Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #275 :: October 30 to November 5

It is a pretty big week heading into November, with the holidays and movies vying for awards attention. There were no Oscars in 1925, but this week has the film debut of a famous director, who also has another film on the list this week twenty years later. 1935 put two non-Shakespearean actors into a Shakespeare film, and produced the first English-language version of a French classic. A 1955 film gave a popular pianist his leading man debut, to less than stellar results. A 1975 film saw the debuts of two young actors who would go on to very successful careers, and a 1985 horror film almost lost its star, and became more known for its subtext. 2005 saw Disney enter the computer animation game, while a popular TV star stepped behind the camera for a well-received film about the news business. Scroll down to see all of the movies that premiered this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1925

• October 30 – The Unknown Lover (USA, Victor Halperin Productions)
• October 31 – Goat Getter (USA, Harry J. Brown Productions)
• October 31 – Hidden Loot (USA, Blue Streak Western)
• October 31 – Red Hot Tires (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November – A Gentleman Roughneck (USA, Hercules Film Productions)
• November – Bulldog Drummond’s Third Round (UK, Astra-National)
• November – Somebody’s Darling (UK, Gaumont British Picture Corporation)
• November – The Big Stunt (USA, Charles R. Seeling Productions)
• November – The Demon Rider (USA, Clifford S. Elfelt Productions)
• November – The Phantom Express (USA, Banner Productions)
• November – The Shadow on the Wall (USA, Gotham Productions)
• November 1 – Camille of the Barbary Coast (USA, Encore Pictures)
• November 1 – Durand of the Bad Lands (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• November 1 – Flashing Steeds (USA, H.B. Carpenter Productions)
• November 1 – Go West (USA, Buster Keaton Productions)
• November 1 – His People (USA, Universal Jewel)
• November 1 – No Man’s Law (USA, Independent Pictures)
• November 1 – S.O.S. Perils of the Sea (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• November 1 – Some Pun’kins (USA, Chadwick Pictures Corporation)
• November 1 – Thank You (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• November 1 – The Calgary Stampede (USA, Universal Pictures)
• November 1 – The New Commandment (USA, First National Pictures)
• November 1 – The People vs. Nancy Preston (USA, Hunt Stromberg Productions)
• November 1 – The Wyoming Wildcat (USA, Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation)
• November 1 – When Husbands Flirt (USA, Waldorf Pictures Corporation)
• November 1 – Where the Worst Begins (USA, Co-Artists Productions)
• November 3 – The Pleasure Garden (Germany, Gainsborough Pictures)
• November 5 – The Big Parade (Los Angeles, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Bulldog Drummond’s Third Round and Somebody’s Darling have no known US theatrical release dates. The Pleasure Garden was released in the US sometime in 1926. The Big Parade entered a limited US release on November 19, 1925.

The Unknown Lover, The Big Stunt, The Phantom Express, Durand of the Bad Lands, Some Pun’kins, Thank You, and The New Commandment are considered lost films.

The survival statuses of Goat Getter, Hidden Loot, A Gentleman Roughneck, Bulldog Drummond’s Third Round, Somebody’s Darling, Camille of the Barbary Coast, Flashing Steeds, Go West, No Man’s Law, The People vs. Nancy Preston, The Wyoming Wildcat, and Where the Worst Begins are unknown.

A copy of Red Hot Tires is preserved in the Library of Congress collection. The Demon Rider is preserved in the Library of Congress and George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection. A print of The Shadow on the Wall is located in the Library of Congress.

Before Camille of the Barbary Coast could be exhibited in Kansas, the state censor board required the removal of several scenes including all scenes of smoking and drinking, Camille’s exposed breasts, a girl taking money from a stocking, kissing scenes, and a scene of a man at a bedroom door taking a key.

A print of His People is preserved at the Library of Congress. A print of S.O.S. Perils of the Sea is in the Library of Congress collection. The black-and-white film includes a hand-colored shipwreck scene. While Some Pun’kins is considered lost, reels 4 and 6 do exist at the Chicago Film Archives. The Calgary Stampede survives in several film archives. A print of When Husbands Flirt is preserved at Cinemateket Svenska Filminstitutet, Stockholm.

The Pleasure Garden marked the feature directorial debut of Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock was allowed to direct the film by producer Michael Balcon after a jealous Gainsborough Pictures executive refused to let Hitchcock work on The Rat. For the only time in a British Hitchcock film, both lead actresses were American. The film was restored in 2012, along with eight other silent Hitchcock films, with about 20 minutes of missing footage added, including the color tinting of the period. A new score was commissioned for the film, which has been performed live during screenings, but a lack of funds has prevented the score from being recorded and has not been included on any home video releases. An Australian Blu-ray release includes a new piano score and an alternative organ score.

The Big Parade was re-released in 1930 with a synchronized music score and sound effects but no spoken dialog. This version survives, but home video releases have replaced the original score with modern compositions. The 2013 home video release contains the most complete version of the film, running 151 minutes. The film is regarded as one of the best made about World War I, and it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1992.

1935

• October 30 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (USA, Max Reinhardt Productions)
• October 31 – Convention Girl (USA, Falcon Pictures)
• November – Expert’s Opinion (UK, British & Dominions Film Corporation)
• November – Father O’Flynn (UK, Butcher’s Film Service)
• November – Get Off My Foot (London, Warner Brothers-First National Productions)
• November – Line Engaged (UK, British Lion Film Corporation)
• November – Midshipman Easy (London, Associated Talking Pictures)
• November – Play Up the Band (London, Basil Humphrys Productions)
• November – The Silent Code (USA, Weiss Brothers Artclass Pictures)
• November 1 – Bars of Hate (USA, Victory Pictures Corporation)
• November 1 – Music Is Magic (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• November 1 – The Live Wire (USA, Reliable Pictures Corporation)
• November 1 – The Rider of the Law (USA, Supreme Pictures)
• November 1 – The Three Musketeers (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• November 2 – Guard That Girl (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• November 2 – Moonlight on the Prairie (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 4 – Lawless Range (USA, Paul Malvern Productions)
• November 5 – Alias John Law (USA, Supreme Pictures)

Expert’s Opinion and Line Engaged have no known US theatrical release dates. Expert’s Opinion and Get Off My Foot were produced as quota quickies to help support the sagging British film industry.

Father O’Flynn was released in the US on December 25, 1938. Get Off My Foot entered general UK release on May 11, 1936, but has no known US theatrical release date. Midshipman Easy was released in the UK on April 20, 1936, and in the US sometime in 1951. Play Up the Band entered general UK release on May 18, 1936, but has no known US theatrical release date.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream featured Olivia de Havilland in her film debut. The film was based on a lavish 1934 stage production at the Hollywood Bowl. Gloria Stuart was to play the role of Hermia but dropped out before opening night and de Havilland was her understudy. Only Mickey Rooney and de Havilland reprised their stage roles for the film, while the rest of the cast was replaced with Warner Bros. contract players. James Cagney and Joe E. Brown had never performed Shakespeare and never would again, but both received high acclaim for their performances.

Convention Girl is also known as Atlantic City Romance. Get Off My Foot is classified as a lost film.

The Silent Code was the third of six scheduled films in the ‘Morton of the Mounties’ series, however it was the final film to be made. Kane Richmond took over the lead role from John Preston, who appeared in the first two films.

Music Is Magic featured the last American screen performance of Bebe Daniels. The Live Wire was the last of more than 130 films for Alberta Vaughn.

The Three Musketeers is the first English-language version adaptation of the 1844 Alexandre Dumas novel. Lucille Ball appears as an uncredited extra. Ian Keith would reprise the role of Count de Rochefort in the 1948 version of the film. A print of Moonlight on the Prairie is preserved in the Library of Congress.

John Wayne plays a ‘singing cowboy’ in Lawless Range, but his singing voice was dubbed by Glenn Strange, who would become better known for playing the Frankenstein monster in three Universal films. Alias John Law was remade in 1950 as West of the Brazos.

1945

• October 30 – Voice of the Whistler (USA, Larry Darmour Productions)
• October 31 – And Then There Were None (USA, Rene Clair Productions)
• October 31 – Fighting Bill Carson (USA, Sigmund Neufeld Productions)
• October 31 – Spellbound (New York City, Selznick International Pictures)
• October 31 – This Love of Ours (New York City, Universal Pictures)
• November 1 – Rough Riders of Cheyenne (USA, Republic Pictures)
• November 2 – Confidential Agent (New York City, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 2 – Girls of the Big House (USA, Republic Pictures)
• November 3 – Riders of the Dawn (USA, Monogram Pictures)
• November 4 – She Went to the Races (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

And Then There Were None first opened in the UK as Ten Little Indians on October 29, 1945. Spellbound entered general US release on December 28, 1945. This Love of Ours was released nationwide in the US on November 2, 1945. Confidential Agent received a nationwide US release on November 10, 1945.

Voice of the Whistler was the fourth film in the eight-film ‘Whistler’ series, all based on the radio drama The Whistler. Fighting Bill Carson was the 28th of 36 ‘Billy the Kid’ films starring Buster Crabbe.

The screenplay for Spellbound was rejected by the MPAA several times and required removal of words and phrases like ‘sex menace’, ‘frustrations’, ‘libido’ and ‘tomcat’, as well as the removal of the violent nymphomaniac character Mary Carmichael. The suicide of Dr. Murchison was allowed to remain in the screenplay as the character was ‘of unsound mind’, which rendered him an exception to the rules. Producer David O. Selznick wanted Joseph Cotten, Dorothy McGuire and Paul Lukas to play the roles ultimately played by Gregory Peck, Ingrid Bergman and Michael Chekhov. Greta Garbo was considered for the role of Dr. Constance Petersen before Bergman was cast. Selznick also wanted Jennifer Jones as Petersen, but director Alfred Hitchcock objected. Hitchcock wanted Cotten for the role of Dr. Murchison, but it went to Leo G. Carroll. Selznick hired his own therapist, Dr. May Romm, to serve as technical advisor, and she and Hitchcock frequently clashed. Selznick and Hitchcock also clashed over the hiring of Salvador Dalí to conceive key scenes in the film’s dream sequence. The filmed sequence was too complicated for Selznick and most of it was edited out of the film. Selznick hired William Cameron Menzies to oversee the set design and direct the sequence, but only about two minutes of what Bergman claimed was a 20-minute sequence made it to the final cut, with the edited footage now considered lost. Hitchcock’s cameo appearance in the film occurs approximately at the forty-minute mark, when he can be seen exiting an elevator at the Empire State Hotel, carrying a violin case and smoking a cigarette. The film is black-and-white but there are two frames of bright red when Dr. Murchison’s gun is fired at the camera. That detail had been omitted for most 16mm and home video releases, but was restored for the DVD release and TCM broadcast. Hitchcock wanted Bernard Herrmann to compose the score, but he was unavailable so Miklós Rózsa was hired, pioneering the use of the theremin for the score. Rózsa won the Oscar for his work, despite Hitchcock not liking the music, saying it got in the way of his direction. They never worked together again, and Hitchcock never congratulated Rózsa on his Oscar win. In addition to the Oscar win, the film received five additional nominations including Best Picture and Best Director.

This Love of Ours also scored an Oscar nomination for its score by Hans J. Salter. The film was remade in 1956 as Never Say Goodbye. Some jump cuts in the editing of Confidential Agent indicate crude attempts to get the film’s running time under two hours. Riders of the Dawn was retitled Riding the Dusty Trail for television broadcast.

1955

• November – A Time to Kill (UK, Fortess Film Productions Ltd.)
• November – Hold Back Tomorrow (USA, Hugo Haas Productions)
• November – No Smoking (UK, Tempean FIlms)
• November – Teen-Age Crime Wave (USA, Clover Productions)
• November – The Blue Peter (UK, Group 3 Productions)
• November – Timeslip (UK, Merton Park Studios)
• November 1 – Sincerely Yours (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 2 – Lady Godiva of Coventry (USA, Universal International Pictures)
• November 2 – The Naked Dawn (USA, limited, Josef Shaftel Productions Inc.)
• November 4 – The Tender Trap (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 4 – The View from Pompey’s Head (USA, Twentieth Century Fox)
• November 5 – Man with the Gun (USA, Formosa Productions)

A Time to Kill and No Smoking have no known US theatrical release dates. The Blue Peter was released in the US in December 1957 as Navy Heroes. Timeslip was released in the US on March 4, 1956 as The Atomic Man. The Naked Dawn first opened in Australia on September 30, 1955, and entered wide release in the US on December 27.

Hold Back Tomorrow was the second film directed by Hugo Haas to star John Agar and Cleo Moore. No Smoking was based on the 1952 British TV play of the same name. Teen-Age Crime Wave was shown on Episode 522 of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The run time for Timeslip was cut from 93 minute to 76 minutes for the US release as The Atomic Man, playing in some areas as a double feature with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The script for the film was based on a live 1953 British television broadcast.

Sincerely Yours was a remake of 1932’s The Man Who Played God, which was a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name. It was the first starring role for Liberace, and recreated his concert performances. Doris Day was rumored to be his co-star, but Librace was at the height of his career at the time, and his name alone would pack audiences into theaters. Joanne Dru became his leading lady. The film was a box office failure as Liberace could not translate his eccentric stage persona to film as a leading man. Things were so bad that Warner Bros. began promoting the film with Dru, Dorothy Malone and Alex Nicol above the title, and in much smaller type ‘with Liberace at the piano’ below the title. It was to be the first of a two-picture deal, but the studio bought out Liberace’s contract to not make the second film. The experience shook him so much that he abandoned his movie aspirations.

Lex Barker was to play the male lead in Lady Godiva of Coventry opposite Maureen O’Hara, but she objected claming that people would only see him as Tarzan. Jeff Chandler was cast instead. Chandler, however, was still in production on Foxfire, which would have finished one day before production on Lady Godiva of Coventry was to begin, so he was replaced with George Nader. Rex Reason, who had been using the name Bart Roberts while under contract to Universal, was allowed to use his real name for this film. Clint Eastwood appears in an uncredited role.

The Tender Trap earned a Best Original Song Oscar nomination for ‘(Love Is) the Tender Trap’, which became a hit for the film’s star, Frank Sinatra. He would continue to sing the song throughout his career. Man with the Gun was released in the UK as The Trouble Shooter. It is also known as Deadly Peacemaker.

1965

• November – The Liquidator (UK, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios)
• November 3 – The Secret of My Success (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 4 – Never Too Late (USA, Tandem Productions)

The Liquidator was released in the US on October 28, 1966. Richard Harris was approached to star but he opted to do The Heroes of Telemark instead. Australian Rod Taylor was cast, and insisted on using an American accent as he was more comfortable with it by that stage in his career.

Lionel Jeffries plays four different roles in The Secret of My Success.

Bob Crane auditioned for the role of Charlie Clinton in Never Too Late, but Jim Hutton was cast. In the film, Hutton’s son Timothy makes his first screen appearance as the little boy who runs to his daddy. Spencer Tracy and Rosalind Russell were to star in the film, but Paul Ford and Maureen O’Sullivan reprised their roles from the play.

1975

• October 30 – Plugg (AUS, Romac Productions)
• November – Nuts, Bolts and Bedroom Springs (AUS, Garron International)
• November – Penelope Pulls It Off (UK, Elsinore Productions)
• November – The Ups and Downs of a Handyman (UK, K.F.R. Productions)
• November 5 – Challenge to Be Free (USA, Alaska Pictures)
• November 5 – Crazy Mama (USA, New World Pictures)
• November 5 – Winterhawk (USA, Charles B. Pierce Film Productions)

Plugg, Nuts, Bolts and Bedroom Springs, and Penelope Pulls It Off have no known US theatrical release dates. The Ups and Downs of a Handyman was released in the US in November 1976. Crazy Mama began regional releases in the US on July 9, 1975.

The Ups and Downs of a Handyman is also known as Confessions of a Handyman, Confessions of an Odd-Job Man and The Happy Housewives.

Challenge to Be Free is also known as Mad Trapper of the Yukon and Mad Trapper. The film was originally given a limited release in 1972 with little promotion as The Mad Trapper, retitled as Challenge to Be Free for the 1975 re-release.

Bill Paxton, who was also a set dresser on the movie, and Dennis Quaid made their film debuts in Crazy Mama. The film was originally announced as Big Bad Mama II, then The American Dream. Original director Shirley Clarke was fired ten days prior to the start of filming. Roger Corman offered Jonathan Demme the job, but Demme was busy preparing Fighting Mad for Corman. Corman told Demme if he wanted to make that film, he had to do Crazy Mama. Demme agreed only if his wife could direct second unit. Demme also told Corman production was moving too quickly and the film would be a mess at the end, for which Demme would be blamed but Corman went ahead with the project. Demme also said that all of the actors hated the script, and he did not like the ending in which all of the leads were killed. He changed it so that only Ann Sothern’s character was killed because he disliked the actress. Corman felt like the movie had no ending with the change, so Demme shot an alternative ending with the family running a burger stand in Miami in 1959. The movie ended up not making money, which prompted Corman to cancel Fighting Mad. Demme appealed to him and said he warned Corman that the movie would fail. Corman agreed and went ahead with Fighting Mad.

1985

• October 31 – Burke & Wills (AUS, Hoyts-Edgley)
• November – The Good Father (UK, Channel Four Films)
• November – The Supergrass (UK, Michael White Productions)
• November 1 – A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (USA, New Line Cinema)
• November 1 – Death Wish 3 (USA, Golan-Globus Productions)
• November 1 – Eleni (USA, CBS Theatrical Films)
• November 1 – To Live and Die in L.A. (USA, New Century Productions-SLM Inc.)
• November 4 – Wrong World (AUS, limited, Seon Film Productions)

Burke & Wills was released in the US on June 12, 1987. The Good Father was released in the US on February 11, 1987. The Supergrass was released in the US on February 5, 1988. Wrong World was screened at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival, but has no known US theatrical release date.

Historical drama Burke & Wills was released a week after the comedy Wills & Burke. Movie exhibitor Greater Union was interested in Burke & Wills, but the director insisted on filming along the path of the actual expedition which would make the budget the second most expensive Australian film at the time after Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Greater Union decided to back Wills & Burke instead. Charlton Heston was interested in the role of Burke, but director Graeme Clifford only saw Jack Thompson in the role. Nigel Havers was cast from his performance in Chariots of Fire, a move opposed by Actors Equity, but this was overturned in arbitration.

The Good Father featured the first credited appearance of Stephen Fry. The film was produced for British television, but received a theatrical release in the US.

The Supergrass was the first feature-length film by the 1980s alternative comedy group The Comic Strip. The theatrical release of the film ran 107 minutes, but the TV broadcast was cut by nearly ten minutes, and all home video releases have included the shorter version.

The original concept for A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge involved Freddy Kruger controlling a fetus inside of a mother’s womb, but the idea was dropped as New Line Cinema executive Sara Risher was pregnant at the time and the idea upset her. The pregnancy idea finally made its way into the story in the fifth film. After Wes Craven turned down an offer to return as director, the job was offered to Jack Sholder, who did not want to make horror films but thought this film could put him on the map. New Line hoped to save money by hiring an anonymous actor to play Freddy Kruger in a mask instead of Robert Englund, but when they realized the actor could not match Englund’s body language and performance, Englund was quickly re-hired. Footage of the anonymous actor does appear in the shower death scene but is obscured by excessive steam. Brad Pitt was considered for the role of Jesse, but producers felt he was ‘too nice’ so the role went to Mark Patton.

Death Wish 3 was the last film of the series to be directed by Michael Winner. While set in New York City, some of the film was shot in London to cut costs. Series star Charles Bronson was nearly replaced by Chuck Norris over salary concerns, but Norris turned it down because of the violence. The original script turned the character of Paul Kersey into an urban Rambo, which displeased Bronson. Three other versions were written and rejected, with the original screenplay used for filming. Jimmy Page is credited as the film’s composer but he had no involvement with the film. Instead, Winner reused Page’s score from the second film, rearranged for the soundtrack with Mike Moran on synthesizers. The villain Manny Fraker was originally to be a Latino named Alex Perez, but was changed when Gavan O’Herlihy was cast. Broke film student Alex Winter was given the role of gang member Hermosa. Bronson’s love interest in the film was played by Deborah Raffin, who was good friends with Bronson’s wife, Jill Ireland.

Due to the low $6 million budget for To Live and Die in L.A., director William Friedkin realized he would not be able to afford name movie stars. William Petersen was acting in Canada at the time of his audition, and half a page into his reading he was offered the role. Petersen brought John Pankow to Friedkin’s apartment the day after being cast and recommended him for the role of Vukovich. Friedkin agreed on the spot. Over a million dollars of counterfeit money was produced for the film but with deliberate errors so it could not be used. However, while most of the money was burned, some was taken as souvenirs, some got into circulation and was tracked back to the production. A son of a crew member tried to use some of the money at a candy store and was caught. During a wrong-way car chase scene on a Los Angeles freeway, Petersen did most of his own driving, and Pankow’s stressed-out reactions were real.

1995

• November 2 – Back of Beyond (AUS, Beyond Films)
• November 3 – Fair Game (USA, Silver Pictures)
• November 3 – Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (USA, Bregman/Baer Productions)
• November 3 – Home for the Holidays (USA, Egg Pictures)
• November 3 – Total Eclipse (USA, FIT Productions-Portman Productions)

Back of Beyond has no known US theatrical release date.

Fair Game was adapted from the 1974 novel A Running Duck, which had previously been adapted for the 1986 Sylvester Stallone film, Cobra. Stallone was also attached to Fair Game in 1993. Geena Davis, Julianne Moore and Brooke Shields were all offered the role of Kate McQuean, but they all passed as they were busy with other projects. Cindy Crawford was cast. After poor test screenings, scenes were cut and others re-shot, changing the running time from 95 minute to 91 minutes. Audiences did not react well to Elizabeth Peña, so her part was re-shot with Salma Hayek who said she was allowed to rewrite the scenes she was in. Dan Hedaya had a more substantial role in the original cut, but he was reduced to a single scene in the re-edited version so he opted to go without a credit. The trailer includes some of the cut and deleted footage. The film earned three Razzie nominations for Worst Actress and Worst New Star (Crawford), and Worst Screen Couple (Crawford and William Baldwin).

Filming of the Thanksgiving dinner scene in Home for the Holidays took more than ten days, using 64 turkeys, 20 pounds of mashed potatoes, 35 pounds of stuffing, 44 pies, 30 pounds of sweet potatoes, 18 bags of mini-marshmallows and 50 gallons of juice that stood in for wine. Director Jodie Foster allowed Robert Downey Jr. to improvise, which got him excited about acting again after a period of disillusionment with the industry.

2005

• November 3 – Wolf Creek (AUS)
• November 4 – Chicken Little (USA, Walt Disney Pictures)
• November 4 – Good Night, and Good Luck (USA, 2929 Productions)
• November 4 – Jarhead (USA/Canada, Neal Street Productions-Red Wagon Entertainment)
• November 4 – Shopgirl (USA, Brass Hat FilmS Limited)
• November 4 – Shut Up and Kiss Me (USA, Suzanne DeLaurentiis Productions)

Wolf Creek first opened in the UK on September 16, 2005, and was released in the US on December 25. Good Night, and Good Luck first opened in Italy on September 16, 2005, and received a limited US release on October 7 before expanding nationwide.

Chicken Little was the last film featuring Don Knotts that was released in his lifetime. His final film, Air Buddies, was released posthumously. The film is Disney’s first fully computer animated feature film. The film functions as a loose remake of the 1943 animated short of the same title. It was also the first film to be released in Disney Digital 3D. Holly Hunter provided the voice of Chicken Little for eight months until it was decided the character was male. Zach Braff won the role after his audition against names like Michael J. Fox, Ben Still, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Steve Marting, Matthew Broderick, Jack Black, Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and Keanu Reeves. Sean Hayes was to voice the Ugly Duckling until the character was rewritten as female and Joan Cusack was cast.

Good Night, and Good Luck was released in black-and-white, but was actually shot on color film stock on a grayscale set, color-corrected to black-and-white in post production. The film received six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (George Clooney) and Best Actor (David Strathairn).

Though not a box office success, Jarhead spawned three direct-to-video films, none of which have anything to do with the original.

Steve Martin wrote the screenplay for Shopgirl based on his own 2000 novella of the same title. In the novella, the Mirabelle character works for Neiman Marcus, but Saks Fifth Avenue actively pursued participation in the film, promising full cooperation with filming schedules. As many elements of the story parallel Martin’s own life and experiences vying for the attention of a girl against an older gentleman, the story is somewhat autobiographical. Martin wanted Tom Hanks to play the Pay Porter role, but director Anand Tucker felt that since Martin was so close to the material, he should play the role.

2015

• October 30 – Burnt (USA)
• October 30 – Freaks of Nature (USA/Canada, Columbia Pictures)
• October 30 – Our Brand Is Crisis (USA/Canada, Fortis Films)
• October 30 – Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (USA/Canada, Broken Road Productions)
• November 5 – Now Add Honey (AUS, Gristmill Productions)

Burnt first opened in Australia on October 22, 2015. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse first opened in Romania on October 23, 2015. Now Add Honey has no known US theatrical release date.

Freaks of Nature was in development under the title The Kitchen Sink with Jonah Hill in line to make his directorial debut with the film. Robbie Pickering got the job in February 2012, while Hill remained as an executive producer.