Paramount Pictures
This is an interesting week for new movie releases as many of the more notable films were released in the early part of the century. Sadly, most of the bigger films from 1923 are gone, but 1933 had several films with top names like Laurel & Hardy, Irene Dunn, Joel McCrea, James Cagney, Frederic March and Cary Grant. That year also had a movie so notorious it was only available via bootleg prints until 2011. 1943 saw George Sanders’ brother take over a role he’d played in a popular film series, as well as a film based on a popular radio series, and an animated short that was very influential. 1953 saw William Castle move from Universal to Columbia with a gimmick-free debut, and 1963 had a historical epic that had more drama behind the cameras than on screen. 1973 introduced Tatum O’Neal to movie audiences, and showed us a future where food came from a shocking source. Dan Aykroyd got solo top billing in 1983, Kevin Kline became president in 1993, and Christopher Guest and friends charmed audiences with their folk music mockumentary. And while 2013 saw a lot of new releases, Marvel outshined them all as Phase Two of the MCU commenced. Want to learn more? Read on and tell us if your favorites are celebrating anniversaries this week!
1923
May 3 – The Girl of the Golden West (USA)
- Cast: Sylvia Breamer, J. Warren Kerrigan, Russell Simpson, Rosemary Theby, Wilfred Lucas, Nelson McDowell, Charles McHugh, Hector V. Sarno, Jed Prouty
- Director: Edwin Carewe
- Production Company: Edwin Carewe Productions, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1905 David Belasco play The Girl of the Golden West. With no known prints in any film archives, it is considered a lost film.
May 6 – Boston Blackie (USA)
- Cast: William Russell, Eva Novak, Frank Brownlee, Otto Matieson, W. C. Robinson, Fred Esmelton
- Director: Scott R. Dunlap
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
May 6 – What Wives Want (USA)
- Cast: Ethel Grey Terry, Vernon Steele, Ramsey Wallace, Niles Welch, Margaret Landis, Lila Leslie, Henry A. Barrows
- Director: Jack Conway
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
May 7 – Bavu (USA)
- Cast: Wallace Beery, Estelle Taylor, Forrest Stanley, Sylvia Breamer, Josef Swickard, Nick De Ruiz, Martha Mattox, Harry Carter
- Director: Stuart Paton
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
May 7 – Fools and Riches (USA)
- Cast: Herbert Rawlinson, Katherine Perry, Tully Marshall, Doris Pawn, Arthur Stuart Hull, Nick De Ruiz, Roy Laidlaw, John Cossar
- Director: Herbert Blaché
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Final film of Doris Pawn.
May 7 – Soul of the Beast (USA)
- Cast: Madge Bellamy, Cullen Landis, Noah Beery, Vola Vale, Bert Sprotte, Harry L. Rattenberry, Carrie Clark Ward, Lincoln Stedman, Larry Steers, Vernon Dent
- Director: John Griffith Wray
- Production Company: Thomas H. Ince Corporation, distributed by Metro Pictures
May 7 – The Lonely Road (USA)
- Cast: Katherine MacDonald, Orville Caldwell, Kathleen Kirkham, Eugenie Besserer, William Conklin, James Neill, Frank Leigh, Charles K. French, Stanley Goethals
- Director: Victor Schertzinger
- Production Company: Preferred Pictures, distributed by Associated First National
- Trivia: It is a lost film.
1933
May 4 – The Kiss Before the Mirror (USA)
- Cast: Nancy Carroll, Frank Morgan, Paul Lukas, Gloria Stuart, Jean Dixon, Donald Cook, Charley Grapewin, Walter Pidgeon, Wallis Clark, May Boley, Christian Rub
- Director: James Whale
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: James Whale remade the film five years later as Wives Under Suspicion.
May 5 – Deadwood Pass (USA)
- Cast: Tom Tyler, Wally Wales, Lafe McKee, Alice Dahl, Edmund Cobb, Slim Whittaker, Merrill McCormack, Carlotta Monti, Buffalo Bill Junior, Duke Lee
- Director: J.P. McGowan
- Production Company: Monarch Film Corporation, distributed by Freuler Film Associates
May 5 – Son of the Border (USA)
- Cast: Tom Keene, Edgar Kennedy, Julie Haydon, David Durand, Lon Chaney Jr., Al Bridge, Charles King, Claudia Coleman
- Director: Lloyd Nosler
- Production Company: RKO Pictures
May 5 – The Devil’s Brother (USA)
Hal Roach Studios
- Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dennis King, Thelma Todd, James Finlayson, Lucile Browne, Arthur Pierson, Henry Armetta, Matt McHugh, Lane Chandler
- Director: Hal Roach, Charles Rogers
- Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s, Inc.
- Trivia: Known as Fra Diavolo outside the US. Based on Daniel Auber’s operetta Fra Diavolo about the Italian bandit Fra Diavolo. Reissued by Astor Pictures as Bogus Bandits.
May 5 – The Silver Cord (USA)
- Cast: Irene Dunne, Joel McCrea, Laura Hope Crews, Eric Linden, Frances Dee
- Director: John Cromwell
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1926 Broadway play, The Silver Cord by Sidney Howard, which had been directed by John Cromwell as well. Joel McCrea and Frances Dee met during filming, married in October 1933, and remained married for 57 years until McCrea’s death.
May 5 – Unknown Valley (USA)
- Cast: Buck Jones, Cecilia Parker, Wade Boteler, Frank McGlynn, Ward Bond
- Director: Lambert Hillyer
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
May 6 – Picture Snatcher (USA)
- Cast: James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, Patricia Ellis, Alice White, Ralf Harolde, Robert Emmett O’Connor
- Director: Lloyd Bacon
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: This was James Cagney’s thirteenth film in three years. Inspired the 2014 film Nightcrawler. Film debut of Vaughn Taylor.
May 6 – The Eagle and the Hawk (USA)
- Cast: Fredric March, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Jack Oakie, Sir Guy Standing, Forrester Harvey
- Director: Stuart Walker
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Co-director Mitchell Leisen received an on-screen credit in the 1939 re-release. Leisen claimed he directed most of the film with Stuart Walker more of an assistant, but Walker’s contract guaranteed him full directorial credit. Due to Production Code restrictions, some scenes were cut for the re-release. The film’s working title was Fly On. While she received third billing, Carole Lombard only appeared in one scene. Gary Cooper was originally cast to play the role played by Cary Grant. Aerial footage was reused from other films, including a crash sequence from the 1928 film Lilac Time. An explosion that went off before it was supposed to trapped Grant and Frederich March under fallen beams. Grant was able to lift the beams to free March, but Grant suffered internal injuries.
May 6 – The Story of Temple Drake (USA)
- Cast: Miriam Hopkins, Jack La Rue, William Gargan, William Collier Jr., Irving Pichel, Jobyna Howland, Guy Standing, James Mason, Louise Beavers
- Director: Stephen Roberts
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted from the highly controversial 1931 novel Sanctuary by William Faulkner. While more of the novel’s salacious elements were omitted, the film was still considered so ‘indecent’ that it helped give rise to the Hays Code. Until 2011, the film was only seen in 16mm bootleg prints. The film was restored by the Museum of Modern Art and was screened at the TCM Classic Film Festival. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection in 2019. The mood on the set was gloomy due to the subject matter so the cast frequently played pranks on each other to lighten things up.
1943
May 6 – Redhead from Manhattan (USA)
- Cast: Lupe Vélez, Michael Duane, Tim Ryan, Gerald Mohr, Lillian Yarbo, Arthur Loft
- Director: Lew Landers
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: This was one of Lupe Vélez’s final film roles.
May 7 – Death Rides the Plains (USA)
- Cast: Robert Livingston, Al St. John, Patti McCarty, Ray Bennett, I. Stanford Jolley, George Chesebro, John Elliott, Kermit Maynard, Slim Whitaker, Karl Hackett
- Director: Sam Newfield
- Production Company: Sigmund Neufeld Productions, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Fourteenth movie in the ‘Lone Rider’ series, and the third starring Robert Livingston.
May 7 – Good Morning, Judge (USA)
- Cast: Dennis O’Keefe, Louise Allbritton, Mary Beth Hughes, J. Carrol Naish, Louise Beavers, Samuel S. Hinds, Frank Faylen
- Director: Jean Yarbrough
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
May 7 – The Falcon Strikes Back (USA)
- Cast: Tom Conway, Harriet Hilliard, Jane Randolph, Edgar Kennedy, Cliff Edwards, Rita Corday, Erford Gage, Wynne Gibson, André Charlot, Richard Loo
- Director: Edward Dmytryk
- Production Company: RKO Pictures
- Trivia: The working title was The Falcon Comes Back. The fifth film in the ‘Falcon’ series, and the second starring Tom Conway, taking over for his brother George Sanders who originated the role.
May 7 – They Came to Blow Up America (USA)
- Cast: George Sanders, Anna Sten, Ward Bond, Dennis Hoey, Sig Ruman, Ludwig Stössel, Robert Barrat, Liesl Handl, Ralph Byrd
- Director: Edward Ludwig
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Also known as School for Sabotage and School for Saboteurs. Based on the World War II Operation Pastorius.
May 7 – This Land Is Mine (USA)
- Cast: Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Hara, George Sanders, Walter Slezak, Kent Smith, Una O’Connor, Philip Merivale, Thurston Hall, Ivan F. Simpson, George Coulouris
- Director: Jean Renoir
- Production Company: Jean-Renoir-Dudly Nichols Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Winner of the 1944 Academy Award for Best Sound Recording. The film opened in 72 theaters simultaneously, earning a record gross on its opening day.
May 8 – Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (USA)
- Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, Keye Luke, Alma Kruger, John Craven, Nat Pendleton, Margaret O’Brien, Donna Reed
- Director: Willis Goldbeck
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The third film in MGM’s Dr. Gillespie series, which was spun off from the Dr. Kildare series of films which ended in 1942.
May 8 – Gildersleeve’s Bad Day (USA)
- Cast: Harold Peary, Jane Darwell, Nancy Gates, Charles Arnt, Freddie Mercer, Russell Wade, Lillian Randolph, Frank Jenks, Douglas Fowley, Alan Carney
- Director: Gordon Douglas
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Second film in the Gildersleeve series, which was based on the popular NBC radio program The Great Gildersleeve. The film features the uncredited film debut of Barbara Hale. It was also the big screen debut of Richard LeGrand, who played the role of J.W. Peavy on the radio program.
May 8 – Red Hot Riding Hood (USA, short)
- Voice Cast: Frank Graham, Kent Rogers, Sara Berner, Elvia Allman, Connie Russell, Pinto Colvig
- Director: Tex Avery
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoon Studio, distributed by Loews Inc.
- Trivia: The animated short was released with the movie Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case. Voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, making it the highest ranked MGM cartoon on the list. The cartoon was influential on other cartoons and features for years afterward.
1953
May 4 – Gunsmoke (USA)
- Cast: Audie Murphy, Susan Cabot, Paul Kelly, Charles Drake, Mary Castle, Jack Kelly, Jesse White, Donald Randolph, William Reynolds, Chubby Johnson
- Director: Nathan Juran
- Production Company: Universal International Pictures, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1951 novel Roughshod by Norman A. Fox, and has no connection to the TV series of the same name. The first of three Westerns Audie Murphy made with Nathan Juran over a three year period.
May 4 – The Final Test (UK)
- Cast: Jack Warner, Robert Morley, George Relph, Adrianne Allen, Ray Jackson, Brenda Bruce, Stanley Maxted
- Director: Anthony Asquith
- Production Company: J. Arthur Rank Organisation, Association of Cinema Technicians, distributed by General Film Distributors (UK), Continental Distributing (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on January 5, 1954. The screenplay was originally written for a television play in 1951.
May 5 – Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (USA)
- Cast: John Hodiak, David Brian, John Derek, Ray Teal, María Elena Marqués, John Qualen, Otto Hulett, Trevor Bardette, Percy Helton, Harry Cording, John Doucette, John War Eagle
- Director: Fred F. Sears
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
May 5 – The Juggler (USA)
- Cast: Kirk Douglas, Milly Vitale, Paul Stewart, Joseph Walsh, Alf Kjellin, Beverly Washburn, Charles Lane, John Banner, Richard Benedict, Oskar Karlweis
- Director: Edward Dmytryk
- Production Company: Stanley Kramer Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the novel of the same name. The first American feature film with exteriors filmed in Israel. Screenwriter Michael Blankfort was initially supposed to have directed the film, but was denied a passport because of his failure to exonerate himself of alleged membership in the Communist Party. Ironically, his replacement, Edward Dmytryk, was a member of the ‘Hollywood Ten’ accused Communists.
May 8 – Cry of the Hunted (USA)
- Cast: Vittorio Gassman, Barry Sullivan, Polly Bergen, William Conrad, Mary Zavian, Robert Burton, Harry Shannon, Jonathan Cott
- Director: Joseph H. Lewis
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc
- Trivia: The final, and only credited, film role for Mary Zavian, who appeared in just seven films between 1942 and 1953.
May 8 – Desert Legion (USA)
- Cast: Alan Ladd, Richard Conte, Arlene Dahl, Akim Tamiroff, Oscar Beregi, Leon Askin, Anthony Caruso, George J. Lewis
- Director: Joseph Pevney
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1927 novel The Demon Caravan by Georges Arthur Surdez. Alan Ladd’s first film for Universal after becoming a star. It was Akim Tamiroff’s first Hollywood film in three years.
May 8 – Iron Mountain Trail (USA)
- Cast: Rex Allen, Koko, Slim Pickens, Grant Withers, Nan Leslie, Roy Barcroft, Forrest Taylor, Al Bridge, John Hamilton, George Lloyd
- Director: William Witney
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
May 8 – Martin Luther (USA)
- Cast: Niall MacGinnis, John Ruddock, Pierre Lefevre, Guy Verney, Allastair Hunter, David Horne, Fred Johnson, Philip Leaver, Heinz Piper, Leonard White
- Director: Irving Pichel
- Production Company: RD-DR Productions, The Lutheran Church in America, Luther Filmgesellshaft, Louis De Rochemont Associates, distributed by Louis De Rochemont Associates
- Trivia: The National Board of Review named the film the fourth best of 1953. Oscar nominated for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), and Art Direction/Set Decoration (Black-and-White). The film was banned in Quebec, whose censorship board was made up entirely of French-speaking Catholics, because Luther’s radical teachings were as heretical in 1953 as they were in the 16th century. It was only screened there in the basements of Protestant churches.
May 8 – Serpent of the Nile (USA)
- Cast: Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Raymond Burr, Jean Byron, Michael Ansara, Michael Fox, Julie Newmar
- Director: William Castle
- Production Company: Sam Katzman Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Julie Newmar, in an early role, is billed as Julie Newmeyer. William Castle’s first film at Columbia. The film had been sold as ‘two years in the making’ when it was only talked about being made for two years. Castle stated the film’s tagline should have been ‘Two Years in the Talking. Fifteen Days in the Making.’ The film was shot on leftover sets from Columbia’s Salome.
May 8 – That Man from Tangier (USA)
- Cast: Nils Asther, Roland Young, Nancy Coleman, Sara Montiel, Margaret Wycherly, Sara Montiel
- Director: Luis María Delgado, Robert Elwyn
- Production Company: Chamartín Producciones y Distribuciones, Elemsee Overseas Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Final film of Roland Young.
1963
May 3 – Showdown (USA)
- Cast: Audie Murphy, Kathleen Crowley, Charles Drake, Harold J. Stone, Skip Homeier, L. Q. Jones, Strother Martin
- Director: R. G. Springsteen
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Originally known as The Iron Collar. The film was shot in black-and-white to save money, which infuriated Audie Murphy.
May 6 – 55 Days at Peking (UK)
- Cast: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson, John Ireland, Leo Genn, Harry Andrews, Robert Helpmann, Juzo Itami, Kurt Kasznar, Paul Lukas, Walter Gotell
- Director: Nicholas Ray
- Production Company: Samuel Bronston Productions, distributed by Allied Artists
- Trivia: Opened in the US on May 29, 1963. The film was primarily directed by Nicholas Ray, but Guy Green and Andrew Marton assumed some duties, uncredited, when Ray fell ill. Ava Gardner had become difficult during production — showing up late, disliking the script, drinking heavily — and her character was killed off. At the time of her death scene, she struggled to remember her lines, so Charlton Heston suggested they be given to Paul Lukas, who was playing a physician. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Original Song, ‘So Little Time’, and Best Music Score for Dimitri Tiomkin. The film features the first known occurrence of the phrase ‘Let China sleep. For when she wakes, the world will tremble’, which is often mistakenly attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. The phrase, however, did not appear in the novelization of the screenplay.
1973
May 3 – O Lucky Man! (UK)
- Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Ralph Richardson, Rachel Roberts, Arthur Lowe, Helen Mirren, Graham Crowden, Dandy Nichols, Peter Jeffrey, Mona Washbourne, Philip Stone
- Director: Lindsay Anderson
- Production Company: Memorial Enterprises, Sam, distributed by Columbia-Warner Distributors (UK), Warner Bros. Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US in general release on June 20, 1973. Malcolm McDowell reprises the role of Mick Travis, which he first played in Lindsay Anderson’s If… Britannia Hospital completes the Mick Travis trilogy. Fiona Lewis was originally cast in the role of Patricia, which was ultimately played by Helen Mirren.
May 3 – Something to Hide (UK)
- Cast: Peter Finch, Shelley Winters, Colin Blakely, John Stride, Linda Hayden, Harold Goldblatt, Rosemarie Dunham, Helen Fraser, Jack Shepherd, Graham Crowden
- Director: Alastair Reid
- Production Company: Avton Films, distributed by AVCO Embassy (UK), Atlantic Releasing Corporation (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US as Shattered in February 1976. Based on a 1963 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat.
May 6 – Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood (USA)
- Cast: Janine Carazo, Jerome Dempsey, Daniel Dietrich, Lenny Baker, Paul Hostetler, Betsy Henn, Chris Thomas, Hervé Villechaize, William Preston, James Lambert
- Director: Christopher Speeth
- Production Company: Windmill Films, distributed by International Coproductions
- Trivia: The only film made by Christopher Speeth and written by Werner Liepolt.
May 9 – Paper Moon (USA)
- Cast: Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, Burton Gilliam, P.J. Johnson, James N. Harrell, Noble Willingham, Randy Quaid, Hugh Gillin, Rose-Mary Rumbley
- Director: Peter Bogdanovich
- Production Company: The Directors Company, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted from the 1971 novel Addie Pray by Joe David Brown. Tatum O’Neal won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the youngest competitive winner in Academy history. She was competing against co-star Madeline Kahn. The film was also nominated for adapted screenplay and sound. It also received six Golden Globe nominations, winning Most Promising Newcomer — Female for O’Neal. The film was originally set up with John Huston directing, and Paul Newman starring with his daughter Nell Potts. When Huston left the project, Newman lost interest and withdrew. When Peter Bogdanovich decided to change the title from Addie Pray, he heard the song ‘It’s Only a Paper Moon’ and asked his friend Orson Welles about using it. Welles said the title was so good he shouldn’t bother making the film, just release the title. Bogdanovich had a picture of Tatum O’Neal’s Addie take in a paper moon solely so Paramount would allow him to use the title.
May 9 – Soylent Green (USA)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Cast: Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Brock Peters, Paula Kelly, Edward G. Robinson, Stephen Young, Joseph Cotten, Mike Henry, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Roy Jenson, Leonard Stone, Whit Bissell, Celia Lovsky, Dick Van Patten
- Director: Richard Fleischer
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Edward G. Robinson’s 101st and final film. Loosely based on the 1966 science-fiction novel Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. The title was not used for the film over concerns that audiences might be expecting a film version of Make Room for Daddy. The film is set in the year 1999. Robinson knew he was terminally ill while filming though the cast and crew did not. Charlton Heston said Robinson was a consummate professional, and that he was overwhelmingly moved playing the last scene with Robinson, as Robinson knew the scene, his death scene, would be the last acting he would ever do.
1983
May 5 – Savage Attraction (USA/AUS)
- Cast: Kerry Mack, Ralph Schicha, Michael Harrs, Clare Binney, Doris Goddard, Judy Nunn
- Director: Frank Shields
- Production Company: Frontier Films, Klejazz, distributed by Roadshow Films (AUS), New World Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Released in Australia as Hostage. Feature directoral debut of Frank Shields. Except for an establishing shots of Turkey (probably stock footage), all of the Turkish scenes were filmed in New South Wales.
May 6 – Doctor Detroit (USA)
- Cast: Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Fran Drescher, Donna Dixon, Lydia Lei, T. K. Carter, Lynn Whitfield, Kate Murtagh, George Furth, Nan Martin, Peter Aykroyd, Glenne Headly
- Director: Michael Pressman
- Production Company: Brillstein Company, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The first film Dan Aykroyd made after the death of John Belushi, and the first in which he does not share top billing with anyone else. Aykroyd and Donna Dixon married shortly after completing the film. A sequel is promised at the end of the film, but after poor box office returns Universal pulled the plug.
May 6 – Still Smokin (USA)
- Cast: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Hans Man, Carol van Herwijnen, Shireen Strooker, Susan Hahn, Arjan Ederveen
- Director: Tommy Chong
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Cheech and Chong Comedy Festival Number One, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The fifth of seven Cheech & Chong films.
1993
May 6 – Arizona Dream (Netherlands)
- Cast: Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Lili Taylor, Vincent Gallo, Paulina Porizkova, Michael J. Pollard
- Director: Emir Kusturica
- Production Company: Canal+, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Constellation, Hachette Première, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Union Générale Cinématographique
- Trivia: Originally opened in France on January 6, 1993. Opened in the US on September 9, 1994. The film’s first edit, titled American Dreams, came in at four hours. It was trimmed to 2 hours 22 minutes and retitled Arizona Dreams. Filming took a year to complete due to the director suffering a nervous breakdown. As a result, Johnny Depp’s hair length changes throughout the film. The music video for the 1991 Tom Petty song, ‘Into the Great Wide Open’, was shot during the filming of the movie.
May 6 – Shen Jing Dao yu Fei Tian Mao (Hong Kong)
- Cast: Tony Leung Ka-fai, Jacky Cheung, Jimmy Lin, Sharla Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Ng Man-tat, Gloria Yip, Chan Hung-lit, Kingdom Yuen, Yuen Cheung-yan
- Director: Kevin Chu
- Production Company: Chang Hong Channel Film & Video, distributed by Regal Films Distribution (Hong Kong), SYS Entertainment (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US in 1995 as Flying Dagger.
May 7 – American Heart (USA)
- Cast: Jeff Bridges, Edward Furlong, Lucinda Jenney, Tracey Kapisky, Don Harvey
- Director: Martin Bell
- Production Company: Avenue Pictures, World Films, Asis Films, Rosilyn Heller Productions, American Heart Productions, Island World, Live Entertainment, distributed by Triton Pictures
- Trivia: Elements of the screenplay were based on material originally covered in Martin Bell’s documentary film Streetwise. Edward Furlong was cast before the release of his debut film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards including Best First Feature for Martin Bell, Best Supporting Female for Lucinda Jenney, Best Supporting Male for Edward Furlong, and Best Cinematography for James R. Bagdonas. The film won for Best Male Lead for Jeff Bridges.
May 7 – Dave (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, Charles Grodin, Faith Prince, Laura Linney, Tom Dugan, Stephen Root, Ralph Manza, Bonnie Hunt, Anna Deavere Smith, Charles Hallahan, Stefan Gierasch
- Director: Ivan Reitman
- Production Company: Northern Lights Entertainment, Donner/Shuler-Donner, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Many political figures of the time, including Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, and media personalities — among them Larry King, Jay Leno, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ben Stein and Oliver Stone — make cameo appearances. NBC prohibited Andrea Mitchell from making a planned appearance in the film. Michael Keaton had briefly been cast as Dave but had to drop out.
May 7 – Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (USA)
- Cast: Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly, Robert Wagner, Michael Learned, Nancy Kwan, Lim Kay-tong, Ric Young, Luoyong Wang, Sterling Macer, Sven-Ole Thorsen
- Director: Rob Cohen
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based primarily on Linda Lee Cadwell’s 1975 biography Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew. The Green Hornet star Van Williams appears as the director of The Green Hornet. Rob Cohen appears as the director of Enter the Dragon. The film was dedicated to Bruce Lee’s son Brandon, who died on the set of The Crow several weeks before the film was released. Permission to film in Seattle was denied, so events in Bruce Lee’s life that occured in Seattle were merged with events that took place in California. Director Rob Cohen suffered a heart attack on February 6, 1992 and filming was delayed for a month. Filming in Hong Kong was also delayed when a typhoon hit, bringing the area’s heaviest rainfall in decades. Some scenes set in San Francisco were filmed in Hong Kong, and some scenes in Hong Kong were filmed in California.
May 7 – Kino (Mexico)
- Cast: Enrique Rocha, Rodolfo de Anda, Manuel Ojeda, Aarón Hernán, Leonardo Daniel, Álvaro Carcaño, Max Kerlow
- Director: Felipe Cazals
- Production Company: Cineclipse, Fondo de Fomento a la Calidad Cinematográfica, Gobierno del Estado de Sonora, Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, Una Productora Mas S.A de C.V.
- Trivia: No US release.
2003
May 8 – Alexandra’s Project (AUS)
- Cast: Gary Sweet, Helen Buday, Bogdan Koca, Jack Christie, Samantha Knigge, Eileen Darley, Geoff Revell, Philip Spruce, Nathan O’Keefe, Peter Greena
- Director: Rolf de Heer
- Production Company: Vertigo Productions, Fandango Australia, Palace Films (AUS)
- Trivia: Released in the US on December 19, 2003. Rolf De Heer originally wanted to make the film so he could use a single location and use up various fragments of ideas he had accumulated.
May 9 – A Mighty Wind (USA)
- Cast: Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge
- Director: Christopher Guest
- Production Company: Castle Rock Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer first appeared as The Folksmen in a season 10 episode of Saturday Night Live. Guest and Shearer were then cast members, and McKean was the week’s guest host. The Folksmen later appeared in Spinal Tap’s 1992 TV special, The Return of Spinal Tap (that group was also played by the three actors). ‘A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow’, written by McKean and his wife Annette O’Toole, received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Following the release of the film, the cast performed in character at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, followed by a seven-city tour.
May 9 – Daddy Day Care (USA)
- Cast: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, Anjelica Huston, Khamani Griffin, Kevin Nealon, Jonathan Katz, Lacey Chabert
- Director: Steve Carr
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios, Davis Entertainment, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: When Marvin drops the crates of snacks and falls over the gate of the new day-care center, Steve Zahn fractured his wrist. His final scenes were edited out because he needed a cast.
2013
May 3 – All Stars (UK)
- Cast: Theo Stevenson, Akai, Ashley Jensen, Fleur Houdijk, Dominic Herman-Day, Amelia Clarkson, Gamal Toseafa, Summer Davies, Kimberley Walsh, Kieran Lai
- Director: Ben Gregor
- Production Company: SquareOne Entertainment, Universum Film, Vertigo Films, Protagonist Pictures, Freeway CAM B.V., distributed by Vertigo Films (UK)
- Trivia: Released to DVD in the US on March 11, 2014.
May 3 – Bicycling with Molière (Canada)
- Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Lambert Wilson, Maya Sansa, Camille Japy, Josiane Stoléru
- Director: Philippe Le Guay
- Production Company: Les Films des Tournelles, Pathé, Appaloosa Développement, France 2 Cinéma, Soficinéma 8, France Télévisions, Canal+, Ciné+, Département de la Charente-Maritime, Région Poitou-Charentes, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, distributed by Pathé (France), Strand Releasing (USA)
- Trivia: Originally opened in France and Belgium as Alceste à bicyclette on January 16, 2013. Released in the US on April 23, 2014 in a limited capacity.
May 3 – Bombay Talkies (USA)
- Cast: Rani Mukerji, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Naman Jain, Ranvir Shorey, Swati Das, Vineet Kumar Singh, Sudhir Pandey, Amitabh Bachchan
- Director: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap
- Production Company: Flying Unicorn Entertainment, distributed by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
- Trivia: The film was released to coincide with and celebrate the 100th year of Indian cinema and the beginning of a new era in modern cinema.
May 3 – Caroline and Jackie (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Marguerite Moreau, Bitsie Tulloch, David Giuntoli, Valerie Azlynn, Jason Gray-Stanford, David Fuit
- Director: Adam Christian Clark
- Production Company: Blueberry Films, distributed by Phase 4 Films
May 3 – Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla (Mexico)
- Cast: Christian Vázquez, Kuno Bécker, Liz Gallardo, William Miller, Javier Oliván, Jose Carlos Montes Roldán, Álvaro García Trujillo, Mauricio Isaac, Ginés García Millán, Angélica Aragón
- Director: Rafa Lara
- Production Company: Estudios Splendor Omnia, Gala Films, distributed by Videocine
- Trivia: The film was released in the US by Pantelion Films but no date is known.
May 3 – Dead Man’s Burden (USA)
- Cast: Barlow Jacobs, Clare Bowen, David Call, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Richard Riehle, Jerry Clarke, Adam O’Byrne, Travis Hammer, Luce Rains, William Sterchi
- Director: Jared Moshe
- Production Company: Illuminaria Productions, Stick! Pictures, distributed by Cinedigm Entertainment Group
- Trivia: On a low budget, director Jared Moshe could not afford a storyboard artist to plan the film so he studied other Western films for inspiration.
May 3 – Desperate Acts of Magic (USA)
- Cast: Joe Tyler Gold, Valerie Dillman, Jonathan Levit, Sascha Alexander, John Getz, Stephen Wastell, William Salyers, Jordi Caballero, Hiawatha Johnson Jr., Tammy Caplan
- Director: Tammy Caplan, Joe Tyler Gold
- Production Company: Gold Cap Films
May 3 – Free the Mind (USA, documentary)
- Cast: Richard J. Davidson, Emma Seppala, John Osborne, Deborah Alagna, Stephen Lee, Ayumi Lee, Richard Low
- Director: Phie Ambo
- Production Company: Danmarks Radio, Making Movies Oy, Special Broadcasting Service, Sveriges Television, Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep, Yleisradio, distributed by International Film Circuit
- Trivia: Originally opened in Denmark on June 6, 2012.
May 3 – Generation Um… (USA, limited)
- Cast: Keanu Reeves, Adelaide Clemens, Bojana Novakovic, Daniel Sunjata, Sarita Choudhury, Jonny Orsini, Jake Hoffman, Karen Olivo, Ashley Austin Morris, Ruby Lynn Reyner
- Director: Mark L Mann
- Production Company: Company Films, Voltage Pictures, distributed by Phase 4 Films
May 3 – Greetings from Tim Buckley (USA)
- Cast: Penn Badgley, Ben Rosenfield, Imogen Poots, Frank Wood, Norbert Leo Butz, Frank Bello, Jennifer Turner
- Director: Daniel Algrant
- Production Company: Tribeca Film, distributed by Focus World
- Trivia: Some scenes were shot at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn where Buckley’s actual gig occurred back in 1991. Music used in the film comes from the Tim Buckley estate, except Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, which Jeff Buckley covered on his only studio album, 1994’s Grace. Penn Badgley performed all of his singing scenes live.
May 3 – Iron Man 3 (USA)
Marvel Studios
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, William Sadler, Miguel Ferrer, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, Paul Bettany, Adam Pally, Dale Dickey, Jenna Ortega
- Director: Shane Black
- Production Company: Marvel Studios, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
- Trivia: Seventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first film in Phase Two of the MCU. Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a beauty pageant judge. A cut of the film released exclusively in China features an appearance by Fan Bingbing. Mark Ruffalo makes an uncredited appearance in the post-credits scene. Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, George Kotsiopoulos, Josh Elliott, Megan Henderson, Pat Kiernan, and Thomas Roberts cameo as themselves. An extended version of the film specifically for Chinese audiences was created. Filming in China did not include the main cast or crew. The film earned an Oscar and BAFTA nomination for Best Visual Effects. Anthony Mackie had auditioned for the role of the film’s villain. Jessica Chastain was in talks for a role in the film but had to bow out due to scheduling issues. The role went to Rebecca Hall. Emilia Clarke was cast for an unknown role that was dropped after the script changed. The film’s working title was Caged Heat, to throw off curious onlookers on set in Wilmington, North Carolina. Guy Pearce’s character was originally meant to die, but during the editing process he was kept alive with new material filmed during reshoots.
May 3 – Kiss of the Damned (USA)
- Cast: Josephine de La Baume, Milo Ventimiglia, Roxane Mesquida, Anna Mouglalis, Michael Rapaport, Peter Vack, Riley Keough
- Director: Xan Cassavetes
- Production Company: Deerjen Films, Verisimilitude, Bersin Pictures, Venture Forth, distributed by Magnet Releasing
- Trivia: Tilda Swinton was originally considered to play Xenia. Various crew members appear as extras in this film. Xan Cassavetes and the three main cast members all lived together in the house used as Djuna’s home throughout the shooting of the movie.
May 3 – Love Is All You Need (USA, limited)
- Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Trine Dyrholm, Kim Bodnia, Paprika Steen, Micky Skeel Hansen, Bodil Jørgensen, Line Kruse
- Director: Susanne Bier
- Production Company: Zentropa Productions, Arte, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
- Trivia: Originally opened in Denmark as Den skaldede frisør on September 6, 2012.
May 3 – Robosapien: Rebooted (UK)
- Cast: Bobby Coleman, Holliston Coleman, Penelope Ann Miller, David Eigenberg, Joaquim de Almeida, Kim Coates, Buddy Lewis, Jae Head, Peter Jason, Billy Slaughter
- Director: Sean McNamara
- Production Company: Arad Productions, Arc Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Circle Productions, Crystal Sky Pictures, Hot Sets, distributed by Anchor Bay Films (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on May 28, 2013. Also known as Cody the Robosapien. Based on the toy Robosapien. The film was originally scheduled for release in 2009.
May 3 – Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s (USA, documentary)
- Cast: Linda Fargo, Tom Ford, Iris Apfel, Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Manolo Blahnik, David Hoey, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Kors, Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Patricia Field, Betty Halbreich, Candice Bergen
- Director: Matthew Miele
- Production Company: Berney Films, Quixotic Endeavors, distributed by Entertainment One
May 3 – Shootout at Wadala (USA)
- Cast: John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Tusshar Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee, Sonu Sood, Akbar Khan, Ronit Roy, Mahesh Manjrekar, Siddhanth Kapoor
- Director: Sanjay Gupta
- Production Company: Balaji Motion Pictures, White Feather Films, distributed by Eros International
- Trivia: Prequel to the 2007 film Shootout at Lokhandwala. Based on the book Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia by Hussain Zaidi.
May 3 – Something In The Air (USA, limited)
- Cast: Clément Métayer, Lola Créton, Félix Armand, Carole Combes, India Menuez, Hugo Conzelmann, Martin Loizillon, André Marcon
- Director: Olivier Assayas
- Production Company: MK2 Productions, France 3 Cinéma, Vortex Sutra, Canal+, Ciné+, La Région Île-de-France, France Télévisions, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, La Banque Postale Images 5, distributed by MK2 Diffusion (France), IFC Films (USA)
- Trivia: Originally opened in Belgium and France on November 14, 2012 under the title Après mai.
May 3 – The Happy House (USA, limited)
- Cast: Khan Baykal, Aya Cash, Marceline Hugot, Kathleen McNenny, Oliver Henzler, Mike Houston, Charles Borland, Stivi Paskoski, Curtis Shumaker
- Director: D. W. Young
- Production Company: Wild Emperor Productions, Happy House Productions, distributed by First Run Features
May 3 – The Iceman (USA)
- Cast: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, James Franco, David Schwimmer, Stephen Dorff, Erin Cummings
- Director: Ariel Vromen
- Production Company: Bleiberg Entertainment, Rabbit Bandini Productions, distributed by Millennium Entertainment
- Trivia: Loosely based on hitman Richard Kuklinski.
May 3 – What Maisie Knew (USA)
- Cast: Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Onata Aprile, Steve Coogan, Joanna Vanderham
- Director: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
- Production Company: Red Crown Productions, Dreambridge Films, Fortissimo Films, Prospero Pictures, distributed by Millennium Entertainment
- Trivia: Modern adaptation of Henry James’ 1897 novel What Maisie Knew. The script was written in 1995 but languished in development hell. Six-year-old Onata Aprile auditioned late in the process for the role of Maisie, and was cast three weeks before production began. While shooting one of the film’s final scenes, Aprile fell asleep and could not be woken up, causing the scene to be postponed for two weeks.
May 8 – One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das (USA, documentary)
- Cast: Krishna Das, Rick Rubin, Daniel Goleman, Sharon Salzberg, Dr. Larry Brilliant, Jason Becker, Jai Uttal, Wah!, Lama Surya Das, David Nichtern, Sharon Gannon, David Life
- Director: Jeremy Frindel
- Production Company: Substratum Films, distributed by Zeitgeist Films
May 9 – Hummingbird (Hungary)
- Cast: Jason Statham, Agata Buzek, Christian Brassington, Vicky McClure, Benedict Wong, Ger Ryan, Danny Webb
- Director: Steven Knight
- Production Company: Lionsgate, IM Global, Shoebox Films, Hummingbird Film Investments, Longhouse Media, distributed by Big Bang Media (Hungary), Roadside Attractions (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in limited US release as Redemption on June 28, 2013. It was released in France as Crazy Joe. The film was shot almost entirely at night.
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