American Zoetrope
Out of all of this week’s new releases, one can say that a handful remain memorable today. Two decades sat the week out, and many of the others included films that were literary or stage adaptations, or remakes of previous films. 1922 was a big year with six new films being released, and all of them still survive today (although at least one of them is incomplete). 1932 had a popular French film that never saw the light of day, or the dark of a theater, in the US until 1967, and then it was remade into an Americanized hit in 1987. 1942 put Bob Hope and Bing Crosby on the ‘Road’ for the third time, and 1952 produced what is still considered today as the best version of a classic Swiss Alps story, and gave us two other literary adaptations as well. 1962 introduced Terence Stamp to the film world, and 1982 gave us a classic horror anthology film that has become a hit anthology TV series. A classic vampire put the bite on the box office in 1992, and 2012 gave us a Canadian thriller with Selma Blair. These and more films are celebrating anniversaries this week so read on and tell us if any of your favorites are on the list!
1922
November 10 – Shadows (USA)
- Cast: Lon Chaney, Marguerite De La Motte, Harrison Ford, John St. Polis, Walter Long, Buddy Messinger, Priscilla Bonner
- Director: Tom Forman
- Production Company: B.P. Schulberg Productions, distributed by Preferred Pictures
- Trivia: Based on ‘Ching, Ching, Chinaman’, a short story by Wilbur Daniel Steele. The film does exist and is available on DVD.
November 12 – Tess of the Storm Country (USA)
- Cast: Mary Pickford, Lloyd Hughes, Gloria Hope, David Torrence, Forrest Robinson, Jean Hersholt
- Director: John S. Robertson
- Production Company: Mary Pickford Company, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: A 14-year-old Milton Berle appears in an uncredited bit role. Remake of Pickford’s film from eight years prior and was subsequently remade a decade later as a sound version starring Janet Gaynor.
November 12 – The Young Rajah (USA)
- Cast: Rudolph Valentino, Wanda Hawley, Pat Moore, Charles Ogle, Fanny Midgley, Robert Ober, Jack Giddings, Edward Jobson, Josef Swickard, Bertram Grassby
- Director: Phil Rosen
- Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the book Amos Judd by John Ames Mitchell. The film was considered lost for most of the 20th century. A restoration was conducted in 2005 by Turner Classic Movies with existing footage, additional title screens to bridge gaps, and new English translation intertitles taken from a Spanish print.
November 13 – Mud and Sand (USA, short)
- Cast: Stan Laurel, Mae Laurel, Julie Leonard, Leona Anderson, Wheeler Dryden
- Director: Gilbert Pratt
- Production Company: Quality Film Productions, distributed by Metro Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: The film spoofs the title and many scenes from Rudolph Valentino’s Blood and Sand.
November 13 – Phantom (Germany)
- Cast: Alfred Abel, Grete Berger, Lil Dagover, Lya De Putti, Anton Edthofer, Aud Egede-Nissen
- Director: F. W. Murnau
- Production Company: Decla-Bioscop, distributed by UFA
- Trivia: The film was thought lost for many years, but a restoration by German film archivists was released in 2006.
November 15 – Crainquebille (France)
- Cast: Maurice de Féraudy, Félix Oudart, Jean Forest, Marguerite Carré, Jeanne Cheirel
- Director: Jacques Feyder
- Production Company: Films A. Legrand, distributed by Films A. Legrand (France), Red Seal Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on September 2, 1923 as Bill. Known as Old Bill of Paris and Coster Bill of Paris in the UK. A 35mm print was restored in 2005 and released on DVD in 2006.
1932
November 11 – Boudu sauvé des eaux (France)
- Cast: Michel Simon, Charles Granval, Marcelle Hainia, Sévérine Lerczinska, Jean Gehret, Max Dalban, Jean Dasté, Jacques Becker
- Director: Jean Renoir
- Production Company: Les Établissements Jacques Haïk, Les Productions Michel Simon, Crédit Cinématographique Français, distributed by Les Établissements Jacques Haïk (France), Pathé Contemporary Films (USA)
- Trivia: Was not released in the US until February 23, 1967 as Boudu Saved from Drowning. Based on the 1919 play by René Fauchois. The film was remade in the US in 1986 as Down and Out in Beverly Hills. There was also a 2005 French remake titled Boudu, starring Gerard Depardieu.
November 12 – Scarlet Dawn (USA)
- Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Nancy Carroll, Lilyan Tashman, Guy Kibbee, Sheila Terry, Hadji Ali
- Director: William Dieterle
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the novel Revolt by Mary C. McCall, Jr. A print is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.
1942
November 9 – The Great Mr. Handel (UK)
- Cast: Wilfrid Lawson, Elizabeth Allan, Malcolm Keen, Michael Shepley, Max Kirby, Hay Petrie, Morris Harvey, A. E. Matthews
- Director: Norman Walker
- Production Company: G.H.W. Productions, distributed by General Film Distributors
- Trivia: Opened in the US on September 9, 1943. A biopic of the 18th-century German-British composer Georg Friedrich Händel, focusing in particular on the years leading up to his 1741 oratorio Messiah.
November 10 – Road to Morocco (USA)
Paramount Pictures
- Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Anthony Quinn, Dona Drake, Vladimir Sokoloff, Mikhail Rasumny, George Givot, Leon Belasco,Yvonne De Carlo
- Director: David Butler
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The third of the Road to… films. Oscar nominated for Best Sound Recording and Best Original Screenplay. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1996. Includes the first affactionate interracial kiss in a US feature film between Bob Hope and Dona Drake.
1952
November 11 – Kansas City Confidential (USA)
- Cast: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster, Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam, Dona Drake, Mario Siletti
- Director: Phil Karlson
- Production Company: Associated Players and Producers, Edward Small Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Working title was Kansas City 117, based on a police code. Released in the UK as The Secret Four. The plot inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.
November 11 – Montana Belle (USA)
- Cast: Jane Russell, George Brent, Scott Brady, Forrest Tucker, Andy Devine, Jack Lambert, John Litel, Ray Teal, Rory Mallinson, Roy Barcroft
- Director: Allan Dwan
- Production Company: Fidelity-Vogue Pictures, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Fictionalized story about outlaw Belle Starr. Originally produced for Republic Pictures but the producer sold the negative to RKO for about $225,000 above the film’s cost.
November 12 – The Steel Trap (USA)
- Cast: Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Jonathan Hale, Walter Sande, Eddie Marr, Carleton Young, Katherine Warren, Tom Powers
- Director: Andrew L. Stone
- Production Company: Thor Productions, distributed by 20th Century-Fox
- Trivia: Also known as Panic Stricken. Filmed in two weeks with some location filming in New Orleans.
November 14 – Les belles de nuit (France)
- Cast: Gérard Philipe, Martine Carol, Gina Lollobrigida, Magali Vendeuil, Marilyn Buferd, Raymond Bussières, Raymond Cordy, Bernard La Jarrige, Albert Michel, Palau, Jean Parédès, Paolo Stoppa
- Director: René Clair
- Production Company: Franco London Films, Rizzoli Film, distributed by Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont (France), Lopert Pictures Corporation (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US as Beauties of the Night on March 22, 1954. Nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
November 14 – Face to Face (USA)
- Cast: James Mason, Gene Lockhart, Michael Pate, Albert Sharpe, Sean McClory, Alec Harford, Robert Preston, Marjorie Steele, Minor Watson, Dan Seymour, Olive Carey, James Agee
- Director: John Brahm, Bretaigne Windust
- Production Company: Theasquare Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Anthology film adapted from the stories ‘The Secret Sharer’ by Joseph Conrad and ‘The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky’ by Stephen Crane.
November 14 – Heidi (Switzerland)
- Cast: Elsbeth Sigmund, Heinrich Gretler, Thomas Klameth, Elsie Attenhofer, Margrit Rainer, Fred Tanner, Isa Günther, Willy Birgel, Traute Carlsen
- Director: Luigi Comencini
- Production Company: Praesens-Film, distributed by Schweizer Fernsehen
- Trivia: Based on the 1880 novel Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Opened in New York City on December 19, 1953, and went into wide release in the US on March 3, 1954.
November 14 – The Pickwick Papers (UK)
- Cast: James Hayter, James Donald, Nigel Patrick, Joyce Grenfell, Hermione Gingold, Hermione Baddeley, Donald Wolfit, Harry Fowler, Kathleen Harrison, Alexander Gauge, Lionel Murton, Diane Hart
- Director: Noel Langley
- Production Company: Renown Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the Charles Dickens’s 1837 novel of the same name. Opened in New York City on April 3, 1954, and went into wide release in the US on May 5. The first British film shown in the Soviet Union after World War II. James Hayter received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actor. The film was awarded the Golden Bear (Best Film) at the Berlin International Film Festival. Beatrice Dawson was nominated for the Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White.
November 14 – The Prisoner of Zenda (USA)
- Cast: Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, James Mason, Louis Calhern, Robert Coote, Robert Douglas, Jane Greer, Lewis Stone, John Goldsworthy
- Director: Richard Thorpe
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
- Trivia: Based on the 1894 novel of the same name by Anthony Hope and a remake of the 1937 film version and the 1922 silent version as well. The screenplay was nearly word-for-word of the one used for the 1937 version. Settings and camera angles are almost identical as well. Alfred Newman’s score for the 1937 version was adapted by Conrad Salinger since Newman was unavailable. MGM bought the remake rights as a vehicle for Stewart Granger, who had just come off the successful King Solomon’s Mines, which was also a remake.
November 14 – The Turning Point (USA)
- Cast: William Holden, Edmond O’Brien, Alexis Smith, Tom Tully, Ed Begley, Danny Dayton, Adele Longmire, Ray Teal, Ted de Corsia, Don Porter, Howard Freeman, Neville Brand
- Director: William Dieterle
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Inspired by the Kefauver Committee’s hearings dealing with organized crime. Carolyn Jones, in her feature film debut, appears in the uncredited role of Miss Lilian Smith.
November 15 – Hangman’s Knot (USA)
- Cast: Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, Claude Jarman, Jr., Frank Faylen, Richard Denning, Lee Marvin, Glenn Langan, Jeanette Nolan, Clem Bevans, Ray Teal, Guinn Williams, Monte Blue
- Director: Roy Huggins
- Production Company: Scott-Brown Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Filmed on location in the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California.
1962
November 9 – El barón del terror (Mexico)
- Cast: Abel Salazar, Ruben Rojo, Ariadne Welter, Luis Aragon, David Silva, German Robles
- Director: Chano Urueta
- Production Company: Cinematográfica ABSA, distributed by Alameda Films (1962) (Mexico), Clasa-Mohme (USA)
- Trivia: The title translates to The Baron of Terror. Opened in the US in 1963 as The Brainiac. The film is considered a cult classic.
November 12 – Billy Budd (USA)
Anglo Allied
- Cast: Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, Terence Stamp, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Rogers, John Neville, David McCallum, Ronald Lewis, Lee Montague, Thomas Heathcote, Ray McAnally
- Director: Peter Ustinov
- Production Company: Anglo Allied, Harvest Films, Nikhanj Films, distributed by Rank Film Distributors
- Trivia: Adapted from Louis O. Coxe and Robert H. Chapman’s stage play version of Herman Melville’s short novel Billy Budd. Melville died in 1891 before completing the novel, and his widow helped complete it but it remained unpublished until Melville’s biographer accidentally found it while going through a trunk of the writer’s papers. It was finally published in 1924. A definitive version was published in 1962 after Melville’s original notes were found. Terence Stamp’s feature film debut which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also received the Golden Globe for Most Promising Male Newcomer. The film also earned four BAFTA nominations.
November 12 – Sundays and Cybele (USA)
- Cast: Hardy Krüger, Nicole Courcel, Patricia Gozzi, Daniel Ivernel, André Oumansky
- Director: Serge Bourguignon
- Production Company: Fidès, Les Films Trocadero, Orsay Films, Terra Film Produktion, distributed by Davis-Royal (USA)
- Trivia: The original French release title is Les dimanches de Ville d’Avray (Sundays in Ville d’Avray). Based on a novel by Bernard Eschasseriaux. Nominated for three Academy Awards, winning Best Foreign Language Film.
1972
- No new films were released this week in 1972.
1982
November 10 – Creepshow (USA)
United Film Distribution Company
- Cast: Joe King, Tom Atkins, Tom Savini, Jon Lormer, Viveca Lindfors, Elizabeth Regan, Warner Shook, Ed Harris, Carrie Nye, John Amplas, Stephen King, Leslie Nielsen, Gaylen Ross, Ted Danson, Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Don Keefer, E. G. Marshall, David Early
- Director: George A. Romero
- Production Company: United Film Distribution Company, Laurel Show, Inc., distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Stephen King’s screenwriting debut. An uncredited Ned Beatty is the voice of Bob Bean in the final segment, ‘They’re Creeping Up On You’. The segment ‘The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill’ was based on King’s short story ‘Weeds’. ‘The Crate’ is based on the short story of the same name. The boy in the film’s bookend segments is King’s son, Joe Hill. While most of the film was shot in and around Romero’s home base of Pittsburgh, ‘Something to Tide You Over’ was filmed at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey. Many of the insects seen at the climax of ‘They’re Creeping Up On You’ are actually nuts and raisins.
November 10 – Starstruck (USA)
- Cast: Jo Kennedy, Ross O’Donovan, Margo Lee, Max Cullen, Pat Evison, John O’May
- Director: Gillian Armstrong
- Production Company: Australian Film Commission, Palm Beach Pictures, distributed by Hoyts Distribution
- Trivia: Geoffrey Rush makes his brief film debut as the floor manager of a TV pop music program. The film’s original director was Graeme Clifford, who pulled out to make Frances. Jo Kennedy and Ross O’Donovan had limited experience but were cast because of their chemistry during auditions. The film’s production designer was Brian Thomson, best known for his work on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, its theatrical production, and the sequel Shock Treatment.
November 12 – Brimstone and Treacle (USA)
- Cast: Sting, Denholm Elliott, Joan Plowright, Suzanna Hamilton, Benjamin Whitrow, Dudley Sutton, Mary MacLeod
- Director: Richard Loncraine
- Production Company: Namara Films, Pennies From Heaven Ltd., Sherwood Productions, distributed by United Artists Classics (USA/Canada), Brent Walker Film Distributors (UK)
- Trivia: Originally produced as a television play in 1976 for the BBC’s Play for Today series, but not aired because then Director of Television Programmes Alasdair Milne found it ‘nauseating’ though ‘brilliantly made’. It was finally broadcast in August 1987. The script was rewritten for the stage and produced in October 1977. Denholm Elliott reprised the role of Tom Bates from the TV production.
November 12 – The Draughtsman’s Contract (UK)
- Cast: Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Dave Hill, Anne-Louise Lambert, Hugh Fraser, Neil Cunningham, David Meyer, Lynda La Plante
- Director: Peter Greenaway
- Production Company: British Film Institute, Channel 4, distributed by British Film Institute (UK), United Artists Classics (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in limited release in the US on June 22, 1983. Peter Greenaway’s first conventional feature film after his mockumentary The Falls. Originally produced for Channel 4. The film received the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. The hands shown drawing in the film are Greenaway’s. The original cut was about three hours long, and the opening scene ran 30 minutes with each character speaking at least once with every other character. Greenaway cut the film to 103 minutes to make it easier to watch, and the opening scene is now ten minutes long. The final release version provides few answers to the plot’s mysteries, and the main murder mystery is never solved though there is little doubt to who did it.
November 12 – Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (USA)
- Cast: Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, Sudie Bond, Marta Heflin, Kathy Bates, Mark Patton, Caroline Aaron
- Director: Robert Altman
- Production Company: Mark Goodson Productions, Viacom Enterprises, Sandcastle 5, distributed by Cinecom International Films
- Trivia: An adaptation of Ed Graczyk’s 1976 play. Robert Altman also directed the Broadway production. Altman chose Cinecom to release the film over a major studio in order to guarantee a long run in art house venues. The film was restored in 2011 by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The preservation was funded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (the parent of the Golden Globes) and The Film Foundation.
1992
November 11 – Traces of Red (USA)
- Cast: James Belushi, Lorraine Bracco, Tony Goldwyn, Joe Lisi, William Russ, Faye Grant
- Director: Andy Wolk
- Production Company: The Samuel Goldwyn Company
- Trivia: The film received a limited theatrical release in the US but became a surprise hit on home video, earning 225% more revenue than it did in theaters. Lorraine Bracco used a body double for her nude scene, and received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress.
November 12 – Romper Stomper (Australia)
- Cast: Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Tony Lee, Alex Scott, Leigh Russell, Dan Wyllie
- Director: Geoffrey Wright
- Production Company: Film Victoria, distributed by Roadshow Film Distributors
- Trivia: Received a limited US release on June 9, 1993. Geoffrey Wright’s feature film directorial debut. The story was inspired by the highly publicised crimes of leading Melbourne Neo-Nazi Dane Sweetman. Nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards, winning for Best Sound, Best Original Score and Best Actor.
November 13 – Bram Stoker’s Dracula (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits, Monica Bellucci, Michaela Bercu, Florina Kendrick, Jay Robinson
- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- Production Company: American Zoetrope, Osiris Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Nominated for four Academy Awards, winning three: Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing and Best Makeup (the other nomination was Best Art Direction). Winona Ryder originally brought the script to Coppola’s attention. He agreed to meet with her to clear the air after her late withdrawal from The Godfather Part III caused production delays. Coppola had the entire film storyboarded. He asked the set and costume designers to bring him ‘weird’ instead of ‘formula’. Ryder had a falling out with Gary Oldman during production with her calling his acting style too intense, saying she felt a danger working with him. No one in the cast or crew really knew why they they suddenly didn’t get along. Ryder attributed it later to her own ‘teen drama’ and the turmoil in Oldman’s personal life at the time, saying they are good friends now. Oldman only took the role of Dracula to work with Coppola and to say the line ‘I’ve crossed oceans of time to find you’. It was his first big American film. Christian Slater turned down the role of Jonathan Harker, which he later regretted. Though Keanu Reeves drew criticism for his English accent, Coppola stated he worked harder on it than people think, but because of that it came out so stilted. Coppola insisted on using traditional filmmaking techniques to produce the film’s special effects, but the original company he hired said they could not be done without using modern digital technology. He fired them and hired his son Roman, who produced the effects with on-set and in-camera methods including rear projection, multiple exposures, mattes and forced perspectives to combine minatures and matte paintings.
November 13 – Love Potion No. 9 (USA)
- Cast: Tate Donovan, Sandra Bullock, Mary Mara, Dale Midkiff, Hillary B. Smith, Anne Bancroft, Dylan Baker, Blake Clark, Bruce McCarty, Rebecca Staab, Adrian Paul, Ric Reitz
- Director: Dale Launer
- Production Company: Penta Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox (USA), First Independent Films (UK)
- Trivia: The film takes its name from the 1959 hit song, ‘Love Potion No. 9’.
November 13 – Peter’s Friends (UK)
- Cast: Hugh Laurie, Kenneth Branagh, Stephen Fry, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Phyllida Law, Rita Rudner, Tony Slattery, Alex Lowe
- Director: Kenneth Branagh
- Production Company: Channel Four Films, distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors
- Trivia: Released in the US on December 25, 1992. Most of the cast are actually old university friends or have previously collaborated in other films. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie were already known for their TV series A Bit of Fry & Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson were married at the time, and Thompson had previously dated Laurie at university. Phyllida Law is Thompson’s mother.
2002
- No new films were released this week in 2002.
2012
November 9 – In Their Skin (USA)
- Cast: Selma Blair, Joshua Close, Rachel Miner, James D’Arcy, Quinn Lord, Alex Ferris
- Director: Jeremy Power Regimbal
- Production Company: TSM Entertainment, Sepia Films, Telefilm Canada, distributed by IFC Films (USA), Kinosmith (Canada)
- Trivia: The film first opened in Canada on October 26, 2012. Also known in some countries as Replicas.
November 9 – Love Bite (UK/Ireland)
- Cast: Jessica Szohr, Ed Speleers, Timothy Spall, Luke Pasqualino, Kierston Wareing, Imogen Toner, Robert Pugh, Paul Birchard
- Director: Andy De Emmonyy
- Production Company: WestEnd Films, Ecosse Films, Notting Hill Films, Scope Pictures, distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors
November 10 – Scumbus (Australia)
- Cast: Ed Kavalee, Toby Truslove, Lachy Hulme, Henry Nixon, Christian Clark, Glenn Robbins, Tony Martin, Peter Helliar, Samantha Tolj, Dave Hughes, Kate Langbroek, Ryan Shelton
- Director: Luke Tierney
- Production Company: EHK Productions
- Trivia: Shot in Melbourne in 11 days. The film was largely self-funded, and the cast agreed to work without full salaries while being entitled to a share of the film’s profits.
November 11 – The Rochdale Pioneers (UK)
- Cast: John Henshaw, Andrew London, Jordan Dawes, Rachel Caffrey, Jack Baldwin, Matthew Stead
- Director: Adam Lee Hamilton, John Montegrande
- Production Company: The British Youth Film Academy
- Trivia: Inspired by the 1944 film, Men of Rochdale, which in turn was based upon G.J. Holyoake’s The History of Co-operation. A documentary, The Making of The Rochdale Pioneers, was also created to accompany the film. Many of the cast and crew were recruited from local communities, to work alongside established actors like John Henshaw and John McArdle.
November 13 – Jab Tak Hai Jaan (Ireland/India)
- Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Sarika, Andrew Bicknell, Sharib Hashmi, Jahidul Islam Shuvo, Jasmine Jardot, Gireesh Sahedev
- Director: Yash Chopra
- Production Company: Yash Raj Films
- Trivia: Also opened in the US on November 13 in limited release. The title translates to As Long As I Live. Yash Chopra’s final film before his death in October 2012. Shot under the working title Production 45. The romantic scenes were directed by Chopra’s son, Aditya, to give them a more contemporary feel.
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