Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #251 :: May 15•21

Lucasfilm

Heading into the third week of May, the early part of the century saw the release of many films but only a few are noteworthy, including an atypical Shirley Temple film in 1935, a major 1955 MGM musical hampered by a tight budget, and the 1975 return of a long dormant French inspector character. Hollywood began to refer to May as the start of the Summer season later in the century with several blockbusters making their debuts including a 1995 action ‘threequel’, a 2005 sci-fi sequel/prequel, and a record Oscar-winning action film that revived a character not seen since 1985. Scroll down to see all the films released this week across the decades, learn a little more about some of them, and tell us if your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1925

  • May 16 – My Wife and I (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
  • May 17 – The Bandit’s Baby (USA, Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation)
  • May 17 – The Necessary Evil (USA, First National Pictures)
  • May 17 – Welcome Home (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
  • May 19 – The Snob Buster (USA, Harry J. Brown Productions)
  • May 21 – My Neighbor’s Wife (USA, Clifford S. Elfelt Productions)

Lost films: The Necessary Evil

Unknown status: My Wife and I, The Bandit’s Baby, The Snob Buster

A print of Welcome Home is preserved in the Library of Congress collection. My Neighbor’s Wife is preserved at Cinematheque Quebecoise, Montreal.

1935

  • May 15 – Motive for Revenge (USA, Larry Darmour Productions)
  • May 15 – Rescue Squad (USA, Empire Pictures)
  • May 15 – The Headline Woman (USA, Mascot Pictures)
  • May 15 – The Hoosier Schoolmaster (USA, Paul Malvern Productions)
  • May 15 – The Texas Rambler (USA, Ray Kirkwood Productions)
  • May 16 – Drake of England (London, British International Pictures)
  • May 17 – Let ‘Em Have It (USA, Edward Small Productions)
  • May 17 – Our Little Girl (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
  • May 17 – The Flame Within (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
  • May 18 – Black Fury (USA, First National Pictures)
  • May 18 – The Awakening of Jim Burke (USA, Columbia Pictures)
  • May 20 – The Girl in the Crowd (UK, Warner Brothers-First National Productions)
  • May 21 – Fighting Pioneers (USA, Resolute Pictures Corp.)

Drake of England entered general release in the UK on October 28, 1935, and was released in the US as Drake the Pirate on April 1, 1936. The Girl in the Crowd has no known US theatrical release date.

The Headline Woman was known as The Woman in the Case in the UK. The film was distributed by the newly formed Republic Pictures. The Hoosier Schoolmaster was adapted from the 1871 novel of the same name by Edward Eggleston, which had previously been made into two silent films. Let ‘Em Have It was released in the UK as False Faces, and in Australia as The Legion of Valour.

Our Little Girl was the final film of veteran director John S. Robertson. The film included no dancing and only one song, and was overshadowed by two previous Shirley Temple films, Bright Eyes and The Little Colonel, and the two following Temple films, Curly Top and The Littlest Rebel. It was also the rare film, with The Blue Bird, in which Temple did not play an orphan, which she did in the thirteen films following The Blue Bird.

The Girl in the Crowd has been declared ‘Missing, Believed Lost’ by the British Film Institute.

1945

  • May 15 – In Old New Mexico (USA, Monogram Pictures)
  • May 15 – Stranger from Santa Fe (USA, Monogram Pictures)
  • May 16 – The Lady Confesses (USA, Alexander-Stern Productions)
  • May 17 – Both Barrels Blazing (USA, Columbia Pictures)
  • May 18 – Swing Out, Sister (USA, Universal Pictures)
  • May 20 – Lone Texas Ranger (USA, Republic Pictures)
  • May 21 – The Vampire’s Ghost (USA, Republic Pictures)

In Old New Mexico was the second of three ‘Cisco Kid’ films made in 1945 with Duncan Renaldo as the Cisco Kid and Martin Garralaga as Pancho. Cisco’s real name in the film is Juan Carlos Francisco Antonio, although it is given as Juan Francisco Hernandez in the other two films.

Stranger from Santa Fe is the sixteenth film in the ‘Marshal Nevade Jack McKenzie’ series. Both Barrels Blazing was the third of 65 films in the ‘Durango Kid’ series.

The English pop duo Swing Out Sister took its name from the film Swing Out, Sister. Lone Texas Ranger was the eighth of 23 ‘Red Ryder’ films. The Vampire’s Ghost was an early screen credit for science fiction writer Leigh Brackett, who would contribute to the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back.

1955

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

  • May 15 – Brigadoon (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
  • May 15 – Las Vegas Shakedown (USA, William F. Broidy Productions)
  • May 15 – Outlaw Treasure (The Wheeler Company)
  • May 19 – I Cover the Underworld (USA, Republic Pictures)
  • May 20 – The Far Horizons (USA, Pine-Thomas Productions)
  • May 20 – The Marauders (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Brigadoon is based on the 1947 Broadway musical of the same name by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson were cast before a script was written. Cyd Charisse replaced Grayson. Judy Garland had been attached at one point. The film was planned to be shot on location in Scotland, but the locale’s unpredictable weather made that impossible due to the studio’s tight budget. Locations in Monterey, California were selected to stand in for the Scottish highlands, but the studio nixed that too and the entire film was shot on the MGM sound stages. The film earned three Oscar nominations — Best Art Direction-Set Decoration: Color, Best Costume Design: Color, Best Sound Recording — and won the Golden Globe for Color Cinematography.

Outlaw Treasure was one of the first movies released by American Releasing Corporation, which later became American International Pictures.

The Far Horizons is, to date, the only dramatic theatrical feature film to depict the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Many details are fictional and historically inaccurate. It was re-released in 1962 on a double bill with Jungle Attack. The film’s working title was The Blue Horizon.

1965

  • No new films were released this week in 1965.

1975

ITC Films

  • May 16 – Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (USA, Paramount Pictures)
  • May 20 – The Fortune (USA, A Mike Nichols Production)
  • May 21 – Cornbread, Earl and Me (USA, American International Picture)
  • May 21 – French Connection II (USA, Twentieth Century Fox)
  • May 21 – The Eiger Sanction (USA, The Malpaso Company)
  • May 21 – The Return of the Pink Panther (USA, ITC Films)
  • May 21 – The Wild McCullochs (USA, Max Baer Productions)
  • May 21 – W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (USA, Twentieth Century Fox)

The Fortune was written by Carole Eastman under the pseudonym Adrien Joyce. It features Stockard Channing in her first major starring role. In order to drum up interest in the screenplay for Shampoo, Warren Beatty bundled Robert Towne’s script with the script for The Fortune and convinced Columbia Pictures to make them both. Eastman and director Mike Nichols began to clash as he began to remove the satire and replace it with slapstick, resulting in Eastman’s firing from the production. Nichols wanted Bette Midler for the female lead, but she unknowingly insulted him by asking what films he’d previously made so Channing was cast following a few TV roles and a small part in Up the Sandbox. The apartment building in the movie was a leftover set from The Day of the Locusts. Channing was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress.

Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey were the only cast members to return for French Connection II.

The Eiger Sanction was filmed on location on the Eiger mountain and Zürich in Switzerland, in Monument Valley and Zion National Park in the American Southwest, and in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey in California. Clint Eastwood did his own climbing and stunt work. British climber David Knowles died on the Eiger during production. Eastwood nearly cancelled the production following Knowles’ death, but the other climbers involved said he knew the risks and did not want his death to be meaningless.

The Return of the Pink Panther is the fourth film in the series with Peter Sellers returning as Inspector Clouseau since 1964’s A Shot in the Dark (Sellers had declined to appear in 1968’s Inspector Clouseau). Also returning were Herbert Lom, André Maranne and Burt Kwouk, who all became regulars in the following films. Christopher Plummer took over the role of Sir Charles Litton as David Niven, who played the role in The Pink Panther (1963), was unavailable. The film was a hit, earning $75 million worldwide on a $5 million budget, reviving the previously dormant series, as well as Sellers’ and Blake Edwards’ careers. The success was all the more sweet as the original films’ distributor, United Artists, had no interest in working with either Sellers or director Edwards, whose careers had declined by that point. Lew Grade agreed to finance two films for Edwards in exchange for Edwards’ wife Julie Andrews appearing in a TV special for Grade. The first film was The Tamarind Seed, but Grade didn’t like Edwards’ pitch for a second film to be titled Rachel and the Stranger and offered to buy out of his commitment. Edwards desperately wanted to make a film to restore his reputation in Hollywood, so Grade suggested a new ‘Pink Panther’ film. Edwards agreed but only if Sellers was involved. Grade managed to talk Sellers into it and the project moved forward. UA gave the rights to the film to Grade in exchange for worldwide distribution and a share of the profits, though UA still refused to co-finance the film, believing it would be a flop. DePatie-Freleng was unable to do the opening title animation as it had done for the previous films due to its workload producing Pink Panther shorts and other television projects, so Richard Williams handled the animation. Williams would go on to become the animation director for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The Wild McCullochs was written and directed by Max Baer Jr. in his directorial debut. He also has a role in the film. At the time, Baer was best known for his role as Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies, which had ended in 1971.

W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings features the acting debut of country singer Jerry Reed, who also formed a friendship with star Burt Reynolds, appearing in several of Reynolds’ following films. Reynolds approved of director John Avildsen on the recommendation of Jack Lemmon, who had worked with him on Save the Tiger. Sylvester Stallone auditioned for a supporting role, but was not cast. However, he starred in Avildsen’s next film, Rocky. Reynolds wanted country singer Lynn Anderson as the female lead but she declined. He also offered it to Dolly Parton, who also declined but the two would work together on The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). Reynolds and Avildsen did not get along professionally or personally leading to clashes during production. The 1955 ‘Golden Anniversary’ Oldsmobile Rocket 88, which was central to the film, was a complete fabrication. There was no such special model and 1955 was not the 50th anniversary of Oldsmobile. The film’s novelization was what spurred Quentin Tarantino to begin writing. He loved the novel, but was appalled by what ended up on screen (as was the screenwriter Thomas Rickman, who wrote the novel to show was his story was supposed to have been), so he began writing screenplays because he was so outraged by the film which he called ‘Hollywood garbage’. Reynolds was also not pleased with the final product.

1985

  • May 17 – Goodbye, New York (USA, Kole-Hill Productions)
  • May 17 – Ordeal by Innocence (USA, Golan-Globus Productions)
  • May 17 – Return to Waterloo (USA, Waterloo Films)

Ordeal by Innocence first opened in Japan on December 12, 1984. Return to Waterloo premiered on television in the UK on November 2, 1984.

Goodbye, New York was the directorial debut of Amos Kollek, who also wrote and produced the film, and co-stars with Julie Hagerty.

Ordeal by Innocence is based on the 1958 Agatha Christie novel of the same name. Pino Donaggio had composed the film’s score but was unable to complete the job when various film edits required re-scoring due to his schedule, so the job was turned over to jazz musician Dave Brubeck, who had two weeks to complete the task. Brubeck relied on re-recordings of his own previous compositions, but the resulting music was totally at odds with the visuals and mood of the mystery film.

Return to Waterloo cinematographer Roger Deakins went on to great acclaim in the British and American film industries working with filmmakers such as the Coen brothers and Sam Mendes. The film’s soundtrack was provided by members of The Kinks, who released an album of the same title in connection with the film, but guitarist Dave Davies refused to participate so the album is credited solely to Ray Davies.

1995

  • May 17 – La Cité des enfants perdus (France, Constellation)
  • May 19 – A Little Princess (USA, Mark Johnson Productions)
  • May 19 – Die Hard with a Vengeance (USA, Cinergi Pictures Entertainment)
  • May 19 – Forget Paris (USA, Castle Rock Entertainment)
  • May 19 – Little Odessa (USA, Fine Line Features)
  • May 19 – The Passion of Darkly Noon (USA/Canada, Alain Keytsman Production)

La Cité des enfants perdus was released in the US as The City of Lost Children on December 15, 1995. Little Odessa first opened in Italy on October 28, 1994.

The City of Lost Children, directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is stylistically related to their previous film Delicatessen (1991) and subsequent film Amélie (2001). The score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti, and the costumes were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier.

A Little Princess received two Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

The premise of Die Hard with a Vengeance was repurposed from a different stand-alone project. Many script ideas were submitted, including one in which Bruce Willis’ John McClane fought terrorists on a Caribbean cruise ship, but Willis rejected it for being to similar to Under Siege. That screenplay ultimately became Speed 2: Cruise Control. The script that was used was for a film titled Simon Says, which was intended as a vehicle for Brandon Lee but was cancelled after Lee’s untimely death on the set of The Crow. Warner Bros. bought the script and had it rewritten as a Lethal Weapon sequel, but later put the project into turnaround, allowing 20th Century Fox to purchase it and rewrite it as a Die Hard sequel. Original producers Joel Silver and Larry Gordon had a falling out with Willis and were replaced with Andy Vanja, with his company Cinergi acquiring foreign rights to the film. Laurence Fishburne was offered the co-lead role of Zeus Carver, but wanted a higher fee than offered. Fishburne had turned down the role of Jules in Pulp Fiction because his agent said it would relegate him to supporting roles for the rest of his career. Vanja held out on a deal but while attending Cannes to support Willis, who was also appearing in Pulp Fiction, Vanja was so impressed with Samuel L. Jackson’s performance that he offered the Zeus role to him, sparking a lawsuit from Fishburne claiming Vanja had reneged on a verbal agreement. The matter was settled with Fishburne receiving $750,000 and a guarantee that Cinergi would option a screenplay he’d written.

Little Odessa was the directorial debut of James Gray, who also wrote the screenplay. The title is a reference to Brighton Beach, a community in Brooklyn nicknamed ‘Little Odessa’.

2005

  • May 19 – Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (USA/Canada, Lucasfilm)
  • May 20 – Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (USA, limited, Morgan Creek Entertainment)

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is the sixth film in the Star Wars series, the third of the prequel trilogy. It was the last of the series to be distributed directly by 20th Century Fox following the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney (who would then purchase Fox several years later). Director George Lucas has a cameo in the film, as do his children Jett, Amanda and Katie. The film’s climax was based on events in the novelization of Return of the Jedi, in which Obi-Wan recounts his battle with Vader that ended with the latter falling ‘into a molten pit’. The film’s title was a reference to the original title for Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Jedi, which Lucas changed weeks before the film’s release citing a true Jedi never seeks revenge. Lucas also wanted to tie the film to the original trilogy including the appearance of a ten-year-old Han Solo, a role that was never cast or filmed. A scene with the ghostly Qui-Gon Jinn was included in the early draft of the script, and Liam Neeson hinted his return to the role, but it was also dropped before filming began. Lucas also changed Anakin’s fall to the dark side after principal photography ended, through re-editing and pick-up shots filmed in 2004. Anakin originally turned to the dark side because he believed the Jedi were plotting to take over the Republic, but in the final film he turns to save Padmé from death. The art department referenced the notorious Star Wars Holiday Special for the environment of the planet Kashyyyk, the home of the Wookies. Steven Spielberg was a ‘guest director’ for the film’s climax. The final scene of the film was the first to be shot. Filming was also taking place in Italy at the same time Mount Etna erupted, giving the crew a chance to shoot various angles of lava flow that were used in the film version of the planet Mustafar. For key scenes, Lucas would use two digital HD cameras to shoot from different angles, allowing the footage to be edited the same day it was shot, a process that would have taken 24 hours if it had been shot on film. Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor rehearsed their lightsaber duel long before it was filmed, and performed the duel without stunt doubles. The speed of the duel is seen mostly as it was shot, although in some instances frames of film were removed to make it look faster. Revenge of the Sith was the first Star Wars film in which Anakin Skywalker and the suited Darth Vader were played by the same actor in the same film. A tall actor was initially considered to be in the Vader costume, but Christensen begged Lucas to let him do it, having the costume altered to fit him, with shoe lifts and a muscle suit added. Christensen had to look through the helmet’s mouthpiece to see. Just hours after the film opened, a leaked workprint was shared on peer-to-peer networks leading to eight people, including an employee of a post-production office who pleaded guilty, being charged with copyright infringement and distributing material illegally. The film was the first Star Wars film to receive a PG-13 rating, the previous films were rated PG, mainly for the scene in which Darth Vader is set on fire by lava. It’s also the first of the Star Wars films to not receive a VHS release in the US, although it was in the UK, Australia and other countries. At the time, it was the only one of the six Star Wars film not nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar, although it was nominated for Best Makeup. Of the three prequels, it received the least Golden Raspberry Awards nomination with just one for Christensen as Worst Supporting Actor (which he won). The previous prequels received seven Razzie nominations each, including Worst Picture.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist was intended to be the official prequel to The Exorcist, but was retooled into Exorcist: The Beginning, which was a critical and financial flop. The original version received a limited release, and was deemed an improvement on the earlier version. John Frankenheimer was slated to direct but had to withdraw due to declining health, replaced with Paul Schrader. Schrader’s early 130 minute cut of the film was derided for a lack of scares and gore. Schrader opposed a re-edit, and additional photography was planned. Schrader attested that he faithfully adapted Caleb Carr’s screenplay, and the studio had ‘buyer’s remorse’. The studio did recut the film without Schrader’s involvement and had considered hiring a new director for reshoots to make it scarier. Instead, Schrader was fired and the film was scrapped in August 2003. Renny Harlin was hired to do a rewrite, recast and add more action. Stellan Skarsgård and Julian Wadham were the only two actors held over from Schrader’s film. Schrader saw the new film on opening weekend on August 20, 2004, and felt it was so bad he could get his version resurrected. Morgan Creek gave Schrader $35,000 to complete his version, which was not enough to record ADR, bring back cinematographer Vittorio Storaro for color timing (Schrader and editor Tom Silano had to approximate it themselves), or commission an original score. The score that was included was cobbled together from fourteen minutes of music, including a central theme, composed by an unpaid Angelo Badalamenti, recycled segments of Trevor Rabin’s score from Harlin’s version, and the final twenty minutes scored by metal band Dog Fashion Disco, a favorite of Schrader’s son. The band also tweaked the other music as a whole to make it more unified. A private screening in March 2005 had the film titled Paul Schrader’s Exorcist: The Original Prequel, but by April it was titled Dominion. Critical reaction was mixed, but The Exorcist author William Peter Blatty felt it was classy and elegant.

2015

Kennedy Miller Mitchell

  • May 15 – Animals (USA, Animals the Film LLC)
  • May 15 – Every Secret Thing (USA, limited, Hyde Park Entertainment)
  • May 15 – I’ll See You in My Dreams (USA, limited, Two Flints)
  • May 15 – Mad Max: Fury Road (USA/Canada, Kennedy Miller Mitchell)
  • May 15 – Pitch Perfect 2 (USA, Brownstone Productions)
  • May 15 – Time Lapse (USA, Royal Pictures)
  • May 15 – Where Hope Grows (USA, Godspeed Pictures)

Mad Max: Fury Road first opened in Belgium on May 13, 2015. Pitch Perfect 2 first opened in Australia and New Zealand on May 7, 2015. Time Lapse first premiered on DVD in Japan on December 3, 2014.

Animals was written by and stars David Dastmalchian. Every Secret Thing was actress Frances McDormand’s debut as a producer.

George Miller first came up with the idea for Mad Max: Fury Road in 1987, but the project lingered in ‘development hell’ for several years. Attempts to make the film in the early 2000s were delayed due to the September 11 attacks, the Iraq War, and controversies surrounding original Mad Max star Mel Gibson, which led Miller to recast the role with Tom Hardy in 2010 (by then Gibson was too old for the part). Production was delayed again, once due to heavy rains in the desert area around Broken Hill in New South Wales which caused wildflowers to sprout up, finally starting in July 2012, relocated to Namibia. 150 vehicles were constructed for the film, 88 of which survived to the end. Cinematographer John Seale came out of retirement to replace Dean Semler, cinematographer on the previous two Mad Max films, who left the project near the end of its preproduction process. It was the first project Seale filmed with digital cameras. A number of consumer grade Canon cameras were used for action sequences, so when one would break production could simply buy a new one from a local airport store. Because of the fast-paced editing, Miller asked Seale to keep the point of interest of each shot centered so the audience didn’t have to search for it. Production had gone over budget and producers forced the film to wrap before any scenes at the Citadel had been shot. A change in leadership at Warner Bros. allowed production to continue with the filming of the missing scenes. Miller has stated that about 90% of the film’s effects were created practically, although there are about 2,000 visual effects which included altering lighting and time of day, weather effects and terrain replacement. Hardy said he had a hard time understanding Miller’s vision for the film, was often late to the set, and clashed with co-star Charlize Theron. After seeing the film, Hardy got it and apologized publicly to Miller. Miller’s finished footage ran about 480 hours, which took his wife and editor Margaret Sixel three months to watch. There are about 2,700 cuts in 120 minutes, equalling 22.5 cuts per minute. Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) contained 1,200 cuts in 90 minutes, or 13.33 cuts per minute. Some of the footage was slowed down from traditional 24fps if Miller could not follow the action. If it was too understood, he’d shorten it and speed it back up to 24fps. The mechanical truck sound of the War Rig was combined with whale calls to give it a more animal-like quality, and when the tanker is pierced, sounds of whales breathing through their blow holes was incorporated. Slowed down bear growls were used as the sounds of the Rig’s destruction. Warner Bros. required Miller to provide a PG-13 cut of the film, but test screened that version and Miller’s R-rated version, which tested better than the studio’s so it was released with the R-rating. Miller planned to shoot in native 3D, but due to the harsh conditions of the locations he felt the cameras would not be able to hold up so the film was post-converted to 3D prior to its release. The film received ten Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, winning six — the most of any film that year, and the most ever for an Australian film — for Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing. It also received seven BAFTA nominations, winning four, and two Golden Globe nominations.

Pitch Perfect 2 was the feature directorial debut of Elizabeth Banks, who received a Razzie Redeemer Award nomination for her work on the film. The film’s grosses surpassed those of the original in five days, and it became the highest grossing music comedy of all time, overtaking School of Rock. The cast was put through a month of ‘a cappella boot camp’ prior to filming.

Time Lapse was the directorial debut of Bradley D. King. The film has several elements in common with The Twlight Zone episode ‘A Most Unusual Camera’, and also draws inspiration from Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave. Where Hope Grows marked the film debut of actor David DeSanctis.

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