Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
The last full week of March is jam-packed with new films, with a quite that were noteworthy and popular. 1933 produced a film that put three Barrymore siblings together for the first and only time, and 1943 transported Holmes & Watson from Victorian England to contemporary Washington DC. 1953 had Rita Hayworth doing the Dance of the Seven Veils, and 1963 had Tippi Hedren running for her life from winged terror. 1973 gave us Margot Kidder times two, and 1983 introduced the Brat Pack genre. 2003 paired Travolta and Jackson for the second time, and gave us one of the goofiest disaster movies of all time. 2013 saw Olympus fall, animated cave people, and had toy soldiers retaliating. Read about these films and more and tell us if your favorites are celebrating this week.
1923
March 25 – A Pleasant Journey (USA, short)
- Cast: Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, Jack Davis, Allen Hoskins, Ernie Morrison, Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb
- Director: Robert F. McGowan
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathé Exchange
- Trivia: The tenth Our Gang short subject. Remade in 1932 as Choo-Choo!
March 25 – Single Handed (USA)
- Cast: Hoot Gibson, Elinor Field, Percy Challenger, William Steele, Philip Sleeman, Dick La Reno, Mack V. Wright, Tom McGuire
- Director: Edward Sedgwick
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
March 25 – The Fable of the Alley Cat (USA)
- Production Company: Terrytoons
March 25 – The Fourth Musketeer (USA)
- Cast: Johnnie Walker, Eileen Percy, Eddie Gribbon, William Scott, Edith Yorke, Georgie Stone, James McElhern, Philo McCullough, Kate Lester
- Director: William K. Howard
- Production Company: Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation, distributed by Film Booking Offices of America
March 25 – The Glimpses of the Moon (USA)
- Cast: Bebe Daniels, David Powell, Nita Naldi, Maurice Costello, Rubye De Remer, William Quirk, Charles K. Gerrard, Pearl Sindelar
- Director: Allan Dwan
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based upon the 1922 Edith Wharton novel The Glimpses of the Moon. The film is considered lost.
March 25 – Three Jumps Ahead (USA)
- Cast: Tom Mix, Alma Bennett, Edward Peil Sr., Joseph W. Girard, Virginia True Boardman, Margaret Joslin, Francis Ford, Harry Todd
- Director: John Ford
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
March 25 – Vanity Fair (USA)
- Cast: Mabel Ballin, Hobart Bosworth, George Walsh, Harrison Ford, Earle Foxe, Willard Louis, Eleanor Boardman, Bobby Mack, William Humphreys, Dorcas Matthews, Laura La Varnie, James A. Marcus, Eugene Acker, Leo White, Tempe Pigott
- Director: Hugo Ballin
- Production Company: Hugo Ballin Productions, distributed by Goldwyn Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted from the 1848 novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. One scene was filmed in Prizamcolor. The film is considered lost.
March 26 – Chop Suey Louie (USA, short)
- Cast: Joe Rock, Billie Rhodes, Frank Alexander, Max Asher, Vera Reynolds
- Director: Joe Rock
- Production Company: Jo-Rok Productions, distributed by Federated Film Exchanges of America
March 26 – Daddy (USA)
- Cast: Jackie Coogan, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Josie Sedgwick, Cesare Gravina, Bert Woodruff, Anna Townsend, Willard Louis, George Kuwa
- Director: E. Mason Hopper
- Production Company: Jackie Coogan Productions, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
- Trivia: The script was written by Jackie Coogan’s parents, Jack and Lillian.
March 26 – The Leopardess (USA)
- Cast: Alice Brady, Edward Langford, Montagu Love, Charles Kent, George Andre Beranger
- Director: Henry Kolker
- Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Alice Brady’s next to last silent film. It is thought to be lost.
1933
March 22 – High Gear (USA)
- Cast: James Murray, Joan Marsh, Jackie Searl, Eddie Lambert, Ann Brody, Theodore von Eltz, Lee Moran, Mike Donlin, Gordon De Main, Douglas Haig, George O’Hanlon
- Director: Leigh Jason
- Production Company: Goldsmith Productions, distributed by Majestic Pictures
- Trivia: Released in the UK as The Big Thrill.
March 24 – Pick-Up (USA)
- Cast: Sylvia Sidney, George Raft, William Harrigan, Lillian Bond, Clarence Wilson, George Meeker, Louise Beavers
- Director: Marion Gering
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on a short story by Vina Delmar which was voted one of the best short stories of 1928–29. Carole Lombard was announced to star with George Raft. Raft was replaced with Gary Cooper, then he replaced Cooper who was held up making a movie for MGM. Sylvia Sidney replaced Lombard in October 1932.
March 24 – Rasputin and the Empress (USA)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Cast: John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Ralph Morgan, Diana Wynyard, Edward Arnold
- Director: Richard Boleslawski
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
- Trivia: The only film in which the three Barrymore siblings appear together, although only in a few short scenes. It was also Ethel’s sound debut, the earliest known recording of her voice. She disliked the process of making the film, particularly the hot kleig lights, and she said registering rage and hysteria in the second scene was not difficult. The historically inaccurate portrayal of Prince Felix Yusupov and his wife Princess Irina (renamed ‘Prince Chegodieff’ and ‘Princess Natasha’) resulted in a lawsuit that led to the creation of the ‘All persons fictitious disclaimer’ which has become standard in Hollywood works of fiction.
March 24 – The California Trail (USA)
- Cast: Charles ‘Buck’ Jones, Helen Mack, Luis Alberni, George Humbart, Charles Stevens, Carlos Villar, Chrispin Martin, Carmen La Roux, Robert Steele, Allan Garcia, Emile Chautard
- Director: Lambert Hillyer
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The film was shot in nine days.
March 25 – Daring Daughters (USA)
- Cast: Marian Marsh, Kenneth Thomson, Joan Marsh, Bert Roach, Allen Vincent, Lita Chevret, Richard Tucker, Arthur Hoyt, Florence Roberts
- Director: Christy Cabanne
- Production Company: Tower Productions, distributed by Capitol Film Exchange
- Trivia: Marian and Joan Marsh play sisters in the film but are not related in real life. The film has fallen into the public domain.
March 25 – Private Jones (USA)
- Cast: Lee Tracy, Gloria Stuart, Donald Cook, Emma Dunn, Shirley Grey, Frank McHugh, Russell Gleason, Walter Catlett, Berton Churchill
- Director: Russell Mack
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
March 25 – The Eleventh Commandment (USA)
- Cast: Marian Marsh, Theodore von Eltz, Alan Hale, Marie Prevost, Gloria Shea, Arthur Hoyt, William V. Mong, Lee Moran, Ethel Wales
- Director: George Melford
- Production Company: Allied Pictures, distributed by Weiss Brothers
- Trivia: Based on a play by Brandon Fleming. Previously made as a silent film in the UK in 1924.
March 25 – The Keyhole (USA)
- Cast: Kay Francis, George Brent, Glenda Farrell, Monroe Owsley, Allen Jenkins, Helen Ware, Henry Kolker, Ferdinand Gottschalk, George Chandler
- Director: Michael Curtiz
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The first of six films that paired Kay Francis and George Brent. The film was completed in 25 days. Remade in 1948 as Romance on the High Seas with Doris Day.
March 27 – The Shadow Laughs (USA)
- Cast: Hal Skelly, Rose Hobart, Harry T. Morey, Walter Fenner, Robert Keith, Geoffrey Bryant, Harry Short, John F. Morrissey, Cesar Romero
- Director: Arthur Hoerl
- Production Company: Trojan Pictures
- Trivia: Film debut of Cesar Romero.
March 27 – Wine, Women and Song (USA)
- Cast: Lilyan Tashman, Lew Cody, Marjorie Reynolds, Matty Kemp, Paul Gregory, Gertrude Astor, Bobbe Arnst, Esther Muir, Jesse De Vorska, Bobby Watson
- Director: Herbert Brenon
- Production Company: Chadwick Pictures, distributed by Monogram Pictures
- Trivia: A nitrate print of the film survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archive but it is not slated for preservation.
1943
March 24 – Sherlock Holmes in Washington (Mexico)
- Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Lord, Henry Daniell, George Zucco, John Archer, Gavin Muir, Edmund MacDonald, Don Terry, Bradley Page, Holmes Herbert, Thurston Hall
- Director: Roy William Neill
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film first opened in the UK on January 10, 1943, then opened in the US on April 30. The fifth film in the series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson, despite moving the era to contemporary times. The plot is not based on any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Co-stars John Archer and Marjorie Lord were actually married at the time of production. George Zucco and Henry Daniell, who play the film’s villains, both played Holmes nemesis Moriarty in earlier films in the series.
March 25 – Prairie Chickens (USA)
- Cast: Jimmy Rogers, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Sawyer, Marjorie Woodworth, Jack Norton, Raymond Hatton, Rosemary La Planche
- Director: Hal Roach, Jr.
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: A sequel to 1942’s Dudes Are Pretty People and 1943’s Calaboose, part of the ‘Hal Roach Streamliners’ series of Westerns starring Jimmy Rogers and Noah Beery Jr.
March 26 – He’s My Guy (USA)
- Cast: Dick Foran, Irene Hervey, Joan Davis, Fuzzy Knight, Don Douglas, Samuel S. Hinds, William Halligan, Gertrude Niesen, The Diamond Brothers, Louis DaPron, The Mills Brothers, Lorraine Krueger, The Dorene Sisters
- Director: Edward F. Cline
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The ballad and jazz standard written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul with the same title as this film was introduced by Dick Foran and Joan Davis.
March 26 – Hello, Frisco, Hello (USA)
- Cast: Alice Faye, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Lynn Bari, Laird Cregar, June Havoc, Ward Bond, Aubrey Mather, John Archer, Frank Orth
- Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: A remake of 1936’s King of Burlesque. Shot in Technicolor. One of the last musicals Alice Faye made at Fox, aware that they were grooming Betty Grable as her successor. It was one of Faye’s highest-grossing films for Fox. The movie introduced the song ‘You’ll Never Know’, which was sung by Alice Faye and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The film was also nominated for Best Color Cinematography, but lost to Phantom of the Opera.
March 26 – Hit Parade of 1943 (USA)
- Cast: John Carroll, Susan Hayward, Gail Patrick, Eve Arden, Melville Cooper, Walter Catlett, Mary Treen, Tom Kennedy, Astrid Allwyn, Tim Ryan, Dorothy Dandridge
- Director: Albert S. Rogell
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as Change of Heart. Gail Patrick’s singing was dubbed by Ruth Fox.
March 26 – Land of Hunted Men (USA)
- Cast: Ray Corrigan, Dennis Moore, Max Terhune, Elmer, Phyllis Adair, Charles King, John Merton, Ted Mapes
- Director: S. Roy Luby
- Production Company: Range Busters, distributed by Monogram Pictures
- Trivia: The twenty-first of Monogram’s ‘Range Busters’ series.
March 27 – High Explosive (USA)
- Cast: Chester Morris, Jean Parker, Barry Sullivan, Ralph Sanford, Rand Brooks, Dick Purcell, Barbara Lynn, Allan Bryon
- Director: Frank McDonald
- Production Company: Pine-Thomas Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on a story by Joseph Hoffman, You Can’t Live Forever. The film is also known as Nitro Trucks. It was retitled in December 1942.
1953
March 22 – The Homesteaders (USA)
- Cast: Bill Elliott, Robert Lowery, Emmett Lynn, George Wallace, Robert ‘Buzz’ Henry, Stanley Price, Rick Vallin, William Fawcett, James Seay, Tom Monroe, Barbara Woodell, Ray Walker
- Director: Lewis D. Collins
- Production Company: Silvermine Productions, distributed by Allied Artists
March 24 – Salome (USA)
- Cast: Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Badel, Basil Sydney, Maurice Schwartz, Arnold Moss, Asoka, Sujata
- Director: William Dieterle
- Production Company: The Beckworth Corporation, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The last film produced by Rita Hayworth’s company, the Beckworth Corporation. The film’s working title was Salome – Dance of the Seven Veils. Based on the book The Good Tidings by William Sidney. Stewart Granger was borrowed from MGM for the male lead.
March 24 – The Cruel Sea (UK)
- Cast: Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, John Stratton, Denholm Elliott, John Warner, Stanley Baker, Bruce Seton, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna, Moira Lister
- Director: Charles Frend
- Production Company: Ealing Studios, Michael Balcon Productions, distributed by General Film Distributors (UK), Universal Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: The film opened in wide release in the US on August 19, 1953. Based on the best-selling 1951 novel of the same name by former naval officer Nicholas Monsarrat, though the screenplay omits some of the novel’s more grim moments. Donald Sinden suffered from negative buoyancy, meaning he was unable to float, which was discovered while filming the ship sinking scene. Jack Hawkins saved Denham from drowning in the water tank.
March 25 – On Top of Old Smoky (USA)
- Cast: Gene Autry, Champion, Gail Davis, Grandon Rhodes, Sheila Ryan, Kenne Duncan, The Cass County Boys, Smiley Burnette
- Director: George Archainbaud
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The title is taken from the song of the same name.
March 26 – By the Light of the Silvery Moon (USA)
- Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Billy Gray, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Mary Wickes, Russell Arms, Maria Palmer, Howard Wendell, Walter Flannery
- Director: David Butler
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Sequel to On Moonlight Bay. Like its predecessor, the movie is based loosely on the ‘Penrod’ stories by Booth Tarkington.
March 26 – Off Limits (USA)
- Cast: Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Marilyn Maxwell, Eddie Mayehoff, Stanley Clements, Jack Dempsey, Marvin Miller, John Ridgely, Tom Harmon, Norman Leavitt, Art Aragon, Kim Spalding
- Director: George Marshall
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Released in the UK as Military Policemen. Carolyn Jones and Charles Bronson appear in uncredited roles. Alan Young was originally set as Bob Hope’s co-star.
March 26 – The Story of Three Loves (USA)
- Cast: Pier Angeli, Ethel Barrymore, Leslie Caron, Kirk Douglas, Farley Granger, James Mason, Moira Shearer, Agnes Moorehead, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Richard Anderson, Ricky Nelson
- Director: Vincente Minnelli, Gottfried Reinhardt
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Also known as Equilibrium. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.
March 27 – The Girl Who Had Everything (USA)
- Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Fernando Lamas, William Powell, Gig Young, James Whitmore, William Walker, Emory Parnell, Robert Burton
- Director: Richard Thorpe
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: William Powell’s last MGM feature and one of the last films he made before retiring. The screenplay was based upon a 1928 play by Willard Mack, which in turn was based on the 1927 novel A Free Soul by Adela Rogers St. Johns. Both also inspired the 1931 film A Free Soul.
March 28 – The Blue Gardenia (USA)
- Cast: Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr, Jeff Donnell, Richard Erdman, George Reeves
- Director: Fritz Lang
- Production Company: Blue Gardenia Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the novella The Gardenia by Vera Caspary. Nat King Cole appears as himself, and Dolores Fuller appears in an uncredited role. The first of Fritz Lang’s ‘newspaper noir’ trilogy, followed by While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, both released in 1956. Ann Sothern’s first role since being dropped by MGM in 1950 due to her health issues. Sothern had already signed to star in CBS sitcom Private Secretary (aka Suzie), and began the series immediately after completing her eight days of filming the movie. Production on the film was completed on Christmas Eve 1952, a day ahead of schedule.
1963
March 25 – The Mind Benders (UK)
- Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Mary Ure, John Clements, Michael Bryant, Wendy Craig, Harold Goldblatt, Geoffrey Keen, Terry Palmer, Norman Bird
- Director: Basil Dearden
- Production Company: Michael Relph Productions, distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK), American International Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US on May 1, 1963 as a double feature with Operation Bikini. Screenwriter James Kennaway turned his screenplay into his 1963 novel of the same name.
March 26 – Operation Bikini (USA)
- Cast: Tab Hunter, Frankie Avalon, Scott Brady, Jim Backus, Gary Crosby, Michael Dante, Jody McCrea, Eva Six, Aki Aleong
- Director: Anthony Carras
- Production Company: Alta Vista, distributed by American International Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as The Seafighter. Frankie Avalon’s two musical numbers were filmed in color despite the rest of the film shot in black-and-white. This marks the directorial debut of Anthony Carras. Rory Calhoun was announced as the film’s star, but he was replaced by Tab Hunter in his first film since 1960’s The Pleasure of His Company. In November 1962, the film was retitled Bikini.
March 27 – Come Fly with Me (USA)
- Cast: Dolores Hart, Hugh O’Brian, Karlheinz Böhm, Pamela Tiffin, Karl Malden, Lois Nettleton, Dawn Addams, Victor Rietti, John Crawford, Andrew Cruickshank, James Dobson, Robert Easton, Maurice Marsac, Lois Maxwell
- Director: Henry Levin
- Production Company: De Grunwald Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Based on Bernard Glemser’s 1960 chick-lit novel Girl on a Wing, which was published again in 1969 under the title The Fly Girls. The film’s working titles were Champagne Flight, The Friendliest Girls in the World and Girl on a Wing.
March 27 – The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (USA)
- Cast: Glenn Ford, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones, Dina Merrill, Stella Stevens, Jerry Van Dyke, Roberta Sherwood
- Director: Vincente Minnelli
- Production Company: Euterpe, Venice Productions, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Based on a 1961 novel by Mark Toby. Shirley Jones accepted her role in the film because she didn’t have to sing. Roberta Sherwood’s film debut.
March 28 – The Birds (Canada)
- Cast: Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Tippi Hedren, Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Ruth McDevitt, Lonny Chapman, Doodles Weaver, Richard Deacon
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, distributed by Universal-International Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in wide release in the US on March 29, 1963. Loosely based on the 1952 short story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. Hitchcock directed screenwriter Evan Hunter to keep du Maurier’s basic concept and title, but develop new characters and a more complex plot. The film’s story was based on an actual mass bird attack on the seaside town of Capitola, California on August 18, 1961. The cause of the birds’ behavior was toxic algae, but that was not known at the time. Hunter’s idea was to use elements of screwball comedy which would evolve into stark terror. This appealed to Hitchcock who knew the audience would already know the birds attack, but they would not know when. Hitchcock reportedly omitted ten or more pages from the final screenplay to give the film a more ambiguous ending. He did not want to include a ‘The End’ card but was forced to by the studio. The film does not include a traditional instrumental score, although Hitchcock’s usual composer Bernard Herrmann was credited as ‘Sound Consultant’. The attacking birds shots were handled by Ub Iwerks at Walt Disney Studios. The film includes 370 effects shots. Du Maurier disliked the film because the location was changed from a farm in England to a beach community in California. The film was nominated for Best Visual Effects but lost to Cleopatra, the only other nominee. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2016. A terrible TV movie sequel, The Birds II: Land’s End, aired in 1994, with new characters and a different setting. Bodega Bay is only mentioned once, and Tippi Hedren makes an appearance but not as her original character.
1973
March 23 – Charley and the Angel (USA)
- Cast: Fred MacMurray, Harry Morgan, Cloris Leachman, Kathleen Cody, Scott Kolden, Vincent Van Patten, Kurt Russell, George Lindsey, Edward Andrews, Mills Watson, Barbara Nichols, Liam Dunn, Ed Begley Jr., Robert Hastings
- Director: Vincent McEveety
- Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
- Trivia: One of Fred MacMurray’s final film roles, and his last for Disney. Based on The Golden Evenings of Summer, a 1971 novel written by Will Stanton.
March 23 – Nadie oyó gritar (Spain)
- Cast: Carmen Sevilla, Vicente Parra, Tony Isbert, María Asquerino, Antonio Casas, Goyo Lebrero
- Director: Eloy de la Iglesia
- Production Company: P.I.C.A.S.A., Producciones Benito Perojo
- Trivia: English title is No One Heard the Scream. The film was heavily edited by Spanish censors under the Franco regime.
March 23 – The House in Nightmare Park (UK)
- Cast: Frankie Howerd, Ray Milland, Hugh Burden, Kenneth Griffith, John Bennett, Rosalie Crutchley, Ruth Dunning, Elizabeth MacLennan, Aimée Delamain
- Director: Peter Sykes
- Production Company: Anglo-EMI Film Distributors, Associated London Films, Extonation Productions, distributed by Anglo-EMI Film Distributors (UK), Constellation Films Inc. (USA)
- Trivia: Not seen in the US until September 1977 under the title Crazy House.
March 26 – Sisters (USA)
- Cast: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, William Finley, Charles Durning, Lisle Wilson, Barnard Hughes, Mary Davenport, Dolph Sweet
- Director: Brian De Palma
- Production Company: Edward R. Pressman Film Corporation, distributed by American International Pictures
- Trivia: Released as Blood Sisters in the UK. Olympia Dukakis appears in an uncredited role. The screenplay for the film was inspired by the Soviet conjoined twins Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova and features narrative and visual references to several films by Alfred Hitchcock. The film was scored by Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann was semi-retired at the time but admired the script and agreed to provide the score.
March 28 – Black Snake (USA)
- Cast: Anouska Hempel, David Warbeck, Percy Herbert, Milton McCollin, Thomas Baptiste, Bernard Boston, Vikki Richards, David Prowse
- Director: Russ Meyer
- Production Company: Trident Films Ltd.
- Trivia: Russ Meyer’s return to self-financed films after the end of his brief deal at 20th Century Fox. The film was such a bomb that another film Meyer wanted to make, Foxy with Edy Williams, was scrapped. The film’s original star fell ill at the last minute and was replaced with Anouska Hempel, a decision Meyer regretted for years feeling she was not right for the part. The film was shot on location in Barbados in 1972.
1983
March 25 – Android (Spain)
- Cast: Klaus Kinski, Don Keith Opper, Brie Howard, Kendra Kirchner, Norbert Weisser, Rachel Talalay
- Director: Aaron Lipstadt
- Production Company: Sho Films, distributed by New World Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on February 10, 1984.
March 25 – Bad Boys (USA)
- Cast: Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Ally Sheedy, Reni Santoni, Eric Gurry, Jim Moody, Clancy Brown, Robert Lee Rush, John Zenda, Alan Ruck
- Director: Rick Rosenthal
- Production Company: EMI Films, Solofilm Company, distributed by Universal Pictures, Associated Film Distribution
- Trivia: Matt Dillon wanted the lead role, but Rick Rosenthal felt he’d already done that character in My Bodyguard. One of Ally Sheedy’s first film roles. Sean Penn broke his ankle during the escape scene, halting production for three months.
March 25 – Eddie Macon’s Run (USA)
- Cast: Kirk Douglas, John Schneider, Lee Purcell, Leah Ayres, Lisa Dunsheath, Tom Noonan, J. C. Quinn, Gil Rogers, Jay O. Sanders
- Director: Jeff Kanew
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by James McLendon. J. T. Walsh, Dann Florek and John Goodman make their first film appearances.
March 25 – Fire and Ice (West Germany)
- Cast: Randy Norton, William Ostrander, Cynthia Leake, Maggie Roswell, Steve Sandor, Sean Hannon, Stephen Mendel, Leo Gordon, William Ostrander, Eileen O’Neill, Susan Tyrrell
- Director: Ralph Bakshi
- Production Company: Polyc International BV, Producers Sales Organization, distributed by Constantin Film (West Germany), Twentieth Century Fox (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on August 26, 1983. The film used the process of rotoscoping, which entailed animating over live action footage. American painter Thomas Kinkade worked on various background images. Aeon Flux creator Peter Chung was a layout artist while also working for Disney.
March 25 – Max Dugan Returns (USA)
- Cast: Marsha Mason, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland, Matthew Broderick, Dody Goodman, Sal Viscuso
- Director: Herbert Ross
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Matthew Broderick’s and Kiefer Sutherland’s film debut. The first of three times Sutherland appeared with his father Donald on screen. Broderick was cast in the film, and in the stage version of Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs at the same time. The last of Simon’s films to star his then-wife Marsha Mason.
March 25 – Moving Out (AUS)
- Cast: Vince Colosimo, Maurice Devincentis, Tibor Gyapjas, Sally Cooper, Desirée Smith, Nicole Miranda, Santina Failla, Julio Dalleore, Peter Sardi, Kate Jason, Luciano Catenacci
- Director: Michael Pattinson
- Production Company: Pattison Ballantyne Production, distributed by Greater Union Organisation (AUS), Satori (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on January 31, 1985. Director Michael Pattinson originally proposed the project as a 50-minute film and it evolved into a feature.
March 25 – Spring Break (USA)
- Cast: David Knell, Perry Lang, Paul Land, Steve Bassett, Jayne Modean, Corinne Wahl, Donald Symington, Mimi Cozzens, Richard B. Shull, Jeff Garlin
- Director: Sean S. Cunningham
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Fogbound Inc., Sean S. Cunningham Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Actress Tammy Lynn Leppert, who played the female boxer in the film, disappeared under mysterious circumstances on July 6, 1983 and was never heard from again. The film was shot entirely on location in Fort Lauderdale during the Summer due to logistical issues preventing filming during actual spring break. First film role for Jeff Garlin. This is David Smilow’s first and only produced screenplay.
March 25 – The Black Stallion Returns (USA)
- Cast: Kelly Reno, Vincent Spano, Allen Garfield, Woody Strode, Ferdy Mayne, Jodi Thelen, Teri Garr, Hoyt Axton, Cass Ole / El Mokhtar, Larbi Doghmi
- Director: Robert Dalva
- Production Company: United Artists, Zoetrope Studios, distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
- Trivia: Adaptation of the book of the same name by Walter Farley, and is a sequel to The Black Stallion. The only film directed by Robert Dalva. The stallion Cass Ole also appeared in the first film, with El Mokhtar used for the racing scenes but he died from colic during the making of the film.
March 25 – The Outsiders (USA/Canada)
Zoetrope Studios
- Cast: C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Glenn Withrow, Diane Lane, Leif Garrett, Darren Dalton, Michelle Meyrink, Gailard Sartain, Tom Waits, William Smith
- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- Production Company: Zoetrope Studios, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. Sofia Coppola is credited as Domino. The book’s author plays a nurse in a cameo. Melanie Griffith and Heather Langenkamp appear in uncredited roles. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film. The film launched what would become known as the ‘Brat Pack’ genre of films. Mickey Rourke and Dennis Quaid auditioned for roles but were not cast. Patrick Swayze was cast based on his work in Skatetown, U.S.A. Val Kilmer turned down the role of Pony Boy to appear in a Broadway play, Slab Boys. Ralph Macchio stated Francis Ford Coppola had the actors read for different roles to find the right fit for them. The film’s original running time was about 2 hours 13 minutes, but Warner Bros. Felt it was too long and Coppola cut it to 91 minutes.
March 25 – Tough Enough (USA)
- Cast: Dennis Quaid, Warren Oates, Stan Shaw, Pam Grier, Carlene Watkins, Wilford Brimley
- Director: Richard Fleischer
- Production Company: American Cinema Productions, Pelleport Investments, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
- Trivia: Warren Oates’ final film appearance.
March 25 – Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (USA, short)
- Voice Cast: Ralph Wright, Hal Smith, Laurie Main, Will Ryan, Dick Billingsley, John Fiedler, Kim Christianson, Julie McWhirter Dees, Paul Winchell
- Director: Rick Reinert
- Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, Rick Reinert Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution Company
- Trivia: Based on the sixth chapter of both books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. The film was given a limited solo release on March 11, 1983, then was paired with a wide re-release of The Sword in the Stone, except in Australia where it was paired with a reissue of Bedknobs and Broomsticks. It was the fourth and final animated featurette in the Winnie the Pooh film series.
1993
March 26 – Born Yesterday (USA)
- Cast: Melanie Griffith, John Goodman, Don Johnson, Edward Herrmann, Max Perlich, Michael Ensign, Benjamin C. Bradlee, Sally Quinn, Fred Thompson, Celeste Yarnall, Rondi Reed
- Director: Luis Mandoki
- Production Company: Hollywood Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners I, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Trivia: Based on the play by Garson Kanin., and a remake of the 1950 film of the same name.
March 26 – Hear No Evil (USA)
- Cast: Marlee Matlin, D. B. Sweeney, Martin Sheen, John C. McGinley
- Director: Robert Greenwald
- Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox, Great Movie Ventures, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
- Trivia: The film was shot on location in Portland, Oregon where the story is set.
March 26 – Watch It (USA)
- Cast: Peter Gallagher, Suzy Amis, John C. McGinley, Jon Tenney, Cynthia Stevenson, Lili Taylor, Tom Sizemore
- Director: Tom Flynn
- Production Company: Island World, Manhattan Project, River One Films, distributed by Skouras Pictures
- Trivia: While most of the film was shot in Chicago, the final ‘watch it’ moment was filmed in Joliet, Illinois.
March 27 – Joshua Tree (Japan)
- Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Kristian Alfonso, Matt Battaglia, George Segal, Michael Paul Chan, Beau Starr, Geoffrey Lewis, Michelle Phillips, Nick Chinlund, Bert Remsen, Ken Foree, Khandi Alexander, Marcus Brown, Rondi Reed
- Director: Vic Armstrong
- Production Company: Epic Productions, Horned Toad Productions, Stone Group Pictures, Zilex Pictures N.V., distributed by Vision International (North America), 20th Century Fox (International)
- Trivia: Premiered in the US on HBO on February 3, 1994. Also known as Army of One, which was used to prevent confusion with the U2 album The Joshua Tree. Until the 2013 Blu-ray release, the film has never been released in the US under its original title or correct 2.35 aspect ratio.
2003
March 27 – City of Ghosts (Israel)
- Cast: Matt Dillon, James Caan, Stellan Skarsgård, Natascha McElhone, Gérard Depardieu, Kem Sereyvuth, Rose Byrne
- Director: Matt Dillon
- Production Company: United Artists, Mainline Pictures, Banyan Tree, Kintop Pictures, PixelMonger, distributed by Eagle Films (Middle East), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (USA)
- Trivia: Received a limited US release on April 25, 2003. Bo Hopkins appears in an uncredited role.
March 27 – Ned Kelly (AUS)
- Cast: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Joel Edgerton, Laurence Kinlan, Philip Barantini, Kerry Condon, Kris McQuade, Emily Browning, Rachel Griffiths
- Director: Gregor Jordan
- Production Company: StudioCanal, Working Title Films, Australian Film Commission, Film Finance Corporation Australia, The Woss Group, Endymion Films, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Was not released in the US until March 26, 2004. Based on Robert Drewe’s 1991 novel Our Sunshine.
March 27 – Teesh and Trude (AUS)
- Cast: Susie Porter, Linda Cropper, Jacob Allan, Peter Phelps, Bill McClusky, Mason Richardson, Igor Sas, Kazimir Sas, Francoise Sas, Adam Crouch
- Director: Melanie Rodriga
- Production Company: ScreenWest, Cecile B Deux Mels Pty. Ltd., Lotteries Commission of Western Australia, Murdoch University, SBS Independent, Showtime Australia
- Trivia: Adapted from an original stage-play by Wilson McCaskill.
March 28 – Basic (USA/Canada)
- Cast: John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Daly, Giovanni Ribisi, Brian Van Holt, Taye Diggs, Dash Mihok, Cristián de la Fuente, Roselyn Sánchez, Harry Connick Jr.
- Director: John McTiernan
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Intermedia Films, Phoenix Pictures, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: The second film featuring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson after Pulp Fiction.
March 28 – Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie (USA)
- Cast: Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Ron White, Larry the Cable Guy, Heidi Klum, David Alan Grier
- Director: C.B. Harding
- Production Company: Gaylord Films, Pandora Cinema, Parallel Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Heidi Klum was completely cut out of the television version that aired on Comedy Central.
March 28 – Flower & Garnet (Canada)
- Cast: Callum Keith Rennie, Jane McGregor, Alisha Penev, Colin Roberts, Dov Tiefenbach, Kristen Thomson, Craig Olejnik, Chilton Crane, Philip Granger, Arnie Walters, Eliza Norbury
- Director: Keith Behrman
- Production Company: Alliance Atlantis Communications, Boneyard Film Company Inc., Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Corus Entertainment, Ministry of Extreme Circumstances, Screen Siren Pictures, Téléfilm Canada, distributed by Odeon Films
- Trivia: Keith Behrman won the award for best feature film by a first-time director at the 23rd Genie Awards. Colin Roberts received a Genie nomination for Best Actor.
March 28 – Head of State (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Dylan Baker, Nick Searcy, Lynn Whitfield, Robin Givens, Tamala Jones, James Rebhorn, Keith David, Nate Dogg, Tracy Morgan
- Director: Chris Rock
- Production Company: 3 Arts Entertainment, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures
- Trivia: Directorial debut of Chris Rock. Last film of cinematographer Donald E. Thorin, who died in 2016.
March 28 – In This World (UK)
- Cast: Jamal Udin Torabi, Enayatullah, Nabil Elouahabi
- Director: Michael Winterbottom
- Production Company: The Film Consortium, UK Film Council, The Works, Revolution Films, BBC Films, distributed by ICA Projects (UK), Sundance Film Series (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in limited release in the US on September 19, 2003. Winner of the Golden Bear prize at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival and BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language at the 57th British Academy Film Awards. The film is shot as a documentary but is a drama with non-professional actors with improvised dialogue.
March 28 – Laurel Canyon (USA)
- Cast: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone, Alessandro Nivola, Lou Barlow, Imaad Wasif, Russell Pollard, Mickey Petralia, Melissa De Sousa
- Director: Lisa Cholodenko
- Production Company: Antidote Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
- Trivia: The film was inspired by Joni Mitchell’s album, Ladies of the Canyon.
March 28 – The Core (USA/Canada/UK)
- Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, D. J. Qualls, Alfre Woodard, Richard Jenkins, Fred Ewanvick
- Director: Jon Amiel
- Production Company: David Foster Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Out-to-sea scenes were filmed on the USS Abraham Lincoln with the full support of the US Navy.
2013
March 22 – Admission (USA)
- Cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Michael Sheen, Lily Tomlin, Wallace Shawn, Nat Wolff, Gloria Reuben, Travaris Spears, Christopher Evan Welch, Sonya Walger, Leigha Hancock, Dan Levy
- Director: Paul Weitz
- Production Company: Depth of Field, distributed by Focus Features
- Trivia: Adaptation of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s 2009 novel of the same name.
March 22 – Inappropriate Comedy (USA)
- Cast: Rob Schneider, Adrien Brody, Da’Vone McDonald, Jessie Usher, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Theo Von, Vince Offer, Ari Shaffir, Dante
- Director: Vince Offer
- Production Company: SquareOne Entertainment, Satura Films, S.O. Productions, distributed by Freestyle Releasing
- Trivia: The title was stylized as inAPPropriate Comedy. The film was envisioned as a sequel to The Underground Comedy Movie and titled Underground Comedy 2010. The film’s director, Vince Offer, is better known as an informercial pitchman, specifically for the ShamWow absorbent towel.
March 22 – Love and Honor (USA)
- Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Austin Stowell, Aimee Teegarden, Teresa Palmer, Chris Lowell, Wyatt Russell, Delvon Roe
- Director: Danny Mooney
- Production Company: Red 56, Deep Blue Pictures, distributed by IFC Films
- Trivia: Danny Mooney’s feature directorial debut.
March 22 – Olympus Has Fallen (USA)
- Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Rick Yune, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Finley Jacobsen, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell
- Director: Antoine Fuqua
- Production Company: Millennium Films, G-BASE, distributed by FilmDistrict
- Trivia: The first installment of the ‘Has Fallen’ franchise. Since the film was shot in Shreveport, Louisiana it required extensive visual effects to place the story in the actual setting of Washington, D.C.
March 22 – The Croods (USA)
DreamWorks Animation
- Voice Cast: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, Cloris Leachman, Randy Thom, Chris Sanders
- Director: Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco
- Production Company: DreamWorks Animation, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The first DreamWorks film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox.
March 27 – Trance (UK)
- Cast: James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson, Danny Sapani
- Director: Danny Boyle
- Production Company: Pathé, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films, TSG Entertainment, Ingenious Media, Indian Paintbrush, Film4, Searchlight Pictures, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
- Trivia: Opened in limited US release on April 5, 2013. In May 2011, Michael Fassbender was cast as Franck, but he later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced with Vincent Cassel. Post-production was put on hold so director Danny Boyle could work on the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, and resumed in August 2012. Boyle wanted to set the film in New York City but had to remain in the UK because of his Olympics duties.
March 28 – G.I. Joe: Retaliation (USA)
- Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Arnold Vosloo, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Byung-hun, Ray Park, Elodie Yung, Ray Stevenson, D. J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Luke Bracey, Walton Goggins, Joseph Mazzello
- Director: Jon M. Chu
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Skydance Productions, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The film was to debut in June 2012 but was delayed for post-conversion to 3D and to boost interest in international markets. There were over 700 visual effects shots. The battle on the Himalayas was shot in the south vertical assembly building at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, that had been fitted with a green screen wall at a very steep angle with a lot of rigging above to swing the stunt people through.
March 28 – Return to Nim’s Island (AUS)
- Cast: Bindi Irwin, Toby Wallace, John Waters, Matthew Lillard, Jack Pearson, Sebastian Gregory
- Director: Brendan Maher
- Production Company: Nim’s Island, The Mazur Kaplan Company, Pictures in Paradise, Walden Media, Arc Entertainment
- Trivia: Made its US premiere on TV on March, 15, 2013. Based on the book Nim at Sea by Wendy Orr.
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