Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #191 :: March 21•27

Marvel Studios

There were many films released this week across the past century, but there may be more Razzie nominees than Oscar nominees. A few classics and popular films also made an appearance this week including one 1924 silent film that’s been preserved, a 1954 film that was more popular than its studio ever imagined it would be, a 1964 film that took audiences back to the beach, a misguided 1974 movie musical, a 1984 comedy that spawned an entire franchise, a 2004 film that brought a popular cartoon character to live once again, and 2014 films that included superheroes, Muppets and a Biblical flood. Scroll down the list to learn more about these films and others, and tell us if your favorites are celebrating anniversaries this week!

1924

• March 23 – The Misfit (USA, short, Lou Anger Productions)
• March 23 – Scarem Much (USA, short, Mack Sennett Comedies)
• March 23 – The Arizona Express (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• March 23 – The Storm Daughter (USA, Universal Jewel)
• March 24 – Don’t Doubt Your Husband (USA, Metro Pictures Corporation)
• March 24 – The Enchanted Cottage (USA, Inspiration Pictures)
• March 24 – Secrets (USA, Joseph M. Schenck Productions)
• March 24 – Squibs’ Honeymoon (UK, Welsh-Pearson)

Squibs’ Honeymoon has no known US theatrical release date. The title Scarem Much is a play on the title Scaramouche, a popular 1923 film. Prints of The Arizona Express survive in the Museum of Modern Art.

The Storm Daughter is a lost film. Only a fragment exists at the BFI National Archive.

The Enchanted Cottage is based upon a 1923 play by Arthur Wing Pinero. A print of the film is preserved at the Library of Congress. The film was restored in 2024 featuring a new score by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

Secrets is based upon a 1922 play of the same name. The film was remade in 1933. Copies of the film still exist.

Squibs’ Honeymoon was the last of the silent film series to feature the Squibs character. Star Betty Balfour did play her once more in the 1935 sound film Squibs.

1934

• March 22 – The Night Club Queen (UK, Real Art Productions)
• March 23 – Come On Marines! (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• March 24 – Hold That Girl (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• March 24 – Once to Every Woman (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• March 24 – The Man Trailer (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• March 25 – Ever Since Eve (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• March 27 – The Unholy Quest (UK, Equity British Films)

The Night Club Queen and The Unholy Quest have no known US theatrical release dates.

Once to Every Woman is an adaptation of A. J. Cronin’s 1933 short story Kaleidoscope in ‘K’. The Man Trailer is a remake of 1930’s The Lone Rider. The Unholy Quest was made as a quota quickie to help support the then-failing British film industry.

1944

• March 22 – Hi, Good Lookin’! (USA, Universal Pictures)
• March 23 – Sundown Valley (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• March 23 – The Heavenly Body (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• March 24 – Rationing (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• March 25 – Thundering Gun Slingers (USA, Sigmund Neufeld Productions)

The working title for The Heavenly Body was The Stars Can Wait. It was William Powell’s first film since 1942’s Crossroads in which he also first co-starred with Hedy Lamarr, prompting the studio to re-team them for The Heavenly Body.

1954

Group Film Productions Limited

• March 21 – Dragonfly Squadron (USA, Allied Artists Pictures)
• March 23 – Doctor in the House (UK, Group Film Productions Limited)
• March 24 – West of Zanzibar (UK, Ealing Studios)
• March 25 – Make Haste to Live (USA, Republic Pictures)
• March 27 – Design for Leaving (USA, short, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• March 27 – Phantom of the Rue Morgue (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• March 27 – Wyoming Renegades (USA, Columbia Pictures)

Doctor in the House, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Richard Gordon, was released in the US on February 2, 1955 through Republic Pictures. West of Zanzibar was released in the US on January 17, 1955 through Universal Pictures.

Dragonfly Squadron was filmed in 3D, but by the time of the film’s release the fad had waned and it was only ever screened flat. A restored 3D print was screened at the World 3D Film Expo III in September 2013, and a 3D Blu-ray was released in 2014. Actor James Hong made his screen debut in an uncredited role.

Doctor in the House was the most popular film in Great Britain in 1954, making Dirk Bogarde one of the biggest British stars of the 1950s despite the studio’s belief that no one would be interested in a film about medicine or that Bogarde had sex appeal or could play light comedy. Its success spawned six sequels, and a television and radio series.

West of Zanzibar is a sequel to 1951’s Where No Vultures Fly. At one point the film was to be shot in 3D but that did not happen. Make Haste to Live, adapted from the novel of the same name by Mildred and Gordon Gordon, was the last feature for director William A. Seiter. Phantom of the Rue Morgue is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

1964

• March 22 – The Crimson Blade (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• March 24 – Is There a Doctor in the Mouse? (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• March 24 – Ring of Spies (UK, British Lion Films)
• March 25 – The Fall of the Roman Empire (UK, Samuel Bronston Productions)
• March 25 – Flight from Ashiya (USA, United Artists)
• March 25 – Muscle Beach Party (USA, American International Pictures)
• March 25 – The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (USA, Buena Vista Distribution)
• March 25 – The Molesters (USA, Praesens-Film)
• March 25 – The Starfighters (USA, limited, Parade Releasing Organization)

The Crimson Blade was originally released in the UK in August 1963 as The Scarlet Blade. Ring of Spies was released in the US as Ring of Treason on May 28, 1964 through Paramount Pictures. The Fall of the Roman Empire was released in the US on March 26, 1964 through Paramount Pictures. The Molesters was originally released in Switzerland as Der Sittlichkeitsverbrecher on April 27, 1963 through Aristocrat Films.

Charlton Heston was approached to star in The Fall of the Roman Empire but he opted to do 55 Days at Peking instead. Kirk Douglas also turned down the role, later regretting turning down the $1.5 million offer. At the time of production, the film had the largest outdoor set ever built, a 990,000 square foot replica of the Roman Forum. Gina Lollabrigida was originally announced as Lucilla, but Sophia Loren was eventually cast with a $1 million salary. The film earned an Academy Award nomination for Dimitri Tiomkin’s Original Score.

Flight from Ashiya was based on the 1956 novel Rescue! by Elliott Arnold.

Muscle Beach Party was the second of seven beach party movies from American International Pictures. 13-year-old ‘Little Stevie Wonder’ makes his film debut in the movie. The film was released two days after the death of Peter Lorre, who has a small role in the film as Mr. Strangdour. Peter Lupus, who would go on to star in TV’s Mission: Impossible, is billed in the film as Rock Stevens. The ‘globe’ telephone cover on Mr. Strangdour’s desk is the same one in Norma Desmond’s home in the film Sunset Blvd. Although the end titles provide a credit reading, ‘Muscle Mao Mao Dance Sequence Choreographed by John Monte, National Dance Director, Fred Astaire Studios’, no such sequence is found in the film’s release prints. This was the last film in the series that depicted character smoking as the Surgeon General’s report on smoking was released on January 11, 1964, while Muscle Beach Party was being filmed.

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones was intended to be a two-part presentation of NBC’s The Wonderful World of Disney titled ‘Merlin Jones’, but it received a theatrical release instead. It was followed by the sequel The Monkey’s Uncle the next year. The film credits Tom and Helen August as the writers, but these were pseudonyms for blacklisted writers Alfred Lewis Levitt and Helen Levitt.

The Starfighters was featured on a Season 6 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The film consists mostly of stock footage, and has been called one of the ‘ten most unwatchable films’ by Paste magazine.

1974

• March 21 – Gojira tai Mekagojira (Japan, Toho Company)
• March 21 – The Treasure of Jamaica Reef (USA, Golden Films)
• March 22 – Catch My Soul (USA, Cinerama Releasing Corporation)
• March 22 – Lady Snowblood (USA, Universal Pictures)
• March 22 – The Hanging Woman (USA, International Artists III)
• March 27 – Conrack (USA, 20th Century Fox)
• March 27 – Mame (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

Gojira tai Mekagojira was released in the US in March 1977 as Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla through Cinema Shares International Distribution. Lady Snowblood was originally released in Japan on December 1, 1973 as Shurayukihime through Toho Company. The Hanging Woman was originally released in Italy on September 3, 1973 as La orgía de los muertos (Orgy of the Dead) through Produzioni Atlas Consorziate.

Gojira tai Mekagojira is the 14th film of the Godzilla franchise. The film is also known in the US as Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster and Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster (which was also the UK release title). Universal threatened to sue the American distributors over the use of the word ‘bionic’ in the title as they owned the rights to the word, hence the change to ‘Cosmic Monster’.

The Treasure of Jamaica Reef was re-released in the US as Evil in the Deep.

Catch My Soul was an adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Jack Good, and is loosely adapted from Shakespeare’s Othello. It was the only film to be directed by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan complained that the producer found religion during production and re-cut the film, adding 18 minutes of religious stuff. McGoohan attempted to have his name removed from the project to no avail. The film features the first acting role for Richie Havens, well-known at the time for his Woodstock appearance. The film was released around the time of Jesus Christ Superstar and failed on the arthouse circuit. It was reissued as a drive-in exploitation film titled Santa Fe Satan.

Lady Snowblood is based on the manga series of the same name by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura. The film served as a major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and the character The Bride.

The Hanging Woman is also known as Beyond the Living Dead, Return of the Zombies and Bracula: Terror of the Living Dead.

Conrack is based on the book The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy. It was remade under that title in 2006 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie.

Mame is based on the 1966 Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was based on the 1958 film Auntie Mame and the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis. It was the final film performance for Lucille Ball. Production on the film had to be delayed after Ball broke her leg in a skiing accident (the injury was written into her TV series Here’s Lucy). Original director George Cukor had to withdraw due to the delay. Gene Saks, who directed the Broadway musical, was brought on board to helm the film. Madeline Kahn was originally cast as Gooch, but Ball disliked her portrayal and had her replaced with Jane Connell, a member of the Broadway cast. Bea Arthur reprised her Tony Award winning role as Vera Charles. Arthur later called her participation in the film a ‘tremendous embarrassment’ and regretted taking part. She enjoyed working with Ball but felt she was terribly miscast.

1984

Warner Bros. Pictures

• March 23 – Police Academy (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• March 23 – Racing with the Moon (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• March 23 – Slapstick (Of Another Kind) (USA, International Film Marketing)
• March 23 – Stanley: Every Home Should Have One (AUS, Seven Keys)

Stanley: Every Home Should Have One has no known US theatrical release date.

Police Academy was the directorial debut of Hugh Wilson, hired based on his success with TV series WKRP in Cincinnati. Dom DeLuise was considered to direct but was unavailable. Wilson was dismayed by the sleaze in the script and immediately decided to cut it down, instead relying on the comedy that was rooted in reality. Screenwriter Paul Maslansky was dismayed that much of the vulgarity was removed and asked Wilson to ‘keep some of the flatulence in it.’ The studio nearly rejected the more homogenized script so Wilson was forced to include the shower scene, the party scene, and the fellatio scene, trying to make them as artistic as possible. Some compromises were made such as not directly showing the fellatio scene. This remains the most profitable of the seven-film series, which bolstered Wilson’s belief that one didn’t need to be crude to be funny and successful. Michael Keaton, Tom Hanks and Judge Reinhold were considered for the role of Carey Mahoney, and Bruce Willis auditioned but the part went to Steve Guttenberg. The film was shot in Toronto, with the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital used as the set for the academy.

Slapstick (Of Another Kind) originally opened in France in 1982. It is based on the 1976 novel Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut. The film appeared on cable TV simply titled Slapstick. The 1984 US version runs two minutes shorter than the 1982 version. Star Jerry Lewis was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor. Siskel and Ebert panned the film saying the best thing that could happen to it was that it never be shown again.

1994

• March 23 – Above the Rim (USA, New Line Cinema)
• March 25 – D2: The Mighty Ducks (USA, Walt Disney Pictures)
• March 25 – Sirens (USA, Samson Productions Pty. Ltd.)
• March 25 – The Paper (USA, Universal Pictures)

Above the Rim marked the directorial debut of Jeff Pollack. The film is considered the conclusion to writer Barry Michael Cooper’s ‘Harlem Trilogy’, preceded by New Jack City and Sugar Hill. Allen Payne was the original choice to play Kyle Watson, but Pollack rejected him in favor of Duane Martin. It was the last film of Tupac Shakur to be released in his lifetime.

Sports figures Kristi Yamaguchi, Greg Louganis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Cam Neely, Chris Chelios, Luc Robitaille, Steven Brill, Wayne Gretzky, Darren Pang and Mike Emrick have cameos in D2: The Mighty Ducks. Filming of the final game took place at Arrowhead Pond over the course of several days, attracting about 15,000 spectators. Knowing the crowd would dwindle, cardboard stand-ups were used and moved around to fill in shots.

Sirens, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bitter Moon -— all released in the US within weeks of one another -— were the films that brought Hugh Grant to the attention of American audiences.

The Paper received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, Randy Newman’s ‘Make Up Your Mind’. Director Ron Howard’s take on the film was influenced by the stage play The Front Page, by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.

2004

• March 21 – Glass Love (AUS, Zoo York)
• March 26 – Jersey Girl (USA/Canada, Miramax)
• March 26 – Never Die Alone (USA, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• March 26 – Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (USA/Canada, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• March 26 – The Ladykillers (USA/Canada, Touchstone Pictures)

Glass Love has no known US theatrical release date. Never Die Alone is based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Donald Goines.

Jersey Girl was the final film for George Carlin. It was Kevin Smith’s first film not set in his View Askewniverse as well as the first to not feature Jay and Silent Bob. It was also Smith’s highest budgeted film at $35 million, but it bombed with just $36 million at the box office. $10 million of the budget went to Ben Affleck and $4 million went to Jennifer Lopez. Smith originally wrote the film with Bill Murray and Joey Lauren Adams in mind for the leads. The marriage scene between Affleck’s and Lopez’s characters was cut shortly after the two split in real life, and her part in the film was reduced after the poor box office reception of Gigli. The film earned three Razzie nominations for Affleck (Worst Actor), Lopez (Worst Supporting Actress) and Worst On-Screen Couple – Affleck and either Lopez or Liv Tyler.

James Gunn wrote the screenplay for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. The lackluster box office performance led to the cancellation of a third film in the series that was to be written and directed by Gunn. The film won the Razzie Award for Worst Remake or Sequel.

2014

Walt Disney Pictures

• March 21 – 50 to 1 (USA, limited, Ten Furlongs)
• March 21 – Blood Ties (USA, limited, Trésor Films)
• March 21 – Divergent (USA/Canada, Summit Entertainment)
• March 21 – God’s Not Dead (USA, Pure Flix Productions)
• March 21 – John Doe: Vigilante (USA, Rapidfire Entertainment)
• March 21 – Muppets Most Wanted (USA/Canada, Walt Disney Pictures)
• March 21 – Rob the Mob (USA, RTM Film Inc)
• March 21 – Starred Up (UK, Sigma Films)
• March 21 – Svengali (UK, Root Films)
• March 21 – The Machine (UK, Red & Black Films)
• March 26 – Captain America: The Winter Soldier (UK, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• March 28 – Noah (USA/Canada, Paramount Pictures)

Starred Up debuted online in the US on August 26, 2014, then received a limited theatrical release on August 29 through Tribeca Films. Svengali has no known US theatrical release date. The Machine received a limited US theatrical release on April 25, 2014. Captain America: The Winter Soldier opened in the US and Canada on April 4, 2014.

Blood Ties is a remake of the 2008 French thriller film Les liens du sang by Jacques Maillot, which was adapted from the French novel Deux frères: flic & truand by Bruno and Michel Papet.

Divergent is based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Veronica Roth, and is the first film in the series. The film’s budget was originally $40 million, but was increased to $80 million then $85 million due to the success of The Hunger Games. Lucas Till, Jack Reynor, Jeremy Irvine, Alex Pettyfer, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Ludwig and Luke Bracey were all considered for the role of Tobias ‘Four’ Eaton, but the role went to Theo James who was ten years older than the character in the book. Kate Winslet was five months pregnant when she began filming, which had to be concealed with various props. The film was shot almost entirely in Chicago, with two final days in Los Angeles.

God’s Not Dead is based on Rice Broocks’ book God’s Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty. The film was critically panned but a financial success, spawning four sequels.

Muppets Most Wanted was the final film of Tony Bennett, in a cameo, before his retirement in 2021. Other cameos include Lady Gaga, Salma Hayak, Saoirse Ronan, Christoph Waltz (who was actually cast in the film as an Interpol inspector but had to drop out), Jemaine Clement, Danny Trejo, Ray Liotta, Tom Hiddleston, Josh Groban, Stanley Tucci, James McAvoy, Chloë Grace Moretz, Miranda Richardson, Russell Tovey, Toby Jones, Rob Corddry, Tom Hollander, Celine Dion, Zach Galifianakis, Frank Langella, Ross Lynch and Usher. Jason Segel, who co-wrote The Muppets, declined any involvement in the film stating he had accomplished his goal of bringing the characters back to the forefront. The film’s original title was The Muppets… Again! Vivienne Westwood contributed four outfits for Miss Piggy, and Brooks Brothers created costumes for the male cast. The first cut of the film ran two-and-a-half hours.

Caity Lotz performed all of her own stunts in The Machine. In September 2016, Syfy announced a TV series adaptation of the film with a cast that would include Katee Sackhoff and Lance Henriksen, but by September 2017 the project was dead.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the ninth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While practical effects and intense stunt work were used in the film, it still required more than 2,500 visual effects shots created by six companies, earning an Oscar nomination for Visual Effects in the process. F. Gary Gray was one of the directors on the short list to helm the film, but he took his name out of contention to direct Straight Outta Compton. Anthony and Jospeh Russo ultimately got the job. The film’s conspiracy theory storyline was inspired mainly by 1975’s Three Days of the Condor starring Robert Redford, who was cast in the film as a high-ranking member of S.H.E.I.L.D. Powers Booth was asked to reprise his role as Gideon Malick from The Avengers, but he was unable due to his commitment to the TV series Nashville (he would reprise the role for Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.). The film began production under the title Freezer Burn. 350 different versions of the film had to be created in 17 days for different formats in different markets domestically and internationally. One of the changes was Cap’s notebook list seen at the beginning of the film. The first five items were different depending on where the film was released while the last five were the same in every market.

The title role of Noah was offered to Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender, but both had previous commitments. Russell Crowe was eventually cast. Julianne Moore was considered for the role of Naameh before Jennifer Connelly was cast. Principal photography took place in various locations in Iceland. Some filming also took place in New York state, and production had to be suspended for a time due, ironically, to heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane Sandy. The film garnered much criticism for it all-white cast, although two characters were played by Jewish actors (Connelly and Logan Lerman). The writers countered that the story was at the level of myth so the race of the individuals didn’t matter.