Warner Bros. Pictures
Another week with a large number of releases, quite of few of them receiving awards recognition with nominations and wins. 1933 included two films with actresses who hated their films. 1943 had a six-time Oscar nominee with one win, and gave us the second Looney Tunes short in Technicolor. 1953 featured a popular actress’ final film performance, but why she quit acting is the surprise. 1963 gave us a movie based on a novel which laid the groundwork for a popular 1970s TV series. 1973 saw one actress crowned the queen of her genre, and produced another awards worthy film. 1983 had a not-very-well received US adaptation of a French classic, while 1993 had the first film to use a digital editing system. 2003 brought Neo back for a second film, and had a film that spoofed romantic comedies of the 1960s. And 2013 gave us another adaptation of a literary classic — in 3D — and ventured back into the final frontier — in 3D! Read about these films and more and tell us if your favorites are celebrating anniversaries this week.
1923
May 10 – The Broken Violin (USA)
- Cast: Dorothy Mackaill, Reed Howes, Zena Keefe, Warren Cook, Joseph Blake, Henry Sedley, Sydney Deane, Rita Rogan, J.H. Lewis, Gladden James, Edward Roseman
- Director: John Francis Dillon
- Production Company: Atlantic Features, distributed by Arrow Film Corporation
May 11 – Youthful Cheaters (USA)
- Cast: William Calhoun, Glenn Hunter, Martha Mansfield, Marie Burke, Nona Marden, Dwight Wiman
- Director: Frank Tuttle
- Production Company: Film Guild, distributed by W. W. Hodkinson Corporation
- Trivia: This film is considered lost.
May 13 – Sixty Cents an Hour (USA)
- Cast: Walter Hiers, Jacqueline Logan, Ricardo Cortez, Charles Stanton Ogle, Lucille Ward, Robert Dudley, Clarence Burton, Guy Oliver, Cullen Tate
- Director: Joseph Henabery
- Production Company: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Ricardo Cortez’s first credited film role.
May 13 – Stepping Fast (USA)
- Cast: Tom Mix, Claire Adams, Donald MacDonald, Hector V. Sarno, Edward Peil Sr., George Siegmann, Tom Guise, Edward Jobson, Ethel Wales
- Director: Joseph Franz
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
May 13 – The Remittance Woman (USA)
- Cast: Ethel Clayton, Rockliffe Fellowes, Mario Carillo, Frank Lanning, Tom Wilson, Etta Lee, James B. Leong, Edward Kimball, Toyo Fujita
- Director: Wesley Ruggles
- Production Company: Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation, distributed by Film Booking Offices of America
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
May 13 – The Rustle of Silk (USA)
- Cast: Betty Compson, Conway Tearle, Cyril Chadwick, Anna Q. Nilsson, Leo White, Charles A. Stevenson, Tempe Pigott, Frederick Esmelton, Dawn O’Day
- Director: Herbert Brenon
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1922 novel by writer Cosmo Hamilton. The film is considered lost.
May 14 – Crossed Wires (USA)
- Cast: Gladys Walton, George Stewart, Tom Guise, Lillian Langdon, William Robert Daly, Kate Price, Eddie Gribbon
- Director: King Baggot
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
1933
May 12 – Diplomaniacs (USA)
- Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Marjorie White, Phyllis Barry, Louis Calhern, Hugh Herbert, Edgar Kennedy, Richard Carle, William Irving, Neely Edwards
- Director: William A. Seiter
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: The film is preserved in the Library of Congress. It was the 12th of 21 Wheeler and Woolsey films.
May 12 – Supernatural (USA)
- Cast: Carole Lombard, Alan Dinehart, Vivienne Osborne, Randolph Scott, H. B. Warner, Beryl Mercer, William Farnum, Willard Robertson
- Director: Victor Halperin
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film was the followup to Victor Halperin’s White Zombie and uses many members of the crew from that film in its production. Filming was temporarily interrupted by the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Halperin wanted to cast Madge Bellamy in the lead role but the studio insisted on Carole Lombard, who resented the role as she felt better suited to comedy.
May 12 – The Barbarian (USA)
- Cast: Ramon Novarro, Myrna Loy, Reginald Denny, Louise Closser Hale, C. Aubrey Smith, Edward Arnold, Blanche Friderici, Marcelle Corday, Hedda Hopper, Leni Stengel
- Director: Sam Wood
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Also known as A Night in Cairo. Based on the 1911 play The Arab by Edgar Selwyn, which had previously been filmed as The Arab (1924), also with Ramon Novarro.
May 13 – Lilly Turner (USA)
- Cast: Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Robert Barrat, Ruth Donnelly, Marjorie Gateson, Gordon Westcott, Arthur Vinton, Grant Mitchell, Margaret Seddon, Mae Busch
- Director: William A. Wellman
- Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by The Vitaphone Corporation
- Trivia: Based on the 1932 play of the same name by Phillip Dunning and George Abbott.
May 14 – A Study in Scarlet (USA)
- Cast: Reginald Owen, Anna May Wong, June Clyde, Alan Dinehart, John Warburton, Alan Mowbray, Warburton Gamble, J. M. Kerrigan, Wyndham Standing, Billy Bevan
- Director: Edwin L. Marin
- Production Company: KBS Productions, distributed by Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: Based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1887 novel of the same name, the first in the Holmes series, but the screenplay by Robert Florey was original.
May 14 – The Lone Avenger (USA)
- Cast: Ken Maynard, Muriel Gordon, James Marcus, Alan Bridge, Niles Welch, William Bailey, Charles King, Ed Brady, Jack Rockwell, Clarence Geldart
- Director: Alan James
- Production Company: K.B.S. Productions Inc., distributed by Sono Art-World Wide Pictures
- Trivia: The film was remade in 1943 as Sagebrush Law.
May 15 – Ex-Lady (USA)
- Cast: Bette Davis, Gene Raymond, Kay Strozzi, Monroe Owsley, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Alphonse Ethier, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Bodil Rosing
- Director: Robert Florey
- Production Company: Vitaphone, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Remake of the Barbara Stanwyck film Illicit (1931). The prologue to the 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? includes a scene from Ex-Lady as an example of former child star Jane Hudson’s failure to achieve screen success as an adult due to her lack of talent. Bette Davis called the film a ‘piece of junk’ and hated the Hollywood glamor girl makeover she was given for the film.
May 15 – Trouble Busters (USA)
- Cast: Jack Hoxie, Lane Chandler, Kaye Edwards, Harry Todd, Ben Corbett, Slim Whitaker, William P. Burt, Roger Williams
- Director: Lewis D. Collins
- Production Company: Larry Darmour Productions, distributed by Majestic Pictures
- Trivia: Final film of Jack Hoxie.
May 16 – Trailing North (USA)
- Cast: Bob Steele, Doris Hill, Arthur Rankin, George Hayes, Norman Fensier, Fred Burns, Frances Morris
- Director: John P. McCarthy
- Production Company: Monogram Pictures
1943
May 10 – A Gentle Gangster (USA)
- Cast: Molly Lamont, Barton MacLane, Dick Wessel, Joyce Compton, Jack La Rue, Cy Kendall, Rosella Towne, Ray Teal
- Director: Phil Rosen
- Production Company: Supreme Pictures, distributed by Republic Pictures
- Trivia: Final film of Rosella Towne.
May 10 – West of Texas (USA)
- Cast: Dave O’Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Frances Gladwin, Henry Hall, Marilyn Hare, Robert Barron, Jack Ingram, Jack Rockwell, Tom London, Art Fowler
- Director: Oliver Drake
- Production Company: Alexander-Stern Productions, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Third of 22 ‘Texas Rangers’ films.
May 13 – The More the Merrier (USA)
- Cast: Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Richard Gaines, Bruce Bennett, Frank Sully, Don Douglas, Clyde Fillmore, Stanley Clements
- Director: George Stevens
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Received six Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Jean Arthur), Best Writing (Original Story), Best Writing (Screenplay), and Best Supporting Actor (Charles Coburn, who won the award). The film was remade in 1966 as Don’t Walk.
May 14 – Bombardier (USA)
- Cast: Brig. Gen. Eugene L. Eubank, Pat O’Brien, Randolph Scott, Anne Shirley, Eddie Albert, Walter Reed, Robert Ryan, Barton MacLane, Leonard Strong, Richard Martin
- Director: Richard Wallace
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Oscar nominated for Best Special Effects.
May 14 – Buckskin Frontier (USA)
- Cast: Richard Dix, Jane Wyatt, Albert Dekker, Lee J. Cobb, Victor Jory, Lola Lane, Max Baer, Joe Sawyer, Harry Allen, Francis McDonald, George Reeves, Bill Nestell
- Director: Lesley Selander
- Production Company: Harry Sherman Productions, distributed by United Artists
May 14 – I Escaped from the Gestapo (USA)
- Cast: Dean Jagger, John Carradine, Mary Brian, Bill Henry, Sidney Blackmer, Ian Keith, Anthony Ward, Edward Keane, Billy Marshall, Norman Willis
- Director: Harold Young
- Production Company: King Brothers Productions, distributed by Monogram Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as No Escape. Frances Farmer appears in an uncredited role, however she was accused of assaulting a hairdresser and forced to leave the set.
May 14 – Western Cyclone (USA)
- Cast: Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Marjorie Manners, Karl Hackett, Milton Kibbee, Glenn Strange, Charles King, Hal Price, Kermit Maynard, Jack Ingram
- Director: Sam Newfield
- Production Company: Sigmund Neufeld Productions, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Tenth film in the ‘Billy the Kid’ series. The 62 minute film was re-edited to 39 minutes for re-release under the title Frontier Fighters.
May 15 – Days of Old Cheyenne (USA)
- Cast: Don ‘Red’ Barry, Lynn Merrick, William Haade, Emmett Lynn, Herbert Rawlinson, Charles Miller, William Ruhl, Harry McKim, Bob Kortman, Nolan Leary, Kenne Duncan
- Director: Elmer Clifton
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
May 15 – Yankee Doodle Daffy (USA, short)
- Voice Cast: Mel Blanc, Ken Bennett
- Director: I. Freleng
- Production Company: Leon Schlesinger Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The second Technicolor Looney Tunes short to feature Porky Pig and Daffy Duck.
1953
May 10 – Rebel City (USA)
- Cast: Wild Bill Elliott, Marjorie Lord, Robert Kent, Keith Richards, I. Stanford Jolley, Denver Pyle, Henry Rowland, John Crawford, Otto Waldis, Stanley Price
- Director: Thomas Carr
- Production Company: Silvermine Productions, distributed by Allied Artists
May 13 – Law and Order (USA)
- Cast: Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone, Preston Foster, Alex Nicol, Ruth Hampton, Russell Johnson, Barry Kelley, Chubby Johnson, Jack Kelly, Dennis Weaver
- Director: Nathan Juran
- Production Company: Universal International Pictures, distributed by Universal Pictures
May 13 – The Girl Next Door (USA)
- Cast: Dan Dailey, June Haver, Dennis Day, Billy Gray, Cara Williams, Natalie Schafer, Clinton Sundberg, Hayden Rorke
- Director: Richard Sale
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: June Haver’s last film before entering a convent in 1952. She left the convent six months later and married Fred MacMurray.
May 15 – Phantom from Space (USA)
- Cast: Ted Cooper, Noreen Nash, Tom Daly, Steve Acton, Burt Wenland, Lela Nelson, Harry Landers, Burt Arnold, Sandy Sanders, Harry Strang, Jim Bannon
- Director: W. Lee Wilder
- Production Company: Planet Filmplays, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Stock footage of radar rigs was also used in Killers from Space (1954).
May 15 – Remains to Be Seen (USA)
- Cast: June Allyson, Van Johnson, Louis Calhern, Angela Lansbury, John Beal, Dorothy Dandridge, Barry Kelley, Sammy White, Kathryn Card, Paul Harvey, Helene Millard, Peter Chong, Charles Lane
- Director: Don Weis
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Based on the 1951 Broadway play Remains to Be Seen by Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay.
May 15 – Savage Frontier (USA)
- Cast: Allan Lane, Black Jack, Eddy Waller, Bob Steele, Dorothy Patrick, Roy Barcroft, Richard Avonde, William Phipps, Jimmy Hawkins, Lane Bradford
- Director: Harry Keller
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
1963
May 15 – Black Zoo (USA)
- Cast: Michael Gough, Jeanne Cooper, Rod Lauren, Virginia Grey, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook Jr., Edward Platt
- Director: Robert Gordon
- Production Company: Herman Cohen Productions, distributed by Allied Artists Pictures
- Trivia: The entire zoo seen in the picture was an interior set built at Raleigh Studio in Hollywood. Producer Herman Cohen did not like the title, preferring Horrors of the Black Zoo (which is similar to his previous film with Michael Gough, Horrors of the Black Museum).
May 15 – Drums of Africa (USA)
- Cast: Frankie Avalon, Mariette Hartley, Lloyd Bochner, Torin Thatcher, Hari Rhodes, George Sawaya, Michael Pate, Ron Whelan, Peter Mamakos
- Director: James B. Clark
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Footage from the 1950 film of King Solomon’s Mines is reused. The film’s working title was African Adventure.
May 15 – The Yellow Canary (USA)
- Cast: Pat Boone, Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest, Jack Klugman, Jesse White, Steve Harris, Milton Selzer, Jeff Corey, Harold Gould, John Banner
- Director: Buzz Kulik
- Production Company: Cooga Monga Productions, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: Adapted by Rod Serling from a novel by Whit Masterson. Because of cost over-runs on Fox’s Cleopatra, the film was shut down and turned over to Robert Lippert’s Associated Producers Inc. which specialized in low-budget films for Fox. Though the studio was financially committed to Serling, Pat Boone, Barbara Eden and Steve Forrest, Lippert received $100,000 to finish the film on a shortened schedule.
May 16 – Spencer’s Mountain (USA)
Warner Bros. Pictures
- Cast: Henry Fonda, Maureen O’Hara, James MacArthur, Donald Crisp, Wally Cox, Mimsy Farmer, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Bronson, Whit Bissell, Hayden Rorke
- Director: Delmer Daves
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Earl Hamner Jr., and was a forerunner to Hamner’s TV series The Waltons. The film’s location was switched from the novel’s Appalachian Mountains of Virginia to Wyoming’s Teton Range to get more imposing mountains to emphasize the characters’ isolation and struggles. Veronica Cartwright, Barbara McNair, Mike Henry, and Victor French appear in uncredited roles.
1973
May 10 – The Sabbat of the Black Cat (AUS)
- Cast: Ralph Lawrence Marsden, Barbara Brighton, Babylon, Tracey Tombs, David Bingham, Jim Fitch
- Director: Ralph Lawrence Marsden
- Production Company: Ralph Lawrence Marsden
May 11 – Coffy (USA)
- Cast: Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig, Barry Cahill, Lee de Broux
- Director: Jack Hill
- Production Company: American International Pictures
- Trivia: This was the third Jack Hill film to star Pam Grier. The film was created after AIP head Larry Gordon lost the rights to Cleopatra Jones and approached Jack Hill to quickly make a movie about an African-American woman’s revenge and beat Cleopatra Jones to the screen. It made more money than Cleopatra Jones and made Grier an icon of the Blaxploitation genre.
May 11 – The Harrad Experiment (USA)
- Cast: James Whitmore, Tippi Hedren, Don Johnson, B. Kirby Jr., Laurie Walters, Victoria Thompson, Elliott Street, Robert Middleton, Billy Sands
- Director: Ted Post
- Production Company: Cinema Arts Productions, distributed by Cinerama Releasing
- Trivia: Based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Robert Rimmer. The screenplay was written by Ted Cassidy, better known as Lurch on The Addams Family. Cassidy, Gregory Harrison, Melody Patterson, Melanie Griffith, and the members of Ace Trucking Company, including Fred Willard and Bill Saluga, appear uncredited.
May 12 – El gran amor del conde Drácula (Spain)
- Cast: Paul Naschy, Rosanna Yanni, Haydée Politoff, Mirta Miller, Ingrid Garbo, Víctor Alcázar
- Director: Javier Aguirre
- Production Company: Janus Films, distributed by Castilla Films (Spain), International Amusements Corp. (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US in March 1974 as Count Dracula’s Great Love, and re-released in 1979 as Cemetery Girls. The film was heavily edited in the UK from 83 to 66 minutes and titled Dracula’s Virgin Lovers. An uncut version of the film was released on Blu-ray. The film was plagued with injuries and production was halted so Haydee Politoff could recover from a head injury sustained in a car accident. In the meantime, Paul Naschy and Javier Aguirre went to work on The Hunchback of the Morgue, and completed that film by the time Politoff was able to return to work.
May 13 – That’ll Be The Day (UK)
- Cast: David Essex, Ringo Starr, Rosemary Leach, James Booth, Billy Fury, Rosalind Ayres, Keith Moon, Robert Lindsay
- Director: Claude Whatham
- Production Company: Goodtimes Enterprises, distributed by Anglo-EMI Film Distributors (UK), Mayfair (USA)
- Trivia: First released in the US on October 29, 1973. The film was successful enough that a sequel, Stardust, was released in 1974. David Essex was starring in a West End production of Godspell when he was cast in the film, and was given a seven week break from the show to do the film.
May 16 – Terror in the Wax Museum (USA)
- Cast: Ray Milland, Elsa Lanchester, Maurice Evans, John Carradine, Louis Hayward, Patric Knowles, Broderick Crawford, Shani Wallis, Mark Edwards, Lisa Lu
- Director: Georg Fenady
- Production Company: Andrew J. Fenady Productions, Bing Crosby Productions, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Final film of Louis Hayward. The film was shot back-to-back with Arnold (1973) with some of the same actors including Elsa Lanchester and Patric Knowles.
May 16 – The Day of the Jackal (USA)
- Cast: Edward Fox, Michel Lonsdale, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair, Alan Badel, Tony Britton, Derek Jacobi, Denis Carey, Cyril Cusack
- Director: Fred Zinnemann
- Production Company: Warwick Film Productions, Universal Productions France, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. The film won the BAFTA for editing and received five other nominations, plus two Golden Globe and one Oscar nomination. Howard Vernon appears in an uncredited role. Universal wanted a major American star to play Jackal, auditioning Robert Redford and Jack Nicholson, but Fred Zinneman got a production agreement that stipulated only European actors would be cast. Adrien Cayla-Legrand, the actor who played Charles de Gaulle, was mistaken by several Parisians for the real de Gaulle during filming -— though de Gaulle had been dead for two years prior to the film’s release. A sequence filmed during a real parade led to confusion among spectators — unaware a film was being made — who tried to help the fictional police officers arrest the suspects they were apprehending in the crowd.
May 16 – The Soul of Nigger Charley (USA)
- Cast: Fred Williamson, D’Urville Martin, Denise Nicholas, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Kirk Calloway, George Allen, Kevin Hagen, Nai Bonet, Richard Farnsworth
- Director: Larry Spangler
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Sequel to 1972’s The Legend of Nigger Charley. Richard Farnsworth was credited as Dick Farnsworth.
1983
May 12 – Secrets (UK)
- Cast: Helen Lindsay, John Horsley, Anna Jones, Daisy Cockburn, Rebecca Johnson, Lucy Goode, Richard Tolan, Carol Gillies, Jane Briers
- Director: Gavin Millar
- Production Company: Enigma Productions, Goldcrest Films International, distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company
- Trivia: Released in the US on August 17, 1984. Originally shown as part of David Puttnam’s Channel 4 anthology series First Love.
May 13 – Breathless (USA)
Breathless Associates
- Cast: Richard Gere, Valérie Kaprisky, Art Metrano, John P. Ryan, Robert Dunn, Lisa Persky, James Hong, Georg Olden, Miguel Pinero, Sunny Ade
- Director: Jim McBride
- Production Company: Breathless Associates, Cinema ’84, Miko Productions, distributed by Orion Pictures
- Trivia: Remake of the 1960 French film of the same name directed by Jean-Luc Godard and written by Godard and François Truffaut.
1993
May 13 – The Trial (Germany)
- Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Anthony Hopkins, Jason Robards, Juliet Stevenson, Polly Walker, Alfred Molina, David Thewlis, Michael Kitchen
- Director: David Jones
- Production Company: British Broadcasting Corporation, Europanda Entertainment, distributed by Angelika Films (USA)
- Trivia: Received a general US release in April 1994. Based on Harold Pinter’s screenplay adaptation of Franz Kafka’s 1925 novel The Trial.
May 14 – Excessive Force (USA, limited)
- Cast: Thomas Ian Griffith, Charlotte Lewis, Lance Henriksen, James Earl Jones, Tony Todd, Tom Hodges, Danny Goldring, Ian Gomez, Burt Young
- Director: Jon Hess
- Production Company: 3 Arts Entertainment, Ian Page Productions, distributed by New Line Cinema
- Trivia: New Line Cinema hoped the film would make Thomas Ian Griffith a star similar to Warner Bros’ Steven Seagal.
May 14 – Lost in Yonkers (USA)
- Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Mercedes Ruehl, Irene Worth, Mike Damus, Brad Stoll, David Strathairn, Robert Guy Miranda
- Director: Martha Coolidge
- Production Company: Rastar, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Film adaptation of Neil Simon’s 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The first theatrical feature film to be edited on Avid Media Composer.
May 14 – Posse (USA)
- Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Stephen Baldwin, Billy Zane, Tone-Lōc, Melvin Van Peebles, Tiny Lister, Big Daddy Kane, Reginald VelJohnson, Blair Underwood, Isaac Hayes, Charles Lane, Robert Hooks, Richard Jordan, Pam Grier, Nipsey Russell, Paul Bartel, Salli Richardson, Woody Strode, Aaron Neville , Reginald Hudlin, Stephen J. Cannell, Faizon Love
- Director: Mario Van Peebles
- Production Company: Working Title Films, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, distributed by Gramercy Pictures
- Trivia: The first film to be released by Gramercy Pictures.
May 14 – Red Rock West (Italy)
- Cast: Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle, J.T. Walsh, Dwight Yoakam, Timothy Carhart, Dan Shor
- Director: John Dahl
- Production Company: Propaganda Films, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, distributed by Roxie Releasing (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on April 8, 1994. John Dahl wanted Dennis Hopper to play Wayne Brown, but Hopper insisted on playing Lyle from Dallas. Producers were eventually thrilled with the result.
May 16 – Breakfast of Aliens (USA)
- Cast: Vic Dunlop, Donald Gibb, Indy Shriner, Johnny Dark, Murray Langston
- Director: David Lee Miller
- Production Company: DVB
- Trivia: The film’s original title was What’s Happening to Walter.
2003
May 15 – The Gathering (Singapore)
- Cast: Christina Ricci, Ioan Gruffudd, Kerry Fox, Stephen Dillane, Simon Russell Beale, Robert Hardy
- Director: Brian Gilbert
- Production Company: Granada Film Productions, Isle of Man Film Commission, Samuelson Productions, Isle of Man Film, distributed by Capitol Films
- Trivia: Received a DVD release in the US on January 30, 2007, 13 minutes shorter than the original theatrical release.
May 15 – The Matrix Reloaded (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Harold Perrineau, Gloria Foster, Randall Duk Kim, Monica Bellucci, Lambert Wilson
- Director: The Wachowskis
- Production Company: Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment, Silver Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film broke Terminator 2‘s record for highest grossing R-rated film worldwide until it was surpassed by Deadpool in 2016. The character of Zee was played by Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash before filming was complete, requiring her scenes to be reshot with Nona Gaye. Jet Li turned down the role of Seraph as he did not want his martial arts moves digitally recorded. A 1.5-mile freeway was specifically constructed for the film on the old Naval Air Station Alameda runways. General Motors donated over 300 cars to be used during production. The ‘Burly Brawl’ scene took 27 days to film and cost $40 million. 97% of the materials from the film were recycled. Tons of wood was sent to Mexico to build low-income housing.
May 15 – To Kill a King (Russia, limited)
- Cast: Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Olivia Williams, James Bolam, Corin Redgrave, Finbar Lynch, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Adrian Scarborough, Jeremy Swift, Rupert Everett, Steven Webb
- Director: Mike Barker
- Production Company: FilmFour, IAC Film, Natural Nylon Entertainment, Rockwood Edge, Scion Films, Screenland Movieworld GmbH, distributed by Paradise Group (Russia), FilmFour (UK)
- Trivia: Opened in the UK on May 16, 2003. Kent’s Dover Castle doubled for the Tower of London.
May 16 – Down with Love (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Paulson, David Hyde Pierce, Rachel Dratch, Jack Plotnick, Tony Randall, Timothy Omundson, Jeri Ryan, Melissa George, Chris Parnell
- Director: Peyton Reed
- Production Company: Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises, ITI Cinema, Plateau Film Malzemeleri, Mediastream III, Jinks/Cohen Company, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The New York City skyline of 1962 was digitally recreated for backdrops. A greenscreen technique was used to simulate unconvincing 1960s rear projection using restored street footage from the late 1950s and early 1960s.
May 16 – Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (USA, limited)
- Cast: Zhang Wei-Qiang, Tara Birtwhistle, David Moroni, CindyMarie Small, Johnny Wright, Stephane Leonard, Matthew Johnson, Keir Knight, Brent Neale, Stephanie Ballard
- Director: Guy Maddin
- Production Company: Vonnie Von Helmolt Film, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Dracula Productions Inc., Royal Winnipeg Ballet, distributed by Zeitgeist Films
- Trivia: Guy Maddin and his longtime collaborator Deco Dawson had a falling out during the production and have not worked together since. The film was originally made for television but released in 2003 due to its outstanding critical reception.
May 16 – The Actors (UK/Ireland)
- Cast: Michael Caine, Dylan Moran, Lena Headey, Abigail Iversen, Aisling O’Sullivan, Ben Miller, Michael Gambon, Simon Delaney, Alvaro Lucchesi, Michael McElhatton, Miranda Richardson
- Director: Conor McPherson
- Production Company: Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board, Close Call Films, Company of Wolves, FilmFour, Four Provinces Films, Miramax, Scala Productions, Section 481, Senator Film Produktion, distributed by Momentum Pictures
- Trivia: Alison Doody appears as herself. The film’s protagonists are acting in a version of Shakespeare’s Richard III in which everyone dresses in Nazi uniform, a sly nod to Ian McKellen’s production.
2013
May 10 – Aftershock (USA)
- Cast: Eli Roth, Andrea Osvárt, Ariel Levy, Natasha Yarovenko, Nicolás Martínez, Lorenza Izzo, Marcial Tagle, Ramón Llao, Ignacia Allamand, Paz Bascuñán
- Director: Nicolás López
- Production Company: Cross Creek Pictures, Dragonfly Entertainment, distributed by RADiUS-TWC
- Trivia: Based on true events from the 2010 8.8 earthquake in Chile. It was shot in Chile, in many of the same locations where the destruction took place. The film initially received an NC-17 rating and had to be re-edited for an R.
May 10 – And Now a Word from Our Sponsor (USA)
- Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Parker Posey, Callum Blue, Allie MacDonald, Rhys Ward
- Director: Zack Bernbaum
- Production Company: Adman Productions, Ezeqial Productions, distributed by Paladin
May 10 – Go Goa Gone (USA, limited)
- Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari, Puja Gupta, Fahim Fazli
- Director: Raj and D.K.
- Production Company: D2R Films, Eros Worldwide, Illuminati Films, distributed by Eros Worldwide
- Trivia: Also opened in India and the UK on May 10, 2013. The first Hindi-language zombie action comedy film. It’s also described as India’s first stoner film. The initial premise of the film was a crime comedy.
May 10 – He’s Way More Famous Than You (USA)
- Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Halley Feiffer, Ben Stiller, Mamie Gummer, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie
- Director: Michael Urie
- Production Company: Logolite Entertainment, Ur-Mee Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film received a pre-theatrical digital release on April 8, 2013.
May 10 – Java Heat (USA, limited)
- Cast: Kellan Lutz, Mickey Rourke, Ario Bayu, Atiqah Hasiholan
- Director: Conor Allyn
- Production Company: Margate House Films, distributed by IFC Films
May 10 – No One Lives (USA)
- Cast: Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, Lee Tergesen, Derek Magyar, America Olivo, Beau Knapp, Lindsey Shaw, Brodus Clay, Laura Ramsey, Gary Grubbs
- Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
- Production Company: WWE Studios, distributed by Anchor Bay Films
May 10 – The Great Gatsby (USA)
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Debicki, Jack Thompson
- Director: Baz Luhrmann
- Production Company: Village Roadshow Pictures, A&E Television, Bazmark Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1925 novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As of 2023, it is Baz Luhrmann’s highest grossing film, and won both of its Oscar nominations for Production Design and Costume Design. Filming was planned for New York City, but Luhrmann opted to shoot in Sydney, Australia instead. The Great Gatsby‘s costumes achieved the iconic 1920s look by altering pieces from the Prada and Miu Miu fashion archives, though costume historians said the costumes were not authentic to 1922. Costumers Catherine Martin and Miuccia Prada said the intention was to reinterpret the fashions of the decade for a modern audience. The men’s costumes were more authentic, but the pants were said to be too tight. Tiffany & Co. provided the jewelry for the film.
May 10 – Peeples (USA)
- Cast: Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson, Melvin Van Peebles, Diahann Carroll, Tyler James Williams, Kali Hawk, Malcolm Barrett, Ana Gasteyer, Kimrie Lewis-Davis
- Director: Tina Gordon Chism
- Production Company: 34th Street Films, distributed by Lionsgate
- Trivia: Also opened in Canada on May 10 in limited release. Though billed as a Tyler Perry film, it is the only film he has produced but did not write or direct.
May 10 – Venus and Serena (USA, limited, documentary)
- Cast: Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Richard Williams, Oracene Price, Billie Jean King
- Director: Maiken Baird, Michelle Major
- Production Company: Magnolia Pictures
May 10 – White Frog (USA)
- Cast: Booboo Stewart, Harry Shum Jr., Gregg Sulkin, B. D. Wong, Joan Chen, Tyler Posey, Manish Dayal, Talulah Riley, Kelly Hu
- Director: Quentin Lee
- Production Company: Chris Lee Productions, Wentertainment Productions, distributed by Wolfe Releasing
May 15 – Star Trek Into Darkness (USA/Canada)
Paramount Pictures
- Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Alice Eve, Noel Clarke, Nazneen Contractor
- Director: J. J. Abrams
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot Productions, K/O Paper Products, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Opened first in the UK and Australia on May 9, 2013. Heather Langenkamp appears in a small role. It is the 12th Star Trek film, and featured Leonard Nimoy’s last film appearance before his death in 2015. Oscar nominated for Visual Effects. Edgar Wright directed one shot of the film. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
May 16 – Byzantium (AUS)
- Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, Daniel Mays, Caleb Landry Jones, Tom Hollander, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Warren Brown, Thure Lindhardt
- Director: Neil Jordan
- Production Company: Number 9 Films, Parallel Film Productions, Demarest Films, Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board, Lipsync Productions, Comptom Investments, The Government of Ireland, BFI Film Fund, MEDIA Programme of the European Union, distributed by Rialto Distribution (AUS), IFC Films (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in limited US release on June 28, 2013.
May 16 – Disconnect (Hong Kong)
- Cast: Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård, Daniella Rahme, Max Thieriot, Colin Ford, Norbert Leo Butz, Kasi Lemmons
- Director: Henry Alex Rubin
- Production Company: LD Entertainment, Liddell Entertainment, Exclusive Media Group, Wonderful Films, distributed by GEM Entertainment (multi-territory), LD Entertainment (USA)
- Trivia: Received a limited US release on April 12, 2013, then expanded on July 5.
May 16 – Goltzius and the Pelican Company (Russia)
- Cast: Ramsey Nasr, F. Murray Abraham, Goran Bogdan, Giulio Berruti, Vincent Riotta, Francesco De Vito
- Director: Peter Greenaway
- Production Company: Cinatura, Head Gear Films, Metrol Technology, Film and Music Entertainment, MP Film, Catherine Dussart Productions, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Eurimages, Rotterdam Film Fund, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Inspire Pictures, MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Molinare TV & Film, Nederlands Filmfonds, distributed by Cinema Prestige
- Trivia: Released in the UK on July 11, 2014.
May 16 – Suspension of Disbelief (Russia)
- Cast: Sebastian Koch, Lotte Verbeek, Emilia Fox, Rebecca Night, Eoin Macken, Lachlan Nieboer, Frances de la Tour, Julian Sands, Kenneth Cranham
- Director: Mike Figgis
- Production Company: Sosho Production, Red Mullet, Suspension, distributed by Sunfilm Entertainment
- Trivia: Released in the UK on July 19, 2013.
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