Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #296 :: March 26 to April 1

Of all the films released this week across the past century, a few are notable for reasons good and bad. A 1926 film never got a general release, and was remade the same year with the same cast and sets, but a different story, director and title. 1936 introduced a new animated character in its one and only film. 1946 brought a comedy trio to the screen for the 90th time. 1956 saw a famous actor’s swan song, 1966 saw a popular Disney star appear in her first grown-up movie, 1976 saw the release of a film notorious for supposedly featuring actual murders, a 1986 comedy paired Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, a 1996 comedy tried to replicate the success of a 1950s sitcom, 2006 gave a now famous and successful director his first film, and 2016 brought a musical legend to life on the big screen. Scroll down to see all the films that were released this week across the decades, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1926  •  1936  •  1946  •  1956  •  1966  •  1976  •  1986  •  1996  •  2006  •  2016

1926

March 27 – The Crown of Lies (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)

• Cast: Pola Negri, Noah Beery, Robert Ames, Charles A. Post, Arthur Hoyt, Michael Vavitch
• Director: Dimitri Buchowetzki
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

March 27 – The Tenth Straw (AUS, Pacific Films)

• Cast: Peggy Paul, Ernest Lauri, James Cornell, Jack Fisher, Syd Everett, Robert Ball, Robert G. McAnderson
• Director: Robert G. McAnderson
• Trivia: The film has no known US theatrical release date. Most of the film survives.

March 28 – Her Second Chance (USA, First National Pictures)

• Cast: Anna Q. Nilsson, Huntley Gordon, Charles Murray, Sam De Grasse
• Director: Lambert Hillyer
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

March 28 – Siberia (USA, Fox Film Corporation)

• Cast: Alma Rubens, Edmund Lowe, Lou Tellegen, Tom Santschi, Paul Panzer
• Director: Victor Schertzinger
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

March 28 – The Combat (USA, Universal Pictures)

• Cast: House Peters, Wanda Hawley, Walter McGrail, C.E. Anderson, Charles Hill Mailes
• Director: Lynn Reynolds
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

March 28 – The Exquisite Sinner (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: Conrad Nagel, Renée Adorée, Paulette Duval, Frank Currier, George K. Arthur, Matthew Betz
• Director: Josef von Sternberg
• Trivia: The film never received a general release as MGM felt it was visually impressive but lacked a story. The film was shelved, and a second version with the same sets and cast, but different director, was produced and released in 1927. A print of the film is said to exist in the Turner Entertainment Company archives, but no print has surfaced, with only a few stills and promotional artwork known to exist.

March 28 – The Non-Stop Flight (USA, Emory Johnson Productions)

• Cast: Knute Erickson, Marcella Day, David Dunbar, Frank Hemphill, James Wang
• Director: Emory Johnson
• Trivia: The screenplay was written by Emilie Johnson, the director’s mother. Johnson had the full cooperation of the US Navy in making the film. The film does exist, according to the Library of Congress.

March 28 – The Nutcracker (USA, Samuel S. Hutchinson Productions)

• Cast: Edward Everett Horton, Mae Busch, Harry Myers, Tom Ricketts, Martha Mattox
• Director: Lloyd Ingraham
• Trivia: Based on the 1920 novel The Nut Cracker by Frederic S. Isham. The film is considered lost.

April – Mike (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: Sally O’Neill, William Haines, Charlie Murray, Ned Sparks, Ford Sterling
• Director: Marshall Neilan
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April – Thrilling Youth (USA, Billy West Productions-West Brothers Productions)

• Cast: Billy West, Gloria Grey, George Bunny, Charles Clary
• Director: Grover Jones
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 1 – Broadway Billy (USA, Harry Joe Brown Productions)

• Cast: Billy Sullivan, Virginia Brown Faire, Jack Herrick, Hazel Howell
• Director: Harry Joe Brown
• Trivia: Long thought lost, the Library of Congress listed the film as found in February 2021.

April 1 – The Law of the Snow Country (USA, Bud Barsky Corporation)

• Cast: Kenneth MacDonald, Jane Thomas, Noble Johnson, William H. Strauss
• Director: Paul Hurst
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

1936

March 26 – The Cardinal (UK, Grosvenor Films)

• Cast: Matheson Lang, Eric Portman, Robert Atkins, O. B. Clarence
• Director: Sinclair Hill
• Trivia: The film entered general UK release on July 27, 1936, but has no known US theatrical release date.

March 27 – Betty Boop and Little Jimmy (USA, short, Fleischer Studios)

• Voice Cast: Mae Questel
• Director: Dave Fleischer

March 27 – Caryl of the Mountains (USA, Reliable Pictures Corporation)

• Cast: Rin Tin Tin, Jr., Ralph Bushman, Lois Wilde, Josef Swickard, Earl Dwire
• Director: Bernard B. Ray
• Trivia: Released as Get That Girl in the UK.

March 27 – Charlie Chan at the Circus (USA, 20th Century Fox)

• Cast: Warner Oland, Keye Luke, George Brasno, Olive Brasno, Francis Ford
• Director: Harry Lachman
• Trivia: 11th Fox-produced Chan film starring Warner Oland.

March 27 – Debt of Honour (London, British National Films)

• Cast: Leslie Banks, Will Fyffe, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Niall MacGinnis, Reginald Purdell
• Director: Norman Walker
• Trivia: Entered general UK release on November 2, 1936, but has no known US theatrical release date. Also known as The Man Who Could Not Forget.

March 27 – Desert Gold (USA, Paramount Pictures)

• Cast: Buster Crabbe, Robert Cummings, Marsha Hunt, Tom Keene, Leif Erickson, Monte Blue, Raymond Hatton
• Director: James P. Hogan
• Trivia: Reissued as Desert Storm. The Kansas Board of Review required the shortening of a whipping scene and the eliminations of close-ups where an Indian is tied to a post before the film could be exhibited in the state.

March 27 – Doughnuts and Society (USA, Mascot Pictures)

• Cast: Louise Fazenda, Maude Eburne, Ann Rutherford, Edward Nugent, Hedda Hopper, Franklin Pangborn
• Director: Lewis D. Collins

March 27 – Moonlight Murder (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: Chester Morris, Madge Evans, Leo Carrillo, Frank McHugh, Benita Hume
• Director: Edwin L. Marin

March 27 – O’Malley of the Mounted (USA, Sol Lesser Productions-Atherton Productions)

• Cast: George O’Brien, Irene Ware, Stanley Fields, James Bush, Victor Potel, Reginald Barlow
• Director: David Howard

March 28 – Elmer Elephant (USA, short, Walt Disney Productions)

• Voice Cast: Jeanie Roberts, Pinto Colvig, Hal Rees, Leone LeDoux, Carlisle Tupper
• Director: Wilfred Jackson
• Trivia: While Elmer Elephant became popular through merchandising, he never made a theatrical appearance again except for a some crowd shots in Toby Tortoise Returns, and a cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

March 28 – Road Gang (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Donald Woods, Kay Linaker, Carlyle Moore Jr., Joseph Crehan, Henry O’Neill, Joe King
• Director: Louis King

March 28 – The Shadow of Mike Emerald (UK, George Smith Productions)

• Cast: Leslie Perrins, Marjorie Mars, Martin Lewis, Vincent Holman, Atholl Fleming
• Director: Maclean Rogers
• Trivia: The film has no known US theatrical release. The film was produced as a quote quickie for release by RKO Pictures in the UK.

March 30 – From Nine to Nine (London, Coronet Pictures)

• Cast: Ruth Roland, Roland Drew, Doris Covert, Kenne Duncan, Alex Frazer
• Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
• Trivia: Opened in the US on December 21, 1936.

March 30 – Too Many Parents (USA, Paramount Pictures)

• Cast: Frances Farmer, Lester Matthews, Porter Hall, Henry Travers, Billy Lee
• Director: Robert F. McGowan

April 1 – In Paris, A.W.O.L. (USA, William Rowland Productions)

• Cast: Lola Lane, Irene Ware, Lawrence Gray, Chick Chandler, George Meeker
• Director: Roland D. Reed
• Trivia: Reissued as Let’s Pretend We’re Sweethearts.

1946

March 27 – Gentlemen with Guns (USA, Sigmund Neufeld Productions)

• Cast: Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Patricia Knox, Steve Darrell, George Chesebro
• Director: Sam Newfield
• Trivia: 32nd of 36 Billy the Kid films starring Buster Crabbe.

March 28 – Hop Harrigan (USA, serial, Sam Katzman Productions)

• Cast: William Bakewell, Jennifer Holt, Robert ‘Buzz’ Henry, Sumner Getchell, Emmett Vogan
• Director: Derwin Abrahams
• Trivia: Also known as Hop Harrigan: America’s Ace of the Airways. Based on the Hop Harrigan DC Comics.

March 28 – Talk About a Lady (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Jinx Falkenburg, Forrest Tucker, Joe Besser, Trudy Marshall, Richard Lane
• Director: George Sherman

March 29 – Night Editor (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: William Gargan, Janis Carter, Jeff Donnell, Coulter Irwin, Roy Gordon
• Director: Henry Levin
• Trivia: Based on a popular radio series of the same name, and the screenplay was based on the episode ‘Inside Story’.

March 29 – Sheriff of Redwood Valley (USA, Republic Pictures)

• Cast: Wild Bill Elliott, Robert Blake, Bob Steele, Alice Fleming, Peggy Stewart
• Director: R.G. Springsteen

March 29 – Uncivil War Birds (USA, short, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Theodore Lorch, John Tyrrell, Robert B. Williams
• Director: Jules White
• Trivia: 90th of 190 Three Stooges shorts produced by Columbia. It is a remake of the 1939 Buster Keaton short Mooching Through Georgia, with stock footage borrowed from that film. This short would mark the final appearances of three long-time Stooge regulars — Lew Davis, John Tyrrell, and Bobby Burns — who all died in 1948, 1949 and 1966, respectively. In one scene, Curly accidentally tears off one of his fake sideburns and throws it to the ground with a blindfold, but in the next shot the sideburn is back on his face.

March 30 – The Gay Cavalier (USA, Monogram Pictures)

• Cast: Gilbert Roland, Martin Garralaga, Nacho Galindo, Ramsay Ames, Tristram Coffin
• Director: William Nigh

1956

March 27 – Patterns (USA, Jed Harris-Michael Myerberg)

• Cast: Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice Straight, Elizabeth Wilson, Joanna Roos, Andrew Duggan
• Director: Fielder Cook
• Trivia: Also known as Patterns of Power. The screenplay was adapted by Rod Serling from his 1955 teleplay of the same name.

March 27 – The Feminine Touch (UK, Ealing Studios)

• Cast: George Baker, Belinda Lee, Delphi Lawrence, Adrienne Corri, Henryetta Edwards
• Director: Pat Jackson
• Trivia: Released in the US on December 11, 1957 as The Gentle Touch. Released in Canada as A Lamp is Heavy. It was the last feature film produced in three-strip Technicolor.

March 29 – Massacre (Mexico City, Lippert Pictures)

• Cast: Dane Clark, James Craig, Martha Roth, Miguel Torruco, Jamie Fernandez, Ferrusquilla
• Director: Louis King
• Trivia: Opened in the US on July 1, 1956. Also known as Charge of the Rurales.

March 29 – On the Threshold of Space (USA, 20th Century Fox)

• Cast: Guy Madison, Virginia Leith, John Hodiak, Dean Jagger, Warren Stevens, Martin Milner
• Director: Robert D. Webb
• Trivia: Also known as Threshold of Space. John Hodiak’s final film, dying of a heart attack just before he was to film his final scenes.

March 31 – Miracle in the Rain (New York City, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Jane Wyman, Van Johnson, Peggie Castle, Fred Clark, Eileen Heckart, Barbara Nichols, Paul Picerni, Alan King, Arte Johnson
• Director: Rudolph Maté
• Trivia: Opened nationwide in the US in April 1956.

March 31 – The Harder They Fall (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, Max Baer, Edward Andrews, Nehemiah Persoff, Jack Albertson
• Director: Mark Robson
• Trivia: Humphrey Bogart’s final film. The film was released with two different endings, one in which Bogart’s character demands boxing be banned altogether, and another where he insists on a federal investigation into boxing. The video version contains the harder ending, while TV prints have the softer message. Due to Bogart’s battle with esophageal cancer, it has been reported that some of his dialogue was dubbed in post-production by Paul Frees. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography – Black and White.

1966

March 26 – Daffy Rents (USA, short, DePatie–Freleng Enterprises)

• Voice Cast: Mel Blanc, Gonzales Gonzales
• Director: Robert McKimson
• Trivia: The short includes a parody of Dr. Ben Casey with the character Dr. Ben Crazy.

March 29 – That Riviera Touch (London, The Rank Organisation)

• Cast: Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise, Suzanne Lloyd, Paul Stassino
• Director: Cliff Owen
• Trivia: Received a general UK release on April 8, 1966, with a US release in June 1968. Second feature-length film made by the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise. The film was originally announced as Love on the Riviera with James Robertson Justice and Leslie Phillips, but was turned into a vehicle for the comedy duo after their debut in The Intelligence Men.

March 30 – Cast a Giant Shadow (USA, Batjac Productions)

• Cast: Kirk Douglas, Angie Dickinson, Senta Berger, James Donald, Topol
• Director: Melville Shavelson
• Trivia: John Wayne, Yul Brynner and Frank Sinatra appear in cameo roles. Michael Douglas appears in an uncredited role. He was to have played a sentry who shoots the senior Douglas’ character, but it was deemed too gimmicky and cut. The junior Douglas played a Jeep driver instead. George Segal was originally in line to play the role played by Kirk Douglas.

March 30 – The Trouble with Angels (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Rosalind Russell, Binnie Barnes, Camilla Sparv, Mary Wickes, Marge Redmond, Dolores Sutton, Hayley Mills
• Director: Ida Lupino
• Trivia: Final theatrical film directed by Lupino. This was the first post-Disney role for Hayley Mills. Marge Redmond would play a nun the following year on The Flying Nun, Mary Wickes would reprise her nun role in the sequel, Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows, and would play a nun again in Sister Act, and Portia Nelson played a nun a year earlier in The Sound of Music. Gypsy Rose Lee appears in a small role, and Jim Hutton has an uncredited cameo. Producer William Frye wanted Greta Garbo, who had not made a film since 1941, to play Mother Superior, but she turned down the $1 million offer. Rosalind Russell accepted the role. The film’s working title was Mother Superior.

March 30 – The Uncle (France, British Lion Film Corporation)

• Cast: Rupert Davies, Brenda Bruce, Robert Duncan, Ann Lynn, Christopher Ariss
• Director: Desmond Davis
• Trivia: Opened in the US on July 18, 1966.

March 31 – Frankie and Johnny (USA, Frankie and Johnny Productions)

• Cast: Elvis Presley, Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, Sue Ane Langdon, Nancy Kovack
• Director: Frederick De Cordova
• Trivia: De Cordova went on to become the director and producer of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1970.

1976

March 26 – Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (USA, Caldwell Productions)

• Cast: Marjoe Gortner, Lynda Carter, Jesse Vint, Merrie Lynn Ross, Gerrit Graham, Belinda Balaski
• Director: Mark L. Lester
• Trivia: Feature film debut of Lynda Carter, four months after her first TV appearance as Wonder Woman. Originally to be titled Desperado, the film’s working title was Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw Man. Sylvester Stallone was nearly cast in the lead role.

March 26 – Ride a Wild Pony (USA, Walt Disney Productions)

• Cast: Robert Bettles, Eva Griffith, Michael Craig, John Meillon, Graham Rouse
• Director: Don Chaffey
• Trivia: First opened in Australia on November 2, 1975. The Australian setting was going to be changed to an American setting, but the producer felt the original setting would not be detrimental to US box office success.

March 26 – Sky Riders (USA, Sandy Howard Productions)

• Cast: James Coburn, Susannah York, Robert Culp, Charles Aznavour, Harry Andrews, John Beck, Zouzou
• Director: Douglas Hickox
• Trivia: Also known as Assault on the Forbidden Fortress. The film was produced under the title Hostages.

March 29 – Mustang Country (USA, limited, Universal Pictures)

• Cast: Joel McCrea, Robert Fuller, Patrick Wayne, Nika Mina
• Director: John C. Champion
• Trivia: The film received a wide US release on April 22, 1976. Joel McCrea’s last major film role. There is no record of Indigenous American actor Nika Mina appearing in any further movies.

March 31 – Snuff (USA, August Films)

• Cast: Margarita Amuchástegui, Ana Carro, Liliana Fernández, Alfredo Iglesias, Enrique Larratelli, Mirta Massa, Michael Findlay
• Directors: Michael Findlay, Horacio Fredriksson
• Trivia: The original concept for the film was based on the Manson Family murders, with the original title Slaughter. It is notorious for being marketed as if actual murders are shown in the movie. It was shot mainly without sound as most of the actors spoke little English. As a publicity stunt, the producer hired fake protesters to picket movie theaters showing the film, and was surprised when real protesters joined them. The stunt generated a media frenzy, with commentators and groups condemning the film without having seen it. Despite the supposed murder scene at the end of the film exposed as a hoax, rumors persisted that a real murder was shown.

March 31 – W.C. Fields and Me (USA, Universal Pictures)

• Cast: Rod Steiger, Valerie Perrine, Jack Cassidy, John Marley, Bernadette Peters, Dana Elcar, Allan Arbus
• Director: Arthur Hiller
• Trivia: Karen Black was offered the role of Fields’ mistress Carlotta, but turned it down to work with Alfred Hitchcock on Family Plot, which would be his last film. Stan Winston created the make-up to transform Steiger into Fields.

April 1 – The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (USA, Twentieth Century Fox)

• Cast: George Segal, Goldie Hawn, Conrad Janis, Thayer David
• Director: Melvin Frank
• Trivia: The film received mediocre reviews, but Hawn earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

1986

March 26 – The Money Pit (USA, Amblin Entertainment)

• Cast: Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov, Joe Mantegna, Philip Bosco, Frankie Faison, Josh Mostel
• Director: Richard Benjamin
• Trivia: The film is a loose remake of the 1948 Cary Grant comedy film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Wendell Pierce has a small role as a paramedic. Kathleen Turner was the first choice for the Shelley Long role, but had to turn it down for The Jewel of the Nile.

March 28 – Lucas (USA/Canada, Lawrence Gordon Productions)

• Cast: Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Winona Ryder, Jeremy Piven, Gary Cole
• Director: David Seltzer
• Trivia: Seltzer’s directorial debut, with Thorne-Smith and Ryder also making their film debuts.

1996

March 29 – A Family Thing (USA, Butcher’s Run Films)

• Cast: Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones, Michael Beach, Irma P. Hall, David Keith, Grace Zabriskie, Regina Taylor
• Director: Richard Pearce
• Trivia: Billy Bob Thornton co-wrote the screenplay.

March 29 – All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (USA/Canada, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation)

• Voice Cast: Charlie Sheen, Dom DeLuise, Sheena Easton, Adam Wylie, George Hearn, Bebe Neuwirth, Ernest Borgnine, Wallace Shawn, Hamilton Camp, Dan Castellaneta
• Director: Paul Sabella
• Trivia: Dom DeLuise reprises his role from the first film. Sheen, Borgnine and Neuwirth replace Burt Reynolds, Vic Tayback and Melba Moore from the first film. The character Anne-Marie was written out of the sequel out of respect for voice actress Judith Barsi, who was murdered on July 25, 1988. The film was to have been released during the 1995 holiday season, but was moved to March to avoid competition with Toy Story and Balto.

March 29 – Carried Away (USA, limited, Cinetel Films)

• Cast: Dennis Hopper, Todd Duffey, Amy Irving, Amy Locane, Julie Harris, Gary Busey, Hal Holbrook
• Director: Bruno Barreto
• Trivia: Also known as Acts of Love.

March 29 – Denise Calls Up (USA, Dark Matter Productions)

• Cast: Tim Daly, Caroleen Feeney, Dan Gunther, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Liev Schreiber, Aida Turturro, Sylvia Miles
• Director: Hal Salwen
• Trivia: The actors were allowed to meet each other once before filming began, then shot their phone scenes separately.

March 29 – Sgt. Bilko (USA/UK, Imagine Entertainment)

• Cast: Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Phil Hartman, Glenne Headly, Daryl Mitchell, Austin Pendleton, Max Casella, Debra Jo Rupp, Richard Herd, Chris Rock
• Director: Jonathan Lynn
• Trivia: Film adaptation of the 1950s sitcom The Phil Silvers Show, which was informally known as Sgt. Bilko (the title was also used in Syndication). Albert Brooks was reportedly offered the role of Bilko, but turned it down. The studio was hoping the film would launch a franchise. Instead, it won the award for Worst Resurrection of a TV Show at the 1996 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.

March 29 – What About Me (USA, Rachel Amodeo)

• Cast: Rachel Amodeo, Richard Edson, Johnny Thunders, Nick Zedd, Gregory Corso, Richard Hell, Dee Dee Ramone, Judy Carne, Rockets Redglare, Jerry Nolan
• Director: Rachel Amodeo
• Trivia: The film was screened at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 1993, but did not get a theatrical release in the US until 1996.

2006

March 31 – ATL (USA/Canada, Sweet Tea Pictures LLC)

• Cast: T.I., Evan Ross, Jackie Long, Jason Weaver, Albert Daniels, Big Boi, Mykelti Williamson, Lonette McKee, Monica
• Director: Chris Robinson
• Trivia: Feature directorial debut of music video director Robinson. It was also the first film for a majority of the cast. Big Gipp, Bone Crusher, Killer Mike and Jazze Pha appear as themselves. The cast gathered at Atlanta’s Skatetown three months before production to begin training for the skating sequences in the film. Many had never been on skates before. The film’s working title was Jellybean.

March 31 – Basic Instinct 2 (USA/UK, C-2 Pictures)

• Cast: Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, Charlotte Rampling, David Thewlis, Hugh Dancy
• Director: Michael Caton-Jones
• Trivia: First opened in Spain on March 21, 2006. MGM announced the sequel for a 2002 release, but cancelled plans in 2001. Stone sued the producers claiming she was guaranteed $14 million for her participation, even if the film was not made. The lawsuit was settled in 2004 with Stone agreeing to make the movie. Original director Paul Verhoeven was offered the director’s chair but turned it down because he wanted Benjamin Bratt to play the male lead and Stone did not approve. David Cronenberg and Lee Tamahori were also considered to direct. Robert Downey Jr. turned down the role of Dr. Glass, and Aaron Eckhart was also considered before Morrissey was cast. Morrissey said he hit it off immediately with Stone, and it remained that way throughout filming. The film received seven Razzie nominations, winning Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Prequel or Sequel.

March 31 – Ice Age: The Meltdown (USA, Blue Sky Studios)

• Cast: Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Will Arnett, Jay Leno, Chris Wedge, Joe Bologna, Renée Taylor, Alan Tudyk
• Director: Carlos Saldanha
• Trivia: First opened in Belgium on March 29, 2006. Second installment in the Ice Age series. The film was first announced as Ice Age 2, then Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, but the ‘2’ was removed before the film’s release. The characters were redesigned for the film to make them feel more alive and less mechanical.

March 31 – Slither (USA/Canada, Strike Entertainment)

• Cast: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Tania Saulnier, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Jenna Fischer, Dustin Milligan
• Director: James Gunn
• Trivia: Gunn’s directorial debut. Troma Films co-founder Lloyd Kaufman makes a cameo appearance as a drunk, Rob Zombie voices physician Dr. Karl, and Gunn makes an uncredited appearance as well. Horror fans felt the film ripped off Night of the Creeps, but it was more of a pastiche of 1980s horror, with David Cronenberg’s Shivers and The Brood major influences. The film also pays homage to Rosemary’s Baby (with a farm owned by Castavet), and John Carpenter’s The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China (mayor Jack MacReady is a combination of names of Kurt Russell’s characters in those movies).

2016

March 30 – Everybody Wants Some!! (US, limited, Annapurna Pictures)

• Cast: Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Wyatt Russell
• Director: Richard Linklater
• Trivia: Linklater wrote the film in 2005, and tried to get financing in 2009, unable to get the production started until Annapurna Pictures got involved. The film’s original title was That’s What I’m Talking About, and was considered a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused. Linklater also considers it a spiritual sequel to Boyhood, as the story picks up where that film ends. Hoechlin was offered a role in the film and chose it over returning to MTV’s Teen Wolf series for its fifth season. Linklater hosted the cast at his Austin-area ranch to create camaraderie before shooting.

April 1 – God’s Not Dead 2 (USA/Canada, 10 West Studios)

• Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Jesse Metcalfe, David A. R. White, Hayley Orrantia, Sadie Robertson, Ernie Hudson, Pat Boone, Fred Dalton Thompson, Robin Givens
• Director: Harold Cronk
• Trivia: Final film of Fred Dalton Thompson, who died in November 2015.

April 1 – Meet the Blacks (USA, McIntosh Films)

• Cast: Mike Epps, Gary Owen, Zulay Henao, Bresha Webb, Paul Mooney, Charlie Murphy, George Lopez, Mike Tyson
• Director: Deon Taylor
• Trivia: The film is a parody of The Purge. Last film for Charlie Murphy and Paul Mooney.

April 1 – Miles Ahead (USA, limited, IM Global-Sobini Films)

• Cast: Don Cheadle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg, LaKeith Stanfield
• Director: Don Cheadle
• Trivia: Expanded nationwide in the US on April 22, 2016. Cheadle’s directorial debut. Cheadle had been interested in starring as Miles Davis since 2006, and that year at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when Davis was being inducted, Davis’ nephew stated Cheadle was the only person who could play Davis in a film that was in the works. At the time, there was no project, and the announcement came as a surprise to Cheadle, though he was intrigued and met with the Davis family. Cheadle did not like any of the pitches, but came up with one of his own which the family approved, and he realized he was the only person who could direct and star in the film. The original title was Kill the Trumpet Player. The film was partially funded through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

April 1 – Pandemic (USA/Canada, Parkside Pictures)

• Cast: Rachel Nichols, Alfie Allen, Danielle Rose Russell, Missi Pyle, Mekhi Phifer
• Director: John Suits
• Trivia: The film is shot in a first-person POV, with a male and female camera operator used for the appropriate characters. The script’s original title was Viral.