Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #171 :: November 1•7

New Line Cinema

A lot of films were released this week — or this month in general as many exact release dates have been lost to time — but quantity does not equal quality with a large portion of this week’s films barely registering. One notable film of 1923 came from a popular star who did not appear in the film. 1933 featured a serial that was a remake of a previous serial. A 1943 film was considered pro-Soviet propaganda in 1957. 1953 gave us a Doris Day Western musical that was a response to another studio’s own Western musical. 1963 produced a beach movie set in the desert. 1973 had a film about plastic surgery with Elizabeth Taylor, and another film about a seal that became a TV series. 1983 produced a powerful film about the aftermath of a nuclear attack. 1993 had a film that replaced talking babies with talking dogs. 2003 gave us a new Disney animated film, the third film in a sci-fi trilogy, and a film that is now a Christmas classic. 2013 had a film with two historic Oscar wins, a sci-fi dud based on a very popular novel, and a critically hailed musical black comedy from the Coen Brothers. Check out this week’s list of films celebrating premiere anniversaries and tell us if any of your favorites are here!

1923

• November – Let’s Go (USA, Truart Film Corporation)
• November – The Drums of Jeopardy (USA, Truart Film Corporation)
• November – The Love Pirate (USA, Film Booking Offices of America)
• November – M’Lord of the White Road (UK, Granger Films)
• November 1 – At Devil’s Gorge (USA, Arrow Film Corporation)
• November 4 – A Woman of Paris (USA, United Artists)
• November 4 – His Children’s Children (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• November 4 – Little Old New York (USA, Goldwyn Pictures)
• November 4 – Six Cylinder Love (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• November 4 – The Country Kid (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 4 – The Leavenworth Case (USA, Vitagraph Company of America)
• November 5 – Thundering Dawn (USA, Universal Pictures)
• November 7 – Crooked Alley (USA, Universal Pictures)

An incomplete print of Let’s Go with one reel missing is held in the George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection. M’Lord of the White Road has no known US theatrical release date. His Children’s Children, based on the novel by Arthur Train, and Six Cylinder Love, based on a popular 1921 Broadway play, are lost films. Six Cylinder Love was remade in 1931, and again in 1939 as The Honeymoon’s Over. The Country Kid survives in both a complete and abridged version. The Leavenworth Case was based on the 1878 novel by Anna Katharine Green, and was remade in 1936. Thundering Dawn had the working titles Havoc and The Bond of the Ring. It is a lost film, though its trailer survives in the Library of Congress.

The Drums of Jeopardy was based on the 1920 novel of the same name by Harold McGrath. The name of the villain in the story was originally called Boris Karlov, but when the actor Boris Karloff rose to prominence circa 1923, the character’s name was changed to Gregor Karlov to avoid confusion. It was changed back to Boris again in the 1931 remake of the film which starred Warner Oland as the villain. A copy of the film is housed at the Library of Congress.

A Woman of Paris was written, directed and produced by Charles Chaplin, and the film is notable in that Chaplin does not appear except for a brief cameo but not as his Tramp character. Chaplin created the film to get star Edna Purviance some notice from audiences without him at her side. He also wanted to try his hand at a drama. Sadly the film did not help Purviance’s career outside of Chaplin’s Tramp films but it did gain recognition for Adolphe Menjou. Chaplin later cut the film by eight minutes and composed a new score, with a premiere held at the Museum of Modern Art on December 23, 1976, and a theatrical release in 1977. The film was also known as A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate.

Little Old New York was based on a play of the same name by Rida Johnson Young. The film was in production at Cosmopolitan Studios in New York City when a fire swept through the studio, destroying it and its contents. The two-thirds completed film’s negatives were saved and production had to be completed at other studios with all of the sets and costumes recreated. It was Marion Davies’ 17th film, and the seventh most popular film in the US that year.

1933

• November – A Cuckoo in the Nest (UK, Woolf and Freedman)
• November – A Shot in the Dark (UK, RKO Radio Pictures)
• November – Chelsea Life (UK, Paramount British Pictures)
• November – For Love of You (UK, Sterling Films)
• November – Friday the Thirteenth (UK, Gaumont British Distributors)
• November – I Adore You (UK, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November – Marooned (UK, Fox Film)
• November – Strike It Rich (UK, British Lion Film)
• November – The Bermondsey Kid (UK, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November – Trouble (UK, United Artists)
• November 1 – Only Yesterday (USA, Universal Pictures)
• November 1 – The Roof (UK, RKO Pictures)
• November 2 – Broadway Through a Keyhole (USA, United Artists)
• November 3 – Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (USA, RKO Pictures)
• November 3 – The Chief (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 4 – College Coach (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. & The Vitaphone Corp.)
• November 6 – The Perils of Pauline (USA, serial, Universal Pictures)
• November 7 – In the Money (USA, Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corp.)

A Cuckoo in the Nest, A Shot in the Dark, Chelsea Life, For Love of You, I Adore You, Marooned, Strike It Rich, The Bermondsey Kid, Trouble, and The Roof have no known US theatrical release dates. Friday the Thirteenth was released in the US on May 15, 1934. I Adore You was notable for Errol Flynn appearing as an extra, but it is considered lost.

A Cuckoo in the Nest was remade in 1954 as Fast and Loose. A Shot in the Dark, Chelsea Life, Marooned, Strike It Rich, and The Roof were quota quickies to help bolster the failing British film industry. For Love of You was a sequel to Going Gay. The Perils of Pauline was a remake of the 1914 serial.

Only Yesterday was Margaret Sullivan’s film debut. The film was ‘suggested’ by the 1931 nonfiction bestseller Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen, although bears no resemblance beyond the title. It is more closely based on Letter from an Unknown Woman (Briefe einer Unbekannten) by Stefan Zweig. The film and trailer are preserved in the Library of Congress collection.

Broadway Through a Keyhole, also billed as Broadway Thru a Keyhole, featured early performances by Lucille Ball, Ann Sothern and Susan Fleming. College Coach, which featured John Wayne in his last unbilled bit part, was known as Football Coach in the UK.

1943

• November 3 – Gangway for Tomorrow (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• November 4 – Claudia (USA, 20th Century Fox)
• November 4 – Silver City Raiders (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• November 4 – The North Star (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• November 5 – Devil Riders (USA, Producers Releasing Corporation)
• November 5 – False Colors (USA, United Artists)
• November 5 – Frontier Law (USA, Universal Pictures)
• November 5 – Government Girl (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• November 5 – The Mystery of the 13th Guest (USA, Monogram Pictures)
• November 6 – Find the Blackmailer (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

The working title for Gangway for Tomorrow was An American Story. Claudia was based on a Broadway play of the same name from 1941. It is followed by a sequel in 1946, Claudia and David. Devil Riders was the first film in PRC’s ‘Billy the Kid’ series. The Mystery of the 13th Guest is based on Armitage Trail’s 1929 novel The 13th Guest and is an updated version of the 1932 film The Thirteenth Guest.

The North Star was edited in 1957 and retitled Armored Attack for a theatrical re-release. The film was edited to remove what the House Committee on Un-American Activities said contained ‘pro-Soviet propaganda’. The film mark’s Farley Granger’s debut. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards.

Joseph Cotten was originally to star in Government Girl, but his role went to Sonny Tufts. Barbara Stanwyck and Ginger Rogers turned down the role of Elizabeth, and Olivia de Havilland was cast.

1953

Warner Bros. Pictures

• November – Back to God’s Country (USA, Universal Pictures)
• November – Black 13 (UK, Archway Film Distributors)
• November – Flannelfoot (UK, New Realm Pictures)
• November – Forces’ Sweetheart (UK, New Realm Pictures)
• November – It’s a Grand Life (UK, Mancunian Films)
• November – Marilyn (UK, Butcher’s Film Service)
• November – The Dog and the Diamonds (UK, Children’s Film Foundation)
• November – The Limping Man (UK, Eros Films)
• November 3 – Last of the Pony Riders (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• November 3 – Prisoners of the Casbah (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• November 3 – The Conquest of Everest (UK, documentary, British Lion Film Corporation)
• November 3 – The Heart of the Matter (UK, British Lion Films)
• November 4 – Calamity Jane (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 4 – Man of Conflict (USA, Atlas Pictures)

Black 13 was released in the US by 20th Century Fox on November 7, 1954. Marilyn was released in the US by Astor Pictures in August 1955 as Roadhouse Girl. The Dog and the Diamonds opened in the US on September 19, 1961 from Continental Distributing. The Limping Man opened in the US on December 11, 1953 from Lippert Pictures. The Conquest of Everest was released by United Artists in the US on December 9, 1953. The Heart of the Matter opened in the US on February 8, 1954 from Associated Artists Productions. Flannelfoot, Forces’ Sweetheart and It’s a Grand Life have no known US theatrical release dates.

Black 13 is a remake of the 1948 Italian film Gioventù perduta (also known as Lost Youth) by Pietro Germi. Flannelfoot was very loosely based on the activities of cat burglar Harry Edward Vickers, would cover his boots with cloth to silence his footsteps. Marilyn was based on James M. Cain’s novel The Postman Always Rings Twice. The Limping Man was based on Anthony Verney’s novel Death on the Tideway. The film was directed by Cy Endfield under the pseudonym Charles de Lautour due to his blacklisting in Hollywood. The Conquest of Everest was Oscar nominated for Best Documentary Feature. The Heart of the Matter was based on the 1948 book of the same name by Graham Greene. The film uses indigenous music from Sierra Leone instaed of a traditional musical score.

Calamity Jane was Warner Bros’ response to MGM’s Annie Get Your Gun. The film won the Oscar for Best Original Song, ‘Secret Love’, and was nominated for Best Music and Best Sound. The songs and screenplay would be adapted for a 1961 stage musical of the same name. The film has been noted for its subtle lesbian overtones.

1963

• November 5 – Palm Springs Weekend (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 6 – Gunfight at Comanche Creek (USA, Allied Artists Pictures)
• November 7 – Carry On Cabby (UK, Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors)

Football player and Tarzan actor Mike Henry plays the parking valet at the Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs Weekend. Dawn Wells and Linda Gray appear as extras in non-speaking roles. Four of the film’s stars — Connie Stevens, Robert Conrad, Tina Cole, and Troy Donahue — also appeared in the 1959-1963 TV series Hawaiian Eye. The actors were under contract to Warner Bros., which also produced the series. Troy Donahue refused to appear in the film, saying it was not advantageous to his career, so the studio put him on suspension. He ran out of money and agreed to do the film (‘to drink and get laid’, according to the actor). He later said it was a bad beach movie set in the desert. Robert Conrad, on the other hand, saw the film as a great opportunity to do some real acting and the studio was so impressed he was kept under contract for several years. Jack Warner conceived the film in the wake of the success of MGM’s Where the Boys Are, and had the title for the film before there was a script. The film was shot on location in Palm Springs.

Carry On Cabby was released in the US by Governor Films in January 1967. It is the seventh of 31 Carry On films. Bill Owen and Esma Cannon make their fourth and final Carry On appearances. It was also Jim Dale’s first Carry On film. The film was originally planned as a non-Carry On film titled Call Me a Cab but was altered midway through filming.

1973

• November – A Scream in the Streets (USA, Boxoffice International Pictures)
• November – Salty (USA, Saltwater)
• November – Assassin (UK, Roadshow Films)
• November 1 – Ash Wednesday (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• November 1 – Dalmas (AUS, Apogee Films)
• November 7 – Executive Action (USA, National General Pictures)

Assassin and Dalmas have no known US theatrical release dates. Dalmas was filmed over a period of four years.

A Scream in the Streets was released on video in the UK as Girls in the Street, with nearly 15 minutes of the film, including nudity and explicit sex, cut by censors.

Salty was Ricou Browning’s feature directorial debut. Browning was better known as the man in the Creature from the Black Lagoon suit for the swimming scenes. The film. was followed by the 1974 TV series of the same name which ran for a single season of 20 episodes. The film’s stars, Julius Harris and Mark Slade reprised their roles for the series, but Clint Howard was replaced with Johnny Dornan.

Elizabeth Taylor received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Ash Wednesday. Actor Donald Sutherland has been credited as having conceived of the film Executive Action. It was Robert Ryan’s final film.

1983

• November 4 – Deal of the Century (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 4 – Running Brave (USA/Canada, Buena Vista Distribution)
• November 4 – Testament (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• November 4 – The Prey (USA, New World Pictures)

Running Brave director Donald Shebib was credited as D.S. Everett due to an editing dispute.

Testament was based on a three-page story titled ‘The Last Testament’ by Carol Amen. The film was originally produced for PBS’ American Playhouse but was given a theatrical release instead (it did air a year later on PBS). Pre-stardom Kevin Costner and Rebecca De Mornay have small roles. Jane Alexander received Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

The Prey was Jackie Coogan’s final film. The film was completed in 1979. The film was directed by Edwin Scott Brown and co-written with his wife Summer, their first non-pornographic film together. The pair were inspired by Halloween and The Hills Have Eyes. It was Debbie Thureson’s first film. A large amount of dialogue, especially hiking scenes, was improvised.

1993

Warner Bros. Pictures

• November 3 – The Saint of Fort Washington (France, UGC Distribution)
• November 4 – Blackfellas (AUS, Ronin Films)
• November 5 – A Home of Our Own (USA, Gramercy Pictures)
• November 5 – Fearless (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 5 – Flesh and Bone (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• November 5 – Look Who’s Talking Now (USA, TriStar Pictures)

The Saint of Fort Washington opened in the US on November 17, 1993 from Warner Bros. Pictures. Blackfellas has no known US theatrical release date. It is an adaptation of Archie Weller’s 1981 novel The Day of the Dog.

A Home of Our Own was based on screenwriter Patrick Sheane Duncan’s own childhood experiences as one of twelve children growing up in the Midwest with a single mother.

Fearless was adapted from Rafael Yglesias’ novel of the same name. Rosie Perez was Oscar and Golden Globe nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Flesh and Bones features an early performance from Gwyneth Paltrow. Producer Mark Rosenberg died of a heart attack suffered on the film’s location. The film is dedicated to him at the start of the end credits.

Look Who’s Talking Now, the third and final film of the series, does not include Bruce Willis, Roseanne Barr or Joan Rivers providing the interior monologue of the children since they are old enough to speak now. Instead, Danny DeVito and Diane Keaton provide the voices for the newly acquired family dogs. George Segal and Charles Barkley have cameo roles. Twink Caplan and Elias Koteas declined to return after appearing in the previous films.

2003

• November 1 – Brother Bear (USA/Canada, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution)
• November 1 – Triads, Yardies and Onion Bhajees (UK, 4 Digital Media)
• November 5 – The Matrix Revolutions (USA/Canada/UK, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 7 – Elf (USA/Canada, New Line Cinema)

Brother Bear was Disney’s 44th animated feature film. It was Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker’s feature directorial debut. This was Jason Raize’s only film role. He died on February 3, 2004. It was the last animated feature produced at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, FL. It was Oscar nominated for Best Animated Feature but lost to Finding Nemo. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis performed their voice roles together throughout the recording process.

Triads, Yardies and Onion Bhajees has no known US theatrical release date. Its star, Dave Courtney, was an ex-gangster and underworld don.

The Matrix Revolutions was the third film in the Matrix series, and was released six months after the second, which was filmed simultaneously. Mary Alice replaced Gloria Foster, who died in 2001, as The Oracle. It was the first film released in standard and IMAX theaters at the same time.

The script for Elf was written in 1993, with Chris Farley and Jim Carrey in the running to play Buddy the elf. Garry Shandling turned down the role of Walter Hobbs. Wanda Sykes was cast as the manager of Gimbles but dropped out. Terry Zwigoff turned down directing the film in favor of Bad Santa. Forced perspective was used over CGI to exaggerate Buddy’s size compared to the other elves. The song Will Ferrell sings in the middle of Santaland was not scripted, he improvised it on the spot. Zooey Deschanel’s singing was not in the original script, only added after director Jon Favreau learned she was a singer. Voice actor Maurice LaMarche dubbed in Buddy’s belch after drinking a two-liter bottle of Coke. The film has entered the pantheon of greatest Christmas films of all time.

2013

Focus Features

• November 1 – About Time (USA, Universal Pictures)
• November 1 – Brother’s Keeper (USA, limited, Desert Wind Releasing)
• November 1 – Dallas Buyer’s Club (USA, Focus Features)
• November 1 – Ender’s Game (USA, Lionsgate)
• November 1 – Free Birds (USA, Relativity Media)
• November 1 – Last Vegas (USA, CBS Films)
• November 1 – Philomena (UK, 20th Century Fox)
• November 6 – Inside Llewyn Davis (France/Belgium, StudioCanal/Belga Films)
• November 7 – Only Lovers Left Alive (Lithuania, Cinemania Group)

About Time featured the final film performance of Richard Griffiths, to whom the film was dedicated. He and Richard E. Grant appeared uncredited as actors in a play. It was the third and to date last film Richard Curtis, known primarily as a writer, had directed.

Matthew McConaughey lost 50 pounds to play Ron Woodruff, a man suffering from AIDS in Dallas Buyer’s Club. Jared Leto lost 30 pounds, and also shaved off his eyebrows and waxed his entire body to play a trans woman with HIV. Leto reportedly stayed in character throughout filming, and director Jean-Marc Vallée claimed he never really met the actor Jared Leto. Woody Harrelson was originally attached to play Woodruff but left the project due to funding issues. Gael Garcia Bernal was in talks to play the character played by Leto. Jennifer Garner said the film was shot quickly, in about 25 days. The film earned six Academy Award nominations, winning Best Actor and Supporting Actor for McConaughey and Leto, the first time a film won both awards since Mystic River ten years earlier, as well as one for Makeup and Hairstyling. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Original Screenplay and Editing.

Ender’s Game was based on Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel of the same name. In 1999 Jake Lloyd, who starred as young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, was considered for the lead role of Ender Wiggin. Card asked fans of the novel to not judge Lloyd based on his performance in that film. In 2008 Card wanted Nathan Gamble for the role but admitted that he was probably too old at that time. At one point Card considered changing the gender of Hyrum Graff to female in order to cast a ‘dry comic’ like Janeane Garofalo or Rosie O’Donnell. The role was eventually played by Harrison Ford. Andre Braugher and Will Smith were mentioned for the role of Mazer Rackham, who was played by Ben Kingsley.

Free Birds, the first fully animated theatrical feature from Reel FX Creative Studios, was originally titled Turkeys. Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi was involved in early development of the film.

Philomena, based on the 2009 book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by journalist Martin Sixsmith, was released in the US by The Weinstein Company on November 27, 2013. The film was nominated for four Oscars, four BAFTAs and three Golden Globes.

Inside Llewyn Davis received a limited US release through CBS Films on December 6, 2013 ahead of a wide release on January 10, 2014. The film was Oscar Isaac’s breakthrough. Most of the songs in the film were performed live. The film earned two Oscar nominations for Cinematography and Sound Mixing, and three Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actor – Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song. Filming was complicated by an early New York Spring which interfered with the bleak Winter setting of the story, and several uncooperative cats that ignored the filmmaker’s directions. An orange tabby was cast since they are common enough that several cats could be used to play the role. Joel and Ethan Coen were able to film at an apartment they had rented decades earlier after a chance encounter with a cab driver who then lived at that address.

Only Lovers Left Alive received a limited US release through Sony Pictures Classics on April 11, 2014. Michael Fassbender was originally on board for the role of Adam, but departed the project due to the lengthy process of obtaining financing. Tom Hiddleston was his replacement. The film was shot mostly at night. The film’s title is taken from the Dave Wallis science fiction novel of the same name from 1964, although the plots have no similarities.