Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #153 :: June 28 to July 4

Illumination Entertainment

It was a pretty big week for new movie releases across the boards. 1923 produced the third film in a series featuring a heroic canine, 1933 saw the production and release of several ‘quota quickies’ in the UK, and Cary Grant took a starring role in 1943. 1953 gave William Holden an Oscar-winning role, brought Dr. Seuss to the big screen for the first time in a live-action film, paired married stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh for the first time, and teamed up Esther Williams with a popular pair of cartoon characters. 1963 gave us a film with one of the greatest stunts in the history of film, and 1973 saw the release of another film in the popular ‘Nurses’ series. 1983 gave Burt Reynolds a role he probably regretted, and 1993 saw Tom Cruise take on John Grisham. 2003 had three films with ‘colon-ated’ titles, and 2013 paired to popular female comedy stars, saw one of two films putting the White House in danger, brought a herd of little yellow guys back to the big screen, and gave Disney one of its biggest box office disasters ever. Check out the films celebrating anniversaries this week and tell us if any of them are your favorites!

1923

June 28 – Shootin’ for Love (USA)

Cast: Hoot Gibson, Laura La Plante, Alfred Allen, William Welsh, William Steele, Arthur Mackley
Director: Edward Sedgwick
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film was banned by the British Board of Film Censors in 1923.

June 28 – The Twins (AUS)

Cast: Ray Whiting, Jim Paxton, Cath McMicking, Aubrey Gibson, Doreen Gale, Jim Doods, Keith McHarg, Billy Begg, Norman Carlyon
Director: Leslie McCallum
Production Company: Blue Gum Company
Trivia: The film is considered lost. It was made to raise funds for various charities including the Melbourne Women’s Hospital.

June 30 – East Side – West Side (USA)

Cast: Kenneth Harlan, Eileen Percy, Maxine Elliott Hicks, Lucille Hutton, Lucille Ward, John T. Prince, Betty May, Charles Hill Mailes, Wally Van
Director: Irving Cummings
Production Company: Sol Lesser Productions, distributed by Principal Distributing

June 30 – Temporary Marriage (USA)

Cast: Kenneth Harlan, Mildred Davis, Myrtle Stedman, Tully Marshall, Maude George, Stuart Holmes, Edward Coxen
Director: Lambert Hillyer
Production Company: Sacramento Pictures, distributed by Principal Distributing

July – The Uninvited Guest (UK)

Cast: Stewart Rome, Madge Stuart, Arthur Walcott, Linda Moore, Cecil Morton York, Leal Douglas, Cameron Carr
Director: George Dewhurst
Production Company: Dewhurst Productions, distributed by Walker

July 1 – Wandering Daughters (USA)

Cast: Marguerite De La Motte, William V. Mong, Mabel Van Buren, Marjorie Daw, Noah Beery Sr., Pat O’Malley, Allan Forrest, Alice Howell
Director: James Young
Production Company: Sam E. Rork Productions, distributed by Associated First National Pictures

July 1 – Where the North Begins (USA)

Cast: Claire Adams, Rin Tin Tin, Walter McGrail, Pat Hartigan, Myrtle Owen, Charles Stevens, Fred Huntley
Director: Chester M. Franklin
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The third film to star Rin Tin Tin. It survives and has lapsed into the public domain. Director Chester M. Franklin shot too much footage of scenery in Canada and not enough narrative so Warner Bros. hired a second director to shoot concurrently, which resulted in unworkable continuity errors often within the same shot such as actor Walter McGrail in the same scene but different locations. Editor Lewis Milestone felt the production was doomed but the producers insisted he finish the edit, so he brought in writer Julien Josephson to assist, with the pair memorizing the footage and cutting it like a documentary to tell the story. The studio insisted on sweeping changes but Milestone refused and said it was fine as it was. A test screening was held with Rin Tin Tin and his owner Lee Duncan in attendance that yielded a good response, but when it was learned that the screening was held in Duncan’s hometown, the results were deemed inconclusive due to the author’s familiarity with the audience members. A second screening was held in a different location that was a great success and Warner Bros. released the film as Milestone had reworked it.

July 2 – Sinner or Saint (USA)

Cast: Betty Blythe, William P. Carleton, Gypsy O’Brien, William H. Tooker, Fuller Mellish, Richard Neill, William Collier Jr.
Director: Lawrence C. Windom
Production Company: Betty Blythe Productions, distributed by Selznick Pictures

1933

June 30 – Easy Millions (USA)

Cast: Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, Dorothy Burgess, Merna Kennedy, Johnny Arthur, Noah Beery, Bert Roach, Gay Seabrook, Pauline Garon, Ethel Wales, Arthur Hoyt
Director: Fred C. Newmeyer
Production Company: Monarch Film Corporation, distributed by Freuler Film Associates
Trivia: The film is considered lost.

June 30 – Midnight Mary (USA)

Cast: Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, Franchot Tone, Andy Devine, Una Merkel, Frank Conroy, Warren Hymer, Ivan Simpson, Harold Huber, Charles Grapewin, Louise Beavers
Director: William A. Wellman
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Originally conceived as a vehicle for Jean Harlow and Clark Gable. The film’s working title Lady of the Night was changed because the Hayes Office considered it obscene.

June 30 – The Man Who Dared (USA)

Cast: Preston Foster, Zita Johann, Joan Marsh, Irén Biller, Phillip Trent, June Lang, Leon Ames
Director: Hamilton MacFadden
Production Company: Fox Film Corporation

June 30 – The Woman I Stole (USA)

Cast: Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Donald Cook, Noah Beery Sr., Raquel Torres, Edwin Maxwell, Charles A. Browne
Director: Irving Cummings
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Based on the novel Tampico by Joseph Hergesheimer, with the setting shifted from Mexico to North Africa.

July – Britannia of Billingsgate (UK)

Cast: Violet Loraine, Gordon Harker, Kay Hammond, John Mills, Drusilla Wills, Walter Sondes, Glennis Lorimer, Anthony Holles, jJoyce Kirby, Gibb McLaughlin
Director: Sinclair Hill
Production Company: Gaumont British Picture Corporation, distributed by Ideal Films (UK)
Trivia: Based on the play Britannia of Billingsgate by Christine Jope-Slade and Sewell Stokes.

July – Heads We Go (UK)

Cast: Constance Cummings, Frank Lawton, Binnie Barnes, Gus McNaughton, Iris Ashley, Claude Hulbert, Emilio Colombo, Fred Duprez, Toni Edgar-Bruce, Dino Galvani
Director: Monty Banks
Production Company: British International Pictures, distributed by Wardour Films (UK), Majestic Pictures (USA)
Trivia: Opened in the US as The Charming Deceiver on December 8, 1933.

July – Prince of Arcadia (UK)

Cast: Carl Brisson, Margot Grahame, Ida Lupino, Annie Esmond, Peter Gawthorne, C. Denier Warren
Director: Hanns Schwarz
Production Company: Reginald Fogwell Productions, Nettlefold Films, distributed by Woolf & Freedman Film Service
Trivia: Remake of the 1932 German film The Prince of Arcadia.

July – Purse Strings (UK)

Cast: Chili Bouchier, Gyles Isham, G. H. Mulcaster, Allan Jeayes, Joan Henley, Evelyn Roberts
Director: Henry Edwards
Production Company: Herbert Wilcox Productions, British & Dominions Film Corporation, distributed by Paramount British Pictures
Trivia: The film was produced as a ‘quota quickie’, an act of Parliament that was designed to stimulate the declining British film industry.

July – The Love Nest (UK)

Cast: Gene Gerrard, Camilla Horn, Nancy Burne, Gus McNaughton, Garry Marsh, Amy Veness, Charles Paton, Marian Dawson, Judy Kelly
Director: Thomas Bentley
Production Company: British International Pictures, distributed by Wardour Films

July – The Song You Gave Me (UK)

Cast: Bebe Daniels, Victor Varconi, Frederick Lloyd, Claude Hulbert, Lester Matthews, Iris Ashley, Eva Moore, Stewart Granger, Victor Rietti, Walter Widdop
Director: Paul L. Stein
Production Company: British International Pictures, distributed by Wardour Films (UK), Columbia Pictures (USA)
Trivia: Opened in the US in February 1934. A musical based on a play by Walter Reisch which had previously been adapted into the 1930 German film The Song Is Ended.

July – This Week of Grace (UK)

Cast: Gracie Fields, Henry Kendall, John Stuart, Frank Pettingell, Minnie Rayner, Douglas Wakefield
Director: Maurice Elvey
Production Company: Julius Hagen Productions, distributed by Radio Pictures
Trivia: The film was once thought lost but was found in 2010 and loaned to the British Film Institute. A copy was made for the National Archives.

July 1 – Dance Hall Hostess (USA)

Cast: Helen Chandler, Jason Robards Sr., Edward J. Nugent, Natalie Moorhead, Alberta Vaughn, Jane Keckley, Ronnie Cosby, Clarence Geldart
Director: B. Reeves Eason
Production Company: Golden Arrow Productions, distributed by Mayfair Pictures
Trivia: The film is presumed lost.

July 1 – Don’t Bet on Love (USA)

Cast: Lew Ayres, Ginger Rogers, Charley Grapewin, Shirley Grey, Tom Dugan, Merna Kennedy, Lucile Gleason, Robert Emmett O’Connor
Director: Murray Roth
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Lew Ayres and Ginger Rogers first met on the set of Don’t Bet on Love in 1933 and were married a year later. They divorced in 1940.

July 3 – Loyalties (UK)

Cast: Basil Rathbone, Heather Thatcher, Miles Mander, Joan Wyndham, Philip Strange, Alan Napier
Director: Basil Dean
Production Company: Associated Talking Pictures, distributed by Associated British Film Distributors (UK), Harold Auten (USA)
Trivia: Opened in the US on October 24, 1934. Based on the 1922 John Galsworthy play Loyalties. The film was unusual for its time in the depiction of anti-Semitism as most British films at the time were set in a non-British, historical context. This was the first film produced by Associated Talking Pictures, which later became Ealing Studios.

1943

June 29 – Good Luck, Mr. Yates (USA)

Cast: Claire Trevor, Jess Barker, Edgar Buchanan, Tom Neal, Albert Bassermann, Henry Armetta, Scotty Beckett, Tommy Cook, Frank Sully
Director: Ray Enright
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The Three Stooges sketch ‘Niagara Falls’ was cut from this film, but later turned up in Gents Without Cents (1944). A scene where Nan Wynn sings as part of a lunchtime entertainment for shipyard workers was cut before release.

June 29 – Yanks Ahoy (USA)

Cast: William Tracy, Joe Sawyer, Marjorie Woodworth, Minor Watson, Frank Faylen, Walter Woolf King, Romaine Callender, Robert Kent
Director: Kurt Neumann
Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: The entire cast is wearing their helmets backwards.

July 1 – Fugitive from Sonora (USA)

Cast: Don ‘Red’ Barry, Wally Vernon, Lynn Merrick, Harry Cording, Ethan Laidlaw, Pierce Lyden, Gary Bruce, Kenne Duncan
Director: Howard Bretherton
Production Company: Republic Pictures

July 1 – Mr. Lucky (USA)

Cast: Cary Grant, Laraine Day, Charles Bickford, Gladys Cooper, Alan Carney, Henry Stephenson, Paul Stewart
Director: H.C. Potter
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Laraine Day was on loan from MGM. The film was loosely adapted into a 1959 TV series starring John Vivyan, which ran for just one season.

July 3 – Background to Danger (USA)

Cast: George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Osa Massen, Turhan Bey, Willard Robertson, Kurt Katch
Director: Raoul Walsh
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1937 novel Uncommon Danger by Eric Ambler. The screenplay was credited to W. R. Burnett, although William Faulkner and Daniel Fuchs also contributed. The film was intended to capitalize on the success of Casablanca. George Raft insisted that his character be changed to an undercover American agent rather than an ordinary man, common behavior from Raft at the time.

July 3 – Wackiki Wabbit (USA, short)

Voice Cast: Mel Blanc, Michael Maltese, Tedd Pierce
Director: Charles M. Jones
Production Company: Leon Schlesinger Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The voice cast was uncredited.

1953

June 29 – The Kid from Left Field (USA)

Cast: Dan Dailey, Anne Bancroft, Billy Chapin, Lloyd Bridges, Ray Collins, Richard Egan, Bob Hopkins, Alex Gerry, Walter Sande, Fess Parker
Director: Harmon Jones
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: The film was remade for television in 1979, starring Gary Coleman, Gary Collins and Robert Guillaume.

July – Murder at 3am (UK)

Cast: Dennis Price, Peggy Evans, Rex Garner, Arnold Bell, Greta Mayaro, Philip Saville, Leonard Sharp, Nora Gordon
Director: Francis Searle
Production Company: David Henley Productions, distributed by Renown Pictures Corporation (UK), Ellis Films (USA)
Trivia: Released in the US in 1955. Husband and wife Nora Gordon and Leonard Sharp act in this film, but share no scenes together.

July – The Farmer Takes a Wife (USA)

Cast: Betty Grable, Dale Robertson, Thelma Ritter, John Carroll, Eddie Foy Jr., Charlotte Austin, Kathleen Crowley, Merry Anders, May Wynn, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes
Director: Henry Levin
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: First opened in New York City on June 12, 1953. Remake of the 1935 film of the same name.

July – Wheel of Fate (UK)

Cast: Patric Doonan, Sandra Dorne, Bryan Forbes, John Horsley, Johnnie Schofield, Martin Benson, Cyril Smith
Director: Francis Searle
Production Company: Kenilworth Film Productions, distributed by General Film Distributors

July 1 – Stalag 17 (USA)

Paramount Pictures

Cast: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Richard Erdman, Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Michael Moore, Sig Ruman, Peter Baldwin
Director: Billy Wilder
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Adapted from the Broadway play of the same name by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, based on their experiences as prisoners in Stalag 17B in Austria. Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck appeared in the original Broadway production. The film was shot in chronological order, and members of the cast did not know the identity of the informant until the last three days of shooting. Peter Graves said Paramount held the film from release for over a year because they didn’t believe audiences would be interested in a story about prisoners of war. The studio then released the film to exploit the release of American POWs from the Korean War. The film earned three Oscar nominations, with William Holden winning Best Actor. The film inspired the TV series Hogan’s Heroes, and Richard Erdman is the only actor from the film to make an appearance on the series (as a different character). Holden reprised the role of J.J. Sefton in an uncredited cameo in 1979’s Escape to Athena, suggesting Sefton made another successful escape while no one was looking.

July 1 – The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (USA)

Cast: Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig, John Heasley, Robert Heasley, Noel Cravat
Director: Roy Rowland
Production Company: A Stanley Kramer Company Production, Columbia Pictures Corporation, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The only feature film written by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), who wrote the story, screenplay, and lyrics. His influence on the set design can also be seen in the film. George Chakiris appears in an uncredited role as a Dancer. Director Stanley Kramer worked uncredited on several takes due to a feud between him and studio head Harry Cohn. Cohn forbid Kramer from directing the film, and interfered with production constantly with voluminous and unwanted notes sent to Kramer and Geisel. A sneak preview did not go well and the studio ordered heavy cuts and a week of reshoots including a new opening sequence. Nine of the 20 musical numbers were cut. The ‘preview version’ of the film is now considered lost. Columbia Pictures re-released the film in 1958 as Crazy Music, with the entire elevator scene cut. Tommy Butala, founder of The Lettermen, provided the singing voice for Tommy Rettig.

July 1 – White Witch Doctor (USA)

Cast: Robert Mitchum, Susan Hayward, Walter Slezak, Timothy Carey, Mashood Olabisi Ajala
Director: Henry Hathaway
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Based on the 1950 novel by Louise Allender Stinetorf. The film’s score by Bernard Herrmann is notable for its use of the serpent, an early brass instrument developed in the Renaissance era with a trombone-like mouthpiece and tone holes (later with keys) like a woodwind instrument. Roy Ward Baker was the film’s original director, but he fell ill on location in Africa and was replaced with Henry Hathaway.

July 2 – Houdini (USA)

Cast: Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher, Angela Clarke, Stefan Schnabel, Ian Wolfe, Sig Ruman, Michael Pate, Connie Gilchrist, Malcolm Lee Beggs, Frank Orth
Director: George Marshall
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Based on the book Houdini by Harold Kellock. The distinguished magician, escapologist, and mentalist Joseph Dunninger, credited as ‘Dunninger’, was technical adviser on the film. Tony Curtis was borrowed from Universal for the film, and Janet Leigh was borrowed from MGM. The pair were married at the time, but this was the first time they appeared on screen together. They made four more films together. Curtis trained with magician George Boston for one month prior to filming. The film was originally set to be shot in black-and-white but was decided during pre-production to film in color to take advantage of the sets and costumes (which were designed by Edith Head). Leigh said she and Curtis learned how to perform the illusions to avoid any camera trickery, but the escape scenes were rigged because Curtis could not contort his body or work the locks like Houdini could. Curtis, who had appeared mostly in action films at the time, hoped Houdini would see him recognized as a serious actor and was disappointed when that didn’t happen.

July 3 – All I Desire (USA)

Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson, Lyle Bettger, Marcia Henderson, Lori Nelson, Maureen O’Sullivan, Richard Long, Billy Gray, Dayton Lummis, Lotte Stein
Director: Douglas Sirk
Production Company: Universal International Pictures, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: Based on Carol Ryrie Brink’s 1951 novel Stopover. The film originally had a darker, sadder ending but producer Ross Hunter substituted a happier one. Richard Long would go on to star with Barbara Stanwyck in the 1965-1969 Western TV series The Big Valley, playing her son.

July 3 – Dangerous When Wet (USA)

Cast: Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson, Charlotte Greenwood, Denise Darcel, William Demarest, Donna Corcoran, Barbara Whiting
Director: Charles Walters
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, M-G-M Cartoons, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
Trivia: William Hanna provided the uncredited voices of cartoon cat and mouse Tom & Jerry. The film’s working title was Everybody Swims and was intended to star Esther Williams and Debbie Reynolds. When Williams speaks to Tom & Jerry underwater, the animated bubbles coming from her mouth cost $50,000 to produce. Williams knew of Fernando Lamas before he was cast, knew of his career and his romantic connections, and that he could swim and felt he was a good casting choice. Lamas turned down the role initially because he only wanted to act in ‘important pictures’ but Williams talked him into taking it, saying his part could be rewritten to be larger. Williams and Lamas eventually married in 1969 and remained wed until his death in 1982.

July 4 – The Last Posse (USA)

Cast: Broderick Crawford, John Derek, Charles Bickford, Wanda Hendrix, Warner Anderson, Henry Hull, Will Wright, Tom Powers, Raymond Greenleaf, James Kirkwood
Director: Alfred L. Werker
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The musical score consists primarily of recycled themes from Columbia serials arranged by Ross DiMaggio.

1963

July – A Matter of Choice (UK)

Cast: Anthony Steel, Jeanne Moody, Ballard Berkeley, Malcolm Gerard, Michael Davis, Penny Morrell, Lisa Peake, James Bree, George Moon, Richard Bebb, Garard Green, Frank Pettitt
Director: Vernon Sewell
Production Company: George Maynard Productions, distributed by Bryanston Distributing

July – A Place to Go (UK)

Cast: Bernard Lee, Rita Tushingham, Mike Sarne, Doris Hare, Barbara Ferris, John Slater, David Andrews, William Marlowe, Roy Kinnear
Director: Basil Dearden
Production Company: Excalibur Films, British Lion Film Corporation, distributed by British Lion Film Corporation
Trivia: Based on the 1961 novel Bethnal Green by Michael Fisher. Pub scenes were mostly filmed at The Acorn, a pub in Bethnal Green that was demolished in 2019.

July – Harbor Lights (USA)

Cast: Kent Taylor, Míriam Colón, Jeff Morrow
Director: Maury Dexter
Production Company: Associated Producers, La Cooperative De Artes Cinematograficos, Producciones Del Viejo San Juan, distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox
Trivia: Shot on location in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

July – Shadow of Fear (UK)

Cast: Paul Maxwell, Clare Owen, Anita West, John Arnatt, Alan Tilvern, John Sutton, Eric Pohlmann, Colin Tapley, Anthony Wagner, Robert Russell
Director: Ernest Morris
Production Company: Butcher’s Film Service
Trivia: Final film of Mia Karam.

July – Siege of the Saxons (USA)

Cast: Janette Scott, Ronald Lewis, Ronald Howard, Mark Dignam, John Laurie, Jerome Willis, Charles Lloyd-Pack, Francis de Wolff
Director: Nathan H. Juran
Production Company: Ameran Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Though set during the time of King Arthur (5th – 6th century), the setting — as with most Arthurian films — is late Medieval. This film used stock footage for a battle scene from Columbia’s 1954 film The Black Knight. Costumes and props from that film and Columbia’s Robin Hood films were also incorporated.

July – The Yellow Teddy Bears (UK)

Cast: Jacqueline Ellis, Iain Gregory, Georgina Patterson, John Bonney, Annette Whiteley, Douglas Sheldon, Victor Brooks, Anne Kettle, Lesley Dudley, Jill Adams, John Glyn-Jones, Raymond Huntley
Director: Robert Hartford-Davis
Production Company: Animated Motion Pictures, Tekli British Productions, distributed by Compton Films (UK), Topaz Film Corporation (USA)
Trivia: Released in the US in July 1964 as Gutter Girls. Also known in the US as The Thrill Seekers.

July 3 – The Great Escape (Canada)

Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton
Director: John Sturges
Production Company: The Mirisch Company, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: Based on Paul Brickhill’s 1950 non-fiction book of the same name. The barbed wire fence used in the motorcycle chase scene was simulated by strips of rubber tied around barbless wire, constructed by the cast and crew in their spare time. Insurance concerns prevented Steve McQueen from performing the film’s famous motorcycle jump scene, which he said was done by stuntman Bud Ekins, but he and Australian Motocross champion Tim Gibbes both did the stunt on camera for fun, and second unit director Robert Relyea said the final shot in the film could be any of the three men. Other parts of the chase were done by McQueen, playing both Hilts and the soldiers chasing him, because of his skill on a motorcycle.

1973

June 28 – 40 Carats (USA)

Cast: Liv Ullmann, Edward Albert, Gene Kelly, Binnie Barnes, Deborah Raffin, Billy Green Bush, Nancy Walker, Don Porter, Rosemary Murphy, Natalie Schafer, Claudia Jennings, Sam Chew Jr.
Director: Milton Katselas
Production Company: Frankovich Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1968 play of the same name by Jay Presson Allen. The ending was significantly changed for the film. Liv Ullman was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Motion Picture Actress, Musical or Comedy. Julie Harris won a Tony Award for the same role on stage.

June 28 – The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (USA)

Cast: Burt Reynolds, Sarah Miles, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, George Hamilton, Bo Hopkins, Robert Donner, Jay Silverheels, Jay Varela, James Hampton
Director: Richard C. Sarafian
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Polyphony Digital, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Based on the debut novel by Marilyn Durham, who admits she wrote it as a movie with Lee Van Cleef, Julie Adams and Carroll O’Connor in mind for the roles of Jay, Catherine and Willard, respectively. Films rights were sold before the story was published.

July – Come Out Fighting (AUS)

Cast: Michael Karpaney, Joey Collins, Bethany Lee, Cliff Neate, Peter Green, Bob Horsfall, Brian Torrens, Peter Adams
Director: Nigel Buesst
Production Company: Experimental Film and Television Fund, distributed by Melbourne Film-Makers Co-Operative
Trivia: The film was shot on 16mm and was made with the assistance of the Experimental Film and Television Fund.

July – The 14 (UK)

Cast: Jack Wild, June Brown, Liz Edmiston, Diana Beevers, Cheryl Hall, Anna Wing, John Bailey, Alun Armstrong, Keith Buckley
Director: David Hemmings
Production Company: Avianca Productions Ltd., distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK), Bryanston Distributing (USA)
Trivia: Opened in the US on December 19, 1973 as The Little Wild Bunch. Also known as Existence. Winner of the Silver Bear award at the 23rd International Berlin Film Festival.

July – The Daring Dobermans (USA)

Cast: Charles Knox Robinson, Tim Considine, Joan Caulfield, David Moses, Claudio Martinez, Tom Dever, George ‘Buck’ Flowers, Richard Stahl, John Wareagle, David Somerville, William Dyer
Director: Byron Ross Chudnow
Production Company: Dimension Pictures
Trivia: Sequel to 1972’s The Doberman Gang, picking up right where the first film ended.

July – The Young Nurses (USA)

Cast: Jeane Manson, Ashley Porter, Angela Elayne Gibbs, Zack Taylor, Jack La Rue Jr., William Joyce, Allan Arbus, Mary Doyle, Sally Kirkland, Don Keefer, Dick Miller, Mantan Moreland, Samuel Fuller
Director: Clint Kimbrough
Production Company: New World Pictures
Trivia: Fourth film in the popular ‘nurses’ cycle for New World Pictures.

July 3 – Oklahoma Crude (USA)

Cast: George C. Scott, Faye Dunaway, John Mills, Jack Palance, William Lucking, Harvey Jason, Ted Gehring, Cliff Osmond, Rafael Campos, Woodrow Parfrey
Director: Stanley Kramer
Production Company: Stanley Kramer Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Anne Murray’s ‘Send a Little Love My Way’ was Golden Globe nominated for Best Original Song. Though set in Oklahoma, the film was shot in Stockton, California where locals assured production the weather was mild and temperate. It did everything but snow, with temperatures ranging from 110 degrees to so cold the actors had to put ice cubes in their mouths so their breath wouldn’t show as the story was set in the Summer.

1983

July – Abra Cadabra (AUS)

Voice Cast: John Farnham, Jacki Weaver, Hayes Gordon, Gary Files, James Smillie, Hamish Hughes
Director: Alexander Stitt
Production Company: Adams Packer Film Productions
Trivia: Based loosely on the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. It was the first animated feature to be produced in 3D.

July – Going Down (USA)

Cast: Tracy Mann, David Argue, Ian Gilmour, Mercia Deane-Johns, Tim Burns, Richard Moir, Ralph Cotterill, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Julie Allan
Director: Haydn Keenan
Production Company: X Productions, distributed by Smart Street Films
Trivia: Originally opened in Australia on September 29, 1982. Debut theatrical feature film of Australian actress Claudia Karvan.

July – Space Raiders (USA)

Cast: Vince Edwards, David Mendenhall, Drew Snyder, Patsy Pease, Thom Christopher, Luca Bercovici, George Dickerson, Dick Miller, William Boyett
Director: Howard R. Cohen
Production Company: Millenium, distributed by New World Pictures
Trivia: Also known as Star Child. The film was panned for reusing music and special effects footage from Roger Corman’s Battle Beyond the Stars.

July – The Winds of Jarrah (AUS)

Cast: Terence Donovan, Susan Lyons, Harold Hopkins, Steve Bisley, Martin Vaughan, Dorothy Alison, Steven Grives, Emil Minty
Director: Mark Egerton
Production Company: Film Corporation of Western Australia, The Australian Film Commission, distributed by Filmways Australasian Distributors
Trivia: Adapted from the novel The House in the Timberwoods (1959) by Joyce Dingwell.

July 1 – Stroker Ace (USA)

Yahi Productions

Cast: Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jim Nabors, Parker Stevenson, Loni Anderson, John Byner, Cassandra Peterson, Bubba Smith, Warren Stevens, Cary Guffey
Director: Hal Needham
Production Company: Yahi Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: Adapted from the 1973 novel Stand on It. Celebrities and race car drivers appearing as themselves include Neil Bonnett, Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, Kyle Petty, Richard Petty, Jerry Reed, Ricky Rudd and Cale Yarborough. Burt Reynolds turned down the role of astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment to do this film. Jack Nicholson got the role and an Oscar in the process. It was a turning point in Reynolds’ career from which it never recovered. Reynolds’ fee was $5 million. It was Loni Anderson’s feature film debut, although she was already well-known for her work on WKRP in Cincinnati. Ry Cooder’s music score was replaced with one by Al Capps. Cooder later reused the music in Streets of Fire. The film received five Golden Raspberry Award nominations including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actress (Anderson) and Worst New Star (also for Anderson), winning one for Jim Nabors as Worst Supporting Actor.

1993

June 29 – Sins of the Night (UK)

Cast: Nick Cassavetes, Deborah Shelton, Miles O’Keeffe, Richard Roundtree
Director: Gregory Dark
Production Company: Axis Films International, Gernert/Garroni/Hippolyte Production, Axis Films International/Davis Joint Venture, distrbuted by Axis Films International
Trivia: Released on video in the US on October 13, 1993.

June 30 – Night Owl (USA)

Cast: John Leguizamo, James Raftery, Ali Thomas, David Roya, Holly Woodlawn, Lisa Napoli, Yul Vazquez, Caroline Munro
Director: Jeffrey Arsenault
Production Company: Franco Productions
Trivia: Caroline Munro’s interview was shot for the film, not archival footage as some have suggested. Production on the film took more than two years, which explains why John Leguizamo’s hair keeps changing.

June 30 – The Firm (USA/Canada)

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, Hal Holbrook, Jerry Hardin, David Strathairn, Terry Kinney, Wilford Brimley, Gary Busey, Margo Martindale, Paul Sorvino, Tobin Bell, Dean Norris
Director: Sydney Pollack
Production Company: Davis Entertainment, Mirage Enterprises, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1991 novel The Firm by author John Grisham. The film received Oscar nominations for Holly Hunter (Supporting Actress) — losing to her The Piano co-star Anna Paquin — and Dave Grusin (Original Score). The film was originally budgeted at $15 million with Charlie Sheen or Jason Patric in the lead role. Producers wanted a bigger film and courted Tom Cruise on the set of A Few Good Men. Cruise wanted to star and direct. Director John Badham was originally signed for $3 million, but John McTiernan expressed interest with Cruise starring. McTiernan wanted Scott Rudin removed as producer but Paramount stuck with Rudin and hired Sydney Pollack to direct. Gene Hackman’s name does not appear on the film’s poster as he joined late in production. Cruise’s contract stated only his name could appear above the title, but Hackman wanted his name above the title as well. When that was refused, he asked that his name be removed altogether, although it does appear in the film’s credits.

July 2 – Son in Law (USA)

Cast: Pauly Shore, Carla Gugino, Lane Smith, Cindy Pickett, Mason Adams, Patrick Renna, Dennis Burkley, Dan Gauthier, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Adam Goldberg, Flea
Director: Steve Rash
Production Company: Hollywood Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Trivia: Brendan Fraser reprises his role of Linkovich ‘Link’ Chomovsky from Encino Man in a cameo appearance. After Encino Man, Pauly Shore wanted to pursue an offer from New Line Cinema but Jeffrey Katzenberg convinced him to stay with Disney and make Son in Law.

2003

July 2 – Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (USA/Canada)

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Moonie, Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, Luke Wilson, Bob Newhart, Bruce McGill, Dana Ivey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Sam Pancake, Octavia Spencer
Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Production Company: Type A Films, Marc Platt Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by MGM Distribution Co.
Trivia: Sarah Shahi and Masi Oka appear in uncredited role. Though set in Washington DC, the film was shot in Salt Lake City, Utah and Springfield, Illinois. Aerial shots are DC are actually scale models.

July 2 – Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (USA/Canada)

Voice Cast: Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Adriano Giannini, Timothy West, Jim Cummings, Conrad Vernon, Raman Hui
Director: Tim Johnson, Patrick Gilmore
Production Company: DreamWorks Animation, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures
Trivia: Frank Welker is the uncredited ‘voice’ of Sinbad’s pet mastiff Spike. Patrick Gilmore’s feature directorial debut. The film was a box office bomb, nearly bankrupting DreamWorks, causing the studio to abandon future 2D animation projects. Michelle Pfeiffer initially found her character too sexual, then too boring, and told Jeffrey Katzenberg that he could fire her. Russell Crowe was originally cast as Sinbad but had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts. Pitt took the role to do a film his nieces and nephews could see, but worried his Missourian accent would not be right for the Middle Eastern character.

July 2 – Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (USA/Canada)

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, Claire Danes, David Andrews, Mark Famiglietti, Earl Boen
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Production Company: Intermedia, C2 Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: James Cameron had expressed interest in directing the film but ultimately had no involvement. Schwarzenegger received a record $30 million salary for the film. The character Scott Mason was originally named Scott Peterson but was changed to avoid association with the Scott Peterson murder case of Laci Peterson, but in the end credits the name is still listed as Peterson. Aside from Schwarzenegger, Earl Boen is the only actor to appear in the three Terminator films to this point. Claire Danes was the first choice to play Kate Brewster but the effort to get her involved did not work out. The role was cast with Sophia Bush, but after a month of filming the director felt she was just too youthful looking for the part despite his best efforts to make her look older. Danes then read the script and agreed to join the production.

2013

June 28 – 100 Bloody Acres (USA, limited)

Cast: Damon Herriman, Angus Sampson, Anna McGahan, Oliver Ackland, James ‘Jamie’ Kristian, Chrissie Page, John Jarratt, Paul Blackwell
Director: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Production Company: Cyan Films, distributed by Hopscotch
Trivia: The film was intended to be pure horror, but jokes emerged during the writing process and a shift toward comedic horror was embraced. Debut feature of brothers Cameron and Colin Cairnes.

June 28 – A Band Called Death (USA, documentary)

Cast: Dannis Hackney, Bobby Hackney, David Hackney, Robbie Duncan, Kathleen, Earl Hackney Jr., Victor Veve, Majora Florida Hackney, Victor Twiggs
Director: Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett
Production Company: Haven Entertainment, Picture Machine, distributed by Drafthouse Films

June 28 – Copperhead (USA, limited)

Cast: Billy Campbell, Angus Macfadyen, Augustus Prew, Lucy Boynton, Peter Fonda, François Arnaud
Director: Ron Maxwell
Production Company: Swordspoint Productions, Brainstorm Media, distributed by Film Collective
Trivia: Based on the 19th-century novel The Copperhead by Harold Frederic. The film had the working title Copperhead: The War at Home. Jason Patric was the original star but was replaced with Billy Campbell due to ‘creative differences’ with the director.

June 28 – Detention of the Dead (USA, limited)

Cast: Jacob Zachar, Alexa Nikolas, Christa B. Allen, Jayson Blair, Justin Chon, Max Adler
Director: Alex Craig Mann
Production Company: Gala Films, distributed by Anchor Bay Films
Trivia: Based on the Rob Rinow stage play of the same name.

June 28 – Jatt & Juliet 2 (USA/Canada/UK/AUS)

Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Neeru Bajwa, Rana Ranbir, Jaswinder Bhalla, B.N. Sharma, Bharti Singh, Dolly Mattoo
Director: Anurag Singh
Production Company: White Hill Studios
Trivia: Sequel to the 2012 blockbuster Jatt & Juliet, however not directly or story-wise. It went on to become the highest grossing Punjabi film ever and is the first Punjabi film released on Blu-ray.

June 28 – Laurence Anyways (USA)

Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Suzanne Clément, Nathalie Baye, Monia Chokri, Susie Almgren, Yves Jacques, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Anne Dorval
Director: Xavier Dolan
Production Company: Lyla Films, MK2, distributed by Alliance VivaFilm
Trivia: Originally opened in Quebec on May 18, 2012. Winner of the Queer Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival.

June 28 – Petunia (USA)

Cast: Tobias Segal, Thora Birch, Christine Lahti, Brittany Snow, Michael Urie, David Rasche, Eddie Kaye Thomas
Director: Ash Christian
Production Company: New Films International, Ironclad Pictures, distributed by Wolfe Releasing
Trivia: Thora Birch and her father Jack are credited as producers. Brittany Snow doesn’t make her first appearance until about 40 minutes into the 107 minute film.

June 28 – Some Girl(s) (USA, limited)

Cast: Adam Brody, Kristen Bell, Zoe Kazan, Mía Maestro, Jennifer Morrison, Emily Watson
Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Production Company: Pollution Studios, distributed by Leeden Media
Trivia: First premiered on the internet on June 26, 2013. Based on the play of the same name, written by Neil LaBute.

June 28 – The Heat (USA/Canada)

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Dan Bakkedahl, Taran Killam, Michael McDonald, Spoken Reasons, Jane Curtin, Michael B. Tucci, Joey McIntyre, Bill Burr, Nate Corddry, Thomas F. Wilson, Kaitlin Olson, Tony Hale, Ben Falcone, Paul Feig
Director: Paul Feig
Production Company: Chernin Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Ingenious Media, Big Screen Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Screenwriter Katie Dippold’s feature film debut. The studio wasn’t sure that women would want to see a cop film or that men would want to see a movie with women holding guns, canceling out the potential audience. When Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy and Paul Feig signed on to the project, it was titled The Untitled Female Buddy Cop Comedy. Paul Feig announced a sequel shortly after the film’s release but Bullock said she would not return. A spin-off film was then announced as a replacement featuring the characters played by Jamie Denbo and Jessica Chaffin.

June 28 – The Secret Disco Revolution (USA/Canada, limited)

Narrator: Peter Keleghan
Director: Jamie Kastner
Production Company: Cave 7 Productions, distributed by Screen Media Films
Trivia: Originally opened in Denmark on November 2, 2012.

June 28 – This Is Martin Bonner (USA, limited)

Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Demetrius Grosse, Kristin Slaysman, Robert Longstreet, Jan Haley
Director: Chad Hartigan
Production Company: 600 West Productions, distributed by Monterey Media
Trivia: Filming took 16 days in 2011 in Reno and Sparks, Nevada.

June 28 – White House Down (USA/Canada)

Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, James Woods, Nicolas Wright, Jimmi Simpson, Michael Murphy, Rachelle Lefevre, Lance Reddick, Matt Craven, Jake Weber, Peter Jacobson, Garcelle Beauvais
Director: Roland Emmerich
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Centropolis Entertainment, Mythology Entertainment, distributed by
Sony Pictures Releasing
Trivia: First opened in Indonesia on June 26, 2013. Sony was competing with Millennium Films, which was producing the similar Olympus Has Fallen, to complete casting and begin filming. White House Down reached screens three months before the competition.

July 1 – Empire of the Apes (USA)

Cast: Danielle Donahue, Elizabeth V. Costanzo, Marie DeLorenzo, Ken Van Sant, Jeff Kirkendall
Director: Mark Polonia
Production Company: Polonia Brothers Entertainment, Sterling Entertainment

July 1 – Hidden Hills (USA, limited)

Cast: Tim O’Leary, Ted Trent, Jane Wiedlin, Karen Forman, Jono Mitchell, C. Stephen Foster, Feodor Chin, Wendy Shapero, Joy Sudduth
Director: Dan Steadman
Production Company: Circa87, Out of the Closet Productions

July 3 – Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (USA, documentary, limited)

Cast: Jon Auer, Chris Bell, Alex Chilton, Rick Clark, Tav Falco, Andy Hummel, John Lightman, Jody Stephens, Ken Stringfellow
Director: Drew DeNicola
Production Company: September Gurls Productions, Ardent Studios, The Group Entertainment, Omnivore Entertainment Group, distributed by Magnolia Pictures

July 3 – Despicable Me 2 (USA/Canada)

Voice Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong, Nasim Pedrad, Kristen Schaal, Pierre Coffin, Vanessa Bayer
Director: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
Production Company: Illumination Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: First opened in Australia on June 20, 2013, and in the UK on June 28. Pierre Coffin provided the voices for 899 minions. Javier Bardem was in talks to voice the villain El Macho, but they fell through. Al Pacino took on the role but then left the film, after his work and animation had been completed, due to creative differences. Benjamin Bratt stepped in to voice the role. Bratt had to match his performance and voice work to the already completed animation, at first attempting to imitate Pacino but ultimately making the character his own.

July 3 – Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (USA)

Cast: Kevin Hart
Director: Leslie Small, Tim Story
Production Company: Hartbeat Productions, Codeblack Films, Summit Entertainment, distributed by Lionsgate

July 3 – The Lone Ranger (USA/Canada)

Walt Disney Pictures

Cast: Jihnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, Barry Pepper, Mason Cook, Saginaw Grant, Harry Treadaway, Leon Rippy, Stephen Root, James Frain
Director: Gore Verbinski
Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Blind Wink Productions, Infinitum Nihil
Trivia: The film experienced many problems and budget concerns before production began, almost leading to the project’s cancellation. The film was a box office bomb, losing Disney $160-$190 million, but did earn two Oscar nominations for Visual Effects and Makeup & Hairstyling. It also received five Razzie nominations, winning Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel. Production endured many problems including inclement weather, wildfires, a chickenpox outbreak and the death of crew member Michael Andrew Bridger, a water safety expert who died while working inside a large water tank. A proposed sequel was floated before the film’s release but cancelled after its financial failure.

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