The Vitaphone Corp.
The last week of February gave us a lot of new films and shorts, but only a small handful are fondly remembered … or remembered at all, and even less drew the attention of various awards organizations. Of note this week, 1923 gave us the first filmed adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello, while 1933 gave us a not very successful adaptation of Dickens’ Oliver Twist. 1953 gave us the classic Daffy Duck short, Duck Amuck, while 1963 gave us the last pairing of Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. 1973 saw the debut of cult classic Walking Tall, and 1983 had the cult classic One Dark Night. 1993 saw the premieres of the fantastic documentary about cinematography, Visions of Light, as well as another cult classic, El Mariachi. 2003 and 2013 had several new releases but only Snitch is notable for its star, Dwayne Johnson. But are there some forgotten films on the list that you remember? Read on and tell us in the comments section below!
1923
February 25 – The Big Show (USA, short)
- Cast: Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, Jack Davis, Allen Hoskins, Mary Kornman, Ernie Morrison, Richard Billings, Andy Samuel
- Director: Robert F. McGowan
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathé Exchange
- Trivia: The ninth Our Gang short subject comedy released.
February 25 – Othello (USA)
- Cast: Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, Ica von Lenkeffy, Theodor Loos, Ferdinand von Alten, Friedrich Kühne, Magnus Stifter, Lya De Putti, Ludwig Rex
- Director: Dimitri Buchowetzki
- Production Company: Wörner-Filmgesellschaft, distributed by UFA (Germany), Export & Import Film Company (USA)
- Trivia: Originally opened in Germany in February 1922. Based on William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. This was the first of six major film adaptations of the play.
February 25 – Success (USA)
- Cast: Brandon Tynan, Naomi Childers, Mary Astor, Dore Davidson, Lionel Adams, Stanley Ridges, Robert Lee Keeling, Billy Quirk, Helen Mack, Steve Pendleton, John Woodford
- Director: Ralph Ince
- Production Company: Murray W. Garsson Productions, distributed by Metro Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: The film is believed lost.
February 25 – The Pilgrim (USA)
- Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Sydney Chaplin, Mack Swain, Loyal Underwood, Dean Riesner, Charles Reisner, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Kitty Bradbury, Mai Wells
- Director: Charlie Chaplin
- Production Company: Charlie Chaplin Productions, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in Canada on February 23, 1923. Marion Davies appears as an uncredited extra. The last time Edna Purviance co-starred with Chaplin and the last film he made for First National.
February 25 – Tight Shoes (USA, short)
- Cast: Paul Parrott, Jobyna Ralston, George Rowe, Eddie Baker, Sammy Brooks, Helen Gilmore, Mark Jones, Jocko the Monkey
- Director: George Jeske
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathé Exchange
February 26 – The Woman of Bronze (USA)
- Cast: Clara Kimball Young, John Bowers, Kathryn McGuire, Edwin Stevens, Lloyd Whitlock, Edward Kimball
- Director: King Vidor
- Production Company: Samuel Zierler Photoplay Corporation, distributed by Metro Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: Based on a 1920 Broadway play by Henry Kistemaeckers. The film is considered lost.
February 28 – A Howling Success (USA, short)
- Cast: Brownie the Dog, Buddy Messinger, Jack Cooper, Jack Earle, Betty May
- Director: Harry Edwards
- Production Company: Century Film, distributed by Universal Pictures
February 28 – Quicksands (USA)
- Cast: Helene Chadwick, Richard Dix, Alan Hale Sr., Noah Beery Sr., J. Farrell MacDonald, George Cooper, Tom Wilson, Dick Sutherland, Hardee Kirkland
- Director: Jack Conway
- Production Company: Agfar Corporation, distributed by American Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Part of the film was shot on location in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Real U.S. Army soldiers, including United States Colored Troops, were used as extras. After American Releasing Corporation went out of business, the film was purchased by Paramount and re-released as Boots and Saddles. Richard Dix tried to stop the re-release and offered the studio $1 million to be released from his contract, but Paramount refused. The film is now considered lost.
1933
February 22 – Ich und die Kaiserin (Germany)
- Cast: Lilian Harvey, Charles Boyer, Mady Christians, Maurice Evans, Friedel Schuster, Ernest Thesiger, Julius Falkenstein, Huntley Wright, Reginald Smith, Ruth Maitland, O. B. Clarence, Hubert von Meyerinck
- Director: Friedrich Hollaender
- Production Company: UFA
- Trivia: The English title is The Only Girl, but it is unknown if the film received a US release. The German title translates to The Empress and I. The film was also produced in French and English, with Lilian Harvey appearing in all three versions. The French version was titled Moi et l’impératrice.
February 24 – Abe Lyman & Band (USA, short)
- Cast: Abe Lyman, Abe Lyman Orchestra, Dan Carthay
- Director: Joseph Henabery
- Production Company: The Vitaphone Corporation, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
February 24 – Art in the Raw (USA, short)
- Cast: Edgar Kennedy, Florence Lake, Dot Farley, William Eugene, Franklin Pangborn, Mona Ray, Max Wagner
- Director: Harry Sweet
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
February 24 – Broadway Bad (USA)
- Cast: Joan Blondell, Ricardo Cortez, Ginger Rogers, Adrienne Ames, Allen Vincent, Francis McDonald, Frederick Burton, Donald Crisp
- Director: Sidney Lanfield
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: Joan Blondell was on loan to Fox from Warner Brothers.
February 24 – Clear All Wires! (USA)
- Cast: Lee Tracy, Benita Hume, Una Merkel, James Gleason, Alan Edwards, Eugene Sigaloff, Ari Kutai, C. Henry Gordon, Lya Lys, John Melvin Bleifer, Lawrence Grant
- Director: George Hill
- Production Company: A George Hill Production, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Adapted from the 1932 play of the same name.
February 24 – Dangerously Yours (USA)
- Cast: Warner Baxter, Miriam Jordan, Herbert Mundin, Florence Eldridge, Florence Roberts, William B. Davidson, Arthur Hoyt, Mischa Auer, Nella Walker, Edmund Burns, Robert Greig, Tyrell Davis
- Director: Frank Tuttle
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
February 24 – From Hell to Heaven (USA)
- Cast: Carole Lombard, Jack Oakie, Adrienne Ames, David Manners, Sidney Blackmer, Verna Hillie, James Eagles, Shirley Grey, Bradley Page, Walter Walker, Berton Churchill, Cecil Cunningham, Nydia Westman
- Director: Erle C. Kenton
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted from the stage play by Lawrence Hazard. The film was Paramount’s attempt to replicate the success of Grand Hotel, which had won the Best Picture Oscar a year earlier.
February 24 – Panicky Pup (USA, short)
- Director: Harry Bailey, John Foster
- Production Company: Van Beuren Studios, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
February 24 – Reaching for the Moon (USA, short)
- Cast: Arthur Tracy
- Director: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky
- Production Company: Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures
February 24 – Topaze (USA)
- Cast: John Barrymore, Myrna Loy, Reginald Mason, Jobyna Howland, Jackie Searl, Albert Conti, Frank Reicher, Luis Alberni
- Director: D’Abbadie D’Arrast
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1928 French play of the same name by Marcel Pagnol. A version of the story produced in the original French was also released the same year, but was a separate production. The play’s author directed another filmed version in 1936. This was the first RKO film to play Radio City Music Hall. A 1935 re-release was rejected by the Hays Office Production Code due to the adulterous relationship between the characters Coco and Philippe. The film is preserved in the Library of Congress.
February 25 – Blondie Johnson (USA)
- Cast: Joan Blondell, Chester Morris, Allen Jenkins, Earle Foxe, Claire Dodd, Mae Busch, Toshia Mori, Joseph Cawthorn, Olin Howland, Sterling Holloway
- Director: Ray Enright
- Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: A print is preserved in the Library of Congress-Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation collection.
February 25 – Pleasure Island (USA, short)
- Cast: Tom Dugan, Richard Powell, Neely Edwards, Hank Mann, Winona Love, Maxine Lewis, Eddie Kane
- Director: Roy Mack
- Production Company: The Vitaphone Corporation, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
February 25 – Racetrack (USA)
- Cast: Leo Carrillo, Junior Coughlan, Kay Hammond, Lee Moran, Huntley Gordon, Wilfred Lucas, Joseph W. Girard
- Director: James Cruze
- Production Company: James Cruze Productions, distributed by Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
February 25 – The King’s Vacation (USA)
- Cast: George Arliss, Marjorie Gateson, Dudley Digges, Patricia Ellis, Florence Arliss, Dick Powell, O. P. Heggie, Vernon Steele, James Bell
- Director: John G. Adolfi
- Production Company: The Vitaphone Corp., distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film has been preserved in the Library of Congress collection.
February 25 – Twice Two (USA, short)
- Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Baldwin Cooke, Charlie Hall, Ham Kinsey, Carol Tevis, May Wallace
- Director: James Parrott
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The second of three films in which Laurel & Hardy play dual roles.
February 25 – Wooden Shoes (USA, short)
- Director: Manny Gould, Ben Harrison
- Production Company: Charles Mintz Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: A Krazy Kat cartoon.
February 27 – The Shriek (USA, short)
- Cast: Tex Avery, Bernice Hansen
- Director: William Nolan, Walter Lantz
- Production Company: Walter Lantz Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: An Oswald the Rabbit cartoon.
February 28 – Oliver Twist (USA)
- Cast: Dickie Moore, Irving Pichel, William “Stage” Boyd, Doris Lloyd, Alec B. Francis, Barbara Kent, Sonny Ray, George K. Arthur, George Nash, Clyde Cook, Lionel Belmore, Tempe Pigott, Nelson McDowell, Virginia Sale, Harry Holman, Bobby Nelson
- Director: William J. Cowen
- Production Company: Chadwick Pictures, distributed by Monogram Pictures
- Trivia: The earliest sound adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1838 novel of the same name. The film was produced on a very low budget and never gained much success. It had gone out of circulation for years until it resurfaced on television in the 1980s.
February 28 – The Good Companions (UK)
- Cast: Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn, John Gielgud, Mary Glynne, Percy Parsons, Alec Fraser, Max Miller, A. W. Baskcomb, George Zucco, Jack Hawkins
- Director: Victor Saville
- Production Company: Gaumont British Picture Corporation, Welsh-Pearson, distributed by Ideal Films (UK), Fox Film Corporation (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on October 9, 1933. Based on the 1929 novel of the same name by J.B. Priestley. John Gielgud had also appeared in the 1931 stage adaptation which ran for more than 300 performances in the West End.
1943
February 25 – Hi’ya, Chum (USA)
- Cast: Ritz Brothers, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige, June Clyde, Paul Hurst
- Director: Harold Young
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
February 25 – Point Rationing of Foods (USA, short)
- Cast: Robert C. Bruce
- Director: Chuck Jones
- Production Company: Leon Schlesinger Studios, U.S. Office of War Information, distributed by War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry
- Trivia: Produced by Chuck Jones’ animation unit on nights and weekends.
February 25 – Something to Shout About (USA)
- Cast: Don Ameche, Janet Blair, Jack Oakie, William Gaxton, Cobina Wright Jr., Veda Ann Borg, Cyd Charisse
- Director: Gregory Ratoff
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Cyd Charisse, in her film debut, was billed as Lily Norwood. Janet Blair’s character frequently refers to her home town as Altoona, PA. This was Blair’s home town in real life. Oscar nominated for Best Original Song (‘You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To’ by Cole Porter), and Best Original Score (Morris Stoloff).
February 26 – Hi, Buddy (USA)
- Cast: Dick Foran, Harriet Nelson, Robert Paige, Marjorie Lord, Bobs Watson, Tommy Cook, Jennifer Holt, Gus Schilling, Wade Boteler, Drew Roddy
- Director: Harold Young
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
February 26 – Silver Skates (USA)
- Cast: Kenny Baker, Belita, Patricia Morison, Werner Groebli, Hans Mauch, Irene Dare, Danny Shaw, Eugene Turner, Joyce Compton, Frank Faylen
- Director: Leslie Goodwins
- Production Company: Monogram Pictures
February 26 – The Youngest Profession (USA)
- Cast: Virginia Weidler, Edward Arnold, John Carroll, Ann Ayers, Marta Linden, Dick Simmons, Agnes Moorehead, Jean Porter
- Director: Edward Buzzell
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Based on a short story series and book written by Lillian Day. Greer Garson, Lana Turner, William Powell, Walter Pidgeon, and Robert Taylor make cameo appearances.
February 26 – Two Weeks to Live (USA)
- Cast: Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Franklin Pangborn, Kay Linaker, Irving Bacon, Herbert Rawlinson, Ivan F. Simpson, Rosemary La Planche
- Director: Malcolm St. Clair
- Production Company: Voco Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: The last film of Evalyn Knapp, who appeared in an uncredited role.
February 27 – Mexican Police on Parade (USA, short)
- Cast: James A. Fitzpatrick, Tipica Orchestra of the Mexico City Police, Marín Hernández, General Martinez, Juan Chávez
- Director: Unknown
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: A TravelTalks Short.
1953
February 22 – Kansas Pacific (USA)
- Cast: Sterling Hayden, Eve Miller, Barton MacLane, Reed Hadley, Irving Bacon, James Griffith, Douglas Fowley, Harry Shannon, Myron Healey, Clayton Moore
- Director: Ray Nazarro
- Production Company: Walter Wanger Productions, distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: Though released in 1953, the film’s on-screen copyright shows MCMLII (1952). The film rights are now in the public domain. Walter Mirisch of Allied Artists had Walter Wanger’s name put on the picture as a producer, although he was in prison for shooting agent Jennings Lang, whom he believed to be having an affair with his wife, Joan Bennett. Thanks to Mirisch, Wanger received a producer’s billing, salary and profit participation.
February 25 – Old Overland Trail (USA)
- Cast: Rex Allen, Koko, Slim Pickens, Roy Barcroft, Virginia Hall, Gil Herman, Wade Crosby, Leonard Nimoy
- Director: William Witney
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
- Trivia: A remake of 1941’s The Apache Kid.
February 27 – Oiltown, U.S.A. (USA)
- Cast: Billy Graham, Colleen Evans, Paul Power, Cindy Walker, Redd Harper, Georgia Lee, Robert Clarke
- Director: Dick Ross
- Production Company: World Wide Pictures, Great Commission Films
- Trivia: The film’s title refers to the nickname for Houston, Texas.
February 27 – The Bandits of Corsica (USA)
- Cast: Richard Greene, Paula Raymond, Raymond Burr, Dona Drake, Raymond Greenleaf, Lee Van Cleef, Frank Puglia, Nestor Paiva, Clayton Moore
- Director: Ray Nazarro
- Production Company: Global Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Also known as The Return of the Corsican Brothers. Loosely based on the 1844 novella by Alexandre Dumas, père, The Corsican Brothers.
February 28 – Duck Amuck (USA, short)
- Voice Cast: Mel Blanc
- Director: Charles M. Jones
- Production Company: The Vitaphone Corp., distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1999.
1963
February 22 – This Sporting Life (UK)
- Cast: Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, William Hartnell, Colin Blakely, Vanda Godsell, Anne Cunningham, Jack Watson, Arthur Lowe
- Director: Lindsay Anderson
- Production Company: Independent Artists, Julian Wintle/Leslie Parkyn Productions, distributed by J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK), Continental Distributing (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on July 16, 1963, and in Canada on August 3. Based on the 1960 novel of the same name by David Storey, which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award. Lindsay Anderson’s first feature film as director (he had previously won an Oscar for the documentary short Thursday’s Children). Richard Harris’ first starring role, for which he won the Best Actor award at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival. He also scored an Oscar and BAFTA nomination. Rachel Roberts won her second BAFTA and was also Oscar nominated for Best Actress. William Hartnell’s performance brought him to the attention of Doctor Who producer Verity Lambert, and he took the role shortly after the film’s release.
February 24 – Critic’s Choice (UK)
Warner Bros. Pictures
- Cast: Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Maxwell, Rip Torn, Jessie Royce Landis, John Dehner, Jim Backus, Ricky Kelman, Dorothy Green, Marie Windsor, Richard Deacon, Soupy Sales
- Director: Don Weis
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in the US on April 13, 1963. Based on the 1960 Broadway play of the same name by Ira Levin. This is the last of four films that Bob Hope and Lucille Ball made together. The film received poor reaction from test screenings and sat on the shelf for a year before being released to generally unfavorable reviews.
February 26 – One Man’s Way (USA)
- Cast: Don Murray, Diana Hyland, William Windom, Virginia Christine, Carol Ohmart, Veronica Cartwright, Liam Sullivan, June Dayton, Ian Wolfe, Charles Lampkin
- Director: Denis Sanders
- Production Company: Frank Ross Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Final film of Reed Howes. William Windom, who plays Don Murray’s father was only 5 years and 10 months older than Murray.
February 26 – Sparrows Can’t Sing (UK)
- Cast: James Booth, Barbara Windsor, Roy Kinnear, Avis Bunnage, Barbara Ferris, Brian Murphy, George Sewell, Griffith Davies, Murray Melvin, Arthur Mullard, Peggy Ann Clifford
- Director: Joan Littlewood
- Production Company: Carthage Films, distributed by Warner-Pathé Distributors (UK), Janus Films (US)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on May 6, 1963. Loosely based on the stage musical Fings Ain’t Wot They Used To Be, written by Frank Norman with music by Lionel Bart. Due to the thick Cockney accents, this was the first English language film to be released in the United States with subtitles. Barbara Windsor earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress.
February 27 – Follow the Boys (USA)
- Cast: Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, Janis Paige, Dany Robin, Russ Tamblyn, Richard Long, Ron Randell, Roger Perry
- Director: Richard Thorpe
- Production Company: Frannet, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: This is the first film on which Paula Prentiss and her husband Richard Benjamin worked, although his scenes were cut from the film. MGM’s second film vehicle for top recording artist Connie Francis, giving her a more distinctly central role than she had in Where the Boys Are. Bobby Vee and Jim Hutton were originally announced for the film but ultimately neither appeared.
February 28 – Il crollo di Roma (Italy)
- Cast: Carl Möhner, Loredana Nusciak, Andrea Aureli, Ida Galli, Piero Palermini, Giancarlo Sbragia, Nando Tamberlani, Maria Grazia Buccella
- Director: Anthony Dawson
- Production Company: Atlantica Cinematografica Produzione Films, distributed by Medallion Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: The film did open in the US in 1963 as The Fall of Rome but the exact date is unknown.
1973
February 22 – Walking Tall (USA)
- Cast: Joe Don Baker, Elizabeth Hartman, Lurene Tuttle, Noah Beery Jr., Dawn Lyn, Leif Garrett, Felton Perry, Logan Ramsey, Rosemary Murphy, Gene Evans, Bruce Glover, Kenneth Tobey
- Director: Phil Karlson
- Production Company: Bing Crosby Productions, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Based on the life of Buford Pusser. The film spawned two less successful sequels (with Bo Svenson replacing Joe Don Baker), a TV movie (starring Brian Dennehy), a short-lived TV series, and a movie remake (starring Dwayne Johnson, with the character name changed to Chris Vaughn) that also had its own two direct-to-DVD sequels.
February 28 – Interval (Mexico)
- Cast: Merle Oberon, Robert Wolders, Claudio Brook, Russ Conway, Britt Leach
- Director: Daniel Mann
- Production Company: Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A., Euro-American-Films, distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in the US on June 15, 1973. Merle Oberon’s final film, which she also produced. She fell in love with co-star Robert Wolders and divorced her husband to marry Wolders in 1975.
1983
February 25 – Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (USA)
- Director: Ron Blackman, Bruce Goldstein, Stanley Sheff
- Production Company: Manhattan Madness, distributed by Manhattan Movietime
- Trivia: A compilation of out-takes from various movies.
February 25 – One Dark Night (USA)
Comworld Pictures
- Cast: Meg Tilly, Melissa Newman, Robin Evans, Leslie Speights, Donald Hotton, E. G. Daily, David Mason Daniels, Adam West, Rhio H. Blair
- Director: Tom McLoughlin
- Production Company: Comworld Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as Entity Force. The film’s original title was Rest in Peace, which was changed after the release of Poltergeist. The film was given a limited platform release in the US beginning on July 9, 1982, before receiving wide distribution in 1983. Director Tom McLoughlin, who played the monster in 1979’s Prophecy, based the story on his own experiences in the catacombs in Paris. The film was taken away from McLoughlin in post-production and the original ending, in which Meg Tilly’s character is possessed, was removed.
February 28 – The Return of the Soldier (Denmark)
- Cast: Alan Bates, Julie Christie, Glenda Jackson, Ann-Margret, Ian Holm, Frank Finlay, Jeremy Kemp, Hilary Mason, John Sharp
- Director: Alan Bridges
- Production Company: Barry R. Cooper Productions, Brent Walker Pictures, Skreba Films, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (UK), European Classics (USA)
- Trivia: Originally opened in the UK on January 1, 1983. Released in the US on February 14, 1985, the long delay due to legal complications. Based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Rebecca West.
1993
February 24 – Visions of Light (USA, documentary)
- Cast: Ernest Dickerson, Allen Daviau, Caleb Deschanel, William A. Fraker, Néstor Almendros, Vilmos Zsigmond, Sven Nykvist, László Kovács, James Wong Howe, Haskell Wexler, Vittorio Storaro, Gordon Willis
- Director: Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Stuart Samuels
- Production Company: American Film Institute (AFI), NHK, distributed by Kino International
- Trivia: Also known as Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography.
February 26 – El Mariachi (USA)
- Cast: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Peter Marquardt, Reinol Martínez, Jaime de Hoyos, Edith Gonzalez, Ramiro Gómez, Jesús López Viejo, Luis Baro, Óscar Fabila
- Director: Robert Rodriguez
- Production Company: Los Hooligans Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in Mexico in 1992, date unknown. Feature length debut of Robert Rodriguez as writer and director. The first film in what became known as Rodriguez’s ‘Mexico Trilogy’. The film was produced for $7,225 and was intended for the Mexican home video market, but Columbia executives liked the film and secured the rights for US theatrical distribution. Shot on video, the studio spent $200,000 to transfer it to film, remix the audio and perform other post-production work, then spent millions more on marketing. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. It is also the lowest-budgeted film to gross $1 million at the box office.
February 26 – Falling Down (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Rachel Ticotin, Tuesday Weld, Frederic Forrest, Lois Smith, D. W. Moffett, Marlo Thomas, Dedee Pfeiffer, Vondie Curtis-Hall, James Morrison
- Director: Joel Schumacher
- Production Company: Le Studio Canal+, Regency Enterprises, Alcor Films, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Filming on location in Lynwood, California, production was cut short on April 30, 1992 by the Los Angeles riots. Filming resumed at Warner Bros. Studios, but when production intended to resume in Pasadena on May 4, the requests were denied, causing more delays. Filming wrapped in late June 1992.
February 26 – Fifty/Fifty (USA)
- Cast: Peter Weller, Robert Hays, Charles Martin Smith, Ramona Rahman, Lim Kay Tong
- Director: Charles Martin Smith
- Production Company: The Cannon Group
- Trivia: The film was released to home video in the UK, Germany and Japan in 1992, then made its theatrical debut in the US on February 26, 1993. The film had originally been set up at Paramount with Sylvester Stallone in talks to co-star with Eddie Murphy, and then Kurt Russell. Stallone and Russell opted to do Tango & Cash instead, and Cannon picked up the rights to Fifty/Fifty with Chuck Norris in the Stallone role. Norris refused to do another film set in a jungle and was replaced with Peter Weller.
February 27 – Wu syu (Hong Kong)
- Cast: Simon Yam, Danny Lee, Esther Kwan, Kent Cheng
- Director: Billy Tangj
- Production Company: Come On Film Co.
- Trivia: English title is Run and Kill.
2003
February 27 – Swimming Upstream (AUS)
- Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jesse Spencer, Tim Draxl, Deborah Kennedy, David Hoflin, Craig Horner, Brittany Byrnes, Mark Hembrow
- Director: Russell Mulcahy
- Production Company: Crusader Entertainment, Pacific Film & Television Commission, Baldwin Entertainment Group, Upstream Productions Pty. Ltd., distributed by Hoyts Distribution (AUS), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA)
- Trivia: Based upon the autobiographical Swimming Upstream by Tony Fingleton.
February 28 – Cradle 2 the Grave (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Jet Li, DMX, Gabrielle Union, Mark Dacascos, Kelly Hu, Melvin Smalls, Anthony Anderson, Tom Arnold, Tito Ortiz, Héctor Echavarría, Chuck Liddell
- Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
- Production Company: Silver Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Daniel Dae Kim has a small role in the film.
February 28 – Poolhall Junkies (USA)
- Cast: Mars Callahan, Chazz Palminteri, Rod Steiger, Michael Rosenbaum, Alison Eastwood, Christopher Walken, Mike Massey, Richard Portnow
- Director: Mars Callahan
- Production Company: Gold Circle Films, distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films
- Trivia: There were no camera tricks or special film editing used for any of the billiards shots in the film, although many of the special trick shots were performed by professional player Robert ‘Cotton’ Leblanc. Trick shot performer Mike Massey has a cameo appearance as ‘St. Louis’ Louis. Christopher Walken made the difficult trick shot to win a game against Tara’s boss on the first take. He was supposed to make a ‘trial run’ for the scene, but he asked that the cameras go ahead and roll, in case he happened to make it on his first try, and he did.
February 28 – The Good Thief (Ireland)
- Cast: Nick Nolte, Emir Kusturica, Nutsa Kukhianidze, Tchéky Karyo, Saïd Taghmaoui, Patricia Kell, Gérard Darmon, Julien Maurel, Sarah Bridges
- Director: Neil Jordan
- Production Company: Alliance Atlantis Communications, Double Down Productions Ltd., Metropolitan Films, TNVO, distributed by Momentum Pictures (Ireland), Searchlight Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the UK on March 7, 2003, and in the US on April 25. Ralph Fiennes appears in an uncredited role. A remake of the French film Bob le flambeur (1955).
2013
February 22 – Camp (USA, limited)
- Cast: Miles Elliot, Betsy Roth, Josh Berry, Ann Ayres, Grace Johnston, Meredith Thomas, Asante Jones, Micael Otis
- Director: Jacob Roebuck
- Production Company: Roebuck Media, distributed by Heritage Films International
- Trivia: Shot at Hume Lake Christian camp in Sierra Nevada Mountains.
February 22 – Inescapable (USA)
- Cast: Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson, Marisa Tomei, Oded Fehr, Saad Siddiqui, Fadia Nadda, Bonnie Lee Bouman, Danny Keogh, Hrant Alianak
- Director: Ruba Nadda
- Production Company: IFC Films, Myriad Pictures, Alliance, Foundry Films, Out of Africa Entertainment, Téléfilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, Killer Films, distributed by IFC Films
- Trivia: Ruba Nadda’s sixth feature film. Planning to film in the Middle East, Nadda learned her script would be heavily edited, and the danger was too great for the cast and crew so filming was moved to Johannesburg. Because of the modest $5 million budget, actors performed their own stunts.
February 22 – Kai Po Che! (UK/India)
- Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh, Rajkummar Rao, Amrita Puri, Digvijay Deshmukh, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Asif Basra, Manav Kaul
- Director: Abhishek Kapoor
- Production Company: Live Forever Productions(India), UTV Motion Pictures, distributed by UTV Motion Pictures (UK)
- Trivia: Based on The 3 Mistakes of My Life by Chetan Bhagat.
February 22 – Rubberneck (USA)
- Cast: Alex Karpovsky, Jaime Ray Newman, Dennis Staroselsky, Amanda Good Hennessey, Dakota Shepard
- Director: Alex Karpovsky
- Production Company: Blameless Twins, distributed by Tribeca Film
- Trivia: Dakota Shepard used a body double for all of her nude scenes.
February 22 – Snitch (USA/Canada)
Summit Entertainment
- Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Barry Pepper, Benjamin Bratt, Harold Perrineau, Susan Sarandon, Jon Bernthal, Michael Kenneth Williams, Melina Kanakaredes, Nadine Velazquez, Rafi Gavron, David Harbour
- Director: Ric Roman Waugh
- Production Company: Summit Entertainment, Exclusive Media, Participant Media, Image Nation, distributed by Lionsgate
- Trivia: Based on the experiences of DEA informant James Settembrino.
February 22 – Song for Marion (UK)
- Cast: Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave, Gemma Arterton, Barry Martin, Taru Devani, Anne Reid, Elizabeth Counsell, Ram John Holder, Christopher Eccleston
- Director: Paul Andrew Williams
- Production Company: Steel Mill Pictures, Coolmore Productions, Egoli Tossell Pictures, Film House Germany, distributed by Entertainment One (UK), The Weinstein Company (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on June 21, 2013 as Unfinished Song.
February 22 – Stuck (USA, documentary)
- Narrator: Mariska Hargitay
- Director: Thaddaeus Scheel
- Production Company: Globox Media, distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films
February 22 – To the Wonder (UK/Ireland)
- Cast: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem, Tatiana Chiline, Charles Baker, Romina Mondello
- Director: Terrence Malick
- Production Company: Brothers K Productions, Redbud Pictures, distributed by StudioCanal (UK), Magnolia Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in limited release in the US on April 12, 2013. The film did not have a title when production began and it was referred to as Project D. Filming took an experimental approach with actors giving reports of working without a script or the use of lights. Jessica Chastain, Rachel Weisz, Amanda Peet, Barry Pepper and Michael Sheen shot scenes for the film but none of their footage made the final cut.
February 28 – AmeriQua (USA)
- Cast: Bobby Kennedy III, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Mary Stewart, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jeanene Fox, Giancarlo Giannini, Eva Amurri
- Director: Marco Bellone, Giovanni Consonni
- Production Company: Jabadoo Productions, Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, distributed by Jabadoo Productions
- Trivia: The film was retitled EuroTrapped for the home video market. Giovanni Consonni and Marco Bellone’s feature directorial debut. Bobby Kennedy III wrote the original screenplay, loosely based on his experiences in Italy. Kennedy and Eva Amurri play fictional versions of themselves. The final scene filmed at Wagner College was meant to take place in the Summer but was filmed in early December with freezing temperatures, and actors in T-shirts. CGI was used in post-production to add leaves to the trees.
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