Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
A lot of new films were released this week over the past century, and sadly quite a few no longer exist. There are quite a few notable films this week including Judy Garland’s role that transitioned her from a juvenile to an adult, Jaye Eyre meets vodou, a G-String of death, Martin & Lewis hunting ghosts, the introduction of a new film format, a 3D Western, Brit horror, an early role for Karen Black, Disney’s attempt to adapt Ray Bradbury, Gothic New Wave vampires, the original Valley Girl, a third go-round for the cop of the future, a second go-round for a team of mutant superheroes, and the end of a Disney Channel series in the form of a movie. These and much more celebrate anniversaries this week. Are your favorites on the list?
1923
April 28 – The Little Girl Next Door (USA)
- Cast: Pauline Starke, James Morrison, Carmel Myers, Mitchell Lewis, Edgar Kennedy
- Director: W.S. Van Dyke
- Production Company: Blair Coan Productions, distributed by Photo Products Export Company
- Trivia: Also known as You Are in Danger.
April 29 – California or Bust (USA, short)
- Cast: ‘Snub’ Pollard, Marie Mosquini, James Finlayson, William Gillespie
- Director: Craig Hutchinson
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathé Exchange
April 29 – The Fable of the Jolly Rounders (USA, short)
- Production Company: Aesop’s Fables Studio, distributed by Pathé Exchange
April 29 – The Ne’er-Do-Well (USA)
- Cast: Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, Gertrude Astor, John Miltern, Gus Weinberg, Sidney Smith, George O’Brien, Jules Cowles, Larry Wheat, Cyril Ring
- Director: Alfred E. Green
- Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on Rex Beach’s 1911 novel of the same name. The story was also filmed in 1916.
April 29 – The Noon Whistle (USA, short)
- Cast: Stan Laurel, James Finlayson, Katherine Grant, Sam Brooks, William Gillespie, Noah Young, Jack O’Brien
- Director: George Jeske
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathé Exchange
April 29 – The Snow Bride (USA)
- Cast: Alice Brady, Maurice ‘Lefty’ Flynn, Mario Majeroni, Nick Thompson, Jack Baston, Stephen Grattan, William Cavanaugh, Margaret Morgan
- Director: Henry Kolker
- Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.
April 29 – Within the Law (USA)
- Cast: Norma Talmadge, Lew Cody, Jack Mulhall, Eileen Percy, Joseph Kilgour, Arthur F. Hull, Helen Ferguson, Lincoln Plummer, Thomas Ricketts, Ward Crane, Catherine Murphy, DeWitt C. Jennings, Lionel Belmore, Eddie Boland
- Director: Frank Lloyd
- Production Company: Joseph M. Schenck Productions, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1912 Broadway production of Bayard Veiller’s play of the same name. The film survives and was released on DVD in 2009.
April 29 – You Can’t Fool Your Wife (USA)
- Cast: Leatrice Joy, Nita Naldi, Lewis Stone, Pauline Garon, Paul McAllister
- Director: George Melford
- Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film is presumed lost.
April 30 – Backbone (USA)
- Cast: Edith Roberts, Alfred Lunt, William B. Mack, Frankie Evans, James D. Doyle, L. Emile La Croix, Charles Fang, Marion Abbott, Frank Hagney
- Director: Edward Sloman
- Production Company: Distinctive Pictures, distributed by Goldwyn Distributing Corporation
- Trivia: It is not known if the film survives.
April 30 – Cordelia the Magnificent (USA)
- Cast: Clara Kimball Young, Huntley Gordon, Carol Halloway, Lloyd Whitlock, Jacqueline Gadsden, Lewis Dayton, Mary Jane Irving, Catherine Murphy, Elinor Hancock
- Director: George Archainbaud
- Production Company: Samuel Zierler Photoplay Corporation, distributed by Metro Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: The film is believed lost.
April 30 – The Eagle’s Talons (USA)
- Cast: Fred Thomson, Ann Little, Al Wilson, Herbert Fortier, Joseph W. Girard
- Director: Duke Worne
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: This film is considered lost.
May – The Lion’s Mouse (UK)
- Cast: Wyndham Standing, Mary Odette, Rex Davis, Marguerite Marsh
- Director: Oscar Apfel
- Production Company: Granger Films, Hollandia, distributed by Binger (UK), W.W. Hodkinson (USA)
- Trivia: Originally opened in the US on March 25, 1923. The film was a British and Dutch co-production, released in the Netherlands as De leeuw en de muis.
May – Tut-Tut and His Terrible Tomb (UK, short)
- Cast: Jeff Barlow, Adeline Hayden Coffin, Fatty Phillips, Frank Stanmore, Queenie Thomas, Peter Upcher
- Director: Bertram Phillips
- Production Company: Bertram Phillips Productions, distributed by Butcher’s Film Service
- Trivia: Second episode in the Syncopated Picture Plays 2-reel series.
May 1 – Felix Revolts (USA, short)
- Production Company: Pat Sullivan Cartoons, distributed by Margaret J. Winkler
May 1 – The Empty Cradle (USA)
- Cast: Mary Alden, Harry T. Morey, Mickey Bennett, Edward Quinn, Helen Rowland, Coit Albertson, Madeline La Varre, Ricca Allen
- Director: Burton L. King
- Production Company: State Pictures, distributed by Truart Film Corporation
- Trivia: While no complete prints of the film are listed in any archives, an abridged version does exist.
May 1 – The Puzzle (USA, short)
- Cast: Max Fleischer
- Director: Dave Fleischer
- Production Company: Out of the Inkwell Films, distributed by Margaret J. Winkler
1933
April 28 – India Speaks (USA, documentary)
- Narrator: Richard Halliburton
- Director: Richard Halliburton
- Production Company: The Futter Corporation, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Sequel to Africa Speaks! The film’s working title was Jade. The film is now considered lost.
April 28 – Looking Forward (USA)
- Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Benita Hume, Elizabeth Allan, Phillips Holmes, Colin Clive, Alec B. Francis, Doris Lloyd, Halliwell Hobbes, Douglas Walton
- Director: Clarence Brown
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
- Trivia: The sets and costumes were designed by MGM regulars Cedric Gibbons and Adrian. Based on the 1932 Dodie Smith play Service. The film’s title was taken from a book by the newly-inaugurated president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who is quoted in the film’s prologue. William Randolph Hearst supported the film and was instrumental in securing the president’s support for the film’s new title.
April 28 – Song of the Eagle (USA)
- Cast: Charles Bickford, Richard Arlen, Mary Brian, Jean Hersholt, Louise Dresser, Andy Devine, George E. Stone, Gene Morgan, Bert Sprotte, George Meeker, Julie Haydon, James Bradbury Jr.
- Director: Ralph Murphy
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s release coincided with the ongoing repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment that had outlawed alcohol.
April 28 – The Warrior’s Husband (USA)
- Cast: Elissa Landi, David Manners, Ernest Truex, Marjorie Rambeau, Tiny Sandford, Helen Ware, Lionel Belmore, Maude Eburne
- Director: Walter Lang
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: Based on a 1932 Broadway production of Julian Thompson’s 1924 play that starred Katharine Hepburn in the lead role. The film featured an entirely different cast. The film has not been released to home video but copies do exist at the George Eastman House and the Museum of Modern Art.
April 28 – Zoo in Budapest (USA)
- Cast: Loretta Young, Gene Raymond, O.P. Heggie, Wally Albright, Paul Fix, Murray Kinnell
- Director: Rowland V. Lee
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: The original 35mm prints of the film contained sequences tinted in amber or blue.
April 29 – Elmer, the Great (USA)
- Cast: Joe E. Brown, Patricia Ellis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Preston Foster, Russell Hopton, Sterling Holloway, Emma Dunn, Charles C. Wilson, Charles Delaney
- Director: Mervyn LeRoy
- Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1928 play of the same name by by Ring Lardner and George M. Cohan. Gale Gordon’s first film.
April 30 – The Thrill Hunter (USA)
- Cast: Buck Jones, Dorothy Revier, Edward Le Saint, Eddie Kane, Arthur Rankin, Frank La Rue, Robert Ellis, Harry Semels, Al Smith, John Ince, Harry Todd, Willie Fung
- Director: George B. Seitz
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The 1930 Travel Air D-4000 plane seen in the film is still in flying condition at the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine.
May – Cleaning Up (UK)
- Cast: George K. Gee, Betty Astell, Davy Burnaby, Barbara Gott, Alfred Wellesley, Muriel George, Joan Matheson, Dorothy Vernon
- Director: Leslie S. Hiscott
- Production Company: British Lion Film Corporation
- Trivia: The film was made as a ‘quota quickie’.
May – Lord of the Manor (UK)
- Cast: Betty Stockfeld, Frederick Kerr, Henry Wilcoxon, Kate Cutler, Frank Bertram, Joan Marion
- Director: Henry Edwards
- Production Company: Herbert Wilcox Productions, British & Dominions Film Corporation, distributed by Paramount British Pictures
- Trivia: The film was made as a ‘quota quickie’.
May – The Man Outside (UK)
- Cast: Henry Kendall, Gillian Lind, Joan Gardner, Michael Hogan, Cyril Raymond, John Turnbull, Louis Hayward, Ethel Warwick
- Director: George A. Cooper
- Production Company: Real Art Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: The film was made as a ‘quota quickie’.
May – Three Men in a Boat (UK)
- Cast: William Austin, Edmund Breon, Billy Milton, Davy Burnaby, Iris March, Griffith Humphreys, Stephen Ewart, Victor Stanley
- Director: Graham Cutts
- Production Company: Associated Talking Pictures, distributed by Associated British Film Distributors
- Trivia: Based on the 1889 novel Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.
May 1 – Cheating Blondes (USA)
- Cast: Thelma Todd, Ralf Harolde, Inez Courtney, Milton Wallis, Mae Busch, Earl McCarthy, William Humphrey, Dorothy Gulliver, Brooks Benedict
- Director: Joseph Levering
- Production Company: Larry Darmour Productions, distributed by Majestic Pictures
May 1 – The Big Cage (USA)
- Cast: Clyde Beatty, Anita Page, Mickey Rooney, Raymond Hatton, Wallace Ford, Andy Devine, Walter Brennan, Louise Beavers
- Director: Kurt Neumann
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Film debut of Clyde Beatty, a popular animal trainer, playing a fictionalized version of himself.
1943
April 27 – Chatterbox (USA)
- Cast: Joe E. Brown, Judy Canova, Rosemary Lane, John Hubbard, Gus Schilling, Chester Clute, Anne Jeffreys, Emmett Vogan, George Byron, Billy Bletcher, The Mills Brothers, Spade Cooley
- Director: Joseph Santley
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
April 27 – Saddles and Sagebrush (USA)
- Cast: Russell Hayden, Dub Taylor, Ann Savage, Bob Wills, The Texas Playboys, William Wright
- Director: William Berke
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
April 28 – Crash Dive (USA)
- Cast: Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, James Gleason, Dame May Whitty, Harry Morgan, Ben Carter
- Director: Archie Mayo
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Tyrone Power’s last film before his assignment to recruitment training for the US Marine Corps. The submarine primarily featured as Corsair was the experimental USS Marlin. The film is notable for featuring an African American character, played by Ben Carter, at a time when few if any World War II films featured African Americans. The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
April 29 – Follow the Band (USA)
- Cast: Eddie Quillan, Anne Rooney, Russell Hicks, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Beth Hughes, Leon Errol, Robert Mitchum
- Director: Jean Yarbrough
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Final film of Jean Ames.
April 29 – Mission Accomplished (USA, dpcumentary short)
- Production Company: U.S. Office of War Information, Universal Pictures, distributed by War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry
April 29 – Presenting Lily Mars (USA)
- Cast: Judy Garland, Van Heflin, Fay Bainter, Richard Carlson, Spring Byington, Marta Eggerth, Connie Gilchrist, Leonid Kinskey
- Director: Norman Taurog
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
- Trivia: Based on the novel by Booth Tarkington. One of the first films to feature Judy Garland in an adult role.
April 30 – Calling Wild Bill Elliott (USA)
- Cast: Wild Bill Elliott, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Anne Jeffreys, Herbert Heyes, Robert ‘Buzz’ Henry, Fred Kohler Jr., Roy Barcroft
- Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
April 30 – Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (USA)
- Cast: Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Diana Lynn, Frances Gifford, Gail Russell
- Director: Hugh Bennett
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Film debut of Gail Russell.
April 30 – I Walked with a Zombie (USA)
RKO Radio Pictures
- Cast: Frances Dee, Tom Conway, James Ellison, Edith Barrett, James Bell, Theresa Harris, Sir Lancelot, Darby Jones, Jeni Le Gon
- Director: Jacques Tourneur
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Based on an article of the same title by Inez Wallace, and also partly reinterprets the narrative of the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Anna Lee was originally to star but had to leave due to another commitment.
April 30 – Tonight We Raid Calais (USA)
- Cast: Annabella, John Sutton, Lee J. Cobb, Beulah Bondi, Blanche Yurka, Howard Da Silva, Marcel Dalio, Ann Codee
- Director: John Brahm
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Cited by Quentin Tarantino as one of his favorite World War II films.
May – Above Suspicion (USA)
- Cast: Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Conrad Veidt, Basil Rathbone, Reginald Owen, Richard Ainley, Cecil Cunningham
- Director: Richard Thorpe
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
- Trivia: Adapted from the 1941 novel Above Suspicion by Scots-American writer Helen MacInnes, which is loosely based on the experiences of MacInnes and her husband Gilbert Highet. Joan Crawford’s last film for MGM, and Conrad Veidt’s last role as he died of a heart attack several weeks after filming completed.
May 1 – Daredevils of the West (USA, serial)
- Cast: Allan Lane, Kay Aldridge, Eddie Acuff, William Haade, Robert Frazer, Ted Adams, George J. Lewis, Charles F. Miller
- Director: John English
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
- Trivia: Kay Aldridge and Allan Lane were billed as ‘their Majesties, the King and Queen of Serials’. Both actors who played The Lone Ranger’s companion Tonto, Chief Thunder Cloud (in the movie serials) and Jay Silverheels (from the TV series), appear in the film. The serial was considered lost for many years with only Chapters 2, 4, 5, and 12 in circulation. The film, however, was not lost; five reels of audio from the archival materials had gone missing. In the absence of the audio, Republic sold the incomplete film to William Boyd, aka ‘Hopalong Cassidy’, to use as stock footage. The full serial with restored audio and re-dubbed missing dialog, was screened in 2008 at SerialFest in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and was released on DVD in 2011.
May 1 – Lady of Burlesque (USA)
- Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O’Shea, J. Edward Bromberg, Iris Adrian, Gloria Dickson, Victoria Faust, Stephanie Bachelor, Charles Dingle, Pinky Lee
- Director: William A. Wellman
- Production Company: Hunt Stromberg Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Also known as The G-String Murders and in the UK as Striptease Lady. A faithful, if sanitized, adaptation of the 1941 novel The G-String Murders written by strip tease queen Gypsy Rose Lee. Joseph Breen of the Production Code objected to the use of a G-String as a murder weapon.
May 1 – Raiders of San Joaquin (USA)
- Cast: Johnny Mack Brown, Tex Ritter, Fuzzy Knight, Jennifer Holt, Henry Hall, Joseph E. Bernard, George Eldredge, Henry Roquemore, John Elliott
- Director: Lewis D. Collins
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
1953
April 26 – Cow Country (USA)
- Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Helen Westcott, Robert Lowery, Barton MacLane, Peggie Castle, Robert Barrat, James Millican, Don Beddoe, Robert J. Wilke, Raymond Hatton, Chuck Courtney
- Director: Lesley Selander
- Production Company: Scott R. Dunlap Productions, distributed by Allied Artists Pictures
- Trivia: Final feature film role of Tom Tyler.
April 27 – Scared Stiff (USA)
- Cast: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizabeth Scott, Carmen Miranda, George Dolenz, Dorothy Malone, William Ching, Paul Marion, Jack Lambert, Tony Barr
- Director: George Marshall
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Fourth screen adaptation of the 1909 play The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard, previously filmed under that title in 1914 and 1922 and as The Ghost Breakers in 1940. Carmen Miranda’s final film performance. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis’ ninth film as a team. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made cameo appearance in exchange for Martin & Lewis’s cameo in Road to Bali the previous year. The pair did not want to make the film, feeling the original was satisfactory, but the producer felt it would be a success in their hands and held them to their contract. The film was shot in about two weeks, and was the first Martin & Lewis film to feature a 3-track, stereophonic soundtrack. Unfortunately, the steroe tracks are now considered lost. Norman Lear, in his first Hollywood film, is credited with ‘additional dialogue’.
April 29 – This Is Cinerama (USA, documentary)
- Narrator: Lowell Thomas
- Director: Mike Todd, Michael Todd, Jr., Walter A. Thompson, Fred Rickey
- Production Company: Cinerama Productions, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Due to the technology required to display the film — three projectors and a curved screen — it was distributed to a single theater in most cities with reserved seating and a lengthy run, a model known as a ‘road show’ engagement. For years the film could only be shown in one of three remaining Cinerama installations. The film was released to home video in a ‘Smilebox’ format preserving the film’s unique curvature sourced from the original camera negative.
April 29 – Turn the Key Softly (UK)
- Cast: Yvonne Mitchell, Terence Morgan, Joan Collins, Kathleen Harrison, Thora Hird, Dorothy Alison, Glyn Houston, Geoffrey Keen, Russell Waters, Clive Morton
- Director: Jack Lee
- Production Company: Chiltern Productions, distributed by General Film Distributors
- Trivia: Opened in the US on February 3, 1954. Based on the 1951 novel of the same title by John Brophy. Joan Collins’ first film under a new contract with the Rank Organization.
May – Death Goes to School (UK)
- Cast: Barbara Murray, Gordon Jackson, Pamela Alan, Jane Aird, Beatrice Varley, Anne Butchart, Imogene Moynihan, Jenine Matto, Sam Kydd
- Director: Stephen Clarkson
- Production Company: Independent Artists, distributed by Eros Films
- Trivia: Despite having a major role as Sergeant Harvey, Sam Kydd’s name is missing from the opening titles and end credits.
May – Pony Express (USA)
- Cast: Charlton Heston, Rhonda Fleming, Forrest Tucker, Jan Sterling, Michael Moore, Porter Hall, Richard Shannon, Henry Brandon, Stuart Randall, Lewis Martin, Pat Hogan
- Director: Jerry Hopper
- Production Company: Nat Holt Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The story is largely based on the 1925 silent film The Pony Express while the threat of a Californian secession is taken from Frontier Pony Express (1939).
May – The Steel Key (UK)
- Cast: Terence Morgan, Joan Rice, Raymond Lovell, Dianne Foster, Hector Ross, Colin Tapley, Esmond Knight, Arthur Lovegrove, Sam Kydd, Esma Cannon, Michael Balfour, Tom Gill
- Director: Robert S. Baker
- Production Company: Tempean Films, distributed by Eros Films
May 1 – Fort Ti (USA)
- Cast: George Montgomery, Joan Vohs, Irving Bacon, James Seay, Ben Astar, Phyllis Fowler, Howard Petrie
- Director: William Castle
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The first Western produced in 3D and Technicolor. Rusty Hamer appears in an uncredited role.
May 2 – Southern Fried Rabbit (USA, short)
- Voice Cast: Mel Blanc
- Director: I. Freleng
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Due to later controversies about the portrayal of ethnic stereotypes in cartoons, the scene where Bugs crosses the border disguised as a slave and Abraham Lincoln was cut from the episode’s television broadcasts.
May 2 – Split Second (USA)
- Cast: Stephen McNally, Alexis Smith, Jan Sterling, Keith Andes, Arthur Hunnicutt, Paul Kelly, Robert Paige, Richard Egan, Frank de Kova
- Director: Dick Powell
- Production Company: RKO Pictures
- Trivia: The only film put into production by the consortium that took over RKO in 1952 before Howard Hughes resumed control of the company.
1963
April 30 – The Very Edge (UK)
- Cast: Anne Heywood, Richard Todd, Jack Hedley, Nicole Maurey, Jeremy Brett, Barbara Mulle, Maurice Denham, William Lucas, Gwen Watford, Patrick Magee
- Director: Cyril Frankel
- Production Company: Raymond Stross Productions, distributed by British Lion Film Corporation
- Trivia: While Richard Todd was born in Dublin, he would be 43 years old before he made his first film in Ireland.
May – Dime with a Halo (USA)
- Cast: Barbara Luna, Rafael López, Roger Mobley, Paul Langton, Robert Carricart, Jennifer Bishop
- Director: Boris Sagal
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The last film issued by the Hal Roach Studios.
May – Echo of Diana (UK)
- Cast: Vincent Ball, Betty McDowall, Geoffrey Toone, Clare Owen, Raymond Adamson, Peter Illing, Marianne Stone, Michael Balfour, Tom Gill, Richard Caldicot
- Director: Ernest Morris
- Production Company: Butcher’s Film Service, distributed by Butcher’s Film Distributors
- Trivia: The plane crash footage was also used in Village of the Damned (1960).
May – Police Nurse (USA)
- Cast: Ken Scott, Merry Anders, Oscar Beregi Jr., Barbara Mansell, John Holland, Byron Morrow, Ivan Bonar
- Director: Maury Dexter
- Production Company: Associated Producers Inc, distributed by 20th Century Fox
May – The Running Man (UK)
- Cast: Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates, Felix Aylmer, Eleanor Summerfield, Allan Cuthbertson, Harold Goldblatt, Noel Purcell, Ramsay Ames, Fernando Rey
- Director: Carol Reed
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Peet Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: Opened in the US on October 2, 1963. Adapted from the 1961 novel The Ballad of the Running Man by Shelley Smith. The film briefly came to the attention of the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy because of a viral marketing campaign that placed personal ads in the Dallas Morning News asking the ‘Running Man’ to please call ‘Lee’. Investigators thought that these might be coded messages placed by assassin Lee Harvey Oswald until they discovered the source of the advertisements.
May – The Switch (UK)
- Cast: Anthony Steel, Zena Marshall, Conrad Phillips, Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw, Dawn Beret, Jerry Desmonde
- Director: Peter Maxwell
- Production Company: Philip Ridgeway Productions, distributed by Rank Film Distributors
- Trivia: Susan Shaw’s last film.
May 1 – Paranoiac (Italy)
- Cast: Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Sheila Burrell, Maurice Denham, Alexander Davion
- Director: Freddie Francis
- Production Company: Hammer Films, distributed by Universal Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on May 15, 1963. Based loosely on the 1949 crime novel Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey.
May 1 – Terrified (USA)
- Cast: Rod Lauren, Steve Drexel, Tracy Olsen, Stephen Roberts, Sherwood Keith, Barbara Luddy, Denver Pyle
- Director: Lew Landers
- Production Company: Bern-Field Productions, distributed by Crown International Pictures
- Trivia: Final film of director Lew Landers.
1973
April 27 – And Now the Screaming Starts! (USA)
- Cast: Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Stephanie Beacham, Ian Ogilvy, Geoffrey Whitehead
- Director: Roy Ward Baker
- Production Company: Amicus Productions, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Based on the 1970 novella Fengriffen by David Case. The film is also known as Fengriffen or Bride of Fengriffen. One of the few feature-length horror films from Amicus, which was better known for its anthology horrors.
May – Father, Dear Father (UK)
- Cast: Patrick Cargill, Noel Dyson, Natasha Pyne, Ann Holloway, Ursula Howells, Jack Watling, Donald Sinden, Jill Melford, Beryl Reid
- Director: William G. Stewart
- Production Company: Sedgemoor Film Productions, M.M. Film Productions, distributed by J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors
- Trivia: Based on the popular Thames Television sitcom of the same name.
May – Horror Hospital (UK)
- Cast: Michael Gough, Robin Askwith, Vanessa Shaw, Ellen Pollock, Dennis Price, Skip Martin, Kurt Christian, Barbara Wendy, Kenneth Benda
- Director: Antony Balch
- Production Company: Noteworthy Films, distributed by Antony Balch Films (UK), Hallmark Releasing (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US in April 1975. Also known as Computer Killers. Robin Askwith’s role was written specifically for him, and he was asked to base his performance on that of Bela Lugosi’s performance in The Devil Bat.
May – Kid Blue (USA)
- Cast: Dennis Hopper, Warren Oates, Peter Boyle, Ben Johnson, Lee Purcell, Janice Rule, Ralph Waite, Clifton James
- Director: James Frawley
- Production Company: Marvin Schwartz Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: At 35 years of age, many felt Dennis Hopper was too old for his role.
May – Little Laura and Big John (USA)
- Cast: Fabian Forte, Karen Black, Ivy Thayer, Ross Kananga, Ken Miller, Paul Gleason, Cliff Frates, Jerry Rhodes, Ray Barrett
- Director: Luke Moberly, Bob Woodburn
- Production Company: Louis Wiethe Productions, distributed by Crown International
- Trivia: The original title of the film was The True Story of the Ashley-Mobley Gang, then Too Soon to Laugh, Too Late to Cry. The first film to credit Fabian Forte under his full name. The film began production in 1969 but was not distributed until 1973. According to director Luke Moberly, they wanted to wait until Karen Black had become a hot commodity.
May 1 – Guns of a Stranger (USA)
- Cast: Marty Robbins, Chill Wills, Dovie Beams, Steven Tackett, Bill Coontz, Shug Fisher
- Director: Robert Hinkle
- Production Company: Marty Robbins Enterprises, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Final film of Fred Graham.
May 2 – Messiah of Evil (USA)
- Cast: Michael Greer, Marianna Hill, Joy Bang, Anitra Ford, Royal Dano, Elisha Cook Jr., Charles Dierkop, Bennie Robinson, Walter Hill
- Director: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz
- Production Company: V/M Productions, distributed by International Cine Film Corp.
- Trivia: Also known as Dead People.
1983
April 27 – Angelo My Love (USA)
- Cast: Angelo Evans, Michael Evans, Ruthie Evans, Tony Evans, Debbie Evans, Steve Tsigonoff, Millie Tsigonoff, Frankie Williams, George Nicholas
- Director: Robert Duvall
- Production Company: Lordon Limited, distributed by Cinecom Pictures
- Trivia: Robert Duvall first saw the lead actor, Angelo, in 1977 when he was 8 years old, having an argument with an older woman on Columbus Avenue.
April 27 – Molly (AUS)
- Cast: Claudia Karvan, Les Dayman, Reg Lye, Garry McDonald, Robin Laurie, Jake Blundell, Tanya Lester, Mic Conway, Jim Conway
- Director: Ned Lander
- Production Company: New South Wales Film Corporation, Greater Union Organisation, M & L Pty Limited, Troplisa Pty. Ltd.
- Trivia: Along with Going Down, also released in 1983, the debut film of Claudia Karvan.
April 27 – Private School (UK)
- Cast: Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, Matthew Modine, Michael Zorek, Fran Ryan, Kathleen Wilhoite, Ray Walston, Sylvia Kristel, Jonathan Prince
- Director: Noel Black
- Production Company: Unity Productions, Universal Pictures, distributed by United International Pictures (UK), Universal Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on July 29, 1983. The film’s full title as seen on the poster is Private School … for Girls. The film was produced in the wake of the surprise success of 1981’s Private Lessons, and while not a direct sequel the film includes multiple parties that worked on the earlier film, including Sylvia Kristel, who makes a cameo as a new character. Paula Abdul receives her first film credit for choreography. An alternate version of the film with less explicit footage was aired on television, with deleted scenes added to make up for the lost run time.
April 28 – Ascendancy (UK)
- Cast: Julie Covington, Ian Charleson, John Phillips, Susan Engel, Philip Locke, Kieran Montague, Rynagh O’Grady, Philomena McDonagh
- Director: Edward Bennett
- Production Company: British Film Institute, Channel 4 Television
- Trivia: Winner of the Golden Bear at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival.
April 29 – Something Wicked This Way Comes (USA)
Walt Disney Productions
- Cast: Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd, Royal Dano, Vidal Peterson, Arthur Hill, Shawn Carson, Mary Grace Canfield, Sharan Lea, Richard Davalos, Jack Dodson, Bruce M. Fischer, Pam Grier, Jack Dengel, Ellen Geer, James Stacy
- Director: Jack Clayton
- Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, The Bryna Company, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
- Trivia: Based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury. The title was taken from a line in Act IV of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: ‘By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes’. Director Jack Clayton had a falling out with Disney after test screenings failed to meet studio expectations. He and the editor were removed from the film, George Delerue’s original score was scrapped (replaced with a last minute score by James Horner), and $5 million was spent on re-shoots, re-editing and re-scoring. Clayton also had issues with Bradbury after he did some unauthorized rewrites of the script. Bradbury had wanted either Peter O’Toole or Christopher Lee to play Mr. Dark, but Disney went with relative unknown Jonathan Pryce to keep the budget manageable. Shawn Carson had read for the role of Will but was cast as Jim Nightshade which required his blond hair to be dyed jet black. Vidal Peterson was cast as Will and his dark hair was dyed blond to fit the role. A groundbreaking scene which would have been one of the first uses of CGI in a major Hollywood film was cut in the re-editing process. The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies in Indianapolis has a copy of the original cut on VHS which may be the only surviving copy of Jack Clayton’s original cut.
April 29 – The Hunger (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young, Dan Hedaya, Beth Ehlers, Rufus Collins
- Director: Tony Scott
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
- Trivia: Loose adaptation of the 1981 novel of the same name by Whitley Strieber. Also appearing in small roles are Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Ann Magnuson, and goth band Bauhaus who sing ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ during the film’s opening credits. Silent film star Bessie Love makes her final film appearance as an elderly fan at Sarah’s book signing. A final scene with Sarah on the balcony was added at the studio’s request to leave the film open-ended for possible sequels. Susan Sarandon regretted that scene as it practically undid all the rules they’d spent the entire film creating.
April 29 – Valley Girl (USA)
- Cast: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen, Cameron Dye, Heidi Holicker, Michelle Meyrink, Tina Theberge, Lee Purcell
- Director: Martha Coolidge
- Production Company: Valley 9000, distributed by Atlantic Releasing
- Trivia: Also known as Bad Boyz. Loosely on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The film was conceived to capitalize on the Frank and Moon Unit Zappa song ‘Valley Girl’. Zappa himself was unsuccessful at launching his own Valley Girl film, and attempted to sue to stop production of the film on grounds of copyright infringement. Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman found it difficult to film their break-up scene late in production because they had started dating by that point.
May – Chicken Ranch (USA, documentary)
- Director: Sandi Sissel, Nick Broomfield
- Production Company: Central Independent Television, Churchill Films, The National Endowment for the Arts, distributed by First Run Features
- Trivia: Premiered on UK TV on September 28, 1982. After production on the film, the Chicken Ranch was sold for $1 million and is now valued at $8 million.
May – The Crimson Permanent Assurance (UK, short)
- Cast: Myrtle Devenish, John Scott Martin, Leslie Sarony, Ross Davidson, Matt Frewer, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam
- Director: Terry Gilliam
- Production Company: Celandine Films, The Monty Python Partnership, Universal Pictures, distributed by United International Pictures
- Trivia: Originally intended to be animated, Terry Gilliam convinced the other Pythons to do it live action for Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. The rhythm of the short, however, did not mesh with the rest of the film so it was shown as a supplemental piece ahead of the feature. Matt Frewer’s debut performance.
May – The Ploughman’s Lunch (UK)
- Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry, Charlie Dore, Rosemary Harris, Frank Finlay, David de Keyser, Bill Paterson, Nat Jackley, David Lyon, Orlando Wells
- Director: Richard Eyre
- Production Company: Goldcrest Films International, Greenpoint Films, distributed by Virgin (UK), The Samuel Goldwyn Company (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on October 19, 1984. The film was produced for Channel 4’s Film on Four program, but enjoyed a critically hailed theatrical run before its TV presentation.
1993
April 30 – Blood In Blood Out (USA)
- Cast: Damian Chapa, Jesse Borrego, Benjamin Bratt, Enrique Castillo, Delroy Lindo, Victor Rivers, Tom Towles, Carlos Carrasco, Theodore Wilson, Raymond Cruz, Billy Bob Thornton, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Thomas F. Wilson, Lupe Ontiveros
- Director: Taylor Hackford
- Production Company: Hollywood Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Trivia: Also known as Bound by Honor and Blood In Blood Out: Bound By Honor. The film has become a cult classic among the Mexican-American community. Richard Masur appears uncredited as the Prison Librarian. Edward James Olmos was offered a starring role in the film and the chance to direct but turned the offer down due to creative differences. Theodore Wilson died shortly after filming his scenes in the film. Many believe a mural painted by Adan Hernandez has been painted over, but the truth is the mural was painted on plywood and placed on the wall as they did not have permission to paint the wall. A few months after production ended, Hernandez disassembled the mural into four pieces with his family retaining the panels. Hernandez died in 2021.
April 30 – Three of Hearts (USA)
- Cast: William Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Sherilyn Fenn, Joe Pantoliano, Gail Strickland, Cec Verrell
- Director: Yurek Bogayevicz
- Production Company: New Line Cinema
- Trivia: Robert Downey Jr. lobbied for the role of Joe Casella and even rewrote the script with his own ideas to present to the producers.
May 1 – RoboCop 3 (Japan)
- Cast: Robert Burke, Nancy Allen, Jill Hennessy, Remy Ryan, Rip Torn, John Castle, Mako, Robert DoQui, Bradley Whitford, CCH Pounder, Daniel von Bargen, Stephen Root, Eva LaRue Callahan, Jeff Garlin
- Director: Fred Dekker
- Production Company: Orion Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in the US on November 5, 1993. The first film to use digital morphing in more than one scene. Comics author Frank Miller, trying to make a name in Hollywood, hoped some of his material that was rejected from the RoboCop 2 script would find its way into the third film, but after the new script was even more drastically altered Miller quit Hollywood until the 2005 adaptation of his Sin City graphic novel. Peter Weller was unavailable to return to the title role as he was filming Naked Lunch. Orion Pictures cut down on the film’s violence after recognizing that children were RoboCop’s fan base. Due to Orion’s bankruptcy, the film was shelved for a year. In the meantime, the videogame tie-in was released which revealed the film’s plot.
2003
April 30 – X2 (AUS)
Twentieth Century Fox
- Cast: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Bruce Davison, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, Anna Paquin
- Director: Bryan Singer
- Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel Enterprises, Donners’ Company, Bad Hat Harry Productions, XF2 Canada Productions, XM2 Productions, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
- Trivia: Opened in the UK on May 1, 2003, and in the US and Canada on May 2. Also marketed as X2: X-Men United, and internationally as X-Men 2. The plot was inspired by the X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. The Sentinels were originally to appear in the film but were cut due to budgetary constraints. A cameo featuring the character Gambit was shot but not used in the final film. Famke Janssen did not know until midway through filming that her character Jean Grey was going to die and then be resurrected in the third film. Nightcrawler’s tail was largely computer generated although Alan Cumming did occasionally use a rubber one. The film received an R-rating due to some violent shots with Logan and Stryker’s army. A few seconds were cut to secure a PG-13 rating.
May 2 – Owning Mahowny (USA, limited)
- Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin, John Hurt, Sonja Smits, Ian Tracey, Jason Blicker, Chris Collins
- Director: Richard Kwietniowski
- Production Company: Natural Nylon, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
- Trivia: Based on the true story of a Toronto bank employee who embezzled more than $10 million to feed his gambling habit.
May 2 – Pure (UK)
- Cast: Molly Parker, Harry Eden, David Wenham, Keira Knightley
- Director: Gillies MacKinnon
- Production Company: A Bad Way Ltd., BBC3, Kudos Productions Ltd., Little Wing Films, The Works, distributed by Artificial Eye (UK), Indican Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Received a limited US release on June 10, 2005.
May 2 – The Heart of Me (UK)
- Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams, Paul Bettany, Eleanor Bron, Alison Reid, Luke Newberry, Tom Ward, Gillian Hanna, Andrew Havill
- Director: Thaddeus O’Sullivan
- Production Company: Martin Pope Productions, Arch Enterprises Limited, BBC Films, Isle of Man Film, Pandora Filmproduktion, Take 3 Partnership, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Opened in limited US release on June 13, 2003. An adaptation of Rosamond Lehmann’s 1953 novel The Echoing Grove.
May 2 – The Lizzie McGuire Movie (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd, Jake Thomas, Yani Gellman, Alex Borstein, Clayton Snyder, Ashlie Brillault, Brendan Kelly, Carly Schroeder, Daniel Escobar
- Director: Jim Fall
- Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures, Stan Rogow Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Trivia: Hilary Duff’s sister Haylie provided the singing voice for Isabella Parigi. The film serves as the finale of the Disney Channel television series of the same name, and was the first theatrical film based on a Disney Channel series. Most of the cast of the TV reprised their roles in the film. Lalaine was unable to return due to filming of the Disney Channel movie You Wish! Her character was said to be on vacation.
2013
April 26 – Arthur Newman (USA, limited)
- Cast: Colin Firth, Emily Blunt, Anne Heche, M. Emmet Walsh, David Andrews, Kristen Lehman, Lucas Hedges
- Director: Dante Ariola
- Production Company: Vertebra Films, Cross Creek Pictures, distributed by Cinedigm Entertainment
- Trivia: Known as Arthur & Mike in the UK.
April 26 – Graceland (USA)
- Cast: Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias, Dido de la Paz, Leon Miguel, Ella Guevara, Marife Necesito
- Director: Roy Morales
- Production Company: Imprint Pictures, distributed by Drafthouse Films
- Trivia: Opened originally in limited release in the Philippines on September 12, 2012.
April 26 – King’s Faith (USA)
- Cast: Crawford Wilson, Lynn Whitfield, James McDaniel
- Director: Nicholas DiBella
- Production Company: DiBella Films Ltd., Faith Street Film Partners, distributed by Waking Giants Entertainment
- Trivia: Kayla Compton’s debut.
April 26 – Midnight’s Children (USA)
- Cast: Satya Bhabha, Shriya Saran, Siddharth Narayan, Darsheel Safary, Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi, Neha Mahajan, Seema Biswas, Charles Dance, Samrat Chakrabarti
- Director: Deepa Mehta
- Production Company: David Hamilton Productions, Hamilton-Mehta Productions, Number 9 Films, distributed by 108 Media
- Trivia: Originally opened in limited release in Canada on November 2, 2012. Adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s 1981 novel of the same name.
April 26 – Mud (USA)
- Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Sam Shepard, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, Joe Don Baker
- Director: Jeff Nichols
- Production Company: Everest Entertainment, Brace Cove Productions, FilmNation Entertainment, distributed by Lionsgate
- Trivia: Inspired by Mark Twain’s works, including the 1876 novel Tom Sawyer.
April 26 – Pain & Gain (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Rebel Wilson, Ken Jeong, Michael Rispoli, Tony Plana, Emily Rutherfurd, Peter Stormare, Kurt Angle
- Director: Michael Bay
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures, De Line Pictures, Bay Films, Platinum Dunes, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the activities of the Sun Gym gang, a group of ex-convicts and bodybuilders convicted of kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder in Miami in the mid-1990s. Adapted from a 1999 series of Miami New Times articles by Pete Collins, which were compiled in the book Pain & Gain: This Is a True Story, released concurrently with the film.
April 26 – See Girl Run (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Robin Tunney, Adam Scott, Jeremy Strong, William Sadler, Aubrey Dollar, Marylouise Burke, Josh Hamilton, Larry Pine
- Director: Nate Meyer
- Production Company: Happy Couples Productions, distributed by Phase 4 Films
April 26 – So Young (USA)
- Cast: Yang Zishan, Mark Chao, Han Geng, Jiang Shuying, Bao Bei’er, Zheng Kai
- Director: Zhao Wei
- Production Company: Hua Shi Film Investment Co., Ltd, China Film Group, Beijing Enlight Pictures, Pulin Films Co., Ltd, Beijing Ruyi Xinxin Film Investment, Beijing Max Times Cultural Development, Dook Publishing, distributed by China Film Group
- Trivia: Based on the best-selling novel To Our Youth that is Fading Away by Xin Yiwu. The film is Zhao’s directorial debut.
April 26 – Space Warriors (USA, limited)
- Cast: Thomas Horn, Mira Sorvino, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Lucas, Danny Glover
- Director: Sean McNamara
- Production Company: ARC Entertainment, GPA Entertainment, Meteor 17, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Kickstart Productions, Walden Media, distributed by Integrated Media Associates
- Trivia: The film was announced as part of the initial season of the Walden Family Theater on the Hallmark Channel, where it premiered on May 31, 2013.
April 26 – Tai Chi Hero (USA)
- Cast: Yuan Wen Kang, Jayden Yuan, Angelababy, Shu Qi, Stephen Fung, Xiong Xin Xin, Shen Si
- Director: Stephen Fung
- Production Company: Huayi Brothers & Taihe Film Investment, Diversion Pictures, distributed by Well Go USA Entertainment
- Trivia: Originally opened in China on October 25, 2012. 3D sequel to Stephen Fung’s 2012 film Tai Chi Zero.
April 26 – The Big Wedding (USA)
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Topher Grace, Ben Barnes, Susan Sarandon, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Ebersole, David Rasche, Ana Ayora, Patricia Rae, Robin Williams, Kyle Bornheimer, Megan Ketch
- Director: Justin Zackham
- Production Company: Two Ton Films, Millennium Films, distributed by Lionsgate
- Trivia: American remake of the original 2006 Swiss-French film Mon frère se marie (My Brother is Getting Married). The film was originally titled The Wedding. Director Justin Zackham and producer Clay Pecorin appeared on a Season 6 episode of TLC’s Cake Boss, where they ordered the wedding cake for the film from Buddy Valastro at Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey.
April 26 – The Look of Love (USA)
- Cast: Steve Coogan, Imogen Poots, Anna Friel, Tamsin Egerton, David Walliams, Chris Addison, Shirley Henderson, James Lance, Paul Popplewell, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry
- Director: Michael Winterbottom
- Production Company: Revolution Films, Baby Cow Productions, Film4, Lipsync Productions, distributed by IFC Films
- Trivia: The Look of Love was originally called The King of Soho, until that title had to be dropped due to a legal dispute.
April 26 – The Numbers Station (USA)
- Cast: John Cusack, Malin Åkerman, Liam Cunningham, Lucy Griffiths, Bryan Dick, Richard Brake, Joey Ansah, Finbar Lynch, Hannah Murray
- Director: Kasper Barfoed
- Production Company: Furst Films, Matador Films, Piccadilly Pictures, Atlantic Swiss Productions, Blue Lake Media Fund, Content Media Corporation, Echo Lake Entertainment, distributed by Image Entertainment
- Trivia: Originally opened in Hong Kong on March 21, 2013. According to The Telegraph newspaper, actor Warren Clarke was one of the investors in this movie, and he ‘may have lost money after investing’ in it, a factor which may have contributed to him being almost penniless when he died.
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