Miramax
Quite a few movies were released this week over the past century, with studios post-Jaws (1975) saving some of their bigger films for the Summer months … and starting the Summer in the early part of May. This week saw many films with Oscar nominations, some with wins, but one real anomaly that is in the history books as one of two films with a dubious claim when it comes to the Oscars. Also this week, a major studio removes its name from the credits over a film’s subject matter. Two films were slated for 3D but only one of them entered the third dimension, one film was taken away from the director leading to cast and crew disowning the film, two popular cartoon characters spoke for the first time, one film had to completely change its ending because of a ratings classification, Morgan Freeman played the Heavenly Father for the first time, and those wacky guys in Vegas got together one more time. Find out more about this week’s anniversary celebrants and tell us if your favorites are on the list.
1923
May 19 – The Greatest Menace (USA)
- Cast: Ann Little, Wilfred Lucas, Robert Gordon, Harry Northrup, Jack Livingston, Rhea Mitchell
- Director: Albert S. Rogell
- Production Company: J.G. Mayer, distributed by Mayer & Quinn
- Trivia: No copies of this film are known to exist.
May 21 – Double Dealing (USA)
- Cast: Hoot Gibson, Helen Ferguson, Betty Francisco, Eddie Gribbon, Gertrude Claire, Otto Hoffman, Frank Hayes, John Francis Dillon
- Director: Henry Lehrman
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
May 21 – The White Rose (USA)
- Cast: Mae Marsh, Carol Dempster, Ivor Novello, Neil Hamilton, Lucille La Verne, Jane Thomas, Kate Bruce, Erville Alderson
- Director: D. W. Griffith
- Production Company: D.W. Griffith Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: While the film does exist it is rarely seen, perhaps because Lucille La Verne and Porter Strong played household servant roles in blackface.
May 21 – You Are Guilty (USA)
- Cast: James Kirkwood, Doris Kenyon, Robert Edeson, Mary Carr, Russell Griffin, Edmund Breese, Carlton Brickert, Riley Hatch
- Director: Edgar Lewis
- Production Company: Mastodon Films
1933
May 19 – Adorable (USA)
- Cast: Janet Gaynor, Henri Garat, C. Aubrey Smith, Herbert Mundin, Blanche Friderici
- Director: William Dieterle
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: Remake of the 1931 German romantic comedy Her Grace Commands. Sterling Holloway appears in an uncredited role.
May 19 – I Cover the Waterfront (USA)
- Cast: Ben Lyon, Claudette Colbert, Ernest Torrence, Hobart Cavanaugh, Maurice Black, Purnell Pratt, Harry Beresford, Wilfred Lucas
- Director: James Cruze
- Production Company: Reliance Pictures/Joseph M. Schenck Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Based on the book by Max Miller, a reporter for the San Diego Sun.
May 19 – La casa es seria (Argentina, short)
- Cast: Carlos Gardel, Imperio Argentina, Lolita Benavente, Josita Hernán
- Director: Lucien Jaquelux
- Production Company: Les Studios Paramount
- Trivia: While the complete soundtrack exists, parts of the film are lost. It was originally released in the US with Love Me Tonight on August 18, 1932.
May 19 – Made on Broadway (USA)
- Cast: Robert Montgomery, Sally Eilers, Madge Evans, Eugene Pallette, C. Henry Gordon, Jean Parker, Ivan Lebedeff, David Newell, Vince Barnett, Joseph Cawthorn
- Director: Harry Beaumont
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
May 20 – Hold Me Tight (USA)
- Cast: James Dunn, Sally Eilers, Frank McHugh, June Clyde, Clay Clement, Noel Francis, Dorothy Peterson, Kenneth Thomson
- Director: David Butler
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
May 20 – The Little Giant (USA)
- Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Helen Vinson, Russell Hopton, Kenneth Thomson, Shirley Grey, Berton Churchill, Donald Dillaway
- Director: Roy Del Ruth
- Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: A print of the film is preserved in the Library of Congress.
May 22 – Damaged Lives (Canada)
- Cast: Diane Sinclair, Lyman Williams, Harry Myers, Marceline Day, Jason Robards Sr., Charlotte Merriam, Murray Kinnell, George Irving, Cecilia Parker
- Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
- Production Company: Weldon Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: Opened in general release in the US on June 13, 1937. Based on the French play Les Avariés (1901) by Eugène Brieux. The film was shot at General Service Studios, Hollywood, California for the Canadian Social Health Council. The name Weldon Pictures was used for distribution as Columbia Pictures did not want to be associated with the film’s topic, STDs. The film was screened in a few US cities, but most local censors banned the film. It was re-released in the US in 1937 as The Shocking Truth, with a 29-minute supplementary lecture on VD added onto the end of the film to satisfy censors.
1943
May 17 – Girls in Chains (USA)
- Cast: Arline Judge, Roger Clark, Robin Raymond, Barbara Pepper, Dorothy Burgess, Clancy Cooper, Addison Randall, Patricia Knox, Sid Melton
- Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
- Production Company: Atlantis Pictures, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: The film was shot in five days. Final film of Dorothy Brown. Gloria Lake’s debut.
May 20 – The Avenging Rider (USA)
- Cast: Tim Holt, Cliff ‘Ukelele Ike’ Edwards, Ann Summers, Davison Clarke, Norman Willis, Karl Hackett, Earl Hodgins, Edward Cassidy, Kenneth Duncan
- Director: Sam Nelson
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Final film as director for Sam Nelson.
May 20 – The Boy from Stalingrad (USA)
- Cast: Bobby Samarzich, Conrad Binyon, Mary Lou Harrington, Scotty Beckett, Steven Muller, Donald Mayo as Yuri, John E. Wengraf, Erik Rolf
- Director: Sidney Salkow
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
May 21 – Cowboy in Manhattan (USA)
- Cast: Robert Paige, Frances Langford, Leon Errol, Walter Catlett, Joe Sawyer, Jennifer Holt, George Cleveland, Will Wright, Dorothy Granger
- Director: Frank Woodruff
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
May 21 – Riders of the Rio Grande (USA)
- Cast: Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Jimmie Dodd, Lorraine Miller, Edward Van Sloan, Rick Vallin, Harry J. Worth, Roy Barcroft, Charles King, Jack Ingram
- Director: Howard Bretherton
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
- Trivia: The 51st and final entry in the ‘Three Mesquiteers’ film series.
May 21 – Show Business at War (USA, short)
- Cast: Irving Berlin, Alfred Lunt, Jack Benny, Olivia de Havilland, Marlene Dietrich, Deanna Durbin, Hedy Lamarr, Al Jolson, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Carole Landis
- Director: Louis de Rochemont
- Production Company: The March of Time, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
May 21 – The Ox-Bow Incident (USA)
20th Century Fox
- Cast: Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Harry Morgan, Frank Conroy, Harry Davenport, Anthony Quinn, Francis Ford, William Eythe, Mary Beth Hughes, Jane Darwell
- Director: William A. Wellman
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Adapted from the 1940 novel of the same name, written by Nevadan Walter Van Tilburg Clark. Nominated for Best Picture at the 16th Academy Awards, losing to Casablanca. It remains one of two films, the other being Grand Hotel, that was nominated for Best Picture with no other nominations. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1998.
May 22 – Mission to Moscow (USA)
- Cast: Walter Huston, Ann Harding, Oskar Homolka, George Tobias, Gene Lockhart , Eleanor Parker, Richard Travis, Helmut Dantine, Victor Francen, Henry Daniell
- Director: Michael Curtiz
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film was made in response to a request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The film was the first pro-Soviet Hollywood film of its time.
May 22 – The Lonesome Mouse (USA, short)
- Voice Cast: William Hanna, Harry Lang, Lillian Randolph
- Director: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The first Tom & Jerry cartoon in which the title characters speak.
1953
May 17 – Scandal at Scourie (USA)
- Cast: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Agnes Moorehead, Donna Corcoran, Arthur Shields, Philip Ober, Rhys Williams, Margalo Gillmore, John Lupton, Philip Tonge
- Director: Jean Negulesco
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
- Trivia: The eighth and final film in which Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon co-starred together.
May 18 – The Desert Rats (UK)
- Cast: Richard Burton, James Mason, Robert Newton, Robert Douglas, Torin Thatcher, Chips Rafferty, Charles Tingwell, Charles Davis, Ben Wright
- Director: Robert Wise
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Opened in general US release on May 20, 1953. The film was a quasi-sequel to The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), and reportedly made to portray a less likeable Rommel after that film was criticized for being too friendly to the Germans. James Mason reprised the role of Rommel, and wears his actual scarf which had been given to him by Rommel’s widow. Michael Rennie was originally cast as one of the leads but was replaced with Richard Burton, who was under contract to Fox. Rennie provided an uncredited voiceover.
May 20 – Goldtown Ghost Riders (USA)
- Cast: Gene Autry, Champion, Gail Davis, Kirk Riley, Carleton Young, Neyle Morrow, Smiley Burnette, Steve Conte
- Director: George Archainbaud
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
May 20 – Siren of Bagdad (USA)
- Cast: Paul Henreid, Patricia Medina, Hans Conried, Charles Lung, Laurette Luez, Anne Dore, George Keymas, Michael Fox, Karl Davis
- Director: Richard Quine
- Production Company: Sam Katzman Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Paul Henreid’s character has a hookah with two hoses which he lights with both mouthpieces in his mouth, a reference to his lighting two cigarettes in Now, Voyager (1942).
May 20 – The 49th Man (USA)
- Cast: John Ireland, Richard Denning, Suzanne Dalbert, Robert Foulk, Touch Conners, Richard Avonde, William R. Klein
- Director: Fred F. Sears
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Touch Connors was the early screen name of Mike Connors. Though set in 1953, the film uses stock footage of San Francisco from about 15 years earlier revealing cars and streetcars which were no longer in use.
May 20 – The Glory Brigade (USA)
- Cast: Victor Mature, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Richard Egan, Nick Dennis, Roy Roberts, Alvy Moore, Henry Kulky
- Director: Robert D. Webb
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film’s original title was Baptism of Fire. Victor Mature was to have been loaned to RKO for another film, but Fox kept him for The Glory Brigade. While filming a scene at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, a demolition charge exploded underneath a boat, killing the boatman and injuring two others.
May 20 – Thunder Bay (USA)
- Cast: James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Dan Duryea, Jay C. Flippen, Marcia Henderson, Robert Monet, Antonio Moreno, Harry Morgan
- Director: Anthony Mann
- Production Company: Universal Pictures, distributed by Universal-International
- Trivia: The first non-Western film collaboration between James Stewart and Anthony Mann. The film was shot in full frame 1.37:1 aspect ratio, but released in a matted 1.85:1 widescreen format. It was the first Universal-International film with stereophonic sound. It was originally to be filmed in 3D but that plan was dropped during production.
May 21 – The President’s Lady (USA)
- Cast: Susan Hayward, Charlton Heston, John McIntire, Fay Bainter, Whitfield Connor, Carl Betz, Gladys Hurlbut, Ruth Attaway, Charles Dingle
- Director: Henry Levin
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Based on the novel by Irving Stone. Oscar nominated for Best Art Direction. Charlton Heston played Andrew Jackson in this film and The Buccaneer (1958).
May 22 – Fast Company (USA)
- Cast: Polly Bergen, Howard Keel, Nina Foch, Carol Nugent, Marjorie Main, Horace McMahon, Iron Eyes Cody, Joaquin Garay, Robert Burton
- Director: John Sturges
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The racetrack announcer is played by Joe Hernandez, who was the track announcer at Santa Anita from the day it opened in 1935 until a few days before his death in 1972.
1963
May 17 – That Kind of Girl (Finland)
- Cast: Margaret Rose Keil, David Weston, Linda Marlowe, Peter Burton, Frank Jarvis, Sylvia Kay, David Davenport
- Director: Gerry O’Hara
- Production Company: Animated Motion Pictures, Tekli British Productions, distributed by Tekli Films (Finland), Topaz Film Corporation (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US in June 1963. Directorial debut of Gerry O’Hara.
May 19 – The Damned (UK)
- Cast: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, Tom Kempinski, Kenneth Cope, Brian Oulton, Barbara Everest
- Director: Joseph Losey
- Production Company: Hammer Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation (UK), Columbia Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Originally opened in Australia on November 16, 1962. Did not open in the US until July 7, 1965 under the title These Are the Damned. Based on H.L. Lawrence’s 1960 novel The Children of Light.
May 20 – Heavens Above! (USA)
- Cast: Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Isabel Jeans, Ian Carmichael, Bernard Miles, Brock Peters, Eric Sykes, Irene Handl, Miriam Karlin, William Hartnell, Roy Kinnear, Joan Hickson
- Director: John Boulting, Roy Boulting
- Production Company: Charter Film Productions, distributed by Janus Films
- Trivia: Final film of Joan Miller and Olive Sloane.
May 20 – Maniac (UK)
- Cast: Kerwin Mathews, Nadia Gray, Donald Houston, Liliane Brousse, George Pastell, Arnold Diamond, Norman Bird, Justine Lord, Jerold Wells
- Director: Michael Carreras
- Production Company: Hammer Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation (UK), Columbia Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on October 30, 1963. Also known as The Maniac. The film was originally planned for production in 1960, with Peter Cushing and George Sanders, but was shelved for unknown reasons.
1973
May 17 – A Doll’s House (France)
- Cast: Jane Fonda, David Warner, Trevor Howard, Delphine Seyrig, Edward Fox, Ingrid Natrud, Pierre Oudry, Anna Wing
- Director: Joseph Losey
- Production Company: World Film Services, Les Films de la Boétie, distributed by Cinema International Corporation (France)
- Trivia: Based on the 1879 play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Filming took place in the Norwegian town of Røros, where local residents served as extras for the exterior scenes. Did not receive a US theatrical release; debuted on television in November 1973.
May 17 – Fly Me (USA)
- Cast: Pat Anderson, Lenore Kasdorf, Lyllah Torena, Richard Young, Naomi Stevens, Richard Miller, Ken Metcalfe, Vic Diaz
- Director: Cirio Santiago
- Production Company: New World Pictures
- Trivia: The film contains some kung fu scenes shot by Jonathan Demme, and Joe Dante worked on the movie as a dialogue director. Producer Roger Corman didn’t want the film to seem like it was shot in the Philippines, so he had Curtis Hanson shoot an opening scene in Los Angeles where Pat Anderson jumped in a taxi cab driven by Dick Miller.
May 23 – A Warm December (USA)
- Cast: Sidney Poitier, Esther Anderson, Yvette Curtis, George Baker, Johnny Sekka, Earl Cameron, Hilary Crane
- Director: Sidney Poitier
- Production Company: First Artists, distributed by National General Pictures
- Trivia: Esther Anderson’s performance as an African princess won her a NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in 1973. The story was influenced by Roman Holiday and Love Story.
May 23 – Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (USA)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Cast: James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Jason Robards, Bob Dylan, Rita Coolidge, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, R. G. Armstrong, Luke Askew, John Beck, Jack Dodson, Jack Elam, L. Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, Charles Martin Smith, Harry Dean Stanton, Rutanya Alda, Elisha Cook Jr., Dub Taylor
- Director: Sam Peckinpah
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Sam Peckinpah and Bruce Derm have uncredited roles. Bob Dylan’s ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ was composed for the film. Sam Peckinpah clashed with MGM, and the studio took the film away from him and substantially re-edited and released it in a truncated for that was disowned by the director and most of the cast and crew. Peckinpah’s edit was released on home video in 1988, with critics reevaluating the film as a mistreated classic. A 2005 DVD contains Peckinpah’s version plus a new edit combining elements from both versions of the film and scenes not in either version billed as a ‘special edition’.
1983
May 18 – Duvar (France)
- Cast: Tuncel Kurtiz, Ayse Emel Mesci Kuray, Malik Berrichi, Nicolas Hossein, Isabelle Tissandier, Ahmet Ziyrek, Ali Berktay, Selahattin Kuzmoglu
- Director: Yılmaz Güney
- Production Company: Güney Film, MK2 Productions, Ministère de la Culture de la Republique Française, TF1 Films Production, distributed by MK2 Diffusion (France), Kino International (USA)
- Trivia: Was not released in the US until June 20, 1986 as The Wall. Tuncel Kurtiz and Ayse Emel Mesci Kuray are the only professional actors in the film. Kurtiz broke his contract for a Swedish film to appear in Duvar.
May 19 – First Contact (AUS, documentary)
- Cast: Daniel Leahy, Mick Leahy, James Taylor
- Director: Robin Anderson, Bob Connolly
- Production Company: Arundel Productions, distributed by Ronin Films
- Trivia: Opened in New York City on December 7, 1983, and went into a limited general release in March 1984. The film was narrated by Richard Oxenburgh. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film is the first in what would come to be known as ‘The Highlands Trilogy’, followed by Joe Leahy’s Neighbours (1989) and Black Harvest (1992).
May 20 – Bill Cosby: Himself (USA)
- Cast: Bill Cosby
- Director: Bill Cosby
- Production Company: Jemmin, Inc., distributed by
20th Century Fox - Trivia: The film was composed of the highlights of four shows at Hamilton Place Performing Arts Center, Ontario in May 1981.
May 20 – Eureka (UK)
- Cast: Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer, Jane Lapotaire, Mickey Rourke, Ed Lauter, Joe Pesci, Joe Spinell, James Faulkner, Corin Redgrave
- Director: Nicolas Roeg
- Production Company: Recorded Picture Company (RPC), JF Productions, Sunley Productions Ltd., United Artists, distributed by United International Pictures (UK), MGM/UA Entertainment Company (USA)
- Trivia: Loosely based on the unsolved murder of Sir Harry Oakes in the Bahamas in 1943. The film did not open in the US until October 5, 1984, in limited release, because UA didn’t know how to market it to American audiences. It also received an X-rating for its graphic violence.
May 20 – Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson, Andrea Marcovicci, Michael Ironside
- Director: Lamont Johnson
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Harold Ramis is the uncredited voice on the intercom. The film was released in 3D as part of the early 1980s fad that began with 1981’s Comin’ At Ya! The film’s working title was Adventures in the Creep Zone. Jean LaFleur was the film’s original director, but was fired by the studio after two weeks, unhappy with the film’s progress. Molly Ringwald didn’t think her scripted dialogue was very good and thought she could change it once filming started. She was relieved when Lamont Johnson took over directing and proclaimed the dialogue as awful and wanted to change it. The film made $7 million its first weekend of release, but dropped sharply in following weeks as it was competing with Return of the Jedi from its second week.
1993
May 18 – The Piano (Italy)
- Cast: Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin, Kerry Walker, Genevieve Lemon, Tungia Baker, Ian Mune, Cliff Curtis, Rose McIver
- Director: Jane Campion
- Production Company: CiBy 2000, Jan Chapman Productions, The Australian Film Commission, New South Wales Film & Television Office, distributed by Miramax
- Trivia: Opened in New York on November 2, 1993, and in Los Angeles on November 19 for awards consideration, then went into general US release on February 11, 1994. Anna Paquin’s first major acting role. Jane Campion was the first female director to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three: Best Actress (Hunter), Supporting Actress (Paquin, the second-youngest actor to win in a competitive category) and Original Screenplay (Campion). Campion has cited the novels Wuthering Heights and The African Queen as inspirations. Sigourney Weaver was the first choice to play Ada but turned down the role. Jennifer Jason Leigh was considered but had a conflict with Rush. Isabelle Huppert was photographed as Ada in a vintage period style, and later regretted not fighting for the role like Holly Hunter did. Paquin won the role of Flora over 5,000 other girls who auditioned. Campion revealed in 2013 that she had intended for Ada to drown in the sea after going overboard after her piano.
May 20 – Love in Limbo (AUS)
- Cast: Craig Adams, Rhondda Findleton, Martin Sacks, Aden Young, Russell Crowe, Maya Stange
- Director: David Elfick
- Production Company: Palm Beach Pictures, distributed by Hoyts Distribution (AUS), Prism Leisure Corporation (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US on July 16, 1993. Visually the film was heavily influenced by The Girl Can’t Help It (1956).
May 21 – Hot Shots! Part Deux (USA)
- Cast: Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Brenda Bakke, Richard Crenna, Miguel Ferrer, Rowan Atkinson, Mitchell Ryan, Ryan Stiles, Bob Vila, Martin Sheen
- Director: Jim Abrahams
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: As part of the film’s promotion, HBO aired the mockumentary Hearts of Hot Shots! Part Deux—A Filmmaker’s Apology, which parodied the Apocalypse Now documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.
May 21 – Sliver (USA)
- Cast: Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger, Polly Walker, Colleen Camp, Amanda Foreman, Martin Landau, Nicholas Pryor, C. C. H. Pounder, Nina Foch, Keene Curtis, Jim Beaver
- Director: Phillip Noyce
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Robert Evans Company, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name. The film received an NC-17 rating which forced the filmmakers to make extensive reshoots, which necessitated changing the killer’s identity. The shooting of the final scene resulted in a helicopter crash which led to the temporary suspension of the pilot’s certificate. The footage shot during the flight was destroyed.
2003
May 22 – Ned (AUS)
- Cast: Felix Williamson, Abe Forsythe, Damon Herriman, Josef Ber, Jeremy Sims, Michala Banas
- Director: Abe Forsythe
- Production Company: Contact Capital, New South Wales Film & Television Office, Ocean Pictures Pty. Limited, Showtime Australia, The Australian Film Commission, distributed by Becker Entertainment
- Trivia: No US release. Director-writer-actor Abe Forsythe was 18-years-old during the making of the film, making him possibly the youngest director of a feature film in Australia. The original cut of the film ran 100 minutes but was trimmed to 82 minutes for theatrical release. Final film of Cornelia Frances.
May 23 – Bruce Almighty (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Bell, Steven Carell, Lou Felder, Philip Baker Hall, Lisa Ann Walter, Paul Satterfield, Nora Dunn, Eddie Jemison, Sally Kirkland, Annie Wersching
- Director: Tom Shadyac
- Production Company: Spyglass Entertainment, Shady Acres, Pit Bull Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film had the highest grossing Memorial Day weekend than any film up to that time, and surprised Hollywood when it beat The Matrix Revolutions in its second weekend. The Buffalo location was actually the ‘New York Street’ at Universal Studios in Hollywood.
May 23 – The In-Laws (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Robin Tunney, Ryan Reynolds, David Suchet, Lindsay Sloane, Candice Bergen
- Director: Andrew Fleming
- Production Company: Franchise Picture, Gerber Picture, Further Films, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Remake of the original 1979 cult classic of the same name.
2013
May 17 – 33 Postcards (USA)
- Cast: Guy Pearce, Claudia Karvan, Zhu Lin, Lincoln Lewis, Kain O’Keeffe, Matt Nable
- Director: Pauline Chan
- Production Company: Portal Pictures Pty Ltd, distributed by Arclight Films International
- Trivia: First opened in China on September 2, 2011, and was released on the internet in the US on April 15, 2013. The first film co-production between China and New South Wales. The film was developed under the title Mei Mei.
May 17 – Augustine (USA, limited)
- Cast: Vincent Lindon, Soko, Chiara Mastroianni, Olivier Rabourdin, Roxane Duran
- Director: Alice Winocour
- Production Company: Dharamsala, ARP Sélection, France 3 Cinéma, Darius Films, Canal+, Ciné+, France Télévisions, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), La Région Île-de-France, Fondation GAN pour le Cinéma, Région Aquitaine, Région Centre, Société des Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision (Procirep), Angoa-Agicoa, Cofimage 23, MEDIA Programme of the European Union, distributed by Music Box Films
- Trivia: Originally opened in France on November 7, 2012. Alice Winocour’s feature directorial debut. The historical drama depicts a love affair between French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and his patient Louise Augustine Gleizes, but in reality there was no sexual relationship between the two.
May 17 – Aurangzeb (USA)
- Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Arjun Kapoor , Prithviraj Sukumaran, Zahrah S. Khan, Swara Bhaskar, Deepti Naval, Tanvi Azmi, Sikandar Kher, Sumeet Vyas
- Director: Atul Sabharwal
- Production Company: Yash Raj Films
- Trivia: The film performed well in overseas markets but was a flop in India.
May 17 – Black Rock (USA)
- Cast: Katie Aselton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth, Will Bouvier, Jay Paulson, Anslem Richardson
- Director: Katie Aselton
- Production Company: Submarine Entertainment, distributed by LD Entertainment
- Trivia: Director Katie Aselton is married to the film’s screenwriter Mark Duplass.
May 17 – Erased (USA, limited)
- Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Liana Liberato, Olga Kurylenko, Neil Napier, Kate Linder, Alexander Fehling, Garrick Hagon, Eric Godon
- Director: Philipp Stölzl
- Production Company: E-Motion, Informant Films Europe, uMedia
- Trivia: First opened in Lebanon on August 23, 2012 as The Expatriate.
May 17 – Frances Ha (USA, limited)
RT Features
- Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen, Patrick Heusinger, Michael Esper, Charlotte d’Amboise, Grace Gummer
- Director: Noah Baumbach
- Production Company: RT Features, Pine District Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, distributed by IFC Films
- Trivia: The film was co-written by Greta Gerwig who did not anticipate starring in the film but director Noah Baumbach felt she suited the role.
May 17 – Pieta (USA, limited)
- Cast: Masud Akhond, Jayanta Chattopadhyay, Shamima Nazneen, Kalyan Corraya, Shaina Amin, Bonna Mirza
- Director: Masud Akhond
- Production Company: Impress Telefilm Limited
- Trivia: Originally opened in Italy on September 14, 2012.
May 17 – State 194 (USA, limited, documentary)
- Director: Dan Setton
- Production Company: SET Productions, Zadig Productions, distributed by Participant Media
May 17 – The English Teacher (USA)
- Cast: Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Nathan Lane, Jessica Hecht, Norbert Leo Butz, Nikki Blonsky
- Director: Craig Zisk
- Production Company: Artina Films, distributed by Cinedigm Entertainment, Tribeca Film
- Trivia: Craig Zisk’s feature directorial debut following work on episodic television.
May 17 – The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (USA, limited)
- Cast: Will Keenan, Creed Bratton, De Anna Joy Brooks, Reggie Bannister, Les Williams, Jed Rowen, Kate Maberly, Paul Williams, Kevin McCarthy
- Director: Paul Bunnell
- Production Company: Ottermole Moving Picture Company, distributed by Strand Releasing
- Trivia: Reportedly the last feature film shot in Kodak Plus-X. It’s the last film featuring Kevin McCarthy, who died two years before it was released. The film opened in a single theater and earned $86 its first weekend. It expanded to two theaters and earned $2,436 by the end of its run.
May 17 – The Liability (UK)
- Cast: Tim Roth, Talulah Riley, Jack O’Connell, Peter Mullan, Kierston Wareing
- Director: Craig Viveiros
- Production Company: Corona Pictures, Starchild Pictures, distributed by Metrodome Distribution
- Trivia: Released on DVD in the US on January 29, 2013. Also known as The Hitman’s Apprentice.
May 22 – 3 Geezers! (USA)
- Cast: J. K. Simmons, Basil Hoffman, Tim Allen, Scott Caan, Lou Beatty Jr., Breckin Meyer, Randy Couture, Mike O’Malley, Sam Raimi, Kevin Pollak
- Director: Michelle Schumacher
- Production Company: Rubber Tree Productions, distributed by FilmHub
May 22 – Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself (USA, limited)
- Director: Tom Bean & Luke Poling
- Production Company: Joyce Entertainment, The Offices of SPECTRE, distributed by Laemmle/Zeller Films
- Trivia: It took five years to make the film as the filmmakers searched through archival material and assembled the film’s story.
May 23 – The Hangover Part III (USA)
- Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Jeffrey Tambor, Heather Graham, Mike Epps, Justin Bartha, John Goodman, Sasha Barrese, Jamie Chung, Sondra Currie, Gillian Vigman, Melissa McCarthy
- Director: Todd Phillips
- Production Company: Legendary Pictures, Green Hat Films, BenderSpink, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film was announced days before The Hangover Part II opened.
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