Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #127 :: December 28 to January 3

New Line Cinema

As we end one year and begin another — this time those years that end in 3 — it’s interesting to note the large number of films released in the years prior to 1993 … which had no new releases this week, while 2002-2003 and 2012-2013 only had one film each. One reason for the large number of releases most of these years is the fact that specific release dates have been lost to history so we are just listing them as January releases. There are many films this week based on literature and poetry, animated and live action shorts, and documentaries in addition to the regular feature films. A few films this week did receive awards consideration, with a couple of wins, and one decade includes a Disney film withheld from distribution for decades because of its content (and no, it’s not Song of the South). Disney also features prominently in a non-Disney film. This week also features a film that was never actually released but is still notable enough for a mention. Want to learn more about this week’s new releases across the decades? Read on and tell us if any of your favorites are on the list!

1922-1923

December 29 – Nathan der Weise (Germany)

• Cast: Fritz Greiner, Carl de Vogt, Lia Eibenschütz, Werner Krauss, Bella Muzsnay, Margarete Kupfer, Rudolf Lettinger, Ferdinand Martini, Ernst Schrumpf, Max Schreck, Wolfgang von Schwindt
• Director: Manfred Noa
• Production Company: Bavaria Film
• Trivia: Based on the 1779 play Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.

January – Java Head (USA)

• Cast: Leatrice Joy, Jacqueline Logan, Frederick Strong, Alan Roscoe, Arthur Stuart Hall, Rose Tapley, Betty Bronson, George Fawcett, Raymond Hatton, Helen Lindroth
• Director: George Melford
• Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Based on a popular novel of the same name by Joseph Hergesheimer, which in turn is named after the geographical feature. The film is believed to be lost. It was remade with sound in the UK in 1934.

January – Paddy, The Next Best Thing (UK)

• Cast: Mae Marsh, Darby Foster, Lilian Douglas, George K. Arthur, Nina Boucicault, Haidee Wright, Marie Wright, Marie Ault, Simeon Stuart, Mildred Evelyn, Tom Coventry
• Director: Graham Cutts
• Production Company: Graham-Wilcox Productions, distributed by Graham-Wilcox Productions (UK), United Artists (US)
• Trivia: Based on the 1908 novel of the same title by Gertrude Page and a 1920 stage adaptation, which was later adapted into a 1933 American film. The film is believed to be lost.

January – Speed King (USA)

• Cast: Richard Talmadge, Virginia Warwick, Mark Fenton, Harry von Meter
• Director: Grover Jones
• Production Company: Phil Goldstone Productions

January 1 – Around the World in Eighteen Days (USA, serial)

• Cast: William Desmond, Laura La Plante, William De Vaull, Wade Boteler, Percy Challenger, William Welsh, Hamilton Morse, Tom Guise, L.J. O’Connor, Arthur Millett
• Director: B. Reeves Eason, Robert F. Hill
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The serial consisted of 12 episodes but is considered lost.

January 1 – The Chickasha Bone Crusher (USA)

• Cast: Reginald Denny, Hayden Stevenson, Elinor Field
• Director: Harry A. Pollard
• Production Company: Universal Jewel, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Ninth episode in the first ‘Leather Pushers’ series of two-reel boxing shorts.

January 1 – The Custard Cup (USA)

• Cast: Mary Carr, Myrta Bonillas, Miriam Battista, Jerry Devine, Ernest McKay, Peggy Shaw, Lisle Leigh, Fred Esmelton, Henry Sedley, Ben Lyon
• Director: Herbert Brenon
• Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
• Trivia: Based on the 1921 novel The Custard Cup by Florence Bingham Livingston. The film is considered to be lost.

January 1 – The Face on the Bar-Room Floor (USA)

• Cast: Henry B. Walthall, Ruth Clifford, Ralph Emerson, Frederick Sullivan, Alma Bennett, Norval MacGregor, Michael Dark, Gus Saville
• Director: John Ford
• Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
• Trivia: Adapted from the poem of the same name by Hugh Antoine d’Arcy. The film is considered lost.

January 1 – Felix the Ghost Breaker (USA, short)

• Director: Otto Messmer
• Production Company: Pat Sullivan Cartoons, distributed by Margaret J. Winkler

January 1 – Fury (USA)

• Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Tyrone Power, Sr., Pat Hartigan, Barry Macollum, Dorothy Gish, Jessie Arnold, Harry Blakemore, Adolph Milar, Ivan Linow, Emily Fitzroy, Lucia Backus Seger, Patterson Dial
• Director: Henry King
• Production Company: Inspiration Pictures, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
• Trivia: The film is believed to be lost.

January 2 – Without Evidence (USA)

• Cast: Walter Miller, Nellie Burt, Ross D. Whytock
• Director: William P. Burt
• Production Company: A.M. Putnam & Co., distributed by Clark-Cornelius Corporation
• Trivia: Part of the ‘Tales of the Tenement’ Series of 2-reel dramas.

January 3 – Vengeance of Pierre (USA)

• Cast: Lester Cuneo, Francelia Billington
• Director: Henry McCarty
• Production Company: Doubleday Production Company, distributed by Western Pictures Exploitation Company

1932-1933

December 28 – The Animal Kingdom (USA)

• Cast: Ann Harding, Leslie Howard, Myrna Loy, William Gargan, Neil Hamilton, Ilka Chase, Henry Stephenson, Leni Stengel, Don Dillaway
• Director: Edward H. Griffith
• Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: Based upon a comedy of manners play of the same name by Philip Barry. Known as The Woman in His House in the UK. Remade 1946 as One More Tomorrow. The film was preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1985. Behind-the-scenes home movie footage shot by Leslie Howard was included in the documentary Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn.

December 30 – No Man Of Her Own (USA)

Paramount Pictures

• Cast: Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Dorothy Mackaill, Grant Mitchell, George Barbier, Elizabeth Patterson, J. Farrell MacDonald, Tommy Conlon, Walter Walker, Paul Ellis, Charley Grapewin
• Director: Wesley Ruggles
• Production Company: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Began as an adaptation of No Bed of Her Own, a 1931 novel by Val Lewton, but ended up based more on a story by Benjamin Glazer and Edmund Goulding, although it retained the title from Lewton’s novel but the title was ultimately altered. This was the only film to feature Gable and Lombard, four years before a relationship developed and seven years before they were married. They were indifferent to each other on the set with Gable put off by Lombard’s bawdinessm, and Lombard believing Gable was too conceited. At the end of filming, he presented her with a pair of ballet slippers and a note that read ‘To a real prima donna’. In turn, she presented him with a ham with a picture of his face attached to it.

January – Eat ‘Em Alive (USA, documentary)

• Cast: Harold Austin
• Director: Harold Austin
• Production Company: Real Life Pictures

January – Reckless Decision (USA)

• Cast: Adeline Hayden Coffin, Doris Eaton, Margaret Halstan, Marion Quigley, Adele Riggs, Mary Rorke, Walter Tennyson, Donald Thompson, Warwick Ward
• Director: John W. Noble
• Production Company: High Arts Pictures Corp.
• Trivia: This is a re-titled re-release of 1922’s Tell Your Children with newly added contemporary footage.

January – Wonderland of California (USA, documentary)

• Cast: Margaret Dumont, Robert Greig, Chico Marx, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx
• Director: Unknown
• Production Company: Associated Screen Studios, distributed by Stanley Distributing Corp.

January 1 – Tired Feet (USA, short)

• Cast: Harry Langdon, Vernon Dent, Shirley Blake, Maidena Armstrong, Eddie Baker, William Irving, Leslie Goodwins
• Director: Arvid E. Gillstrom
• Production Company: Educational Films Corporation of America, distributed by Fox Film Corporation
• Trivia: The film is preserved in the Library of Congress.

January 2 – Merry Dog (USA, short)

• Voice Cast: Allan Watson
• Director: Walter Lantz
• Production Company: Walter Lantz Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The sixth Pooch the Pup short.

January 3 – Hyppolit, the Butler (USA)

• Cast: Gyula Csortos, Gyula Kabos, Mici Haraszti, Éva Fenyvessy, Gyula Gózon, Mici Erdélyi, Pál Jávor, Sándor Góth, Ernõ Szenes, Marcsa Simon
• Director: István Székely
• Production Company: Sonor Film, distributed by Kovács Emil és Társa
• Trivia: Originally released in Hungary on November 27, 1931 as Hyppolit a lakáj. The second full sound film produced in Hungary. Based on a stage play by István Zágon. The film was digitally restored in 2008 but includes an erroneous writing credit for director Székely that does not appear in the original release.

1942-1943

December 30 – Commandos Strike at Dawn (USA)

• Cast: Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Cedric Hardwicke, Ray Collins, Robert Coote, Rosemary DeCamp, Alexander Knox, Elisabeth Fraser, Richard Derr
• Director: John Farrow
• Production Company: Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: Adapted from a short story entitled ‘The Commandos’ by C. S. Forester that appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine in June 1942. The film’s score by Louis Gruenberg and an uncredited John Leipold was nominated for an Academy Award. Igor Stravinsky composed the original score but negotiations fell through to make revisions. Stravinsky recycled the music for his ‘Four Norwegian Moods’.

December 30 – Star Spangled Rhythm (USA)

• Cast: Victor Moore, Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Walter Abel, Cass Daley, Gil Lamb, Gladys Blake, Cecil B. DeMille, Preston Sturges, Edward Fielding
• Director: George Marshall
• Production Company: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s working title was Thumbs Up. Produced as a morale booster for the troops during wartime. The first Paramount film to be shown for eight weeks. The film marked the screen debut of 9-year-old Gary Crosby. Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for ‘That Old Black Magic’, and Robert Emmett Dolan was nominated for Best Original Score.

January 1 – Der Fuehrer’s Face (USA, short)

• Voice Cast: Clarence Nash, Cliff Edwards, Charles Judels
• Director: Jack Kinney
• Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: Originally titled A Nightmare in Nutziland or Donald Duck in Nutziland. The short was made in an effort to sell war bonds and is an example of American propaganda during World War II. Winner of the Best Animated Short Oscar, the only Donald Duck film to win the honor (eight others were nominated). Due to the propagandistic nature of the film, and the depiction of Donald Duck as a reluctant Nazi, Disney kept the film out of circulation for decades, finally giving it a home video release in 2004 in the Walt Disney Treasures: Walt Disney on the Front Lines collection.

January 2 – Lady Bodyguard (USA)

• Cast: Eddie Albert, Anne Shirley, Raymond Walburn, Roger Pryor, Edward Brophy, Maude Eburne, Clem Bevans, Mary Treen
• Director: William Clemens
• Production Company: Paramount Pictures

1952-1953

December 28 – Hiawatha (USA)

• Cast: Vince Edwards, Yvette Dugay, Keith Larsen, Engene Iglesias, Armando Silvestre, Michael Tolan, Ian MacDonald, Katherine Emery, Morris Ankrum, Stephen Chase, Stuart Randall
• Director: Kurt Neumann
• Production Company: Walter Mirisch Productions, distributed by Allied Artists Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1855 epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The final film produced by Monogram Pictures.

December 31 – The Stooge (USA)

• Cast: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Polly Bergen, Marion Marshall, Eddie Mayehoff, Richard Erdman, Frances Bavier
• Director: Norman Taurog
• Production Company: Wallis-Hazen, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Filmed before 1952’s Sailor Beware and Jumping Jacks but withheld by Paramount over concerns of the audience reaction to Martin’s treatment of Lewis in the film. Lewis had stated that this was his favorite of their films.

January – I Love Lucy: The Movie (USA)

• Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley
• Director: Marc Daniels, Edward Sedgwick
• Production Company: Desilu, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The film consists of three unrelated episodes of the I Love Lucy TV series linked by newly filmed scenes directed by Edward Sedgwick which was his final film work. The film only received one theatrical test screening and was shelved after demands from MGM, which felt the release would diminish interest in the new Lucy and Desi comedy — their first appearance together in color — The Long, Long Trailer which they were contractually obligated to promote. The I Love Lucy movie was ultimately forgotten, and the twelve minutes of new footage was assumed lost, but was found in 2001. A screening of the film was held at the August 2001 Loving Lucy fan convention in Burbank, and at the 2006 Lucy-Desi Days festival in Jamestown, NY. It has also been included in the I Love Lucy Complete Series DVD box set, as a stand-alone DVD, and as an HD bonus with the I Love Lucy Ultimate Season 2 Blu-ray.

January – Meet Me at the Fair (USA)

• Cast: Dan Dailey, Diana Lynn, Hugh O’Brian, Carole Mathews, Scatman Crothers, Chet Allen, Rhys Williams, Thomas E. Jackson, Russell Simpson, George Chandler, Roger Moore
• Director: Douglas Sirk
• Production Company: Universal-International Pictures
• Trivia: Carole Matthews’ singing voice was dubbed by Jo Ann Greer.

January – Tropic Zone (USA)

• Cast: Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, Estelita Rodriguez, Noah Beery Jr., Grant Withers, John Wengraf, Argentina Brunetti
• Director: Lewis R. Foster
• Production Company: Pine-Thomas Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1939 novel Gentlemen of the Jungle by Tom Gill. The rights to the story were purchased for Rhonda Fleming as the last of her four-picture deal with Pine-Thomas Productions. Paramount reportedly built its largest set in ten years for the film depicting a complete Caribbean native village. Edith Head created fourteen different outfits for Fleming, all in ‘jungle tones’.

January – Winning of the West (USA)

• Cast: Gene Autry, Champion, Gail Davis, Richard Crane, Robert Livingston, House Peters Jr., Gregg Barton, William Forrest, Smiley Burnette
• Director: George Archainbaud
• Production Company: Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s copyright records state the film was released in sepia tone, but the restored release print is in black and white.

January 2 – Above and Beyond (USA)

• Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore, Larry Keating, Larry Gates, Marilyn Erskine, Stephen Dunne, Robert Burton, Hayden Rorke, Lawrence Dobkin, Jim Backus, Christopher Olsen
• Director: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
• Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
• Trivia: The film’s story is presented in a docudrama format. The film’s original title was Eagle On His Cap. Robert Taylor was so proud of the film he asked MGM to allow him to promote it on television, which the studios usually disapproved of, seeing the new medium as a threat. Taylor and the man he portrayed, Paul W. Tibbets, appeared on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town and the publicity contributed to the film’s initial success. Nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Original Story and Best Original Score.

January 3 – Don’t Give Up the Sheep (USA, short)

• Voice Cast: Mel Blanc
• Director: Charles M. Jones
• Production Company: Warner Bros. Cartoons, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The first short featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, although Sam is referred to Ralph and Ralph Wolf is unnamed (he was named George in the next short Sheep Ahoy, but the names became consistent with Double or Mutton).

January 3 – The Lawless Breed (USA)

• Cast: Rock Hudson, Julie Adams, Mary Castle, John McIntire, Hugh O’Brian, Dennis Weaver, Forrest Lewis, Lee Van Cleef, Tom Fadden
• Director: Raoul Walsh
• Production Company: Universal-International
• Trivia: A highly romanticized story based on the life of outlaw John Wesley Hardin.

1962-1963

December 31 – 40 Pounds of Trouble (USA, limited)

• Cast: Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch, Howard Morris, Edward Andrews, Stubby Kaye, Warren Stevens, Kevin McCarthy, Phil Silvers
• Director: Norman Jewison
• Production Company: Curtis Enterprises, distributed by Universal-International Pictures
• Trivia: A retelling of Damon Runyon’s 1932 short story Little Miss Marker. Norman Jewison’s feature film directorial debut. The first film to receive permission from Walt Disney to film at Disneyland, with only a minor alteration to the script. The film had a one-day release on December 31 to ring in the new year, then held premieres in Miami (January 18) and Lake Tahoe (January 19) before the film’s wide release the last week of January.

January – The Quick and the Dead (USA)

• Cast: Victor French, Majel Barrett, Louis Massad, Sandy Donigan, James Almanzar, Larry Mann, Jon Cedar
• Director: Robert Totten
• Production Company: Manson Corporation, distributed by Beckman Film Corporation

January – The Young Racers (USA)

• Cast: Mark Damon, William Campbell, Luana Anders, Patrick Magee, John McLaren, R. Wright Campbell, Milo Quesada, Margarete Robsahm, Béatrice Altariba, Christina Gregg, Marie Versini
• Director: Roger Corman
• Production Company: Alta Vista Productions, distributed by American International Pictures
• Trivia: Shot on location in Europe to take advantage of the real life grand prix circuits. The film was shot from race to race during the 1962 Formula One series, with the cast and crew taking breaks in between. Francis Ford Coppola was the film’s sound recordist and second unit director, and appears in an uncredited role. Working around the film’s schedule, Coppola was allowed to use the same set, crew and several actors for his first feature, Dementia 13.

January 1 – Ustadon Ke Ustad (India)

• Cast: Ashok Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Shakila, Johnny Walker, Helen, Sheikh Mukhtar, Anwar Hussain
• Director: Brij
• Production Company: NH Studioz
• Trivia: The film’s title translates to ‘The expert among all experts’.

1972

December 29 – Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (West Germany)

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

• Cast: Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Ruy Guerra, Del Negro, Peter Berling
• Director: Werner Herzog
• Production Company: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk, Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A., distributed by Filmverlag der Autoren (West Germany), New Yorker Films (USA)
• Trivia: Released in the US on April 3, 1977 as Aguirre, the Wrath of God. The first of five collaborations between Herzog and Kinski. Though based on Lope de Aguirre, the film’s story was completely fabricated with Herzog including actual historical figures in fictional ways. Herzon wrote the script in ‘a frenzy’ in two-and-a-half days. The film was shot in chronological order so the crew’s progress mirrored that of the story. The dialogue was recorded in English but the money set aside for the post-synchronization process was stolen by the man who was to be in charge of the process. A higher quality German language version was produced but Kinski’s dialogue was recorded by someone else because he demanded too much money.

December 30 – State of Siege (West Germany)

• Cast: Yves Montand, Renato Salvatori, O.E. Hasse, Jacques Weber, Jean-Luc Bideau, Maurice Teynac, Yvette Etiévant
• Director: Costa-Gavras
• Production Company: Reggane Films, Euro International Films, Unidis, Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion, distributed by Constantin Film (West Germany), Cinema 5 Distributing (USA)
• Trivia: Released in the US on April 13, 1973. Though set in Montevideo, it could not be filmed there due to its political content. Filming took place in Chile.

December 30 – The Way of the Dragon (Hong Kong)

• Cast: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Wei Ping-ou, Huang Chung-hsin, Tony Liu, Unicorn Chan, Chuck Norris
• Director: Bruce Lee
• Production Company: Golden Harvest Films, Concord Productions, distributed by Golden Harvest (Hong Kong), Bryanston Distributing (USA)
• Trivia: Opened in the US on August 14, 1972 as Return of the Dragon. Bruce Lee’s only completed directorial film, and the last released during his lifetime. Chuck Norris’ screen debut. The film earned 1000 times its $130,000 budget worldwide. It was the highest grossing Hong Kong film until Lee’s 1973 film Enter the Dragon. The film was originally intended only for release in the Asian market but became instrumental in maintaining the momentum of martial arts films in America. The fight scene in the Colisseum between Lee and Norris is notable for Lee’s use of long takes and wide angles so audiences could see the adversaries’ entire bodies.

January – All the Right Noises (USA)

• Cast: Tom Bell, Olivia Hussey, Judy Carne, John Standing, Roy Herrick, Yootha Joyce, Robert Keegan, Lesley-Anne Down, Marianne Stone, Gordon Griffin
• Director: Gerry O’Hara
• Production Company: Max L. Raab-Si Litvinoff Films, Trigon Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Originally released in the UK on October 16, 1970, with a New York City engagement in October 1971. While the film’s story is about the age difference between the lead and a teenage actress, the actor playing Tom Bell’s father was just nine years older than him.

January – Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (USA)

• Cast: Leslie McRay, Tom Pace, Lila Zaborin, Victor Izay, William Bagdad
• Director: Ted V. Mikels
• Production Company: Occult Films, distributed by Geneni Film Distributors

January – Manson (USA, documentary)

• Director: Robert Hendrickson, Laurence Merrick
• Production Company: Merrick International, Tobann International Pictures, distributed by American International Pictures
• Trivia: Oscar nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

January – The No Mercy Man (USA)

• Cast: Steve Sandor, Rockne Tarkington, Richard X. Slattery, Heidi Vaughn, Mike Lane, Sid Haig, Ron Thompson
• Director: Daniel Vance
• Production Company: John Proffitt Films, distributed by Cannon Film Distributors
• Trivia: Also known as Bad Man, Trained to Kill, and Trained to Kill USA. Daniel Vance’s first and last feature film. Cinematographer Dean Cundey’s first feature.

1982-1983

January – Stark Raving Mad (USA)

• Cast: Russ Fast, Marcie Severson, B. Joe Medley, Mike Walters, Janet Galen Janet Galen, Don Beekman, Mildred Card, Marjorie Hall, Don Finley
• Director: George F. Hood
• Production Company: Round Productions, distributed by Independent Artists
• Trivia: The film was originally screened in Port Arthur, Texas on June 12, 1981. The film was apparently originally shot in 1973. The film was released in Canada as Execution and in Australia as Murder Run.

January – Stuck on You! (USA)

• Cast: Professor Irwin Corey, Virginia Penta, Mark Mikulski, Albert Pia, Norma Pratt, Daniel Harris, Denise Silbert, Eddie Brill, June Martin, John Bigham, Patricia Tallman, Kent Shelton
• Director: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman
• Production Company: Troma Entertainment
• Trivia: The film’s working title was Cracked Eggs. Final film of June Martin.

1992-1993

• No new films were released this week in 1992-1993.

2002-2003

January 3 – About Schmidt (USA)

• Cast: Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, June Squibb, Howard Hesseman, Harry Groener, Connie Ray, Len Cariou, Matt Winston, Phil Reeves
• Director: Alexander Payne
• Production Company: New Line Cinema, Avery Pix, distributed by New Line Cinema
• Trivia: Received a limited US release beginning December 13, 2002 for awards consideration. Loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Alexander Payne’s original screenplay had been written several years before Begley’s book was published, but it was rejected by Universal Pictures in 1991. Payne combined his script with the plot of the 1996 novel, making it an adaptation. The film received Oscar nominations for Nicholson (Best Actor) and Bates (Best Supporting Actress). The pair were also Golden Globe nominated, and Nicholson also received a BAFTA nomination. He won the Globe. The film was also Golden Globe nominated in the Best Picture – Drama category, Best Director and Best Screenplay (which it won). Nicholson was surprised when he won saying he thought they had made a comedy.

2012-2013

January 1 – The Impossible (UK)

Summit Entertainment

• Cast: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, Marta Etura, Sönke Möhring, Geraldine Chaplin
• Director: J. A. Bayona
• Production Company: Mediaset España, Summit Entertainment, Apaches Entertainment, Telecinco Cinema, CanalPlus España, Películas la Trini, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales, Generalitat Valenciana, Institut Valencià de Cinematografia, VS Service, DragonCove Studios, distributed by Entertainment One (UK, Lionsgate (USA)
• Trivia: Based on the experience of María Belón and her family in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Nationalities of the main characters were not specified in order to create a universal film in which nationalities were irrelevant to the plot. Director Bayona was committed to working with real water for the tsunami scene which meant Naomi Watts and a then 14-year-old Tom Holland spent five weeks filming physically and psychologically demanding scenes in a massive water tank. Watts received nominations for her performance from the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild.