Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #110 :: August 31 to September 6

Paramount Pictures

The first week of September was a busy one with new films making their debuts in every decade over the last century. Some went on to great acclaim, some were just crowd-pleasers and some have been forgotten over time. 1922 had a silent film that was a precursor to feature-length productions, 1932 had a film that led to the retirement of one of its cast members, and 1942 produced a film that became the name of a popular motel chain and included a song that would go on to become a holiday standard. That decade also gave Lucille Ball the lead in one of her favorite films. 1952 saw Marilyn Monroe’s star on the rise, while 1972 saw the further demise of Richard Burton’s career. 1992 saw the directorial debut of Tim Robbins and the acting debut of Penélope Cruz, while 2002 gave Adrien Brody an Oscar-worthy role. 2012 had horror films from the UK and the US, and brought Australia’s Kath & Kim to the big screen. Read on to learn more about these and other films celebrating anniversaries this week.

1922

September – Rob Roy (UK)

Cast: David Hawthorne, Gladys Jennings, Simeon Stuart, Wallace Bosco, Alec Hunter, Tom Morris, Eva Llewellyn, Roy Kellino
Director: W. P. Kellino
Production Company: Gaumont British Picture Corporation
Trivia: The exact release date is unknown.

September – Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep (UK)

Cast: Betty Balfour, Fred Groves, Hugh E. Wright, Bertram Burleigh, Annette Benson, Mary Brough, Hal Martin
Director: George Pearson
Production Company: Welsh-Pearson, distributed by Jury Films
Trivia: The exact release date is unknown. Sequel to 1921’s Squibbs. The film was retitled Take Me Back to Blighty in British Columbia but the reason for the change is unknown.

September 3 – Grandma’s Boy (USA)

Cast: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Anna Townsend, Dick Sutherland, Charles Stevenson, Noah Young
Director: Fred C. Newmeyer
Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathe Film Exchange
Trivia: The Los Angeles premiere was held on May 20, 1922. Released in the UK on May 24, 1926. Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 18, 2009. A pioneer for feature-length film running five reels. All of Harold Lloyd’s films to that point had been one-or-two reelers, except for A Sailor-Made Man (1921) which ran four reels (although it was only intended to be two). The film was meant to be a drama but was altered by Lloyd into a comedy. The flashback scenes set in the Civil War are actually the original short around which this movie was built.

1932

September 1 – Blondie of the Follies (USA)

Cast: Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove, Jimmy Durante, James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Sidney Toler, Douglass Dumbrille, Sarah Padden, Louise Carter, Clyde Cook
Director: Edmund Goulding
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Cosmopolitan Productions, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Opened in London on September 22, 1923, but did not receive a general UK release until January 30, 1933. Billie Dove retired from acting after this film to raise her family. She was also angry about interference in the production by William Randolph Hearst, whose lover Marion Davies starred. The Rocky Twins, identical cross-dressing Norwegian brothers, were initially hired to appear in a Follies number in drag, but ultimately appeared as conventional chorus boys.

September 5 – The Last Frontier (USA, serial)

Cast: Lon Chaney, Jr., Dorothy Gulliver, Ralph Bushman, William Desmond, Joe Bonomo, Pete Morrison, LeRoy Mason, Yakima Canutt, Mary Jo Desmond, Slim Cole, Richard Neill, Judith Barrie, Claude Payton, Ben Corbett, Frank Lackteen, Fritzi Fern
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Storey
Production Company: Van Beuren Studios, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Based on the novel of the same name by Courtney Ryley Cooper. RKO’s only serial.

1942

August 31 – Un colpo di pistola (Italy)

Cast: Assia Noris, Fosco Giachetti, Antonio Centa, Rubi Dalma, Anna Capodaglio, Renato Cialente, Mimì Dugini, Romolo Costa, Saro Urzì
Director: Renato Castellani
Production Company: Lux Film
Trivia: English title is A Pistol Shot.

September – A Yank at Eton (USA)

Cast: Mickey Rooney, Edmund Gwenn, Ian Hunter, Freddie Bartholomew, Marta Linden, Juanita Quigley, Alan Mowbray, Peter Lawford, Raymond Severn
Director: Norman Taurog
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
Trivia: The exact release date is unknown. A thematic sequel to MGM’s British film A Yank at Oxford (1938). Edmund Gwenn plays similar roles in both films. Peter Lawford’s first significant film role. The film was meant as a bit of wartime propaganda to show the Americans and Brits could put aside their superficial differences and work together for the war effort.

September – Panama Hattie (USA)

Cast: Red Skelton, Ann Sothern, Rags Ragland, Ben Blue, Marsha Hunt, Virginia O’Brien, Alan Mowbray, Dan Dailey, Jackie Horner
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: The exact release date is unknown, although it did begin a New York City engagement on October 1, 1942. Based upon the Broadway musical of the same name.

September – Somewhere I’ll Find You (USA)

Cast: Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Robert Sterling, Patricia Dane, Reginald Owen, Lee Patrick, Charles Dingle, Sara Haden
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: The film began a New York City engagement on August 27, 1942 before heading into general release in September. Van Johnson and Keenan Wynn, in his film debut, appear uncredited. The film took almost two years to complete (due to the death of Gable’s wife Carole Lombard in a plane crash and Gable given time to grieve) and was Gable’s last film before enlisting in the Army Air Force. The film was almost scrapped while production was postponed. It was retitled Red Light at Gable’s request but changed back to Somewhere I’ll Find You before the release. Lana Turner was fired after marrying Artie Shaw against the studio’s wishes and Esther Williams was nearly her replacement, but Turner and the studio made peace and she was rehired.

September 4 – Holiday Inn (USA)

Cast: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Walter Abel, Virginia Dale, Louise Beavers, Irving Bacon
Director: Mark Sandrich
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Opened first in London on July 31, 1942, then held a New York City premiere on August 4. Irving Berling wrote twelve songs for the film, including ‘White Christmas’, which was the Oscar winner for Best Original Song. The film was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Story. The song ‘Easter Parade’ is re-used from the 1933 Broadway revue As Thousands Cheer. It would be used again for the 1948 film Easter Parade. It was expected the song ‘Be Careful, It’s My Heart’ would be the hit song from the movie but ‘White Christmas’ went on to top the charts in October 1942 for eleven weeks and became a holiday standard. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii occurred halfway through filming. As a result, the Fourth of July segment was expanded beyond Fred Astaire’s firecracker dance to include the patriotic number that highlights the strength of the US military. The Connecticut Inn set for the film was reused by Paramount for White Christmas as the Vermont Inn. For the ‘drunk’ dance, Fred Astaire had two drinks of bourbon before the first take and one before each succeeding take. The seventh and last take was used in the film. Yes, the Holiday Inn motel chain was named after the film.

September 4 – The Big Street (USA)

RKO Radio Pictures

Cast: Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Barton MacLane, Eugene Pallette, Agnes Moorehead, Marion Martin, George Cleveland, William T. Orr, Ray Collins, Sam Levene, Vera Gordon
Director: Irving Reis
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: A New York City engagement began on August 13, 1942. Based on the 1940 short story ‘Little Pinks’ by Damon Runyon, who also produced. Runyon wanted Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard for the leads but neither was interested. Lombard suggested her friend Lucille Ball, and despite RKO wanting a bigger name, Runyon cast her. The character of Nicely Nicely Johnson also appears in Runyon’s Guys and Dolls. Sam Levene’s performance as Horsethief served as a precursor to his performance as Nathan Detroit in the Broadway production of Guys and Dolls.

September 4 – The Secret Code (USA, serial)

Cast: Paul Kelly, Anne Nagel, Beal Wong
Director: Spencer G. Bennet
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Columbia Pictures’ 19th serial, inspired by Republic Pictures’ Spy Smasher. Each chapter ended with a quick lesson in cryptography.

September 5 – Across the Pacific (USA)

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Kam Tong, Charles Halton, Victor Sen Yung, Roland Got, Lee Tung Foo, Frank Wilcox, Paul Stanton, Lester Matthews, John Hamilton, Roland Drew, Monte Blue, Chester Gan, Richard Loo, Keye Luke, Rudy Robles, Spencer Chan, Frank Mayo
Director: John Huston, Vincent Sherman
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Premiered in New York City on September 4, 1942, and opened in London in November. Adapted from the Saturday Evening Post serial by Robert Carson, ‘Aloha Means Goodbye’, published June 28–July 26, 1941. John Huston was unable to complete the film as he had joined the US Army Signal Corps. Despite the title, the film’s action never crosses the Pacific, but ends in Panama. The film’s original script concerned attempting to stop an attack by the Japanese of Pearl Harbor. When the actual attack happened, production was shut down for three months so the script could be rewritten to change the location to Panama. Monte Blue, who appeared in a 1926 silent film with the same title, has a small role in this film (the plots are completely unrelated). To create the effect of being on the ocean, the ship’s deck set was built on a platform supported by hydraulic lifts to keep everything moving. Most of the actors playing Japanese characters are Chinese due to the fact that many Japanese-Americans had been interred during the war.

1952

September – The Savage (USA)

Cast: Charlton Heston, Susan Morrow, Peter Hansen, Joan Taylor, Richard Rober, Don Porter, Ted de Corsia, Ian MacDonald, Milburn Stone, Angela Clarke, Michael Tolan
Director: George Marshall
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The exact release date is unknown. Based on L. L. Foreman’s novel, The Renegade. Shot on location in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

September 2 – It Grows on Trees (USA)

Cast: Irene Dunne, Dean Jagger, Joan Evans, Richard Crenna, Edith Meiser, Les Tremayne, Forrest Lewis, Frank Ferguson, Bob Sweeney, Malcolm Lee Beggs, Dee Pollock, Sandy Descher
Director: Arthur Lubin
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Released in the UK on December 30, 1952. Irene Dunn’s final screen role, although she continued to appear on radio and television programs until 1962. She never formally retired but refused to take on the horror roles that Bette Davis and Joan Crawford did just to keep going. The film’s working title was There’s Nothing Like Money. Production had to negotiate with the Treasury Department, which had strict rules for the creation of fake money. One of the requirements was that no money would be seen in close-up.

September 5 – Hellgate (USA)

Cast: Sterling Hayden, Joan Leslie, Ward Bond, James Arness, Peter Coe, John Pickard, Robert Wilke, Kyle James, Richard Emory
Director: Charles Marquis Warren
Production Company: Commander Films Corporation, distributed by Commandeer Films, Lippert Pictures

September 5 – Monkey Business (USA)

Cast: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Hugh Marlowe, Henri Letondal, Robert Cornthwaite, Larry Keating, Douglas Spencer, Esther Dale, George Winslow, Kathleen Freeman
Director: Howard Hawks
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Premiered in Atlantic City on August 29, 1952, with Marilyn Monroe in attendance, and opened in New York City on September 3. Released in the UK on October 2, and in Canada on November 6. Harry Carey Jr. has an uncredited role as a reporter. Director Howard Hawks’ voice can be heard at the beginning of the film telling Cary Grant to not open the door yet. The exterior shots of the Oxly Chemical Co. office building where Barnaby works were actually shots of the Executive Building on the 20th Century Fox studio lot.

September 5 – The City Stands Trial (Italy)

Cast: Amedeo Nazzari, Silvana Pampanini, Paolo Stoppa, Dante Maggio, Franco Interlenghi, Irène Galter, Gualtiero Tumiati, Rino Genovese, Tina Pica, Turi Pandolfini, Mariella Lotti, Franca Tamantini, Bella Starace Sainati, Agostino Salvietti
Director: Luigi Zampa
Production Company: Film Costellazione Produzione, distributed by I.F.E. Releasing Corporation (USA)
Trivia: Premiered at the Locarno Film Festival on July 14, 1952. Was not released in the US until 1954. Based on the Cuocolo case in Viterbo in 1911, where a judicial investigation of the deaths of a man and his wife uncovered a group that had met at a restaurant to plot the murders.

September 5 – The Merry Widow (USA)

Cast: Lana Turner, Fernando Lamas, Una Merkel, Richard Haydn, Thomas Gomez, John Abbott, Marcel Dalio, King Donovan, Robert Coote, Lisa Ferraday
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
Trivia: Opened in Australia in July 1953. Adaptation of the 1905 operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. Joi Lansing appears in an uncredited role. Gwen Verson and Matt Mattox performed specialty dances in the film. Una Merkel appeared in the 1934 film version but in a different role. Trudy Erwin dubbed Lana Turner’s singing voice. Received two Oscar nominations: Set Decoration – Color, and Costume Design – Color. MGM ceased distribution of the 1925 silent and 1934 versions of the film to avoid competition for the 1952 version. The silent was lost for decades until it was reclaimed by Turner Classic Movies. The 1934 version was retitled A Lady Dances to avoid confusion for TV viewers.

1962

September – The Boys (UK)

Cast: Richard Todd, Robert Morley, Dudley Sutton, Ronald Lacey, Tony Garnett, Jess Conrad, Felix Aylmer, Wilfrid Brambell, Roy Kinnear, Allan Cuthbertson, Colin Gordon, Wensley Pithey, Kenneth J. Warren, Patrick Magee
Director: Sidney J. Furie
Production Company: Atlas Productions, Galaworldfilm Productions, distributed by Gala Film Distributors (UK)
Trivia: The exact release date is unknown.

September – The Devil’s Agent (UK)

Cast: Peter van Eyck, Marianne Koch, Christopher Lee, Macdonald Carey, Albert Lieven, Billie Whitelaw, David Knight, Marius Goring, Helen Cherry, Colin Gordon, Niall MacGinnis, Eric Pohlmann, Peter Vaughan, Michael Brennan, Jeremy Bulloch
Director: John Paddy Carstairs
Production Company: Emmet Dalton Productions, CCC Filmkunst (Berlin), distributed by British Lion Film Corporation (U.K.)
Trivia: The exact release date is unknown. Released in West Germany on November 27, 1952. A co-production between Britain, West Germany and the Republic of Ireland. Based on a 1956 novel by Hans Habe.

September 5 – Le repos du guerrier (France)

Cast: Brigitte Bardot, Robert Hossein, James Robertson-Justice, Macha Méril, Yves Barsacq, Jacqueline Porel, Jean-Marc Bory, Christian Melsen, Michel Serrault, Robert Dalban
Director: Roger Vadim
Production Company: Francos Films (Paris), Incei Film, distributed by Cocinor (France), Royal Films International (USA), Gala Film Distributors (UK)
Trivia: Released in the US on December 16, 1963 as Love on a Pillow. UK release title was Warriors Rest.

1972

September 1 – Bluebeard (USA)

Cinerama Releasing Corporation

Cast: Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, Virna Lisi, Nathalie Delon, Marilù Tolo, Karin Schubert, Agostina Belli, Sybil Danning, Joey Heatherton, Edward Meeks, Doka Bukova, Jean Lefebvre, Erica Schramm, Karl-Otto Alberty, Kurt Großkurth, Thomas Fischer, Peter Martin Urtel, Mag-Avril, Sándor Szabó, Dennis Burgess, Mathieu Carrière
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Production Company: Gloria Film S.r.l., Barnabé Productions S.a.r.l., Geiselgasteig Film GmbH, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Trivia: Premiere engagement began on August 18, 1972 in New York City. Also released in the UK on September 1. The speaking voices of almost all of the European actresses in this movie were dubbed by Annie Ross of the famous jazz vocalese group Lambert Hendricks & Ross. Raquel Welch filmed her cameo while production was shut down on Kansas City Bomber after she had broken her wrist. The costume department found ways to conceal the cast. First full English-language movie of Austrian actress Sybil Danning.

September 2 – The Italian Connection (Italy)

Cast: Mario Adorf, Henry Silva, Woody Strode, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Francesca Romana Coluzzi, Cyril Cusack, Femi Benussi, Franco Fabrizi, Peter Berling, Gianni Macchia, Sylva Koscina, Lara Wendel, Jessica Dublin, Giuseppe Castellano, Andrea Scotti, Ulli Lommel, Renato Zero
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Production Company: Cineproduzioni Daunia 70, Hermes Synchron, distributed by Alpherat (Italy), Constantin Film (West Germany), American International Pictures (USA)
Trivia: Released in the UK in 1973, date unknown. Opened in the US on October 31, 1973. Also released as Manhunt in the City and Manhunt in Milan. The second part of Fernando Di Leo’s ‘Milieu trilogy’, preceded by Caliber 9 (also 1972) and The Boss (1973). The film’s original title was Ordini da un altro mondo (Orders From Another World). Woody Strode’s and Henry Silva’s characters later served as inspirations for Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. Mario Adorf dubbed his own voice for the English-language version.

1982

September 3 – The Concrete Jungle (USA)

Cast: Jill St. John, Tracey E. Bregman, BarBara Luna, June Barrett, Aimée Eccles, Sondra Currie, Peter Brown, Camille Keaton
Director: Tom DeSimone
Production Company: Ideal Films, distributed by Motion Picture Marketing
Trivia: Opened in Canada on June 10, 1983, and in Australia on February 2, 1984. Shot in an actual abandoned prison in Ventura, California. Shelley Winters was considered for the part of Shelly Meyers but the role went to Nita Talbot.

September 3 – Zapped! (USA)

Cast: Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Felice Schachter, Heather Thomas, Robert Mandan, Greg Bradford, Scatman Crothers, Sue Ane Langdon, Roger Bowen, Marya Small, Merritt Butrick, Ed Deezen, LaWanda Page, Corine Bohrer, Jan Leighton, Bryan O’Byrne, Ed Bakey
Director: Robert J. Rosenthal
Production Company: Embassy Pictures, Apple/Rose Productions, Thunder Associates, City Films, distributed by Embassy Pictures
Trivia: Released in Australia on May 5, 1983. Filmed largely at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles during the spring of 1981 with the students as extras. Following the box office success of Porky’s, parts of the film were re-shot to include more nudity to earn an R-rating. Heather Thomas, in her theatrical debut, did not want to do her nude scene so a body double was used without her knowledge or approval. Felice Schachter was the only cast member still in high school at the time of filming, and missed her own prom to film the movie’s prom scene. Demi Moore and Helen Slater had auditioned for her role. Final film directed by Robert J. Rosenthal. A direct-to-video sequel was produced in 1990 with Sue Ane Langdon the only cast member who returned. it was also her last film. Willie Aames received a Razzie nominations for both this film and Paradise. The film’s working titles were The Wiz Kid and The Whiz Kid.

1992

September 2 – Un Coeur en Hiver (France)

Cast: Emmanuelle Béart, Daniel Auteuil, André Dussollier, Élizabeth Bourgine, Brigitte Catillon, Myriam Boyer, Maurice Garrel, Jean-Luc Bideau
Director: Claude Sautet
Production Company: Film Par Film, Cinéa, Orly Films, Sédif Productions, Paravision International S.A., D.A. Films, France 3 Cinéma, Le Soficas Sofinergie, distributed by AFMD (France), October Films (USA)
Trivia: Released in the UK on April 23, 1993, and in the US on June 4 as A Heart in Winter. Tied for the Silver Lion Award at the 40th Venice International Film Festival. Claude Sautet’s second-to-last film. Emmanuelle Béart & Daniel Auteuil were in a relationship and married during the making of the film. Béart learned to play the violin for the film.

September 4 – Bob Roberts (USA)

Cast: Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Gore Vidal, John Cusack, Peter Gallagher, Alan Rickman, Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Fred Ward, Brian Murray, Rebecca Jenkins, Harry Lennix, Robert Stanton, Kelly Willis, Tom Atkins, David Strathairn, Pamela Reed, Helen Hunt, Lynne Thigpen, Bingo O’Malley, Kathleen Chalfant, Matt McGrath, Jack Black, Anita Gillette, Fisher Stevens, Bob Balaban, Allan F. Nicholls, Robert Hegyes, Steve Pink, Jeremy Piven, Shira Piven, Lee Arenberg
Director: Tim Robbins
Production Company: Miramax Films, PolyGram, Working Title, Live Entertainment, Bob Roberts Company, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 23, 1992, and at TIFF on September 11. Also opened in the UK on September 11. Tim Robbins’ directorial debut. Based on a short segment of the same title and the same character that Robbins played on Saturday Night Live. Jack Black’s and Eva Amurri’s film debut. A soundtrack album was prepared for release but Tim Robbins did not want the songs in the film played out of context so the project was cancelled. All of the songs were written by Robbins and his brother David.

September 4 – Jamón Jamón (Spain)

Cast: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Jordi Mollà, Stefania Sandrelli, Anna Galiena, Juan Diego, Tomás Penco
Director: Bigas Luna
Production Company: Lolafilms, Ovídeo TV, Sogepaq, distributed by AFMD (France), Academy Entertainment (USA)
Trivia: Premiered in Barcelona on September 2, 1992. Opened in the UK on June 4, 1993. The film played a New York City engagement from September 24, 1993, but did not go into wide US release until February 4, 1994. Penélope Cruz’s film debut. Bigas Luna won the Silver Lion for directing at the 49th Venice International Film Festival.

September 4 – Out on a Limb (USA)

Cast: Matthew Broderick, Jeffrey Jones, Heidi Kling, John C. Reilly, Marian Mercer, Larry Hankin, David Margulies, Courtney Peldon, Michael Monks, Andrew Benne, Mickey Jones, Nancy Lenehan, Noah Craig Andrews, Ben Diskin, Adam Wylie
Director: Francis Veber
Production Company: Interscope Communications, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: Also released in Brazil on September 4, 1992. Did not receive a UK release until April 30, 1993. Final film of Marian Mercer, although she made TV appearances until 2000 (she died in 2011).

2002

September 4 – Ararat (France)

Cast: Charles Aznavour, Christopher Plummer, David Alpay, Arsinée Khanjian, Eric Bogosian, Marie-Josée Croze, Brent Carver, Bruce Greenwood, Elias Koteas, Lousnak, Simon Abkarian, Garen Boyajian
Director: Atom Egoyan
Production Company: Alliance Atlantis Communications, Serendipity Point Films, Ego Film Arts, ARP Sélection, Téléfilm Canada, The Movie Network, Super Ecran, The Harold Greenberg Fund, distributed by Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (Canada), Miramax (USA)
Trivia: Premiered at Cannes on May 20, 2002. Screened at TIFF on September 5. Opened in limited US release on November 15 before expanding on December 6. Did not open in the UK until April 18, 2003. Winner of five Canadian Genie Awards including Best Picture. Though set in Turkey, the film was completely shot in Canada.

September 6 – The Pianist (Poland)

CanalPlus

Cast: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer, Ronan Vibert, Ruth Platt, Andrew Tiernan, Michał Żebrowski, Roy Smiles, Richard Ridings, Daniel Caltagirone
Director: Roman Polanski
Production Company: CanalPlus, Studio Babelsberg, StudioCanal, distributed by BAC Films (France), Tobis Film (Germany), Syrena Entertainment Group (Poland), Pathé Distribution (United Kingdom), Focus Features (USA)
Trivia: Screened at Cannes on May 24, 2002, where it won the Palme d’Or. Opened in France on September 25. Premiered in Los Angeles on December 4 followed by a limited US release on December 25 for awards consideration. Opened in Canada and the UK on January 24, 2003, and went into wide US release on March 28, 2003 to capitalize on its three Oscar wins on March 23. Based on the autobiographical book The Pianist (1946), a Holocaust memoir by the Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman. Nominated for seven Academy Awards and winner of three: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor (Brody). The film was nominated for Best Picture but lost to Chicago. At the time, Brody was the youngest Best Actor winner ever at age 29 and Polanski was the oldest Best Director winner at 69. Brody was the first actor to win Best Actor by beating four prior winners. Brody learned to play the piano for the film. Brody lost 31 lbs for the role. The first film to win France’s César Award for Best Film without a word of French spoken in the film.

2012

August 31 – Berberian Sound Studio (UK)

Cast: Tonia Sotiropoulou, Toby Jones, Susanna Cappellaro, Cosimo Fusco, Katalin Ladik, Antonio Mancino, Fatma Mohamed, Chiara D’Anna, Eugenia Caruso, Suzy Kendall
Director: Peter Strickland
Production Company: UK Film Council, Film4, Warp X, ITV Yorkshire, distributed by Artificial Eye
Trivia: Also opened in Ireland on August 31, 2012. Screened at TIFF on September 10, and at the New York Film Festival on September 22. Received a limited US release on June 14, 2013, and in Canada on August 2. First film in 35 years for actress Suzy Kendall.

August 31 – Cockneys vs Zombies (UK)

Cast: Rasmus Hardiker, Harry Treadaway, Michelle Ryan, Alan Ford, Georgia King, Jack Doolan, Ashley Thomas, Tony Gardner, Tony Selby, Georgina Hale, Dudley Sutton, Richard Briers, Honor Blackman, Elizabeth Webster
Director: Matthias Hoene
Production Company: Limelight, Molinare, Tea Shop & Film Company, distributed by Aya Pro Company, StudioCanal, Shout! Factory
Trivia: Also opened in Ireland on August 31, 2012. Released in the US on August 2, 2013. Final film appearance of Honor Blackman. The bank was actually a library that was redressed for use in the movie.

August 31 – For a Good Time, Call… (USA, limited)

Cast: Ari Graynor, Lauren Miller Rogen, Justin Long, Sugar Lyn Beard, Mimi Rogers, Don McManus, Nia Vardalos, Mark Webber, James Wolk, Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith, Martha MacIsaac, Ken Marino
Director: Jamie Travis
Production Company: AdScott Pictures, distributed by Focus Features
Trivia: Screened at Sundance on January 26, 2012. Opened in the UK and Ireland on November 2. The role of Katie was written specifically for Ari Graynor. The film was shot in 16 days. Seth Rogen and Kevin Smith have cameos in the film.

August 31 – The Possession (USA)

Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport, Natasha Calis, Grant Show, Matisyahu, Jay Brazeau, Quinn Lord
Director: Ole Bornedal
Production Company: Ghost House Pictures, North Box Productions, distributed by Lionsgate
Trivia: Also opened in the UK and Canada on August 31, 2012. Parts of the film were filmed at a former mental institution, Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Film debut of Matisyahu.

September 1 – Study (UK)

Cast: Paolo Benetazzo, Aneta Jankowiak, Declan Cassidy, Thibaut Deheuvels
Director: Paolo Benetazzo
Production Company: ARTtouchesART
Trivia: The film’s only listed screening is at the Portobello Film Festival on September 1, 2012. Paolo Benetazzo shot the film without a crew. Filming began in Ireland and lasted for a year, and the next four years were spent in Venice filming, composing music and editing. The film’s budget was $10,000.

September 1 – True Bromance (USA)

Cast: Devin Ratray, Adrian Grenier, Jim Norton, Carol Connors, Frank Luntz, Condoleeza Rice
Director: Sebastian Doggart
Production Company: American Princess, distributed by Sonar
Trivia: Originally funded by Discovery Communications, the funding was pulled and the film ‘cancelled’ after threats from Karl Rove that it would damage Discovery’s good relations with the government. Condoleeza Rice attempted to obstruct the film, sending State Department officials to raid the producers’ guesthouse in Washington, D.C., and plant a bug under a coffee table in their living room—actions which were documented on camera and included in the film.

September 6 – Kath & Kimderella (Australia)

Cast: Jane Turner, Gina Riley, Magda Szubanski, Glenn Robbins, Peter Rowsthorn, Rob Sitch, Richard E. Grant, Barry Humphries, Alex Perry, Marg Downey, Nicholas Bell, Glenn Butcher, George Calombaris, Jessica De Gouw, Julie Forsyth, Bryce Hardy, Mick Molloy, Erin Mullally, Robert Ratti, Tasneem Roc, Lisa Spurrell, Mark Trevorrow, Frank Woodley
Director: Ted Emery
Production Company: Turner Productions, Screen Australia, distributed by Roadshow Films
Trivia: Released in the UK on January 24, 2014. Spin-off of the television series Kath & Kim. Originally titled Kath & Kim – The Filum. The holiday scenes were shot in Positano, Italy and filming took a total of two weeks.

Share this post