J. Simpson. Richard Burton allegedly drank so much during production that he had to be seated or lying down for most of his scenes, and in some scenes he appears to slur his words incoherently. Burton later said he did not remember making the film. Co-star Lee Marvin was also a heavy drinker, and when the two would run into each other they did not remember working together on the film. During Burton’s death scene, he was lying on the set when the director said that the make-up artist had prepared him well for the scene, only for the artist to remark that he had not done anything. A doctor was brought in and determined Burton was dying and had him rushed to the hospital with a temperature of 104 degrees and both kidneys at the brink of failure. He was hospitalized for six weeks. After completing the film, Burton was hospitalized again with bronchitis, and during his stay it was announced that he and Elizabeth Taylor would be getting a divorce. While the film was being edited at Sam Goldwyn Studios, the facility caught fire. An investor failed to come up with their funding at the last minute so Burton and Marvin did not receive their full pay, and Paramount put a lien on the film.

The Savage Is Loose was produced and directed by George C. Scott, who also starred with wife Trish Van Devere. Scott was appalled by the MPAA’s R-rating for the film, the same as Candy Stripe Nurses and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, disgreeing with the position that incest was a major theme of the film. Scott urged exhibitors to run the film unrated, and offered a money-back guarantee from his own pocket to any parent who took a child under 17 to the film and agreed with the R-rating. Less than $10,000 was paid to patrons who accepted the offer.

1984

Delphi II Productions

• October 26 – American Dreamer (USA, CBS Theatrical Films)
• October 26 – Body Double (USA, Delphi II Productions)
• October 26 – Firstborn (USA, Witt/Thomas Productions)
• October 26 – Streetwise (USA, documentary, Bear Creek)
• October 26 – Terror in the Aisles (USA/Canada, Kaleidoscope Films)
• October 26 – The Terminator (USA/Canada, Hemdale)
• October 26 – The Times of Harvey Milk (USA, documentary, Black Sand Productions)

Body Double is a direct homage to the 1950s films of Alfred Hitchcock, specifically Rear Window, Vertigo and Dial M for Murder. The film was a box office disappointment, but has gained a cult following. Star Melanie Griffith earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Griffith’s then-husband Steven Bauer, who had appeared in director Brian De Palma’s Scarface, cameos as a male porn actor. De Palma created the concept of the film after talking with Angie Dickinson’s body doubles while making Dressed to Kill. After fighting with censor boards over the X-rating for Scarface and the battle to make it an R, this was De Palma’s response, saying if this doesn’t get an X nothing will. De Palma wanted adult film star Annette Haven to play the lead role of Holly, but the studio rejected her because of her pornographic filmography. She did, however, get a minor role and consulted with De Palma about the adult film industry. Linda Hamilton was offered the role and turned it down for The Terminator. Jamie Lee Curtis, Carrie Fisher and Tatum O’Neal were also considered before Griffith was cast. De Palma wanted Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel for the role of Gloria but she was unavailable, so Deborah Shelton was cast. De Palma didn’t think her voice was right for the character, so he hired Helen Shaver to dub her dialogue. Frankie Goes to Hollywood appears in the film-within-the-film, performing their hit ‘Relax’ on the set of a pornographic film. De Palma got his wish and the film did receive an X-rating, which he claimed involved making a few minor trims from the porno movie scene to secure the R. He said Columbia Pictures, then owned by Coca-Cola, did not support the film because of its excessive violence. The film was meant to be the first of a three-picture deal between Columbia and De Palma, but they mutually agreed to end the deal after execs screened the film and test audience reactions were not strong. The film opened the same day as The Terminator. De Palma was Razzie Award-nominated for Worst Director.

Firstborn was released in Europe as Moving In. Corey Haim makes his film debut.

Orion Pictures originally approached Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the role of Reese in The Terminator, but he agreed to play the title role after befriending James Cameron. Filming was delayed due to Schwarzenegger’s commitments to Conan the Barbarian, which gave Cameron time to work on screenplays for Rambo: First Blood Part II and Aliens. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2008. The film was originally to feature two Terminators, one made of liquid metal, but Cameron felt the special effects of the time could not create a liquid Terminator, so the idea was shelved until the appearance of the T-1000 character in 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Cameron sold the rights to The Terminator to producer Gale Anne Hurd for one dollar, which he later regretted. Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson both turned down the role of the Terminator when Schwarzenegger was in line to play Reese, and Cameron rejected O.J. Simpson for the role feeling he would not be believable as a killer. Schwarzenegger was not enthusiastic about the film, but took it as a change of pace from Conan, something set in the present day that would take a couple of weeks to film, and be low-profile enough to not harm his career if it flopped. After seeing 20 minutes of the first edit, he realized the film was going to be bigger than anyone had thought it would be. Schwarzenegger’s dialogue consists of 17 lines and less than 100 words. Sting, Christopher Reeve, Matt Dillon, Kurt Russell, Treat Williams, Tommy Lee Jones, Scott Glenn, Michael O’Keefe, and Bruce Springsteen were considered for the role of Reese before Cameron cast Michael Biehn, who also thought the film was silly until he met with Cameron. Sarah Connor is described as a 19-year-old in the first pages of the script. Lisa Langlois turned the role down as she was filming The Slugger’s Wife. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Melissa Sue Anderson, Rosanna Arquette, Lea Thompson and Jessica Harper were also considered. Linda Hamilton was cast after completing Children of the Corn. Cameron wanted Dick Smith to create the film’s makeup effects, but he declined and suggested his friend Stan Winston. Orion Pictures suggested a canine android to accompany Reese, but Cameron declined. The studio also suggested strengthening the romance between Reese and Sarah, which Cameron accepted. Schwarzenegger wanted to have the iconic ‘I’ll be back’ line changed because he had problems pronouncing ‘I’ll’, but Cameron refused and Schwarzenegger worked to say the line as best as he could. The final scene where Sarah is driving down a highway was filmed without a permit. Cameron and Hurd convinced an officer who confronted them that they were making a UCLA student film.

The Times of Harvey Milk was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2012. The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

1994

• October 26 – The Last Seduction (USA, ITC Entertainment)
• October 27 – Country Life (AUS, Dalton Films)
• October 28 – Body Melt (AUS, Bodymelt Pty. Ltd.)
• October 28 – Drop Squad (USA, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks)
• October 28 – Silent Fall (USA, Kouf/Bigelow Productions)
• October 28 – Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale (USA, Walt Disney Pictures)
• October 28 – Stargate (USA, Centropolis Film Productions)
• October 28 – The Road to Wellville (USA, Beacon Communications)
• October 29 – Oblivion (Japan, Full Moon Entertainment)

Country Life was released in the US on July 28, 1995. Body Melt was screened at the New York City International Film Festival on December 31, 2019, but has no known US theatrical release date. Oblivion premiered on home video in the US on December 14, 1994.

The Last Seduction star Linda Fiorentino earned Oscar buzz for her performance but she was deemed ineligible because the film debuted on HBO before its theatrical engagement. The studio and distributor sued the Academy to make her eligible but failed.

Country Life was adapted from the 1899 play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov.

Liv Tyler made her film debut in Silent Fall. The film was written under the title Indian Summer. Star Richard Dreyfuss missed the first day of filming as he was invited by the White House to attend the signing of the Oslo I Accord. A majority of the film was shot in and around Baltimore, Maryland.

Stargate was the second and final theatrical film for Jaye Davidson, following his debut in The Crying Game, who retired from acting shortly after completing the film. It was also the penultimate film for Viveca Lindfors. The original cut of the film played out in chronological order, but when it was re-edited for the Director’s Cut a new scene was added at the beginning to show the human host of Ra before the aliens took him. To keep the budget on track, stick figures with cloth were placed in the distant desert shots to appear as humans. The original Stargate was painted black but looked like a giant tire so it was repainted silver at the last minute. The scenes with O’Neil (Kurt Russell) at his house were filmed first, and Russell’s hair was cut short afterwards. Russell also asked for his hair to be lightened for the movie. Egyptologist Stuart Tyson Smith joined the production to make all Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and spoken language as accurate as possible. The score for the film was the first American job for composer David Arnold. The morphing helmets of Ra and the Horus guards were not true 3D but 2D elements, with the actors filmed without the helmet and then with the helmet, with a cut and paste effect applied to create the morph, but with the cameras moving the process was complicated to get the elements to match correctly. Footprints in the sand were removed digitally. The film was always envisioned as a trilogy, but Parts 2 and 3 were never developed, with rights-holder MGM more interested in playing out the TV series first, which featured the some of the same characters with slightly different name spellings and new actors in the roles.

The Road to Wellville is adapted from T. Coraghessan Boyle’s novel of the same name.

2004

• October 22 – What the Bleep Do We Know (USA, Captured Light)
• October 27 – Un long dimanche de fiançailles (Belgium, 2003 Productions)
• October 29 – Birth (USA, March Entertainment)
• October 29 – Enduring Love (USA, limited, Free Range Films)
• October 29 – Finding Neverland (UK, FilmColony)
• October 29 – Ray (USA, Anvil Films)
• October 29 – Saw (USA, Twisted Pictures)
• October 29 – Stage Beauty (USA, Qwerty Films)

Un long dimanche de fiançailles opened in limited release in the US on December 17, 2004 as A Very Long Engagement, and expanded on January 14, 2005. Finding Neverland received a limited US release on November 12, 2004, and expanded on December 17.

The title for What the Bleep Do We Know is stylized on the poster artwork as What tнē #$*! D̄ө ωΣ (k)πow!? The film has been criticized for misrepresenting science and containing pseudoscience. Actual scientists are interviewed in the documentary portions of the film, but one has noted his quotes were taken out of context.

Un long dimanche de fiançailles was based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Sébastien Japrisot. The film was nominated for 12 César Awards, winning three including Best Supporting Actress for Marion Cotillard and Most Promising Actor for Gaspard Ulliel. The film alsos received two Oscar nominations for Art Direction and Cinematography, a BAFTA nomination for Best Film Not in the English Language, and a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.

After Nicole Kidman read the script for Birth, she immediately wanted to do the film when she learned Jonathan Glazer was directing as she loved his previous film, Sexy Beast. She approached him first, but he was resistant because he felt her celebrity would hurt the delicate nature of the character, but after speaking with her he felt she was ready to inhabit the role, specifically tailoring the script for her. Scenes were often written the day before shooting, with the actors receiving them before filming. Kidman was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

Enduring Love is based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan.

Finding Neverland was based on the 1998 play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee. The film was the inspiration of a 2012 stage musical of the same name. The film was to be released in the Fall of 2003, but Universal Pictures was planning a film adaptation of Peter Pan to be released the same year and refused to allow Miramax to use scenes from the play if the film were to be released in 2003. Miramax agreed to delay the film in exchange for the rights to reproduce scenes from the stage production in the film, which led to Finding Neverland being released 100 years after Peter Pan originally opened. Dustin Hoffman, who played Captain Hook in Steven Spielberg’s Hook, played a producer who was to don the Hook costume and read aloud the play’s dialogue to point out how he found it to be silly. Hoffman objected, and the scene was rewritten so that he would simply read aloud and ridicule the characters’ names in the play. 82-year-old Eileen Essell makes one of her first film appearances. She also appeared with star Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Freddie Highmore also appeared in the film and it was his performance that led Depp to suggest him to Tim Burton for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The film earned seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor (Depp), and won for Best Original Score. It also received 10 BAFTA nominations, and five Golden Globe nominations.

Director Taylor Hackford has stated it took 15 years to secure financing for Ray. Ray Charles was given a Braille copy of the script and he objected to only two scenes: one showing him grudgingly taking up piano lessons, and another in which he shows his mistress how to shoot heroin. Charles was to attend a screening of the completed film, but died of liver disease four months before the premiere. Hackford was planning to hire a double to perform the piano playing scenes for Jamie Foxx, but was shocked to learn Foxx went to college on a classical piano scholarship. Foxx shot the majority of the film blind, wearing prosthetics to cover his eyes. Hackford walked away from the film twice as the company financing the film demanded it be rated PG-13, but he returned after Charles asked him to make the movie. No studio was interested in backing the film, but Universal stepped in to distribute after it was completed because one of its executives used to hicthhike to Ray Charles concerts. The film received six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, winning Best Actor and Best Sound Mixing. Foxx also won the Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics’ Choice awards becoming the second actor to win all five major lead actor awards for the same performance, and the only one to win the Golden Globe in the Musical or Comedy category, rather than in Drama.

Saw was the feature directorial debut of James Wan. It was also the screenwriting debut for Wan and Leigh Whannell, who wrote the film in 2001 but could not get financing in their native Australia, so they were urged to travel to Los Angeles. To attract investors, they produced a low-budget film of the same name from a scene out of the script. After a positive response to the feature film at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Lionsgate picked up distribution rights and intended to release the film direct-to-video, but decided on a theatrical release instead. The film grossed nearly $104 million, making it one of the most profitable horror films since Scream in 1996. Cary Elwes accepted the role of Dr. Gordon after seeing the short and reading the script, but sued the producers for breach of contract after the film’s release, claiming he was to receive 1% of the film’s profits. The case was settled out of court and Elwes reprised the role five years later in Saw 3D. Shawnee Smith was not a horror fan and refused the role of Amanda Young, finding the script horrific. After watching the short film she agreed to take the role, filming all of her scenes in one day. Tobin Bell took the role of Jigsaw because he felt the ending would suprise the audience, and he wanted to work with Danny Glover. Glover completed his scenes in two days. While editing the film, Wan discovered he did not have enough shots to work with, causing gaps in the final product. He and editor Kevin Greutert created shots to look like surveillance footage and used still images to fill the gaps, which many thought was interesting experimental filmmaking but were just done out of necessity.

Stage Beauty is based on Jeffrey Hatcher’s play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which was inspired by references to 17th-century actor Edward Kynaston made in the detailed private diary kept by Samuel Pepys.

2014

87Eleven Productions

• October 24 – Exists (USA/Canada, limited, Haxan Films)
• October 24 – John Wick (USA, 87Eleven Productions)
• October 24 – Laggies (Canada, Anonymous Content)
• October 24 – Ouija (USA, Blumhouse)
• October 24 – Revenge of the Green Dragons (USA, Artfire Films)
• October 24 – The Heart Machine (USA, Parts and Labor)
• October 30 – Elsa & Fred (Mexico, Cuatro Plus Films)

Exists first debuted in the US on home video on October 3, 2014. Laggies, released in the UK as Say When, also opened in the US on October 24, 2014 in limited release before expanding on November 7. Revenge of the Green Dragons premiered on home video in the US on September 11, 2014 before its limited theatrical release. Elsa & Fred received a limited US release on November 6, 2014, and was released to home video on November 7.

John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk originally envisioned an older actor in the title role, like Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford but decided against focusing solely on an actor’s age. Keanu Reeves expressed interest in the role after Iwanyk submitted the script to his friend who was Reeves’ talent agent. Reeves used his own experience with bereavement to relate to the character. The character of Ms. Perkins was originally written as male but changed when Adrienne Palicki was cast. Bridget Moynihan only read her parts of the script, only wanting to know as much of the story as her character would know to make her performance more authentic.

Director Lynn Shelton had never heard the term Laggies before, but screenwriter Andrea Seigel insisted it was a common term for adult slackers. As the film was being made, Shelton realized no one but Seigel had heard the term before but the title stuck. Anne Hathaway was to star in the film but had to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts with Interstellar. She was replaced by Keira Knightley.

Ouija was the directorial debut of Stiles White. After a poor test screening, Olivia Cooke stated nearly half of the film was re-shot, with Lin Shaye’s character added and Erin Moriarty’s character completely removed. The physical appearance of Doris Zander’s character was also changed from that of a burnt looking girl to a rotting, decomposing girl with stitches in her mouth.

The Heart Machine was Zachary Wigon’s feature directorial debut. It is based Wigon’s 2012 short film Someone Else’s Heart.

Elsa & Fred is an English-language remake of the 2005 Spanish-Argentine film of the same name. George Segal makes his final film appearance, though he worked on TV comedy The Goldbergs until his death in 2021. The scene in Rome where MacLaine and Plummer wade into the Trevi Fountain is shot in black and white, to mimic the corresponding scene in La Dolce Vita.