Python [Monty] Pictures
It’s the last week of April — and in the modern era just a week before the ‘Summer Movie Season’ kicks off — and many new films hit the big screen with a few of note. 1935 brought an actor back to a familiar role, though of a completely different name, while 1945 gave a popular comedic actor a memorable flop that became a punchline on his TV show. 1975 was a big year for cult favorites set in the Middle Ages, the future and the present day. 1995 gave us a cult comedy classic of Black cinema, while a horror director remade a classic that is less well-regarded; 2005 adapted a very popular sci-fi comedy novel into a notorious flop; and 2015 took its star on a journey through time. Scroll down to see all the films that premiered this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniveraries.
1925
- April 26 – Fifth Avenue Models (USA, Universal Pictures)
- April 26 – Recompense (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- April 26 – She Wolves (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
- April 26 – Speed (USA, Banner Productions)
- April 26 – Tides of Passion (USA, Vitagraph Company of America)
- April 27 – Adventure (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
- April 27 – Go Straight (USA, B.P. Schulberg Productions)
- April 27 – Proud Flesh (USA, Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation)
- April 27 – The Night Club (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
- April 28 – Where Romance Rides (USA, Ben Wilson Productions)
- April 29 – The Riding Comet (USA, Ben Wilson Productions)
- April 30 – Playing with Souls (USA, Thomas H. Ince Corporation)
Lost films: Recompense, She Wolves, Adventure, Playing with Souls
Status unknown: Tides of Passion, Go Straight, Proud Flesh, Where Romance Rides, The Riding Comet
A print of Fifth Avenue Models is held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive in Los Angeles. A print of Speed is held in the Gosfilmofond film archive in Moscow.
The Cineteca Del Friulli, Library of Congress, UCLA Film and Television Archive, George Eastman Museum, and Pacific Film Archive all hold prints of The Night Club.
1935
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- April 25 – Goin’ to Town (USA, Emanuel Cohen Productions)
- April 25 – The Tia Juana Kid (USA, Sunset Productions)
- April 26 – Mark of the Vampire (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
- April 26 – Strangers All (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
- April 27 – Hold ‘Em Yale (USA, Paramount Pictures)
- April 27 – Mary Jane’s Pa (USA, First National Pictures)
- April 27 – Party Wire (USA, Columbia Pictures)
- April 28 – Cardinal Richelieu (USA, 20th Century Pictures)
- April 29 – The People’s Enemy (USA, Select Productions)
- April 30 – The Scoundrel (USA, Hecht-MacArthur Productions)
Star Mae West sang her own opera in Goin’ to Town. The film’s original title was Now I’m a Lady, which was changed by a mandate from the Hays Office. West’s pet monkey Boogie makes a cameo appearance. A musical number featuring the song ‘Love is Love in Any Woman’s Heart’ was cut at West’s request, feeling it was not in line with her character. The song is still used over the end credits.
Mark of the Vampire has been described as a talkie remake of Todd Browning’s lost London After Midnight, though there is no accreditation to support this notion. The film’s working title was Vampires of Prague. Carroll Borland had previously toured with Bela Lugosi in a stage version of Dracula, but did not mention that to the producers when she was cast due to her physical resemblance to Lugosi. The film’s ending, revealing the truth about the vampires, was not revealed to the cast until the end of shooting. Borland and Lugosi were reportedly disappointed with the ending, feeling it was absurd.
The Scoundrel was Noël Coward’s film debut.
1945
- April 24 – Betrayal from the East (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
- April 24 – The Master Key (USA, serial, Universal Pictures)
- April 25 – Hollywood and Vine (USA, Producers Releasing Corporation)
- April 26 – Counter-Attack (USA, Columbia Pictures)
- April 26 – Zombies on Broadway (USA, limited, RKO Radio Pictures)
- April 27 – Beyond the Pecos (USA, Universal Pictures)
- April 28 – The Enchanted Cottage (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
- April 28 – The Horn Blows at Midnight (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
- April 29 – Tarzan and the Amazons (USA, Sol Lesser Productions)
Zombies on Broadway began its premiere engagement in New York City on April 26, and expanded nationwide on May 1.
The Master Key features the screen debut of future Western film star Lash LaRue. Hollywood and Vine is also known as Daisy Goes Hollywood in the UK, and Happily Ever After in the US.
Zombies on Broadway was released as Loonies on Broadway in the UK. The film features Sheldon Leonard and Bela Lugosi. The British Virgin Island in the film, ‘San Sebastian’, is also the name of the island in RKO’s I Walked with a Zombie and The Ghost Ship.
The Enchanted Cottage was based on the 1923 play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and first adapted to the screen in 1924. A third adaptation was produced in 2016. Composer Roy Webb received an Oscar nomination for his Original Score.
The box office failure of The Horn Blows at Midnight became a running joke on star Jack Benny’s TV program, exposing the film to those who had never seen it. It was his last feature film as a lead, but he continued to make cameo appearances for many years after.
Tarzan and the Amazons was Johnny Weissmuller’s ninth outing as Tarzan, and was the first of five appearances of Brenda Joyce as Jane. Johnny Sheffield also makes his sixth appearance as Boy.
1955
- April 24 – Shotgun (USA, Allied Artists Pictures)
- April 27 – Devil Girl from Mars (USA, Danziger Productions Ltd.)
- April 27 – Kentucky Rifle (USA, Howco Productions Inc.)
- April 28 – Bedevilled (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Devil Girl from Mars first opened in the UK on May 2, 1954.
Shotgun was based on a story written by actor Rory Calhoun. Producers tried to get Calhoun for the movie, but Universal refused to lend him out. Yvonne De Carlo only felt the film was worth mentioning because it’s where she met stunt man Bob Morgan, who became her husband.
Devil Girl from Mars was made on a tight schedule and budget, with no retakes made unless the actual film stock became damaged. The film’s sound editor was Gerry Anderson, who would later become famous for his series Thunderbirds, Stingray and Supercar.
1965
- April 28 – The Fool Killer (USA, Landau)
- April 28 – The Secret of Blood Island (USA, Hammer Films)
- April 28 – Young Dillinger (USA, Zimbalist Company)
The Fool Killer is also known as Violent Journey.
The Secret of Blood Island is also known as P.O.W. It is a sequel to The Camp on Blood Island. The film was shot in Eastmancolor and released in that format in the UK, but was released in black-and-white in the US.
Young Dillinger was shot cheaply in 17 days, and according to Robert Conrad the cast had to do their own stunts. It was during production that Conrad successfully auditioned for The Wild Wild West.
1975
- April 26 – Dolemite (USA, Comedian International Enterprises)
- April 27 – What Changed Charley Farthing? (UK, Patuna Productions)
- April 28 – Monty Python and the Holy Grail (USA, Python [Monty] Pictures)
- April 29 – Aloha, Bobby and Rose (USA, Cine Artists International)
- April 30 – Death Race 2000 (USA, New World Pictures)
- April 30 – Sidecar Racers (AUS, Universal Pictures)
What Changed Charley Farthing? was released in the US in January 1976 as The Bananas Boat. Monty Python and the Holy Grail premiered in Los Angeles on March 14, 1975 and began a limited US engagement on April 28, expanding nationwide on July 18. Sidecar Racers first opened in the Netherlands on February 12, 1975, and was released in the US on October 8.
Rudy Ray Moore developed the character of Dolemite for his stand-up comedy routines, appearing on the 1970 album Eat Out More Often. Moore paid for most of the film’s production out of his own pocket, using friends and fellow comedians as cast and crew. The film’s director, D’Urville Martin, played the film’s villain Willie Green.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail was the feature directorial debut of Pythonites Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. The film was produced between the third and fourth series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Thirty years after the film’s release, it was adapted for the stage into the musical Spamalot. Of the first draft of the screenplay, the first half of the story took place in the Middle Ages while the second was set in the present. Finding a studio to bankroll the film was difficult, so the group turned to friends and musicians, who saw it as an opportunity for a tax write off. The investors included Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, co-producer Michael White, Tim Rice, Island Records, Chrysalis Records and Charisma Records, with a total budget of $410,000. The investors also received part of the proceeds from Spamalot. Many of the castles seen in the film were mostly Doune Castle in Scotland, seen from different angles, or were hanging miniatures. A slow zoom on rocky scenery was actually a still photograph with candles below camera to produce a heat haze, a low cost method to produce a convincing location shot. The knights were originally going to ride real horses but the budget precluded actual animals (except for one lone horse seen in the distance), so the porters trotting behind them banging coconut shells was the solution. A filmed adaptation of Spamalot was announced by 20th Century Fox in 2018, but was delayed due to Disney’s acquisition of the studio. The project moved to Paramount in 2020, but did not move forward because two of Eric Idle’s former colleagues opposed it.
David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov and Martin Kove are among the cast of Death Race 2000. Roger Corman was inspired to create the film by the advance publicity of futuristic sports action film Rollerball. Paul Bartel was hired to direct, based on his second unit work on Corman’s Big Bad Mama. Bartel later said Corman removed most of his comedic moments and replaced them with blood and gore. Bartel and Carradine also clashed to the point where Carradine was nearly replaced with Lee Majors. Corman wanted a different ending than scripted, but neither Bartel or Carradine were interested in Corman’s suggestion so only the scripted ending was filmed. Corman also wanted Peter Fonda to star but he felt the script was too ridiculous and declined. Carradine took the role so people would see him as more than his character on Kung Fu. He received 10% of the film’s gross. The film was Stallone’s highest profile project before Rocky. Bartel encouraged him to rewrite his dialogue. Shelley Winters turned down the role of Thomasina Paine. The budget did not allow for a large number of extras, so crowd scenes at the racetrack were filmed after an actual event. Carradine and Stallone performed most of their own driving stunts, often filmed on public roadways. The custom-built cars were not street legal and the stuntmen refused to drive them where they could be apprehended by police. Woronov did not know how to drive, so her car was towed behind a flatbed truck with her shot in close-up. The film has become a cult favorite, and is more well-regarded than Rollerball.
1985
- April 26 – Just One of the Guys (USA, Summa Entertainment Group)
- April 26 – Stick (USA, Universal Pictures)
Just One of the Guys is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The film’s working title was I Was a Teenage Boy. Lisa Gottlieb claims to have written six drafts of the screenplay with her partner Mitch Giannunzio, but were denied credit by the producers.
Stick was directed by and starred Burt Reynolds. Stuntman Dar Robinson used his invention, a decelerator, for his scene falling from a building so he could be filmed from above without an airbag in the shot. It was his only true acting credit before he died in an on-set accident in 1986 while making Million Dollar Mystery.
1995
New Line Cinema
- April 26 – Friday (USA, New Line Cinema)
- April 28 – A Pyromaniac’s Love Story (USA, Hollywood Pictures)
- April 28 – Captives (UK, British Broadcasting Corporation)
- April 28 – Crumb (USA, documentary, Superior Pictures)
- April 28 – Destiny Turns on the Radio (USA, Rysher Entertainment)
- April 28 – The Underneath (USA, Populist Pictures)
- April 28 – Top Dog (USA, Tanglewood Entertainment Group)
- April 28 – Village of the Damned (USA, Alphaville Films)
Captives was released in the US on May 3, 1996.
Music video director F. Gary Gray made his feature directorial debut on Friday. New Line Cinema agreed to finance the film if a seasoned comedian had one of the lead roles so Ice Cube and DJ Pooh, who created the film, cast Chris Tucker. The film is considered Tucker’s breakout role. The script was the third written by Ice Cube, but the first two were never developed. The duo considered self-financing the movie and shooting in black-and-white to save money before approaching New Line, which had some success with the House Party series. Ice Cube was also granted license to select the film’s director, settling on Gray with whom he had worked in the past. The film’s success spawned two sequels, with a third in development, and an animated series.
David Cross made his film debut in Destiny Turns on the Radio.
Steven Soderbergh co-wrote the screenplay for The Underneath under the pseudonym Sam Lowry. The film is based on the novel Criss Cross by Don Tracy, and is a remake of the original 1949 film.
Village of the Damned is a remake of the 1960 film of the same name, both of which are based on the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The 1995 version moves the setting from the UK to Northern California, near director John Carpenter’s hometown (also where he shot The Fog). This was the last feature film starring Christopher Reeve before the accident that paralyzed him in May 1995. The children in the film had their hair bleached, with a white hairspray applied to make them appear more alien-like.
2005
- April 28 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (UK/AUS, Everyman Pictures)
- April 29 – Things to Do Before You’re 30 (Spain, First Choice Films 2004)
- April 29 – XXX: State of the Union (USA, Original Film)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was released in the US and Canada on April 29, 2005. Things to Do Before You’re 30 was released in the UK on June 2, 2006 but has no known US theatrical release date.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was based on the novel of the same name by Douglas Adams. Adams co-wrote the screenplay but died in 2001 before production began. The film carries a dedication to him. Simon Jones, who appeared in the original TV miniseries as Arthur Dent, has a cameo as the Ghostly Image. Edgar Wright, Garth Jennings and Jason Schwartzman appear uncredited as Deep Thought technician, the voice of Frankie Mouse, and Gag Halfrunt, respectively. Adams had made a deal with Ivan Reitman in 1982 for a film adaptation with either Dan Aykroyd or Bill Murray in contention to play Ford Prefect. Aykroyd suggested a different story to Reitman which eventually became Ghostbusters, putting Hitchhiker’s in limbo. The project was sold in 1997 to Caravan Pictures, which became Spyglass Entertainment, with Disney to release the film under its Hollywood Pictures banner, but moved it to Touchstone Pictures. The project was dormant until 2001 when director Jay Roach struck a deal with Adams for a new script. Roach hoped to secure Spike Jonze to direct, with Hugh Laurie as Arthur Dent and Jim Carrey as Zaphod. Adams died on May 11, 2001, and Karey Kirkpatrick was hired to complete the screenplay. Jonze suggested Garth Jennings to direct, and Roach dropped out of the project. The studio wanted to include American actors to help broaden the film’s audience, but also tried to limit the influence of American culture on the film to retain the British audience. Adams had previously suggested Stephen Fry for the voice of the Guide, and stated that only Arthur Dent had to be English (Martin Freeman was cast).
XXX: State of the Union was released as XXX2: The Next Level and XXX: State of Emergency outside of North America. Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen had signed for a sequel before the first film opened, but both dropped out over scripting issues. Lee Tamahori took over directing following the success of Die Another Day, and Ice Cube replaced Diesel as a new Triple X agent. It was the last of the series to be released in the US by Columbia Pictures. Paramount Pictures released a third film, XXX: Return of Xander Cage, in 2017.
2015
Lakeshore Entertainment
- April 24 – Adult Beginners (USA, limited, Burn Later Productions)
- April 24 – Blackbird (USA, limited, RLJ Entertainment)
- April 24 – Brotherly Love (USA, Brotherly Love Prods FEJ)
- April 24 – Just Before I Go (USA/Canada, New Artists Alliance)
- April 24 – Little Boy (USA, Metanoia Films)
- April 24 – The Age of Adeline (USA, Lakeshore Entertainment)
- April 24 – The Falling (UK, Cannon and Morley Productions)
Adult Beginners was released to Digital simultaneously with the limited theatrical release. The Age of Adeline first opened in Belgium on April 8, 2015. The Falling was released in the US on August 7, 2015.
The original title for Adult Beginners was Brother’s Keeper. It was the third time real-life couple Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne appeared in a film together. Just Before I Go was originally titled Hello I Must Be Going.
The title Little Boy is a reference to the code name for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, as well as a reference to the main character’s height.
Katherine Heigl was originally case in the title role in The Age of Adeline on May 12, 2010. She withdrew from the project on November 15 with rumors suggesting the studio fired her. Both parties denied the claim, and it was later revealed she withdrew due to the recent adoption of her daughter. Natalie Portman was then offered the lead but declined. Blake Lively was cast on October 16, 2013. The films Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire served as inspiration for the period color tone and saturation.
Florence Pugh made her film debut in The Falling, which co-starred Maisie Williams.