Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #235 :: January 23•29

Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

The end of January brought us many new movie premieres in every decade, with this week’s output seeing more Razzie nominations than Oscar nominations. There were a few notable exceptions including a 1925 silent film that originally bombed but is now regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. 1935 had an early starring role for Bette Davis, and 1945 gave a young Elizabeth Taylor one of her signature roles. 1985 saw a student film become a feature film, now with a cult audience, thanks to a famous director. 1995 launched a film trilogy, and ended another trilogy … at least for its lead character. 2015 gave a TV friend a chance to stretch dramatically, and while the film was a bomb, the performance was not. Scroll down to see all the movies that premiered this week and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1925

January 25 – Learning to Love (USA, Norma Talmadge Film Corporation)
January 25 – The Golden Bed (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
January 25 – The Hurricane Kid (USA, Universal Pictures)
January 25 – The Range Terror (USA, Independent Pictures)
January 25 – The Redeeming Sin (USA, Vitagraph Company of America)
January 26 – Greed (USA, Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation)
January 26 – Miss Bluebeard (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
January 29 – Livingstone (UK, Hero)

Livingstone, also known as Bula Matari, has no known US theatrical release date. The Redeeming Sin is considered a lost film.

An incomplete print of Learning to Love is in the collection of the Library of Congress. Complete 35 mm and 16 mm prints of The Golden Bed are held by the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. A print of The Hurricane Kid is listed as being held by the Danish Film Institute. The Redeeming Sin was remade in 1929 by Warner Bros. Prints of Miss Bluebeard are held in the BFI National Archive, UCLA Film and Television Archive, George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection, and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

Greed was based on the 1899 Frank Norris novel McTeague. It was one of the few films of the era to be shot entirely on location, with about 85 hours of footage shot by director Erich von Stroheim, using sophisticated techniques like deep focus (seventeen years before Citizen Kane‘s more famous application) and montage editing. Two months were spent in Death Valley shooting the film’s final sequence, and many of the cast and crew fell ill. Because of the remote location and extreme dangers in the desert, insurance refused to cover this part of the shoot. The director’s original cut ran eight hours, but when the company merged to become MGM during production, von Stroheim’s former boss at Universal, Irving Thalberg (who had fired the director while at Universal), was in charge of post-production and had the film re-edited against von Stroheim’s wishes to about two-and-a-half hours. Only 12 people saw the full 42-reel version of the film, which is now considered lost. A four-hour version was constructed by Turner Entertainment using stills from cut scenes. The original release was a critical and financial failure, but by the 1950s the film began to be regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Ironically, von Stroheim moved from Universal to the Goldwyn Company because of the artistic freedom he would be afforded that had been denied by Thalberg at Universal. The director’s contract with Goldwyn stipulated all films would be under 8,500 feet, but von Stroheim shot 446,103 feet of footage for Greed.

1935

January 23 – Bordertown (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
January 25 – Beware of Barnacle Bill (USA, short, Fleischer Studios)
January 25 – Calling All Cars (USA, Scott-Bennet Production)
January 25 – Clive of India (USA, 20th Century Pictures)
January 25 – Loser’s End (USA, Reliable Pictures Corporation)
January 25 – Society Doctor (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
January 25 – The Gilded Lily (USA, Paramount Pictures)
January 26 – The Right to Live (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
January 28 – Lost in the Legion (UK, British International Pictures)
January 29 – The White Cockatoo (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

Lost in the Legion has no known US theatrical release date.

Bordertown was one of the first films to come under scrutiny of the Hays Office, which was enforcing the Motion Picture Production Code which was first introduced in 1930. Two plot elements of the story, Johnny Ramirez (Paul Muni) being disbarred for committing murder, and having an affair with Marie Roark (Bette Davis), had to be revised before the screenplay was approved.

Popeye cartoon Beware of Barnacle Bill was a remake of the 1930 Fleischer Studios short Barnacle Bill the Sailor, which starred Bimbo the dog and Betty Boop.

The Gilded Lily was the first of seven films to star Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. The Right to Live is based on the 1928 play The Sacred Flame by Somerset Maugham, previously adapted into a film by Warner Bros. in 1929. A print of The White Cockatoo is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.

1945

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

January 23 – Eadie Was a Lady (USA, Columbia Pictures)
January 23 – Jungle Queen (USA, serial, Universal Pictures)
January 25 – I Love a Mystery (USA, Columbia Pictures)
January 26 – Brenda Starr, Reporter (USA, serial, Sam Katzman Productions)
January 26 – Forever Yours (USA, Monogram Pictures)
January 26 – National Velvet (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
January 26 – The Jade Mask (USA, Monogram Pictures)
January 26 – The Topeka Terror (USA, Republic Pictures)
January 27 – Draftee Daffy (USA, short, Warner Bros. Cartoon Studios)
January 29 – Kiss the Bride Goodbye (USA, Butcher’s Film Service)

The 13-chapter Jungle Queen serial was re-edited for television into the feature film Jungle Safari (1956). The serial reuses aircraft footage from Five Came Back (1939) as well as volcano and crocodile attack footage from East of Borneo (1931).

I Love a Mystery was based on Carlton E. Morse’s popular radio serial of the same name, and was the first of three films inspired by the radio program though the only one based on a script written for the radio series.

Brenda Starr, Reporter was the 25th serial released by Columbia Pictures, and was inspired by the comic strip by Dale Messick. The newspaper office set was re-used from the East Side Kids comedy Bowery Champs. The original plan was to film two Brenda Starr feature films but producers were granted permission to use the character for a serial instead. It is one of the last sound serials to be made available commercially. It was thought lost for many years, with only one print held by a private collector. The serial was released on DVD in March 2011.

National Velvet is based on the 1935 novel of the same name by Enid Bagnold. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2003. Gene Tierney, then 18-years-old, was offered the role of Velvet Brown in 1939, but when production was delayed she returned to Broadway. The role eventually went to Elizabeth Taylor. The film earned five Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actress (Anne Revere) and Best Film Editing.

The Jade Mask starred Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan, and marks the only appearance of Number Four Son, Eddie Chan, played by Edwin Luke, younger brother of Keye Luke, who played Number One Son in the 1930s Chan films at Fox.

Kiss the Bride Goodbye has no known US theatrical release date. The film is believed lost, despite a record of a US TV broadcast in 1953. The film features an early performance by Jean Simmons and is included on the BFI’s ’75 Most Wanted’ list of missing British feature films. However, the Huntley Film Archives claimed to have a print of the film, and Renown Pictures Ltd released a DVD in 2013.

1955

January 23 – Treasure of Ruby Hills (USA, William F. Broidy Productions)
January 24 – Lilacs in the Spring (UK, Herbert Wilcox Productions)
January 25 – Simba (UK, Group Film Productions Limited)
January 25 – The Colditz Story (UK, Ivan Foxwell Productions)
January 26 – Battle Taxi (USA, Ivan Tors Productions)
January 28 – Carolina Cannonball (USA, Republic Pictures)
January 29 – The Americano (USA, Robert Stillman Productions)

Lilacs in the Spring opened in the US in April 1955 as Let’s Make Up. Simba was released in the US on September 9, 1955. The Colditz Story was released in the US on October 24, 1957.

Treasure of Ruby Hills is based on the story ‘The Rider of the Ruby Hills’ by Louis L’Amour, who wrote the story under the pen name Jim Mayo.

Lilacs in the Spring was the first of two films to star Errol Flynn and Anna Neagle. Neagle had appeared in the stage musical The Glorious Days upon which the film is based. The show was a huge success for Neagle, running 467 performances. Flynn agreed to make the movie to pay off the debts he incurred due to his abandoned William Tell project, The Story of William Tell. Flynn used his own singing voice for the film. This was also the feature film debut of Sean Connery.

Production of The Americano too place in São Paulo, Brazil under director Budd Boetticher in July 1953. Production halted in September due to bad weather, and star Glenn Ford refused to return when production was to resume, resulting in a $1.75 million lawsuit for breach of contract. Production finally restarted in June 1954 with Ford, and William Castle replacing Boetticher. Abbe Lane’s musical number was supervised by her husband, Xavier Cugat.

1965

January 23 – Andy (USA, Deran Productions)
January 26 – How to Murder Your Wife (USA, Murder Inc.)
January 28 – One Way Pendulum (UK, Woodfall Film Productions)
January 29 – Guns of Diablo (West Germany, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

One Way Pendulum was released in the US on March 2, 1965. Guns of Diablo first opened in the UK on October 4, 1964, and was released in the US on home video on October 7, 1997.

Andy, starring Norman Alden, was the first directing credit for Richard C. Sarafian, who also wrote and produced the film. Sarafian’s brother-in-law Robert Altman wanted the rights to the film, with Dan Blocker to star, but Sarafian refused, leading to a permanent split between the men.

Guns of Diablo is an expanded version of the last episode of MGM-TV’s brief series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, broadcast on March 15, 1964 on ABC. Russ Conway refilmed Dan O’Herlihy’s scenes for the film.

1975

January 27 – Galileo (USA, Cinévision Ltée)
January 29 – Mr. Ricco (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Galileo was adapted from Bertolt Brecht’s 1943 play of the same name. Director Joseph Losey directed the first performance of the play in the US in 1947 with Brecht’s direct involvement.

Mr. Ricco was the last leading film role for Dean Martin, which was part of his contractual obligation to MGM for his appearance at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

1985

January 25 – Fandango (USA, Amblin Entertainment)
January 26 – Unfinished Business (USA, documentary, Mouchette Films)
January 27 – Maria’s Lovers (USA, Golan-Globus Productions)
January 25 – The Falcon and the Snowman (Canada, Hemdale)

Maria’s Lovers first opened in France on October 3, 1984. The Falcon and the Snowman was released in the US on February 8, 1985.

Fandango was originally a student film by Kevin Reynolds titled Proof that was a parody of Greek life at his alma mater, Baylor University. As his father was president of Baylor, he changed the story’s location to the University of Texas. Steven Spielberg saw the student film and helped fund the feature-length adaptation. The film features Kevin Costner’s first starring role (although The Gunrunner was completed in 1983 but not released until 1989), and the film debut of model Suzy Amis. The film’s skydiving sequence is taken shot-by-shot from the student film. Tulsa, Oklahoma stood in for Dallas during production.

Maria’s Lovers is the first American feature for director Andrei Konchalovsky. The Falcon and the Snowman is based on the 1979 book The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage by Robert Lindsey.

1995

Sunrise Productions

January 27 – Before Sunrise (USA, Sunrise Productions)
January 27 – Death and the Maiden (USA/Canada, Capitol Films)
January 27 – Highlander: The Final Dimension (USA, Fallingcloud)
January 27 – Immortal Beloved (UK, Icon Productions)
January 27 – Miami Rhapsody (USA, Cantaloupe Productions)

Highlander: The Final Dimension first opened in the Philippines on November 30, 1994.

Before Sunrise is the first installment of the Before trilogy. After nine months of extensive casting, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy got the lead roles. Director Richard Linklater originally felt Hawke was too young for the role, but he saw Hawke in a play in New York and reconsidered. Linklater liked Julie Delpy’s personality, and when she and Hawke did a final reading he knew they were right for the roles. Linklater and Kim Krizan wrote the screenplay in eleven days. Delpy has stated that she and Hawke basically re-wrote the script because the original wasn’t very romantic. Krizan disputed the claim in 2019, but Hawke and Delpy receive co-writing credit on the sequels.

Highlander: The Final Dimension is also known as Highlander III: The Sorcerer and Highlander: The Final Conflict. The film is an alternate sequel to the original Highlander, completely ignoring the events of Highlander II: The Quickening. It’s the final film in the series to focus on Connor McLeod (Christopher Lambert) as the protagonist. Russell Mulcahy, the director of the first two films, was scheduled to return but after the producers failed to put $1.2 million in escrow he withdrew from the production. Producers sued Mulcahy for $8.3 million in damages for reneging on an oral agreement to direct. The film marked the feature directorial debut of Andy Morahan, a music video director. The film includes references to the Highlander TV series to link the film and TV universes. Many Scottish locations from the original film were revisited, and scenes set in medieval Japan and New York were shot in Montreal. The film was edited for a PG-13 release in the US, but the home video release includes the unedited R-rated version which includes two unedited sex scenes and additional violence.

2005

January 28 – Alone in the Dark (USA, Herold Productions)
January 28 – Creep (UK, UK Film Council)
January 28 – Hide and Seek (USA, Fox 2000 Pictures)

Creep debuted on home video in the US on December 20, 2005.

Alone in the Dark is based on the video game series of the same name, specifically Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (2001). The film earned two Razzie Award nominations for Worst Actress (Tara Reid) and Worst Director (Uwe Boll).

Albert Hughes was set to make his solo directorial debut with Hide and Seek, but departed the project due to creative differences and was replaced with John Polson. The film has five different endings. The DVD release allowed viewers to watch the film with any one of the endings.

2015

Cinelou Films

January 23 – Cake (USA/Canada, Cinelou Films)
January 23 – Mortdecai (USA, Madison Wells)
January 23 – Song One (USA, limited, Worldview Entertainment)
January 23 – Strange Magic (USA, Touchstone Pictures)
January 23 – The Boy Next Door (USA, Blumhouse Productions)
January 23 – The Humbling (South Africa/Canada, Ambi Pictures)
January 27 – Red Right Return (USA, Rockridge Media)
January 28 – 5 Flights Up (Belgium, Lascaux Films)

Song One first opened in Israel on January 22, 2015. The Humbling debuted on home video in the US on March 3, 2015. 5 Flights Up was released in the US on May 8, 2015.

Though it was a box office bomb, Cake earned Jennifer Aniston Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for Best Actress. She also received a Razzie Redeemer Award nomination.

Mortdecai is adapted from the novel series Mortdecai, specifically its 1972 first installment Don’t Point that Thing at Me, written by Kyril Bonfiglioli. The film received Razzie nominations for Worst Actor (Johnny Depp), Worst Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Worst Screen Combo (Depp and his glued-on mustache).

Strange Magic is based on a story by George Lucas inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lucas had been developing the project for 15 years for his daughters. It was his first writing credit since 1994’s Radioland Murders that wasn’t associated with a Star Wars or Indiana Jones films. It was the first Lucasfilm production released by Disney after the acquisition of Lucas’ company.

Jennifer Lopez received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress for The Boy Next Door. 5 Flights Up was released in the UK as Ruth & Alex, and is based on the novel Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment.