Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #267 :: September 4•10

The first week of September is usually a slow week for new film releases, and while the early part of the century is loaded with new films — many of them quite forgettable — the later decades do have some better known films that were early awards hopefuls. This week, a surprising number of silent films from 1925 do survive, with only two being considered lost. One 1925 film saw the debut of an actress who would become a legendary icon, but billed under her real name. A 1935 film gave an actress a role that made Academy Awards history. A 1945 film was hugely influential on both the horror and anthology genres. A 1965 film was referenced in a modern day animated series, and a 1975 film got famously skewered by Joel and the Bots on MST3K. A 1995 film was groundbreaking for drag culture in the mainstream, a 2005 horror film was fairly well-received, and a 2015 film starred a major actor as twins. Scroll down to see all the films released this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1925

• September 4 – Tearin’ Loose (USA, Action Pictures)
• September 5 – The Limited Mail (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• September 5 – With This Ring (USA, B.P. Schulberg Productions)
• September 6 – Keep Smiling (USA, Monty Banks Productions Inc.)
• September 6 – Kentucky Pride (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• September 6 – Pretty Ladies (USA, Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation)
• September 6 – Shore Leave (USA, Inspiration Pictures)
• September 6 – The Coming of Amos (USA, Cinema Corporation of America)
• September 6 – The White Outlaw (USA, Universal Pictures)
• September 7 – Not So Long Ago (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• September 7 – Wild, Wild Susan (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)

The survival status of Tearin’ Loose, With This Ring, Pretty Ladies, and The White Outlaw is unknown, while Not So Long Ago and Wild, Wild Susan are considered lost films.

A copy of The Limited Mail is held by the Library of Congress and a 16mm print is in the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. Several copies of The Limited Mail are also preserved in film collections in Netherlands and France.

Keep Smiling was originally titled Water Shy. A print was preserved in the Russian archive Gosfilmofond and presented to the Library of Congress in 2010.

Several well-known thoroughbred racehorses appear in Kentucky Pride, including the legendary Man o’ War. A print is in the Museum of Modern Art film archive.

Pretty Ladies is a fictional recreation of the Ziegfeld Folllies. The film originally featured musical color sequences, some in two-color Technicolor, but the color sequences are now lost. The film marks the first credited appearance of Lucille Le Sueur, soon to be known as Joan Crawford. This was the only film in which she was credited by her real name. It is also one of the first screen performances by Myrna Williams, who would later be known as Myrna Loy.

Shore Leave survives and is in the public domain, available to download from archive.org. A print is also held by a private collector.

Prints of The Coming of Amos are preserved in the Library of Congress collection, Archives Du Film Du CNC Bois d’Arcy, George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection, and Cinematheque Francais. The film has also been released on DVD.

1935

• September 5 – No Man’s Range (USA, Supreme Pictures)
• September 5 – Tumbling Tumbleweeds (USA, Republic Pictures)
• September 6 – Steamboat Round the Bend (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• September 7 – Little Big Shot (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• September 7 – Page Miss Glory (USA, Cosmopolitan Productions)
• September 8 – The Dark Angel (USA, Samuel Goldwyn Productions)
• September 9 – Ladies Love Danger (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• September 9 – Stormy Weather (UK, Gainsborough Pictures)
• September 9 – Wanderer of the Wasteland (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• September 10 – Happiness C.O.D. (London, Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation)
• September 10 – Here Comes Cookie (USA, Paramount Pictures)

Stormy Weather has no known US theatrical release date. Happiness C.O.D. was released in the US on October 15, 1935, and entered general release in the UK on January 20, 1936.

Steamboat Round the Bend was the final film made by Will Rogers, and was released a month after he was killed in a plane crash.

Little Big Shot marked the film debut of eight-year-old South African Sybil Jason, hired by Warner Bros. to compete with Fox’s Shirley Temple. Jason performs imitations of Greta Garbo, Mae West and Jimmy Durante.

The plotline for Page Miss Glory inspired 1949’s The Girl from Jones Beach, and 2002’s S1m0ne and Maid in Manhattan, though none of the films credit the original 1934 play or the 1935 film’s writers.

A silent version of The Dark Angel was released in 1925, but is now considered lost. The 1935 film won an Oscar for best Actress for Merle Oberon, making her the first Māori actress, and the first of Asian ancestry, to be nominated for Best Actress. The film also won the Oscar for Sound Recording.

A print of Wanderer of the Wasteland, and a trailer, are held at the Library of Congress.

1945

• September 6 – Adventures of Rusty (USA, Larry Darmour Productions)
• September 6 – Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• September 7 – Isle of the Dead (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• September 7 – Phantom of the Plains (USA, Republic Pictures)
• September 7 – Rhythm Round-Up (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• September 7 – Shady Lady (USA, Universal Pictures)
• September 9 – Dead of Night (UK, Ealing Studios)
• September 10 – Behind City Lights (USA, Republic Pictures)

An edited version of Dead of Night was released in the US on June 28, 1946.

Adventures of Rusty was the first of eight films in the ‘Rusty’ children’s film series. It was the only one of the films to star Ace the Wonder Dog as Rusty.

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes was the last screenplay written by Dalton Trumbo before he was blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

The script for Isle of the Dead was inspired by the painting Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin, which appears behind the title credits. The film was titled Camilla during production. It was the second of three films for producer Val Lewton and star Boris Karloff. It was also the fourth of five films directed by Mark Robson for Lewton. Production commenced in July 1944 but was suspended when Karloff required a back operation. The film was completed in December, but before production resumed and the cast was reassembled, Karloff and Lewton made The Body Snatcher. The film’s central female character, Catherine, was deleted entirely due to a troubled production.

Phantom of the Plains was the ninth of 23 ‘Red Ryder’ films from Republic Pictures. Child actor Robert Blake, billed as Bobby, played the character Little Beaver.

Dead of Night was one of the few horror films made in England during the 1940s, as the genre had been banned during World War II. It was also one of the few horror films from Ealing Studios, primarily known for its comedies. The film was a major influence on the anthology and horror genres that came after its release.

1955

• September 8 – Seven Cities of Gold (USA, Twentieth Century Fox)

Seven Cities of Gold was announced in 1954 to star James Mason. By January 1955, the film had new producers and a new star, Richard Egan. Jeffrey Hunter was cast as a Native Americn based on his success as a Native American in the film White Feather. Cameron Mitchell was also set to co-star but was replaced with Anthony Quinn.

1965

• September 7 – The Money Trap (West Germany, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• September 8 – City of Fear (USA, Towers of London Productions)
• September 8 – Once a Thief (USA, Compagnie Internationale de Productions Cinématographiques)
• September 8 – Operation C.I.A. (USA, Peer Oppenheimer Production Inc.)

The Money Trap was released in the US on February 2, 1966. Once a Thief first opened in Japan on April 27, 1965.

Operation C.I.A. was originally titled Last Message from Saigon. The film is referenced in an episode of Archer titled ‘The Man from Jupiter’, and featured the film’s star Burt Reynolds as himself. Archer claims the film inspired him to become a secret agent to which Reynolds replied, ‘That film was just god-awful.’

1975

• September 10 – Mitchell (USA, Essex Enterprised)
• September 11 – It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (Canada, Quadrant Films)

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time was released in the US in September 1976.

Mitchell gained a new audience when it was featured on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which was trimmed to fit the show’s format resulting in John Saxon’s character, who is killed by Mitchell, simply disappearing from the story. A radio announcer later mentions the character had been killed. A rumor circulated that star Joe Don Baker had threatened physical violence to anyone on the show’s cast and crew because of the treatment of the movie but Kevin Murphy, Tom Servo’s operator and voice, later confirmed Baker was joking. That didn’t stop the show’s host, Michael J. Nelson, from avoiding Baker when he learned they were once staying at the same hotel. The episode was also notable as it was the last for host Joel Hodgson, who escaped the Satellite of Love, replaced with Nelson.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time is one of John Candy’s earliest films in a minor role (though for publicity purposes he is featured on the DVD artwork). Candy and Lawrence Dane reprised their roles in their own spin-off film, Find the Lady.

1985

• No new movies were released this week in 1985.

1995

• September 8 – Last of the Dogmen (USA, Savoy Pictures)
• September 8 – National Lampoon’s Senior Trip (USA/Canada, Alliance Productions)
• September 8 – The Tie That Binds (USA, Polygram Filmed Entertainment)
• September 8 – To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (USA/Canada, Amblin Entertainment)

Last of the Dogmen was the feature directorial debut of Tab Murphy. National Lampoon’s Senior Trip was the film debut of Jeremy Renner.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar was originally envisioned as a stage play, but the idea was changed due to the logistics then of putting a car on stage. The film was inspired by the anti-gay propaganda film The Gay Agenda, which featured a scene of drag queens driving through a town with the narrator warning viewers that those people would take over their towns. Writer Douglas Carter Beane thought drag queens taking over a town would be a fun idea. Steven Spielberg had been given the script, which he loved, and had Robin Williams do a cold reading while on a flight together. Williams was interested in a role but didn’t want to detract from the three leads, so he opted for a small cameo instead. As the script went into development, several male directors passed on offers. British female director Beeban Kidron begged Spielberg for the job and she got it. Advertising companies wanted to use a shorter title, such as Ladies’ Night or She’s a Lady. John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes immediately said yes to their roles. The role of Vida Boheme was considered for many actors including Robert Downey Jr., Gary Oldman, Matthew Broderick, James Spader, John Cusack, Mel Gibson, Willem Dafoe, John Turturro, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise. Patrick Swayze was one of the last actors to audition for the role. Kidron said it was Swayze’s walk that ultimately won him the role. Swayze had his own make-up people transform him into Vida, and asked Kidron to take a walk with him around the city to prove he could pass as a woman. He did just that and got the job. The film also featured many New York City drag performers including RuPaul (as Miss Rachel Tension), Joey Arias, Lady Bunny, Candice Cayne, Miss Coco Peru, and raonteur Quentin Crisp. A nearly five month shoot, and the discomfort of the actors in their drag costumes, contributed to friction among the cast and crew. Kidron was pregnant when she accepted the job, and Spielberg offered to step in if she needed, but she completed the film and gave birth immediately after filming wrapped. A scene with the drag trio dining at McDonald’s was scrapped after the company said they did not want to be associated with drag culture. Coca-Cola agreed to product placement. While the film shares some plot similarities with 1994’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, To Wong Foo was already in production when that film was released. A producer of Priscilla was worried the films would be too similar, but after reading the script decided they were very different. Swayze and Leguizamo were Golden Globe nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The film is considered groundbreaking for being the first mainstream Hollywood production to depict drag queens. A musical adaptation of the film, by writer Douglas Carter Beane and his husband Lewis Finn, premiered at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, England on October 21, 2023. World Golf Hall of Fame member Juan Antonio ‘Chi-Chi’ Rodriguez sued Universal for defamation, especially involving the use of his name in the film. A settlement was eventually reached.

2005

• September 8 – Little Fish (AUS, Porchlight Films)
• September 9 – Green Street Hooligans (USA, limited/UK, Baker Street)
• September 9 – The Exorcism of Emily Rose (USA/Canada, Lakeshore Entertainment)
• September 9 – The Man (USA/UK, Fried Films)

Little Fish received a limited US release on February 24, 2006.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose is loosely inspired by the real-life case of Anneliese Michel. Another film based on the case by German director Hans-Christian Schmid, Requiem, was released in 2006. Laura Linney recommended Jennifer Carpenter for the role of Emily Rose after working with her in a play.

2015

• September 4 – Before We Go (USA/Canada, limited, G4 Productions)
• September 9 – Legend (UK, Cross Creek Pictures)
• September 9 – Life (France, See-Saw Films)
• September 10 – Everest (Peru, Working Title Films)

Before We Go first premiered online in the US on July 21, 2015 before its limited theatrical release. Legend was released in the US on November 20, 2015. Life was released in the US and Canada on December 4, 2015. Everest was released in the US on September 25, 2015.

Before We Go marked the directorial debut of Chris Evans, who also starred in the film with Alice Eve. The film’s working title was 1:30 Train.

Tom Hardy wanted to play the role of Ronnie Kray in Legend so badly that he offered to play the role of twin Reggie for free.

Production for Everest was granted permission to film in Nepal from January 9-23, 2014, with some filming taking place at the Everest Base Camp. Some Base Camp exteriors were filmed at Cinecitta Studios in Rome. While filming on April 18, 2014 at Camp II on Everest, an avalanche struck, killing 16 Sherpa guides who were moving equipment and supplies to camps for climbers in advance of the Summer climbing season. Production was not present where the accident happened, but cast and crew were nearby.