American International Pictures
Mid-January is not the greatest time for movies. Yes, there are plenty of new releases but few of them made any lasting impression. Sadly, at least five of the films released in 1924 no longer exist, but two do survive and one has been released on DVD. 1934’s notable film include an early role for Lon Chaney Jr. under his birth name, a film based on a famous French nightclub, two pre-Code films that have been given DVD releases in the Forbidden Hollywood collection, and one film with a pre-stardom John Wayne. 1944 produced a remake of a 1927 Hitchcock silent, and 1954 gave us a no-budget sci-fi movie with bug-eyed aliens. 1964 saw the teaming of a group of horror greats, and put Joan Crawford in a William Castle ‘hagsploitation’ film. 1974 saw three plays committed to film, and 1984 gave us the last film of a famous French director. 1994 gave Sharon Stone a dubious award win, while Chris Isaak scored a nomination from the same organization. 2004 had Ashton Kutcher attempting to change history, and 2014 brought Jack Ryan back to the big screen, and paired Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in a buddy cop comedy. Scroll down to check out the list of films that were released this week over the last century and tell us if any of your favorites are on the list!
1924
- January 19 – Roulette (USA, Selznick Distributing Corporation)
- January 20 – Just Off Broadway (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
- January 20 – The Lullaby (USA, Film Booking Offices of America)
- January 20 – Wild Oranges (USA, Goldwyn-Cosmopolitan Distributing Corporation)
- January 21 – Squibs M.P. (UK, Gaumont British Distributors)
- January 21 – The Whispered Name (USA, Universal Pictures)
- January 22 – Loving Lies (USA, Allied Producers & Distributors Corporation)
- January 23 – The Heritage of the Desert (USA, Paramount Pictures)
Squibs M.P. has no known US theatrical release date. Roulette, Just Off Broadway, The Lullaby, and Loving Lies are lost films. Wild Oranges exists and has been released on DVD by the Warner Archive Collection.
The Whispered Name was based on a Broadway play that had previously been made into the 1917 film The Co-Respondent. The film is considered lost.
The Heritage of the Desert was based on the novel of the same name by Zane Grey. The film included early Technicolor sequences. A complete print of the film is maintained in the Gosfilmofond archive in Moscow.
1934
20th Century Fox
- January 17 – On the Air (UK, British Lion Film Corporation)
- January 18 – Sixteen Fathoms Deep (USA, Monogram Pictures)
- January 19 – Frontier Marshal (USA, Fox Film)
- January 19 – Long Lost Father (USA, RKO Pictures)
- January 19 – Moulin Rouge (USA, 20th Century Fox)
- January 20 – Hi Nellie! (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- January 20 – Massacre (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- January 22 – Beloved (USA, Universal Pictures)
- January 22 – Cross Streets (USA, Chesterfield Motion Pictures)
- January 22 – The Fire Raisers (UK, Woolf & Freedman Film Service)
- January 22 – The Lucky Texan (USA, Monogram Pictures Corporation)
On the Air and The Fire Raisers have no known US theatrical release dates.
Sixteen Fathoms Deep included an early role for Lon Chaney Jr., then billed under his birth name, Creighton Chaney. Sally O’Neil won the female lead after losing the role in Sitting Pretty to Ginger Rogers.
Frontier Marshal was the first film based on Stuart N. Lake’s largely fictional ‘biography’ of Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. A second version was produced in 1939, with a third in 1946 titled My Darling Clementine. Earp’s widow sued to prevent the film from being made, stating it was an ‘unauthorized portrayal’ of her husband. She succeeded in having his name removed from the movie, with the character renamed ‘Michael Wyatt’. Actor Ward Bond appeared in all three movies as different characters.
Long Lost Father was based on a 1933 novel of the same title by the British writer Gladys Stern.
Lucille Ball appeared in Moulin Rouge in an uncredited role as a showgirl. The film has no relation to any other film with the same name. It was 20th Century Fox’s fourth most popular film of 1934.
A copy of Hi Nellie! is preserved by the Library of Congress. The film has been released on DVD by the Warner Archive Collection. The story upon which the screenplay was based was remade in 1949 as The House Across the Street. Massacre has also been released on DVD by Warner Archive has part of its Forbidden Hollywood collection.
The Lucky Texan featured John Wayne five years before his breakthrough in Stagecoach. The film also features a rare appearance by ‘Gabby’ Hayes without a beard and in drag. The film’s working title was Gold Strike River, and was released years later under that title and in a colorized version.
1944
- January 18 – The Racket Man (USA, Columbia Pictures)
- January 19 – The Lodger (USA, 20th Century Fox)
- January 22 – Marshal of Gunsmoke (USA, Universal Pictures)
- January 23 – It’s in the Bag (UK, Butcher’s Film Service)
It’s in the Bag has no known US theatrical release date.
The Lodger was based on the 1913 novel of the same name by Marie Belloc Lowndes. The story had previously been filmed as a 1927 silent by Alfred Hitchcock. It was remade again in 1953 and 2009.
1954
- January 17 – Yukon Vengeance (USA, Allied Artists)
- January 20 – Front Page Story (UK, British Lion Film Corporation)
- January 20 – The Eddie Cantor Story (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- January 20 – La mano dello straniero (Italy, Dear Film)
- January 23 – Killers from Space (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
- January 23 – Puppy Tale (USA, short, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Front Page Story was released in the US on April 18, 1955 through Associated Artists Productions. La mano dello straniero was released in the US as The Stranger’s Hand on February 15, 1955 through Distributors Corporation of America.
Yukon Vengeance was the tenth and final film to feature Kirby Grant as Mountie Corporal Rod Webb. Eddie Cantor appears in a cameo role in The Eddie Cantor Story, starring Keefe Brasselle as Cantor. The film had a budget of $3 million.
Killers from Space is also known as The Man Who Saved Earth. Interiors were filmed at KTTV Studios, with cavern scenes shot at Bronson Canyon, location for many Western films. The film had a bare bones budget so the large eyes for the aliens were made by Harry Thomas from plastic egg trays. Due to there being no time and no money, Thomas was unable to complete any detail work on the eyes. The movie was lampooned by The Film Crew (former members of MST3K) in 2007, then again in 2019 under the Rifftrax banner.
1964
Columbia Pictures
- January 17 – Sleep (USA, Andy Warhol)
- January 18 – Dumb Patrol (USA, short, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- January 20 – The Caretaker (USA, Janus Films)
- January 22 – Pyro… The Thing Without a Face (USA, American International Pictures)
- January 22 – The Comedy of Terrors (USA, American International Pictures)
- January 22 – Strait-Jacket (USA, Columbia Pictures)
- January 22 – Zulu (UK, Paramount British Pictures)
- January 23 – The Seventh Juror (USA, Trans Lux)
Zulu was released in the US on June 17, 1964 through Embassy Pictures. The Seventh Juror, based on the novel by Francis Didelot, was originally released in France on April 18, 1962 as Le septième juré. Pyro… The Thing Without a Face is also known as Wheel of Fire.
Sleep was one of Andy Warhol’s first experiments with filmmaking. It runs five hours and 21 minutes and features John Giorno, Warhol’s lover at the time, sleeping. A lack of action appears to give the film continuity, but it is actually spliced together from several shorter shots over five reels. The opening four-and-a-half minute shot is repeated six times, with the rest of the first reel composed of six sequential shots, which then alternate the first two, with the last four in a loop. Reel two has three repeated shots of Giorno’s buttocks and one of his head. Reel three is a single four-and-a-half minute shot of Giorno on his back looped for 90 minutes. Reel four is a close up of Giorno’s head looped for 86 minutes. The final real uses nine unique shots over 49 minutes, and is the only reel that includes a fragment of a shot. A total of about 30 minutes of film was used out of four hours of footage shot by Warhol. He instructed his editor Sarah Dalton to eliminate footage that included too much motion, telling her to ‘try and make it more the same’. While shot at the standard 24 frames per second, the film is projected at the slower 16 fps, the standard for silent films. Nine people attended the premiere on January 17, 1964, and two left during the first hour. At a screening in Los Angeles, attendees shouted at the screen and threatened to riot.
Dumb Patrol is a Warner Bros. short with Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam set during, and commemorating the 50th anniversary of World War I. The title is an allusion to Howard Hawks’ 1930 film The Dawn Patrol, also set during WWI.
The Caretaker, based on the Harold Pinter play of the same name, is also known as The Guest. The film was made by a partnership of six people, none of whom took payment: Clive Donner, Donald Pleasence, Alan Bates, Robert Shaw, Harold Pinter and Michael Birkett.
The Comedy of Terrors features the final film appearance of Joe E. Brown. Boris Karloff was meant to play the spry old landlord, Mr. Black, but persistent back and leg problems that had worsened with age forced him to trade roles with Basil Rathbone, who was originally playing the elderly Mr. Hinchley.
Strait-Jacket was the first of two William Castle films written by Robert Bloch, who wrote the novel upon which Psycho is based. The film features the first big screen appearance of Lee Majors in the uncredited role of Frank Harbin, husband of Lucy Harbin (Joan Crawford), in the opening minutes of the film. Joan Blondell was originally set to star but had to withdraw after being injured at home prior to production. Crawford demanded script and cast approval, a $50,000 salary, and 15 percent of the film’s profits. Anne Helm was originally cast as Carol, but was replaced with Diane Baker at Crawford’s insistence, as the two had appeared together in The Best of Everything (1959). Baker stated in an interview that Helm and Crawford were not getting along during the early days of production. Audience members were given cardboard axes as they entered the theater. At the end of the closing credits, the Columbia logo’s torch-bearing woman is shown in her traditional pose, but decapitated, with her head resting at her feet on her pedestal. An except from the film is seen on TV in John Waters’ Serial Mom (1994).
Zulu was based on John Prebble’s 1958 Lilliput article ‘Slaughter in the Sun’. Prebble co-wrote the screenplay as well. The film introduces Michael Caine in his first major role. Richard Burton provides the opening and closing narration. The film was shot in the Super Technirama 70 process, mostly on location in South Africa. The film received a BAFTA nomination for Best Colour Art Direction.
1974
- January 21 – Butley (USA, American Film Theatre)
- January 21 – Luther (USA, American Film Theatre)
- January 21 – Rhinoceros (USA, American Film Theatre)
Butley, Luther and Rhinoceros were three of eight in the first season of a series of plays made into films by the American Film Theatre. Butley is an adaptation from Simon Gray’s 1971 play of same name. Luther was adapted from John Osborne’s biographical play, presenting the life of Martin Luther.
Rhinoceros was based on the play Rhinocéros by Eugène Ionesco. The film’s setting was switched from the original France to contemporary United States, and the lead characters Bérenger and Jean were renamed Stanley and John. Zero Mostel reprised his role from the 1961 Broadway production of the play.
1984
- January 18 – Deep in the Heart (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- January 19 – Copkiller (USA, New Line Cinema)
- January 20 – Confidentiality Yours (USA, International Spectrafilm)
- January 20 – Scandalous (USA, Orion Pictures)
- January 20 – The Power (USA, Film Ventures International)
Deep in the Heart was originally released in the UK as Handgun on May 12, 1983 through Columbia-EMI-Warner. Copkiller was originally released in Italy on March 15, 1983 as Copkiller (l’assassino dei poliziotti) through Filman International. Confidentially Yours was originally released in France as Vivement dimanche! (Finally, Sunday! in other English speaking countries) on August 10, 1983 through Acteurs Auteurs Associés.
Copkiller is also known as Corrupt, Corrupt Lieutenant, and The Order of Death. It is based on Hugh Fleetwood’s 1977 novel The Order of Death, with Fleetwood contributing to the screenplay. The film features the only starring role by the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon. The film has fallen into the public domain, and has developed a cult following due to the presence of Lydon and Harvey Keitel.
Confidentiality Yours was François Truffaut’s final film, and a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. It was based on the 1962 novel The Long Saturday Night by American author Charles Williams. The film received a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Film.
Scandalous was based on a play by Larry Cohen, who adapted it into a screenplay and sold the rights. Cohen blamed the producers for changing everything and screwing it up.
1994
- January 21 – Bhaji on the Beach (UK, First Independent Films)
- January 21 – Intersection (USA, Paramount Pictures)
- January 21 – Little Buddha (Spain, Laurenfilm)
- January 21 – The Hour of the Pig (UK, Mayfair Entertainment)
Bhaji on the Beach, Gurinder Chadha feature directorial debut, was released in the US in May 1994 through First Look International. Little Buddha originally opened in France on December 1, 1993, then in the US on May 25, 1994 through Miramax. The Hour of the Pig was released in the US as The Advocate on August 24, 1994 through Miramax.
Intersection is a remake of the French film Les choses de la vie (1970) by Claude Sautet. Sharon Stone won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for this film and The Specialists.
Three Tibetan incarnate high lamas have roles in Little Buddha because director Bernardo Bertolucci wanted authenticity. The film’s flashback scenes were shot in 65mm Todd-AO while the rest of the film was shot in 35mm. Chris Isaak received a Razzie nomination for Worst New Star.
The US version of The Hour of the Pig (The Advocate) was trimmed down with oversight by Harvey Weinstein. A sex scene was edited to avoid a stronger than R rating. To date, only the US theatrical version has been released on home video in the US.
2004
- January 21 – The Bodyguard (Thailand, Sahamongkol Film International)
- January 23 – Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine (UK, documentary, Momentum Pictures)
- January 23 – The Butterfly Effect (USA, New Line Cinema)
- January 23 – Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (USA, DreamWorks Pictures)
The Bodyguard has no known US theatrical release date. Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine was released in the US on December 3, 2004 through THINKFilm. The Butterfly Effect had four different endings shot for the film.
2014
Universal Pictures
- January 17 – Back in the Day (USA, Screen Media Films)
- January 17 – Devil’s Due (USA, 20th Century Fox)
- January 17 – Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (USA, Paramount Pictures)
- January 17 – Life of a King (USA, limited, Millennium Entertainment)
- January 17 – Ride Along (USA, Universal Pictures)
- January 17 – The Nut Job (USA, Open Road Films)
Back in the Day was written by, directed by and stars Michael Rosenbaum.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, part of the filmmaking collective Radio Silence, were offered directorial duties on Devil’s Due based on the short ’10/31/98′ in the V/H/S horror anthology.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is the fifth film in the Jack Ryan series, and the second reboot. It is not an adaptation of one of Tom Clancy’s ‘Jack Ryan’ novels, but the film is dedicated to Clancy who died on October 1, 2013. Chris Pine is the fourth actor to play Ryan. Colm Feore appeared in the previous ‘Jack Ryan’ film The Sum of All Fears, with Ben Affleck, but as a different character. Affleck did not continue with the series because of the box office disaster of Gigli. Sam Raimi was courted to continue the series but he dropped out for Spider-Man 4, which went unproduced. Chris Pine was cast as Ryan but the film was put on hold so he could reprise the role of James T. Kirk in Star Trek Into Darkness. Jack Bender was to direct but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and Kenneth Branagh quickly replaced him. Months later, Branagh also made a deal to star as the film’s villain. Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel were approached for the female lead but turned it down. Keira Knightley won the role days later. Kevin Costner signed to play Thomas Harper in a two-picture deal that would have seen him return for an adaptation of Clancy’s Without Remorse. (That film did not happen because of lackluster box office; but it was adapted in 2021 and the Harper character does not appear.) Liverpool city centre doubled as Moscow.
Ride Along had been offered to Warner Bros. for distribution but according to star Ice Cube, the studio turned it down saying an action film with two Black leads would not sell overseas. A studio rep says this is false and the real reason was because of disagreements over the script. Universal acquired distribution rights in 2012.
The Nut Job is loosely based on Peter Lepeniotis’ 2005 short animated film Surly Squirrel. A second short film, Nuts & Robbers, was released as a teaser for The Nut Job.
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