Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #160 :: August 16•22

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

This week’s new movie releases include many classic and popular films, along with several award winners and nominees. Of note, two films this week brought first Oscar wins 20 years apart to two actresses who share the same last name. This week also gave us the film that introduced an iconic horror actor to the US film industry. One 1933 film was the first to feature the total destruction of a large American city. 1963 gave us a classic — and the best — haunted house film ever made. 1973 produced a popular film in the martial arts genre that was the last for its iconic star. 1983 gave a future Batman his first lead role, and brought two popular TV characters to the big screen. 1993 brought a Chinese director to the US for the first time, and gave his Belgian star one of his most popular films. 2013 took a real person and fictionalized his life, botched up a novel adaptation, and gave us a creative film in the horror genre. All of these and more are celebrating milestone anniversaries this week, but are any of your favorites on the list? Sound off in the comments section below!

1923

August 17 – Blinky (USA)

Cast: Hoot Gibson, Esther Ralston, Mathilde Brundage, DeWitt Jennings, Elinor Field, D.R.O. Hatswell, Charles K. French, John Judd, William E. Lawrence
Director: Edward Sedgwick
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Director Edward Sedgwick broke his leg during production. No prints of the film are known to exist.

August 19 – Alias the Night Wind (USA)

Cast: William Russell, Maude Wayne, Charles K. French, Wade Boteler, Donald MacDonald, Milton Ross, Charles Wellesley, Mark Fenton, Otto Matieson
Director: Joseph Franz
Production Company: Fox Film
Trivia: The film is presumed lost.

August 19 – Don’t Marry for Money (USA)

Cast: House Peters, Rubye De Remer, Aileen Pringle, Cyril Chadwick, Christine Mayo, Wedgwood Nowell, George Nichols, Hank Mann, Charles Wellesley
Director: Clarence Brown
Production Company: Weber & North Productions, distributed by Preferred Pictures

August 19 – Hollywood (USA)

Cast: Hope Drown, Luke Cosgrave, George K. Arthur, Ruby Lafayette, Harris Gordon, Bess Flowers, Eleanor Lawson, King Zany
Director: James Cruze
Production Company: Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Feature film follow-up to Paramount’s short A Trip to Paramountown. The film features cameos from more than fifty Hollywood stars, but the film is now considered lost.

August 19 – Little Johnny Jones (USA)

Cast: Johnny Hines, Wyndham Standing, Margaret Seddon, Herbert Prior, Molly Malone, George Webb, Pauline French, Mervyn LeRoy
Director: Johnny Hines, Arthur Rosson
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1904 play Little Johnny Jones by George M. Cohan. The film is considered lost. The film was remade in 1929 as a musical, directed by 1923 cast member Mervyn LeRoy.

August 19 – The Broken Wing (USA)

Cast: Kenneth Harlan, Miriam Cooper, Walter Long, Miss DuPont, Richard Tucker, Edwin J. Brady, Ferdinand Munier, Evelyn Selbie
Director: Tom Forman
Production Company: B. P. Schulberg Productions, distributed by Preferred Pictures, Al Lichtman Corp.
Trivia: Based on the play The Broken Wing by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. Cinematographer Harry Perry devised a camera mount that allowed him to film from a Curtiss JN-4 biplane. Using a camera mounted on the fuselage behind the rear cockpit, Perry was able to shoot the pilot in the front cockpit. Unfortunately the film is considered lost.

August 19 – The Destroying Angel (USA)

Cast: Leah Baird, John Bowers, Noah Beery, Ford Sterling, Mitchell Lewis
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Production Company: Leah Baird Productions, distributed by Associated Exhibitors
Trivia: The film’s status is unknown.

August 19 – The Silent Command (USA)

Cast: Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, Martha Mansfield, Betty Jewel, Florence Martin, Bela Lugosi, Carl Harbaugh, Martin Faust
Director: J. Gordon Edwards
Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
Trivia: The film was produced in cooperation with the Navy and was intended as a propaganda film to encourage support for a larger navy. This film was Bela Lugosi’s entry into American cinema, although his name is misspelled as ‘Belo’ in the credits. Lugosi once commented on the irony of appearing in a film about the navy while he comes from a landlocked country that has no need for a navy. The film used a technique of showing Lugosi’s eyes in extreme close-up, a device employed in several of his following films including Dracula. The film does survive and is in the public domain. The film premiered with a 91-minute run time in New York City, but the Chicago version ran 18 minutes shorter and was the version used for subsequent releases. Some prints also included color tinted scenes. The film was retitled His Country in France.

August 19 – Three Wise Fools (USA)

Cast: Claude Gillingwater, Eleanor Boardman, William H. Crane, Alec B. Francis, John Sainpolis, William Haines, Lucien Littlefield, ZaSu Pitts, Martha Mattox , Creighton Hale, Raymond Hatton
Director: King Vidor
Production Company: Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, distributed by Goldwyn Distributing Company
Trivia: A print of the film exists at the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique. Adapted from the play by Austin Strong and Winchell Smith. The film gave a high profile role to up-and-coming actor William Haines, who felt his top hat distracted his acting making his performance terrible, but he received positive notices and was offered a choice of four roles in new films.

August 20 – The Huntress (USA)

Cast: Colleen Moore, Lloyd Hughes, Russell Simpson, Walter Long, C.E. Anderson, Snitz Edwards, Wilfrid North, Helen Raymond
Director: Lynn Reynolds
Production Company: John McCormick Productions, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1922 novel The Huntress by Hulbert Footner. The film is considered lost.

1933

August 17 – Sing Sinner Sing (USA)

Cast: Paul Lukas, Leila Hyams, Don Dillaway, Ruth Donnelly, George E. Stone, Joyce Compton, Jill Dennett, Arthur Hoyt
Director: Howard Christie
Production Company: Larry Darmour Productions, distributed by Majestic Pictures
Trivia: Loosely based on the 1932 Libby Holman-Zachary Smith Reynolds case.

August 17 – The Private Life of Henry VIII (UK)

Cast: Charles Laughton, Merle Oberon, Wendy Barrie, Elsa Lanchester, Binnie Barnes, Everley Gregg, Robert Donat, Franklin Dyall, Miles Mander, Laurence Hanray
Director: Alexander Korda
Production Company: London Film Productions, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: Released in the US on September 21, 1933. The film was originally intended as a vehicle for Charles Laughton and his wife Elsa Lanchester, focusing just on Henry VIII’s fourth wife Anne of Cleves. As the project grew, the story was modified to focus on five of his six wives, omitting the first, Catherine of Aragon, because no one involved had any particular interest in her. She was simply described in the film’s opening intertitles as a ‘respectable woman’. Director Alexander Korda ignored the religious and political aspects of Henry’s reign to concentrate on his relationship with his wives. This was the first foreign film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and the first to win an Oscar (Best Actor for Laughton).

August 18 – Blind Adventure (USA)

Cast: Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Roland Young, Ralph Bellamy, John Miljan, Beryl Mercer, Tyrell Davis, Henry Stephenson, Laura Hope Crews
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Director Ernest B. Schoedsack and actors Robert Armstrong and Helen Mack were also involved in RKO’s Son of Kong which was filming at the same time as Blind Adventure. All three had also been part of King Kong.

August 18 – Deluge (USA)

Cast: Peggy Shannon, Sidney Blackmer, Lois Wilson, Matt Moore, Fred Kohler, Ralf Harolde, Edward Van Sloan, Samuel Hinds
Director: Felix E. Feist
Production Company: Admiral Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Very loosely based on the 1928 novel of the same name by S. Fowler Wright, with the setting changed from the UK to the US. Wright was disappointed the ending of the book was changed for the film and said the finished film was ‘ghastly’ and advised his children not to see it. This is the first film to depict the total destruction of New York City (although it was filmed entirely in Los Angeles). Part of the stock footage of ships and planes returning to port under severe storm warnings includes actual footage of the large U.S. Navy rigid airship USS Macon (ZRS-5), which would later be lost at sea in 1935. Republic Pictures later bought the film for just its special effects footage, using some of the scenes of destruction in S.O.S. Tidal Wave (1939), Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc (1941), and King of the Rocket Men (1949). The film was thought lost for many years until an Italian dubbed print was discovered in 1981. A preservation dupe was made and was released with English subtitles. A 35mm negative with the original English dialogue was discovered in 2016, restored and released on Blu-ray in 2017.

August 18 – Morning Glory (USA)

Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Adolphe Menjou, Mary Duncan, C. Aubrey Smith, Don Alvarado, Fredric Santley, Richard Carle, Tyler Brooke, Geneva Mitchell, Helen Ware
Director: Lowell Sherman
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Katharine Hepburn won her first Best Actress Oscar for this film, a role that had been tailored for RKO’s biggest star at the time, Constance Bennett. Hepburn read the script and convinced the producers that she was born to play the part, and Bennett was instead cast in Bed of Roses. The film was shot in sequence, unusual for the time. It was remade in 1958 as Stage Struck.

August 18 – Pilgrimage (USA)

Cast: Henrietta Crosman, Heather Angel, Norman Foster, Lucille La Verne, Maurice Murphy, Marian Nixon, Robert Warwick, Louise Carter, Betty Blythe, Francis Ford, Charley Grapewin, Hedda Hopper
Director: John Ford
Production Company: Fox Film Corporation

August 18 – The Girl from Maxim’s (UK)

Cast: Leslie Henson, Frances Day, George Grossmith, Jr., Lady Tree, Stanley Holloway, Gertrude Musgrove, Evan Thomas, Desmond Jeans
Director: Alexander Korda
Production Company: London Film Productions, distributed by United Artists (UK), J.H. Hoffberg Company (USA)
Trivia: Opened in the US on October 1, 1936. Adaptation of the 1899 play La Dame de chez Maxim by Georges Feydeau. A French version was filmed at the same time and released under the original title.

August 19 – Captured! (USA)

Cast: Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Paul Lukas, Margaret Lindsay, Robert Barrat, Arthur Hohl, John Bleifer, J. Carrol Naish
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Based on the short story ‘Fellow Prisoners’ (1930) by Sir Philip Gibbs. The film utilized 1,500 cast and crew and 75 aircraft.

August 20 – Devil’s Mate (USA)

Cast: Peggy Shannon, Preston Foster, Ray Walker, Hobart Cavanaugh, Barbara Barondess, Paul Porcasi, Harold Waldridge, Jason Robards Sr., Bryant Washburn, Harry Holman, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes
Director: Phil Rosen
Production Company: Monogram Pictures
Trivia: The film was remade by Phil Rosen as I Killed That Man (1941).

1943

August 16 – Cattle Stampede (USA)

Cast: Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Frances Gladwin, Charles King, Ed Cassidy, Hansel Warner, Glen Strange, Frank Ellis, Steve Clark
Director: Sam Newfield
Production Company: Sigmund Neufeld Productions, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation
Trivia: 11th film in the ‘Billy the Kid’ series.

August 19 – A Lady Takes a Chance (USA)

Cast: Jean Arthur, John Wayne, Charles Winninger, Phil Silvers, Mary Field, Don Costello, John Philliber, Grady Sutton, Jean Stevens, Grant Withers, Hans Conried
Director: William A. Seiter
Production Company: Frank Ross Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Jean Arthur is noticeably filmed from her left side, which cinematographers had determined was her most favorable angle.

August 19 – Black Marketing (USA, short)

Director: William Castle
Production Company: Office of War Information, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry
Trivia: An educational film warning American civilians against buying unrationed foodstuffs and materials.

August 19 – Destroyer (USA)

Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, Marguerite Chapman, Edgar Buchanan, Leo Gorcey, Regis Toomey, Edward Brophy
Director: William A. Seiter
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Lloyd Bridges and Larry Parks appear in early uncredited roles.

August 19 – Passport to Suez (USA)

Cast: Warren William, Ann Savage, Eric Blore, Robert Stanford, Sheldon Leonard, Lloyd Bridges, Gavin Muir
Director: Andre DeToth
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Working titles were A Night of Adventure and The Clock Strikes Twelve. The 20th film to feature the Lone Wolf character, and the last of nine appearances by Warren William in the role.

August 19 – The Fallen Sparrow (USA)

Cast: John Garfield, Maureen O’Hara, Walter Slezak, Patricia Morison, Martha O’Driscoll, Bruce Edwards, John Banner, John Miljan, Hugh Beaumont
Director: Richard Wallace
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Based on the novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes.

August 19 – Wagon Tracks West (USA)

Cast: Wild Bill Elliott, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Tom Tyler, Anne Jeffreys, Rick Vallin, Robert Frazer, Roy Barcroft
Director: Howard Bretherton
Production Company: Republic Pictures

August 21 – Scrap Happy Daffy (USA, short)

Cast: Mel Blanc, Dorothy Lloyd, Tedd Pierce
Director: Frank Tashlin
Production Company: Leon Schlesinger Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The final appearance of Daffy Duck in a black-and-white cartoon. The short has fallen into the public domain. A colorized version of the cartoon was released as part of Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5, while the original version is included on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3.

August 21 – The Seventh Victim (USA)

Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Kim Hunter, Isabel Jewell, Evelyn Brent, Erford Gage, Ben Bard, Mary Newton, Hugh Beaumont
Director: Mark Robson
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Mark Robson’s directorial debut and Kim Hunter’s first film appearance. The film was originally a murder mystery set in California, but the script was rewritten as a prequel to Cat People set in New York City, with Tom Conway reprising his role as Dr. Louis Judd. Critics found the film incoherent, and it was later discovered that Robson and his editor removed four substantial sequences from the film including an extended conclusion. The film has been noted for its homoerotic undertones. The opening scene at the boarding school used the set featured in RKO’s The Magnificent Ambersons, released the year before.

1953

August 19 – Big Leaguer (USA)

Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Vera-Ellen, Jeff Richards, Richard Jaeckel, William Campbell, Carl Hubbell, Paul Langton, Lalo Rios
Director: Robert Aldrich
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s, Inc.
Trivia: The story is fictional but Edward G. Robinson’s Hans Lobert was a real baseball player. Actor Jeff Richards was a pro ball player before turning to acting. Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell appears as himself. The film was announced in 1952 but production was delayed until March 1953 to take advantage of the Spring Training season, with filming conducted in Melbourne, Florida with the New York Giants. The rest of the film was shot in Cape Canaveral in 17 days.

August 19 – The Frightened Bride (USA)

Cast: Mai Zetterling, Michael Denison, Flora Robson, Dennis Price, André Morell, Jane Hylton, Naunton Wayne, Mervyn Johns, Celia Lipton
Director: Terence Young
Production Company: Raymond Stross Productions, distributed by Screenbound International Pictures
Trivia: Released in the UK as The Tall Headlines, and based on the 1950 novel of the same title by Audrey Erskine Lindop.

August 21 – Roman Holiday (UK)

Paramount Pictures

Cast: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Rawlings, Tullio Carminati, Paolo Carlini, Claudio Ermelli
Director: William Wyler
Production Company: Paramount Pictures, distributed by Paramount British Pictures (UK), Paramount Pictures (USA)
Trivia: Premiered in New York City on August 27, 1953 and entered general US release on September 2. The screenplay was co-written by Dalton Trumbo, however he received no screen credit as he was on the Hollywood Blacklist at the time. His credit was finally restored in 2011. Blacklisted director Bernard Vorhaus worked on the film as an assistant director under a pseudonym. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1999. Cary Grant turned down the lead because he felt he was too old to play Audrey Hepburn’s love interest … although he would do just that ten years later in Charade. Some suggest he turned down the role because he knew Hepburn would get all the attention. Gregory Peck accepted the role and was contractually given sole star billing with Hepburn listed much less prominently in the credits. Midway through filming, Peck suggested that Hepburn get equal billing. Elizabeth Taylor and Jean Simmons were considered for her role, but both were unavailable. This was Hepburn’s first major film role after a career in British and Dutch films that began in 1948. The Italian Ministry of Tourism had originally refused permission for the movie to be filmed in Rome on the grounds that it would ‘degrade Italians’, but once that issue was resolved filming began in Rome. It was originally planned to be filmed in color, but shooting outdoors was prohibitively expensive so it was done in black-and-white. The film earned ten Oscar nominations including Best Picture, winning Best Story (Trumbo), Best Costume Design – Black-and-White (Edith Head), and Best Actress (Hepburn). Hepburn also won the BAFTA for Best British Actress, and the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

August 21 – Sky Commando (USA)

Cast: Dan Duryea, Frances Gifford, Touch Conners, Michael Fox, Will R. Klein, Morris Ankrum
Director: Fred F. Sears
Production Company: Clover Productions, Inc., distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Touch Conners was the early screen name of Mike Connors. Frances Gifford’s last major film appearance. Principal photography took place over eight days, with most of the remaining prodcution work involving combining stock footage into the film, sometimes jarringly spliced together resulting in major continuity issues. Connors was told that the last two days of filming with him and Dan Duryea was unusable, and he expected to earn an extra two days pay to reshoot their scenes. Instead the director just inserted more stock footage.

1963

August 18 – A Ticklish Affair (USA)

Cast: Shirley Jones, Gig Young, Red Buttons, Carolyn Jones, Edgar Buchanan, Peter Robbins, Bill Mumy, Edward Platt
Director: George Sidney
Production Company: Euterpe, Inc., distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Also known as Moon Walk, the title of a story upon it was based by Barbara Luther, which appeared in Ladies Home Journal in 1962. The film was originally intended for Jean Simmons, but Shirley Jones was cast due to contractual obligations. Jones’ performance was characterized as ‘dull’ and she soon left Hollywood to appear on Broadway before returning as the matriarch of TV’s The Partridge Family.

August 21 – The Caretakers (USA)

Cast: Robert Stack, Polly Bergen, Diane McBain, Joan Crawford, Virginia Munshin, Ellen Corby, Barbara Barrie, Herbert Marshall, Sharon Hugueny, Robert Vaughn, Susan Oliver
Director: Hall Bartlett
Production Company: Hall Bartlett Productions, Inc., distributed by United Artists
Trivia: Based on the 1959 novel The Caretakers by Dariel Telfer. Released in the UK as Borderlines. Co-writer/co-producer Jerry Paris appears as a passerby Lorna (Polly Bergen) bumps into on the street. Joan Crawford arranged for each day’s scenes with veteran actor Herbert Marshall, an old friend who was in frail health, to be shot first thus allowing him to finish his work early in the day. Crawford was on the board of directors of PepsiCo, and product placements for Pepsi-Cola include a scene at the hospital picnic, which features a wagon that is dispensing the soft drink. Oscar nominated for its black-and-white cinematography. Golden Globe nominated in the Drama category for Best Picture, Best Actress (Bergen) and Best Director.

August 21 – The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (USA)

Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe DeRita, Jay Sheffield, Joan Freeman, Walter Burke, Peter Forster’ Maurice Dallimore, Richard Devon, Anthony Eustrel, Iau Kea
Director: Norman Maurer
Production Company: Normandy Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Loosely based on the Jules Verne classic Around the World in Eighty Days. The Three Stooges’ fifth feature film.

August 22 – The Haunting (USA)

Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Fay Compton, Rosalie Crutchley, Lois Maxwell, Valentine Dyall, Diane Clare, Ronald Adam, Amy Dalby, Paul Maxwell, Mavis Villiers
Director: Robert Wise
Production Company: Argyle Enterprises, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Adapted from Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House. The film’s sets were designed to be brightly lit with no dark corners or recesses, and all the rooms had ceilings to give a claustrophobic effect on film. Robert Wise used a 30mm anamorphic, wide-angle lens Panavision camera that was not technically ready for use and caused distortions. It was only given to Wise on condition that he sign a memorandum in which he acknowledged that the lens was imperfect. Screenwriter Nelson Gidding read the novel and believed it to be about the mental breakdown of the main character, but a meeting with Jackson confirmed the story was definitely about the supernatural. Elements of the insanity remained in the script to leave the audience wondering if the ghosts were real or in Eleanor’s mind. Jackson approved the shortened film title, as it was the same one she considered for the novel. To take advantage of film credits offered in the UK, Claire Bloom and Richard Johnson were cast as part of the obligation that the cast had to be partly British. Fashion designer Mary Quant was brought in to give Bloom’s Theo a more bohemian look. Russ Tamblyn, under contract to MGM, liked the script but initially turned down the role of Luke because he felt the character was a jerk. The studio threatened him with suspension if he didn’t reconsider. He said he found the character much more interesting upon a second reading of the script, and it became one of his favorites of his films. Ettington Park, now the Ettington Park Hotel, was used for exterior shots, and housed some of the cast and crew during filming, which unsettled both Harris and Bloom who found the location ‘scary looking’. Robert Wise’s contract specified the film could only be shot in black-and-white. To give the exterior a more sinister look, Wise used infrared film which brought out more detail in the stone, making it look like a ‘monster house’. The exterior was also filmed in a way as to make the windows look like eyes to give the impression that the house was alive. Harris was said to suffer from depression during filming and did not interact with Bloom at all, which puzzled the actress. Harris later told her it helped develop her character and the two reconciled. To enhance the actors’ performances during scenes in which they react to off-stage voices or sounds, Wise and his sound editors created a ‘pre-scored’ soundtrack of voices and noises that were played during filming. While some sounds were replaced in post-production, the ‘pre-scored’ sounds were left on the soundtrack just as the actors heard them. Sound editors collected and created sounds in an empty manor house for a week to create the pre-score. Subtle special effects were employed at times. A door that appears to ‘breathe’ left audiences believing it was made of rubber, however it was laminated wood pushed from behind by a very strong crewman. A specially constructed spiral staircase was used to give the impression that it was about to collapse while Luke, and later Eleanor, were ascending it. The effect disturbed the actors so much that Wise had to walk on it himself to prove it was completely safe. Wise used a number of rapid cuts in the film that throw off the viewer’s sense of spatial orientation, and Dutch angles are used to imply that reality is off-kilter. The film is also known for depicting the lesbian character Theo as feminine and not predatory, but censors demanded she never be shown touching Eleanor to keep the lesbianism less obvious. Ted Turner announced he was planning to have the film colorized in 1990, but Wise pointed out his contract specifying the film could only be in black-and-white.

1973

August 17 – Cops and Robbers (USA)

Cast: Cliff Gorman, Joseph Bologna, Delphi Lawrence, Charlene Dallas, John P. Ryan, Dolph Sweet, Joe Spinell, Shepperd Strudwick
Director: Aram Avakian
Production Company: Elliott Kastner Productions, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: The original screenplay by Donald Westlake was expanded by the author into a novel.

August 17 – Happy Mother’s Day, Love George (USA)

Cast: Patricia Neal, Cloris Leachman, Bobby Darin, Tessa Dahl, Ron Howard, Kathie Browne, Joe Mascolo, Simon Oakland, Thayer David
Director: Darren McGavin
Production Company: Taurean, distributed by Cinema 5 Distributing
Trivia: Also known Run Stranger, Run. Bobby Darin’s last acting role.

August 19 – Electra Glide in Blue (USA)

Cast: Robert Blake, Billy ‘Green’ Bush, Mitchell Ryan, Jeannine Riley, Elisha Cook, Royal Dano, Hawk Wolinski, Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Lee Loughnane
Director: James William Guercio
Production Company: Guercio-Hitzig, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: The soundtrack was performed by members of the band Chicago, who also briefly appear; director James William Guercio managed them at the time and produced many of their albums. Guercio took a salary of $1.00 to have the budget to secure the services of cinematographers Conrad Hall. A majority of the film was shot without permits, because the Arizona Highway Patrol did not cooperate with production. Filming ran several days behind schedule due to first time director Guercio’s inexperience. Robert Blake later wrote that he and Hall basically co-directed the film while Guercio stood around. The role drew attention to Blake which led to his being cast in the TV series Baretta. Blake also received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

August 19 – Enter the Dragon (USA/Canada)

Cast: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri, Shih Kien, Bob Wall, Angela Mao Ying, Betty Chung, Geoffrey Weeks, Yang Sze, Peter Archer
Director: Robert Clouse
Production Company: Sequoia Pictures, Concord Production Inc., Warner Bros. Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Bruce Lee’s final completed film, premiering in Los Angeles one month after his death. One of the most successful martial arts films of all time, regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2004. Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan appear in uncredited roles. The original screenplay title was Blood and Steel. Rod Taylor was the original choice for the role of Roper, but Lee deemed him too tall, so John Saxon was the preferred choice. Saxon would only agree to the role if the script was changed so Roper lived and Williams is killed. Rockne Tarkington was originally cast as Williams but dropped out days before filming, so producers hastily arranged a meeting with karate world champion Jim Kelly, and he was immediately cast, the role launching his film career. Chuck Norris turned down the role of O’Hara stating that one cinematic loss to Lee was enough for him. Scenes were filmed on location in Hong Kong and without sound, dialogue and sound effects were added in post-production.

1983

August 16 – Wavelength (USA)

Cast: Robert Carradine, Cherie Currie, Keenan Wynn
Director: Mike Gray
Production Company: Rosenfield Company, Wavelength Film Company, distributed by New World Pictures
Trivia: Mike Gray developed the film after his deal with Columbia Pictures to direct The China Syndrome fell through. Wavelength was being developed at Warner Bros. but the studio dropped the film after the release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which the studio deemed too similar. The film was to be released before E.T the Extra-Terrestrial, but was delayed due to the film’s extensive special effects. John Carpenter’s 1984 Starman has been accused of plagiarizing Wavelength.

August 19 – Easy Money (USA)

Cast: Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Candy Azzara, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey Jones, Taylor Negron, Tom Noonan, Val Avery, Tom Ewell
Director: James Signorelli
Production Company: Easy Money Associates, distributed by Orion Pictures
Trivia: Bill Murray was originally cast as Paddy but dropped out and was replaced with Tom Noonan. The names of the feuding familes, Capuletti and Monahan, were spoofs of the Capulets and Montagues from Romeo and Juliet.

August 19 – Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (USA)

Cast: Jeffrey Byron, Michael Preston, Tim Thomerson, Kelly Preston, Richard Moll
Director: Charles Band
Production Company: Arista Films, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film was produced in 3D. Jeffrey Byron, Richard Moll and some vehicles seen in the film also appeared in Charles Band’s The Dungeonmaster (1985). Moll shaved his head for the movie, and the producers of Night Court liked the look so much he kept shaving his head for the show.

August 19 – Mr. Mom (USA)

Cast: Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Frederick Koehler, Taliesin Jaffe, Courtney & Brittany White, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Lloyd, Graham Jarvis, Carolyn Seymour, Miriam Flynn
Director: Stan Dragoti
Production Company: Sherwood Productions, distributed by 20th Century-Fox
Trivia: Michael Keaton’s first lead role, which he was offered after producers saw his screen debut in Night Shift. John Hughes wrote the film based on his own disastrous experience looking after his kids in the absence of his wife. The project was originally conceived as a TV movie. Hughes had a TV deal with Aaron Spelling and brought him on as an executive producer. Universal execs didn’t like that Hughes worked in Chicago, so he was fired and a group of TV writers was brought in to rework the script. Ron Howard turned the film down to direct Splash, and the studio decided to turn it into a theatrical film.

August 19 – Strange Brew (Canada)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Cast: Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Max von Sydow, Lynne Griffin, Angus MacInnes, Paul Dooley, Brian McConnachie, Mel Blanc, Tom Harvey, Douglas Campbell
Director: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Trivia: Opened in the US on August 26, 1983. Also known as The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew. The film’s story elements are loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The film was developed after the success of Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis’ comedy album The Great White North, which sold a million copies. SCTV exec producer Andrew Alexander warned the pair that he owned the characters and if they attempted to write a script they would be sued. MGM made a deal for the film based on album sales, not the script.

August 19 – The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (USA)

Cast: Edward James Olmos, Victoria Plata, James Gammon, Tom Bower, Bruce McGill, Brion James, Alan Vint, Timothy Scott, Pepe Serna, Michael McGuire, William Sanderson, Barry Corbin, Jack Kehoe, Rosanna DeSoto, Ned Beatty
Director: Robert M. Young
Production Company: American Playhouse, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Filmhaus Productions, Moctesuma Esparza Productions, NCLR, National Endowment for the Humanities
Trivia: Based on the book With His Pistol in His Hand by Americo Paredes. The film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2022. Rosanna DeSoto won the Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.

1993

August 18 – Métisse (France)

Cast: Julie Mauduech, Hubert Koundé, Mathieu Kassovitz, Vincent Cassel, Héloïse Rauth, Andrée Damant, Peter Kassovitz
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Production Company: Canal+, Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Les Productions Lazennec, Nomad Films, Société Française de Production, distributed by MKL Distribution (France), New Yorker Films (USA)
Trivia: Opened in the US as Café au Lait on August 19, 1994.

August 18 – Manhattan Murder Mystery (USA)

Cast: Diane Keaton, Woody Allen, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen, Melanie Norris, Marge Redmond, Joy Behar, Ron Rifkin, Zach Braff, Sylvia Kauders, Vincent Pastore
Director: Woody Allen
Production Company: TriStar Pictures, Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions, distributed by TriStar Pictures
Trivia: The script began as an early draft of Annie Hall. Diane Keaton was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. The role of Carol was originally written for Mia Farrow. Zach Braff was 17-years-old when he filmed his one scene, and today he says all he can see in that scene is the terror in his eyes.

August 20 – Hard Target (USA/Canada)

Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Arnold Vosloo, Yancy Butler, Kasi Lemmons, Chuck Pfarrer, Willie C. Carpenter, Wilford Brimley, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Jules Sylvester, Robert Apisa
Director: John Woo
Production Company: Alphaville Films, Renaissance Pictures, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: John Woo’s US film debut. The film is based on the 1932 film adaptation of Richard Connell’s 1924 short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’. Universal was nervous about Woo and sent Sam Raimi to oversee things to fill in if needed. Woo wanted Kurt Russell for the lead, but the actor was too busy at the time to accept. Woo was obligated to deliver an R-rated film but the MPAA gave it an NC-17 rating for the extreme violence. Woo had to re-edit the film six times because the MPAA never specified what they found objectionable. Woo made 20 cuts to the film, including cuts to the opening chase scene and the Mardi Gras warehouse scene. A romantic scene was also cut from the film.

August 20 – King of the Hill (USA)

Cast: Jesse Bradford, Jeroen Krabbé, Lisa Eichhorn, Karen Allen, Spalding Gray, Elizabeth McGovern, Cameron Boyd, Adrien Brody
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Production Company: Wildwood Enterprises, Bona Fide Productions, distributed by Gramercy Pictures
Trivia: Second film directed by Steven Soderbergh from his own screenplay. The film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

August 20 – The Ballad of Little Jo (USA)

Cast: Suzy Amis, Bo Hopkins, Ian McKellen, David Chung, Heather Graham, René Auberjonois, Carrie Snodgress, Anthony Heald, Melissa Leo, Sam Robards
Director: Maggie Greenwald
Production Company: Joco, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, distributed by Fine Line Features
Trivia: Nominated for the 1994 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for Suzy Amis and Best Supporting Male for David Chung.

August 20 – Wilder Napalm (USA)

Cast: Debra Winger, Dennis Quaid, Arliss Howard, M. Emmet Walsh, Jim Varney, Charles Gideon Davis, John Hostetter, Jonathan Rubin, Harvey Shield, Allyce Beasley
Director: Glenn Gordon Caron
Production Company: Baltimore Pictures, distributed by TriStar Pictures
Trivia: Arliss Howard and Debra Winger are married in real life. They met while making the film. Every outfit worn by Winger has the color green in it.

2003

August 20 – MAX: A Cautionary Tale (AUS)

Cast: Purdy Buckle, Amber Clayton, Robert Edwards, Rinske Ginsberg, Diana Greentree, Tristan Hamilton, David Murray, Damian Neate, Wendy Rule, Geoff Smith, Paul Stephenson
Director: Nicholas Verso
Production Company: Asphodel Films
Trivia: No known US release. The film was originally titled Max, but was changed to avoid confusion with a John Cusack film of the same name screening at the same time.

August 22 – Marci X (USA)

Cast: Lisa Kudrow, Damon Wayans, Richard Benjamin, Jane Krakowski, Christine Baranski, Paula Garcés, Charles Kimbrough, Veanne Cox, Sherie Rene Scott, Nashawn Kearse
Director: Richard Benjamin
Production Company: Scott Rudin Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Chris Rock turned down the role of Dr. S because he didn’t like the script.

August 22 – My Boss’s Daughter (USA)

Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Terence Stamp, Molly Shannon, Andy Richter, Michael Madsen, Tyler Labine, David Koechner, Carmen Electra, Kenan Thompson, Jeffrey Tambor, Dave Foley
Director: David Zucker
Production Company: Gil Netter Productions, John Jacobs Productions, distributed by Dimension Films
Trivia: Charlotte Zucker’s final film role.

August 22 – The Battle of Shaker Heights (USA, limited)

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Elden Henson, Amy Smart, Shiri Appleby, Kathleen Quinlan, William Sadler, Ray Wise, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Billy Kay, Michael McShane, Anson Mount, Hattie Winston
Director: Efram Potelle, Kyle Rankin
Production Company: LivePlanet, distributed by Miramax Films
Trivia: The film was the winning script for the second season of Project Greenlight.

2013

August 16 – Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (USA/Canada)

Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine, Kennadie Smith, Jacklynn Smith, Nate Parker, Robert Longstreet, Charles Baker, Augustine Frizzell, Kentucker Audley, Rami Malek
Director: David Lowery
Production Company: Paradox Entertainment, Parts and Labor, The Weinstein Company, distributed by IFC Films
Trivia: Rami Malek auditioned for the role of Sweetie, which went to Nate Parker. Director David Lowery was impressed enough with his audition to offer him the smaller role of Will. The film was shot in a sequential manner with Casey Affleck’s scenes filmed first, then his scenes with Rooney Mara, with Mara’s scenes filmed last. Lowery limited the number of takes to four or five per scene.

August 16 – Jobs (USA/Canada)

Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, Victor Rasuk, Eddie Hassell, Ron Eldard, Nelson Franklin, Elden Henson, Lenny Jacobson, Giles Matthey, Dermot Mulroney, Matthew Modine, J. K. Simmons, Kevin Dunn, Brett Gelman, John Getz, Lesley Ann Warren, Robert Pine, Masi Oka
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Production Company: Five Star Feature Films, IF Entertainment, Venture Forth, Silver Reel, Endgame Entertainment, distributed by Open Road Films
Trivia: Filming began at Steve Jobs’ childhood home in Los Altos, California with the help of his stepmother Marilyn Jobs, who still lives there.

August 16 – Paranoia (USA/Canada)

Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, Harrison Ford, Lucas Till, Embeth Davidtz, Julian McMahon, Josh Holloway, Richard Dreyfuss
Director: Robert Luketic
Production Company: Gaumont Film, EMJAG Digital Productions, Film 360, Demarest Films, distributed by Relativity Media[
Trivia: Loosely based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Joseph Finder.

August 16 – Lee Daniels’ The Butler (USA/Canada)

Cast: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Elijah Kelley, Alex Pettyfer, Mariah Carey, Terrence Howard, Yaya DaCosta, Vanessa Redgrave, Clarence Williams III, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Colman Domingo, Robin Williams, James Marsden, Minka Kelly, Liev Schreiber, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Jesse Williams
Director: Lee Daniels
Production Company: Laura Ziskin Productions, Windy Hill Pictures, Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Pam Williams Productions, distributed by The Weinstein Company
Trivia: Inspired by Wil Haygood’s Washington Post article ‘A Butler Well Served by This Election’, which was loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen. The last film produced by Laura Ziskin. Final film of Clarence Williams III, who retired in 2018 and died in 2021. The film began production in New Orleans in June 2012, but the wrap was delayed in early August by the impact of Hurricane Isaac. The film was to be titled simply The Butler, but Warner Bros. challenged it because of the studio’s ownership of a lost silent film of the same name. The issue was resolved with the addition of Lee Daniels’ name to the title with the condition that his name was 75% the size of The Butler.

August 21 – The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (USA/Canada/UK)

Cast: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, C. C. H. Pounder, Jared Harris, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Director: Harald Zwart
Production Company: Screen Gems, Constantin Film, Unique Features, Mister Smith Entertainment, Don Carmody Productions, distributed by Entertainment One
Trivia: Based on the first book of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The film was meant to launch a franchise with Sigourney Weaver joining the second film. Its box office failure killed those plans, however a TV series reboot titled Shadowhunters premiered on Freeform in 2016 and ran for three seasons. Alex Pettyfer was offered the role of Jace Wayland but he turned it down.

August 22 – You’re Next (Netherlands)

Lionsgate

Cast: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, A. J. Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Rob Moran, Barbara Crampton, Amy Seimetz, Ti West
Director: Adam Wingard
Production Company: HanWay Films, Snoot Entertainment, distributed by Dutch FilmWorks (Netherlands), Lionsgate (USA), Entertainment One (Canada)
Trivia: Opened in the US and Canada on August 23, 2013. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2011. The script was inspired by Agatha Christie mysteries, screwball comedies and chamber mysteries. Simon Barrett realized after the fact the the movie Bay of Blood was probably in the back of his mind when writing the script. Filming took place in a mansion in Columbia, Missouri over four weeks, mostly from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM.

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