Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #278 :: November 20•26

As the holidays draw closer, many major films were released that saw all kinds of awards recognition, the the Oscars to the Razzies. New releases of note include a 1935 historical epic that called for one of its lead actors to shave a trademark mustache, a 1945 drama that is regarded as one of the best films of all time, a 1955 giant bug movie, a 1975 film with a signature role for its lead actor, a 1985 action film that paid homage to an action film franchise, a 1995 animated film that was groundbreaking for the industry, a 2005 comedy that has gained a cult following, and a 2015 film that courted controversy for the Oscar nominations it did not receive. Scroll down to see all the films that premiered this week across the decades, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1925

• November 20 – Free to Love (USA, B.P. Schulberg Productions)
• November 21 – Rose of the World (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 21 – The Silent Guardian (USA, Phil Goldstone Productions)
• November 22 – Irish Luck (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
• November 22 – The Only Thing (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 22 – The Unguarded Hour (USA, First National Pictures)
• November 23 – East Lynne (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• November 23 – Galloping On (USA, Action Pictures)
• November 23 – A Desperate Faith (London, Harry J. Brown Productions)
• November 23 – The Prude’s Fall (UK, Balcon, Freedman & Saville)
• November 24 – The Great Jewel Robbery (USA, John Ince Productions)
• November 25 – Stampede Thunder (USA, Lariat Productions)

A Desperate Faith was released in the US on January 21, 1926 as The Patent Leather Pug. The Prude’s Fall was released in the US in November 1926 as Dangerous Virtue.

The survival statuses of A Desperate Faith, The Prude’s Fall, The Great Jewel Robbery, and Stampede Thunder are unknown, while Rose of the World and The Unguarded Hour are considered lost.

A copy of Free to Love is held at UCLA Film and Television Archive. A nitrate print of The Silent Guardian was extant in 2000. A print of Irish Luck is located in the George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection.

The working title for The Only Thing was Four Flaming Days, a title by which it is also known. A young Joan Crawford makes her eighth screen appearance in the film. A complete print is held in the George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection.

A complete print of East Lynne is located in the Museum of Modern Art collection. Galloping On exists and has been released on DVD.

1935

• November 20 – Timber War (USA, Conn Pictures Corporation)
• November 21 – Crime and Punishment (USA, B.P. Schulberg Productions)
• November 21 – The Lady in Scarlet (London, Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation)
• November 22 – Hyde Park Corner (UK, Grosvenor Films Ltd.)
• November 22 – In Person (USA, RKO ORadio Pictures)
• November 22 – Mutiny on the Bounty (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 22 – Splendor (USA, The Samuel Goldwyn Company)
• November 22 – The Perfect Gentleman (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 23 – Stars Over Broadway (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 23 – To Beat the Band (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• November 24 – Escape from Devil’s Island (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• November 25 – Come Out of the Pantry (London, Herbert Wilcox Productions)
• November 25 – One Way Ticket (USA, B.P. Schulberg Productions)
• November 25 – Windfall (London, George King Productions)
• November 26 – Scrooge (UK, Julius Hagen Productions)
• November 26 – The Fire Trap (USA, Larry Darmour Productions)

The Lady in Scarlet went into general UK release on February 17, 1936, and was released in the US on May 12, 1940. Hyde Park Corner has no known US theatrical release date. Come Out of the Pantry was released in the US on February 10, 1936, and entered general UK release on April 27, 1936. Windfall was first released in London on July 25, 1935, but has no known US theatrical release date. Scrooge was released in the US on November 30, 1935.

A print of Crime and Punishment is held by the Library of Congress. Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn selected Crime and Punishment for production because the original novel was in the public domain and no copyright fees would be required. Director Josef von Sternberg was not happy with the film due to the script not adhering to the original text of the novel.

Fred Astaire was the first choice for the male lead in In Person, but RKO borrowed George Brent from Warner Bros. for the role. According to Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn turned down the female lead of Carol before Rogers accepted. The film was released at the height of the Astaire/Rogers musicals, and was a showcase for Rogers’ singing and dancing. She wanted to prove she was more than just Astaire’s dance partner, and the film highlighted her comedic skills.

David Niven, James Cagney and Dick Haymes appeared uncredited as Crewmen in Mutiny on the Bounty. Cagney was on hiatus from Warner Bros. during a contract dispute and happened to be sailing near Catalina Island where the film was being shot. Director Frank Lloyd was an old friend and dressed Cagney as a crewman and put him in the background of some scenes. Lloyd had purchased the rights to the novel and offered to sell it to MGM on the condition he be allowed to direct and star, and that filming would take place on location in Tahiti. MGM’s Irving Thalberg agreed to let Lloyd direct, but rejected his other demands. To maintain historical accuracy, Lloyd sought out living descendants of the original Bounty crew for interviews, and read court transcripts of the court-martials and William Bligh’s memoir, A Narrative of the Mutiny on His Majesty’s Ship ‘Bounty’. The film still contains many instances of historical inaccuracies. Wallace Beery was to play Bligh, but was replaced with Charles Laughton before production began. Though he accepted the role, Clark Gable was reluctant to play Fletcher Christian since it would require him to shave off his trademark mustache. Laughton discovered that Bligh’s tailoring establishment still possessed transaction records which included the measurements and materials used for his uniforms, and asked the tailor to reproduce them for the film. The film earned eight Oscar nominations, and won Best Picture, the last film to date to win the award but no others for which it was nominated. The film also had three Best Actor nominees, which prompted the Academy to create the Best Supporting Actor category the following year.

Splendor was the third film to star Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea, following These Three and Woman Chases Man. The Perfect Gentleman is also known as The Imperfect Lady. Come Out of the Pantry was the first British film to star Fay Wray, three years after her appearance in King Kong. One Way Ticket was the directorial debut of Herbert J. Biberman.

Scrooge was the first feature-length sound film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, following a now-lost 1928 short. Sir Seymour Hicks reprised the role of Scrooge, which he had played on stage regularly starting in 1901, and in a 1913 British short film, retitled Old Scrooge, which was reissued in 1929 with a synchronized musical score. President Franklin D. Roosevelt screened the film at the White House on Christmas night, 1935. Paramount acquired the film for the US, but botched the release, only making the film available to first-run houses in larger cities in late December. By the time the first-run houses were done with the film, the Christmas season had passed and smaller neighborhood cinemas were not interested in booking the film.

1945

• November 20 – Pink String and Sealing Wax (London, Ealing Studios)
• November 22 – Yolanda and the Thief (New York City, Loew’s Incorporated)
• November 21 – Danger Signal (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• November 21 – Navajo Kid (USA, Alexander-Stern Productions)
• November 21 – What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 22 – Captain Kidd (USA, Miracle Productions)
• November 22 – Snafu (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• November 23 – A Game of Death (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• November 23 – Hold That Blonde! (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• November 23 – The Daltons Ride Again (USA, Universal Pictures)
• November 24 – Frontier Feud (USA, Monogram Pictures)
• November 26 – Brief Encounter (UK, Cineguild)
• November 26 – The Stilwell Road (USA, documentary, Signal Corps Pictorial Center)

Pink String and Sealing Wax entered general release in the UK on January 7, 1946, and was released in the US on October 2, 1950. Yolanda and the Thief entered general US release on January 11, 1946. Brief Encounter first opened in London on November 19, 1945, and was released in the US on August 24, 1946.

Pink String and Sealing Wax was the first film Robert Hamer directed on his own.

Yolanda and the Thief was a pet project for MGM’s Arthur Freed to showcase the talents of his lover Lucille Bremer. The film was a box office disaster and ruined Bremer’s career, while prompting co-star Fred Astaire to retire after his next film, Blue Skies. Astaire felt the film failed because it tried to create art, whereas he believed art could only be achieved as an accidental and unpremeditated by-product of a tireless search for perfection. The film features possibly the first example on film of the deliberate integration of color and visual pattern with dance, which director Vincente Minnelli explored on a larger scale with Gene Kelly in the dream ballet sequence of An American in Paris six years later.

Writer Harry Kurnitz earned an Oscar nomination for his original screenplay for What Next, Corporal Hargrove?, which was a sequel to See Here, Private Hargrove. Captain Kidd was the last film directed by Rowland V. Lee before he retired. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.

A Game of Death is an adaptation of the 1924 short story and 1932 film, The Most Dangerous Game, which features a Russian madman. The 1945 version makes the madman German. The film was to also carry the original title, and it uses outtakes from the 1932 version.

Hold That Blonde! was filmed under the title Good Intentions. It is an official remake of 1925 silent comedy Paths to Paradise, and both are based on the play The Heart of a Thief. Bob Hope, who was under contract to Paramount at the time, was offered the lead but he would accept only if he could make one film per year outside of the studio. Paramount refused and put Hope on suspension. Eddie Bracken was given the role. Hope and Paramount did eventually settle their differences, with Hope signing a new seven-year contract. The role of Sally Martin was a favorite of Veronica Lake as it was a change of pace for her, a comedic role like Carole Lombard did. She also enjoyed working with director George Marshall.

Frontier Feud is the eighteenth film in the ‘Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie’ series starring Johnny Mack Brown.

Brief Encounter is based on Noël Coward’s 1936 one-act play Still Life. Coward provided the train station announcements in the film. The original choice for the role of Alec Harvey was Roger Livesey, but David Lean cast Trevor Howard after seeing him in The Way to the Stars. Joyce Barbour was originally cast as Dolly, but Lean was dissatisfied with her performance, and she was replaced by Everley Gregg. The film earned three Academy Award nominations, including Best Director, and has been called one of the greatest films of all time.

The Stilwell Road is a propaganda film produced by the American Office of War Information and the British and Indian film units in 1945 detailing the creation of the Ledo Road, also known as the Stilwell Road after the U.S. General Joseph Stilwell. The film is narrated by Ronald Reagan.

1955

• November 21 – Oh… Rosalinda!! (London, The Archers)
• November 21 – The Cockleshell Heroes (London, Warwick Film Productions)
• November 22 – Simon and Laura (UK, Group Film Productions Limited)
• November 23 – Good Morning, Miss Dove (New York City, Twentieth Century-Fox)
• November 23 – Tarantula (USA, Universal International Pictures)
• November 23 – The Adventures of Quentin Durward (New York City, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 23 – Three Stripes in the Sun (New York City, Columbia Pictures)
• November 24 – Man of the Moment (UK, J. Arthur Rank Organisation)
• November 24 – The Big Knife (Canada, The Associates & Aldrich Company)

Oh… Rosalinda!! received a general UK release on January 2, 1946, but did not receive a US theatrical release. The Cockleshell Heroes entered general UK release on January 23, 1956, and was released in the US on March 27, 1956. Simon and Laura was released in the US on July 2, 1956. Good Morning, Miss Dove entered general US release on January 6, 1956. The Adventures of Quentin Durward entered wide US release on January 27, 1956. Three Stripes in the Sun entered general US release on February 9, 1956. Man of the Moment has no known US theatrical release date. The Big Knife premiered in the US on October 25, 1955.

Oh… Rosalinda!!, also known as Die Fledermaus, was screened in the US at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive on July 4, 1985. Directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger had three box office disappointments in a row prior to Oh… Rosalinda!!, which prompted offers to Bing Crosby, Maurice Chevalier and Orson Welles to play Alfred, Eisenstein and Orlovsky. The roles eventually went to Mel Ferrer, Michael Redgrave and Anthony Quayle, respectively. Oh… Rosalinda!! was also unsuccessful at the box office. A restoration of the 35mm CinemaScope camera negative was undertaken in 2019 for a Blu-ray and DVD release.

The Cockleshell Heroes (working title was Survivors Two) was the fourth movie produced by the new company Warwick Films, which was run by American producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, who would go on to produce the James Bond films. It was the first independent film shot in Britain to use the CinemaScope process. Richard Widmark was considered for a role in the film but he ended up making A Price of Gold for Warwick instead. The British Admirality requested Spencer Tracy to play the lead, but the role eventually went to José Ferrer, who also directed. Trevor Howard and David Lodge nearly drowned while filming a sequence in a canoe when the canoe overturned. In order to get permission to film in Portugal, Warwick Films had to make a documentary about the country, April in Portugal. Producer Irving Allen felt there was not enough comedy in the script and had Bryan Forbes rewrite Richard Maibaum’s script, and direct some sequences without telling Ferrer. When Ferrer found out, he left the film. Allen later told the press that Ferrer had made the film about himself, and reshoots were needed to rectify things.

Simon and Laura was Peter Finch’s first leading role in a British film. Director Muriel Box saw Ian Carmichael play the role of David Prentice in the stage version and fought the studio, which wanted more established stars, to cast him. Finch and co-star Kay Kendall asked that Box be replaced after watching some of the dailies, but the studio decided she would stay if she allowed the stars to take a more improvisational approach to their roles.

Good Morning, Miss Dove was based on three short stories Frances Gray Patton had written for The Ladies Home Journal: ‘The Terrible Miss Dove’, ‘Miss Dove and Judgment Day’ and ‘Miss Dove and the Maternal Instinct’.

The screenplay for Tarantula was based on a story by director Jack Arnold, which was in turn inspired by Robert M. Fresco’s teleplay for the 1955 Science Fiction Theatre episode ‘No Food for Thought’, also directed by Arnold. Live animals, including a tarantula, rabbit and guinea pig, were used to represent their giant on-screen counterparts. Special effects models were used for close-ups of the spider’s face and fangs, and for the final scene when the tarantula is set ablaze. The film’s theatrical release poster, featuring a spider with two eyes instead of the normal eight, and carrying a woman in its fangs, does not represent any scene in the final film. The film and its star Leo G. Carroll are referenced in the second verse of The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s opening theme song, ‘Science Fiction/Double Feature’.

The Adventures of Quentin Durward is also known simply as Quentin Durward. It was the third film in an unofficial trilogy directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Robert Taylor, following Ivanhoe and Knights of the Round Table. Taylor’s busy schedule nearly kept him from making the film, with Stewart Granger in line to replace him. It was the first big budget film for Kay Kendall.

Man of the Moment, also known as His Lordship, was Norman Wisdom’s third film. A studio chase scene includes real television programs The Grove Family, Fabian of the Yard, and a cooking show hosted by Philip Harben, as well as a Greek drama.

1965

• November 26 – Carry On Cowboy (UK, Peter Rogers Productions)

Carry On Cowboy has no known US theatrical release date. It is the eleventh film in the Carry On series, and the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw. It was the first in the series to have a sung theme song.

1975

• November 20 – Intimate Reflections (UK, Kendon Films)
• November 20 – Mister Quilp (UK, Reader’s Digest)
• November 20 – Permission to Kill (UK, Sascha-Wein Film Productions)
• November 21 – Las Vegas Lady (USA, Marimark Productions)
• November 21 – Mackintosh and T.J. (USA, Penland Productions)
• November 21 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (USA, Fantasy Films)
• November 26 – The Romantic Englishwoman (USA, Dial Films-Les Productions Meric-Matalon)

Intimate Reflections has no known US theatrical release date. Mister Quilp first opened in the US on November 7, 1975 as The Old Curiosity Shop. Permission to Kill has no known US theatrical release date. Mackintosh and T.J. entered wide US release on February 5, 1976. The Romantic Englishwoman first opened in France on June 11, 1975.

Intimate Reflections was the first feature film for dirctor Don Boyd.

Mackintosh and T.J. was the last feature film to star Roy Rogers, in a role written especially for him. Rogers had not acted in a film in over twenty years. Rogers accepted the role because it was a film suitable for families.

Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif made their feature film debuts in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The film was originally announced in 1962, with Kirk Douglas starring. By the time production was to begin, Douglas was considered too old for the role of McMurphy, although Douglas’ son Michael was a producer on the film. The decision to recast strained their relationship for many years, though Michael claimed it was not his decision to recast. Gene Hackman, James Caan, Marlon Brando and Burt Reynolds were considered for the role. Richard Rush was to direct but he was replaced with Hal Ashby, who was then replaced with Miloš Forman. Ashby wanted Jack Nicholson for the role, and Forman’s first choice was Reynolds, but he and the other three actors turned it down so Nicholson was cast. Production was delayed for six months because of Nicholson’s busy schedule. Michael Douglas later said the delay was a blessing because it allowed them to get the ensemble cast correctly. Danny DeVito reprised his role of Martini from the 1971 Off-Broadway production. Jeanne Moreau, Angela Lansbury, Colleen Dewhurst, Geraldine Page, Ellen Burstyn, Anne Bancroft, and Jane Fonda all were considered to portray Nurse Ratched before Lily Tomlin was ultimately cast in the role. Forman recast the role with Louise Fletcher after seeing her in Thieves Like Us. Tomlin ultimately replaced Fletcher in Nashville. Forman also considered Shelley Duvall for the role of Candy. She, Nicholson and Scatman Crothers, who played Turkle, would all appear in 1980’s The Shining. Bud Cort was considered for the role that went to Dourif. Michael Douglas felt he was too young to play McMurphy, but he knew he could play Billy Bibbit until he saw Dourif’s audition. For the group therapy scenes, three cameras were used to capture authentic reactions of the cast. Forman did not allow the cast to see the dailies, which caused them to lose confidence in him, and Nicholson began to question his performance. Douglas convinced Forman to show Nicholson something, which he did, and restored the actor’s confidence. Haskell Wexler was fired as cinematographer for what Forman described as artistic differences. Wexler believed it was because he was concurrently working on the documentary Underground. Douglas claimed Wexler wanted to get Forman fired so he could direct the film himself. Wexler and replacement Bill Butler were both nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar, though Wexler claims only a minute or two of footage in the film were from Butler. Butler claimed Nicholson refused to speak to Forman, and would only speak to him. The film earned nine Oscar nominations, and was the second to win all five major awards. It also received eight BAFTA nominations, winning six. It was also nominated for, and won, six Golden Globe Awards. The soundtrack album by Jack Nitzsche was also nominated for a Grammy.

The Romantic Englishwoman was the feature film debut of Kate Nelligan.

1985

• November 21 – Fran (AUS, Barron Films)
• November 22 – Bad Medicine (USA, Lantana Productions-SLM Entertainment)
• November 22 – Fever Pitch (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• November 22 – King Solomon’s Mines (USA, Golan-Globus Productions)
• November 22 – One Magic Christmas (USA/Canada, Silver Screen Partners II-Téléfilm Canada)
• November 22 – Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (USA, Young Sung Production Co.)
• November 22 – White Nights (USA, limited, New Visions)

Fran was screened at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 1985, but has no known US theatrical release. White Nights entered wide release in the US on December 6, 1985.

Though set ‘Somewhere in Central America’, Bad Medicine was filmed entirely in Spain. It has been criticized for its negative ethnic stereotypes. It was one of three films in 1985 to star Julie Hagerty, including Lost in America and Goodbye, New York.

Fever Pitch was the last film for writer/director Richard Brooks before his death in 1992. The film was re-edited without Brooks’ involvement. He said it was a much better picture before they took it away from him. The film was originally to have been produced by Dino de Laurentiis under the title The Fever, with Sam Shapard in the lead role. Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and Tom Selleck were also considered. De Laurentiis dropped out and Ryan O’Neal was cast instead. MGM did not want O’Neal, so Brooks agreed to waive his fee to retain the star. O’Neal said at the time the film made him optimistic about his career again. Unfortunately, the film earned four Razzie Awards nominations including Worst Picture, Director, Screenplay and Musical Score, and led to O’Neal’s Worst Actor of the Decade nomintion at the 10th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards.

Though based on the 1885 novel by H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon’s Mines is a light-hearted, comedic take on the story deliberately referencing the Indiana Jones films. The film was shot back-to-back with the sequel Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold. The films were intended to comprise a trilogy, with two attempts to produce a third film but neither were successful, due in part to the box office failure of the sequel. The film marked Richard Chamberlain’s first since 1977’s The Last Wave, not that he was looking for a film role as he was busy with TV miniseries at the time. Kathleen Turner was reportedly offered $1.5 million to play the female lead, but turned it down because she felt it was too similar to her role in Romancing the Stone. The film earned two Razzie nominations for Worst Supporting Actor (Herbert Lom) and Worst Musical Score (Jerry Goldsmith).

Phillip Borsos wrote a one-page story idea for One Magic Christmas, and collaborated on a screenplay with Barry Healey, which was turned down by every major studio. The effort, however, scored a commitment by actress Mary Steenburgen and producer Fred Roos. The film was eventually announced with the title Father Christmas, with Richard Farnsworth in the role of Gideon. Production was due to begin in December 1983, but was delayed by budget issues, scaling back from $9 million to $7.5 million. Disney came on board in February 1985 after Orion Pictures dropped out, supplying two-thirds of the budget. Harry Dean Stanton took over the role of Gideon. 300 locals served as extras in a shopping mall scene, and 50 shopkeepers agreed to replace their Valentine’s Day decorations with Christmas decorations for the shoot. Snow had to be brought onto the Toronto location following an unseasonable thaw. Reportedly five tons of snow was brought in from surrounding areas in more than 100 dump trucks over a four-day period. A blizzard blew in days later, and crews then had to remove excess snow. Sleet, rain, fog, mud, and wind gusts up to fifty miles per hour made filming a challenge. The Toronto post office supplied 20,000 actual letters to Santa Claus for the scene at Santa’s workshop. Prior to release, the title was changed to One Night Before Christmas before producers settled on One Magic Christmas. The film initially received a PG-rating, but was appealed successfully to a G.

Starchaser: The Legend of Orin was one of the first animated movies to mix traditional and computer animation, as well as being one of the first released in 3D. The film was to have been released in 1983, but issues with the 3D caused a delay. Many critics felt the film was a rip-off of Star Wars to the point that Vincent Canby wrote, ‘you might think lawyers would have been called in.’

The choreography in White Nights was by Twyla Tharp. The film marked the debut of Isabella Rossellini, and features an early role for Maryam d’Abo. Director Taylor Hackford met his future wife Helen Mirren while making the film. Two full-sized planes were used to film the crash of a British Orient 747 at the beginning of the film instead of miniatures. The film earned Oscar nominations for two songs, ‘Say You, Say Me’ and ‘Separate Lives’, with the former winning the award as well as a Golden Globe. The film’s score was also nominated for the Golden Globe.

1995

• November 22 – Casino (USA/Canada, De Fina/Cappa Productions)
• November 22 – Frankie Starlight (USA, Ferndale Films)
• November 22 – Last Summer in the Hamptons (USA, limited, Jagtoria Films)
• November 22 – Money Train (USA/Canada, Peters Entertainment)
• November 22 – Nick of Time (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• November 22 – Toy Story (USA, Pixar)
• November 22 – Two Bits (USA, Arthur Cohn Productions)

Frankie Starlight first opened in Ireland on September 15, 1995. Last Summer in the Hamptons received a nationwide release in the US on September 15, 1996.

Casino was the eighth collaboration between director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro. Filming took place at night in the Riviera casino in Las Vegas, with the nearby defunct Landmark Hotel as the entrance, to replicate the fictional Tangiers. Producers felt there was no need to construct a set if they could film in an actual casino. The opening exploding car scene was filmed three times, with the third take deemed the best. The title sequence was the last work for designer Saul Bass. The film initially received an NC-17 rating due to depictions of violence, with many edits made to earn an R. Scorsese shot in Super 35 format as it allowed him to reframe nearly every shot for television without resorting to panning and scanning, which would have been necessary if he’d shot the film with anamorphic lenses. Cinematographer Robert Richardson was not impressed with the quality of the release prints, and would not use the format again until Kill Bill: Volume 1, at which point the digital intermediate process was available. Sharon Stone received Best Actress nominations from the Oscars and Golden Globes, winning the Globe, and Scorsese was Golden Globe nominated for Best Director.

Money Train starred Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, who also starred together in White Men Can’t Jump. They were both paid $5 million for Money Train. Nick of Time takes place in real time.

Toy Story is the first entirely computer-animated feature film, and the first feature from Pixar. It is regarded as one of the most important films in the medium’s history. Pixar was near bankruptcy as Disney was attempting to make a deal with Steve Jobs, with points of contention focused on Pixar’s ownership of the characters, films and home video sequel rights, and whether Disney would get the rights to Pixar’s animation technology. Desperate for money, the deal gave Pixar 12.5% of the film’s grosses, while Disney got complete ownership and control of the films and characters, including the rights to make sequels without Pixar’s involvement. The negotiations were a major point of contention for years between Jobs and Michael Eisner. Tin Story toy Tinny was to be the featured character, but it was felt to be too antiquated, and was changed to a G.I. Joe type before getting a space theme, with names including Lunar Larry and Tempus from Morph, before settling on Buzz Lightyear (after astronaut Buzz Aldrin). Woody was inspired by a Casper the Friendly Ghost ventriloquist doll director John Lasseter had when he was a child, but designer Bud Luckey suggested changing it to a cowboy ventriloquist dummy, hence the name ‘Woody’, but the ventriloquist aspects were eventually dropped because he looked sneaky and mean. Lasseter did like the juxtaposition of the science fiction and Western aspects of the toys. The name ‘Woody’ was retained to honor Western actor Woody Strode. Joss Whedon was brought on to help develop the script, which he felt had a great structure but did not work, and he introduced the character of Rex, and sought a pivotal role for a Barbie doll, which eventually became Bo Beep as Mattel would not license the character. Whedon also revised Buzz Lightyear as an action figure who didn’t realize he was a toy, a story point that transformed the film. Disney’s animation team also came up with the three-eyed squeaky toy aliens. Paul Newman, Robin Williams and Clint Eastwood were considered to voice Woody, but Lasseter always wanted Tom Hanks. Billy Crystal turned down the role of Buzz Lightyear, and regretted the decision after he saw the movie but said Tim Allen was perfect. Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Jim Carrey and John Travolta were among a long list of actors considered for the role. Rick Moranis and John Cleese were considered for the roles of Rex and Slinky Dog before Wallace Shawn and Jim Varney were cast. The film earned three Oscar nominations — two were for Randy Newman’s score and original song ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’, and the third was for Original Screenplay. It was the first animated film to be nominated in the screenplay category. It was Golden Globe nominated for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Best Original Song.

2005

• November 23 – Bee Season (USA, Bee Season Productions Inc.)
• November 23 – In the Mix (USA, J&C Entertainment)
• November 23 – Just Friends (USA, Benderspink and Cinezeta Productions)
• November 23 – Rent (USA, 1492 Pictures)
• November 23 – The Ice Harvest (USA, Bona Fide Productions)
• November 23 – Yours, Mine and Ours (USA, Robert Simonds Productions)
• November 25 – Mrs. Henderson Presents (UK, Future Films)
• November 25 – Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (USA, limited, Picture Entertainment)

Bee Season first opened in limited US release on November 11, 2005. Mrs. Henderson Presents received a limited US release on December 25, 2005, and expanded on February 17, 2006.

Ryan Reynolds helped get his then-fiancée Alanis Morissette cast as herself in Just Friends when the casting director said they needed an ‘Alanis Morissette type’ to play a former client of Reynolds’ character. He said he knew someone who would fit the part. The scene, however, was cut from the film and is only available on the home video release as a deleted scene. Jimmy Fallon and Bradley Cooper were considered for the lead before Reynolds was cast. Chris Klein was cast as Dusty Dinkleman based on his performances in Election and American Pie. Reynolds and Anna Faris were said to have improvised many of their scenes together.

The film adaptation of Broadway musical Rent features six of the eight original cast members.

Harold Ramis liked the script for The Ice Harvest so much that he agreed to direct for 80% of his usual fee. He hoped to persuade Bill Murray to take the role of Bill Guerrard, but Murray would not back down from their decades-long falling out. Monica Bellucci was to play the role of Renata, but had to exit the project due to her pregnancy. Ramis nearly had to shut down production one day for weather, but persisted so as not to break his perfect record of never losing a shooting day.

Yours, Mine and Ours is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. The film was set for a Holiday 2005 release in the hopes that it would duplicate the box office success of 2003’s Cheaper by the Dozen, which was a remake of a 1950 film of the same name.

Mrs. Henderson Presents marked the acting debut of singer Will Young. The film earned Oscar nominations for Best Actress (Judi Dench) and Best Costume Design. It also earned four BAFTA nominations in those categories, Original Screenplay and Original Music. It also scored three Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor (Bob Hoskins).

2015

• November 20 – Carol (USA, limited, Number 9 Films)
• November 20 – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (USA/Canada, Lionsgate)
• November 20 – The Night Before (USA/Canada, Good Universe-Point Grey Pictures)
• November 25 – Creed (USA/Canada, New Line Cinema/Chartoff-Winkler Productions)
• November 25 – The Good Dinosaur (USA/Canada, Pixar)
• November 25 – Victor Frankenstein (USA/Canada/France, Davis Entertainment Company)

Carol expanded its US release on January 15, 2016. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 first opened in Brazil, France and other markets on November 18, 2015. The Good Dinosaur first opened in France on November 14, 2015.

Carol had been in development since 1997, going into development hell until 2011. The original cut of the film was two and a half hours, but was edited down to 118 minutes. Carrie Brownstein said most of her scenes were cut. The film earned six Oscar, nine BAFTA and five Golden Globe nominations. The omission of Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director were seen as an indifference to female- and LGBTQ-centered films, while some critics noted the omission should not have been considered a shock after the controversy surrounding the Best Picture loss of Brokeback Mountain in 2005. The nomination of Rooney Mara in the Oscars’ Supporting Actress category was also a point of contention as Mara was nominated in the Best Actress category for the Golden Globes, and she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. The film’s distributor selected the placement so as not to put her in direct competition with co-star Cate Blanchett. Delta Airlines was criticized for providing a heavily edited version of the film for in-flight entertainment, deleting the love scenes and even kissing, while American and United Airlines provided the theatrical release.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 was the final film for Philip Seymour Hoffman. Filming took place back-to-back with Part 1. Hoffman had completed all of his scenes for Part 1, but still had about a week of filming for Part 2. Instead of using a digital replacement, director Francis Lawrence rewrote Hoffman’s final scenes. One scene between Hoffman speaking with Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss in detention was rewritten to have Woody Harrelson’s character read her a letter from him.

Creed is the first spin-off and seventh film in the Rocky franchise. It was the last film for franchise producer Robert Chartoff, who died two months after production completed. The film is dedicated to him. Sylvester Stallone received an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actor, winning the Globe. He also won the Golden Raspberry Awards’ Razzie Redeemer Award, which honors a past nominee or winner who becomes a respected artist who comes back from critical or commercial failure.

Development of The Good Dinosaur began in 2009, and the project was officially announced in 2011 as The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs. The official title was revealed on April 24, 2012. This was the first Pixar film to be scored by two composers, Mychael and Jeff Danna. Along with Inside Out, this was the first time two Pixar films had been released in the same year. It was Pixar’s first box office failure, but it did earn a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature. The film was originally to have been released on November 27, 2013, but was bumped to 2014 to make way for Disney’s Frozen. Due to script problems the film was then pushed back to a 2015 release.