Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #114 :: September 28 to October 4

Columbia Pictures

This week on the movie release calendar is basically the lull ahead of what has become to be known as ‘Awards Season’ — except for 1922 which pre-dates the Oscars by seven years — so the schedule is filled with some awards hopefuls, foreign films that otherwise not find a place in US release, and project that don’t have much studio support. We also find this week many literary adaptations from classic and contemporary novels, as well as film adaptations of plays. The most noteworthy of this week’s films doesn’t come until 1992 with a stage-to-film adaptation with an all-star cast that almost never happened. That year also saw the premiere of a Disney film that launched a franchise and a recent TV series. 2012 also had an animated film that launched another franchise of movies, TV shows and other related media, and produced a film in which one actor was made to look like another. Check out this week’s list to see if any of your favorites are celebrating anniversaries and share your memories with us in the comments section below.

1922

October 1 – Lorna Doone (USA)

• Cast: Madge Bellamy, Mae Giraci, John Bowers, Charles Hatton, Frank Keenan, Jack McDonald, Donald McDonald, Norris Johnson
• Director: Maurice Tourneur
• Production Company: Thomas H. Ince Corporation, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
• Trivia: Based upon Richard Doddridge Blackmore’s 1869 novel of the same name. Two previous adaptations had been produced in 1912 and 1915, with more following including 1934 and 1951, and two television adaptations in 1990 and 2001. The film was digitally restored and released on DVD in 2001 with an all-new score by Mari Iijima.

October 2 – One Exciting Night (USA)

• Cast: Carol Dempster, Henry Hull, Morgan Wallace, Margaret Dale, Charles Emmett Mack, Charles Croker-King, Porter Strong, Frank Sheridan
• Director: D. W. Griffith
• Production Company: D.W. Griffith Productions, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The film received a poor reception from test screenings, which Griffith blamed on a lack of spectacle for the climax so the cast was reassembled and a new ending was shot involving a terrifying storm, using actual hurricane footage Griffith had shot previously and studio special effects.

1932

September 30 – A Bill of Divorcement (USA)

• Cast: John Barrymore, Billie Burke, David Manners, Katharine Hepburn, Paul Cavanagh, Henry Stephenson, Gayle Evers, Elizabeth Patterson
• Director: George Cukor
• Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1921 British play of the same name, written by Clemence Dane. A previous screen adaptation had been produced in 1922. Hepburn was cast over the objections of produced David O. Selznick, who did not like her appearance.

October 4 – One Way Passage (London)

• Cast: William Powell, Kay Francis, Aline MacMahon, Frank McHugh, Warren Hymer, Roscoe Karns, Frederick Burton, Mike Donlin
• Director: Tay Garnett
• Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Winner of the Academy Award for Best Story. The film’s working title was S.S. Atlantic.

1942

• No new films were released this week in 1942.

1952

October – Down Among the Z Men (UK)

• Cast: Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Carole Carr, The Television Toppers, Clifford Stanton, Robert Cawdron, Andrew Timothy, Graham Stark
• Director: Maclean Rogers
• Production Company: E.J. Fancey Productions, distributed by New Realm Pictures
• Trivia: The four leads were collectively known as The Goons, and this is the only film in which all four of them appeared.

October 3 – Because You’re Mine (USA)

• Cast: Mario Lanza, Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, Dean Miller, Rita Corday, Jeff Donnell, Spring Byington, Curtis Cooksey, Don Porter, Eduard Franz, Bobby Van
• Director: Alexander Hall
• Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Production on the film was interrupted at one point, and during the hiatus star Lanza gained a considerable amount of weight, causing issues with costumes and continuity. In a scene at a church, Lanza is 160 lbs outside, but when he walks inside he is 230 lbs. Lanza was also difficult to work with, hated the script, and sexually harassed co-star Morrow to the point she never made another movie.

October 3 – Lure of the Wilderness (USA)

• Cast: Jean Peters, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Smith, Walter Brennan, Tom Tully, Harry Shannon, Will Wright, Jack Elam, Harry Carter
• Director: Jean Negulesco
• Production Company: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Based on the 1941 novel Swamp Water by Vereen Bell. The film is a remake of Jean Renoir’s 1941 adaption of the novel. Walter Brennan appears in both films.

1962

September 29 – La Belle Américaine (France)

• Cast: Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset, Christian Marin, Alfred Adam, Louis de Funès, Bernard Lavalette, Jacques Legras, Robert Rollis, Annie Ducaux, Éliane d’Almeida
• Director: Robert Dhéry
• Production Company: Compagnie Commerciale Française Cinématographique, L.C.J Editions & Productions, Le Film d’Art, Corflor, Panorama Films, distributed by CCFC (France), Continental Distributing (USA), Warner-Pathé Distributors (UK)
• Trivia: Released in the US as The American Beauty.

October 3 – Eva (France)

• Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Stanley Baker, Virna Lisi, Giorgio Albertazzi, James Villiers, Lisa Gastoni, Riccardo Garrone, Checco Rissone, Enzo Fiermonte
• Director: Joseph Losey
• Production Company: Paris Film Productions, Interopa Film, distributed by Rank (France), Gala Film Distributors (UK), Times Film Corporation (USA)
• Trivia: Adapted from James Hadley Chase’s 1945 novel Eve, and released in the UK under that title.

October 3 – Zotz! (USA)

William Castle Productions

• Cast: Tom Poston, Zeme North, Julia Meade, Jim Backus, Cecil Kellaway, Margaret Dumont, Fred Clark
• Director: William Castle
• Production Company: William Castle Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: Based on Walter Karig’s 1947 novel. During the initial theatrical run, theater patrons received a full-size plastic replica of the amulet as a promotional item.

1972

September 29 – Non si sevizia un paperino (Italy)

• Cast: Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomas Milian, Irene Papas, Marc Porel, Georges Wilson, Antonello Campodifiori, Ugo D’Alessio
• Director: Lucio Fulci
• Production Company: Medusa Distribuzione
• Trivia: The English title is Don’t Torture a Duckling, although the correct translation would be Don’t Torture Donald Duck as the character is known as Paperino in Italy. The ‘duckling’ in the film’s title refers to a Donald Duck doll that has its head removed by a girl with an intellectual disability, which provides a clue to the murders. The film was never released theatrically in the US even though an English dub soundtrack had been created. Anchor Bay Entertainment gave the film a US DVD release in 1999.

September 29 – Chloe in the Afternoon (USA)

• Cast: Bernard Verley, Zouzou, Françoise Verley, Daniel Ceccaldi, Claude-Jean Philippe, Claude Bertrand, Suze Randall, Françoise Fabian, Marie-Christine Barrault, Haydée Politoff, Aurora Cornu, Béatrice Romand
• Director: Éric Rohmer
• Production Company: Les films du losange, distributed by Columbia Pictures (USA), Columbia-Warner Distributors (UK), Warner Columbia Film (France)
• Trivia: Released in France on September 1, 1972 as L’Amour l’après-midi (Love in the Afternoon). Sixth and final instalment in Rohmer’s ‘Six Moral Tales’ series. An English-language remake starring Chris Rock, titled I Think I Love My Wife, was released in 2007.

September 29 – Where Does It Hurt? (USA)

• Cast: Peter Sellers, Jo Ann Pflug, Rick Lenz, Harold Gould, Pat Morita, Kathleen Freeman
• Director: Rod Amateau
• Production Company: Josef Shaftel Productions Inc., distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
• Trivia: Based on the novel The Operator by Rod Amateau and Budd Robinson. The title was changed in 1972 to tie in with the movie’s title. Reportedly, the American Medical Association acquired the rights to this film in order to ban it in the United States. The film has not received a home video release but is available on at least one streaming service.

October 4 – Hickey & Boggs (USA)

• Cast: Bill Cosby, Robert Culp, Ta-Ronce Allen, Rosalind Cash, Lou Frizzell, Isabel Sanford, Sheila Sullivan, Robert Mandan, Michael Moriarty, Vincent Gardenia, Ed Lauter, Joe E. Tata
• Director: Robert Culp
• Production Company: Film Guarantors, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: Walter Hill originally wrote the script with Jason Robards and Strother Martin in mind. Cosby agreed to star only if Culp would direct.

October 4 – Treasure Island (USA)

• Cast: Orson Welles, Kim Burfield, Lionel Stander, Walter Slezak, Ángel del Pozo, Rik Battaglia, Jean Lefebvre, Maria Rohm, Paul Muller, Michel Garland, Aldo Sambrell
• Director: John Hough
• Production Company: CCC Film, Eguiluz Films, Les Productions FDL, Massfilms Limited, Massfilms, Seven Film, distributed by National General Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. This adaptation of Treasure Island was released in several different language versions, with different directors credited, including Andrea Bianchi and Antonio Margheriti.

1982

October 1 – Hey Good Lookin’ (USA)

• Voice Cast: Richard Romanus, Frank de Kova, David Proval, Tina Bowman, Jesse Welles, Philip Michael Thomas, Angelo Grisanti, Candy Candido
• Director: Ralph Bakshi
• Production Company: Bakshi Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film was originally completed in 1975 as a live action-animation hybrid, but the release was pushed back and then postponed indefinitely. Warner Bros. claimed the film was unsatisfactory, and was also concerned about backlash to Bakshi’s 1975 animated film Coonskin. Much of the live action scenes were replaced with animation, dialogue was heavily rewritten and reedited. The original version of the film has never been released, although a three minute promo was screened at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The promo is now held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Yaphet Kotto and glam punk band New York Dolls originally appeared in the live action scenes. The film included one of the first instances of a dance style that would come to be known as breakdancing.

October 3 – Split Image (USA)

• Cast: Michael O’Keefe, Karen Allen, Peter Fonda, James Woods, Elizabeth Ashley, Brian Dennehy, Ronnie Scribner, Pamela Ludwig, John Dukakis, Lee Montgomery, Michael Sacks, Deborah Rush, Peter Horton
• Director: Ted Kotcheff
• Production Company: PolyGram Pictures, distributed by Orion Pictures
• Trivia: Also known as Captured.

1992

September 30 – Miracle Beach (USA, direct-to-video)

• Cast: Dean Cameron, Ami Dolenz, Felicity Waterman, Pat Morita, Allen Garfield, Alexis Arquette, Martin Mull, Vincent Schiavelli, Dean Cain
• Director: Skott Snider
• Production Company: Motion Picture Corporation of America, distributed by Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Trivia: Released in the Philippines as Genie, My Love and subtitled Hardbodies II in Australia.

October 2 – Glengarry Glen Ross (USA)

Zupnik Enterprises

• Cast: Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce, Bruce Altman, Jude Ciccolella
• Director: James Foley
• Production Company: Zupnik Enterprises, distributed by New Line Cinema
• Trivia: Adapted by David Mamet from his 1984 Pulitzer Prize–winning play. Al Pacino was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Because of the uncompromising subject matter and abrasive language, no major studio wanted to finance it, even with film stars attached. Financing came from cable and video companies, a German television station, an Australian cinema chain, several banks, and New Line Cinema across four years. Alec Baldwin’s character was written specifically for him and does not appear in the play.

October 2 – Hero (USA)

• Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy Garcia, Joan Cusack, Kevin J. O’Connor, Maury Chaykin, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christian Clemenson, Daniel Baldwin, Clea Lewis, Tom Arnold, Leslie Jordan, Barney Martin, Lee Wilkof, Don S. Davis, Martin Starr
• Director: Stephen Frears
• Production Company: Polyphony Digital, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: Chevy Chase, Edward Herrmann, Jeff Garlin and Fisher Stevens appear in an uncredited roles. Released in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia as Accidental Hero.

October 2 – Mr. Baseball (USA)

• Cast: Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Aya Takanashi, Dennis Haysbert, Toshi Shioya, Mak Takano, Nicholas Cascone, Kosuke Toyohara, Leon Lee, Bradley ‘Animal’ Lesley, Frank Thomas
• Director: Fred Schepisi
• Production Company: Outlaw Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Three scenes cut from the North American release were retained in the Japanese release. The theatrical trailer for the film includes dialogue and scenes not in the film.

October 2 – Of Mice and Men (USA/Brazil)

• Cast: Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, Ray Walston, Casey Siemaszko, Sherilyn Fenn, Noble Willingham, John Terry, Richard Riehle, Joe Morton, Robert (Alexis) Arquette
• Director: Gary Sinise
• Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Based on John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella of the same name. Sinise was nominated for the Palme d’Or for directing at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.

October 2 – The Mighty Ducks (USA)

• Cast: Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, Lane Smith, Heidi Kling, Josef Sommer, Joshua Jackson, Elden Henson, Shaun Weiss, Brandon Adams, M. C. Gainey, Jussie Smollett
• Director: Stephen Herek
• Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures, Avnet–Kerner Productions, Touchwood Pacific Partners, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
• Trivia: Also known as D1: The Mighty Ducks and in the UK and Australia as Champions. Jake Gyllenhaal turned down the role of Charlie Conway.

2002

October 4 – Boat Trip (UK/Ireland)

• Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Horatio Sanz, Roselyn Sánchez, Vivica A. Fox, Maurice Godin, Roger Moore, Lin Shaye, Victoria Silvstedt, Thomas Lennon, Richard Roundtree, Bob Gunton, Will Ferrell, Artie Lange
• Director: Mort Nathan
• Production Company: Motion Picture Corporation of America, International West Pictures, ApolloMedia Distribution, Boat Trip LLC, Erste Productions KG, Gemini Film, distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors (UK), Motion Picture Corporation of America (USA)
• Trivia: Nathan’s feature directorial debut. Nathan received a Razzie nomination for Worst Director, and Gooding received one for Worst Actor.

October 4 – Igby Goes Down (USA)

• Cast: Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Susan Sarandon, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Irwin, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Celia Weston, Cynthia Nixon, Jim Gaffigan
• Director: Burr Steers
• Production Company: United Artists, Atlantic Streamline, distributed by MGM Distribution Co.
• Trivia: Gore Vidal appears in a cameo, and Gregory Itzin appears uncredited. Culkin and Sarandon received Golden Globe nominations for their performances. It is one of the last films to show the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center.

October 4 – Moonlight Mile (USA)

• Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Ellen Pompeo, Holly Hunter, Dabney Coleman, Careena Melia, Roxanne Hart, Richard T. Jones, Alexia Landeau
• Director: Brad Silberling
• Production Company: Touchstone Pictures, Hyde Park Entertainment, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
• Trivia: Loosely inspired by writer/director Brad Silberling’s own experience. He was dating actress Rebecca Schaeffer at the time she was killed by an obsessed fan in 1989. The film’s original title was Baby’s in Black, and then later changed to Goodbye Hello, and then the current title.

October 4 – Sweet Sixteen (UK/Ireland)

• Cast: Martin Compston, Annmarie Fulton, William Ruane, Junior Walker, Gary McCormack
• Director: Ken Loach
• Production Company: Alta Films, BBC Films, Road Movies Filmproduktion, Scottish Screen, Sixteen Films, Tornasol Films, distributed by Icon Film Distribution
• Trivia: The film is often shown with subtitles as the dialogue is extensively in a local dialect, in this case the Inverclyde variant of Scottish English and Scots.

2012

September 28 – Hotel Transylvania (USA/Canada)

• Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Sadie Sandler, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, CeeLo Green, Fran Drescher, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, Jim Wise, Luenell, Chris Parnell, Rob Riggle
• Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
• Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: Genndy Tartakovsky’s feature film directorial debut. The development process went through six directors. Nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Based on Todd Durham’s book of the same name. Miley Cyrus was originally cast as the voice of Mavis, Dracula’s teenage daughter, but was replaced after a photo surfaced of her licking a penis-shaped birthday cake she bought for then boyfriend Liam Hemsworth. Tartakovsky was not a fan or horror films but came to know the classic characters through the comedy films of Abbott & Costello, which informed the comedy for the film.

September 28 – Looper (USA/Canada/UK)

TriStar Pictures

• Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Frank Brennan, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels, Pierce Gagnon, Summer Qing, Tracie Thoms, Garret Dillahunt, Nick Gomez
• Director: Rian Johnson
• Production Company: TriStar Pictures, FilmDistrict, Endgame Entertainment, DMG Entertainment, Ram Bergman Productions, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: Selected as the opening film of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. Originally conceived as a short film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji created the prosthetics that Gordon-Levitt wore in the film so that he would physically resemble Willis.

September 28 – Won’t Back Down (USA/Canada)

• Cast: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Holly Hunter, Oscar Isaac, Rosie Perez, Ving Rhames, Lance Reddick, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bill Nunn, Emily Alyn Lind
• Director: Daniel Barnz
• Production Company: Walden Media, Gran Via Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Working titles included Still I Rise, Learning To Fly, and Steel Town. Bill Nunn’s final film. Viola Davis won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture.

October 4 – Mental (Australia)

• Cast: Toni Collette, Anthony LaPaglia, Rebecca Gibney, Lily Sullivan, Bethany Whitmore, Malorie O’Neill, Chelsea Bennett, Nicole Freeman, Liev Schreiber, Caroline Goodall, Kerry Fox, Deborah Mailman, Sam Clark, Sophie Lee
• Director: P. J. Hogan
• Production Company: Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, Screen NSW, Zucker Productions, Story Bridge Films, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Premiered as the closing film at the 61st Melbourne International Film Festival on August 18, 2012. Director PJ Hogan based the script on his own mother’s mental breakdown when he was 12, and his politician father’s refusal to tell anyone about his wife’s illness in case it hurt his electoral chances.