Fortis Films
March is nearing its end and each decade this week had a number of new movies making their debuts, but few of them are remembered today. Of note is a 1925 documentary that still exists, from the team that would later produce a film with groundbreaking special effects. A 1935 film teamed up W.C. Fields and Bing Crosby for the first and only time. A 1945 short introduced a now popular cartoon cat to the world. A 1955 film was notable for its use of rock and roll music, and gave a rising star one of his earliest roles. A 1965 British film, better known by its US release title, was the last for a screen legend. A 1975 film brought Bette Davis to Disney, while another took John Wayne to England. One 1985 film brought a dinosaur to life, another hoped to kickstart a horror franchise with a new villain, and another became an Oscar winner for its makeup. A 1995 film put Kathy Bates in another Stephen King movie, while a 2005 film saw Sandra Bullock head back to the world of beauty pageants. One 2015 film was disowned by its director, and another became the second part of a franchise. Scroll down to see the films that were released this week across the decades and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1925
- March 20 – Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (USA, documentary, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack)
- March 22 – I Want My Man (USA, First National Pictures)
- March 22 – Let ‘er Buck (USA, Universal Pictures)
- March 22 – Sackcloth and Scarlet (USA, Kagor Productions)
- March 22 – The Denial (USA, Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation)
- March 22 – The Hunted Woman (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
- March 22 – The Scarlet Honeymoon (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
- March 23 – Men and Women (USA, Paramount Pictures)
Lost films: I Want My Man, Let ‘er Buck, Sackcloth and Scarlet, The Hunted Woman, Men and Women
Status Unknown: The Scarlet Honeymoon
Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997. It was the first collaboration between Cooper and Schoedsack, who went on to produce King Kong among other films.
The Denial co-star Lucille Ricksen died of tuberculosis the same month the movie was released. A partial print of The Denial is in the collection of George Eastman House.
1935
- March 20 – I’ll Love You Always (USA, Columbia Pictures)
- March 22 – A Dog of Flanders (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
- March 22 – Life Begins at 40 (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
- March 22 – Mississippi (USA, Paramount Pictures)
- March 22 – Straight from the Heart (USA, Universal Pictures)
- March 23 – A Night at the Ritz (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- March 23 – West Point of the Air (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
- March 25 – The Nut Farm (USA, W.T. Lackey Productions)
- March 26 – Immortal Gentleman (UK, Bernard Smith Productions)
Immortal Gentleman has no known US theatrical release date.
A Dog of Flanders was adapted from the 1872 novel of the same name by Ouida. The film’s star, Frankie Thomas, is making his second screen appearance. This was the third film adaptation of the novel, the first with sound.
Mississippi is the only W.C. Fields film with a score by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. It is also the only film in which Fields co-starred with Bing Crosby.
The aerial shots in West Point of the Air were a combination of live action footage, models, and cockpit mock-ups of Consolidated PT-3 flight trainers, and aircraft of an earlier vintage.
Wallace Ford is the only cast member of The Nut Farm to appear in both the film and the play upon which it was based.
1945
- March 21 – Utah (USA, Republic Pictures)
- March 22 – Fury in the Pacific (USA, documentary, US Army, Navy and Marines)
- March 22 – Pan-Americana (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
- March 22 – Rough, Tough and Ready (USA, Columbia Pictures)
- March 22 – Salty O’Rourke (USA, Paramount Pictures)
- March 24 – Life with Feathers (USA, Warner Bros. Cartoon Studios)
Fury in the Pacific was directed by a series of combat cameramen, nine of whom became casualties of the battles they were filming. Actor Richard Carlson narrated the film.
An uncredited Jane Greer makes her film debut in Pan-Americana. The film was an example of the Good Neighbor policy encouraging Americans to travel to South America for holidays, and the last of a film genre.
Salty O’Rourke was originally envisioned as a vehicle for Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell and Mickey Rooney, but when Gable went off to the service, it was redeveloped for George Raft. The film’s eventual stars were Alan Ladd, Gail Russell and Stanley Clements. Filming plans were interrupted when Ladd was reinducted into the Army, but Paramount received a deferment so he could make the film and Two Years Before the Mast.
Life with Feathers is the first Warner Bros. cartoon to feature Sylvester the Cat. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short. The restored version of the short released on Blu-ray reveals Sylvester’s fur to be a lighter bluish-black rather than solid black.
1955
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- March 22 – The Night My Number Came Up (UK, Ealing Studios)
- March 22 – Yellowneck (USA, Empire Studios)
- March 23 – Stranger on Horseback (USA, Leonard Goldstein Productions)
- March 24 – The Glass Slipper (USA, Loew’s Incorporated)
- March 25 – Blackboard Jungle (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
- March 25 – Strategic Air Command (USA, Paramount Pictures)
- March 26 – Captain Lightfoot (USA, Universal International Pictures)
The Night My Number Came Up was released in the US on December 19, 1955. Man Without a Star was released in the US on April 27, 1955.
The Night My Number Came Up was based on an incident in the life of British Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard whose journal was published in The Saturday Evening Post of 26 May 1951. It was Sheila Sim’s final film before retirement. The film received four BAFTA nominations including Best British Film and Best British Actor for Michael Redgrave.
Blackboard Jungle was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2016. The film was one of the earliest for Sidney Poitier, and marked the debuts of Vic Morrow and Jameel Farah, who would go on to be better known as Jamie Farr. The film earned four Oscar nominations including Best Screenplay.
Strategic Air Command was the first of four films to depict the role of the Strategic Air Command in the Cold War era. It was the second film released in Paramount’s new VistaVision format. It was the eighth and final collaboration for James Stewart and director Anthony Mann, and the last of three films to pair Stewart and June Allyson. At the time of filming, Stewart, like the character he played, was a colonel in the Air Force Reserve. The film was made with the full cooperation of the U.S. Air Force. The baseball scenes were filmed with the cooperation of the St. Louis Cardinals at their spring training home of Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Motion Picture Story.
Captain Lightfoot was filmed on location in Ireland. The nicknames for characters John Doherty and Michael Martin were used by writer/director Michael Cimino for his 1974 feature film debut Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
1965
- March 21 – Fanatic (UK, Hammer Films)
- March 22 – Finger on the Trigger (Spain, Films Internacionales)
- March 24 – Bus Riley’s Back in Town (USA, Universal Pictures)
- March 24 – John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (USA, Orchard Productions)
- March 24 – My Blood Runs Cold (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Fanatic was released in the US on May 19, 1965 as Die! Die! My Darling! Finger on the Trigger, also known as Blue Lightning, was released in the US on May 1, 1965.
Fanatic was the final feature film for Tallulah Bankhead. The production of the film was used as the setting for the 2010 Broadway play Looped, which starred Valerie Harper as Bankhead. When the show went on tour, Harper was unable to continue due to her illness, so the role was filled by Stefanie Powers, who was Bankhead’s co-star in the film.
Victor Mature was to star in Finger on the Trigger, but he pulled out which led to a lawsuit from producer/director Sidney W. Pink. Rory Calhoun was his replacement.
Writer William Inge was unhappy with the changes made to his script for Bus Riley’s Back in Town, and had his credit changed to Walter Gage. It would be the last of Inge’s work adapted to the screen in his lifetime. The film, based off of what started as a one-act play, was originally titled All Kinds of People.
Montgomery Clift was offered the lead role in John Goldfarb, Please Come Home but turned it down because he didn’t like the script, despite his lack of job offers at the time. The film’s intended Christmas Day 1964 release was delayed because the University of Notre Dame filed a suit against Fox, saying the film did ‘immeasurable damage’ to the school’s reputation, particularly the final football sequence. The university didn’t seek monetary damages, it just did not want the film released. The studio and writer William Peter Blatty were confused as to why a university like Notre Dame would sue over a film that was a farcical piece of fiction. The university claimed it had denied Fox the use of the name, but Fox said it had never asked for permission. An initial ruling stated the film could not be shown in New York state claiming the film ‘illegally and knowingly’ exploited the the name. The ACLU became involved, Fox appealed the decision, and the original decision was reversed.
My Blood Runs Cold was the second of three thrillers directed by actor William Conrad, following Two on a Guillotine.
1975
- March 21 – Escape to Witch Mountain (USA, Walt Disney Productions)
- March 24 – Rosebud (USA, Oting SA)
- March 26 – Brannigan (USA, Wellborn Limited)
- March 26 – Sheba, Baby (USA, American International Pictures)
- March 26 – The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (USA, Strathmore Productions)
Escape to Witch Mountain is based on Alexander H. Key’s 1968 novel of the same name.
Rosebud, directed by Otto Preminger, is based on the 1974 novel of the same title by Joan Hemingway and Paul Bonnecarrère. Preminger’s son Erik Lee Preminger wrote the screenplay. Teenager Kim Cattrall made her film debut.
Brannigan is also known as Joe Battle. A scene feature a car jump with a yellow Ford Capri coupé over a half-open Tower Bridge was accomplished using miniatures. The scene was one of the last significant appearances of Tower Bridge without its red, white and blue paint scheme which was applied in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The E-Type Jaguar that the hitman, Gorman, drives in the film still exists and is in the hands of a private collector today, while the film’s opening sequence shows Chicago roadways, riverside buildings and O’Hare Airport’s Terminal 1 that have all been demolished and replaced.
The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery is a parody of The Maltese Falcon, with former ‘Bowery Boys’ members Gabriel Dell and Huntz Hall.
1985
Georgetown Productions Inc.
- March 22 – Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (USA, Touchstone Films)
- March 22 – Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (USA, Georgetown Productions Inc.)
- March 22 – Mask (USA, Universal Pictures)
- March 22 – Porky’s Revenge! (USA, Melvin Simon Productions)
- March 22 – The Last Dragon (USA, Motown Productions)
- March 22 – The Secret of the Sword (USA, Filmation Associates)
The Care Bears Movie was released in the US on March 29, 1985.
A re-edited version of Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend was broadcast on NBC in 1989 as Dinosaur…Secret of the Lost Legend.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning is the fifth film in the franchise. Corey Feldman has a cameo appearance reprising the role of Tommy Jarvis from the previous film, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Feldman shot his scenes on a Sunday, his day off from filming The Goonies, in the backyard of his family’s home in Los Angeles with a rain machine. The film was meant to set up a new trilogy with a new villain, but after disappointing box office returns from Parts III and IV, Jason Voorhees was brought back for Part VI. The hockey mask seen in Part V has blue markings instead of the red seen in previous films, a subtle hint that the killer is not the real Jason. The film’s casting was done under the fake title Repetition, and many of the actors were not aware it was a Friday the 13th movie until after they were cast. John Shepherd spent several months volunteering at a state mental hospital to prepare for his role, and was disappointed when he learned the film was another Friday the 13th entry.
Mask was to include songs from Bruce Springsteen, the favorite singer of the film’s subject Rocky Dennis. Rights negotiations between Universal and Columbia Records broke down and the studio replaced the songs with songs from Bob Seger. Dennis’ mother Rusty was extremely displeased, saying she didn’t think Rocky even knew who Seger was, and director Peter Bogdanovich sued Universal for replacing the music in violation of his final cut privilege. The songs were eventually restored for the director’s cut of the film released on DVD in 2004. The film won the Oscar for Best Makeup, and stars Cher and Eric Stoltz received Golden Globe nominations.
Porky’s Revenge! is the third and final film in the Porky’s trilogy. The film marked the directorial debut of James Komack. Nancy Parsons (Ms. Beulah Balbricker) had lost a considerable amount of weight since the first film. She agreed to appear in the sequel for a percentage of the profits.
The Last Dragon, aka Barry Gordy’s The Last Dragon, was the first acting role for Taimak (Leroy Green), a then-19-year-old black belt who learned to act on the set of this film. Ernie Reyes, Jr. made his debut in the film at the age of 12. Billy Blanks, Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebles, Laurence Fishburne and Denzel Washington were considered for the role of Leroy Green. Vanity was cast as Laura Charles after quitting Purple Rain.
The Secret of the Sword is also known as He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword. The movie was actually a compilation of the first five episodes of the TV series She-Ra: Princess of Power, which had not yet debuted. It is part of the same continuity as the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series. It was the first He-Man theatrical film, and the first theatrical release to feature She-Ra or any Masters of The Universe/Princess of Power characters.
1995
- March 24 – Dolores Claiborne (USA, Castle Rock Entertainment)
- March 24 – Exotica (USA, Alliance Entertainment)
- March 24 – Major Payne (USA, Wife ‘n’ Kids)
- March 24 – Tall Tale (USA, Caravan Pictures)
Exotica first opened in Sweden on October 21, 1994.
Dolores Claiborne was the second major film based on a Stephen King novel to star Kathy Bates, the first being Misery five years earlier. Despite little promotion, the film was a sleeper hit, grossing about $50 million on a $13 million budget. The film was shot on location in Nova Scotia.
Bruce Greenwood was cast in Exotica because he and director Atom Egoyan were friends, having met through a mutual friend before Egoyan had raised his international profile. Egoyan’s wife Arsinée Khanjian plays the pregnant owner of the strip club, pregnant herself at the time of filming. The strip club set was built in an unused room in Toronto’s Party Centre, with several people believing it was a real strip club during construction. The film played in Toronto for 25 weeks. It won eight Genie Awards including Best Motion Picture.
Major Payne is a loose remake of the 1955 film The Private War of Major Benson, starring Charlton Heston. Tall Tale is also known as Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill. The film completed production in 1993, but was not released until 1995.
2005
- March 24 – Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (USA, Fortis Films)
- March 25 – D.E.B.S. (USA, Screen Gems)
- March 25 – Guess Who (USA, 3 Arts Entertainment)
- March 25 – Mickybo and Me (UK, Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission)
- March 25 – The Ballad of Jack and Rose (USA, limited, Jack and Rose Productions)
- March 25 – Tickets (Italy, Fandango)
- March 25 – Valiant (UK, Vanguard Films and Animation)
Mickybo and Me and Tickets have no known US theatrical release dates. Valiant was released in the US on August 19, 2005.
Sandra Bullock, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson and Heather Burns reprise their roles from Miss Congeniality in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. Regis Philbin, Joy Philbin, Octavia Spencer, and Dolly Parton make cameo appearances as themselves. Bullock, who was an executive producer on the film, and writer Marc Lawrence originally had no plans for a sequel, but started joking about ideas for one while working on Two Weeks Notice. The film was set in Las Vegas, which was to have been a location in the first film but was ultimately written out.
D.E.B.S. is a feature-length version of writer-director Angela Robinson’s short film of the same name. Jill Ritchie is the only cast member from the short to reprise her role in the film.
Guess Who is a loose remake of the 1967 film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. The film’s working title was The Dinner Party. At one point, Harold Ramis was slated to direct.
The Ballad of Jack and Rose star Daniel Day-Lewis’ personal assistant on the film was Jeremy Strong, who was working for an independent film company and was a struggling actor.
Valiant was the second computer-animated film to be made in the United Kingdom. Gary Chapman made his directorial debut with the film. He was originally hired for character and production design during project development.
2015
Red Wagon Entertainment
- March 20 – Accidental Love (USA, limited, K. JAM Media)
- March 20 – Danny Collins (USA, limited, Big Indie Pictures)
- March 20 – Do You Believe? (USA, 10 West Studios)
- March 20 – Growing Up and Other Lies (USA, Embark Productions)
- March 20 – Güeros (Mexico, Postal Producciones)
- March 20 – The Divergent Series: Insurgent (USA, Red Wagon Entertainment)
- March 20 – The Gunman (USA, Silver Pictures)
- March 20 – The Walking Deceased (USA, Aristar Entertainment)
- March 20 – Tracers (USA, Temple Hill Entertainment)
Accidental Love was first released digitally in the US on February 10, 2015. Güeros was released in the US on May 20, 2015.
Accidental Love‘s director Stephen Green was actually David O. Russell using a pseudonym. The film was Kirstie Alley’s last. The film’s original title was Nailed. Production was frequently halted due to financial difficulties, at least 14 times, prompting Russell to quit the project in 2010. The film was completed without his involvement and he has disowned it, hence the pseudonym. The film was a massive financial failure, grossing $139,436 on a $26 million budget. The film was based on the 2004 novel Sammy’s Hill by Kristin Gore, Al Gore’s daughter. She also co-wrote the screenplay. James Caan was originally cast in the film but dropped out over ‘creative differences’. The film’s cast members, including Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal, walked out over nonpayment to actors and crew. When the film was taken over by financier Ronald Tutor in 2010, Biel and Tracy Morgan were contractually obligated to film reshoots. The production company eventually went bankrupt and the film was in limbo until 2014 when it was purchased by Millennium Entertainment.
Danny Collins was the feature directorial debut of Dan Fogelman. Al Pacino was Golden Globe nominated for his performance. Steve Carell was attached to star as the son of Danny Collins in 2010 when the film was titled Imagine, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Jeremy Renner was announced as his replacement in 2012, and Julianne Moore also joined the film. They were eventually replaced by Bobby Cannavale and Annette Bening.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent is the second film in the Divergent franchise. Director Neil Burger was unable to direct the second film because he was still working on the first when the sequel was announced. The movie was filmed on location in Atlanta and Chicago.
The Walking Deceased was originally titled Walking with the Dead. The film parodies zombie films Zombieland and Warm Bodies, as well as the TV series The Walking Dead.