Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #163 :: September 6•12

Universal Pictures

Many films were released this week over the last century, but very few of them are memorable and only a small handful garnered any kind of awards consideration or financial success. While most of 1923’s films are long lost, there is one very notable silent that made its lead a bona fide movie star. 1953 saw the directorial debut of a man who would go on to make a classic of sci-fi horror just three years later, while 1963 produced a ‘nudie cutie’ by a director better known for his over-the-top gore, and gave us an attempt by Hammer films to make a new Dracula movie without Dracula or the man famous for playing him. 1993 saw a Martin Scorsese film earn some gold from a literary adaptation, and gave Quentin Tarantino the chance to fund his own directorial debut. 2003 saw the debut of Eli Roth, while a collection of Brits got their kits off, Adrien Brody spoke without moving his lips, and Bill Murray & Scarlett Johansson went to Japan, and one 2013 film was pure Oscar-bait. Interestingly, two films this week were originally meant for television. Read on to learn more about this week’s films and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating anniversaries!

1923

September 6 – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (USA)

• Cast: Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Kate Lester, Winifred Bryson, Nigel De Brulier, Brandon Hurst, Ernest Torrence, Tully Marshall, Harry von Meter
• Director: Wallace Worsley
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, and the seventh adaptation. The film made Lon Chaney a star. Chaney wanted the role of Quasimodo so badly that he purchased the film rights in 1921 and planned to make the film himself with a German studio, but that project never materialized. With Universal behind the project, Chaney’s ownership of the rights gave him more latitude, and acting as an uncredited producer prevented Universal from attempting to cost the budget. The film’s final cost was $1.25 million with Chaney getting a $2,500 a week salary. The film shot from December 16, 1922 to June 8, 1923, making it Chaney’s most expensive film ever. Chaney’s first choice for director was Universal star Erich von Stroheim, but he was fired by the studio prior to production for fear that he would go over budget on his own project, Merry-Go-Round. Universal hired Wallace Worsley but also announced Tod Browning as director in case Paramount would not loan out Worsley. Worsley needed a radio and loudspeaker to direct the massive crowd scenes at a cost of $7,000. While the film exists today, at least 15 minutes are missing from the original release print. The film fell into the public domain in 1951 when Universal failed to renew the copyright. There are no 35mm negatives or prints. Any copies today are derived from 16mm ‘show-at-home’ prints Universal sold in the 1920s and 1930s.

September 8 – Bluebeard’s 8th Wife (UK)

• Cast: Gloria Swanson, Huntley Gordon, Charles Greene, Liane Salvor, Paul Weigel, Frank Butler, Robert Agnew, Irene Dalton, Majel Coleman
• Director: Sam Wood
• Production Company: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Opened in the US on September 9, 1923. Based on the French play La huitième femme de Barbe-Bleue by Alfred Savoir which is based on the Bluebeard tales of the 15th century. The film is considered lost.

September 9 – Give a Man a Job (USA, short)

• Cast: Jimmy Durante, Moe Howard, Frank O’Connor
• Director: Unknown
• Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film is a three-minute short made in conjunction with the National Recovery Administration that urges employers to hire the unemployed. The Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart song ‘Give A Man A Job’ was originally intended for Meet the Baron (1933), then Hollywood Party (1934), but not used in either film.

September 9 – Six Days (USA)

• Cast: Corinne Griffith, Frank Mayo, Myrtle Stedman, Claude King, Maude George, Spottiswoode Aitken, Charles Clary
• Director: Charles Brabin
• Production Company: Goldwyn Pictures
• Trivia: Based on a novel of the same title by Elinor Glyn. The film is considered lost.

September 9 – The Lone Star Ranger (USA)

• Cast: Tom Mix, Tony the Horse, Billie Dove, L. C. Shumway, Stanton Heck, Edward Neil, Frank Clark
• Director: Lambert Hillyer
• Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
• Trivia: Based on the 1915 novel by Zane Grey. The film is considered lost. It was a remake of the 1919 film of the same name.

September 9 – Why Worry? (USA)

• Cast: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Johan Aasen, Wallace Howe, James Mason, Leo White, Gaylord Lloyd
• Director: Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
• Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathé Exchange
• Trivia: Last film Harold Lloyd made with Hal Roach, parting on good terms as they wanted to go in different career directions, and Lloyd had enough money to finance his own films. First of six Lloyd films with Jobyna Ralston as his leading lady. George Auger, known as the ‘Cardiff Giant’, died the day before he was to leave for California to begin filming, and a nationwide publicity campaign was launched to find his replacement. Norwegian John Aasen from Minnesota was selected to play the role of Colosso after being mentioned in a newspaper article noting the size of his shoes.

September 10 – Strangers of the Night (USA)

• Cast: Matt Moore, Enid Bennett, Barbara La Marr, Robert McKim, Mathilde Brundag, Emily Fitzroy, Otto Hoffman, Thomas Ricketts
• Director: Fred Niblo
• Production Company: Louis B. Mayer Productions, distributed by Metro Pictures
• Trivia: Adapted from the 1921 stage play, Captain Applejack, by Walter C. Hackett. The film is lost. It was remade as a talkie in 1931 by Warner Bros. under its original stage title.

September 10 – The Fighting Blade (USA)

• Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Mackaill, Lee Baker, Morgan Wallace, Bradley Barker, Frederick Burton
• Director: John S. Robertson
• Production Company: Inspiration Company, distributed by Associated First National Pictures
• Trivia: A copy of The Fighting Blade is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

September 10 – The Untameable (USA)

• Cast: Gladys Walton, Malcolm McGregor, John St. Polis, Etta Lee
• Director: Herbert Blaché
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1907 novel The White Cat by Gelett Burgess. The film’s preservation status is unknown.

September 12 – The Drivin’ Fool (USA)

• Cast: Wally Van, Alec B. Francis,, Patsy Ruth Miller, Wilton Taylor, Ramsey Wallace, Wilfrid North
• Director: Robert Thornby
• Production Company: Regent Pictures, distributed by W. W. Hodkinson Corporation
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

September 12 – The Six-Fifty (USA)

• Cast: Renée Adorée, Orville Caldwell, Bert Woodruff, Gertrude Astor, Niles Welch
• Director: Nat Ross
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Based upon the 1921 play of the same name. The film is considered lost.

1933

September 8 – One Man’s Journey (USA)

• Cast: Lionel Barrymore, May Robson, Dorothy Jordan, Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, David Landau, Buster Phelps
• Director: John S. Robertson
• Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the short story ‘Failure’ written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor. After a financial dispute with RKO, producer Merian C. Cooper retained ownership of this and five other titles, keeping the films out of distribution for more than 50 years. The films premiered on TCM in 2007 after Turner Broadcasting purchased the RKO library but the Cooper films were not part of the package; the rights had to be purchased separately. Cooper did allow the films to be shown between 1955-1956 but only in New York City.

September 8 – Penthouse (USA)

• Cast: Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Charles Butterworth, Mae Clark, Phillips Holmes, C. Henry Gordon, Martha Sleeper, Nat Pendleton, George E. Stone, Robert Emmett O’Connor
• Director: W.S. Van Dyke
• Production Company: Cosmopolitan Productions, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film, which went into production in August 1933, opens with the actual May, 1933 cover of Cosmopolitan magazine. Leading lady Myrna Loy does not appear until about 35 minutes into the film.

September 8 – Torch Singer (USA)

• Cast: Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners, Lyda Roberti, Baby LeRoy, Charley Grapewin
• Director: Alexander Hall, George Somnes
• Production Company: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the short story ‘Mike’ by Grace Perkins, which was published in Liberty magazine.

September 9 – Goodbye Again (USA)

• Cast: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Genevieve Tobin, Hugh Herbert, Wallace Ford, Helen Chandler, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ruth Donnelly, Lester Dorr, Fred ‘Snowflake’ Toones
• Director: Michael Curtiz
• Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the play by George Haight and Allan Scott. Remade in 1941 as Honeymoon for Three.

September 9 – Hawley’s of High Street (AUS)

• Cast: Leslie Fuller, Judy Kelly, Francis Lister, Amy Veness, Moore Marriott, Hal Gordon, Wylie Watson, Faith Bennett, Elizabeth Vaughan, Jimmy Godden
• Director: Thomas Bentley
• Production Company: British International Pictures, distributed by Wardour Films
• Trivia: No known US release date.

September 9 – Radio Parade (AUS)

• Cast: Doris Arnold, Elsie Carlisle, Clapham & Dwyer, Mabel Constanduros, Carlyle Cousins, Jeanne De Casalis, Florence Desmond, Roy Fox, Reginald Gardiner
• Director: Richard Beville, Archie de Bear
• Production Company: British International Pictures, distributed by Wardour Films
• Trivia: No known US release date.

September 9 – Ship of Wanted Men (USA)

• Cast: Dorothy Sebastian, Fred Kohler, Leon Ames, Gertrude Astor, Maurice Black, James Flavin, Jason Robards Sr., Herbert Evans, John Ince, Kit Guard, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes
• Director: Lewis D. Collins
• Production Company: Showmen’s Pictures, distributed by Marcy Pictures Corporation
• Trivia: A print of the film is held by the Library of Congress.

September 12 – Mr. Broadway (USA)

• Cast: Ed Sullivan, Jack Benn, Jack Dempsey, Eddy Duchin, Ruth Etting, Lita Grey, Jack Haley, Isham Jones, Bert Lahr, Mary Livingstone, Ernst Lubitsch, Lupe Vélez
• Director: Johnnie Walker
• Production Company: Broadway-Hollywood Productions Ltd., distributed by Arthur Greenblatt Distribution Service
• Trivia: The section of the film with Dita Parlo, William Desmond, and Tom Moore is taken from an uncompleted film by Edgar G. Ulmer, titled Love’s Interlude or The Warning Shadow, which begun in 1932 at Peerless Productions.

1943

September 7 – Adventures of the Flying Cadets (USA, serial)

• Cast: Johnny Downs, Bobby Jordan, Ward Wood, William Benedict, Jennifer Holt, Eduardo Ciannelli, Regis Toomey, Robert Armstrong
• Director: Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: In Chapter: 1, the scene of the parachute caught onto the planes rudder is from Keep ‘Em Flying (1941).

September 7 – Trail of Terror (USA)

• Cast: Dave O’Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Patricia Knox, Jack Ingram, I. Stanford Jolley, Budd Buster, Robert F. Hill, Frank Ellis, Kenne Duncan
• Director: Oliver Drake
• Production Company: Alexander-Stern Productions, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation

September 10 – Larceny with Music (USA)

• Cast: Leo Carrillo, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, William Frawley, Lee Patrick, King Sisters, Alvino Rey
• Director: Edward Lilley
• Production Company: Universal Pictures

September 10 – The Kansan (USA)

• Cast: Richard Dix, Jane Wyatt, Albert Dekker, Eugene Pallette, Victor Jory, Robert Armstrong, Beryl Wallace, Clem Bevans, Hobart Cavanaugh, Francis McDonald, Willie Best
• Director: George Archainbaud
• Production Company: Harry Sherman Productions, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: Known as Wagon Wheels in the UK. A clip of the bank robbery scenes from the beginning of the film is featured in the second episode of the 1966 Doctor Who serial ‘The Tenth Planet’.

September 10 – Tiger Fangs (USA)

• Cast: Frank Buck, June Duprez, Duncan Renaldo, Howard Banks, J. Farrell MacDonald, J. Alex Havier, Arno Frey, Dan Seymour, Pedro Regas
• Director: Sam Newfield
• Production Company: Jack Schwarz Productions, distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation

1953

September 7 – China Venture (USA)

• Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Barry Sullivan, Jocelyn Brando, Leo Gordon, Leon Askin, Lee Strasberg, Richard Loo, Dayton Lummis, Dabbs Greer
• Director: Don Siegel
• Production Company: Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: Don Siegel’s first film for Columbia. Siegel was warned about studio head Harry Cohn, but Siegel found him to be a ‘pussycat’ compared to Jack Warner. Film debut of Jocelyn Brando and Leo Gordon.

September 8 – El Paso Stampede (USA)

• Cast: Allan Lane, Black Jack, Eddy Waller, Phyllis Coates, Stephen Chase, Roy Barcroft, Edward Clark, Tom Monroe, Stanley Andrews
• Director: Harry Keller
• Production Company: Republic Pictures Corporation

September 11 – 99 River Street (USA)

• Cast: John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen, Peggie Castle, Jay Adler, Jack Lambert, Glenn Langan, Eddy Waller
• Director: Phil Karlson
• Production Company: World Films (Edward Small Productions), distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: Based on the short story ‘Crosstown’, also the film’s original title, by George Zuckerman. The title was changed two months before the film was released.

September 11 – Norman Conquest (USA)

• Cast: Tom Conway, Eva Bartok, Joy Shelton, Sid James, Richard Wattis, Carl Jaffe, Frederick Schiller, Robert Adair, Anton Diffring, Ian Fleming
• Director: Bernard Knowles
• Production Company: B & A Productions, distributed by Lippert Pictures
• Trivia: Known as Park Plaza 605 in the UK. Based on the ‘Norman Conquest’ series of novels by Berkeley Gray.

September 12 – Captain Scarlett (USA)

• Cast: Richard Greene, Leonora Amar, Nedrick Young, Manuel Fábregas, Eduardo Noriega, Carlos Múzquiz, Isabel del Puerto
• Director: Thomas Carr
• Production Company: Craftsman Productions, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The film was originally produced as a three-episode TV pilot.

1963

September 6 – Goldilocks and the Three Bares (USA)

• Cast: Rex Marlow, Allison Louise Downe, Vickie Miles, Tommy Sweetwood, Netta Mallina, Gene Berk
• Director: Lewis H. Gordon)
• Production Company: D&R Pictures, distributed by Dore Productions
• Trivia: Lewis H. Gordon is a pseudonym for Herschell Gordon Lewis. The plot of the film has nothing to do with the famous fable which inspired the title. It was billed as the ‘first nudist musical’. Tommy Sweetwood was a pseudonym for William Kerwin, used to avoid SAG regulations. Vickie Miles is a pseudonym for Lewis regular Allison Louise Downe. The film was thought to be lost for more than 36 years.

September 11 – Of Love and Desire (USA)

• Cast: Merle Oberon, Steve Cochran, Curd Jürgens, John Agar, Steve Brodie, Jan Murray, Stanley Adams, Eduardo Noriega
• Director: Richard Rush
• Production Company: New World Film Corporation, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
• Trivia: To date, the film has not been released on any home video format.

September 11 – The Kiss of the Vampire (USA)

Hammer Film Productions

• Cast: Clifford Evans, Noel Willman, Edward de Souza, Jennifer Daniel, Barry Warren, Brian Oulton, Noel Howlett
• Director: Don Sharp
• Production Company: Hammer Film Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film was shown as Kiss of Evil on American television, but so heavily edited that additional footage had to be shot to fill in the gaps, with entirely new characters, the Stangher family, added to create a new subplot. Every scene that showed blood was edited out for TV. Don Sharp’s first movie for Hammer. Intended to be the third film in Hammer’s Dracula series, and an attempt to make a Dracula sequel without Christopher Lee. The final script makes no mention of Dracula. The film’s climax involving black magic was intended to be the end of The Brides of Dracula, but that film’s star Peter Cushing objected that Van Helsing would never resort to black sorcery (the novelization though does include this ending).

September 12 – Rampage (USA)

• Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jack Hawkins, Elsa Martinelli, Sabu, Cely Carillo, Émile Genest, Stefan Schnabel
• Director: Phil Karlson
• Production Company: Seven Arts Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the eponymous novel by Alan Caillou.

1973

September 12 – Beyond Atlantis (USA)

• Cast: Patrick Wayne, John Ashley, Leigh Christian, George Nader, Sid Haig, Lenore Stevens, Vic Díaz, Eddie Garcia
• Director: Eddie Romero
• Production Company: Dimension Pictures
• Trivia: Also known as Sea Creatures or Sea People. The underwater people had originally been envisioned as being topless, but star Patrick Wayne insisted the film be accessible for families. Producers felt they had a chance to make a more ambitious film so they increased the budget and hired relatively well known actor George Nader to co-star. The film underperformed at the box office, which the producer blamed on the family-friendly PG rating.

1983

September 9 – Nightmares (USA)

• Cast: Cristina Raines, William Sanderson, Lee Ving, Emilio Estevez, Louis Giambalvo, Moon Unit Zappa, Lance Henriksen, Tony Plana, Richard Masur, Veronica Cartwright
• Director: Joseph Sargent
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: A long-held belief was that the four segmnets of the film were actually episodes of the ABC anthology series Darkroom that were too intense for broadcast, but producer Andrew Mirisch stated that the film was originally intended to be broadcast as a TV movie pilot for a proposed NBC anthology series before being released theatrically by Universal.

1993

September 10 – Anchoress (UK)

• Cast: Natalie Morse, Gene Bervoets, Toyah Willcox, Pete Postlethwaite, Christopher Eccleston, Michael Pas
• Director: Chris Newby
• Production Company: British Film Institute, Corsan Productions, Upstate Films, distributed by International Film Circuit (USA)
• Trivia: Opened in New York City on November 9, 1994, and entered general US release in May 1995.

September 10 – Money for Nothing (USA)

• Cast: John Cusack, Michael Madsen, Debi Mazar, Benicio Del Toro, Maury Chaykin, Michael Rapaport, James Gandolfini, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Fionnula Flanagan, Frankie Faison
• Director: Ramón Menéndez
• Production Company: Hollywood Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
• Trivia: Based on the 1986 Philadelphia Inquirer article ‘Finders Keepers’ by Mark Bowden. Based on the life of Joey Coyle, who discovered $1.2 million that had fallen out of an armored van and his struggle to keep the money over a five day period. Coyle acted as a consultant on the film but died by suicide three weeks before the film’s release, prompting Disney to quietly release it under the adult-skewing Hollywood Pictures banner with a dedication to Coyle. Coyle has a cameo in the film as a dockworker in the opening scene. The film’s working title was Joey Coyle.

September 10 – The Age of Innocence (Italy)

Cappa Productions

• Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Miriam Margolyes, Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Gough, Richard E. Grant, Mary Beth Hurt, Robert Sean Leonard, Norman Lloyd, Siân Phillips, Jonathan Pryce, Alexis Smith, June Squibb, Joanne Woodward
• Director: Martin Scorsese
• Production Company: Cappa Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: Opened in the US and Canada on October 1, 1993 after a limited release on September 17. Adaptation of the 1920 novel of the same name by Edith Wharton. Martin Scorsese’s parents had small roles in the film. His father Luciano died the month before the film was released, and Scorsese dedicated the film to him. Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning for Best Costume Design. Nominated for four Golden Globes, winning Best Supporting Actress for Winona Ryder. Nominated for four BAFTAs, winning for Supporting Actress (Miriam Margolyes).

September 10 – The Real McCoy (USA)

• Cast: Kim Basinger, Val Kilmer, Terence Stamp, Gailard Sartain, Andy Stahl, Marc Macaulay, Nick Searcy
• Director: Russell Mulcahy
• Production Company: Bregman/Baer Productions inc., distributed by Universal Pictures

September 10 – True Romance (USA/Canada)

• Cast: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Bronson Pinchot, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, Saul Rubinek, Conchata Ferrell, James Gandolfini, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Paul Ben-Victor, Michael Beach, Eric Allan Kramer
• Director: Tony Scott
• Production Company: Morgan Creek Productions, Davis Films, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Released in the Philippines as Breakaway. Ed Lauter appears in an uncredited role. Quentin Tarantino sold the rights to his script in order to finance his debut feature, Reservoir Dogs. The film was a box office failure, but has gained a cult following and is now considered one of the best films of the 1990s and one of Tony Scott’s best films. Tarantino initially objected to Scott’s decision to change the ending, but Scott said he had fallen in love with the lead characters and didn’t want to see either die. Tarantino agreed that Scott made the right decision as it was more appropriate to how he directed the film. Edits were made by the MPAA due to violence in order to secure an R-rating. An alternate edit features Detective Nicky Dimes being shot by Toothpick Vic instead of Alabama, and this edit was the version released on VHS. Subsequent DVD and Blu-ray releases include the original version, while a 4K release includes both.

September 10 – Undercover Blues (USA)

• Cast: Kathleen Turner, Dennis Quaid, Fiona Shaw, Stanley Tucci, Larry Miller, Park Overall, Tom Arnold, Richard Jenkins, Saul Rubinek, Jenifer Lewis, Dakin Matthews
• Director: Herbert Ross
• Production Company: Hera Productions, Lobell/Bergman Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The role of Muerte (Stanley Tucci) was offered to Antonio Banderas. The film’s original title was Cloak and Diaper.

2003

September 12 – Cabin Fever (USA)

• Cast: Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Arie Verveen, Giuseppe Andrews, Eli Roth
• Director: Eli Roth
• Production Company: Deer Path Films, Down Home Entertainment, Tonic Films, distributed by Lions Gate Films
• Trivia: Eli Roth’s directorial debut. The inspiration for the film’s story came from a real-life experience during a trip to Iceland when Roth developed a skin infection. Michael Rosenbaum had been set to star in the film but backed out. Filming had to be suspended for one day due to an anthrax scare, and was shut down a second time because of a union dispute.

September 12 – Calendar Girls (UK)

• Cast: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Geraldine James, Philip Glenister, Ciarán Hinds, John Alderton, George Costigan
• Director: Nigel Cole
• Production Company: Touchstone Pictures, Harbour Pictures, Buena Vista International, distributed by Buena Vista International (UK), Buena Vista Pictures (USA)
• Trivia: Received a general US release on January 1, 2004. Based on a true story. Helen Mirren was Golden Globe nominated for her work. Penelope Wilton originally turned down the role of Ruth as she refused to be filmed semi-naked. Jay Leno has a cameo as himself. The actors got over their embarrassment of being nude after meeting their real-life counterparts who shared their experiences of supporting each other during their own nude photo sessions. After that the cast was determined to be nude even when it wasn’t necessary, and while objects were used to block various bits, a young man spent four weeks digitally removing any private parts in post-production. The actors awaited each other with a bottle of champagne after filming their nude scenes, which took about a week total. The film’s calendar shots were taken by professional photographer Jaap Buitendijk.

September 12 – Dummy (USA)

• Cast: Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter, Ron Leibman, Jared Harris
• Director: Greg Pritikin
• Production Company: Quadrant Entertainment, distributed by Artisan Entertainment
• Trivia: Adrien Brody performed all of his ventriloquism and puppetry live on set, though he had no previous experience. Brody was coached before and during production by professional Alan Semok.

September 12 – Imagining Argentina (Italy)

• Cast: Antonio Banderas, Emma Thompson, Leticia Dolera, Maria Canals, Rubén Blades, Mariana Seligmann, Irene Escolar
• Director: Christopher Hampton
• Production Company: Multivideo, Arenas Entertainment, Myriad Pictures, Green Moon Productions, Imagining Argentina Productions Ltd., Mike’s Movies, Tide Rock Entertainment, distributed by Cinematografica Distributori Indipendenti (Italy), Arenas Entertainment (USA)
• Trivia: Opened in limited US release on June 11, 2004. Based on the award-winning 1987 novel by American writer Lawrence Thornton.

September 12 – Lost in Translation (USA)

• Cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Fumihiro Hayashi, Catherine Lambert
• Director: Sofia Coppola
• Production Company: American Zoetrope, Elemental Films, distributed by Focus Features
• Trivia: Sofia Coppola tried to recruit Bill Murray for a year, and while he eventually agreed to do the film he did not sign a contract so Coppola had no idea if he was actually going to show up on the first day of filming. Filming lasted 27 days and took ten weeks to edit. The film earned four Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director and Actor, winning for Coppola’s Original Screenplay. It also won three Golden Globes and three BAFTAs.

September 12 – Matchstick Men (USA)

• Cast: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman, Bruce Altman, Bruce McGill, Sheila Kelley, Beth Grant, Melora Walters, Jenny O’Hara, Fran Kranz
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Production Company: ImageMovers, Scott Free Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Based on Eric Garcia’s 2002 novel of the same name.

September 12 – Once Upon a Time in Mexico (USA/Canada)

• Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Cheech Marin, Rubén Blades, Willem Dafoe
• Director: Robert Rodriguez
• Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Dimension Films, Troublemaker Studios, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: Also known as Desperado 2. Third and final film of Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Mexico Trilogy’. The first big-budget film to be shot in high definition digital video.

2013

September 6 – Hell Baby (USA)

• Cast: Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan-Michael Key, Riki Lindhome, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, Michael Ian Black, Kumail Nanjiani, Alex Berg, Dave Holmes, David Pasquesi
• Director: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon
• Production Company: Darko Entertainment, Principato-Young Entertainment, distributed by Millennium Entertainment, Gravitas Ventures
• Trivia: The film was released to Video On Demand services on July 25, 2013 ahead of its theatrical release.

September 6 – A Pure Desi Romance (USA)

• Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Vaani Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jitendra Parmar, Bhuvan Arora, Rajesh Sharma
• Director: Maneesh Sharma
• Production Company: Yash Raj Films
• Trivia: The film’s original title is Shuddh Desi Romance.

September 6 – Touchy Feely (USA)

• Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Elliot Page, Josh Pais, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy
• Director: Lynn Shelton
• Production Company: Magnolia Pictures
• Trivia: Filming took place in the Seattle area and a large amount of dialogue was improvised.

September 9 – August: Osage County (USA)

The Weinstein Company

• Cast: Meryl Streep, Sam Shepard, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Margo Martindale, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Misty Upham
• Director: John Wells
• Production Company: Jean Doumanian Productions, Smoke House Pictures, Battle Mountain Films, Yucaipa Films, distributed by The Weinstein Company
• Trivia: Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2007 play of the same name by Tracy Letts, who also wrote the screenplay. Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for their work. Andrea Riseborough was originally cast as Karen but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. She was replaced by Juliette Lewis. Renée Zellweger had also been under consideration for the role. Chloë Grace Moretz also auditioned for the role of Jean.

September 9 – Extracted (UK)

• Cast: Sasha Roiz, Dominic Bogart, Ty Simpkins, Jenny Mollen, Nick Jamison, Rodney Eastman, Frank Ashmore, Sara Tomko, Richard Riehle
• Director: Nir Paniry
• Production Company: New Artists Alliance, distributed by Phase 4 Films
• Trivia: Released in the US on DVD on September 13, 2013. Known as Extraction in the UK. The film’s budget was $100,000, and the script was rewritten to keep costs down. Sasha Roiz was cast after his starring role on TV series Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica spin-off.