Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #117 :: October 19•25

Eon Productions

This was a big week for notable films, many of them in the awards-grab and blockbuster categories. Every decade had several new releases this week and many had the spirit of the Halloween season. 1932 saw James Whale and Boris Karloff re-team for a film that was not a success but has gained a cult following. 1942 saw Lon Chaney Jr. take on the role of another classic Universal Monster that wasn’t the Wolfman. 1962 had a new film from Roger Corman and Vincent Price that wasn’t a Poe film. 1982 saw John Carpenter try something new with his Halloween films, and had a horror flick that was more artsy than slasher, and 2012 had the fourth film in a horror series that was a sequel to the second. The week also saw the film debuts of Shirley Temple, Gene Kelly and George Strait, the swan song of Charlie Chaplin, an Oscar nominated role for Angela Lansbury, the debut of a signature Sylvester Stallone character, and the 50th anniversary of James Bond. Read on to learn more about these films and many more, and tell us if your favorites are on the list!

1922

October 20 – Lucrezia Borgia (Germany)

Cast: Conrad Veidt, Liane Haid, Albert Bassermann, Paul Wegener, Heinrich George, Adolf E. Licho, William Dieterle, Lothar Müthel, Alfons Fryland
Director: Richard Oswald
Production Company: Richard-Oswald-Produktion, distributed by UFA
Trivia: Based on a novel by Harry Sheff. Karl Freund (Metropolis, Dracula, I Love Lucy) was one of the cinematographers. Because the film’s story was seen as an attach on the Catholic church, the film was not released in the US until 1928, and the 96 minute running time was edited down to 75 minutes.

1932

October 20 – The Old Dark House (USA)

Cast: Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore, Brember Wills, Elspeth Dudgeon
Director: James Whale
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1927 novel Benighted by J.B. Priestley. When Universal lost the rights to the novel, the film was withdrawn from circulation and was thought lost until Curtis Harrington, a friend of James Whale, succeeded in recovering most of the original elements from the Universal vaults in 1968. The film was not a box office success, but has gained acclaim and developed a cult fan base. Elspeth Dudgeon as Sir Roderick Femm is credited as John Dudgeon. The film served as an inspiration for The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

October 21 – The Red-Haired Alibi (USA)

Cast: Merna Kennedy, Theodore von Eltz, Grant Withers, Purnell Pratt, Huntley Gordon, Fred Kelsey, Arthur Hoyt, Paul Porcasi, John Vosburgh, Shirley Temple
Director: Christy Cabanne
Production Company: Tower Productions Corpotation, distributed by Capitol Film Exchange (USA), Stirling Film Distributors (UK)
Trivia: Based on a novel of the same name written by Wilson Collison. The first film for which Shirely Temple received an on-screen credit.

October 22 – Red Dust (USA)

Cast: Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, Gene Raymond, Tully Marshall, Donald Crisp, Willie Fung, Forrester Harvey
Director: Victor Fleming
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Based on the 1928 play of the same name by Wilson Collison. Clark Gable also starred in the 1953 remake of the film, Mogambo. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2006.

October 25 – Virtue (USA)

Cast: Carole Lombard, Pat O’Brien, Ward Bond, Shirley Grey, Mayo Methot, Jack La Rue, Willard Robertson, Lew Kelly, Fred Santley, Arthur Wanzer, Jessie Arnold, Edwin Stanley
Director: Edward Buzzell
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Carole Lombard was loaned out by Paramount for this film. It is one of the last films to feature prostitution as its main theme before the rigid Production Code was enforced. Real Yellow Cabs were used but overlays were used to change the name to ‘Yellow Taxi Corp.’ and ‘Circle Cab Co.’

1942

October 21 – For Me and My Gal (USA)

Cast: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, George Murphy, Martha Eggerth, Ben Blue, Stephen McNally
Director: Busby Berkeley
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
Trivia: Gene Kelly’s film debut, and the first real ‘adult’ role for 19-year-old Judy Garland. The original script was to feature two female leads, but Garland’s acting coach Stella Adler suggested the roles be combined and given to Garland. Adler also suggested Kelly. Preview audiences did not like Garland ending up with Kelly at the end, feeling she should be with George Murphy’s character so Louis B. Mayer ordered three weeks of reshoots to give Kelly’s character more of a conscience and to reduce Murphy’s presence in the film.

October 23 – The Glass Key (USA)

Cast: Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Bonita Granville, Richard Denning, Joseph Calleia, William Bendix, Frances Gifford, Donald MacBride
Director: Stuart Heisler
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Remake of a 1935 film of the same name. Though billed third, Alan Ladd is the film’s actual lead. Paulette Goddard was the original female lead but had to drop out because of another commitment. She was replaced with Patricia Morrison, who was then replaced with Veronica Lake after her appearance opposite Ladd in This Gun For Hire.

October 23 – The Mummy’s Tomb (USA)

Universal Pictures

Cast: Lon Chaney, Jr., Dick Foran, John Hubbard, Elyse Knox, Wallace Ford, Turhan Bey, George Zucco, Mary Gordon
Director: Harold Young
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Set 30 years after the previous film, The Mummy’s Hand. Lon Chaney Jr’s first appearance as The Mummy, a role he would play again in The Mummy’s Ghost and The Mummy’s Curse. The film includes footage taken from the previous film as well as from Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, and includes music written for The Invisible Woman. The Shelby house from Uncle Tom’s Cabin is also re-used as the Banning residence. Released as a double feature with Night Monster.

1952

October 23 – Alraune (West Germany)

Cast: Hildegard Knef, Erich von Stroheim, Karlheinz Böhm, Harry Meyen, Rolf Henniger, Harry Halm, Hans Cossy
Director: Arthur Maria Rabenalt
Production Company: Deutsche Styria-Film GmbH, Carlton Film GmbH, distributed by Gloria-Filmverleih GmbH
Trivia: Later retitled Unnatural: The Fruit of Evil. Based on the 1911 novel Alraune by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers.

October 23 – Limelight (USA)

Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton, Sydney Earl Chaplin, Norman Lloyd, André Eglevsky, Marjorie Bennett, Wheeler Dryden, Melissa Hayden
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Production Company: Celebrated Productions, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: The film was heavily boycotted in the US because of Chaplin’s alleged Communist sympathies. The film was re-released in 1972, with its first ever screening in Los Angeles which allowed it to be in contention for the Academy Awards where it won the Oscar for Best Original Score. Claire Bloom, in her first major film role, also won a BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer to Film, and the film was nominated for Best Film from Any Source. Five of Chaplin’s children and his half-brother have roles in the film. Chaplin told his sons he expected this to be his last film. While Chaplin stated his character was based on Frank Tinney, a stage actor who had lost his audience, many saw the film as autobiographical as Chaplin was beginning to lose his audience as well. The final musical number of the film is historical because it was the first and only time Chaplin performed with Buster Keaton on film. A rumor suggested Chaplin was so jealous of Keaton’s performance that he made cuts to not be upstaged, but Chaplin denied the rumor and insisted that he had actually cut down his own performance to give Keaton more screen time. Chaplin had hired Keaton when he found out the actor had fallen on hard times after a divorce from which he lost most of his fortune and a lack of work in the preceding years. Chaplin even eased up on his usually strict directing style to allow Keaton to invent his own comic business for the scene. Keaton believed his business partner had started and fueled the rumors. Chaplin’s son Sydney had said he did not believe any of Keaton’s footage was cut, and even if it was the storyline would not have allowed for a supporting character to suddenly appear and upstage the climactic comeback of Chaplin’s character.

October 23 – The Snows of Kilimanjaro (USA)

Cast: Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, Hildegard Knef, Emmett Smith, Leo G. Carroll, Torin Thatcher, Marcel Dalio, Leonard Carey
Director: Henry King
Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox
Trivia: Based on the 1936 short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. Ava Gardner’s character was created for the film and does not appear in the story. The film’s ending was also changed from the story’s. It was the third highest grossing film of 1952. Oscar nominated for Best Color Cinematography and Best Art Direction, Color. Shot on location in Nairobi, Kenya, Cairo, Egypt, and the French Riviera, with studio work done in Hollywood. The bullfight sequence was lifted from Fox’s 1941 film Blood and Sand.

October 24 – The Lusty Men (USA)

Cast: Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy, Arthur Hunnicutt, Frank Faylen, Walter Coy, Carol Nugent, Maria Hart, Lorna Thayer, Burt Mustin
Director: Nicholas Ray
Production Company: Wald/Krasna Productions, Spinel Entertainment, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Based on the novel by Claude Stanush. The film’s world premiere was at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas.

October 25 – Springfield Rifle (USA)

Cast: Gary Cooper, Phyllis Thaxter, David Brian, Paul Kelly, Philip Carey, Lon Chaney, Jr., James Millican, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Alan Hale Jr., Martin Milner, Wilton Graff
Director: Andre DeToth
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: While filming at the base of Mount Whitney in California, cast and crew witnessed a mushroom cloud on the horizon from a nuclear device test in Nevada.

1962

October 19 – Attack of the Normans (West Germany)

Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Geneviève Grad, Ettore Manni, Philippe Hersent, Piero Lulli, Paul Müller, Franca Bettoia
Director: Giuseppe Vari
Production Company: Galatea Film, Lyre Films, distributed by Alemannia-Filmverleih
Trivia: The film’s 89 minute running time was cut to 79 minutes for the US release.

October 19 – La congiura dei dieci (Italy)

Cast: Stewart Granger, Sylva Koscina, Christine Kaufmann, Riccardo Garrone, Alberto Lupo, Marina Berti, Tullio Carminati, Claudio Gora, Carlo Rizzo, Fausto Tozzi, Tom Felleghi
Director: Étienne Périer, Baccio Bandini
Production Company: Compagnia Cinematografica Montoro, Compagnie Internationale de Productions Cinématographiques, Monica Film, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Released in the US as Swordsman of Siena. The film was announced in May 1951 with Yvonne de Carlo set to star. In 1954, Gina Lollobrigida was announced as the female lead, and by January 1955 Elizabeth Taylor was announced to star with Stewart Granger. Taylor was out in February and production was delayed. Filming finally started in October 1961.

October 22 – Escape from East Berlin (West Germany)

Cast: Don Murray, Christine Kaufmann, Werner Klemperer, Ingrid van Bergen, Carl Schell, Edith Schultze-Westrum, Bruno Fritz, Maria Tober, Horst Janson, Kai Fischer, Kurt Waitzmann, Helma Seitz, Ronald Dehne
Director: Robert Siodmak
Production Company: Hans Albin Filmproduktion, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: A 300 yard long plaster replica of the wall in West Berlin became a tourist attraction and attracted the attention of East German guards. The movie crew filmed sentries flashing spotlights across the border, turning them into film extras and prompting director Robert Siodmak to rave ‘Talk about realism!’

October 24 – Electra (France)

Cast: Irene Papas, Giannis Fertis, Aleka Katselli, Manos Katrakis, Notis Peryalis, Fivos Razi, Takis Emmanuel, Theano Ioannidou, Theodoros Dimitriou, Elsie Pittas, Petros Ampelas
Director: Michael Cacoyannis
Production Company: Finos Film, distributed by Lopert Pictures Corporation (USA), United Artists (International)
Trivia: Based on the play Electra, written by Euripides. The first installment of Michael Cacoyannis’ ‘Greek tragedy’, followed by The Trojan Women in 1971 and Iphigenia in 1977. Winner of the award for Best Cinematic Transposition at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

October 24 – The Manchurian Candidate (USA)

M.C. Productions

Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, James Gregory, Henry Silva, Leslie Parrish, John McGiver, Khigh Dhiegh, James Edwards, Douglas Henderson, Reggie Nalder
Director: John Frankenheimer
Production Company: M.C. Productions, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: Based on the 1959 Richard Condon novel. Nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Angela Lansbury) and Best Editing. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1994. Sinatra suggested Lucille Ball for the role of Eleanor Iselin, but director Frankenheimer wanted Lansbury, with whom he worked on All Fall Down. Lansbury played the mother of Laurence Harvey’s character, even though she was just three years older than the actor. Nearly half of the film’s $2.2 million budget went to Sinatra’s salary.

October 24 – Tower of London (USA)

Cast: Vincent Price, Michael Pate, Joan Freeman, Robert Brown, Bruce Gordon, Joan Camden, Richard Hale, Sandra Knight
Director: Roger Corman
Production Company: Admiral Pictures, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: The film is not connected to the 1939 film of the same name also starring Price, with Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff. The film’s original title was To Dream of Kings. The film was shot in 15 days. Francis Ford Coppola worked as dialogue director. With a large portion of the budget going to the sets, the film was shot in black-and-white to cut down on costs, a decision that Corman only learned of shortly before production began.

October 25 – Mafioso (Italy)

Cast: Alberto Sordi, Norma Bengell, Gabriella Conti, Ugo Attanasio, Cinzia Bruno, Katiusca Piretti, Armando Tine, Lilly Bistrattin, Michèle Bailly, Francesco Lo Briglio, Carmelo Oliviero
Director: Alberto Lattuada
Production Company: Compagnia Cinematografica Antonio Cervi, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, distributed by Zenith International Films
Trivia: Won Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

October 25 – The Main Attraction (UK)

Cast: Pat Boone, Nancy Kwan, Mai Zetterling, Yvonne Mitchell, Kieron Moore, John Le Mesurier
Director: Daniel Petrie
Production Company: Seven Arts Productions, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: The music soundtrack was written by Pat Boone and Jeff Corey and performed by Boone. The film was originally titled Maria. Boone said he would oppose release of the film unless it was given approval by the US censor because he felt some scenes had been re-shot to make them more lurid, but producer Ray Stark denied the allegation. Boone was still concerned and offered to re-shoot necessary scenes or even the entire film with no salary. Seven Arts agreed to trim some scenes to get Boone to agree to go on a publicity tour for the film.

1972

October 19 – Play It as It Lays (USA)

Cast: Tuesday Weld, Anthony Perkins, Tammy Grimes, Adam Roarke, Ruth Ford, Eddie Firestone, Diana Ewing, Paul Lambert, Chuck McCann, Severn Darden, Tony Young, Richard Anderson, Tyne Daly
Director: Frank Perry
Production Company: F.P. Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: Based on the novel of the same name by Joan Didion, who also wrote the screenplay with John Gregory Dunne. Tuesday Weld was nominated for a 1972 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Drama.

October 20 – Bad Company (Los Angeles)

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston, John Savage, Jerry Houser, Damon Cofer, Joshua Hill Lewis, Geoffrey Lewis, Raymond Guth, Ed Lauter, John Quade
Director: Robert Benton
Production Company: Jaffilms, Paramount Pictures, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The forest gunfight scene had to be completely re-shot after the film was ruined in the lab during processing.

October 25 – Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (France, concert documentary)

Cast: Pink Floyd
Director: Adrian Maben
Production Company: Bayerischer Rundfunk, Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française, RM Productions Fernseh- und Filmgesellschaft mbH, Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF), distributed by 2ème chaîne ORTF (France), April Fools Productions (USA)
Trivia: The concert was filmed without an audience, although a few children managed to sneak in the closed entrances and were allowed to watch the filming from a distance. The band insisted on playing live with the use of an 8-track recorder to capture the audio and give it a studio-like quality. When the equipment reached Pompeii, it was discovered there was insufficient power and a cable was run from the local town hall to resolve the problem. Songs were recorded in sections and spliced together. Filming at Pompeii ran from October 4-7, 1971 with five songs performed. The remainder if the songs were filmed in Paris from December 13-20 with Richard Wright’s beard noticeably missing.

October 25 – Un flic (France)

Cast: Alain Delon, Richard Crenna, Catherine Deneuve, Riccardo Cucciolla, Michael Conrad, Paul Crauchet, Simone Valère, André Pousse, Jean Desailly
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Production Company: Euro International Films, Oceania Produzini Internazionali Cinematografiche, distributed by Les Films Corona
Trivia: Released in the US in 1975 as A Cop. Also known as Dirty Money. The last film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.

1982

October 20 – Les Misérables (France)

Cast: Lino Ventura, Michel Bouquet, Évelyne Bouix, Christiane Jean, Valentine Bordelet, Jean Carmet, Françoise Seigner, Frank David, Candice Patou, Agathe Ladner, Emmanuel Curtil, Hervé Furic
Director: Robert Hossein
Production Company: Del Duca Films, Groupement des Editeurs de Films, Modern Media Filmproduktion, Société Française de Production Cinématographique, TF1 Films Production, distributed by GEF-CCFC
Trivia: One of the numerous screen adaptations of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. Robert Hossein also directed the original 1980 production of the stage musical. This film and the musical are the only adaptations where Fantine dies before Javert’s arrival. Nominated for five César Awards, winning one for Best Supporting Actor (Carmet).

October 20 – The State of Things (France)

Cast: Patrick Bauchau, Allen Garfield, Isabelle Weingarten, Rebecca Pauly, Jeffrey Kime, Geoffrey Carey, Camilla Mora, Alexandra Auder, Paul Getty Jr., Viva, Samuel Fuller, Roger Corman
Director: Wim Wenders
Production Company: Gray City, V.O. Filmes, Road Movies Filmproduktion, Wim Wenders Productions, Pro-ject Filmproduktion, Pari Films, Musidora Films, Film International, Artificial Eye, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, distributed by Pari Films (France), Gray City (USA), Artificial Eye (UK)
Trivia: The German title is Der Stand der Dinge. Wenders made the film during a production hiatus on Hammett, when producer Francis Ford Coppola had the entire screenplay rewritten. Wenders’ 1994 film Lisbon Story stars Patrick Bauchau reprising the role of Friedrich Munro, appearing under the name Friedrich Monroe.

October 21 – Lonely Hearts (Australia)

Cast: Wendy Hughes, Norman Kaye, Jon Finlayson, Julia Blake, Jonathan Hardy, Irene Inescort, Vic Gordon, Ted Grove-Rogers
Director: Paul Cox
Production Company: Adams-Packer, distributed by Filmways Australasian Distributors
Trivia: Winner of the 1982 AFI Award for Best Film.

October 21 – The Plague Dogs (UK)

Voice Cast: John Hurt, Christopher Benjamin, James Bolam, Nigel Hawthorne, Warren Mitchell, Bernard Hepton, Brian Stirner, Penelope Lee, Geoffrey Matthews, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, John Bennett, John Franklyn-Robbins, Patrick Stewart
Director: Martin Rosen, Tony Guy
Production Company: United Artists, Nepenthe Productions, Goldcrest Films, distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co. (UK), Embassy Pictures (USA)
Trivia: Based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Richard Adams. Brad Bird was one of the animators working in the US unit. Disney veteran Retta Scott was also part of the unit, having animated the vicious hunting dogs in Bambi. Until 2019, only an edited, 86-minute version of the film had been available in the US, theatrically and on home video. The full 103 minute version had only been released to home video in Australia in 2005 and the UK in 2008.

October 22 – First Blood (USA)

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, Bill McKinney, Jack Starrett, Michael Talbott, Chris Mulkey, John McLiam, Alf Humphreys, David Caruso
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Production Company: The Wallis Interactive, Carolco Pictures, Anabasis Investments, N.V., Orion Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell. The first Hollywood blockbuster to be released in China (1985), and held the record for selling the largest number of tickets for an American film until 2018. Richard Brooks was set to direct a version of the film in 1972, but dropped out because the Vietnam War was still ongoing at the time. He had wanted to cast Bette Davis as a psychiatrist. When Warner Bros. bought the project, Robert De Niro and Clint Eastwood were considered for the role of Rambo. Martin Ritt, Sydney Pollack, Martin Bregman and Mike Nichols also considered directing. Had Ritt stayed on, he intended to cast Paul Newman as Rambo. Pollack’s choice was Steve McQueen but then felt he was too old to play a Vietnam vet from 1975. By 1977, John Badham was intending to direct, but John Frankenheimer was ultimately hired. The project stalled again when Filmways was acquired by Orion Pictures. Carolco Pictures purchased the rights in 1981 with Ted Kotcheff, who had been involved with the film in 1976, returning to direct and he offered the Rambo role to Stallone. Stallone’s star power after the success of Rocky got the film made. The first cut of the film ran nearly 3.5 hours and Stallone and his agent thought it was so bad that it would kill his career. Stallone wanted to buy the movie and destroy it. The film was cut to 93 minutes and released theatrically.

October 22 – Halloween III: Season of the Witch (USA)

Universal Pictures

Cast: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O’Herlihy, Michael Currie, Ralph Strait, Jadeen Barbor, Garn Stephens, Nancy Kyes, Jonathan Terry, Maidie Norman
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Production Company: Dino De Laurentiis Corporation, Debra Hill Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: Maidie Norman’s final film. The film was intended to launch an anthology series of films set on Halloween night, each containing its own characters, setting and storyline. Dick Warlock, who played Michael Myers in Halloween II, plays an android assassin. An uncredited Jamie Lee Curtis provides the voices of the curfew announcer and the telephone operator. Familiar Foods, a milk bottling plant in Loleta, California served as the Silver Shamrock Novelties factory, but interiors involving special effects were done in a studio. Debra Hill once stated that the film was to be a ‘pod movie, not a knife movie’ referring to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The town name Santa Mira, the setting for Body Snatchers, was an homage to that film. Joe Dante was the original director, but dropped out to direct a segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie.

October 22 – Monsignor (USA)

Cast: Christopher Reeve, Geneviève Bujold, Leonardo Cimino, Fernando Rey, Adolfo Celi, Jason Miller, Tomas Milian, Robert Prosky, Joe Pantoliano, Joe Spinell, Ettore Mattia
Director: Frank Perry
Production Company: Frank Yablans Presentations, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Composer John Williams received his first and only Razzie Award nomination for Worst Musical Score. Filmed entirely in Rome.

October 22 – The Sender (USA)

Cast: Kathryn Harrold, Željko Ivanek, Shirley Knight, Paul Freeman, Sean Hewitt
Director: Roger Christian
Production Company: Kingsmere Productions Ltd., Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Željko Ivanek’s film debut. 20th Century Fox originally purchased the film rights as a follow-up to Brian De Palma’s hit The Fury, but the production was dumped before it even started. Paramount Pictures immediately picked it up after their success with Friday the 13th and My Bloody Valentine, but director Roger Christian did not approach the film as a slasher flick, seeing it as more ‘Bergman-esque’. It was his feature film debut. Exteriors were filmed in Georgia, with interiors filmed at Shepperton Studios in the UK. Paramount felt the workprint was too slow and artsy and ordered the film re-edited with the ending placed at the beginning of the film, which would then be a story told in flashback. The film’s editor sided with the director and the studio allowed the film to remain as it was. Because of the studio’s lack of enthusiasm for the director’s cut, the film only received a limited US release. The film has been cited as an influence on A Nightmare on Elm Street, particularly the third film in the series.

October 22 – Jinxed! (USA)

Cast: Bette Midler, Ken Wahl, Rip Torn, Val Avery, Jack Elam, Benson Fong, Jacqueline Scott
Director: Don Siegel
Production Company: Herb Jaffe Productions, United Artists, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Based on the 1980 novel The Edge by Frank D. Gilroy. Working titles include The Jackpot and Hot Streak. Gilroy requested his name be removed from the credits, and he was credited as Burt Blessing. Bette Midler requested Don Siegel as the director. Siegel suffered a heart attack during production, and Sam Peckinpah directed some of the film but without a screen credit. This was Siegel’s last film. He died in 1991 from cancer. Peckinpah’s work on the film led to his hiring to direct The Osterman Weekend, his final film before his death. Midler and Ken Wahl despised each other, and she also did not get along with Siegel. Siegel countered that working with her was unpleasant. Lalo Schifrin composed the film’s score but it was rejected by the studio over Siegel’s objections. Bruce Roberts & Miles Goodman provided a new score.

1992

October 23 – Frozen Assets (USA)

Cast: Shelley Long, Corbin Bernsen, Larry Miller, Dody Goodman, Gerrit Graham, Matt Clark
Director: George T. Miller
Production Company: Frozen Assets Productions, distributed by RKO Pictures
Trivia: The film was a box office bomb in the US, grossing $376,008 against a $5 million budget.

October 23 – In the Soup (USA/Spain)

Cast: Steve Buscemi, Seymour Cassel, Jennifer Beals, Pat Moya, Will Patton, Sully Boyar, Steven Randazzo, Francesco Messina, Jim Jarmusch, Carol Kane, Stanley Tucci, Rockets Redglare, Elizabeth Bracco, Debi Mazar, Sam Rockwell, Paul Herman
Director: Alexandre Rockwell
Production Company: Alliance Communications Corporation, Alta, Cacous Films, Factory 25, Mikado Film, Odessa, Pandora Cinema, South, Why Not Productions, distributed by Alta Films (Spain), Academy Entertainment (USA, home video)
Trivia: The film is referenced in the 1990 documentary Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema. A Kickstarter campaign was launched in 2017 to fund a restoration of the archival print for its 25 anniversary. The restored print was released in 2018.

October 23 – Night and the City (USA)

Cast: Robert De Niro, Jessica Lange, Alan King, Jack Warden, Cliff Gorman, Eli Wallach, Barry Primus, Henry Milligan, Regis Philbin
Director: Irwin Winkler
Production Company: Penta Films, Tribeca Productions, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox (USA), First Independent Films (UK)
Trivia: Remake of the 1950 film noir of the same name. Based on the novel Night and the City by Gerald Kersh. Both the novel and original film were centered around pro-wrestling, but the remake featured boxing as wrestling had become more targeted at children by 1990.

October 23 – Pure Country (USA)

Cast: George Strait, Lesley Ann Warren, Isabel Glasser, Kyle Chandler, John Doe, Rory Calhoun, Molly McClure
Director: Christopher Cain
Production Company: Jerry Weintraub Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: George Strait’s acting debut. While the film was modestly profitable, the soundtrack was a success and is Strait’s best selling album to date. The film was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, neither of which have any connection to the film or to each other. It was Rory Calhoun’s final film.

2002

October 24 – Hero (China)

Cast: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Chen Daoming, Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi
Director: Zhang Yimou
Production Company: Sil-Metropole Organisation, CFCC, Elite Group Enterprises, Zhang Yimou Studio, Beijing New Picture Film, distributed by Beijing New Picture Film
Trivia: At the time, it was one of the most expensive films produced in China and one of the highest grossing films. Miramax acquired the US rights then held the film for two years until Quentin Tarantino convinced them to release it, hitting the number one spot for two weeks. Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

October 25 – Frida (USA, limited)

Cast: Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, Mía Maestro, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton, Diego Luna, Roger Rees, Valeria Golino, Saffron Burrows
Director: Julie Taymor
Production Company: Ventanarosa, Lions Gate Films, distributed by Miramax Films
Trivia: Adapted from the 1983 book Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera. Nominated for six Oscars, including Best Actress (Hayek), winning two: Best Makeup and Best Original Score. Hayek was originally told she was too young to play the role of Frida Kahlo.

October 25 – The Magdalene Sisters (Ireland)

Cast: Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, Eileen Walsh, Geraldine McEwan:
Director: Peter Mullan
Production Company: Momentum Pictures, Temple Films, PFP Films, distributed by Momentum Pictures
Trivia: Peter Mullan was awarded the Golden Lion at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, the festival’s highest honor.

October 25 – Punch-Drunk Love (Canada)

Cast: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Luis Guzmán, Robert Smigel
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios, New Line Cinema, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Trivia: Paul Thomas Anderson vowed to make a 90-minute film after Magnolia, and wrote the romantic comedy specifically for Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Filming took over a year and a half. Anderson scrapped the first two weeks of filming, fearing he was just making another Paul Thomas Anderson film. The threat of Hollywood strikes in 2001 led Sandler and Watson to film other projects between the filming of Punch-Drunk Love. Anderson turned down additional funding from the studio, wanting to keep the budget under $30 million. He succeeded, bringing the film in at $25 million, but it went on to gross just $24.7 million at the box office. Sandler was not familiar with Anderson’s work, and after seeing Magnolia he was terrified that he would not be able to carry the film. Anderson personally delivered the script to Sandler to help alleviate his fears.

2012

October 19 – Alex Cross (USA/Canada)

Cast: Tyler Perry, Edward Burns, Matthew Fox, Jean Reno, Carmen Ejogo, Cicely Tyson, Rachel Nichols, John C. McGinley, Werner Daehn, Yara Shahidi, Sayeed Shahidi, Giancarlo Esposito
Director: Rob Cohen
Production Company: QED International, Block/Hanson, Emmett/Furla Films, Envision Entertainment Corporation, IAC Productions, James Patterson Entertainment, Summit Entertainment, distributed by Lionsgate
Trivia: Based on the 2006 novel Cross by James Patterson. The third Alex Cross film, but is considered a reboot with Perry taking over the role from Morgan Freeman. The film was a critical and commercial failure which led to the cancellation of the announced sequel Double Cross.

October 19 – Ginger & Rosa (UK)

Cast: Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks, Jodhi May, Luke Cloud, Timothy Spall, Oliver Platt, Annette Bening
Director: Sally Potter
Production Company: British Film Institute, BBC Films, Adventure Pictures, The Match Factory, Ingenious, Media House Capital, Miso Film, Danish Film Institute, distributed by Artificial Eye (UK), Union Pictures (Canada), A24 (USA)
Trivia: Film debut of Alice Englert. Elle Fanning had her first on-screen kiss in the movie.

October 19 – Paranormal Activity 4 (USA/Canada)

Blumhouse Productions

Cast: Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively, Aiden Lovekamp, Brady Allen, Stephen Dunham, Alexondra Lee, Katie Featherston, Alisha Boe, Frank Welker
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Production Company: Blumhouse Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: While it is the fourth film of the franchise, it is a sequel to the second set several years later. The film was dedicated to Stephen Dunham, who suffered a heart attack (on his 48th birthday) and died shortly after filming had completed.

October 20 – The Land of Hope (Japan)

Cast: Isao Natsuyagi, Naoko Otani, Jun Murakami, Megumi Kagurazaka, Denden
Director: Sion Sono
Production Company: Bitters End, Joint Entertainment International, Marble Films, Third Window Films, distributed by Bitters End (Japan), Digital Media Rights (USA)

October 24 – Skyfall (France)

Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Ola Rapace, Helen McCrory
Director: Sam Mendes
Production Company: Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Columbia Pictures, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Trivia: Twenty-third James Bond film. Released in the UK on October 26 after its London premiere on October 23. Released in the US on November 9. Production on the film was suspended in 2010 when MGM filed for bankruptcy. Production resumed in November 2011. It was the 14th film to gross $1 billion worldwide, at the time the 7th highest grossing film of all time, and the highest grossing Bond film. Judi Dench’s last film as M. Sean Connery had been considered for the role of Kincade, but producers eventually felt it would be seen as stunt casting and too distracting.

Share this post