Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #250 :: May 8•14

Spring Creek Productions

Many films made their debuts this week, with quite a few of note — good and bad. 1935 saw the release of the first feature film with a lycanthropic lead character, 1945 produced a follow-up to a classic ghost story, 1955 gave us a film from a man declared the worst director of all time, as well as a horror sequel with a surprising film debut, 1975 had a film that sort-of-became a very popular TV series four years later, 1995 produced a film with Denzel Washington trying to stop World War III, 2005 saw a big name actress return to the screen after more than a decade away, and a 2015 movie saw Arnold Schwarzenegger cast against type. Along the way there were some Oscar nominations and some Razzie nominations. Scroll down to see all the movies that premiered this week across the decades and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1925

May 8 – Double Action Daniels (USA, Action Pictures)
May 8 – Makers of Men (USA, Bud Barsky Corporation)
May 8 – Reckless Courage (USA, Action Pictures)
May 8 – The Crackerjack (C.C. Burr Productions)
May 10 – Chickie (USA, First National Pictures)
May 10 – Daughters Who Pay (USA, Banner Productions)
May 10 – Speed Wild (USA, Harry Garson Productions)
May 10 – The Burning Trail (USA, Universal Pictures)
May 11 – Eve’s Secret (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
May 11 – The Talker (USA, First National Pictures)

The Talker first opened in New York City on May 11, 1925 and expanded nationwide on May 24.

Lost films: Chickie

Status unknown: Double Action Daniels, Makers of Men, Reckless Courage, The Crackerjack, Speed Wild, The Burning Trail, The Talker

A print of Daughters Who Pay exists at George Eastman House. Bela Lugosi is featured in an early role. A 35mm print of Eve’s Secret is located at the Library of Congress.

1935

Universal Pictures

May 9 – The Informer (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
May 10 – Age of Indiscretion (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
May 10 – Once in a Blue Moon (USA, Hecht-MacArthur Productions)
May 11 – Dinky (Warner Bros. Pictures)
May 11 – The Silver Bullet (USA, Reliable Pictures Corporation)
May 11 – The Test (USA, Reliable Pictures Corporation)
May 13 – Werewolf of London (USA, Universal Pictures)

The Informer was based on the 1925 novel of the same title by Irish novelist Liam O’Flaherty, which had been previously adapted for a British film of the same title in 1929. The film received six Oscar nominations, winning four: Best Director (John Ford), Best Actor (Victor McLaglen), Best Screenplay and Best Score. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2018.

Once in a Blue Moon was Howard da Silva’s Hollywood debut. Critics at preview screenings called the film ‘an unmitigated disaster’ and Paramount came close to not releasing it. The release was delayed by two years, but it was hard to find as many exhibitors refused to book it. One Boston cinema forced to screen the film due to contractual obligations only advertised the movie as ‘The Worst Picture Ever Made’, which may have actually improved its box office returns.

Werewolf of London was the first feature-length werewolf film, pre-dating The Wolf Man by six years. As with the later film, Frankenstein makeup artist Jack Pierce created the werewolf makeup. The film was intended to star Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, but the film was shot simultaneously with Bride of Frankenstein, in which Karloff was reprising his role as The Monster so Universal recast both his and Lugosi’s roles. Interestingly, Valerie Hobson was the leading lady in both films. Lugosi was later cast in The Wolf Man as the gypsy werewolf who bites Lon Chaney Jr., a smaller but memorable role. Legend has it that Pierce had to do a minimal makeup for star Henry Hull because of the star’s vanity, as it obscured his face too much. Hull’s nephew Cortlandt Hull refuted this and stated the makeup obscured his face to the point it contradicted the script which said the other characters could clearly recognize Hull’s character. Hull even went to studio head Carl Laemmle about the matter, and he sided with Hull much to Pierce’s annoyance. Pierce was eventually able to incorporate some of his original makeup into his work with Lon Chaney Jr. on The Wolf Man. The werewolf’s howl for the film is a blend of Hull’s voice and a recording of an actual timber wolf, an approach that has not been used in any subsequent werewolf film. When Hull’s character is conversing with the Tibetan ‘coolies’ in the beginning of the film, the actors playing the Tibetans are speaking Cantonese, rather than Lhasa Tibetan, while Hull is just muttering gibberish. The film served as the inspiration for An American Werewolf in London.

1945

May 10 – Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion (USA, Columbia Pictures)
May 10 – The Brighton Strangler (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
May 10 – The Phantom Speaks (USA, Republic Pictures)
May 11 – Honeymoon Ahead (USA, Universal Pictures)
May 11 – The Scarlet Clue (USA, Monogram Pictures)
May 12 – The Unseen (USA, Paramount Pictures)

Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion is also known as Booked on Suspicion, and is the eighth of 14 ‘Boston Blackie’ movies from Columbia starring Chester Morris.

The Scarlet Clue is also known as Charlie Chan in the Scarlet Clue, and as Charlie Chan: The Scarlet Clue in Australia. This film has fallen into the public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints.

The Unseen was Paramount’s follow-up to The Uninvited, which was female lead Gail Russell’s third film. Raymond Chandler was one of the screenwriters. The film’s original title was Her Heart in Her Throat. The film was Oscar nominated for Best Sound Recording.

1955

May 8 – Make Me an Offer (UK, Group Three Films)
May 11 – Bride of the Monster (USA, Rolling M. Productions)
May 12 – Santa Fe Passage (USA, Republic Pictures)
May 13 – Revenge of the Creature (USA, Universal International Pictures)
May 14 – Run for Cover (USA, Pine-Thomas Productions)

Make Me an Offer was released in the US on February 28, 1956. Bride of the Monster opened in Hollywood on May 11, 1955, but was not distributed nationwide until February 1956.

Make Me an Offer was based on Wolf Mankowitz’s first novel of the same title, which was also autobiographical in nature. It featured Peter Finch in his first starring role in a British film. Diane Cilento was named as his co-star, but she was replaced by Rosalind Crutchley.

Bride of the Monster is said to have had director Ed Wood’s largest budget at $70,000. Production began in 1954, but was not completed until 1955 due to financial issues. The film’s original script was completed in 1953 as The Atomic Monster, but a lack of financing prevented it from being made. When Wood began production, the title was The Monster of the Marshes. When funding ran out during production, meat packing plant owner Donald McCoy supplied the funds needed, earning him a producer credit, on the condition that his son Tony became the film’s star, and that it ended with an atomic explosion. Actor George Becwar complained to the Screen Actors Guild that he was underpaid for his one day of work on the film, which caused another shutdown and forced Wood to raise more funds from backers, losing another piece of his ownership in the film. The film premiered in Hollywood on May 11, 1955 as Bride of the Atom. Samuel Z. Arkoff reportedly helped complete and release the film, from which he profited more than Wood, the earnings going toward the founding of Arkoff’s American International Pictures. Wood oversold shares in the film and ended up owning nothing for himself. This was the last speaking role Bela Lugosi had in a film, followed by silent roles in The Black Sleep and Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space, Lugosi’s final film. Tor Johnson’s Lobo character reappears in Wood’s Night of the Ghouls, burned but still alive, making the film a kind of sequel to Bride of the Monster. Wood fans also consider the film to be part of Wood’s ‘Kelton Trilogy” as it features Paul Marco as Officer Kelton, who also appears in Plan 9 and Night of the Ghouls.

Working titles for Revenge of the Creature were Return of the Creature and Return of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. It was the only 3D film released in 1955. Ricou Browning returned to play the Creature for the underwater scenes, and the film marks the debut of Clint Eastwood as an uncredited lab assistant. St. Johns River, the longest river in Florida, stood in for the Amazon. The film was featured on the first Sci-Fi Channel episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

1965

May 12 – Mister Moses (USA, Belmont Productions)
May 12 – The Girls on the Beach (USA, Levin Brothers)

Mister Moses first opened in France on March 31, 1965.

1975

Merchant Ivory Productions

May 8 – The Happy Hooker (USA, Cannon Films)
May 9 – The Wild Party (USA, Merchant Ivory Productions)
May 12 – End of the Game (USA, MFG-Film)
May 14 – Moonrunners (USA, Moonrunner Company)

The Wild Party was based on the 1926 narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March. The film was originally intended to be a musical, but once James Ivory and Ismail Merchant became involved, the film evolved into a drama with music. Fatty Arbuckle was the inspiration for the main character of an aging silent actor attempting a comeback and throwing a party to show off his new film. The film’s budget was about $200,000, but once Raquel Welch agreed to take the female lead the budget was increased. James Coco was the film’s star. Welch was apparently difficult to work with, allegedly firing the cameraman and Merchant, and wanting to fire co-star Perry King. She also wanted to fire director Ivory and have him replaced with her boyfriend Ron Talsky, forcing the Directors Guild to become involved, sending Welch threatening letters. The first test screening went badly, with an audience made up mostly of college students who liked the orgy and fight scenes, but hated King and the ‘serious’ Welch. A second screening with a mainly middle-class audience had the opposite reaction. With contradictory results, AIP produced two edits of the film with talk of releasing one edit in big cities and the other in smaller towns. The final re-edit softened Coco’s character, added discarded sex scenes, and introduced flashbacks and flashforwards. Producers approved the new cut, but Welch hated it. The film premiered in Washington DC, against the wishes of Ivory, who wanted a New York City premiere to build an audience, and then it went to Denver and Boston. Reviews were universally bad and the film didn’t play in New York until 1981.

Donald Sutherland appears in End of the Game as a corpse. Ennio Morricone’s original score was replaced for international versions of the film, which reused older Morricone music from other films. The original 106-minute version of the film has never been released to the home video market, just a 91-minute international version which was restored for a Blu-ray release in Germany.

The story of Moonrunners was reworked four years after its release into the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, which included several names, places and situations with little to no alteration. Waylon Jennings’ Balladeer is included in both the film and TV series, as is the Boar’s Nest tavern. The relationship of Bo and Luke Duke is also similar to the film’s characters Bobby Lee and Grady. The character of Uncle Jesse is also in both the film and series, while the Boss Hogg TV character is Bobby Lee Hagg in the film, and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltane also appeared in both productions. Daisy Duke is similar to the film’s Beth Ann character. Uncle Jesse’s mule in the film is named Beauregard, which became the name for Bo Duke in the series. Ben Jones appeared in the film as revenue agent Fred, and on the TV series as the Dukes’ best friend, Cooter Davenport.

1985

May 10 – Avenging Angel (West Germany, Avenging Venture)
May 10 – Rembetiko (USA, Greek Film Centre)
May 10 – Rustler’s Rhapsody (USA, Impala-Tesauro)

Avenging Angel first opened in the US on January 11, 1985. Rembetiko first opened in West Germany on October 5, 1984.

Avenging Angel is a sequel to 1984’s Angel, and was followed by two more sequels. Rory Calhoun, who starred in both films, claimed original star Donna Wilkes did not return as Betsy, aka Angel, because producers refused to pay the salary she requested. Wilkes was replaced with Betsy Russell.

Rembetiko is based on the life of rebetiko singer Marika Ninou, and has gained cult status in Greece.

Rustler’s Rhapsody was a passion project for director Hugh Wilson, who was able to make the film after the success of Police Academy. Wilson wanted Police Academy star George Gaynes to appear in the film, but he was unable to due to his commitment to TV series Punky Brewster. Patrick Wayne was hired mid-shoot to replace another actor whose performance producers were unhappy with. Marilu Henner earned a Razzie nomination as Worst Supporting Actress.

1995

May 12 – Crimson Tide (USA, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films)
May 12 – Gordy (USA, Robson Entertainment)
May 12 – The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain (USA, Parallax Pictures)
May 12 – The Perez Family (USA, The Samuel Goldwyn Company)

The US Navy allowed studio executives, Crimson Tide director Tony Scott, and producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to embark on the Trident submarine USS Florida from Bangor, Washington. They were allowed to film the sub’s Executive Officer performing many of the same actions Denzel Washington performed in the film. The film’s original story concerned the ships’ crew attempting to stop the computer from launching missiles and starting World War III, and the Navy wanted the Florida crew to prove no computer on a Trident sub had the capability to launch any missiles. After walking through missile launch redundancy procedures, writers Michael Schiffer and Richard Henrick revised the storyline which concerned the Executive Officer leading a mutiny against the commanding officer to prevent a missile launch. Quentin Tarantino provided uncredited writing, adding much of the pop-culture referenced dialogue. Tarantino and Washington had an on-set feud about supposed racist dialogue added to the script, with Washington apologizing a few years later. The Navy later objected to the mutiny aspect of the story and did not provide assistance during production. Because of this, Scott was unable to secure permission to film a submarine submerging, but later learned that it was not illegal to film a sub submerging so the crew followed the USS Alabama in a boat and helicopter as it left Pearl Harbor, filming as they went, finally getting the needed footage when she submerged. The film earned three Oscar nominations for Editing, Sound and Sound Editing.

The original Gordy script was titled Waldo, and was written by TV comedy writers Jay Sommers and Dick Chevillat, with Arnold the Pig from Green Acres in mind for the role, but it remained unproduced for several years. The script was acquired by Robson Entertainment in 1993, and re-written by Leslie Stevens with the new title Gordy.

The script for The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain contains a joke not obvious to non-Welsh speaking viewers. When a mechanic is asked what a part he’s removed from a car is called, he replies he doesn’t know the English name but in Welsh it’s called a ‘be’chi’ngalw’. This is similar to the English words ‘whatchamacallit’ or ‘thingamajig’, a placeholder name for something you can’t think of the name. The literal translation is ‘what [do] you call?’. The joke was made obvious in the novelization of the screenplay published after the film’s release.

2005

May 13 – A Good Woman (UK, Meltemi Entertainment)
May 13 – Kicking & Screaming (USA, Mosaic)
May 13 – Mindhunters (USA/Canada, Outlaw Productions)
May 13 – Monster-in-Law (USA/Canada/UK, Spring Creek Productions)
May 13 – Unleashed (Rogue Pictures/EuropaCorp)

A Good Woman received a limited US release beginning on February 3, 2006. Mindhunters first opened in Thailand on May 7, 2004. Unleashed first opened in France on February 2, 2005 as Danny the Dog.

A Good Woman is based on the 1892 play Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde. It is the fourth screen version of the work, following a 1916 silent film using Wilde’s original title, Ernst Lubitsch’s 1925 version, and Otto Preminger’s 1949 adaptation entitled The Fan. Twenty-two people from Spain, Italy, the US, the US and Luxembourg are credited as producers.

Will Ferrell received a Golden Raspberry Award nominations for Worst Actor for both 2005 films Kicking & Screaming and Bewitched.

The US and Canada were the last territories to release Mindhunters because of its distribution deal switching from 20th Century Fox to Dimension Films. The screenplay’s original title was Unsub (for Unknown Subject), but Fox execs preferred Mindhunters and changed it. Renny Harlin exited directorial duties on A Sound of Thunder to make the film. Gerard Butler was to star but dropped out for Timeline. Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and Gary Busey all rejected the role of Jake Harris before Val Kilmer agreed to the part. During editing, Harlin toned down some of the film’s violence to get a PG-13 rating, but the MPAA determined it was still too dark and issued an R, leading Harlin to re-insert the cut footage.

Monster-in-Law was Jane Fonda’s first film in 15 years. Critics praised Fonda’s performance but were more critical of the script and the performance of Jennifer Lopez. Lopez earned a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress. A TV series adaptation was reportedly in development in 2014 for the FOX network, but it never came to fruition.

2015

Gold Star Films

May 8 – Hot Pursuit (USA/Canada, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/New Line Cinema)
May 8 – Infini (USA, limited, Storm Vision Entertainment)
May 8 – Maggie (USA/Canada, limited, Gold Star Films)
May 8 – Spooks: The Greater Good (UK, Shine Pictures)
May 8 – The D Train (USA, Ealing Studios)
May 14 – A Royal Night Out (UK, HanWay Films)
May 14 – Tale of Tales (Italy, Archimede)

Maggie was released theatrically and digitally in the US on May 8, 2015. Spooks: The Greater Good received a limited release in the US and Canada starting on December 4, 2015 under the title MI-5. A Royal Night Out was released in the US and Canada on December 4, 2015. Tale of Tales was released theatrically and to digital in the US on April 22, 2016.

Hot Pursuit was originally titled Don’t Mess with Texas, although the film was shot in New Orleans.

Maggie was the directorial debut of Henry Hobson. Chloë Grace Moretz was initially attached to the project but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, replaced with Abigail Breslin. Hobson produced more than 200 pages of storyboards to guide his actors throughout the film.

Spooks: The Greater Good is a continuation of the 2002-2011 British television spy series Spooks. Peter Firth, who appeared in all ten series of the show, reprises his role as Harry Pearce.

The D Train is also known as Bad Bromance. The film was written by Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel, who also made their directorial debuts.

Tale of Tales is based on a collection of fairy tales by Italian poet Giambattista Basile, titled Pentamerone. It is the only English-language film directed by Matteo Garrone.