Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #19 :: December 2•8

Universal Pictures

We’ve entered the home stretch for awards consideration and this week includes many high profile films that went on to earn nominations and awards, some that didn’t fare well but have gained cult followings, some that were real crowd-pleasers, and some that have simply fallen by the wayside. Let’s take a look at the movies that premiered this week over the last 100 years and see which ones you remember. Are your favorites on the list? Tell us in the comments section below!

1920

December 4 – Blackbirds

• Cast: Justine Johnstone, William ‘Stage’ Boyd, Charles K. Gerrard, Jessie Arnold, Walter Walker, Marie Shotwell, Grace Parker, Ada Boshell, Alex Saskins, Mabel Bert
• Director: John Francis Dillon
• Studio: Realart Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1913 Broadway play by Harry James Smith, which was also filmed in 1915 with the play’s star Laura Hope Crews.

December 5 – Conrad in Quest of His Youth

• Cast: Thomas Meighan, Mabel Van Buren, Mayme Kelso, Bertram Johns, Margaret Loomis, Sylvia Ashton, Kathlyn Williams, Charles Ogle, Ruth Renick, A. Edward Sutherland
• Director: William C. deMille
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the novel Conrad in Search of His Youth by Leonard Merrick. The film has been preserved by the Library of Congress.

December 5 – Dice of Destiny

• Cast: H.B. Warner, Lillian Rich, Howard Davies, Harvey Clark, J.P. Lockney, Claude Payton, Fred Huntley, Rosemary Theby
• Director: Henry King
• Studio: Pathé Exchange

December 5 – Love

• Cast: Louise Glaum, Peggy Cartwright, James Kirkwood, Joseph Kilgour, Edith Yorke
• Director: Wesley Ruggles
• Studio: Associated Producers
• Trivia: The film’s working title was The Woman Who Dared. The film was banned by the British Board of Film Censors in 1921. Laura La Plante had a role in the film but her scenes were deleted.

December 5 – A Thousand to One

• Cast: Hobart Bosworth, Ethel Grey Terry, Charles West, Landers Stevens, J. Gordon Russell, Fred Kohler
• Director: Rowland V. Lee
• Studio: Associated Producers

December 6 – Billions

• Cast: Alla Nazimova, Charles Bryant, William J. Irving, Victor Potel, John Steppling, Marian Skinner, Emmett King, Eugene H. Klum
• Director: Ray C. Smallwood
• Studio: Metro Pictures
• Trivia: Based on a French play, L’Homme riche, by Jean Jose Frappa and Henry Dupuy-Mazuel. The film is considered lost.

1930

• No new films were released this week in 1930.

1940

December 5 – The Thief of Bagdad

• Cast: Conrad Veidt, Sabu, June Duprez, John Justin, Rex Ingram, Miles Malleson, Morton Selten, Mary Morris, Bruce Winston, Hay Petrie, Adelaide Hall, Roy Emerton, Allan Jeayes
• Director: Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan.
• Studio: London Films, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on December 25, 1940. Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda and William Cameron Menzies also contributed to the directing duties. Though a British production, the film was completed in California due to the outbreak of World War II. The film won Oscars for Cinematography, Art Direction and Special Effects, and featured the first major use of bluescreening. Miklós Rózsa’s score was also nominated, a first for a British film score. A remake of the 1924 film, this version has significant differences including the thief and prince being separate characters in the 1940 version. Alexander Korda wanted to cast Vivien Leigh as The Princess, but she had left for Hollywood to be with Laurence Olivier. Korda was also unhappy with Ludwig Berger’s concept for the movie (too small scale) and the score he wanted to use, so Michael Powell was brought on to shoot various scenes, his schedule growing in importance while Korda publicly sided with Berger while undercutting him on set. Tim Whelan was brought in to assist Powell but work was suspended as war broke out and Powell was put to work on a morale-boosting documentary, The Lion Has Wings. Production was moved to Hollywood in the Spring of 1940 with Powell remaining in England. Zoltan Korda and William Cameron Menzies completed the film with shots taking place in the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon and the Painted Desert. The film was being written as a musical with three songs included in the film while others were written and recorded, including a song for the genie. The film was Korda’s most successful in the US. The film holds a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has remained influential with Disney’s Aladdin borrowing heavily from the film. The Prince of Persia videogame also borrows from the film.

Metro-Goldwyn Mayer

December 6 – Go West

• Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx Harpo Marx, John Carroll, Diana Lewis, Walter Woolf King, Robert Barrat, June MacCloy, George Lessey
• Director: Edward Buzzell
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn Mayer
• Trivia: This is the tenth film to star The Marx Brothers. As with previous film, the Marx Brothers played key comedy scenes from the film live on stage on a pre-filming tour that lasted three weeks. Screenwriter Irving Brecher stood in for an ailing Groucho for publicity stills, all but unrecognizable sporting Groucho’s glasses, greasepaint mustache and eyebrows.

December 7 – Little Men

• Cast: Kay Francis, Jack Oakie, George Bancroft, Jimmy Lydon, Ann Gillis, Carl Esmond, Richard Nichols, Francesca Santoro, Lillian Randolph, Johnny Burke, Sammy McKim, Edward Rice, Anne Howard, Jimmy Zahner, Bobby Cooper, Schuyler Standish, Paul Matthews, Tony Neil, Fred Estes, Douglas Rucker, Donald Rackerby, William Demarest, Sterling Holloway, Isabel Jewell, Elsie the Cow
• Director: Norman Z. McLeod
• Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott.

1950

December 7 – Kim

• Cast: Errol Flynn, Dean Stockwell, Paul Lukas, Robert Douglas, Thomas Gomez, Cecil Kellaway, Arnold Moss, Reginald Owen, Laurette Luez, Richard Hale, Roman Toporow, Ivan Triesault
• Director: Victor Saville
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Based on the 1901 novel by Rudyard Kipling. Filmed on location in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India, the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California, and La Martiniere College in Lucknow, India. MGM had planned to make the film in 1938 with Freddie Batholomew and Robert Taylor but World War II put those plans on hold. The project was reactivated in 1942 for Mickey Rooney, Conrad Veidt and Basil Rathbone to be directed by Victor Saville but this was also postponed for fear of offending Indians and war-time allies the Russians, who were the villains of the story. The Indian government approved the film in 1948 and with the Cold War raging, it was permissible to depict the Russians as villains. The project was put into production in January 1949. Lukas and Flynn went to India to film scenes, but all of Stockwell’s scenes were shot in Hollywood. Filming resumed in Hollywood in January 1950. The Lux Radio Theatre presented a radio version of the story on February 18, 1952 with Flynn and Stockwell reprising their roles.

December 8 – Mrs. O’Malley and Mr. Malone

• Cast: Marjorie Main, James Whitmore, Ann Dvorak, Phyllis Kirk, Fred Clark, Dorothy Malone, Clinton Sundberg, Douglas Fowley, Willard Waterman, Don Porter, Jack Bailey, Nancy Saunders, Basil Tellou, James Burke
• Director: Norman Taurog
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Based on the short story ‘Once Upon a Train (The Loco Motive)’ by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice. The film was conceived as a way to repeat the success of MGM’s popular The Thin Man film series of the 1930s and 1940s. The lead character was intended to be Hildegarde Withers, who had appeared in a series of murder mysteries for MGM in the 1930s, but the character was replaced with ‘Mrs. O’Malley’ due to copyright issues.

1960

December 7 – Cleopatra’s Daughter

• Cast:Debra Paget, Ettore Manni, Erno Crisa, Corrado Pani, Yvette Lebon, Robert Alda, Rosalba Neri
• Director: Fernando Cerchio
• Studio: Explorer Film ’58, Comptoir Francais du Productions
• Trivia: The original Italian version of the film (Il sepolcro dei re) is set in Egypt during the reign of the pharaoh Khufu (r. 2589-2566 BC). The English translation of the Italian script sets the story in the 1st century B.C.

Metro-Goldwyn Mayer

December 7 – Village of the Damned

• Cast: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens, Michael Gwynn, Laurence Naismith, Richard Warner, Jenny Laird, Sarah Long, Thomas Heathcote, Charlotte Mitchell, Pamela Buck, Rosamund Greenwood, Susan Richards, Bernard Archard, Peter Vaughan, John Phillips, Richard Vernon, John Stuart, Keith Pyott
• Director: Wolf Rilla
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s
• Trivia: Adapted from the 1957 novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The film was followed by a sequel, Children of the Damned, in 1964. The film was remade in 1995. MGM bought the film rights to the novel before its publication with Russ Tamblyn as a possible star. Robert Stevens signed to direct. MGM intended to shoot the film in Hollywood with a screenplay by Stirling Silliphant and Ronald Colman as the star. The film was delayed because of pressure from the Catholic League of Decency, which objected to the depiction of a virgin birth and the film’s blasphemous implications. Colman died in May 1958. Colman’s widow, Benita Hume, married George Sanders in 1959, and Sanders was eventually cast in the role meant for Colman when the production was moved to MGM-British Studios. Michael Rennie claimed he was being considered for the lead in 1958. Wolf Rilla was named director six weeks before production began. He didn’t think Silliphant’s script captured British life properly so MGM gave Rilla a weekend to make changes. Rilla shot the film in a low-key, documentary manner to make the horror more horrible because everything was much more normal. The blond wigs worn by the children were padded to make their heads look abnormally large. British censors had the childrens’ glowing eye effects removed which revealed the children widening their eyes as they attack. The American version utilizes a freeze frame for a scene which omits a subtle smile on the child David’s face as he sets one of the villagers on fire. The American print does not carry the credit for MGM’s British studio. The film opened in June 1960 in the UK.

December 8 – The Sundowners

• Cast: Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, Peter Ustinov, Glynis Johns, Dina Merrill, Chips Rafferty, Michael Anderson Jr., Wylie Watson, John Meillon, Ronald Fraser, Gerry Duggan, Leonard Teale, Dick Bentley
• Director: Fred Zinnemann
• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Adapted from Jon Cleary’s 1952 novel of the same name. The film was Oscar nominated for Best Actress (Kerr), Best Supporting Actress (Johns), Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Zinnemann was planning to make a film based on The Shiralee at the suggestion of Dorothy Hammerstein (the second wife of Oscar Hammerstein II), but she accidentally sent him a copy of The Sundowners. Zinnemann immediately purchased the screen rights. Aaron Spelling was originally signed to write the screenplay. The film’s ending was a tribute to John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Gary Cooper was hired as the male lead but had to drop out due to health issues. Mitchum agreed to take the role for a chance to work with Kerr, with whom he’d become good friends during the filming of Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. He also agreed to give her top billing. Zinnemann was determined to shoot the film on location in Australia, vetoing Jack Warner’s plan to shoot in Arizona or near Dallas. Zinneman spent 12 weeks filming scenery before the cast arrived in October 1959. Weather fluctuations from hot and humid to cold and rainy delayed production by several weeks, irritating some cast and crew. Mitchum was often harrassed by fans and moved on to a boat to avoid them. Nicolas Roeg was a second unit camera operator. The film was marketed as a newer version of From Here to Eternity but was a financial faliure in the US. It was the third highest grossing film in Australia in 1961. The film did appear on many critics’ Top Ten lists including the National Board of Review for Motion Pictures (#3), The New York Daily News (#4), and The New York Post, The Saturday Review and the New York World-Telegram.

1970

December 3 – The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

• Cast: Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Geneviève Page, Christopher Lee, Irene Handl, Clive Revill, Tamara Toumanova, Stanley Holloway, Mollie Maureen, Catherine Lacey
• Director: Billy Wilder
• Studio: Compton Films, The Mirisch Corporation, Phalanx Productions, distributed by United Artists.
• Trivia: The film opened in the US on October 29, 1970. Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss credit the film as a source of inspiration for their Sherlock TV series. Wilder planned to adapt the Sherlock Holmes stories into a musical but dropped that idea after two failed attempts in 1955 and 1963. Peter O’Toole (Holmes) and Peter Sellers (Watson) were Wilder’s original stars. Nicol Williamson, who portrayed Holmes in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, was also considered. Rex Harrison was interested in the role but Wilder wasn’t interested in Harrison. George Sanders was cast as Mycroft but had to withdraw due to failing health and was replaced by Christopher Lee. Sets were built at Pinewood Studios including 150 yards of Baker Street. The set for the Diogenes Club stood until 1973, having been used in other films including Hands of the Ripper and Carry On at Your Convenience. Scenes set in Scotland were filmed on location at Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness, Kilmartin Hall on Loch Meiklie; Nairn railway station. The first cut of the film ran three hours and twenty minutes resulting in large portions of the film being deleted. What remained of the cut scenes were restored for the film’s LaserDisc release (deleted scenes are also included on the Blu-ray released in 2014). A model of the Loch Ness Monster with a neck and two humps was built but Wilder requested the humps be removed, even though he was told it would affect the buoyancy. The humps were removed and the model sank. It was discovered in April 2016 during an expedition to find the real Loch Ness Monster.

December 4 – The Garden of the Finzi-Continis

• Cast: Lino Capolicchio, Dominique Sanda, Helmut Berger, Fabio Testi, Romolo Valli, Camillo Cesarei, Inna Alexeievna, Katina Morisani, Barbara Pilavin
• Director: Vittorio De Sica
• Studio: Documento Film, CCC Film, distributed by Titanus (Italy)
• Trivia: B ased upon Giorgio Bassani’s 1962 novel of the same name. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 21st Berlin International Film Festival, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1972. This was the first film for Dominique Sanda and the second for Helmut Berger.

December 5 – Brewster McCloud

• Cast: Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, William Windom, Shelley Duvall, René Auberjonois, Margaret Hamilton, Corey Fischer, Stacy Keach, John Schuck, Bill Adair, Bert Remsen, Jennifer Salt, G. Wood, Dean Goss, William Baldwin, Ronnie Cammick, Marilyn Burns
• Director: Robert Altman
• Studio: Lion’s Gate Films, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The first film shot inside the Houston Astrodome. Though Doran William Cannon is given a screenplay credit, most of the script was rewritten by Altman and associates or improvised on set. Cannon wrote a column for the New York Times after the film’s release detailing his frustrations with the experience. The film has allusions or references to other films or individuals including The Wizard of Oz, Bullitt, Haskell Wexler, MASH, La Dolce Vita and 8½. This was the first film produced by Altman’s Lion’s Gate Films (later Lionsgate). Many Houston landmarks and streetscapes seen in the film have been demolished or radically altered. Shelley Duvall was discovered in Texas and cast in her first film role as Brewster’s love interest.

December 6 – Gimme Shelter

• Cast: The Rolling Stones
• Director: Albert and David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
• Studio: Maysles Films, Penforta, distributed by Cinema 5 (US), 20th Century Fox (UK)
• Trivia: The film was screened out of competition at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. The Mayles brothers filmed the first Stones concert of their tour at Madison Square Garden and asked if they could film them on tour. The band agreed. The tour and film culminates with the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. Mick Jagger was punched in the face on the way to his trailer, Jefferson Airplane’s Marty Balin was knocked out by a Hell’s Angel (the group was hired to provide security). The Grateful Dead opted not to play after hearing of the incident with Balin. Attendee Meredith Hunter attempted to force his way on stage, and after brandishing a hand gun was killed by at least six stab wounds with the incident captured by at least one of the six cameras filming the concert. The incident appeared in the final cut of the film. One of the camera operators was George Lucas, but his camera jammed after about 30 minutes and none of his footage was used.

December 8 – Husbands

• Cast: Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes
• Director: John Cassavetes
• Studio: Faces Music, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: John Cassavetes based the film on his own experience of losing his younger brother at the age of 30. He wrote the dialogue after improvising with Falk and Gazzara and built the character personalities around the actors. Falk agreed to appear in the film when Cassavetes agreed to appear in Elaine May’s film Mikey and Nicky with Falk. Cassavetes, Falk, and Gazzara appeared on The Dick Cavett Show to promote the film but avoided answering any questions about the movie. The three later admitted to drinking before the show. Cassavetes had to cut about 85 minutes from the finished film to bring the running time to a contractual 140 minutes. After the film was released, Columbia Pictures cut another 11 minutes due to negative response and audience walkouts. The 11 minutes were restored for DVD and Blu-ray releases.

1980

December 3 – The Competition

• Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving, Lee Remick, Sam Wanamaker, Joseph Cali, Ty Henderson, Vicki Kriegler, Adam Stern, Bea Silvern, Gloria Stroock, Philip Sterling, Priscilla Pointer, James B. Sikking, Delia Salvi
• Director: Joel Oliansky
• Studio: Rastar Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Film Editing & Best Original Song; one Golden Globe: Best Original Score; and one Golden Raspberry Award: Worst Actor (Dreyfuss).

December 5 – Flash Gordon

• Cast: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol, Ornella Muti, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Peter Wyngarde, Mariangela Melato, Richard O’Brien, John Osborne, Philip Stone, John Hallam, Suzanne Danielle, John Morton, William Hootkins, Robbie Coltrane, Peter Duncan, John Hollis, Leon Greene, Tony Scannell, Bogdan Kominowski, George Harris, Deep Roy, Bob Goody, Kenny Baker, Malcolm Dixon
• Director: Mike Hodges
• Studio: Starling Productions, Famous Films, distributed by Columbia–EMI–Warner Distributors (UK), Universal Pictures (US)
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on December 11, 1980. Dino De Laurentiis had been wanting to make a Flash Gordon movie since the 1960s. George Lucas wanted to make a Flash Gordon film in the 70s but could not acquire the rights from De Laurentiis, which resulted in the creation of Star Wars. Federico Fellini was set to direct a version of the film that never happened. Nicolas Roeg was hired to direct in 1977 but was replaced with Hodges. Sergio Leone was also considered to direct but refused because the script was not faithful to the original comic strip. After a dispute with De Laurentiis, Sam Jones left the film before it was completed, resulting in much of his dialogue being dubbed by Peter Marinker and putting an end to any possible sequels. The circumstances of the dispute serves as a key component of the documentary Life After Flash. The film was a hit in the UK and Italy, and fared poorly in other markets but the film has since gained a cult following. The film was nominated for three Saturn Awards: Best Costumes, Best Science Fiction Film, Best Supporting Actor; three BAFTAs: Best Costume Design, Best Original Film Music, Best Art Design; and one Golden Raspberry Award: Worst Actor (Jones).

Paramount Pictures

December 6 – Popeye

• Cast: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Paul L. Smith, Paul Dooley, Richard Libertini, Ray Walston, Donald Moffat, MacIntyre Dixon, Roberta Maxwell, Donovan Scott, Allan F. Nicholls, Wesley Ivan Hurt, Bill Irwin, Sharon Kinney, Peter Bray, Linda Hunt, Geoff Hoyle, Wayne Robson, Klaus Voormann, Van Dyke Parks, Dennis Franz, Carlos Brown
• Director: Robert Altman
• Studio: Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Productions, Robert Evans Productions, King Features Entertainment, distributed by Paramount Pictures (North America), Buena Vista International Distribution (International)
• Trivia: The film was born out of a bidding war between Paramount and Columbia for the film rights to the Broadway musical Annie. When Paramount lost, studio head Robert Evans looked for a comics character the studio already owned that could be turned into a musical. King Features Syndicate held the television rights to Popeye but Paramount held the film rights due to its distribution deal with Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios for the theatrical shorts produced from 1932 to 1957. Evans hired Jules Feiffer to write the script in 1977 and wanted Dustin Hoffman as Popeye and Lily Tomlin as Olive Oyl with John Schlesinger directing. Hoffman dropped out due to creative differences with Feiffer. Gilda Radner was also considered for Olive Oyl but was discouraged by her agent from taking the part because of concerns about the quality of the script and her working for months on an isolated set with the erratic Evans and Altman. Disney joined the production in 1979 as part of a two-picture deal with Paramount that also included Dragonslayer. The Sweethaven set was constructed on the island of Malta, much more elaborate than was needed for the film and the set still exists today as a popular tourist attraction known as Popeye Village. Robin Williams referred to the set as ‘Stalag Altman’. Filming ran three weeks over schedule due to bad weather. The original inflatable arms for Popeye did not look convincing so Altman had to film scenes in which his arms were not seen until a new pair arrived from Italy. Altman had the cast sing live which caused sound quality issues (some tracks on the soundtrack album do not match what’s heard in the film). Williams had to re-record his dialogue because of trouble understanding the character’s mumbling style. Williams’ affinity for ad-libbing caused clashes with Altman. The mechanical octopus failed to work properly for the climactic scene, adding to budget overruns. When production rose above $20 million, Paramount ordered Altman to wrap filming and return to Hollywood with whatever he had. While the film grossed more than double its budget. it was not the blockbuster Paramount and Disney hoped for and was considered a disappointment.

1990

December 5 – The Grifters

• Cast: John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, Pat Hingle, Henry Jones, Gailard Sartain, J.T. Walsh, Charles Napier, Noelle Harling, Paul Adelstein, Jeremy Piven, Stephen Tobolowsky, Xander Berkeley, Frances Bay, Sandy Baron
• Director: Stephen Frears
• Studio: Cineplex Odeon Films, distributed by Miramax Films
• Trivia: The film had a limited release on December 5 for awards consideration before going into wide release on January 4, 1991. Based on Jim Thompson’s 1963 novel. Winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Picture, and named one of the Top 10 Films of 1990 by the National Board of Review. Stephen Frears asked screenwriter Donald Westlake to use his pseudonym ‘Richard Stark’ on the script, a name Westlake had used for 20 noir-influenced crime novels. Westlake declined, saying ‘Stark’ was not a member of the Writers Guild. The name does appear on a sign in the film, ‘Stark, Coe and Fellows’, with Westlake stating he’d also written novels under the name Tucker Coe and ‘some other fellows’. John Cusack had read Thompson’s novel in 1985 and wanted to turn it into a film himself. He actively pursued a role in the film when he learned Martin Scorsese was producing and Frears was directing. Cusack studied with real grifters and learned card, dice and sleight-of-hand tricks. Before Anjelica Huston was cast as Lily, Cher was considered but became too expensive after the success of Moonstruck. Sissy Spacek was also considered. Huston was first contacted in 1989 while filming Crimes and Misdemeanors but was unsure of a scene in the script in which Lily is beaten so severely she defecates. Huston’s agent Sue Mengers told her bluntly, ‘Anjelica, if Stephen Frears tells you he wants you to shit in the corner, then that’s what you must do.’ Huston auditioned the next day but almost lost the role because she was too ladylike. The issue was resolved with a bleached blonde wig and ‘vulgar clothes’. Huston also studied with female dealers at card parlors in Los Angeles. Huston was so emotionally traumatized by the beating scene — which never made it into the film — that she spent the rest of the night vomiting. The film premiered on September 14, 1990 at the Toronto Festival of Festivals. An uncredited Scorses provided the film’s opening voice-over, and Juliet Landau make an uncredited appearance as young Lily. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards — Best Director, Best Actress (Huston), Best Supporting Actress (Bening), Best Adapted Screenplay. Huston won acting awards from the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Independent Spirit Awards and the National Society of Film Critics Awards. Bening won the Newcomer of the Year from the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards and Best Supporting Actress from the National Society of Film Critics Awards.

December 6 – The End of Innocence

• Cast: Dyan Cannon, Alison Sweeney, Rebecca Schaeffer, John Heard, George Cole, Billie Bird, Michael Madsen, Todd Field, Connie Sawyer, Albert Henderson, Stephen Meadows, Dennis Burkley, Stoney Jackson, Viveka Davis, Renee Taylor, Madge Sinclair
• Director: Dyan Cannon
• Studio: Skouras Pictures
• Trivia: The film was written and directed by Cannon and was semi-autobiographical. The film was released after Rebecca Schaeffer’s murder by a crazed fan on July 18, 1989. This was the film debut of Alison Sweeney before she became a regular on Days of Our Lives.

December 7 – The Rookie

• Cast: Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia, Sônia Braga, Tom Skerritt, Lara Flynn Boyle, Pepe Serna, Marco Rodriguez, Xander Berkeley, Roberta Vasquez, Hal Williams
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Studio: Malpaso Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Because of its use of expensive sets and elaborate stunts, all done without the aid of extensive CGI, this is considered Eastwood’s most over-the-top film. The film was successful, earning twice its $10 million budget, but was overshadowed by the success of Home Alone, which had opened three weeks earlier. While praised for his performance, the film generated some controversy for Raul Julia’s casting as a German crime lord, as well as the casting of Braga as Liesl. There were twice as many stunt people on the film as there were actors. Most of the stunt scenes were shot at night.

2000

December 8 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

• Cast: Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Cheng Pei-pei, Sihung Lung
• Director: Ang Lee
• Studio: Sony Pictures Classics, Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, Good Machine International, Edko Films, Zoom Hunt Productions, China Film Co-Production Corp., Asian Union Film & Entertainment Ltd., distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: Grossing $128 million in the US, the film is the highest grossing foreign-language film in American history. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2000, followed by openings on July 7 (Taiwan), July 8 (Mainland China), July 13 (Hong Kong), and December 8 (US). The film won over 40 awards internationally and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film, the most nominations for a Foreign Language film ever until tied by Netflix’s Roma in 2018. The film is based on the five-part novel series from the 1930s by Wang Dulu, and is condensed and adapted from the fourth book in the series. The film was made in several provinces in China, with the first phase of shooting in the Gobi Desert … where it consistently rained. All of the actors do their own stunts for the most part, with computers used only to remove the wires that held them. Three of the four leads spoke Mandarin, but Michelle Yeoh had to learn her lines phonetically as her native languages are Malay and English. Only Zhang Ziyi spoke native Mandarin with the accent Ang Lee wanted. Chow Yun Fat had to do 25 takes on the first day because of the language (his native language is Cantonese). As the film targeted Western audiences not familiar with Wuxia film, Ang Lee personally edited the English subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for Western audiences.

December 8 – Dancer in the Dark

• Cast: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare, Joel Grey, Cara Seymour, Vladica Kostic, Jean-Marc Barr, Vincent Paterson, Siobhan Fallon, Željko Ivanek, Udo Kier, Jens Albinus, Reathel Bean, Michael Flessas, Mette Berggreen, Lars Michael Dinesen, Katrine Falkenberg, Stellan Skarsgård
• Director: Lars von Trier
• Studio: Zentropa Entertainments, Canal+, FilmFour, France 3 Cinéma, distributed by Fine Line Features
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2000. With accolades and controverys, the film won the Palme d’Or and Best Actress for Björk. The song ‘I’ve Seen It All’ was Oscar nominated for Best Original Song. Three songs from The Sound of Music were used in the film. This is the third of von Trier’s ‘Golden Heart Trilogy’. The film’s title references the Fred Astaire/Cyd Charisse duet ‘Dancing in the Dark’ from The Band Wagon, which ties in with the film’s musical theme. Björk said making the film was so taxing that she’d never act again (she did appear in the 2005 film Drawing Restraint 9). Musical sequences were shot with more than 100 digital cameras so multiple angles could be cut together, minimizing the number of takes needed to shoot the scenes. A Danish locomotive was painted in the American Great Northern scheme for the movie but was not repainted afterward. In 2017, Björk alleged that she had been sexually harrassed by a ‘Danish film director she worked with’. The Los Angeles Times found evidence that it was von Trier, who denied the accusations but stating that he and Björk were not friends during the making of the film. The film’s producer recalled that he and von Trier were the true victims of Björk’s demands and behavior while making the film. Björk and her manager later released statements detailing her accusations.

December 8 – Dungeons & Dragons

• Cast: Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Jeremy Irons, Thora Birch, Bruce Payne, Edward Jewesbury, Zoe McLellan, Kristen Wilson, Lee Arenberg
• Director: Courtney Solomon
• Studio: Behavior Worldwide, Silver Pictures, Sweetpea Entertainment, distributed by New Line Cinema
• Trivia: Richard O’Brien & Tom Baker make cameo appearances. Though the film performed poorly, it was followed in 2005 by the made-for-TV movie, Wrath of the Dragon God, which was not a direct sequel although Bruce Payne’s character Damodar returns. A third film, The Book of Vile Darkness, was released direct-to-DVD in the UK in 2012. Director Solomon spent 18 months convincing the game’s compnay TSR to allow him to produce a film. The intention was a $100 million studio film with a big name director. Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, Renny Harlin, and Stan Winston were all attached at some point during pre-production but backed out. Studios and directors loved the screenplay but the failure of recent big budget fantasy films like Willow, Krull and Dragonheart, and the lack of a big name star, caused them to turn away from the project. Disagreements between studios and TSR on financing and merchandising were also factors. When Joel Silver boarded the project in 1997, his vision was to turn the project into a TV series, but Wizards of the Coast, the new owner of the game, would not allow that. The project went from $100 million to a $3.5 million direct-to-video film, but after Solomon shot a 3-minute battle scene, Silver was so impressed he upped the budget to $30 million, turning the project back into a theatrical release. Solomon shot the film in Prague where props and set construction cost five times less than in the US. Marlon Wayans was filming Requiem for a Dream at the same time and had to commute between Prague and New York.

December 8 – Italian for Beginners

• Cast: Anders W. Berthelsen, Anette Støvelbæk Ann Eleonora Jørgensen Peter Gantzler
• Director: Lone Scherfig
• Studio: Zentropa
• Trivia: The film was made under the strict Dogme 95 principles using handheld cameras and natural lighting. After the film’s release, similarities were discovered between the script and the novel Evening Class by Maeve Binchy, forcing Zentropa to pay Binchy an undisclosed sum in compensation.

December 8 – Proof of Life

• Cast: Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse, Pamela Reed, David Caruso, Anthony Heald, Michael Byrne, Stanley Anderson, Gottfried John, Alun Armstrong, Michael Kitchen, Margo Martindale
• Director: Taylor Hackford
• Studio: Castle Rock Entertainment, Bel-Air Entertainment, Anvil Films, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Inspired by William Prochnau’s Vanity Fair magazine article ‘Adventures in the Ransom Trade’, and Thomas Hargrove’s book Long March to Freedom. The film is dedicated to Will Gaffney, David Morse’s stand-in who was killed on-set when a truck he was in went over a cliff. Morse was away at the time because of a family illness.

December 8 – Vertical Limit

• Cast: Chris O’Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney, Scott Glenn, Izabella Scorupco, Temuera Morrison, Robert Taylor, Stuart Wilson, Nicholas Lea, Alexander Siddig, David Hayman, Ben Mendelsohn, Steve Le Marquand, Roshan Seth
• Director: Martin Campbell
• Studio: Columbia Pictures, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: The third Martin Campell film to feature Stuart Wilson after No Escape (1994) and The Mask of Zorro (1998).

2010

December 3 – All Good Things

• Cast: Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Lily Rabe, Philip Baker Hall, Michael Esper, Diane Venora, Nick Offerman, Kristen Wiig, Stephen Kunken, John Cullum, Maggie Kiley, Liz Stauber, Marion McCorry, Mia Dillon, Tom Kemp, Trini Alvarado, Francie Swift, David Margulies, Francis Guinan
• Director: Andrew Jarecki
• Studio: Magnolia Pictures
• Trivia: Inspired by the life of accused murderer Robert Durst. Durst admired the film and agreed to be interviewed by Jarecki for more than 20 hours over a multi-year period, which led to the six-part documentary The Jinx. The film’s title references the health food store Durst and his wife Kathleen McCormack established in the 1970s. The film was originally scheduled for a July 24, 2009 release but Miramax kept delaying the release so Jarecki bought the domestic distribution rights, with Magnolia acquiring the American rights on August 24, 2010.

Fox Searchlight

December 3 – Black Swan

• Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Kristina Anapau, Janet Montgomery, Sebastian Stan, Toby Hemingway, Sergio Torrado
• Director: Darren Aronofsky
• Studio: Cross Creek Pictures, Protozoa Pictures, Phoenix Pictures, Dune Entertainment, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2010. The film had a limited release in the US on December 3 before going wide on December 17. Aronofsky considers the film a companion piece to his 2008 film The Wrestler. Portman and Kunis trained in ballet for several months before filming. The film grossed $330 million worldwide against a $13 million budget, and was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Portman won the Best Actress Oscar. Aronofsky cited Roman Polankski’s Repulsion and The Tenant as inspirations, while Portman compared the film’s tone to Rosemary’s Baby. Portman suggested her friend Kunis for the role of Lily/The Black Swan.

December 3 – Dead Awake

• Cast: Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Shane Simmons
• Director: Omar Naim
• Studio: First Look Studios
• Trivia: The film is also known as Dylan’s Wake.

December 3 – I Love You Phillip Morris

• Cast: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Rodrigo Santoro, Leslie Mann, Antoni Corone, Brennan Brown, Michael Showers, Marc Macaulay, Annie Golden, Michael Mandel
• Director: John Requa, Glenn Ficarra
• Studio: EuropaCorp, Mad Chance Productions, distributed by LD Entertainment, Roadside Attractions
• Trivia: Based on the real life story of con artist, impostor and multiple prison escapee Steven Jay Russell, and adapted from the 2003 book I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks by Steve McVicker. The directorial debut of Requa and Ficarra, who received a Writers Guild nomination for their screenplay. Due to some explicit gay content, the film had difficulty finding a distributor so the film was re-edited and picked up by Consolidated Pictures Group. The real Phillip Morris has a cameo as Steven’s lawyer. The film had been scheduled for a July 30, 2010 release but was delayed due to legal battles. Roadside Attractions and Liddell Entertainment acquired the film and gave it a December 3 release.

December 3 – Night Catches Us

• Cast: Kerry Washington, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Hector, Wendell Pierce, Amari Cheatom, Tariq Trotter, Novella Nelson, Thomas Roy, Ron Simons
• Director: Tanya Hamilton
• Studio: Magnolia Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2010. The film’s score was produced by The Roots.

December 8 – Hurricane Season

• Cast: Forest Whitaker, Jackie Long, Taraji P. Henson, China Anne McClain, Isaiah Washington, Bonnie Hunt, Bow Wow, Khleo Thomas, Robbie Jones, Lil Wayne, Michael Gaston, Courtney B. Vance, Irma P. Hall, Marcus Lyle Brown, Brian Hartley, Laurie Lee, J. B. Smoove
• Director: Tim Story
• Studio: The Weinstein Company, distributed by Dimension Films
• Trivia: The film’s theatrical release was delayed several times before it eventually went straight to DVD on December 8, 2010.