Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #211 :: August 8•14

Latent Image Productions Pty. Ltd.

While there were a smaller than usual number of films released this week, many of them are still notable for good reasons and bad. 1924 gave us two films based on literary classics, while 1934 had films released that have been known by several different titles. 1944 gave us two classics, with one scoring an Oscar nominations for its director, and the other for its two stars. 1954 had a 3D film that just barely made it to screens before the fad ended, and 1964 had a Jerry Lewis sequel that wasn’t actually a sequel. 1974 saw a film win awards for its stars, human and feline, while 1984 gave us the week’s most well-known group of films including a scifi cult classic. 1994 had a comedy that’s become a highly regarded classic of LGBTQ+ cinema, 2004 brought two sci-fi/horror franchises together for the first time, and 2014 revived a team of sewer dwelling heroes. Scroll down the list to see this week’s movie premieres, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1924

• August 8 – Racing for Life (USA, Columbia Productions)
• August 10 – Hit and Run (USA, Universal Pictures)
• August 10 – Lovers’ Lane (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• August 10 – The Sawdust Trail (USA, Hoot Gibson Productions)
• August 10 – The Wise Virgin (USA, Peninsula Studios)
• August 11 – Monsieur Beaucaire (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
• August 11 – Tess of the d’Urbervilles (USA, Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation)
• August 14 – Calibre 45 (USA, Independent Pictures)

All but one reel of Racing for Life survives at the BFI National Film and Television Archive. A print of Hit and Run is preserved in the George Eastman House.

Lovers’ Lane is based upon the play by Clyde Fitch. Warner Bros. records indicate the film was ‘junked’ on December 27, 1948 due to the decomposition of the nitrate film stock. It is now considered a lost film.

The Sawdust Trail is based on the short story ‘Courtin’ Calamity’ by William Dudley Pelley. The film is considered lost. The film was remade as a part-talkie in 1929 titled Courtin’ Wildcats.

Monsieur Beaucaire is based on Booth Tarkington’s 1900 novel of the same name and the 1904 play of the same name by Tarkington and Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland.

Tess of the d’Urbervilles is the second film adapted from the 1891 novel by Thomas Hardy. The film was directed by star Blanche Sweet’s husband, Marshall Neilan. It is considered lost. After filming was completed, producer Louis B. Mayer changed the film’s tragic ending to a happy one, much to the annoyance of Neilan and Hardy.

1934

• August 10 – His Greatest Gamble (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• August 10 – Ladies Should Listen (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• August 10 – Straight Is the Way (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• August 11 – Housewife (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• August 11 – Princess Charming (AUS, Gainsborough Pictures)
• August 13 – Lily of Killarney (UK, Julius Hagen Productions)
• August 13 – Romance in the Rain (USA, Universal Pictures)
• August 13 – The Four Masked Men (UK, Julius Hagen Productions)

Princess Charming was released in the US on June 21, 1935 as Alexandra. Lily of Killarney was released in the US on September 10, 1934 as The Bride of the Lake. The Four Masked Men was released in the US on November 24, 1935.

Prints of His Greatest Gamble and Housewife are held by the Library of Congress. Straight Is the Way is based upon the stage play by Dana Burnet and George Abbott. Lily of Killarney is based on the play The Colleen Bawn by the Irish writer Dion Boucicault. The Four Masked Men is adapted from the play The Masqueraders by Cyril Campion, who also wrote the screenplay.

1944

Warner Bros. Pictures

• August 9 – Hail the Conquering Hero (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• August 11 – Bordertown Trail (USA, Republic Pictures)
• August 12 – Mr. Skeffington (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• August 12 – Sing Neighbor Sing (USA, Republic Pictures)
• August 13 – The Port of 40 Thieves (USA, Republic Pictures)

Hail the Conquering Hero was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2015. Working titles for the film included Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, Once Upon a Hero and The Little Marine. Director Preston Sturges received an Oscar nomination for his work on the film. It was the last film he made for Paramount. The studio had objected to his use of a ‘stock company’ of actors in small roles, and had clashed with Sturges over editing and censorship issues on previous films like The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. Paramount also wanted him to replace his leading lady Ella Raines because she was not a big enough box office draw but Sturges refused. Sturges designed the film to be of a smaller scale and reused sets from Morgan Creek. Eagle-eyed viewers may have noted a billboard behind the Marines at Oakdale station advertising The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.

Mr. Skeffington is based on the 1940 novel of the same name by Elizabeth von Arnim. The character of Mr. Skeffington never appears in the book, but was made a character in the film. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actress (Bette Davis) and Supporting Actor (Claude Rains).

1954

• August 8 – Security Risk (USA, William F. Broidy Productions)
• August 9 – A Stranger Came Home (UK, Hammer Films)
• August 10 – The Beachcomber (UK, London Independent Producers)
• August 11 – Her Twelve Men (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• August 12 – King of the Coral Sea (AUS, Southern Films International)
• August 13 – Diplomatic Passport (USA, Rich & Rich Ltd.)
• August 13 – Gog (USA, Ivan Tors Productions)
• August 14 – Baby Butch (USA, short, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

A Stranger Came Home, also known as The Stranger, was released in the US on September 24, 1954 as The Unholy Four. The Beachcomber was released in the US on January 15, 1955. King of the Coral Sea was released in the US on June 24, 1956.

A Stranger Came Home is based on the 1946 novel Stranger at Home, credited to actor George Sanders but ghostwritten by Leigh Brackett.

The Beachcomber is based on the 1931 short story ‘The Vessel of Wrath’ by W. Somerset Maugham, which was also filmed in 1938 under the novel’s title. Her Twelve Men was based on the best-selling pseudo-autobiographical book written by Louise Maxwell Baker, Snips and Snails.

King of the Coral Sea, originally titled King of the Arafura, was shot on location in Thursday Island, with underwater photography done off Green Island. It was Rod Taylor’s debut, and one of the most commercially successful Australian films of the 1950s. All Australian slang was removed from the screenplay so it wouldn’t be confusing for international audiences. Taylor’s casting as an American who stayed in Australia following World War II was to appeal to international markets.

Diplomatic Passport star Marsha Hunt was an American actress who had to move to the UK to seek work after being blacklisted in Hollywood during the McCarthy era.

Gog featured the final film performance of Constance Dowling, who married producer Ivan Tors and retired from acting. The film was shot in Natural Vision 3D on just two sets at Hal Roach Studios. Exteriors were filmed at the former military outpost George Air Force Base, near Victorville, California. It is the third and final film in Tors’ ‘Office of Scientific Investigation’ series. Actor William Schallert made his screen debut in the film.

Baby Butch was a Tom & Jerry cartoon short.

1964

• August 11 – Crooks in Cloisters (UK, Associated British Picture Corporation)
• August 12 – A House Is Not a Home (USA, Embassy Pictures)
• August 12 – The Patsy (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• August 14 – Behold a Pale Horse (USA, Columbia Pictures)

Crooks in Cloisters has no known US theatrical release date. The Patsy was first released in Canada on July 17, 1964.

A House Is Not a Home is loosely based on the 1953 autobiography by madam Polly Adler. Raquel Welch makes her film debut in a small role as a call girl. Edith Head received an Oscar nomination for her Costume Design.

The Patsy includes cameos from a variety of Hollywood personalities including George Raft, Hedda Hopper, Ed Sullivan, Ed Wynn, Mel Tormé, Rhonda Fleming, Scatman Crothers, Phil Foster, Hans Conried, Richard Deacon, Del Moore, Neil Hamilton, Nancy Kulp, Norman Alden, Jack Albertson, Kathleen Freeman and Fritz Feld. Screenwriter Bill Richmond also cameos with star and co-writer Jerry Lewis as a piano player. This was Peter Lorre’s final film. The film’s working title was Son of Bellboy, as it was intended to be a sequel to The Bellboy, and Lewis’ character in both films is named Stanley.

Behold a Pale Horse is based on the 1961 novel Killing a Mouse on Sunday by Emeric Pressburger. The Spanish government opposed the film’s subject matter and refused permission to film in the country, and refused to let Columbia Pictures release any of its films in Spain, forcing the studio to sell its Spanish distribution arm. Filming ran nearly a month over schedule.

1974

• August 8 – Macon County Line (USA, Max Baer Productions)
• August 12 – Harry and Tonto (USA, Twentieth Century Fox)

At a budget of $225,000, Macon County Line was the most profitable film of 1974 in cost-to-gross ration, earning $18.8 million in the US and $30 globally. The film was presented as a true story to attract a wider audience, but it is purely fictional. Brothers Alan and Jesse Vint play brothers in the movie.

Director Paul Mazursky had James Cagney in mind for the role of Harry in Harry and Tonto, but he turned it down. Laurence Olivier and Cary Grant also turned down the role. Art Carney initially turned down the role because he was fifteen years younger than Harry, but eventually accepted. Carney was 13 years older than the actors who played his sons, Larry Hagman and Phil Bruns, and 14 years older than Ellen Burstyn, who played his daughter. Carney was transformed into the elderly Harry with makeup. The film earned two Oscar nominations including Original Screenplay, with Carney winning Best Actor. The film was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Carney also won Best Actor in the category. Tonto the Cat won a PATSY Award for his performance.

1984

Sherwood Productions

• August 10 – Cloak & Dagger (USA, Universal Pictures)
• August 10 – Red Dawn (USA, Valkyrie Films)
• August 10 – Revenge of the Nerds (USA, Interscope Communications)
• August 10 – The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (USA, limited, Sherwood Productions)
• August 14 – Comfort and Joy (UK, Kings Road Entertainment)

Comfort and Joy was released in the US on October 10, 1984.

Cloak & Dagger was based on a Cornell Woolrich short story, ‘The Boy Cried Murder’, which had been filmed as The Window in 1949. It was filmed in star Henry Thomas’ home town of San Antonio, Texas, and it was written specifically for Thomas as a follow-up to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Universal wanted to capitalize on Thomas’ talent while he was still young. Filming was allowed at the exterior of The Alamo but not inside, so the interior was reconstructed on a sound stage. The film’s plot hinges on the Atari 5200 videogame which in reality was only an arcade game at the time. The illusion of Davey playing an Atari 5200 version was accomplished by outputting the signal from the arcade version into a television set.

Red Dawn was the first film released in the US with the new PG-13 rating. The film’s working title was Ten Soldiers. The film was conceived as a small budget, poignant, anti-war film until the studio got John Milius involved, a director who loved war movies and saw the potential to turn it into a teenage Rambo movie. Milius’ fee to direct was $1.25 million and a gun of his choice. He worked with General Alexander Haig, a member of the MGM board of directors, on rewriting the script but Milius began to feel that Haig’s input would turn the film into a ‘jingoistic, flag-waving movie’. Milius wanted to cast Robert Blake as the US pilot, but was overruled by studio head Frank Yablans who insisted on Powers Boothe. The cast underwent an eight week military training course prior to the start of production. Lea Thompson has stated that a love scene between her and Boothe was cut from the film mainly because of their age difference, but it was the reason she took the film because she felt it was a terrific scene. The film was remade in 2012.

Revenge of the Nerds director Jeff Kanew saw Ted McGinley on the cover of a ‘Men of USC’ calendar and decided he was perfect for the role of the head of the Alpha Beta fraternity. Kanew cast Matt Salinger as another frat brother because he loved his father J.D. Salinger’s book The Catcher in the Rye. The film was followed by one theatrical sequel, and two more made for television. A remake went into production in 2006 but was cancelled after two weeks of filming. Seth MacFarlane announced his intentions to reboot the franchise in December 2020, but nothing has happened to date. A pilot for a TV series was produced in 1991, but was never aired or picked up to series but was included on later DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film. Film stars Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong pitched an idea for a reality show with nerds competing against each other in the early-2000s, but it was rejected for being too similar to Beauty and the Geek. Six years later they shopped the idea again, and it was picked up by TBS in 2012 and titled King of the Nerds, which ran for three seasons and was hosted by Carradine and Armstrong.

The original treatment for The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension was titled Find the Jetcar, Said the President – A Buckaroo Banzai Thriller. Buckaroo’s original last name was Bandy, but director D.W. Richter changed it to Banzai. Another treatment for the film was titled The Strange Case of Mr. Cigars. Another treatment was written in 1980 titled Lepers from Saturn. During the 18 months it took to write the actual screenplay, the Lepers became Lizards then Lectroids from Planet 10. Much of the detailed character histories were taken from unfinished Banzai scripts. Three more drafts were written before a final shooting script was completed. The studio wanted a well-known star for the lead, but Richter insisted on an unknown and sought out Peter Weller after seeing his performance in Shoot the Moon. Weller was unsure of the role and the tone of the film, but Richter eventually talked him into it. For the role of Dr. Emilio Lizardo, the studio wanted an unknown but Richter had the role written for John Lithgow, who was also uncertain about the character but Richter convinced him that the role would be a feast for an actor. Richter’s only choice to play John Bigbooté was Christopher Lloyd, who agreed to the role.

Comfort and Joy was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.

1994

• August 10 – The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (USA, Latent Image Productions Pty. Ltd.)
• August 11 – Traps (AUS, J McElroy Holdings)
• August 12 – In the Army Now (USA, Hollywood Pictures)
• August 12 – The Next Karate Kid (Canada, Columbia Pictures)

Traps was released in the US on December 1, 1995. The Next Karate Kid was released in the US on a limited basis on August 12, 1994 and expanded to general release on September 9.

To get The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert made, the producers took a low fee and the crew agreed to take a percentage of the film’s profits in exchange for their low salaries. With the Australian Film Finance Corporation involved only one non-Australian actor was allowed to be in the film. Producer Al Clark considered David Bowie and John Hurt, but neither was available. Tony Curtis, who read and approved the script, was then the primary choice for Bernadette but became unavailable. John Cleese was approached but he was not interested. Rupert Everett and Jason Donovan were the first choices for Tick and Adam, respectively, but the two did not get on with each other at a cast meeting, and were hostile with the production staff. Neither of them proved suitable for the film, but Donovan eventually did play Tick in the West End musical adaptation of the film. Colin Firth was then approached for the role of Tick, but it eventually went to Hugo Weaving. Tim Curry was considered for Bernadette, but the role went to Terence Stamp, who was initially anxious about the part because it was unlike anything he had done in the past, but he got on board with the concept. Stamp suggested Bill Hunter for the role of Bob, which he accepted without even reading the script. Guy Pearce was cast at the last minute to play Adam. The film was Oscar-nominated for, and won, Best Costume Design. The film also received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for Stamp. It also received six BAFTA nominations, winning for Costume Design and Hair & Makeup.

In the Army Now was the last film that Pauly Shore did as part of a three-film contract with Disney, the previous two being Encino Man and Son in Law. The mini-golf course seen in the film was torn down in 2005. The basic training scene was filmed at Fort Sill, located near Lawton, Oklahoma. The water treatment training was filmed at Fort Lee, Virginia. Shore actually went through the water treatment training to better understand the job.

The Next Karate Kid is the fourth film in the franchise. The film marks Hilary Swank’s first lead role. Pat Morita reprised his role as Mr. Miyagi from the first three films, but it is the first in the series to not feature Ralph Macchio. While the film was universally panned, the critics did praise the work of Morita and Swank.

2004

• August 11 – Open Water (France, Plunge Pictures LLC)
• August 11 – The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (USA, BrownHouse Productions)
• August 13 – Alien vs. Predator (USA, Davis Entertainment)
• August 13 – Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light (USA/Canada/UK, 4Kids Entertainment)

Open Water was released in the US on August 20, 2004 following a limited run that started on August 6. It is loosely based on the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who were accidentally left behind during a diving expedition because the dive-boat crew failed to get an accurate head count. The real event took place in the southern Pacific Ocean, but the film moves the action to the Atlantic with filming in The Bahamas, the US Virgin Islands, the Grenadines and Mexico. Actors Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis were informed during the audition that they would be working with real sharks. Two sequels have been released, but neither film relates to the original’s continuity.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is not based on any of the Princess Diaries books. Most of the cast from the first film returned for the sequel. A third film is in development.

Alien vs. Predator, based on the Alien versus Predator comic book, is the first film in the AVP franchise, marking the fifth Alien film and the third Predator film. Before the film had been greenlit, Aliens director James Cameron had been working on a story for a fifth Alien film. That concept eventually became the basis for director Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. When AVP was announced, Cameron quit working on his story and derided the film as the studio milking its assets like Universal did with its classic monsters. In the end, Cameron stated he actually enjoyed the finished film and ranked it third best of the franchise. Scott, however, has never watched the AVP movies. Lance Henriksen, who played android Bishop in Aliens and Alien 3, was the first actor cast as billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland, tying him to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and keeping continuity with the franchise. Sanaa Lathan began work on the film one week after she was cast. Arnold Schwarzenegger was willing to reprise his Predator role of Major Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaffer in a cameo if he lost his recall election and under the condition that his scene was filmed at his house. He won the election and was unable to participate. Sigourney Weaver was happy to not be in the film and stated she wanted her Ripley character to die specifically so she wouldn’t have to participate in any further films, noting the concept of AVP ‘sounded awful’. 25 to 30 life-size sets of the pyramid interiors were built in Prague at a cost of about $2 million. Had the sets been built in Hollywood, they would have cost $20 million, which would have been a big chunk of the film’s $50 million budget. Third scale miniatures were also created for realism rather than relying on CGI. A hydraulic alien was constructed rather than using a man in a suit, to give it a more slim and skeltal appearance as well as have faster movements. The fight scene between the alien and the Predator took a month to film. Three variations of the Alien Queen were constructed at various sizes and operated by puppeteers, with only CGI used for the tails.

The Japanese release version of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light included 13 additional minutes of animation and used the characters’ original names, soundtrack and sound effects used in the Japanese version of the TV series. The Japanese release also has different ending theme music.

2014

Platinum Dunes

• August 8 – About Alex (USA/Canada, limited, The Bedford Falls Company)
• August 8 – Into the Storm (USA, Broken Road Productions)
• August 8 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (USA/Canada, Platinum Dunes)
• August 8 – The Hundred-Foot Journey (USA/Canada, Amblin Entertainment)
• August 12 – Frankie and Alice (USA, Access Motion Pictures)
• August 13 – Let’s Be Cops (USA/Canada, Genre Films)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first opened in Hong Kong and other international markets on August 7, 2014. It did not open in the UK until October 17. The Hundred-Foot Journey first opened in Israel on August 7, 2014. Frankie and Alice had a limited US engagement beginning April 4, 2014.

Into the Storm was known as ‘Found Footage’ Tornado Thriller prior to production. When New Line Cinema gave the film the greenlight, it was known as ‘Category Six’ Tornado Project, and was given the title Black Sky when filming began in Detroit in 2012. It was given its final title on September 24, 2013 when the release date was announced.

When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was first announced, producer Michael Bay stated the turtles would be an alien race, which led to an outcry from the fan community including actor Robbie Rist, who voiced Michelangelo in the first three movies. Bay had to issue a statement that they were working closely with the creators of the characters and the film would include everything the fans love about the series. An early version of the script was titled The Blue Door, which was leaked online and revealed major changes to the characters’ origins. Paramount Pictures sent a cease and desist letter to the website hosting the script, and Bay made a statement that this version had been written long before he and his company had come on board the project. Megan Fox was cast as April O’Neil, marking her reunion with Bay since calling him Hitler after working on the Transformers films. Alan Ritchson, who played Raphael, initially did not want to play a motion-capture character but Paramount promised him career advancement and he wanted to do it for his son. He detailed that it was not a good experience as the turtles actors were not treated with the same respect as the actors playing human characters, and that they were not allowed to participate in interviews or invited to the premiere. The studio countered that the actors didn’t want to do interviews. Ritchson did not want to return for the sequel but was contractually obligated, and was promised that things would change but they never really did. The film earned five Golden Raspberry Awards nominations including Worst Picture, with Fox receiving the award for Worst Supporting Actress.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is adapted from Richard C. Morais’ 2010 novel of the same name. Actors Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon spent time learning in restaurants and kitchens prior to the start of production. Actress Juhi Chawala, who plays the wife of Om Puri’s character, was digitally aged by 15 years in post-production.

Filming on Frankie and Alice took place between November 2008 and January 2009, and the film received a limited release in 2010 to qualify for awards season. The film is based on a true story. Halle Berry earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Following the limited release and Berry’s nomination, the film was to go into wide release in February 2011 but the plans did not materialize. Codeblack Films acquired distribution rights in September 2013 for a 2014 release.