Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #202 :: June 6•12

Columbia-Delphi Productions

It was a big week for new movie releases in the later half of the century with Summer Blockbuster Season in full swing. The first half, however, didn’t have a lot to write home about. One 1934 film recycled footage from a 1918 silent, a 1944 film saw the end of a popular Western movie franchise, and a 1954 film served as the inspiration for a more well-known 1981 film. 1964 gave us a classic thriller, a movie based on a TV sitcom, and a movie musical adapted from a Broadway hit based on a real life tragedy. 1984 pulled out the big guns with two special effects-laden comedies that have become movie classics, and 1994 revved up with an action flick that couldn’t go slower than 50 MPH. 2004 had hits and misses that should have been hits including one film that got a reboot 20 years later, while 2014 just kind of took the week off with a group of smaller films. Scroll down the list to see the movies celebrating anniversaries this week and learn a little more about them. Are any of your favorites on the list?

1924

• June 6 – In Fast Company (USA, Carlos Productions)
• June 8 – The Guilty One (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
• June 9 – Broadway or Bust (USA, Universal Pictures)

In Fast Company is preserved at Filmmuseum EYE Institute. The Guilty One and Broadway or Bust are considered lost films.

1934

• June 6 – Are We Civilized? (USA, Raspin Productions)
• June 7 – The Love Captive (USA, Universal Pictures)
• June 8 – Many Happy Returns (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• June 8 – Now I’ll Tell (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• June 8 – Operator 13 (USA, Cosmopolitan Productions)
• June 8 – Rawhide Mail (USA, Reliable Pictures Corporation)
• June 8 – Such Women Are Dangerous (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• June 9 – The Key (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• June 11 – Give Her a Ring (UK, British International Pictures)
• June 11 – Smoking Guns (USA, Ken Maynard Productions Inc.)

Give Her a Ring was released in the US on August 7, 1936.

Footage of dinosaurs in Are We Civilized? was recycled from 1918’s The Ghost of Slumber Mountain. The Love Captive was adapted from Max Marcin’s play of the same name.

Now I’ll Tell featured the last film performance of silent star Alice Calhoun. The film is loosely based on the autobiography of Carolyn Green Rothstein, wife of New York gambler Arnold Rothstein. A five-year-old Shirley Temple appears in a small role.

Operator 13 is based on stories written by Robert W. Chambers. The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Cinematography. An uncredited Sterling Holloway appears as a wounded soldier.

The Key’s working title was Sue of Fury. It was re-issued in 1960 as High Peril.

Give Her a Ring was a remake of the 1932 German film Wrong Number, Miss, and is sometimes known by the title Giving You the Stars. A young Stewart Granger makes an appearance early in his career.

1944

• June 9 – A Night of Adventure (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• June 9 – Silent Partner (USA, Republic Pictures)
• June 9 – Take It Big (USA, Pine-Thomas Productions)
• June 9 – The Halfway House (UK, Ealing Studios)
• June 10 – Henry Aldrich’s Little Secret (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• June 10 – Make Your Own Bed (USA, Warner Bros.-First National Pictures)
• June 10 – Sonora Stagecoach (USA, Monogram Pictures)
• June 10 – Waterfront (USA, Alexander-Stern Productions)

The Halfway House opened in the US on August 12, 1945.

A Night of Adventure was based on a play that had been filmed in 1934 as Hat, Coat, and Glove.

The Halfway House stars Mervyn Johnson and Glynis Johns were real life father and daughter, the same relationship they had in the film. Glynis Johns was the last surviving cast member of the film until her passing on January 4, 2024.

Make Your Own Bed was based on the play On the Hiring Line. Sonora Stagecoach was the last film in the official ‘Trail Blazers’ series.

1954

• June 6 – Secret of the Incas (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• June 6 – The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (USA, Allied Artists Pictures)
• June 6 – The Saracen Blade (USA, Sam Katzman Productions)
• June 7 – Johnny on the Spot (UK, E.J. Fancey Productions)
• June 8 – Father Brown (UK, Facet Productions)
• June 10 – What Every Woman Wants (UK, David Dent Productions)

Father Brown opened in the US on November 1, 1954 as The Detective. What Every Woman Wants has no known US theatrical release date.

Secret of the Incas is often credited as the inspiration for Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film’s original title was Legends of the Incas. It was filmed on location at Cuzco and Machu Picchu in Peru, the first time a major Hollywood production filmed on the historic site. 500 Indigenous people were used as extras. Singer Yma Sumac appeared in the role of Kori-Tica. Wendell Corey was to star in the film but he dropped out and was replaced with Robert Young.

The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters is the 34th film in the Bowery Boys series. The Saracen Blade is based on the 1952 bestselling novel of the same name by Frank Yerby. Johnny on the Spot is based on the 1953 novel Paid in Full by Michael Cronin.

Father Brown is based loosely on The Blue Cross (1910), the first ‘Father Brown’ short story by G. K. Chesterton. What Every Woman Wants was based on the play Relations Are Best Apart by Edwin Lewis.

1964

Luther Davis Productions

• June 10 – Advance to the Rear (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• June 10 – Bedtime Story (USA, Pennebaker Productions)
• June 10 – Lady in a Cage (USA, Luther Davis Productions)
• June 10 – McHale’s Navy (USA, Universal Pictures)
• June 10 – Wild and Wonderful (USA, Reynard Productions)
• June 11 – The Unsinkable Molly Brown (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Advance to the Rear originally opened in Australia on April 10, 1964. Wild and Wonderful originally opened in Austria in May 1964.

Advance to the Rear is based on the 1957 novel Company of Cowards by Jack Schaefer published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1956. The story may have been the inspiration for the TV series F-Troop.

Bedtime Story’s production company Pennebaker Productions was owned by the film’s star, Marlon Brando. The film inspired two remakes: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and The Hustle (2019). Most of the film was shot at Universal Studios in Hollywood, with some location shots filmed in Cannes, including at the Carlton Cannes Hotel.

Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Montgomery were sought for the lead in Lady in a Cage. Rosalind Russell was offered the role but turned it down. An offer was accepted by Olivia de Havilland in December 1962. Walter Grauman made his film debut as a director, and James Caan received his first on screen credit.

McHale’s Navy was based on the 1962-1966 TV sitcom which was filmed in black-and-white while the movie was in color. The film was released following the end of the show’s second season.

Wild and Wonderful was the last film for Tony Curtis under his long contractual relationship with Universal Studios.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown is based on the 1960 Broadway musical of the same name. Star Debbie Reynolds received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance. Tammy Grimes originated the role of Molly Brown and won a Tony Award. MGM wanted Shirley MacLaine for the role but producer Hal Wallis claimed she was under contract to him so she had to withdraw. Judy Garland was also considered. MacLaine accused Reynolds of accepting a lower salary to get the role, and director Charles Walters tried to persuade Reynolds to not take the part as he preferred MacLaine. Harve Presnell was the only actor from the show to be invited to appear in the movie. Black-and-white footage from 1953’s Titanic and 1958’s A Night to Remember were interspersed with scenes of Molly on the ship and in a lifeboat. Only five of the show’s 17 musical numbers were used in the film. The Broadway production’s choreographer, Peter Gennaro, staged the film’s musical sequences. At least $1 million was cut from the film’s budget and diverted into Doctor Zhivago by MGM. One musical number, ‘He’s My Friend’, was nearly cut as the budget ran out, but cast and crew agreed to film the scene in one rigorous day using multiple cameras to reduce shooting time. Besides Best Actress, the film also earned five additional Oscar nomination. It also received three Golden Globe nominations with Presnell winning for New Star of the Year – Male.

1974

• June 6 – Bootleggers (USA, Charles B. Pierce Advertising and Productions)
• June 12 – Callan (UK, Magnum Films)

Callan has no known US theatrical release date. The film is based on the 1967-1972 TV series of the same name. David Prowse appears in the film but his voice is dubbed by another actor.

1984

Amblin Entertainment

• June 8 – Beat Street (USA, Orion Pictures)
• June 8 – Ghostbusters (USA, Columbia-Delphi Productions)
• June 8 – Gremlins (USA, Amblin Entertainment)
• June 9 – Sword of the Valiant (Philippines, Golan-Globus Productions)
• June 13 – Under the Volcano (USA, Ithaca)

Sword of the Valiant opened in the US on August 17, 1984.

Beat Street was inspired by an original story, ‘The Perfect Beat’, by journalist Steven Hager. The film drew inspiration from 1983’s Wild Style, and the 1983 documentary Style Wars. The film was the first to have two soundtrack albums released. A third was planned but was never released. The second album was never released on CD. The film was instrumental in bringing hip hop culture to Germany.

Dan Aykroyd originally conceived Ghostbusters as a vehicle for himself, Eddie Murphy and John Belushi. It was the first comedy film to employ extensive visual effects. Columbia Pictures had little faith in the film, but it became a cultural phenomenon. It was the second highest-grossing film of 1984, and the highest grossing comedy at the time. It stayed in the Number 1 spot at the box office for seven weeks. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2015. Aykroyd’s original treatment was set in the future and featured many groups of intergalactic ghostbusters, which would have been prohibitively expensive to produce. Ivan Reitman steered Aykroyd to setting the film completely on Earth to make the extraordinary events funnier. Focusing on realism would also make the Marshmallow Man more believable. Reitman told the studio he could make the film for $25-$30 million, a figure he later admitted making up, with a release date set for June 1984 leaving him 13 months to complete a film with no finished script, effects studio or filming start date. The film’s title was restricted by the kids’ TV series The Ghost Busters, owned by Universal Studios. Columbia’s head Frank Price left the studio during the film’s production and became the head of Universal Pictures, allowing him to sell the title to Columbia for $500,000 plus 1% of the film’s gross. Universal never saw a profit due to creative Hollywood bookkeeping. Ernie Hudson auditioned five times for the role of Winston Zeddemore. He agreed to the job for half his usual salary, but the night before shooting he received a new script that greatly reduced his role, allegedly because the studio wanted to expand Bill Murray’s role. The studio resisted the casting of Sigourney Weaver due to her usual dramatic roles. It was her idea to become possessed by Zuul. John Candy was offered the role of Louis Tully, but he wanted to play the role with a German accent and multiple German Shepherds. The filmmakers felt there were already enough dogs in the movie and Candy did not pursue the part. Rick Moranis took the role and developed the character, making him an accountant, and ad-libbing his lengthy speech at Tully’s party. Annie Potts was rushed onto set on her first day of filming, quickly changing out of her street clothes and grabbing a pair of glasses worn by a set dresser, which became part of her costume throughout the film. The role of Gozer the Gozerian, envisioned as an architect in a business suit, was intended for Paul Reubens but he passed, so the role went to Slavitza Jovan, and was changed to an androgynous character inspired by Grace Jones and David Bowie. Filming in New York, some guerrilla filmmaking occured including a scene of the actors being chased off by a real Rockefeller Center security guard. Due to the short schedule, Reitman had to edit the film while shooting. A full cut was completed three weeks after the end of shooting.

Gremlins was heavily criticized for its violent sequences in a PG-rated film, and it plus Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom led to the creation of the PG-13 rating at Steven Spielberg’s suggestion. Chris Columbus wrote the script, inspired by the mice that would run around his apartment at night. It was never intended to be filmed until Spielberg took an interest in it, with Tim Burton under consideration to direct. Spielberg went with Joe Dante due to his experience with horror-comedy. The original story was much darker. One cut scene had Billy’s mother dying in her struggle with the gremlins, her head tossed down the stairs when Billy came home. Scenes of gremlins eating Billy’s dog and customers at a McDonald’s were also cut. The also was no Stripe mogwai, and Gizmo was supposed to change into Stripe. Spielberg overruled this because Gizmo was cute and audiences would want him to be present throughout the film. The studio hated Kate’s monologue about her father dying in the chimney dressed as Santa and wanted it removed. Spielberg also was not fond of it, but he felt it was Dante’s film and allowed him to keep it in as Dante insisted the story represented the film as a whole. A parody of the scene was included in Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Phoebe Cates had been cast over objections to her previous risqué roles. Zach Galligan was cast because of his chemistry with Cates and Spielberg felt during their screen test that Galligan was already in love with Cates. Although 80 at the time, Keye Luke’s youthful appearance had to be covered by make-up to make him appear much older. The roles played by Judge Reinhold and Edward Andrews were significantly reduced during the editing process. Costumed monkeys were considered to play the gremlins but the idea was abandoned when a test monkey panicked while wearing a gremlin head. Because the Gizmo puppet kept breaking down, the scene of Gizmo being hung on the wall by the gremlins with darts thrown at him was included to appease the crew. Howie Mandel provided the voice of Gizmo, and Frank Welker provided the voice of Stripe. Michael Winslow and Peter Cullen provided other gremlin voices.

The full title for Sword of the Valiant is Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is loosely based on the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written in the late 14th century, but the narrative differs substantially. The film’s costumes were borrowed from the Royal National Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic as well as Berman’s and Nathan’s, the French Aristide Boyer and the Spanish Cornejo. Director Stephen Weeks wanted Mark Hamill as Gawain, but the producers insisted on Miles O’Keeffe. Steptoe and Son actor Wilfrid Brambell makes his last acting appearance in the film.

Under the Volcano is based on Malcolm Lowry’s semi-autobiographical 1947 novel. The film was Oscar nominated for Best Actor (Albert Finney) and Best Original Score. It also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor and Supporting Actress (Jacqueline Bisset) in the Drama categories.

1994

• June 10 – City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (USA, Castle Rock Entertainment)
• June 10 – Speed (USA, The Mark Gordon Company)

Bruno Kirby did not reprise his role of Ed Furillo in City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold mainly because of his allergy to horses, which required constant allergy treatments during the first film.

Speed was the feature directorial debut of Jan de Bont. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Sound. Screenwriter Graham Yost was inspired by the 1985 film Runaway Train, mistakenly believing there was a bomb on the train. The original speed of the bus was 20 MPH, but it was suggested to increase it to 50 MPH. The film’s ending was inspired by the end of 1976’s Silver Streak. Yost’s original title for the film was Minimum Speed, but felt ‘minimum’ would apply a negative connotation. The original story also took place only on the bus. John McTiernan was offered the director’s chair but turned it down, feeling it was too similar to Die Hard. Paramount was the original studio, but eventually passed on the project, so it was taken to 20th Century Fox, which also produced Die Hard. Fox agreed to greenlight the film if there were other action scenes not on the bus. Joss Whedon was brought in a week before production began, and Yost credited him with writing 98.9 percent of the dialogue. Whedon reworked the character of Traven after Keanu Reeves was cast, making him more earnest and less glib. Whedon also changed the character played by Alan Ruck from a bad guy who died to a guy who was out of his depth. Stephen Baldwin was the original choice for Traven but he felt it was too much like Die Hard’s John McClane. Reeves shaved his head when he was cast, which terrified the studio, but it had started to grow in by the time filming started. The character of Annie was written as African-American and a paramedic, and was offered to Halle Berry, who declined the part and later regretted it. The character was changed to a driver’s ed instructor and made more comedic, with Ellen DeGeneres in mind. The character eventually became Traven’s sidekick and love interest, leading to the casting of Sanda Bullock. Reeve’s friend River Phoenix died during production so de Bont arranged the shooting schedule to allow him time to grieve and deal with the death. The bus jump scene was done in one take. The gap was extended with visual effects. A 2009 episode of Mythbusters proved the bus jump would not have been possible even using the various tricks employed by the filmmakers. Fourteen buses were used with two of them getting blown up. The highway used was not officially open at the time of production.

2004

Napoleon Pictures

• June 11 – Garfield: The Movie (USA, Davis Entertainment)
• June 11 – Machuca (Spain, Wood Producciones)
• June 11 – Napoleon Dynamite (USA/Canada, limited, Napoleon Pictures)
• June 11 – Saved! (USA, Single Cell Pictures)
• June 11 – The Chronicles of Riddick (USA, Radar Pictures)
• June 11 – The Stepford Wives (USA, DreamWorks Pictures)
• June 12 – Mr. Patterns (AUS, documentary, Film Australia)

Machuca was released in the US on January 19, 2005. Mr. Patterns played in the US at the Hawaii International Film Festival on October 24, 2004.

Jim Carrey was considered for the role of Jon Arbuckle in Garfield: The Movie before Breckin Meyer was cast. Jennifer Garner and Angelina Jolie were considered for the role of Liz but both dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Jennifer Love Hewitt was cast. Brad Dourif, Thomas Lennon and Michael Ironside were up for the role of Happy Chapman. Ironside was cast but dropped out after one day for unknown reasons. Stephen Tobolowsky assumed the role. Bill Murray and Jack Nicholson were the only two candidates for the voice of Garfield. Murray accepted the role after mistaking the screenwriter Joel Cohen for Joel Coen of the Coen Brothers. Co-screenwriter Alec Sokolow disputed Murray’s claim as ‘horse shit’, saying it was a way for Murray to defend himself against criticism for making such an overtly commercial film. Murray recorded his dialogue in his apartment and on the set of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in Greece.

Napoleon Dynamite is partially based on director Jared Hess’ 2002 short film Peluca. The film was shot in different areas of Franklin County, Idaho. One casting director suggested Jake Gyllenhaal over unknown Jon Heder for the title role. Hess felt Heder was the only actor for the role. Jason Lee was offered the role of Uncle Rico, and Brad Garrett auditioned for Rex and liked the script but did not commit to the film. Vincent Gallo was almost cast as Rico. Heder was paid $1,000 for the film but was able to negotiate more after the film’s runaway success. Diedrich Bader filmed his scenes as martial arts instructor Rex in one day. Darci Monet recorded a cover of Bette Midler’s ‘The Rose’, but never received credit or residuals. The film originally had no opening titles but test audiences were confused about the film’s time period. The title sequence was filmed eight months later in cinematographer Munn Powell’s basement. One studio exec didn’t like the appearance of Heder’s hands in the titles so a hand model was sent for re-shoots. The model’s skin tone was a few shades darker than Heder’s. The producer’s hands were used as well so there are three different sets of hands seen in the titles. Production was running out of money and had one roll of film left to shoot Heder’s climactic dance. It was shot three times to three different pieces of music, not knowing which one they could get the rights to. Eventually producers got the rights to the Jamiroquai song used in one take. Hess was unaware until almost the end of the shoot that the name Napoleon Dynamite had been used by Elvis Costello on his 1986 album Blood & Chocolate.

Saved! was set in Maryland, but was filmed in Vancouver. The film screened at the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore on May 8, 2004.

The Chronicles of Riddick is a sequel to Pitch Black. The film received negative reviews but was the highest grossing film of the three in the series. It was still considered a box office failure. The film was developed after the success of The Fast and the Furious, with star Vin Diesel earning $11 million. Diesel earned a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor, but lost to George W. Bush for Fahrenheit 9/11.

The Stepford Wives is the second feature adaptation of the novel by Ira Levin. John and Joan Cusack were originally cast as Walter and Bobbie, but had to drop out due to their father’s failing health. There were reported tensions on set between director Frank Oz and stars Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken, Glenn Close and Roger Bart. The film was conceived as a dark satire with a finale closer to the original film, but negative reactions from test audiences resulted in major reshoots that changed the tone of the film and altered the ending.

2014

• June 6 – Mindscape (USA, limited, The Safran Company)
• June 6 – Burning Blue (USA, Mercury Films)
• June 6 – Ping Pong Summer (USA, limited, Compass Entertainment)
• June 6 – The Sacrament (USA, limited, Worldview Entertainment)
• June 6 – Trust Me (USA, limited, Unified Pictures)
• June 9 – 9 Full Moons (Israel, Clever Creatures)
• June 13 – The Rover (USA, Porchlight Films)

Mindscape, which originally opened in Spain on January 24, 2014, is also known as Anna in North America. 9 Full Moons opened in the US on November 14, 2014.

Mindscape was the directorial debut of Spanish filmmaker Jorge Dorado. Burning Blue is based on the 1992 play of the same name by D.M.W. Greer.

Ping Pong Summer writer and director Michael Tully grew up in Maryland and based the film on his family’s summer vacations to Ocean City, also where the movie was filmed. To capture the look and feel of the 1985 era of the movie, it was shot on Super 16mm film stock.

The Sacrament‘s plot is inspired by the real-life events of the Jonestown Massacre of 1978. The roles for actors Joe Swanberg, A.J. Bowen, Kentucker Audley, Amy Seimetz (who also stars in 9 Full Moons) and Gene Jones were written specifically for them. Swanberg acted as a cameraman for parts of the film because of his background as a filmmaker.

David Michôd, writer and director of The Rover, collaborated on the story with Joel Edgerton, whose brother Nash has a role in the movie. Michôd wrote the character of Eric specifically for Guy Pearce after the two had worked on Animal Kingdom. Joel Edgerton was planning to play the role but neither he nor Michôd felt he was right for the part. Robert Pattinson won the role of Reynolds after an audition over several other actors.