Walt Disney Pictures
Another week with a large number of releases, a few award-worthy, a few notorious, with some hits and misses along the way. 1923 has at least one film that still exists. 1933 had one film that pushed the boundaries of storytelling to its limits, and 1943 saw a popular comic book superhero make his first appearance on the big screen, and produced an adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. 1953 had a 3D film with a couple of notable firsts, while 1963 had a film that was re-edited four times before it got a release. 1973 introduced the world to Cleopatra Jones, while 1983 saw the release of a horror film with virtual unknowns who went on to bigger and better things, as well as a sequel to a very popular 1977 film that was not Star Wars. 1993 gave us a movie about a whale, and introduced a group of sisterly witches, while 2003 re-teamed Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. 2013 saw Adam Sandler and friends make another movie, and brought to life the world of Kaiju and Jaegers. Read more about these films and others celebrating anniversaries this week, and tell us if your favorites are on the list!
1923
July 15 – A Gentleman of Leisure (USA)
- Cast: Jack Holt, Casson Ferguson, Sigrid Holmquist, Alec Francis, Adele Farrington, Frank Nelson, Alfred Allen
- Director: Joseph Henabery
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1910 novel A Gentleman of Leisure by P. G. Wodehouse. Remake of the 1915 film of the same title. Wallace Reid was to star but he died in early 1923.
July 15 – Rupert of Hentzau (USA)
- Cast: Bert Lytell, Elaine Hammerstein, Lew Cody, Claire Windsor, Hobart Bosworth, Bryant Washburn, Marjorie Daw, Mitchell Lewis, Adolphe Menjou, Elmo Lincoln, Irving Cummings, Josephine Crowell, Nigel De Brulier, Gertrude Astor
- Director: Victor Heerman
- Production Company: Selznick Pictures Corporation, distributed by Selznick Distributing Corporation
- Trivia: Adaptation of Anthony Hope’s 1898 novel Rupert of Hentzau, the sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda. No prints of the film are known to exist.
July 16 – Circus Days (USA)
- Cast: Jackie Coogan, Barbara Tennant, Russell Simpson, Claire McDowell, Cesare Gravina, Peaches Jackson, Sam De Grasse, DeWitt Jennings
- Director: Eddie Cline
- Production Company: Sol Lesser Productions, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
- Trivia: The film had been thought lost, but a print survived in a Russian film archive which was digitally presented to the Library of Congress in 2010 along with other silents that were thought lost.
1933
July 13 – Baby Face (USA)
- Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Alphonse Ethier, Henry Kolker, Margaret Lindsay, Arthur Hohl, John Wayne, Robert Barrat, Douglass Dumbrille, Theresa Harris
- Director: Alfred E. Green
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The screenplay was based on a story by Mark Canfield, which was a pseudonym for Darryl F. Zanuck who sold the treatment to the studio for $1.00. The film’s open discussion of sex made it one of the most notorious of the pre-Code era, and helped bring that era to a close as enforcement of the Code became more strict. The film is also notable for its depiction of a friendship between Lily (Stanwyck) and her Black co-worker Chico (Theresa Harris). Even after Chico becomes Lily’s maid, they still maintain the friendship rather than boss and employee. The film faced major censorship issues after its initial release due to its content (the ending had to be changed to show Lily losing everything so her sexual vices were not rewarded). The uncensored version of the film was lost until 2004 when it was found in a Library of Congress film vault in Dayton, Ohio. The film was added to the National Film Registry in 2005.
July 14 – Bed of Roses (USA)
- Cast: Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, John Halliday, Pert Kelton, Samuel Hinds, Franklin Pangborn, Tom Herbert, Wade Boteler, Eddy Chandler, Jane Darwell
- Director: Gregory LaCava
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: The film is preserved in the Library of Congress.
July 14 – Flying Devils (USA)
- Cast: Bruce Cabot, Arline Judge, Eric Linden, Ralph Bellamy, Cliff Edwards, June Brewster, Frank LaRue, Mary Carr
- Director: Russell Birdwell
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as The Flying Circus or Flying Circus.
July 14 – Mama Loves Papa (USA)
- Cast: Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, Lilyan Tashman, George Barbier, Walter Catlett, Morgan Wallace, George Beranger, Tom Ricketts, Warner Richmond, Frank Sheridan, Tom McGuire
- Director: Norman Z. McLeod
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Nominated for Best Picture in 1933 by the National Board of Review.
July 14 – Storm at Daybreak (USA)
- Cast: Kay Francis, Nils Asther, Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Eugene Pallette, C. Henry Gordon, Louise Closser Hale, Jean Parker
- Director: Richard Boleslawski
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Film debut of Ellen Corby. Louise Closser Hale died 17 days after the film’s release from heat stroke. It was one of seven films she appeared that premiered in 1933.
July 15 – She Had to Say Yes (USA)
- Cast: Loretta Young, Winnie Lightner, Lyle Talbot, Regis Toomey, Hugh Herbert, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Suzanne Kilborn, Helen Ware, George Chandler
- Director: George Amy, Busby Berkeley
- Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Busby Berkeley’s directorial debut.
July 15 – The Fugitive (USA)
- Cast: Rex Bell, Cecilia Parker, Bob Kortman, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Tom London, Gordon De Main, Theodore Lorch, Earl Dwire
- Director: Harry L. Fraser
- Production Company: Trem Carr Pictures, distributed by Monogram Pictures
- Trivia: The film has fallen into the public domain.
July 15 – The Important Witness (USA)
- Cast: Noel Francis, Dorothy Burgess, Donald Dillaway, Noel Madison, Robert Ellis, Charles Delaney, Paul Fix
- Director: Sam Newfield
- Production Company: Tower Productions, distributed by Capitol Film Exchange
- Trivia: The film has fallen into the public domain.
July 15 – The Man from Monterey (USA)
- Cast: John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Luis Alberni, Donald Reed, Nina Quartero, Francis Ford, Lafe McKee, Lillian Leighton, Slim Whitaker, John T. Prince
- Director: Mack V. Wright
- Production Company: Continental Litho Corp., distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The last of six films John Wayne made for Warner Bros. The opening credits list ‘John Wayne and Duke’ which is not an error. While Wayne became known as The Duke later in his career, Duke was the name of his horse in the movie.
July 18 – Orders Is Orders (UK)
- Cast: Charlotte Greenwood, James Gleason, Cyril Maude, Finlay Currie, Percy Parsons, Cedric Hardwicke, Donald Calthrop, Ian Hunter, Jane Carr, Ray Milland
- Director: Walter Forde
- Production Company: Gaumont British Picture Corporation, distributed by Ideal Films (UK), Gaumont British Picture Corporation of America (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on May 2, 1934. Based upon the 1932 play Orders Are Orders by Ian Hay and Anthony Armstrong. Remade in 1954.
1943
July 15 – Appointment in Berlin (USA)
- Cast: George Sanders, Marguerite Chapman, Onslow Stevens, Gale Sondergaard, Gilbert Emery, Lester Matthews, John Meredith, Leonard Mudie, Alan Napier, Georges Renavent, C. Montague Shaw, Reginald Sheffield
- Director: Alfred E. Green
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as Assignment in Berlin.
July 16 – Batman (USA, serial)
Columbia Pictures
- Cast: Lewis Wilson, Douglas Croft, J. Carrol Naish, Shirley Patterson, William Austin
- Director: Lambert Hillyer
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: While based on the DC Comics character, the villain, Dr. Daka, is an original creation for the serial. This marks the first appearance of Batman on film, and introduced elements that have become part of the Batman mythos including the Bat Cave and its secret entrance through a grandfather clock. It also changed Alfred’s appearance from a portly gentleman in the comics to a slim man sporting a mustache. Due to a low budget, there was no Batmobile, just a 1939 Cadillac Series 61 convertible chauffeured by Alfred, though when the top is up it serves as the Batmobile. In this story, Batman is a secret government agent instead of an independent crime-fighting vigilante. The serial spawned a sequel in 1949, Batman and Robin. The entire first serial was released in 1965 as An Evening with Batman and Robin, and its success inspired the 1966 Batman TV series.
July 16 – For Whom the Bell Tolls (USA)
- Cast: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Arturo de Córdova, Vladimir Sokoloff, Mikhail Rasumny, Fortunio Bonanova, Victor Varconi, Joseph Calleia, Lilo Yarson, Katina Paxinou, Alexander Granach
- Director: Sam Wood
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls by American novelist Ernest Hemingway. Ingrid Bergman’s first Technicolor film. Hemingway campaigned for Bergman and Gary Cooper for the leads, but Paramount cast Vera Zorina with Cooper. She was replaced with Bergman after having shot footage with her hair cut shorter to match the character description in the novel but the studio then felt she wasn’t glamourous enough. Nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning one for Best Supporting Actress for Katina Paxinou. Victor Young’s soundtrack was the first complete motion picture score from an American film to be issued as an album. The film’s original roadshow length of 170 minutes was trimmed to 134 minutes for a re-release. The original version was not seen again until 1990 when it was restored to 168 minutes. As this was done on film and not a digital restoration, some of the titles and scenes in early reels are slightly to significantly out of register.
July 16 – Hers to Hold (USA)
- Cast: Deanna Durbin, Joseph Cotten, Charles Winninger, Nella Walker, Ludwig Stössel, Gus Schilling, Samuel S. Hinds, Evelyn Ankers, Iris Adrian
- Director: Frank Ryan
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as Three Smart Girls Join Up. Third film in the Three Smart Girls trilogy, although Deanna Durbin’s Penny is the only one of the three sisters to appear in the film. References are made to the other films through home movies.
July 17 – Mexican Spitfire’s Blessed Event (USA)
- Cast: Lupe Vélez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed, Elisabeth Risdon, Lydia Bilbrook, Hugh Beaumont
- Director: Leslie Goodwins
- Production Company: RKO Pictures
- Trivia: Sequel to the 1942 film Mexican Spitfire’s Elephant. Eighth and final film in the series, and Lupe Vélez’s penultimate film as she committed suicide in December 1944 following the completion of one more film in her native Mexico.
July 17 – Petticoat Larceny (USA)
- Cast: Ruth Warrick, Joan Carroll, Walter Reed, Wally Brown, Tom Kennedy, Jimmy Conlin, Vince Barnett, Paul Guilfoyle, Grant Withers
- Director: Ben Holmes
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
July 17 – Porky Pig’s Feat (USA, short)
- Director: Frank Tashlin
- Production Company: Leon Schlesinger Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Mel Blanc an the uncredited voice actor. It’s the only appearance of Bigs Bunny, and the final appearance of Porky Pig, in a black-and-white cartoon. This contains the first use of Raymond Scott’s ‘Powerhouse’ in a cartoon. It was used in more than forty Warner Bros. cartoons.
July 17 – The Falcon in Danger (USA)
- Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Elaine Shepard, Amelita Ward, Cliff Clark, Edward Gargan, Clarence Kolb, Felix Basch, Richard Davies, Richard Martin
- Director: William Clemens
- Production Company: RKO Pictures
- Trivia: The sixth of thirteen The Falcon detective films. To save money, the main entrance and several buildings on the RKO lot were camouflaged to look like an airport. A plane in the film, the Capelis XC-12, was a failed twin-engine aircraft that got new life as a non-flying prop at RKO.
July 17 – Victory Through Air Power (USA, short)
- Director: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, H.C. Potter
- Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Wartime propaganda film based on the 1942 book Victory Through Air Power by Alexander P. de Seversky who appeared in the film, a departure from the Disney animated films of the era. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Walt Disney felt the book’s message was so important he personally financed production of the film. Disney’s usual distributor, RKO Pictures, refused to release the film so Disney took it to United Artists, making it the studio’s only film not released by RKO or Disney. The film received no further theatrical releases after 1944 due to its propagandistic nature, and because it was deemed offensive to Germans and Japanese. It was released on DVD as part of the Walt Disney Treasures collection Walt Disney on the Front Lines in 2004.
1953
July 13 – House of Blackmail (UK) [No US release.]
- Cast: Mary Germaine, William Sylvester, Alexander Gauge, John Arnatt, Denis Shaw, Ingeborg von Kusserow, Patricia Owens, C. Denier Warren, Hugo Schuster
- Director: Maurice Elvey
- Production Company: ACT Films, distributed by Monarch Film Corporation
July 13 – The Square Ring (UK)
- Cast: Jack Warner, Robert Beatty, Maxwell Reed, Joan Collins, Kay Kendall, Bernadette O’Farrell, Bill Owen, George Rose, Bill Travers, Alfie Bass, Joan Sims
- Director: Basil Dearden
- Production Company: J. Arthur Rank Organisation, Ealing Studios, distributed by General Film Distributors (UK), Republic Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US on January 28, 1955. Based on a stage play by Ralph Peterson. Canadian actor Robert Beatty replaced the originally announced John Mills, and trained for two weeks to prepare for his role as a boxer as he’d had no previous experience.
July 15 – So This Is Love (USA)
- Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Merv Griffin, Joan Weldon, Walter Abel, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeff Donnell, Douglas Dick, Ann Doran, Margaret Field, Mabel Albertson, Marie Windsor, Noreen Corcoran, Tristram Coffin, Franklyn Farnum, Kathryn Grant, Jester Hairston, Barbara Pepper
- Director: Gordon Douglas
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as The Grace Moore Story. Mary Astor was originally cast as Aunt Laura Stokley but had to bow out after breaking her leg in a fall at her home. The role was recast with Rosemary DeCamp.
July 15 – Sweethearts on Parade (USA)
- Cast: Ray Middleton, Lucille Norman, Eileen Christy, Bill Shirley, Estelita Rodriguez, Clinton Sundberg, Harry Carey, Jr., Irving Bacon
- Director: Allan Dwan
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
- Trivia: Rex Allen was originally cast as Jim Riley, but was replaced by Harry Carey Jr.; however, Rex Allen still provided Jim Riley’s singing voice.
July 17 – Let’s Do It Again (USA)
- Cast: Jane Wyman, Ray Milland, Aldo Ray, Leon Ames, Valerie Bettis, Tom Helmore, Karin Booth, Mary Treen, Dick Wessel, Kathryn Givney, Herbert Heyes, Franklyn Farnum, Alphonse Martell, Herb Vigran
- Director: Alexander Hall
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The film is a reworking of a stage play by Arthur Richman, The Awful Truth (1922), which was previously filmed under that title in 1925, 1929, and 1937.
July 17 – Ride, Vaquero! (USA)
- Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Anthony Quinn, Jack Elam, Kurt Kasznar
- Director: John Farrow
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
July 17 – The Great Jesse James Raid (USA)
- Cast: Willard Parker, Barbara Payton, Tom Neal, Wallace Ford, Jim Bannon, James Anderson, Richard H. Cutting, Barbara Woodell
- Director: Reginald LeBorg
- Production Company: Jezebel Productions, distributed by
Lippert Pictures - Trivia: Next to last film for Tom Neal as his affair with co-star Barbara Payton virtually derailed both of their careers. Payton would make just three more films between 1953 and 1963.
July 17 – The Great Sioux Uprising (USA)
- Cast: Jeff Chandler, Faith Domergue, Lyle Bettger, Peter Whitney, Stacy Harris, Walter Sande, Stephen Chase, Glenn Strange, Ray Bennett, John War Eagle, Charles Arnt
- Director: Lloyd Bacon
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The Great Sioux Uprising was Jeff Chandler’s first film under a new contract with Universal that doubled his salary. Filming took place on location in Portland and Pendelton, Oregon.
July 18 – Second Chance (USA)
- Cast: Robert Mitchum, Linda Darnell, Jack Palance, Roy Roberts, Dan Seymour, Fortunio Bonanova, Milburn Stone
- Director: Rudolph Maté
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Shot on location in Mexico in 3D. It was the first RKO film to be produced in 3D, and the first Hollywood 3D film to be shot in a foreign location.
1963
July 13 – Operacija Ticijan (Yugoslavia)
- Original Cast: William Campbell, Rade Markovic, Patrick Magee, Miha Baloh
- Reshoot Cast: William Campbell, Karl Schanzer, Lori Saunders, Sandra Knight, Marissa Mathes, Sid Haig, Jonathan Haze, Fred Thompson, Biff Elliot, David Ackles
- Director: Rados Novakovic
- Production Company: Avala Film, San Carlos Productions
- Trivia: The title translate to Operation Titian in English. The film was financed by Roger Corman, and he hoped to ‘Americanize’ it with the addition of two English-speaking actors, William Campbell and Patrick Magee, but it was ultimately deemed unreleasable, though it did appear on television slightly edited as Portrait in Terror. Francis Ford Coppola was the film’s script supervisor. In 1964 Corman asked Jack Hill to reshoot and add new scenes to match the original in the hopes of making it more commercial, turning a spy thriller into a horror movie. Campbell was available but demanded a sizable salary, which angered Corman but he had no choice but to agree to the demands. Magee’s role was virtually intact. Corman was still not happy with the results and the film went unreleased. Corman tried again in 1966, hiring director Stephanie Rothman to make changes as she saw fit. She changed the protagonist from a deranged, murderous artist to a deranged, murderous artist who is also a vampire. Campbell refused to film any new scenes as the vampire so Rothman had to use a different actor as the vampire and provide an explanation for the transformation between the two actors. Sid Haig’s return for reshoots also complicated continuity as he had grown a beard for a role in another film. Corman was ultimately pleased and the film was finally released on March 2, 1966 as Blood Bath. While Jack Hill received a co-director credit, he said Rothman’s changes ruined the film. A fifth version of the film featuring additional footage shot to make it long enough for TV broadcast — including a six minute sequence of Lori Saunders dancing on the beach — was titled Track of the Vampire and aired on late-night television.
July 17 – The Thrill of It All (USA)
- Cast: Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, Edward Andrews, Reginald Owen, ZaSu Pitts, Elliott Reid, Alice Pearce, Kym Karath
- Director: Norman Jewison
- Production Company: Ross Hunter Productions, Arwin Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Carl Reiner wrote the screenplay with Judy Holliday in mind for the lead, but she developed cancer and had to bow out. Reiner makes an uncredited appearance as a character actor appearing in various roles on TV. The film was a huge hit, but James Garner later wrote that it was ‘better than it should have been … because of Doris.’
July 18 – Cairo (Mexico)
- Cast: George Sanders, Richard Johnson, Faten Hamama, John Meillon, Ahmed Mazhar, Eric Pohlmann, Walter Rilla, Kamal el-Shennawi
- Director: Wolf Rilla
- Production Company: Lawrence P. Bachmann Productions, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: First opened in the UK in January 1963. Opened in the US on August 21, 1963. The film is a nearly scene-by-scene remake of John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle. The film reunited the star, producer and director of Village of the Damned.
1973
July 13 – Brother on the Run (USA)
- Cast: Terry Carter, Gwenn Mitchell, Kyle Johnson, James Sikking, Byron Morrow, Diana Eden, John Quade
- Director: Edward J. Lakso, Herbert L. Strock
- Production Company: Rowland-Williams Productions, Wrightwood Entertainment, distributed by Southern Star International
July 13 – Cleopatra Jones (USA)
- Cast: Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey, Shelley Winters, Brenda Sykes, Antonio Fargas, Bill McKinney, Dan Frazer, Stafford Morgan, Mike Warren, Albert Popwell, Caro Kenyatta, Esther Rolle
- Director: Jack Starrett
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, William Tennant Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Don Cornelius and Frankie Crocker make appearances as themselves, while former child-star Eugene W. Jackson II makes an appearance as Henry and actor Lee Weaver plays Henry’s friend. Considered the first ‘Blaxploitation’ film to use martial arts as part of its promotion. The part of Cleopatra Jones was originally written for Vonetta McGee
July 13 – Lady Ice (USA)
- Cast: Donald Sutherland, Jennifer O’Neill, Robert Duvall, Patrick Magee, Jon Cypher, Eric Braeden, Perry Lopez
- Director: Tom Gries
- Production Company: Tomorrow Entertainment, distributed by National General Pictures
- Trivia: George Lucas was offered the chance to direct, but he turned it down to focus on finding a studio for American Graffiti.
July 13 – The Killing Kind (USA)
- Cast: Ann Sothern, John Savage, Ruth Roman, Luana Anders, Cindy Williams, Sue Bernard, Marjorie Eaton, Peter Brocco
- Director: Curtis Harrington
- Production Company: Media Trend Productions
- Trivia: John Savage was cast a day before filming was to begin because the original actor dropped out. The characters of Louise (Luana Anders) and her wheelchair-bound father (Peter Brocco) also appear in 1980’s The Attic, played by Carrie Snodgress and Ray Milland.
July 18 – Sssssss (USA)
- Cast: Strother Martin, Dirk Benedict, Heather Menzies, Richard B. Shull, Tim O’Connor, Jack Ging, Kathleen King, Reb Brown
- Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
- Production Company: The Zanuck/Brown Company, distrbuted by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Released as Ssssnake in the UK, and as Mysterious! The Vampire Human Snake in Japan. The film’s executive producers were Richard Zanuck and David Brown, who went on to produce Jaws.
1983
July 14 – The Final Terror (USA)
- Cast: John Friedrich, Adrian Zmed, Daryl Hannah, Mark Metcalf, Ernest Harden Jr., Rachel Ward, Akosua Busia, Lewis Smith, Joe Pantoliano
- Director: Andrew Davis
- Production Company: Arkoff International Pictures, distributed by Comworld Pictures
- Trivia: Released internationally under titles Carnivore and Campsite Massacre. The original scrript was titled Bump in the Night. The film was completed in 1981 but shelved for two years after failing to find a distributor. It finally secured a release to capitalize on the rising fame of stars Adrian Zmed, Daryl Hannah and Rachel Ward. Akosua Busia was a childhood friend of Ward, and neither were aware of the other’s casting until the first day of shooting. The film was shot under the title Three Blind Mice. The crew consisted of four people.
July 15 – Another Time, Another Place (UK)
- Cast: Phyllis Logan, Giovanni Mauriello, Denise Coffey, Tom Watson, Gianluca Favilla, Gregor Fisher, Paul Young
- Director: Michael Radford
- Production Company: Associated-Rediffusion Television, Channel Four Films, The Scottish Arts Council, Umbrella, distributed by Cinegate (UK), The Samuel Goldwyn Company (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US on May 11, 1984. Based on the 1983 novel by Jessie Kesson.
July 15 – Deadly Force (USA)
- Cast: Wings Hauser, Joyce Ingalls, Paul Shenar, Al Ruscio, Arlen Dean Snyder, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Bud Ekins, Ramón Franco, Gina Gallego, Estelle Getty
- Director: Paul Aaron
- Production Company: Force, Hemdale, Transpacific Media Productions, distributed by Embassy Pictures
- Trivia: Sam Peckinpah was to direct the film at one point. The film’s working title was Fierce Encounter.
July 15 – Fanny Hill (West Germany)
- Cast: Lisa Raines, Oliver Reed, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Shelley Winters, Alfred Marks, Paddie O’Neil, Jonathan York
- Director: Gerry O’Hara
- Production Company: Brent Walker Film Productions Theatre Division, F.H. Filmproduction Limited, distributed by Brent Walker Film Distributing
- Trivia: The film was not released in the US. Playboy Productions was an uncredited production company. Adapted from the 1748 novel of the same name by John Cleland. Also known as Sex, Lies and Renaissance.
July 15 – Staying Alive (USA)
Paramount Pictures
- Cast: John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso, Charles Ward, Norma Donaldson, Jesse Doran, Joyce Hyser, Frank Stallone, Kurtwood Smith
- Director: Sylvester Stallone
- Production Company: RSO Records, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Sequel to Saturday Night Fever. Richie Sambora and Sylvester Stallone have uncredited cameos. Stallone also wrote the screenplay, and it’s one of two films he wrote but did not star in. Saturday Night Fever stars Donna Pescow and Val Bisoglio were to make cameo appearances but their roles were removed from the final cut, with the film vaguely implying Bisoglio’s character had died. John Travolta did not like the film’s early script by Norman Wexler that came soon after the release of the original film, feeling it was too pessimistic and refused to participate. Travolta was approached again in 1981 by the producers to get his input on where he saw Tony Manero’s life in the sequel. Wexler wrote a new script based on his ideas, and Travolta found it satisfactory but he still didn’t like the ending although he felt it was the more realistic outcome. Travolta had recently seen Rocky III and requested a director that could bring the same energy as Stallone brought to that film, and much to his surprise the studio was able to secure Stallone. Travolta told Stallone about the happy ending he wanted for the film, and Stallone did rewrites to match Travolta’s vision, also maturing the character as he was now six years older, and made the film’s language tamer to secure a PG rating. Travolta spent five months in training to develop a dancer’s physique, losing 20 pounds in the process. The Bee Gees produced five new songs for the soundtrack, and Stallone’s brother Frank had a hit with ‘Far From Over’.
1993
July 16 – Free Willy (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Jason James Richter, Lori Petty, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside, Richard Riehle, Mykelti Williamson, Michael Bacall, Danielle Harris, Keiko
- Director: Simon Wincer
- Production Company: Le Studio Canal+, Regency Enterprises, Alcor Films, Donner/Shuler-Donner, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Jason James Richter’s film debut. The film launched a small franchise with two sequels, an animated TV series and a direct-to-video reboot. It also inspired the rehabilitation and release of Keiko the whale. Most close-up shots involving limited movement of Willy used an animatronic stand-in. The famous shot of Willy jumping over Jesse and into the wild was accomplished with CGI.
July 16 – Hocus Pocus (USA)
- Cast: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Amanda Shepherd, Larry Bagby, Tobias Jelinek, Stephanie Faracy, Charles Rocket, Doug Jones, Kathleen Freeman
- Director: Kenny Ortega
- Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Trivia: Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall have uncredited cameos. The film was not a success during its original run, losing about $16.5 million for Disney. It developed a cult following through its annual Halloween airings on Disney Channel and ABC Family/Freeform. The film eventually inspired a sequel novelization, a theme park attraction, a TV special, a short film, a LEGO set, and a film sequel for Disney Plus. A second sequel has been announced. The film’s working title was Disney’s Halloween House, and it was much darker and scarier with 12-year-old protagonists. The project was pitched to Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, but Spielberg refused to co-produce a film with Amblin’s ‘rival’ in the family film market. Rewrites made the film more comedic and aged the children to teenagers. Production stalled several times until Bette Midler expressed interest as the central character, which was originally written for Cloris Leachman. Leonardo DiCaprio was approached for the character of Max, but was busy making What’s Eating Gilbert Grape at the time. Rosie O’Donnell was approached for the role of Mary Sanderson, but she didn’t want to play a mean witch. Though set in Salem, Massachusetts and filmed mostly on soundstages in Burbank, there was two weeks of location shooting in Salem and Marblehead, Massachusetts for the daytime scenes.
2003
July 18 – American Splendor (Canada, limited)
- Cast: Paul Giamatti, Daniel Tay, Donal Logue, Hope Davis, Molly Shannon, Judah Friedlander, James Urbaniak, Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Toby Radloff, Earl Billings
- Director: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
- Production Company: Good Machine, Dark Horse Entertainment, distributed by Fine Line Features
- Trivia: Opened in the US in limited release on August 15, 2003, followed by a wider general release on September 12. Josh Hutcherson’s first feature film. The film was partly an adaptation of the American Splendor comic book series which dramatizes Harvey Pekar’s life. Pekar does make an appearance as himself. The film was originally intended for broadcast on HBO. NBC refused to allow footage of Pekar’s disastrous fourth and sixth appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, and Letterman himself refused to appear in the film.
July 18 – Bad Boys II (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Jordi Mollà, Gabrielle Union, Peter Stormare, Theresa Randle, Joe Pantoliano, Otto Sanchez, Jon Seda, Oleg Taktarov, Michael Shannon, Henry Rollins, John Salley, Megan Fox
- Director: Michael Bay
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: Some scenes were filmed at a mansion in Delray Beach, Florida, which stood nearly completed and vacant for a year before it was purchased. The new owners advertised in Variety for a film company to use the mansion and blow it up, and by the end of filming only the swimming pool was left.
July 18 – How to Deal (USA)
- Cast: Mandy Moore, Allison Janney, Trent Ford, Alexandra Holden, Dylan Baker, Nina Foch, Peter Gallagher, Mackenzie Astin, Connie Ray, Mary Catherine Garrison, Sonja Smits
- Director: Clare Kilner
- Production Company: Radar Pictures, Golden Mean Productions, distributed by New Line Cinema
- Trivia: Based on Sarah Dessen’s novels That Summer and Someone like You.
July 18 – This Thing of Ours (USA, limited)
- Cast: Danny Provenzano, Frank Vincent, Edward Lynch, Vincent Pastore, James Caan, Chuck Zito, Pat Cooper, Vinny Vella, Joseph Rigano
- Director: Danny Provenzano
- Production Company: Austin Film Group, Dylan’s & Skyler’s Releasing, Metal Shop Productions, distributed by Gabriel Film Group
- Trivia: The film’s title is a reference to the Italian term ‘Cosa Nostra’, which refers to the American Mafia.
2013
July 12 – Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (USA, limited)
- Cast: Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva, Sebastián Silva
- Director: Sebastián Silva
- Production Company: Content Media, Diroriro, Fabula, distributed by IFC Films
- Trivia: The film’s on-screen title is Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus and 2012. While filming the scene of Crystal Fairy tripping, Gaby Hoffman admitted she was under the influence of a mild dose of psychedelics that was subtle enough so she could step out of character and ask questions then slip right back in and go with it. She said it was about a 10-hour trip in the desert with hours of footage that have never been seen.
July 12 – Dealing with Idiots (USA)
- Cast: Jeff Garlin, Max Wright, Mindy Rickles, Dave Sheridan, Hope Dworaczyk, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Steve Agee, Fred Willard, Alex Puccinelli, Bob Odenkirk , J. B. Smoove, Jami Gertz, Gina Gershon, Timothy Olyphant, Richard Kind, Nia Vardalos, Ian Gomez, Ali Wong, Natasha Leggero, Luenell
- Director: Jeff Garlin
- Production Company: Killer Films, distributed by IFC Films
- Trivia: The story for the film was inspired by Jeff Garlin’s experiences with his son’s youth baseball team.
July 12 – Grown Ups 2 (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph, Maria Bello, Nick Swardson, Colin Quinn, Steve Buscemi, Tim Meadows, Jon Lovitz, Shaquille O’Neal, Alexander Ludwig, Georgia Engel, Oliver Hudson, Cheri Oteri, Ellen Cleghorne, Dan Patrick, Norm Crosby, Dennis Dugan, Aly Michalka, Milo Ventimiglia
- Director: Dennis Dugan
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison Productions, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Bobby Moynihan, Akiva Schaffer, Taran Killam, Paul Brittain and an uncredited Will Forte appear as Male Cheerleaders. The J. Geils Band is the party band identified as Lenny’s friends. Adam Sandler’s first film sequel. Chris Hardwick had a cameo as an ice cream vendor but it was cut from the final edit. Shaquille O’Neal cameos as a cop. Patrick Schwarzenegger played one of the frat brothers. The film received nine Golden Raspberry Awards nominations including Worst Picture.
July 12 – Killing Season (USA, limited)
- Cast: Robert De Niro, John Travolta, Milo Ventimiglia, Elizabeth Olin
- Director: Mark Steven Johnson
- Production Company: Nu Image, Millennium Films, distributed by Corsan Pictures
- Trivia: The project was originally set in the 1970s and titled Shrapnel, and was being considered by John Travolta and Nicolas Cage to follow Face/Off.
July 12 – Pacific Rim (USA/Canada/UK)
Legendary Pictures
- Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, Clifton Collins Jr., Burn Gorman, Diego Klattenhoff
- Director: Guillermo del Toro
- Production Company: Legendary Pictures, Double Dare You Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: A worldwide rollout of the film began on July 11, 2013. Guillermo del Toro was originally to produce the film while directing At the Mountains of Madness for Universal, but the studio balked at his $150 million budget and insistence on an R-rating. His deal with Legendary stipulated that he would only direct Pacific Rim if the other film did not proceed, which it didn’t. The film’s working titles were Silent Seas and Still Seas. Del Toro originally resisted filming in or converting the film to 3D, feeling it would diminish the size of the robots and monsters, but he changed his mind and the conversion took 40 weeks longer than usual. Del Toro ended up cutting about an hour of material from the film to keep it around two hours. About 100 Kaiju and 100 Jaegers were designed but only a fraction of them appear in the film.
July 12 – Pawn Shop Chronicles (USA, limited)
- Cast: Brendan Fraser, Elijah Wood, Vincent D’Onofrio, Thomas Jane, Lukas Haas, Norman Reedus, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Kevin Rankin, Chi McBride, DJ Qualls, Pell James, Sam Hennings, Ashlee Simpson, Michael Cudlitz
- Director: Wayne Kramer
- Production Company: Anchor Bay Films, Mimran Schur Pictures, distributed by Anchor Bay Films
- Trivia: Also known as Hustlers. Paul Walker’s final film released before he died. Fred Durst was originally set to direct.
July 12 – Still Mine (USA, limited)
- Cast: James Cromwell, Geneviève Bujold, Chuck Shamata, Ronan Rees, Julie Stewart, Rick Roberts, George R. Robertson, Hawksley Workman, Joe Pingue
- Director: Michael McGowan
- Production Company: Mulmur Feed Co. Production, distributed by Paradigm Talent Agency
- Trivia: First opened in a limited run in Canada on May 3, 2013 under its original title Still.
July 12 – Terms and Conditions May Apply (USA, documentary)
- Narrator: Cullen Hoback
- Director: Cullen Hoback
- Production Company: Hyrax Films, Topiary Productions, distributed by Traction Media
July 12 – The Hot Flashes (USA, limited)
- Cast: Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, Virginia Madsen, Camryn Manheim, Eric Roberts, Mark Povinelli, Jessica Rothe, Robin Roberts
- Director: Susan Seidelman
- Production Company: The Hot Flashes LLC, distributed by Vertical Entertainment
- Trivia: The film was an attempt to raise awareness for breast cancer as well as defy stereotypes of age. Melanie Griffith was originally cast in the film but dropped out due to creative differences.
July 12 – The Hunt (USA, limited)
- Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Lasse Fogelstrøm, Susse Wold, Anne Louise Hassing, Lars Ranthe, Alexandra Rapaport
- Director: Thomas Vinterberg
- Production Company: Zentropa Entertainments, Film i Väst, Zentropa International Sweden, Det Danske Filminstitut, Danmarks Radio, Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV-Fond, Svenska Filminstitutet, Sveriges Television, MEDIA Programme of the European Union, distributed by Magnolia Pictures
- Trivia: Originally opened in the Netherlands as Jagten on October 25, 2012. Received a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
July 12 – The Moo Man (UK, documentary)
- Cast: Steve Hook, Ida the cow
- Director: Andy Heathcote
- Production Company: Trufflepig Films, Bachelier Filmproduktion, distributed by November Films, Violet Pictures
- Trivia: The documentary was filmed over a period of four years.
July 12 – V/H/S/2 (USA, limited)
- Cast: Lawrence Michael Levine, Simon Barrett, Mindy Robinson, Adam Wingard, Jay Saunders, Fachri Albar, Hannah Al Rashid, Oka Antara, Rylan Logan, Samantha Gracie, Frank Welker
- Director: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Evans, Jason Eisener
- Production Company: Bloody Disgusting, The Collective, Haxan Films, distributed by Magnet Releasing
- Trivia: First opened in Turkey on June 28, 2013. Also released online in the US on July 12. The film’s original title was S-VHS.
July 12 – Viola (USA, limited)
- Cast: María Villar, Agustina Muñoz, Julia Martínez Rubio, Alessio Rigo de Righi
- Director: Matías Piñeiro
- Production Company: Revólver Films, Universidad del Cine, HD Argentina, distributed by The Cinema Guild
July 13 – Animals (USA, limited)
- Cast: Oriol Pla, Augustus Prew, Dimitri Leonidas, Roser Tapias, Javier Beltrán, Martin Freeman
- Director: Marçal Forés
- Production Company: Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya, Escándalo Films, ICF Institut Català de Finances, Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals, Instituto de Crédito Oficial, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales, Televisió de Catalunya, Televisión Española, distributed by Artsploitation Films
- Trivia: First opened in Spain on October 26, 2012.
July 13 – Berlin Junction (Netherlands) [No US release]
- Cast: Marcel Romeijn, Dharmander Singh, Stephen Patrick Hanna, Nina Tratz, Daniela Lucato, Monique Amado, Alexandra Zoe
- Director: Xavier Agudo
- Production Company: Ex Film Collective
- Trivia: The film did not receive a US theatrical release. The film was unscripted and all dialogue was improvised.
July 17 – Computer Chess (USA, limited)
- Cast: Patrick Riester, Wiley Wiggins, Myles Paige, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Gordon Kindlmann
- Director: Andrew Bujalski
- Production Company: Computer Chess, distributed by Kino Lorber
- Trivia: The film only used an eight-page treatment with most of the action and dialogue improvised.
July 17 – Paris a Tout Prix (France/Belgium)
- Cast: Reem Kherici, Cécile Cassel, Tarek Boudali, Philippe Lacheau, Shirley Bousquet, Salim Kechiouche, Stéphane Rousseau, Joséphine Drai
- Director: Reem Kherici
- Production Company: Mandarin Films, Gaumont, Canal+, Ciné+, Cofinova 9, Cofimage 24, Sofica Manon 3, Société des Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision, distributed by Gaumont
July 17 – Turbo (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Peña, Luis Guzmán, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Michael Patrick Bell, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Richard Jenkins, Kurtwood Smith, Dario Franchitti, Will Power, Mario Andretti, Paul Pag, Chris Parnell, Paul Dooley
- Director: David Soren
- Production Company: DreamWorks Animation, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: David Soren’s feature directorial debut. Soren conceived of the film as The Fast & The Furious with snails. DreamWorks bought the idea and let it sit for more than five years.
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