Seven Arts Productions
It’s the last week of October and the studios have gotten into the Halloween spirit over the years, with spooky-themed films — some pure horror, some tinged with comedy — across the decades with big names attached. 1942 had a domestic comedy about a mortal who marries a witch (that inspired a TV series about a mortal who marries a witch), 1962 pitted two stars from Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’ against one another (that inspired a TV series about their ‘feud’), 1982 was full of horror, 2002 gave Elvira another chance to show off her assets in a feature film, and also gave us ‘rage zombies’, and 2012 continued a horrific video game … in 3D! But tis the season for ‘Oscar bait’ as well with films from 1942, 1962, 1992 and 2012 earning Oscar and Golden Globe nominations and wins. Read on to learn more about this week’s films celebrating release anniversaries and have a Happy Halloween!
1922
October 30 – Oliver Twist (USA)
- Cast: Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney, Edouard Trebaol, George Siegmann, Gladys Brockwell, James A. Marcus, Aggie Herring, Nelson McDowell, Lewis Sargent, Joan Standing
- Director: Frank Lloyd
- Production Company: Jackie Coogan Productions, distributed by First National Pictures
- Trivia: Adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1838 novel Oliver Twist. The film was considered lost, until a print surfaced in Yugoslavia in 1973. The film was missing the English intertitles, but they were restored by Blackhawk Films with the assistance of star Jackie Coogan and Sol Lesser.
October 31 – Polikushka (Soviet Union)
- Cast: Ivan Moskvin, Vera Pashennaya, Yevgeniya Rayevskaya, Varvara Bulgakova, Sergey Aydarov
- Director: Alexander Sanin
- Production Company: Mezhrabpom-Rus, Torgovy dom Rus’
- Trivia: Based on Leo Tolstoy’s 1863 story Polikúshka: The Lot of a Wicked Court Servant. Moscow Art Theatre actor Ivan Moskvin’s first film role. Produced in 1919, the release was delayed until 1922 because of the Russian Civil War. Due to a shortage of film stock at the time, reshoots were only done in exceptional circumstances.
November – Flames of Passion (UK)
- Cast: Mae Marsh, C. Aubrey Smith, Hilda Bayley, Herbert Langley, Allan Aynesworth, Eva Moore, George K. Arthur, Henry Vibart
- Director: Graham Cutts
- Production Company: Graham-Wilcox Productions, distributed by Astra Film
- Trivia: American star Mae Marsh was lured to England with a large salary, hoping her presence would improve the film’s chances in the US. The gamble worked as it became the first post-war British film sold to the US under the title A Woman’s Secret. The final reel was filmed in Prizma Color.
1932
October 27 – Fanny (Belgium)
- Cast: Orane Demazis, Raimu, Alida Rouffe, Charpin, Robert Vattier, Auguste Mourriès, Milly Mathis, Marcel Maupi, Édouard Delmont
- Director: Marc Allégret
- Production Company: Les Films Marcel Pagnol, Les Établissements Braunberger-Richebé, distributed by Mediterranean Film Company
- Trivia: Based on the 1931 play by Marcel Pagnol. It is the second part of the ‘Marseillaise’ film trilogy that begins with Marius (1931) and concludes with César (1936).
October 28 – Lord Camber’s Ladies (London)
- Cast: Gerald du Maurier, Gertrude Lawrence, Benita Hume, Nigel Bruce, Clare Greet, A. Bromley Davenport
- Director: Benn W. Levy
- Production Company: British International Pictures, distributed by Wardour Films
- Trivia: Adaptation of the 1915 play The Case of Lady Camber by Horace Annesley Vachell, which had also been filmed in 1915. Produced by Alfred Hitchcock, the only film he produced but did not direct. He later dismissed the film as a ‘quota quickie’ for the studio.
October 29 – Three on a Match (USA)
- Cast: Virginia Davis, Joan Blondell, Anne Shirley, Ann Dvorak, Betty Carse, Bette Davis, Warren William, Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Bogart. Edward Arnold
- Director: Mervyn LeRoy
- Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Bogart’s first appearance as a ‘hoodlum’. With the Lindbergh kidnapping in the news at the time of release, and a child kidnapping plot in the film, an appeal by the Studio Relations Committee had to be made to censor boards in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland to get the film released. Joan Blondell did a publicity photo for the film in which she appeared to be nude, straddling a chair. The image was later banned under the Motion Picture Production Code.
October 30 – Night After Night (USA)
- Cast: George Raft, Constance Cummings, Wynne Gibson, Mae West, Alison Skipworth, Roscoe Karns, Louis Calhern, Bradley Page, Al Hill
- Director: Archie Mayo
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Mae West’s first movie role. Based on the Cosmopolitan magazine story ‘Single Night’ by Louis Bromfield, with West allowed to contribute to her lines of dialogue. West portrayed a fictionalized version of Texas Guinan, whom George Raft actually wanted for the role. The studio went with West, who was nine years younger. West was a fan of Guinan and incorporated some of her flamboyant ideas into her own acts. This was Raft’s first leading role.
October 30 – Trouble in Paradise (USA)
- Cast: Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, Charles Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Greig
- Director: Ernst Lubitsch
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1931 play The Honest Finder (A Becsületes Megtaláló) by Hungarian playwright László Aladár, although Ernst Lubitsch suggested the lead character was based on a real person, George Manolescu, a Romanian con man whose memoir was published in 1905, and became the basis for two silent films. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1991. Working titles included The Honest Finder, Thieves and Lovers, and The Golden Widow. The film was produced before the Production Code was enforced, and was not approved for reissue after 1953. The film was not seen again until 1968. Paramount wanted to make a musical of the film in 1943, but the idea was rejected by the Hays Office.
November 1 – The Devil Horse (USA, serial)
- Cast: Harry Carey, Noah Beery, Sr., Frankie Darro, Greta Granstedt, Barrie O’Daniels, Edward Peil Sr., Jack Mower, Al Bridge, Lew Kelly
- Director: Otto Brower
- Production Company: Mascot Pictures
- Trivia: Used the William Tell Overture as the title theme a year before The Lone Ranger would appear on radio using the same theme.
1942
October 30 – I Married a Witch (USA)
Paramount Pictures
- Cast: Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Cecil Kellaway, Susan Hayward, Robert Benchley, Elizabeth Patterson, Eily Malyon, Robert Warwick, Mary Field, Nora Cecil, Ann Carter, Aldrich Bowker
- Director: René Clair
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Based on the 1941 novel The Passionate Witch by Thorne Smith, who died before he could finish it; it was completed by Norman H. Matson. The film’s working title was He Married a Witch. Joel McCrea was originally cast as the male lead but withdrew because he did not want to work with Veronica Lake again after not getting along with her on Sullivan’s Travels. Frederic March and Lake did not get along either during production. The film was nominated for the Best Music Oscar. Along with Bell, Book and Candle, the film was an inspiration for TV series Bewitched.
October 31 – Now, Voyager (USA)
- Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, Bonita Granville, John Loder, Ilka Chase, Lee Patrick, Franklin Pangborn, Katharine Alexander, James Rennie, Mary Wickes
- Director: Irving Rapper
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2007. Irene Dunne, Norma Shearer, and Ginger Rogers were considered for the role of Charlotte, but Bette Davis campaigned for the role and won. She became very involved in her character, even choosing the wardrobe. She also had her choice of director. Scenes set in Europe were replaced with stock footage of Brazil. Davis received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, Gladys Cooper earned a Supporting Actress nom, and Max Steiner won the Oscar for his original score.
1952
October 29 – Trent’s Last Case (London)
- Cast: Michael Wilding, Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles, John McCallum, Miles Malleson, Hugh McDermott, Jack McNaughton, Sam Kydd
- Director: Herbert Wilcox
- Production Company: Imperadio Pictures, distributed by Republic Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1913 novel Trent’s Last Case by E. C. Bentley, which had previously been filmed in the UK in 1920, and in the US in 1929. Film debut of Kenneth Williams, best known for the Carry On film series.
October 30 – The Happy Time (USA)
- Cast: Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, Marsha Hunt, Kurt Kasznar, Linda Christian, Marcel Dalio, Jeanette Nolan, Jack Raine, Richard Erdman
- Director: Richard Fleischer
- Production Company: Stanley Kramer Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Robert Fontaine, which was also turned into a hit play. The play was adapted into a musical in 1967. Zero Mostel was originally cast as Uncle Louis because Kurt Kasznar, who played the role on Broadway, wanted too much money. Studio head Harry Cohn overruled Mostel’s casting because of his suspected communist sympathies and Kasznar got the part.
1962
October 31 – I sequestrati di Altona (Italy)
- Cast: Sophia Loren, Maximilian Schell, Fredric March, Robert Wagner, Françoise Prévost
- Director: Vittorio De Sica
- Production Company: Société Générale de Cinématographie (S.G.C.), Titanus, distributed by Titanus (Italy), Twentieth Century Fox (US/UK)
- Trivia: Based on the play by Jean-Paul Sartre. Released in the US on October 30, 1963 as The Condemned of Altona.
October 31 – Period of Adjustment (USA)
- Cast: Tony Franciosa, Jane Fonda, Jim Hutton, Lois Nettleton, John McGiver, Mabel Albertson, Jack Albertson
- Director: George Roy Hill
- Production Company: Marten Pictures, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Based on Tennessee Williams’ 1960 play of the same name. George Roy Hill’s directorial debut. The film made Jane Fonda a bankable star and earned her a nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. The film was also Oscar nominated for Best Art Direction – Black-and-White.
October 31 – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (USA)
- Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Wesley Addy, Anne Barton, Marjorie Bennett, Bert Freed, Anna Lee, Maidie Norman, Dave Willock
- Director: Robert Aldrich
- Production Company: Seven Arts Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Henry Farrell. Victor Buono’s first credited film role. The film originally received an X-rating in the UK. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2021. To represent the acting careers of Jane and Blanche, footage from Davis’ Parachute Jumper and Ex-Lady, and Crawford’s Sadie McKee was used. The film received five Oscar nominatiosn — Best Actress (Davis), Best Supporting Actor (Buono), Best Cinematography – Black-and-White, Best Costume Design – Black-and-White, and Best Sound — winning one for the costume design. Davis and Buono also received Golden Globe nominations.
November – Gigot (USA)
- Cast: Jackie Gleason, Katherine Kath, Gabrielle Dorziat, Jean Lefebvre, Jacques Marin, Albert Rémy, Yvonne Constant
- Director: Gene Kelly
- Production Company: Seven Arts Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The exact US release date is unknown. Jackie Gleason conceived the story and wanted Orson Welles to direct and Paddy Chayefsky to write the screenplay. The studio balked at hiring Welles, who was considered an ‘over-spender’. Chayefsky was not interested in writing. Gene Kelly said the film had been so drastically re-edited that it bore little resemblance to his version. Oscar nominee for Best Adapted Score. The film was remade for television in 2004 as The Wool Cap, with William H. Macy.
November 1 – Gypsy (USA)
- Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace, Morgan Brittany, Ann Jillian, Faith Dane, Roxanne Arlen
- Director: Mervyn LeRoy
- Production Company: Mervyn LeRoy Productions Inc., distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the book of the 1959 stage musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable by Arthur Laurents, which was adapted from the 1957 autobiography Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee. Rosalind Russell had hoped to do a straight dramatic adaptation of the book, but it was irrevocably tied up in the rights to the musical. While Russell did sing in the stage musical Wonderful Town, the score of Gypsy was beyond her range. Her voice was artfully blended with that of Lisa Kirk, who had the ability to mimic Russell’s voice. Kirk’s full vocal version of ‘Rose’s Turn’ was included on the soundtrack album, but it was the blended version that was used in the film. Natalie Wood did her own singing after being dubbed by Marni Nixon in West Side Story a year earlier. She sang ‘Little Lamb’ live on set although she had recorded the track earlier. Russell also sang ‘Mr. Goldstone, I Love You’ and ‘Small World’ live without the blending of Kirk’s voice. The film earned three Oscar nominations and six Golden Globe nominations, with Russell winning the Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
1972
October 27 – Ulzana’s Raid (USA)
- Cast: Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison, Jorge Luke, Richard Jaeckel, Joaquin Martinez, Lloyd Bochner, Karl Swenson, Douglass Watson
- Director: Robert Aldrich
- Production Company: De Haven Productions, The Associates & Aldrich Company, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: With Burt Lancaster acting as a producer, the film was released in two versions. The US version was overseen by Robert Aldrich and Lancaster supervised the European cut. Both versions have similar running times, about 103 minutes, but each contain full scenes not present in the other cut. A German TV station created an unauthorized version combining the footage from both cuts in 1986, with a run time of 111 minutes.
October 28 – Una Ragione Per Vivere E Una Per Morire (Italy)
- Cast: James Coburn, Bud Spencer, Telly Savalas, Fabrizio Moresco, Reinhard Kolldehoff, José Suarez, Georges Géret, Ugo Fangareggi, Guy Mairesse, Benito Stefanelli
- Director: Tonino Valerii
- Production Company: Atlántida Films, Europrodis, Heritage Entertainment Inc., Les Films Corona, Sancrosiap, Terza, distributed by Cidif (Italy), K-Tel International Corp. (USA)
- Trivia: Received a limited US release in 1974 as A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die. Also known as Massacre at Fort Holman. There are two English language versions of the film. One features James Coburn’s voice, and a longer version uses different actors doing the dubbing and different music.
October 31 – Pancho Villa (West Germany)
- Cast: Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Chuck Connors, Anne Francis, José María Prada, Ángel del Pozo
- Director: Eugenio Martín
- Production Company: Granada Films, Scotia International, distributed by Scotia International Film Distributors
- Trivia: The film has no basis in historical fact other than starting with the life and legend of Pancho Villa. Telly Savalas and Clint Walker did not get along, with Savalas trying to upstage Walker and change two-shots to his own solo shots. Walker did get along with Anne Francis although his character did not.
November – Dirty Little Billy (USA)
- Cast: Michael J. Pollard, Richard Evans, Lee Purcell, Charles Aidman, Dran Hamilton, Willard Sage, Mills Watson, Alex Wilson, Ronny Graham, Josip Elic, Richard Stahl, Gary Busey, Dick Van Patten, Frank Welker, Severn Darden, Ed Lauter
- Director: Stan Dragoti
- Production Company: WRG/Dragoti Productions Ltd., distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The exact US release date is unknown. Nick Nolte’s film debut.
November – Limbo (USA)
- Cast: Kathleen Nolan, Katherine Justice, Kate Jackson, Stuart Margolin
- Director: Mark Robson
- Production Company: Omaha, Orange, The Filmkers Group, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The exact US release date is unknown. Based on a story by Joan Micklin Silver inspired by interviews Silver conducted with actual P.O.W. and M.I.A. wives, which was serialized in McCall’s magazine.
November 1 – Trouble Man (USA)
- Cast: Robert Hooks, Paul Winfield, Ralph Waite, William Smithers, Paula Kelly, Julius Harris, Bill Henderson, Virginia Capers, Gordon Jump
- Director: Ivan Dixon
- Production Company: JDF/B Productions, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
- Trivia: The film is noted for its soundtrack written, produced and performed by Marvin Gaye.
1982
October 27 – Tenebrae (Italy)
- Cast: Anthony Franciosa, John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi, Giuliano Gemma, Christian Borromeo, Mirella D’Angelo, Veronica Lario, Ania Pieroni, Eva Robins
- Director: Dario Argento
- Production Company: Sigma Cinematografica Roma, distributed by Titanus (Italy), Anglo-American Films (UK), Bedford Entertainment (USA)
- Trivia: Argento based the film’s story on phone calls he had received from an obsessed film fan criticizing the director for the damaging psychological effects of his previous films, which culminated in death threats toward the director. Argento made cuts to the film’s most violent scene for the Italian release, but the film ended up on the infamous ‘Video Nasties’ list in the UK, banning the film from sale until 1999. The US release was heavily censored and titled Unsane. Christopher Walken was originally offered the lead role, which eventually went to Anthony Franciosa. Dialogue was spoken in English to increase the film’s chances for success in the US, while the Italian version was dubbed. Theresa Russell dubbed Daria Nicolodi’s voice for the English version. The film was released as Shadows in Japan.
October 29 – Q – The Winged Serpent (USA)
- Cast: Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, Richard Roundtree, James Dixon, Malachy McCourt, Fred J. Scollay, Ron Cey, Mary Louise Weller, John Capodice
- Director: Larry Cohen
- Production Company: Arkoff International Pictures, Larco Productions, distributed by United Film Distribution Company
- Trivia: The window washer at the Empire State Building who loses his head in the opening scene of the movie was the building’s actual window washer at the time. Director Larry Cohen began work on the film one week after he had been fired from I, the Jury, which had been released on October 9, 1982. David Carradine’s wife at the time played his wife in the movie. Carradine’s brother Bruce plays the willing human sacrifice in the third act.
October 29 – Trick or Treats (USA)
Seven Arts Productions
- Cast: Jackelyn Giroux, Peter Jason, Chris Graver, David Carradine, Carrie Snodgress, Steve Railsback, Jillian Kesner, Dan Pastorini, Tim Rossovich, Paul Bartel, Catherine E. Coulson, John Blyth Barrymore
- Director: Gary Graver
- Production Company: Gary Graver Productions, distributed by Lone Star Pictures International (USA), Frontier Amusements (Canada)
- Trivia: The bulk of the film was shot at the home of Carrie Snodgress.
1992
October 30 – A River Runs Through It (USA)
- Cast: Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Lloyd, Edie McClurg, Stephen Shellen
- Director: Robert Redford
- Production Company: Allied Filmmakers, Wildwood Enterprises, distributed by Columbia Pictures (USA), Guild Film Distribution (UK)
- Trivia: Based on the 1976 semi-autobiographical novella A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in his film debut, portrays the younger version of Craig Sheffer’s character. Elmer Bernstein had been hired to compose the score, but clashed with Redford over the tone, and Mark Isham was brought on to compose a new score, earning an Oscar and Grammy nomination in the process. The film was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and won Best Cinematography. Redford scored a Best Director Golden Globe nomination.
October 30 – The Crying Game (UK)
- Cast: Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Forest Whitaker, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Tony Slattery, Jim Broadbent, Birdy Sweeney, Ralph Brown, Andrée Bernard
- Director: Neil Jordan
- Production Company: Palace Pictures, Channel Four Films, British Screen, Nippon Film Development, distributed by The Sales Company (International), Miramax (USA)
- Trivia: Neil Jordan’s first draft of the screenplay was titled The Soldier’s Wife, with the Dil character a cisgender woman, and Jordan found it difficult to secure funding because investors wanted a female for the role and didn’t think he’d be able to find an androgynous male who could pass as female. Stanley Kubrick urged Jordan to change the film’s title because he said people would be expecting a war movie. The film earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Rea) and Supporting Actor (Davidson), winning for Best Original Screenplay. It also scored seven BAFTA nominations, winning for Best British Film, and one Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
October 30 – There Goes the Neighborhood (USA)
- Cast: Jeff Daniels, Catherine O’Hara, Hector Elizondo, Rhea Perlman, Judith Ivey, Harris Yulin, Jonathan Banks, Dabney Coleman, Chazz Palminteri, Richard Portnow, Jeremy Piven, Heidi Zeigler, William Morgan Sheppard
- Director: Bill Phillips
- Production Company: Kings Road Entertainment, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Released as Paydirt in most foreign countries. The film is thought to have earned just about $11,000 in the US.
2002
October 31 – Black and White (Australia)
- Cast: Robert Carlyle, Charles Dance, Kerry Fox, David Ngoombujarra, Colin Friels
Director: Craig Lahiff
- Production Company: Duo Art Productions, Scala Productions, distributed by New Vision Films (Australia), Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (UK)
- Trivia: David Ngoombujarra won the Australia Film Institute’s Best Actor in a Supporting Role award in 2003.
October 31 – Buffalo Soldiers (Germany)
- Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin, Gabriel Mann, Elizabeth McGovern, Michael Peña, Leon Robinson, Dean Stockwell, Idris Elba
- Director: Gregor Jordan
- Production Company: FilmFour, Odeon Pictures, Good Machine International, Grosvenor Park Productions, Gorilla Entertainment, Strange Fiction Films, distributed by Pathé Distribution (UK), Miramax Films (USA)
- Trivia: Based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Robert O’Connor. The world premiere was held at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival. The film’s alleged ‘anti-American’ sentiment resulted in a delay in its release by almost two years due to the September 11 attacks.
October 31 – Elvira’s Haunted Hills (USA, direct-to-video)
The Elvira Movie Company
- Cast: Cassandra Peterson, Richard O’Brien, Mary Scheer, Scott Atkinson, Gabriel Andronache, Mary Jo Smith, Heather Hopper, Remus Cernat, Lucia Maier, Jerry Jackson, Theodor Danetti
- Director: Sam Irvin
- Production Company: MediaPro Studios, Queen B Productions, The Elvira Movie Company, distributed by The Elvira Movie Company
- Trivia: The film’s premiere was held at the International Rocky Horror Fan Convention on June 23, 2001. The film was privately funded, with Peterson and her then-husband Mark Pierson mortgaging their house and apartment building to raise $1 million, and obtained additional funds from relatives. Filmed in Transylvania, Romania.
November 1 – 28 Days Later (UK/Ireland)
- Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston, Noah Huntley, Stuart McQuarrie, Ricci Harnett, Leo Bill, Luke Mably
- Director: Danny Boyle
- Production Company: DNA Films, UK Film Council, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s story was inspired by Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Triffids. Filming took place in early morning hours, temporarily closing streets to capture recognizable and normally busy areas when they were deserted. The DVD release included three alternative endings (one just in storyboard form), with one showing the outbreak revealed as just a dream. A scene where Jim walks past an overturned double-decker bus was filmed within 20 minutes, including lowering the bus on its side and setting it upright and moving it off the roadway.
November 1 – Auto Focus (USA)
- Cast: Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Rita Wilson, Maria Bello, Ron Leibman, Michael E. Rodgers, Kurt Fuller, Ed Begley Jr., Michael McKean, John Kapelos
- Director: Paul Schrader
- Production Company: Propaganda Films, Good Machine, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
- Trivia: Based on Robert Graysmith’s book The Murder of Bob Crane. Greg Kinnear notes in the DVD audio commentary that the hair stylist went to great pains to match the color and thickness of Crane’s hair but ended up parting Kinnear’s hair on the wrong side.
November 1 – Morvern Callar (UK/Ireland)
- Cast: Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Paul Popplewell, Bryan Dick
- Director: Lynne Ramsay
- Production Company: Company Pictures, distributed by Alliance Atlantis, BBC Films
- Trivia: Based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alan Warner.
2012
October 26 – Chasing Mavericks (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Jonny Weston, Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue, Abigail Spencer, Leven Rambin, Greg Long, Peter Mel
- Director: Curtis Hanson, Michael Apted
- Production Company: Walden Media, Deuce Three Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Scott Eastwood appears in an uncredited role. Michael Apted completed the last 15 days of filming because of Curtis Hanson’s recovery from complications from recent heart surgery. It was Hanson’s final film, and the second to last for Apted.
October 26 – Cloud Atlas (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Doona Bae, Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Keith David, James D’Arcy, Zhou Xun, David Gyasi, Robert Fyfe
- Director: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski
- Production Company: Cloud Atlas Productions, X Filme Creative Pool, Anarchos Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 2004 novel by David Mitchell. Mitchell makes a cameo appearance as a double agent in the futuristic Korea section. One of the most expensive independent films ever made with a budget between $100 million and $146.7 million, with the Wachowskis contributing $7 million from their own funds. The film polarized critics, ending up on Best and Worst Films lists for the year. Actors appears in multiple timelines, roles, ethnicities and genders throughout the film (which resulted in some controversy where non-Asian actors were performing in ‘Yellowface’ while a double standard existed as no non-Black actors appear in ‘Blackface’). Halle Berry’s Ovid was originally meant to be a female character played by Tom Hanks. Warner Bros. directed the film not exceed 150 minutes but eventually agreed to the 172 minute run time. The film was meant to be shot in order, but Berry broke her foot two days before filming began. Instead of replacing her, the filming schedule was changed to accommodate her healing process. Berry credits Hanks for attending to her between takes. Hanks has stated that it’s the one film he’s in that he’s seen more than once. The film did not receive any Oscar nominations, but did earn a Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Score.
October 26 – Fun Size (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Victoria Justice, Jane Levy, Thomas Mann, Thomas Middleditch, Jackson Nicoll, Osric Chau, Chelsea Handler, Thomas McDonell, Riki Lindhome, Josh Pence, Ana Gasteyer, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Willam Belli, Abby Elliott
- Director: Josh Schwartz
- Production Company: Nickelodeon Movies, Anonymous Content, Fake Empire Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as Half Pint in some countries. Johnny Knoxville appears uncredited.
October 26 – Pusher (USA, limited)
- Cast: Richard Coyle, Agyness Deyn, Bronson Webb, Mem Ferda, Zlatko Burić, Paul Kaye
- Director: Luis Prieto
- Production Company: Vertigo Films, Embargo Films, distributed by Gaumont
- Trivia: An English-language remake of Nicolas Winding Refn’s 1996 film of the same name.
October 26 – Silent Hill: Revelation (USA/Canada)
Davis-Films
- Cast: Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Sean Bean, Carrie-Anne Moss, Liise Keeling, Malcolm McDowell, Martin Donovan, Deborah Kara Unger, Radha Mitchell, Heather Marks
- Director: M. J. Bassett
- Production Company: Silent Hill 2 DCP Inc., Davis-Films, Konami, Dynamic Effects Canada, distributed by Open Road Films (North America), Lionsgate UK (UK)
- Trivia: Based on the video game series Silent Hill published by Konami. The film was shot natively in 3D.
October 31 – South of Sanity (USA)
- Cast: Mathew Edwards, Kirk Watson, Melissa Langridge, Daniel Edmunds, Matt Von Tersch, Tony McLaughlan, Shaun Scopes, Riet Van de Velde, James Wake, Jonathon Yates
- Director: Mathew Edwards, Kirk Watson
- Production Company: Perfect View Productions, distributed by Plue Entertainment
- Trivia: The first full-length fictional film to have been shot in Antarctica. Kirk Watson began work on the film while working for the British Antarctic Survey as a way to pass time, with fellow staff members making up the cast and crew. A children’s face painting kit was used for makeup.
November 1 – Housos vs. Authority (Australia)
- Cast: Elle Dawe, Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis, Paul Fenech, Kevin Taumata, Vanessa Davis, Russell Gilbert, Alex Romano, Ashur Simon, Tahir Bilgic, Rob Shehadie
- Director: Paul Fenech
- Production Company: Transmission Films
- Trivia: Based upon the stories and characters of the Housos television series, created by Paul Fenech. Produced on a $200,000 budget, the film was a hit across Australia grossing over $1.3 million.
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