Walt Disney Pictures
As we emerge from the doldrums of January, the film premieres this week are a mixed bag but there are more positives among this group than we’ve see so far at the beginning of the year. This week marks the release of the film that made Humphrey Bogart a star and then ten years later he made his last film for Warner Bros., George Sanders ended his run as The Saint, an Italian classic made history at the Berlin Film Festival, Jennifer Lopez set a record that’s still unbroken, and Disney fans were seeing spots. Let’s take a stroll down the red carpet and see the films that were released this week over the last 100 years.
1921
- No new films were released this week in 1921.
1931
- No new films were released this week in 1931.
1941
January 21 – High Sierra
- Cast: Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis, Arthur Kennedy, Joan Leslie, Henry Hull, Henry Travers, Jerome Cowan, Minna Gombell, Barton MacLane, Elisabeth Risdon, Cornel Wilde, Donald MacBride, Paul Harvey, Isabel Jewell, Willie Best, Spencer Charters, George Meeker, Robert Strange, John Eldredge, Sam Hayes, Zero, Eddie Acuff
- Director: Raoul Walsh
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1940 novel by W.R. Burnett, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Huston. This film transformed Bogart from supporting player to leading man. George Raft was originally intended for the lead but Bogart talked him out of taking it. Director Walsh tried to talk Raft into taking the role, but he turned it down, not wanting to die at the end. Bogart then had to talk Walsh into giving him the lead instead of a supporting role.
January 24 – Life With Henry
- Cast: Jackie Cooper, Leila Ernst, Eddie Bracken, Fred Niblo, Hedda Hopper, Kay Stewart, Moroni Olsen, Rod Cameron, Pierre Watkin, Lucien Littlefield, Frank M. Thomas, Etta McDaniel, Adrian Morris
- Director: Theodore Reed
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
January 24 – The Saint in Palm Springs
- Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale, Paul Guilfoyle, Linda Hayes, Harry Shannon, Ferris Taylor
- Director: Jack Hively
- Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: This was the sixth of RKO’s eight films featuring The Saint. The screenplay was based on a story by The Saint creator Leslie Charteris, but was changed significantly from the original concept. Charteris later adapted the screenplay as the novella ‘Palm Springs’ which was included in the 1942 collection The Saint Goes West. This was George Sanders’ final appearance in the role of Simon Templar. This was also Jonathan Hale’s final appearance in the role of Inspector Farnack. Paul Guilfoyle returns to reprise his role of Clarence “Pearly” Gates from the previous film. Wendy Barrie makes her third and final appearance in the series, again playing a different character.
1951
January 25 – The Enforcer
- Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Zero Mostel, Ted de Corsia, Everett Sloane, Roy Roberts, Michael Tolan, King Donovan, Bob Steele, Adelaide Klein, Don Beddoe, Tito Vuolo, John Kellogg, Jack Lambert
- Director: Bretaigne Windust
- Studio: United States Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film is known as Murder, Inc. in the UK. The film went into wide release in the US on February 24, 1951. An uncredited Raoul Walsh directed most of the film’s suspenseful moments including the ending as Windust fell seriously ill at the beginning of production. Walsh refused to accept credit. This was Bogart’s last film for Warner Brothers. United States Pictures is now owned by Republic Pictures which is now a division of Paramount Pictures.
1961
January 24 – His and Hers
- Cast: Terry-Thomas, Janette Scott, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Nicole Maurey, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Meier Tzelniker, Joan Hickson, Oliver Reed, Francesca Annis, Dorinda Stevens, Kenneth Williams, Barbara Hicks, Billy Lambert, Colin Gordon, Marie Devereux
- Director: Brian Desmond Hurst
- Studio: Sabre Film Production, distributed by Eros Films (UK)
January 24 – La Notte
- Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, Monica Vitti, Bernhard Wicki, Maria Pia Luzi, Rosy Mazzacurati, Guido A. Marsan, Vincenzo Corbella, Ugo Fortunati, Gitt Magrini, Giorgio Negro, Roberta Speroni as Beatrice
- Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
- Studio: Nepi Film, Sofitedip, Silver Film, distributed by Dino de Laurentiis Distribuzione, United Artists, Lopert Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: Actor Giorgio Negro is actually Gaetano ‘Tanino’ Negroni, a well known Roman eye surgeon. Umberto Eco appears in a cameo role. The film received the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, a first for an Italian film. La Notte is considered the central film of a trilogy beginning with L’Avventura (1960) and ending with L’Eclisse (1962).
January 25 – One Hundred and One Dalmatians
- Voice Cast: Rod Taylor, Cate Bauer, Betty Lou Gerson, Ben Wright, Lisa Davis, Martha Wentworth, Frederick Worlock, Horace Baddun, J. Pat O’Malley, Thurl Ravenscroft, David Frankham, Mimi Gibson, Barbara Beaird, Mickey Maga, Sandra Abbott, Tudor Owen, George Pelling, Junius Matthews, Queenie Leonard, Marjorie Bennett, Barbara Luddy, Rickie Sorensen, Tom Conway, Ramsay Hill, Paul Wexler, Basil Ruysdael, Paul Frees, Lucille Bliss
- Director: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman
- Studio: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
- Trivia: Based on the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, who had always hoped Disney would turn her novel into a film. This was Disney’s 17th animated feature film. The film was a box office success and helped Disney recover from the financial slump caused by Sleeping Beauty, released two years earlier. This was the first Disney animated feature to have a story written by a single person, Bill Peet, who never learned to use a typewriter so the initial draft was written by hand on yellow tablets. Peet completed the screenplay in two months, Disney said it was ‘great stuff’ and Peet began the storyboarding and voice recording process. When Peet sent Smith some drawings of the characters, she replied that he’d improved her story and the illustrations were even better than the ones in her book. After the financial disappointment of Sleeping Beauty, Disney nearly shut down the animation division saying it was too expensive. Dalmatians used new methods of animation that reduced costs significantly, using Xerox photography to aid in animation which eliminated the inking process. The process helped with the spots on the dogs which did not have to be hand animated, cutting the film’s production costs in half. Helene Stanley performed the live action reference for the character of Anita (as she did for Cinderella and Princess Aurora). Mary Wickes performed the live action reference for Cruella De Vil. Animator Marc Davis stated Cruella was based on Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell and Tallulah Bankhead. Lisa Davis was originally cast as the voice of Cruella, but Disney didn’t think she was right for the part so she asked to read for the role of Anita. Disney agreed she was right for that part after a second reading. Betty Lou Gerson used a ‘phony theatrical voice’ with a fake British accent and was thought to be imitating Tallulah Bankhead. Gerson disputed this saying they were both from Alabama, had phony English accents and a great deal of flair, so that’s how their voices came out. Gerson recorded her roles (she also voiced Mrs. Birdwell) in fourteen days. Unlike previous Disney films which employed a team, the music and lyrics for Dalmatians were written by one person, Mel Leven. Leven composed three different versions of ‘Cruella De Vil’. The final version used in the film was composed in 45 minutes. The film received theatrical re-releases in 1969, 1979, 1985 and 1991. The 1991 re-issue was the 20th highest grossing film of the year. The film has spawned a direct-to-video animated sequel, two live action films, and two animated TV series. A live action Cruella De Vil origin story film is due to be released on May 28, 2021, after being delayed from its December 23, 2020 date due to the pandemic.
January 26 – The Mark
- Cast: Stuart Whitman, Rod Steiger, Maria Schell, Brenda de Banzie, Donald Houston, Donald Wolfit, Paul Rogers, Maurice Denham
- Director: Guy Green
- Studio: 20th Century Fox (US), Continental Distributing (UK)
- Trivia: Adapted from the novel by Charles E. Israel. The film competed for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. Each of the three main roles were played by actors not originally cast in the roles. Whitman was a last minute replacement for Richard Burton, Schell replaced Jean Simmons, and Steiger replaced Trevor Howard.
1971
- No new films were released this week in 1971.
1981
- No new films were released this week in 1981.
1991
- No new films were released this week in 1991.
2001
New Line Cinema
January 26 – Sugar & Spice
- Cast: Marla Sokoloff, Marley Shelton, Melissa George, Mena Suvari, Rachel Blanchard, Alexandra Holden, Sara Marsh, James Marsden, Sean Young, W. Earl Brown, Adam Busch, Jake Hoffman, Nate Maher, David Belenky, Wiley Harker, Kurt Loder, Jerry Springer
- Director: Francine McDougall
- Studio: New Line Cinema
- Trivia: The film is loosely based on a series of robberies in 1999 perpetrated by four teenage girls from Houston, Texas. The film was originally titled Sugar & Spice & Semi-automatics but was changed after the script was toned down in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre. The film changed so much that screenwriter Lona Williams had her name removed and used the pseudonym Mandy Nelson. Casting for the film took place at the same time as another cheerleader film, Bring It On, with many actors auditioning for both films. Gabrielle Union said Sugar & Spice was the more desired film to be cast in and Bring It On was the consolation prize for not getting the cheerleader movie you wanted. Unfortunately, the film did not score well with critics, earning just a 28% ‘Fresh’ rating from 75 critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of D+. But Roger Ebert awarded the film three out of four stars.
January 26 – The Wedding Planner
- Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Justin Chambers, Judy Greer, Alex Rocco, Joanna Gleason, Charles Kimbrough, Fred Willard, Lou Myers, Frances Bay, Kevin Pollak, Kathy Najimy
- Director: Adam Shankman
- Studio: Columbia Pictures, Intermedia, Tapestry Films, Dee Gee Entertainment, Prufrock Pictures, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: The roles of Mary and Steve were originally to be played by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brendan Fraser. They were replaced with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr., but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, and replaced with Lopez and McConaughey. The film opened at Number 1 at the box office on Super Bowl weekend, as Lopez’s album J. Lo hit the Number 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart the same week making her the only person to date with that achievement.
2011
January 21 – No Strings Attached
- Cast: Natalie Portman, Stefanie Scott, Ashton Kutcher, Dylan Hayes, Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Greta Gerwig, Lake Bell, Olivia Thirlby, Ludacris, Jake Johnson, Mindy Kaling, Talia Balsam, Ophelia Lovibond, Guy Branum, Ben Lawson, Jennifer Irwin, Adhir Kalyan, Brian H. Dierker, Abby Elliott, Vedette Lim, Nasim Pedrad, Mollee Gray, Matthew Moy
- Director: Ivan Reitman
- Studio: DreamWorks Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Cold Spring Pictures, The Montecito Picture Company, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film was based on a screenplay titled Friends With Benefits, but the title was changed to avoid confusion with a similar film that opened on July 22, 2011. The film’s original release date was January 7, 2011. Portman accepted the role to portray a character different from the one she played in Black Swan. The film had its premiere on January 11, 2011.
January 23 – The Woman
- Cast: Pollyanna McIntosh, Sean Bridgers, Angela Bettis, Lauren Ashley Carter, Carlee Baker, Alexa Marcigliano, Zach Rand, Shyla Molhusen
- Director: Lucky McKee
- Studio: Modernciné, distributed by The Collective, Bloody Disgusting, Salient Media
- Trivia: Adapted from the novel by by Jack Ketchum, the film is a sequel to 2009’s Offspring. Pollyanna McIntosh directed a sequel to The Woman, Darlin’, in 2019.
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