DNA Films
This week’s list of movie premieres is dominated by international productions from the UK to India. Few of this week’s films were awards darlings or box office successes, though a few have gone on to achieve cult status, for better or worse. 1922 gave us one of many adaptations of a classic 1894 novel. 1932 produced a German film based on the works of American and Scottish authors. 1962 saw a German remake of a Fritz Lang film, and 1972 tried to convince us that bunnies were terrifying. 1982 had a controversial final film from German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and 1992 lightened things up with an all-star comedic crime film. 2002 saw the start of the Barbershop franchise, and 2012 had films that took us to Russia and Mega-City One. Read about these and more films and tell us if your favorites are celebrating an anniversary this week!
1922
September 10 – The Ghost Breaker (USA)
- Cast: Wallace Reid, Lila Lee, Walter Hiers, Arthur Edmund Carewe, J. Farrell MacDonald, Frances Raymond, Snitz Edwards
- Director: Alfred E. Green
- Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Not released in the UK until March 27, 1924. Richard Arlen, Mervyn LeRoy, and George O’Brien appeared uncredited as ghosts. Based on the 1909 play The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. The film is now considered lost. Remake of a 1914 film, and remade again in 1940 as The Ghost Breakers, with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, and in 1953 as Scared Stiff, with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis.
September 11 – The Prisoner of Zenda (USA)
- Cast: Lewis Stone, Alice Terry, Robert Edeson, Stuart Holmes, Ramon Novarro, Barbara La Marr, Malcolm McGregor, Edward Connelly, Lois Lee, Snitz Edwards, Johnny George, Fairfax Burger, S.E. Jennings
- Director: Rex Ingram
- Production Company: Metro Pictures
- Trivia: An adaptation of Anthony Hope’s popular 1894 novel The Prisoner of Zenda and the subsequent 1896 play by Hope and Edward Rose. Director Rex Ingram and star Alice Terry slipped off together during filming one Saturday and were married. No one knew until after production on the film was completed. Lewis Stone appeared in a stage version and when Ingram discovered costumes had not been ordered for him, Stone used the costumes from the play which he had stored in his attic. Stone would appear in the 1952 version as the Cardinal. The film made Ramon Novarro a star overnight.
September 12 – What’s Wrong with the Women? (USA)
- Cast: Wilton Lackaye, Constance Bennett, Montagu Love, Julia Swayne Gordon, Barbara Castleton, Rod La Rocque, Huntley Gordon, Paul McAllister, Mrs. Oscar Hammerstein, Mrs. De Wolf Hopper, Helen Rowland
- Director: Roy William Neill
- Production Company: Daniel Carson Goodman Productions, distributed by Equity Pictures
- Trivia: The film is believed to be lost.
1932
September 7 – Unheimliche Geschichten (Germany)
- Cast: Paul Wegener, Maria Koppenhöfer, Blandine Ebinger, Eugen Klöpfer, Harald Paulsen, Roma Bahn, Mary Parker, Paul Henckels, Gerhard Bienert, John Gottowt, Erwin Kalser, Franz Stein, Gretel Berndt, Ilse Fürstenberg, Carl Heinz Charrell
- Director: Richard Oswald
- Production Company: Roto-Film, G.P. Films
- Trivia: Not released in the US until December 16, 1940 under the title The Living Dead. The German title translates to Uncanny Stories. The story is a merging of three separate short stories, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Suicide Club. Paul Wegener’s first talking movie.
September 9 – The Dentist (USA, short)
- Cast: W. C. Fields, Marjorie Kane, Arnold Gray, Dorothy Granger, Elise Cavanna, Zedna Farley, Billy Bletcher, Joe Bordeaux, Harry Bowen, Bud Jamison, Bobby Dunn
- Director: Leslie Pearce
- Production Company: Mack Sennett Comedies, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the Broadway stage skit ‘An Episode at the Dentist’ written by W.C. Fields for the Earl Carroll Vanities in 1928. One of four short films W.C. Fields made with Mack Sennett at Paramount. Some of Fields’ salty pre-Code comments had been removed for post-Code re-release leaving noticeable pauses in the soundtrack.
September 12 – Jungle Mystery (USA)
- Cast: Tom Tyler, Noah Beery Jr., Cecilia Parker, William Desmond, Philo McCullough, Carmelita Geraghty, James A. Marcus, Anders Van Haden, Frank Lackteen, Peggy Watts, Sam Baker
- Director: Ray Taylor
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in London on October 4, 1932, and went in to general UK release on December 19. Based on the book The Ivory Trail by Talbot Mundy. The serial was edited down to 75 minutes and released as a feature film in 1935.
1942
- No new films were released this week in 1942.
1952
September 12 – The Eyes Leave a Trace (Barcelona)
- Cast: Raf Vallone, Elena Varzi, Julio Peña, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Emma Penella, Félix Dafauce, Gaspar Campos, Aníbal Vela, Fernando Sancho, Carlos Díaz de Mendoza, Antonio Riquelme, Beni Deus, Julia Pachelo, Juana Mansó, Francisco Bernal
- Director: José Luis Sáenz de Heredia
- Production Company: Chapalo Films, distributed by CIFESA
- Trivia: Opened in Madrid on October 3, 1952. Spanish title is Los ojos dejan huellas. Co-produced in Italy where it was released as Uomini senza pace (Men without peace).
1962
September 7 – Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (West Germany)
CCC Filmkunst GmbH
- Cast: Wolfgang Preiss, Gert Fröbe, Senta Berger, Helmut Schmid, Charles Régnier, Walter Rilla, Harald Juhnke, Leon Askin, Ann Savo, Claus Tinney
- Director: Werner Klingler
- Production Company: CCC Filmkunst GmbH, distributed by Constantin Film Verleih GmbH
- Trivia: The film was not released in the US until 1965, the exact date is unknown. The film was released in the US under several titles: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, The Terror of Doctor Mabuse, and The Terror of the Mad Doctor. The fourth of the 1960s Dr. Mabuse series, and a remake of 1933’s The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
September 7 – L’arciere delle mille e una notte (Italy)
- Cast: Tab Hunter, Rossana Podestà, Mario Feliciani, Umberto Melnati, Giustino Durano, José Jaspe, Renato Baldini, Dominique Boschero, Gloria Milland, Franco Scandurra
- Director: Antonio Margheriti
- Production Company: Titantis, distributed by Titanis (Italy), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA/UK)
- Trivia: Opened in the US in May 1964 under the title The Golden Arrow. The Italian title translates to The Archer of the Thousand and One Nights. Tab Hunter’s voice was dubbed by another actor for the US release.
1972
September 8 – Night of the Lepus (Ireland)
- Cast: Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, DeForest Kelley, Paul Fix, Melanie Fullerton, Chris Morrell, Chuck Hayward, Henry Wills, Francesca Jarvis, William Elliott, Robert Hardy, Richard Jacome, Evans Thornton, Robert Gooden, Don Starr, David McCallum
- Director: William F. Claxton
- Production Company: A.C. Lyles Productions, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Released in the US on October 4, 1972, and in the UK on May 27, 1973. Also known as Rabbits. Based upon Russell Braddon’s 1964 science fiction novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit. For some scenes, domestic rabbits were filmed against miniature models, and actors were dressed in rabbit costumes for the attack scenes. Ketchup was smeared on the rabbits’ faces to simulate blood. The film has been criticized for its inability to make the rabbits scary, but has developed a cult audience for its laughably poor quality. Janet Leigh declined to include her two daughters in the film because she did not want them to be in a horror film. She only took the role because it was filming close to her home. In the scene were the rabbits are roaring, they are actually yawning. DeForest Kelley’s final non-Star Trek film.
September 8 – Private Parts (USA)
- Cast: Ayn Ruymen, Lucille Benson, John Ventantonio, Laurie Main, Stanley Livingston, Charles Woolf, Ann Gibbs, Len Travis, Dorothy Neumann, Gene Simms, John Lupton, Patrick Strong
- Director: Paul Bartel
- Production Company: Penelope Productions, distributed by Premier Productions
- Trivia: Paul Bartel’s feature directorial debut. Bartel has an uncredited cameo as Mr. Lovejoy. Working title was Blood Relations. MGM ordered the title changed but the new title was so problematic that some newspapers would not print it. In Chicago the film was advertised as Private Arts. Lucille Benson’s role as Aunt Martha was intended for Mary Astor. Produced for MGM, a test screening went so poorly that the studio decided to release it under the Premier Productions banner, and it was then eventually shelved. MGM turned down an offer from Roger Corman’s New World Pictures to buy the film. Ayn Ruymen’s debut and only film credit.
September 13 – Une belle fille comme moi (France)
- Cast: Bernadette Lafont, André Dussollier, Claude Brasseur, Charles Denner, Guy Marchand, Anne Kreis, Philippe Léotard, Gilberte Géniat, Michel Delahaye, Danièle Girard, Martine Ferrière, Jacob Weizbluth
- Director: François Truffaut
- Production Company: Les Films du Carrosse, distributed by Warner-Columbia Film
- Trivia: Did not open in the US until March 25, 1973 as A Gorgeous Girl Like Me, and in the UK on June 26 as A Gorgeous Bird Like Me. Based on Henry Farrell’s 1967 novel of the same name.
1982
September 8 – Querelle (France)
Planet Film
- Cast: Brad Davis, Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau, Laurent Malet, Hanno Pöschl, Günther Kaufmann, Burkhard Driest, Roger Fritz, Dieter Schidor, Natja Brunckhorst, Werner Asam, Axel Bauer, Neil Bell, Robert van Ackeren, Wolf Gremm, Frank Ripploh
- Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Production Company: Planet Film, Albatros Filmproduktion, Gaumont S.A. Paris, distributed by Gaumont (France), Palace Pictures (UK), Triumph Films (USA)
- Trivia: Screened at the Montréal Film Festival in August 1982, and held its official premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 1982. Began its US engagement on April 29, 1983. Adapted from French author Jean Genet’s 1947 novel Querelle de Brest. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s last film, released shortly after his sudden death in June 1982. Initial costume tests of Brad Davis and two other actors in their snug fitting sailor britches were determined to be too revealing for mainstream audiences and so they all wore tight underwear on film to avoid unsightly bulges.
September 10 – Endangered Species (USA)
- Cast: Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, Hoyt Axton, Peter Coyote, Dan Hedaya, Paul Dooley, Marin Kanter, Gailard Sartain, Harry Carey Jr., John Considine
- Director: Alan Rudolph
- Production Company: Alive Enterprises! Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- Trivia: Robert Urich’s wife Heather Menzies appears in the role of Susan.
1992
September 11 – Crossing the Bridge (USA)
- Cast: Jason Gedrick, Josh Charles, Stephen Baldwin, Jeffrey Tambor, David Schwimmer, Cheryl Pollak, Richard Edson, Abraham Benrubi, Ken Jenkins, Rita Taggart
- Director: Mike Binder
- Production Company: Touchstone Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
- Trivia: Loosely based on Mike Binder’s friends in the late 1970s Detroit area. Josh Charles plays a fictional version of Binder. The bridge of the title is the Ambassador Bridge that connects Canada and Michigan.
September 11 – Sneakers (USA)
- Cast: Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, Mary McDonnell, Stephen Tobolowsky, Timothy Busfield, Eddie Jones, George Hearn, Donal Logue, Lee Garlington, James Earl Jones
- Director: Phil Alden Robinson
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Began a limited US engagement on September 9, 1992. Opened in the UK on November 13. At one point during production, director Phil Alden Robinson was visited by representatives of the Office of Naval Intelligence who indicated the film could not include any references to a hand-held device that can decode codes. The device was key to the film’s plot, and after consulting with a studio lawyer it was determined the incident was a prank instituted by either Robert Redford or Dan Aykroyd. Everyone had so much fun making the film that Robinson once said the only way it could have been better was if the lab lost all the film and they had to shoot it again.
September 11 – Where the Day Takes You (USA)
- Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Sean Astin, Balthazar Getty, Lara Flynn Boyle, Peter Dobson, Ricki Lake, James LeGros, Will Smith, Laura San Giacomo, Adam Baldwin, Kyle MacLachlan, Nancy McKeon, Alyssa Milano, David Arquette, Rachel Ticotin, Stephen Tobolowsky, Robert Knepper
- Director: Marc Rocco
- Production Company: CineTel Films, distributed by New Line Cinema
- Trivia: Screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 11, 1992. Will Smith’s film debut. Most cast members worked, against the advice of their agents, for a small salary. Shot on location all around Hollywood. On nights that required the closing of Hollywood Boulevard, people who passed by were paid $40 to appear as extras.
September 11 – Wind (USA)
- Cast: Matthew Modine, Jennifer Grey, Cliff Robertson, Jack Thompson, Stellan Skarsgård, Rebecca Miller, Ned Vaughn
- Director: Carroll Ballard
- Production Company: American Zoetrope, distributed by TriStar Pictures
- Trivia: Did not open in the UK until March 12, 1993. Loosely based on the story of real life sailor and America’s Cup skipper Dennis Conner, who caused national embarrassment in 1983 by losing the America’s Cup to the Australians. America’s Cup skipper Peter Gilmour was on board for all of the sailing sequences. Jennifer Grey had her nose job after completing filming, but when some shots needed to be re-filmed there is an obvious change in her appearance.
2002
September 13 – Barbershop (USA)
- Cast: Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Keith David, Michael Ealy, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Leonard Earl Howze, Jazsmin Lewis, Lahmard Tate, Tom Wright, Sonya Eddy, Jason Winston George, DeRay Davis, Parvesh Cheena, Carl Wright, Kevyn Morrow, Norm Van Lier, Jalen Rose, Lorenzo Clemons, Deon Cole, Eric Dane, Janina Gavankar, Marcia Wright-Tillman
- Director: Tim Story
- Production Company: State Street Pictures! Cube Vision, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by MGM Distribution Co. (United States), 20th Century Fox (International)
- Trivia: Screened at the Urbanworld Film Festival on August 7, 2002. Opened in the UK on march 14, 2003. A former laundromat in Southside Chicago was used to build the set of the barbershop. The set was also duplicated on a soundstage. The cast spent a month training at a barber college to prepare for their roles. Only Troy Garity had had previous hair-cutting experience.
2012
September 7 – Anna Karenina (UK)
Working Title Films
- Cast: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Olivia Williams, Ruth Wilson, Emily Watson, Michelle Dockery, Raphaël Personnaz,,David Wilmot, Emerald Fennell, Tannishtha Chatterjee
- Director: Joe Wright
- Production Company: Working Title Films, StudioCanal, distributed by Universal Pictures (United Kingdom), Focus Features (United States)
- Trivia: The film’s London premiere was held on September 4, 2012, and the film was screened at TIFF on September 7. Also opened in Ireland on September 7. Received a limited US release on November 16, and a limited Canadian release on November 30. Adapted by Tom Stoppard from Leo Tolstoy’s 1877 novel of the same name. Earned four Oscar nominations and six BAFTA nominations. Most of the film was shot on a single soundstage representing a dilapidated theatre. Saoirse Ronan and Andrea Riseborough were initially cast in the film, but dropped out and were replaced by Alicia Vikander and Ruth Wilson. Ronan left due to the film’s long production schedule that would have prevented her from accepting any other film roles from Autumn 2011 to Spring 2012. Cara Delevingne’s first film.
September 7 – Detropia (New York City, documentary)
- Director: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
- Production Company: Loki Films, distributed by Roco Films, ITVS
- Trivia: Screened at Sundance on January 21, 2012. The film does not feature any narration or spoken comments from the filmmakers.
September 7 – Dredd (UK)
- Cast: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Wood Harris, Domhnall Gleeson
- Director: Pete Travis
- Production Company: DNA Films, Peach Trees, Rena Films, IM Global, Reliance Big Entertainment, distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors (UK), Icon Film Distribution (Australia), Lionsgate (USA)
- Trivia: Screened at San Diego Comic-Con on May 11, 2012, and at TIFF on September 6. Also opened in Spain and Ireland on September 7. Screened at the Austin Fantastic Fest on September 20, and opened in the US and Canada on September 21. Based on the 2000 AD comic Judge Dredd. The film was shot in native 3D on practical sets and locations in Cape Town and Johannesburg. To maintain a true connection to the comic book character, Karl Urban never smiled or removed his helmet even between takes. Some of Ma-Ma’s tattoos are Lena Headey’s actual tattoos, most notably the flower on her upper right arm. The make-up artists took the design and expanded it to her neck and her face. Urban revealed that writer Alex Garland actually directed the film which would make it his feature debut; it also explains why Pete Travis did no publicity for the film. Though Garland never participated in the actual directing of the film, he did take over the editing process after Travis was removed following a dispute with the producers, prompting Garland to seek a co-director credit. The two, however, released a statement referencing their ‘unorthodox collaboration’ and insisted Travis was still involved in the film and Garland was not seeking a credit.
September 7 – Raaz 3D (India)
- Cast: Bipasha Basu, Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Manish Choudhary, Sunil Dhariwal, Mohan Kapoor, Jagat Rawat
- Director: Vikram Bhatt
- Production Company: Vishesh Films, distributed by Fox Star Studios
- Trivia: Also opened in the UK and New Zealand on September 7, 2012. Third installment in the Raaz series. Jacqueline Fernandes was originally cast as the lead but dropped out because she didn’t want to be established as a Bollywood sex symbol, and did not want to be topless in front of 300 people.
September 7 – St George’s Day (UK)
- Cast: Craig Fairbrass, Frank Harper, Charles Dance, Vincent Regan, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Keeley Hazell, Jamie Foreman, Sean Pertwee, Luke Treadaway, Ashley Walters, Tony Denham, Neil Maskell, Zlatko Burić, Clemency Burton-Hill, Charles Venn
- Director: Frank Harper
- Production Company: Elstree Studio Productions, distributed by Cinedigm Entertainment Group (USA), Metrodome Distribution (UK)
- Trivia: Also opened in Ireland on September 7, 2012. The film’s alternate title is Berlin Job, as seen on Netflix and Tubi in an edited version that is nearly 10 minutes shorter than the UK theatrical release.
September 7 – The Cold Light of Day (USA)
- Cast: Henry Cavill, Sigourney Weaver, Bruce Willis, Verónica Echegui, Caroline Goodall, Rafi Gavron, Joseph Mawle, Óscar Jaenada, Lolo Herrero, Mark Ullod, Emma Hamilton, Michael Budd, Alex Amaral, Jim Piddock, Paloma Bloyd, Roschdy Zem, Colm Meaney
- Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
- Production Company: Intrepid Pictures, Galavis Film, Film Rites, Fria Luz Del Dia, A.I.E., distributed by Aurum Producciones (Spain), Summit Entertainment (USA)
- Trivia: Also opened in Canada on September 7, 2012. Before its US release the film had played many international markets beginning April 4, 2012 in Spain, April 6 in the UK and Ireland, Hungary on April 12, Iceland on April 13, France on May 2, Italy on May 18, India on August 10 and Hong Kong on September 6. Henry Cavill had just completed filming Immortals and had to spend six months losing all of the muscle tone he had gained for that film.
September 7 – The Words (USA)
- Cast: Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes, Dennis Quaid, J. K. Simmons, John Hannah, Nora Arnezeder, Željko Ivanek, Michael McKean, Ron Rifkin, Brian Klugman, Liz Stauber, Lee Sternthal
- Director: Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal
- Production Company: Animus Films, Benaroya Pictures, Serena Films, Waterfall Media, distributed by CBS Films
- Trivia: Also opened in Canada on September 7, 2012. The film’s premiere was held at Sundance on January 27, 2012. The film did not open in the UK until April 19, 2013. Brian Klugman & Lee Sternthal’s directorial debut. Filmed in Montreal because locations could pass as Paris and London. Klugman & Sternthal were friends of Bradley Cooper and had written the script in 1999 and asked him to take a role before his fame from The Hangover. He accepted and kept his promise 10 years later.
September 10 – Twenty8k (UK)
- Cast: Parminder Nagra, Jonas Armstrong, Nichola Burley, Kaya Scodelario, Michael Socha, Kierston Wareing, Stephen Dillane, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sebastian Nanena
- Director: David Kew, Neil Thompson
- Production Company: Formosa Films, AbbottVision, distributed by Showbox Media Group Ltd.
- Trivia: Screened at the East End Film Festival on July 5, 2012. Debuted on home video in the US on December 10, 2013. Nathalie Emmanuel’s debut.
September 12 – The Sweeney (UK)
- Cast: Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Hayley Atwell, Steven Mackintosh, Paul Anderson, Alan Ford, Damian Lewis, Allen Leech, Steven Waddington, Caroline Chikezie, Kara Tointon, Nick Nevern, Ed Skrein, Allan Corduner
- Director: Nick Love
- Production Company: Vertigo Films, distributed by Entertainment One
- Trivia: Also opened in Ireland on September 12, 2012. Screened at the Locarno Film Festival on August 1, 2012. Opened in the US on March 1, 2013. Inspired by the 1970s British television police drama of the same name, but set in contemporary London. Star Ray Winstone had once appeared on the series as an extra. The presenters and production team from Top Gear assisted in planning and filming the car chase scene. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were credited as stunt performers. To film the shootout scene in central London, special blanks were used that produced a flash but little sound so as not to alarm the public. Cues were provided by off-camera assistants shouting ‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’ though a loudspeaker.
September 12 – The We and the I (France)
- Cast: Michael Brodie, Monica Pinto, Francesca Pinto, Nicholas Pinto, Teresa Lynn, Laidychen Carrasco, Raymond Delgado, Jonathan Ortiz, Raymond Rios, Jonathan Worrell, Alex Barrios, Meghan Niomi Murphy, Brandon Diaz, Elijah Canada, Esmeralda Herrera, Manuel Rivera, Luis Figueroa, Jacobchen Carrasco, Mia Lobo, Amanda Kay Riley, Jillian Rice, Kenneth Quinonez, Amanda Mercado
- Director: Michel Gondry
- Production Company: Partizan Films, Jouror Productions, Next Stop Production, distributed by Mars distribution (France), 108 Media (USA)
- Trivia: Screened at Cannes on May 17, 2012, and at TIFF on September 7. Began a limited US release on March 8, 2013.
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