Paramount Pictures
This was a pretty good week for movie fans across the decades as several films that would go on to become classics, as well as award winners, made their debuts. Several of them have even been selected for preservation due to their cultural impact. Sadly, most of the films from 1923 are lost but 1933 produced a hit film, based on a Broadway play, that was lovingly spoofed in a TV sitcom decades later. 1943 brought a popular ‘Universal Monster’ back to the big screen and in color for the first time, which was one of two Oscar winners that year. 1953 saw the Earth invaded by Mars, and had a famous kiss on the beach, both films winning Oscars and selected for preservation. That year also gave us the first appearance of a popular, but controversial, cartoon character. 1963 had Vincent Price in a Poe film that wasn’t a Poe film, and 1973 gave us the first of two films that made Robert De Niro a star. 1983 gave us a film about the planet that is a visual feast, and 1993 took away Mel Gibson’s face, turned Patrick Swayze into a crook, brought another Stephen King story to life, and had an ill-fated attempt to revive a popular comedy franchise. 2003 produced a sequel to a popular horror film that was never supposed to happen, and 2013 had a collection of smaller films, one of which gave Brie Larson one of her first major roles. Read more about these and the other films celebrating anniversaries this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are on the list!
1923
August 25 – Wife in Name Only (USA)
- Cast: Mary Thurman, Arthur Housman, Edmund Lowe, William Tucker, Florence Dixon, Edna May Oliver, Tyrone Power Sr.
- Director: George Terwilliger
- Production Company: Pyramid Pictures, distributed by Selznick Distributing Corporation
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
August 26 – Drifting (USA)
- Cast: Priscilla Dean, Matt Moore, Wallace Beery, J. Farrell MacDonald, Rose Dione, Edna Tichenor, William V. Mong, Anna May Wong, Bruce Guerin
- Director: Tod Browning
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the Broadway play Drifting, by John Colton and Daisy H. Andrews. Copies of the film are located in the Gosfilmofond of Moscow and in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection. A copy of the film with Czech intertitles was preserved in 2012, translated back into English.
August 26 – Salomy Jane (USA)
- Cast: Jacqueline Logan, George Fawcett, Maurice Bennett Flynn, William B. Davidson, Charles Stanton Ogle, Billy Quirk, G. Raymond Nye, Louise Dresser, James Neill
- Director: George Melford
- Production Company: Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film is considered lost. It is a remake of a 1914 film with the same title.
August 26 – Second Hand Love (USA)
- Cast: Charles Jones, Ruth Dwyer, Charles Coleman, Harvey Clark
- Director: William Wellman
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
August 26 – Soft Boiled (USA)
- Cast: Tom Mix, Billie Dove, Joseph W. Girard, Lee Shumway, Tom Wilson, Frank Beal, Jack Curtis, Charles Hill Mailes, Harry Dunkinson, Clarence Wilson, Tony the Horse
- Director: John G. Blystone
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
August 26 – Tea: With a Kick! (USA)
- Cast: Doris May, Creighton Hale, Ralph Lewis, Rosemary Theby, Stuart Holmes, Zasu Pitts
- Director: Erle C. Kenton
- Production Company: Victor Halperin Productions, distributed by Associated Exhibitors
August 27 – Dulcy (USA)
- Cast: Constance Talmadge, Claude Gillingwater, Jack Mulhall, John Harron, Anne Cornwall, George Beranger, Fred Esmelton, Milla Davenport
- Director: Sidney A. Franklin
- Production Company: Constance Talmadge Film Company, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted from the Broadway production of the same name written by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. The film is considered lost.
August 27 – Shadows of the North (USA)
- Cast: William Desmond, Virginia Brown Faire, Fred Kohler, William Welsh, Al Hart, James O. Barrows, Rin Tin Tin
- Director: Robert F. Hill
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
August 27 – The Cheat (USA)
- Cast: Pola Negri, Jack Holt, Charles De Roche, Dorothy Cumming, Robert Schable, Charles A. Stevenson, Helen Dunbar, Richard Wayne, Guy Oliver, Edward Kimball
- Director: George Fitzmaurice
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Remake of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1915 film of the same name using the same script. The film is considered lost.
1933
August 25 – Man of the Forest (USA)
- Cast: Randolph Scott, Verna Hillie, Harry Carey, Noah Beery Sr., Barton MacLane, Buster Crabbe, Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, Vince Barnett, Blanche Friderici, Tempe Pigott, Tom Kennedy
- Director: Henry Hathaway
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film was reissued as Challenge of the Frontier. A 35mm print of the film exists and was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2015.
August 25 – One Year Later (USA)
- Cast: Mary Brian, Russell Hopton, Don Dillaway, DeWitt Jennings, Will Ahern, Gladys Ahern, George Irving, Jackie Searl, Pauline Garon
- Director: E. Mason Hopper
- Production Company: M.H. Hoffman Inc., distributed by Allied Pictures Corporation
August 25 – The Last Trail (USA)
- Cast: George O’Brien, Claire Trevor, El Brendel, Matt McHugh, J. Carrol Naish, George Reed, Lucille La Verne, Ruth Warren, Luis Alberni, Edward LeSaint
- Director: James Tinling
- Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
- Trivia: Remake of a 1921 film of the same name.
August 25 – This Day and Age (USA)
- Cast: Charles Bickford, Richard Cromwell, Judith Allen, Harry Green, Bradley Page, Edward J. Nugent, Ben Alexander
- Director: Cecil B. DeMille
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Studio personnel suggested several other titles including: High School Men, Battle Cry, High and Mighty, Pay Day, Live and Learn, May Day, We Want Action!, The Young March On!, The Snare, These Young Sinners, No Kidding, Over Here, We Accuse, Innocent Blood, and Against the Rules. The film was rejected in Holland because of “strong Fascist tendencies”.
August 25 – Turn Back the Clock (USA)
- Cast: Lee Tracy, Mae Clarke, Otto Kruger, George Barbier, Peggy Shannon, C. Henry Gordon, Clara Blandick
- Director: Edgar Selwyn
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The Three Stooges appear uncredited as Wedding Singers, and it was their first screen appearance without former leader Ted Healy.
August 29 – Dinner at Eight (USA)
- Cast: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Billie Burke, Lee Tracy, Edmund Lowe, Madge Evans, Jean Hersholt
- Director: George Cukor
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Based on George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber’s 1932 play of the same title. Marie Dressler was recovering from cancer surgery when filming began. She died less than a year after the film’s release in July 1934. The name of Carlotta Vance’s dog, Tarzan, was changed from Mussolini by MGM executives afraid of offending the Italian leader. The movie is spoofed in the third episode of Frasier, which uses the film’s title for the episode title, and co-star John Mahoney also appeared in the film’s 1989 TV remake.
August 29 – The Big Chance (USA)
- Cast: John Darrow, Merna Kennedy, Natalie Moorhead, Mickey Rooney, Matthew Betz, Hank Mann
- Director: Albert Herman
- Production Company: Morris Shiller Productions, distributed by Arthur Greenblatt Distribution Service
1943
August 23 – Danger! Women at Work (USA)
- Cast: Patsy Kelly, Mary Brian, Isabel Jewell, Wanda McKay, Betty Compson, Cobina Wright Sr., Jack Randall, Warren Hymer, Vince Barnett
- Director: Sam Newfield
- Production Company: Producers Releasing Corporation
- Trivia: Patsy Kelly’s last starring film role. She was blackballed by the major studios in Hollywood for her refusal to discontinue her homosexual activity off-camera. She paid bills with radio, game show and TV appearances, and by working as a maid for Tallulah Bankhead. Her next film was 1960’s Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, butshe only appeared in supporting roles after.
August 23 – The West Side Kid (USA)
- Cast: Don “Red” Barry, Henry Hull, Dale Evans, Chick Chandler, Matt McHugh, Nana Bryant, Walter Catlett, Edward Gargan, Chester Clute, Peter Lawford
- Director: George Sherman
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
August 25 – The Renegade (USA)
- Cast: Buster Crabbe, Al ‘Fuzzy’ St. John, Lois Ranson, Karl Hackett, Ray Bennett, Frank Hagney, Jack Rockwell, Tom London, George Chesebro
- Director: Sam Newfield
- Production Company: Sigmund Neufeld Productions, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation
August 26 – Headin’ for God’s Country (USA)
- Cast: William Lundigan, Virginia Dale, Harry Davenport, Harry Shannon, Addison Richards, John F. Hamilton, Eddie Acuff
- Director: William Morgan
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
August 27 – Black Market Rustlers (USA)
- Cast: Ray ‘Crash’ Corrigan, Dennis Moore, Max Terhune, Evelyn Finley, Steve Clark, Glenn Strange, Carl Sepulveda, George Chesebro
- Director: S. Roy Luby
- Production Company: Monogram Pictures
- Trivia: The 23rd of 24 films in Monogram’s ‘Range Busters’ series.
August 27 – Holy Matrimony (USA)
- Cast: Monty Woolley, Gracie Fields, Laird Cregar, Una O’Connor, Alan Mowbray, Franklin Pangborn, George Zucco, Eric Blore, Ethel Griffies, Melville Cooper, Whit Bissell, Fritz Feld
- Director: John M. Stahl
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Based on the 1908 novel Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett. Montague Love appears in an uncredited role. The film was Oscar nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. The story had been filmed in 1933 under the title His Double Life.
August 27 – Melody Parade (USA)
- Cast: Mary Beth Hughes, Eddie Quillan, Tim Ryan, Irene Ryan, Mantan Moreland, Jerry Cooper, Armida, André Charlot, Kenneth Harlan, Cyril Ring
- Director: Arthur Dreifuss
- Production Company: Monogram Pictures
- Trivia: Jerry Cooper and Armida appeared as themselves.
August 27 – Nobody’s Darling (USA)
- Cast: Mary Lee, Louis Calhern, Gladys George, Jackie Moran, Lee Patrick, Benny Bartlett, Marcia Mae Jones
- Director: Anthony Mann
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
August 27 – Phantom of the Opera (USA)
- Cast: Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, Claude Rains, Edgar Barrier, Jane Farrar, J. Edward Bromberg, Fritz Feld, Frank Puglia, Fritz Leiber, Steven Geray, Miles Mander, Hume Cronyn
- Director: Arthur Lubin
- Production Company: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Loosely based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and its 1925 film adaptation starring Lon Chaney. The first adaptation of the story to be filmed in Technicolor. The film reused the replica of the Opéra Garnier interior from the 1925 film. The only classic Universal horror film to win two Oscars, for Art Direction and Cinematography, out of four nominations. The original development of the film set the story in contemporary Paris, with the Phantom a psychologically wounded WWI vet who only imagined he was disfigured. Those plans were delayed with the ousting of the film’s producer, Carl Laemmle, and his son Carl Jr. Henry Koster became attached to direct and planned to cast Boris Karloff as the Phantom, the earlier screenplay having been discarded. Deanna Durbin was cast as Christine, but refused the role after Nelson Eddy’s casting, not wanting to be compared to his former screen partner Jeanette MacDonald, whom she admired. Karloff then became unavailable and Koster was fired. Arthur Lubin took over and rejected Koster’s notion that the Phantom was Christine’s father, which would have rendered the romantic plot too incestuous, although the Phantom’s obsession with Christine is never fully explained. Claude Rains was Lubin’s only choice for The Phantom. Following the film’s success a sequel, The Climax, was planned with Eddy, Rains and Susanna Foster reprising their roles. The project was cancelled due to Rains’ availability issues, but the story was reworked completely to not have a connection to Phantom, with Foster starring opposite Karloff.
August 27 – Watch on the Rhine (USA)
- Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Lucile Watson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, George Coulouris, Beulah Bondi, Donald Woods, Donald Buka, Janis Wilson
- Director: Herman Shumlin
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1941 play Watch on the Rhine by Lillian Hellman. Paul Lukas reprised the role of Kurt from the Broadway play. Bette Davis was unavailable at the time due to her commitment to Now, Voyager, but by the time the screenplay was ready she was available and accepted the role immediately as she was a staunch supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and a fierce opponent of the Nazi Party. The role of Sara was a secondary role, so with Davis on board the studio encouraged screenwriter Dashiell Hammett to expand the role for the new leading lady. The Production Code insisted that Kurt be killed at the end to show that he had paid for his crime of murder (even if it was of a Nazi). Hellman objected and the studio agreed that the murder was justified. However, a new scene was to be filmed with Kurt suffering the consequences but Paul Lukas did not show up, so a final scene with Sara and her son was added taking place months later with no word from Kurt, suggesting he had been captured or killed. Davis, who had no break between films and was edgy, clashed with the novice director and often ignored his suggestions. She also clashed with Lucie Watson, reprising her role from the play, because of their wildly different political views, however Davis did get along with Lukas. Davis argued that she should not receive top billing because of her supporting role, but the studio insisted since it was her name that would sell tickets. The film received a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Lukas won the Oscar for Best Actor, and the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (the first time it was presented). Watson was Oscar nominated for Supporting Actress, and Hammett was nominated for Adapted Screenplay (losing to Casablanca).
1953
August 24 – The Beggar’s Opera (USA)
- Cast: Laurence Olivier, Hugh Griffith, George Rose, Stuart Burge, Cyril Conway, Gerald Lawson, Dorothy Tutin, George Devine, Mary Clare
- Director: Peter Brook
- Production Company: Herbert Wilcox Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Originally opened in London on June 9, and the UK in general on October 5. Adaptation of John Gay’s 1728 ballad opera of the same name. Peter Brook’s feature directorial debut. Laurence Olivier’s only musical; he provides his own singing. Dorothy Tutin also sang but other cast members were dubbed. Olivier deferred £30,000 of his £50,000 salary to work with Brook.
August 25 – Will Any Gentleman…? (UK)
- Cast: George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Heather Thatcher, Jon Pertwee, James Hayter, William Hartnell, Sid James, Diana Decker, Joan Sims, Brian Oulton, Alan Badel
- Director: Michael Anderson
- Production Company: Associated British Picture Corporation, distributed by Associated British-Pathé (UK), Stratford Pictures Corporation (USA)
- Trivia: Released in the US on September 27, 1955. Based on a 1950 play of the same name by Vernon Sylvaine. The film is notable for featuring future Doctor Whos William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee.
August 26 – Plunder of the Sun (USA)
- Cast: Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Sean McClory, Eduardo Noriega, Julio Villarreal, Charles Rooner, Douglass Dumbrille
- Director: John Farrow
- Production Company: Wayne-Fellows Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1949 novel by David F. Dodge, which was also adapted for a 1949 radio play.
August 26 – The War of the Worlds (USA)
- Cast: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Bob Cornthwaite, Sandro Giglio, Lewis Martin, Housely Stevenson Jr., Paul Frees, Bill Phipps
- Director: Byron Haskin
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The first of several feature film adaptations of H. G. Wells’ 1898 novel of the same name, with the setting changed from Victorian England to contemporary Southern California. Sir Cedric Hardwicke was the voice of the Commentator while Paul Frees provided the prologue narration. Winner of the Academy Award for Special Effects. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. Paramount had been trying to develop a film of Wells’ story since the rights were purchased in 1925, with Cecil B. DeMille directing. In the 1930s the studio assigned director Sergei Eisenstein to the project, but that never came to fruition. Alfred Hitchcock also expressed interest for Gaumont-British, as did Alexander Korda but neither moved forward. Lee Marvin was considered for the lead before Gene Barry was cast. Producer George Pal wanted to film the final third of the picture in the new 3D process to enhance the Martian attack scenes but the plan was dropped. Eagle-eyed viewers can spot Woody Woodpecker in a treetop, center screen, when the first large Martian meteorite-ship crashes through the sky, near the beginning of the film. Pal and Woody creator Walter Lantz were close friends and Pal always tried to include Woody in his films as a tribute to the friendship. The film has much stronger religious ideology than the novel, which looks at the clergy with disdain. In the novel the Martians feed on humans while in the fillm they seem to have no regard for human life. The invaders die within three days of landing on Earth in the film, while it takes three weeks in the novel. The manta ray-shaped Martian war machine design was used again a decade later, minus the cobra-head heat ray device, for Robinson Crusoe on Mars, also directed by Byron Haskin. The sound effect for the war ships’ pulsing green ray, created by striking a high tension cable with a hammer, was reused in Star Trek for the launch of photon torpedoes. The disintegration effect took 144 separate matte paintings to create. When the film was reprinted on Eastman Color stock from the original three-strip Technicolor, the quality of the film’s effects was degraded to the point of making the wires suspending the war machines visible, giving the impression of low-quality work. A new 4K restoration from the original elements was released on iTunes in 2018. A sequel TV series was produced in 1988 with Ann Robinson reprising her role in three episodes. She also reprised the role in 1988’s Midnight Movie Massacre, and 2005’s The Naked Monster. She and Barry also have cameos near the end of Steven Spielberg’s 2005 adaptation. Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s Dr. Clayton Forrester is named as an homage to Barry’s character.
August 26 – Wings of the Hawk (USA)
- Cast: Van Heflin, Julia Adams, Abbe Lane, George Dolenz, Noah Berry, Rodolfo Acosta, Antonio Moreno, Pedro Gonzalez
- Director: Budd Boetticher
- Production Company: Universal International Pictures, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film was produced in 3D, but due to the waning interest in the process by the time of release, it was offered in a 2D version less than a month later.
August 28 – From Here to Eternity (USA)
Columbia Pictures
- Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Philip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Bellaver, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden
- Director: Fred Zinnemann
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, winning eight including Best Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). Sinatra and Zinnemann also won Golden Globes in the film’s two nominations. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2002. Legend has it, disputed by everyone involved, that Sinatra got his role in the film due to his Mafia connections and this was the basis for a famous scene in The Godfather. Zinnemann commented that the horse’s head scene was pure invention on the part of author Mario Puzo. It’s more likely that the influence of Sinatra’s then-wife Ava Gardner with studio head Harry Cohn got him the part. Joan Crawford was offered the female lead but demanded to be photographed by her own cameraman so the studio went with Deborah Kerr.
August 28 – Latin Lovers (USA)
- Cast: Lana Turner, Ricardo Montalban, John Lund, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, Eduard Franz, Beulah Bondi, Joaquin Garay, Archer MacDonald, Dorothy Neumann, Robert Burton, Rita Moreno
- Director: Mervyn LeRoy
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Fernando Lamas was originally cast in the role that Ricardo Montalbán played. Lamas and Lana Turner were lovers and when they broke up, she insisted he be replaced.
August 28 – War Paint (USA)
- Cast: Robert Stack, Joan Taylor, Charles McGraw, Keith Larsen, Peter Graves, Robert Wilk, Walter Reed, John Doucette, Douglas Kennedy, Charles Nolte
- Director: Lesley Selander
- Production Company: Bel-Air Productions, K-B Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Shot on location in Death Valley National Park. The initial draft of the screenplay featured a mercy killing that the Production Code of America objected to.
August 29 – Cat-Tails for Two (USA, short)
- Voice Cast: Mel Blanc, Stan Freberg
- Director: Robert McKimson
- Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The first appearance of Speedy Gonzales, in prototype form. The cartoon has been criticized for its stereotypical and insensitive depictions of Mexicans.
1963
August 28 – The Gun Hawk (USA)
- Cast: Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, Ruta Lee, Rod Lauren, Morgan Woodward, Robert J. Wilke, John Litel
- Director: Edward Ludwig
- Production Company: Bern-Field Productions, distributed by Allied Artists Pictures
- Trivia: Final film directed by Edward Ludwig.
August 28 – The Haunted Palace (USA)
- Cast: Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Cathie Merchant, Frank Maxwell, Lon Chaney, Milton Parsons, Elisha Cook, John Dierkies, Leo Gordon, Barboura Morris, Guy Wilkerson, Bruno Ve Sota, Stanford Jolley, Darlene Lucht
- Director: Roger Corman
- Production Company: Alta Vista Productions, distributed by American International Pictures
- Trivia: Debra Paget’s final film. While considered one of the eight films in Roger Corman’s ‘Poe Cycle’, the plot is actually based on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The title comes from a six-stanza poem by Poe from which the film uses eight lines. Corman actually wanted to differentiate the film from his Poe films but AIP insisted on the title against Corman’s wishes to suggest continuity with the series. Boris Karloff was to appear in the film but had become sick in Italy while filming Black Sabbath so Lon Chaney Jr. took over the role, his only appearance in a Corman film. Francis Ford Coppola provided additional dialogue for the film.
August 28 – Wives and Lovers (USA)
- Cast: Janet Leigh, Van Johnson, Shelley Winters, Martha Hyer, Ray Walston, Jeremy Slate, Claire Wilcox, Lee Patrick, Dick Wessel, Dave Willock
- Director: John Rich
- Production Company: Hal Wallis Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the play The First Wife by Jay Presson Allen. The costume design received an Oscar nomination.
1973
August 26 – Bang the Drum Slowly (USA)
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Michael Moriarty, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Heather MacRae, Ann Wedgeworth, Tom Ligon, Danny Aiello, Selma Diamond, Barbara Babcock
- Director: John Hancock
- Production Company: ANJA Films, BTDS Partnership, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Adaptation of the 1956 baseball novel of the same name by American author Mark Harris. Previously dramatized in 1956 on the U.S. Steel Hour with Paul Newman, Albert Salmi and George Peppard. This and Mean Streets, released two months later, brought the then-little-known Robert De Niro widespread acclaim. The uniforms worn by the Mammoths baseball team are Yankees uniforms from 1971, but the ‘NY’ on the home pinstriped shirts was changed. Other teams providing uniforms were the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox.
1983
August 24 – Koyaanisqatsi (France)
- Director: Godfrey Reggio
- Production Company: American Zoetrope, IRE Productions, Santa Fe Institute for Regional Education, distributed by MK2 Diffusion (France), Island Alive (USA)
- Trivia: Opened in the US on September 14, 1983. Also known as Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance. Because of copyright issues, the film was out of circulation for most of the 1990s. Selected for prservation in the National Film Registry in 2000.
August 26 – Daniel (USA)
- Cast: Timothy Hutton, Mandy Patinkin, Lindsay Crouse, Edward Asner, Ellen Barkin, Julie Bovasso, Tovah Feldshuh, Carmen Mathews, Amanda Plummer, Lee Richardson, John Rubinstein
- Director: Sidney Lumet
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures, World Film Services, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted by E. L. Doctorow from his 1971 novel The Book of Daniel.
1993
August 25 – The Man Without a Face (USA)
- Cast: Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl, Robert DeDiemar Jr, Margaret Whitton, Fay Masterson, Gaby Hoffmann, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Masur, Michael DeLuise, Ethan Phillips, George Martin, Zach Grenier
- Director: Mel Gibson
- Production Company: Icon Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Mel Gibson’s directorial debut. Based on Isabelle Holland’s 1972 novel of the same name.
August 27 – Father Hood (USA)
- Cast: Patrick Swayze, Halle Berry, Sabrina Lloyd, Brian Bonsall, Michael Ironside, Diane Ladd, Bob Gunton, Adrienne Barbeau, Josh Lucas
- Director: Darrell James Roodt
- Production Company: Hollywood Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Trivia: While part of a freeway was closed for filming, R.E.M. took advantage of the shutdown and shot some of the video for ‘Everybody Hurts’ there. The film’s working titles were Desperado, Mike Hardy and Honor Among Thieves.
August 27 – Needful Things (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer, J. T. Walsh, Ray McKinnon, Valri Bromfield, Duncan Fraser, Shane Meier, W. Morgan Sheppard, Don S. Davis, Gillian Barber, Lochlyn Munro
- Director: Fraser C. Heston
- Production Company: Castle Rock Entertainment, New Line Cinema, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Based on Stephen King’s 1991 novel of the same name. Fraser Heston’s only film, his feature debut, without father Charlton in the cast. Heston was asked to prepare a longer version of the film for a two-night broadcast on TBS, retitled More Needful Things, but Heston does not consider it a ‘director’s cut’. The TV version is included as a bonus on the Kino Lorber 2023 4K release of the film.
August 27 – Only the Strong (USA)
- Cast: Mark Dacascos, Stacey Travis, Paco Christian Prieto, Geoffrey Lewis, Todd Susman, Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter, Richard Coca, Roman Cardwell, Ryan Bollman
- Director: Sheldon Lettich
- Production Company: Davis-Films, Freestone Pictures, August Entertainment, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
- Trivia: Considered to be the only Hollywood film that showcases capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, from beginning to end. Mark Dacascos trained with famed capoeirista Amen Santo just prior to his audition for the film.
August 27 – Son of the Pink Panther (USA)
- Cast: Roberto Benigni, Herbert Lom, Claudia Cardinale, Debrah Farentino, Jennifer Edwards, Robert Davi, Natasha Pavlovich, Mark Schneider, Burt Kwouk, Mike Starr
- Director: Blake Edwards
- Production Company: Filmauro, United Artists, distributed by MGM/UA Distribution Co.
- Trivia: Ninth and final film in the original ‘Pink Panther’ series. Regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark appear in the film, as well as Claudia Cardinale, who starred in the first film. Cardinale is playing the role of Maria Gambrelli, who was played by Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark. It was the final film for composer Henry Mancini, who died in 1994, as well as for Blake Edwards, who retired in 1995. The film was intended to restart the franchise with the then unknown to US audiences Roberto Benigni continuing where Peter Sellers left off. Benigni was not Edwards’ first choice as Kevin Kline was attached for a time, but declined after reading the script. Kline would go on to play Dreyfus in the 2006 remake with Steve Martin. Rowan Atkinson was also offered the role, again (after turning down Curse of the Pink Panther), but didn’t feel anyone could fill Sellers’ shoes. Gérard Depardieu was announced in the trades in the role as Clouseau’s illegitimate son. Studio politics put the project in jeopardy, and new studio head Alan Ladd Jr. settled Edwards’ lawsuit out of court and greenlit the film, but Depardieu was then unavailable. Benigni was approached, with Tim Curry in the wings if he turned it down. Bronson Pinchot wanted the role but the failure of Blame It On the Bellboy took him out of consideration. Early concept poster art features a cartoon version of Curry. Benigni’s casting also secured third-party financing from Filmauro, the company of Aurelio De Laurentiis. The film flopped in the US, but was a hit in Italy.
August 27 – The Thing Called Love (USA)
- Cast: River Phoenix, Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, Sandra Bullock, K. T. Oslin, Anthony Clark, Webb Wilder, Deborah Allen, Jo-El Sonnier, Pam Tillis, Vern Monnett, Kevin Welch, Trisha Yearwood, Jimmie Dale Gilmore
- Director: Peter Bogdanovich
- Production Company: Davis Entertainment, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: River Phoenix’s final completed film performance. Brian Gibson was the film’s original director but he left to do What’s Love Got To Do With It. Phoenix wrote two songs for the film, Dermot Mulroney wrote one, and Sandra Bullock wrote the lyrics for her song.
2003
August 28 – The Rage in Placid Lake (AUS)
- Cast: Ben Lee, Rose Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Garry McDonald, Nicholas Hammond, Felix Williamson
- Director: Tony McNamara
- Production Company: Australian Film Finance Corporation, Macgowan Films, New South Wales Film & Television Office, Rapacious Productions, Showtime Australia, distributed by Palace Films
- Trivia: No known US release date aside from some festival screenings.
August 29 – Camp (USA)
- Cast: Daniel Letterle, Joanna Chilcoat, Robin de Jesús, Anna Kendrick, Alana Allen, Vince Rimoldi, Don Dixon, Tiffany Taylor, Sasha Allen, Eddie Clark, Leslie Fry, David Perlow, DeQuina Moore, Steven Cutts, Stephen Sondheim
- Director: Todd Graff
- Production Company: Jersey Films, Killer Films, distributed by IFC Films
- Trivia: The film is based on Todd Graff’s own experiences at a similar camp called Stagedoor Manor, where many scenes of the movie were filmed. Film debuts of future Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick, future Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús, future The Voice contestant Sasha Allen, and future Broadway performers DeQuina Moore, Steven Cutts, Tracee Beazer, and Brittany Pollack.
August 29 – Jeepers Creepers 2 (USA/UK)
Myriad Pictures
- Cast: Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Garikayi Mutambirwa, Eric Nenninger, Nicki Aycox, Travis Schiffner, Lena Cardwell, Billy Aaron Brown, Marieh Delfino, Diane Delano, Thom Gossom Jr., Tom Tarantini, Al Santos, Josh Hammond, Kasan Butcher, Drew Tyler Bell, Luke Edwards, Jon Powell, Shaun Fleming, Justin Long
- Director: Victor Salva
- Production Company: Myriad Pictures, American Zoetrope, distributed by United Artists/MGM Distribution Co.
- Trivia: Victor Salva wrote the rule that The Creeper gets to eat for 23 days every 23 years so no sequel could be made unless it was set in the future, knowing the studio would not want that. Producer Francis Ford Coppola got around that by having the sequel set during the same 23 day period as the first film, specifically the 23rd day, for the purpose of no further sequels. Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017) is a prequel. The story initially focused on Trish and Jezelle from the first film with the school bus as a minor subplot, but the more Salva worked on the script, the bus became more interesting so he scrapped Trish and Jezelle.
August 29 – Le Divorce (USA)
- Cast: Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Leslie Caron, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Thierry Lhermitte, Stephen Fry, Melvil Poupaud, Matthew Modine, Bebe Neuwirth, Sam Waterston, Thomas Lennon
- Director: James Ivory
- Production Company: Merchant Ivory Productions, Radar Pictures, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Diane Johnson. Filmed in Paris at locations including Café de Flore, Tour Eiffel, Musée du Louvre and Salle Gaveau.
2013
August 23 – Devil’s Pass (UK, USA limited)
- Cast: Holly Goss, Matt Stokoe, Luke Albright, Ryan Hawley, Gemma Atkinson, Richard Reid
- Director: Renny Harlin
- Production Company: Aldamisa Entertainment, K. JAM Media, AR Films, Future Films, Midnight Sun Pictures, Non-Stop Productions, Russian Cinema Fund, distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK), Aldamisa Releasing (USA)
- Trivia: Originally titled The Dyatlov Pass Incident. Filmed in a found footage format, the casting was kept to mostly unknowns to sell the concept. Filming took place in northern Russia.
August 23 – Drinking Buddies (USA, limited)
- Cast: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston, Ti West, Jason Sudeikis, Joe Swanberg
- Director: Joe Swanberg
- Production Company: Burn Later Productions, distributed by Magnolia Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s dialogue was improvised with the cast receiving scene outlines which covered major plot points, and were told each day what had to happen in a scene. The film was shot in an actual brewery in Chicago, and the actors drank real beer. Olivia Wilde said the cast was hammered most of the time.
August 23 – Paradise: Faith (USA)
- Cast: Maria Hofstätter, Nabil Saleh, Natalya Baranova, Rene Rupnik
- Director: Ulrich Seidl
- Production Company: Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion GmbH, Tatfilm, Coproduction Office, ARD Degeto Film, ARTE, ORF Film/Fernseh-Abkommen, WDR/Arte, distributed by Strand Releasing
- Trivia: Second film in the ‘Paradise’ trilogy. The film is a favorite of John Waters, who presented it at the 2013 Maryland Film Festival.
August 23 – Savannah (USA, limited)
- Cast: Jim Caviezel, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jaimie Alexander, Bradley Whitford, Sam Shepard, Tracey Walter, Jack McBrayer, Hal Holbrook
- Director: Annette Haywood-Carter
- Production Company: Unclaimed Freight Productions, Meddin Studios, Hollywood Caterers, distributed by Ketchup Entertainment
- Trivia: The Desoto Hotel mentioned throughout the movie was a real-life, upscale hotel which was demolished in the 1960s.
August 23 – Scenic Route (USA)
- Cast: Josh Duhamel, Dan Fogler, Miracle Laurie, Christie Burson, Peter Michael Goetz
- Director: Kevin Goetz, Michael Goetz
- Production Company: Anonymous Content, Best Medicine Productions, distributed by Vertical Entertainment
- Trivia: Known in the UK as Wrecked.
August 23 – Short Term 12 (USA)
Demarest Films
- Cast: Brie Larson, John Gallagher, Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Lakeith Stanfield, Kevin Hernandez, Melora Walters, Stephanie Beatriz
- Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
- Production Company: Demarest Films, Traction Media, Animal Kingdom, distributed by Cinedigm
- Trivia: Adapted from Destin Daniel Cretton’s short film of the same name, produced in 2009. First lead role for Brie Larson after auditioning via Skype. Lakeith Stanfield was the only actor from the short to reprise his role. Most of the children in the film had no acting experience and were cast through open casting calls. Alex Calloway saw an ad on Craigslist, sent in a phone audition and won a role. The film was edited as it was shot. The original cut ran over two hours’ but Cretton wanted it to run under 100 minutes. A number of heavier scenes were trimmed to lighten the film’s mood, with a final cut running 96 minutes.
August 23 – The Oxbow Cure (Canada, limited)
- Cast: Claudia Dey, Grace Glowicki, Marvin Weintraub, John Gastold, Adam Barnes, David Runham
- Director: Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas
- Production Company: C&Y, Lisa Pictures
- Trivia: No US release outside of festival screenings. A Kickstarter campaign to fund the film raised $12,150. The Toronto Arts Council partially funded the film, with completion funds from Telefilm Canada. The film was influenced by the 1963 Swedish documentary Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie. The film was set in the dead of winter but an early thaw forced the filmmakers to let Spring happen, changing the movie ‘in a great way’ according to the writers.
August 28 – Closed Circuit (USA/Canada)
- Cast: Riz Ahmed, Doug Allen, Eric Bana, Barbora Bobuľová, Jim Broadbent, Kenneth Cranham, Anne-Marie Duff, Rebecca Hall, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Ciarán Hinds
- Director: John Crowley
- Production Company: Working Title Films, distributed by Focus Features
- Trivia: Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall spent three months before filming began getting to know the intricacies of the British legal system. The film’s original title was Closed. The film was shot over nine weeks with just three days in the studio.
August 29 – The Rocket (AUS)
- Cast: Sitthiphon Disamoe, Loungnam Kaosainam, Suthep Po-ngam, Bunsri Yindi, Sumrit Warin, Alice Keohavong
- Director: Kim Mordaunt
- Production Company: Red Lamp Films, Curious Film, Ecoventure, Milsearch, Screen Australia, Screen NSW, Ton Enterprises, distributed by Kino Lorber
- Trivia: Opened in the US on January 10, 2014. Set entirely in Laos and spoken in the Lao language. Australia’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
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