Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #298 :: April 9•15

It’s another pretty big movie release week with a lot of pretty unmemorable movies making their premieres, but there are a few gems here. 1926 is an odd year in that there is little information on the survival status of any of the movies released that week. 1936 has a Frank Capra classic, 1946 has a horror sequel in name only, 1956 has a musical remake featuring the same star from both versions, 1966 has a horror double feature, one of which its star regretted, 1976 revisited a political scandal, and gave us the final film from the Master of Suspense, 1986 had a Gremlins rip-off that actually wasn’t a rip-off, 1996 brought a Roald Dahl tale to stop-animated life, and saw a TV comedy troupe hit the big screen, 2006 spoofed a horror franchise for the fourth time, and 2016 brought an animated Disney classic vividly to life … with CGI animation. Scroll down to see all the movies 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

April 10 – Out of the Storm (USA, Tiffany Productions)

• Cast: Jacqueline Logan, Tyrone Power Sr., Edmund Burns, Montagu Love, Eddie Phillips
• Director: Louis J. Gasnier
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 11 – Old Loves and New (USA, Sam E. Rork Productions)

• Cast: Lewis Stone, Barbara Bedford, Walter Pidgeon, Katherine MacDonald, Tully Marshall
• Director: Maurice Tourneur
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

April 11 – Rustlers’ Ranch (USA, Blue Streak Western)

• Cast: Art Acord, Olive Hasbrouck, Duke R. Lee, George Chesebro, Edith Yorke
• Director: Clifford Smith
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 11 – Rustling for Cupid (USA, Fox Film Corporation)

• Cast: George O’Brien, Anita Stewart, Russell Simpson, Edith Yorke, Herbert Prior
• Director: Irving Cummings
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 11 – Sandy (USA, Fox Film Corporation)

• Cast: Madge Bellamy, Leslie Fenton, Harrison Ford, Gloria Hope, Ben Bard
• Director: Harry Beaumont
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 11 – Sir Lumberjack (USA, Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation)

• Cast: Maurice ‘Lefty’ Flynn, Kathleen Myers, Tom Kennedy, Will Walling
• Director: Harry Garson
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 11 – The Big Show (USA, Miller Brothers Productions)

• Cast: John Lowell, Evangeline Russell, F. Serrano Keating, Jane Thomas
• Director: George Terwilliger
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 12 – Peter Vernon’s Silence (AUS, Longford-Lyell Productions)

• Cast: Rawdon Blandford, Walter Hunt, Loretta May, Rene Sandeman, Iris Webster
• Director: Raymond Longford
• Trivia: Final film of writer Lottie Lyell, and the last from Longford-Lyell Productions. The film is considered lost.

April 15 – Unknown Dangers (USA, Hercules Film Productions)

• Cast: Frank Merrill, Gloria Grey, Eddie Boland, Marcin Asher, Emily Gerdes, Theodore Lorch
• Director: Grover Jones
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

April 15 – Winning the Futurity (USA, Chadwick Pictures Corporation)

• Cast: Cullen Landis, Clara Horton, Ernest Hilliard, Bruce Covington, Pat Harmon
• Director: Scott R. Dunlap
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

1936

April 10 – A Message to Garcia (USA, 20th Century Pictures)

• Cast: Wallace Beery, Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Alan Hale, Herbert Mundin
• Director: George Marshall
• Trivia: The film’s story had previously been filmed in 1916 under the same title. One of the final films from 20th Century Pictures before the merger with Fox. John Carradine dubbed Dell Henderson’s voice as President William McKinley.

April 10 – Gentle Julia (USA, 20th Century Fox)

• Cast: Jane Withers, Tom Brown, Marsha Hunt, Jackie Searl, Francis Ford, Hattie McDaniel
• Director: John G. Blystone
• Trivia: Based on the 1922 novel of the same title by Booth Tarkington.

April 10 – Panic on the Air (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Lew Ayres, Florence Rice, Benny Baker, Edwin Maxwell, Charles C. Wilson, Murray Alper
• Director: D. Ross Lederman

April 10 – Small Town Girl (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, Binnie Barnes, Andy Devine, Lewis Stone, James Stewart, Charlie Grapewin
• Director: William A. Wellman
• Trivia: The film has no relation to the 1953 musical of the same title.

April 10 – The Moon’s Our Home (USA, Walter Wanger Productions)

• Cast: Margaret Sullavan, Henry Fonda, Henrietta Crosman, Walter Brennan, Charles Butterworth, Beulah Bondi, Margaret Hamilton
• Director: William A. Seiter
• Trivia: Based on a novel by Faith Baldwin serialized in Cosmopolitan magazine.

April 10 – The Unguarded Hour (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: Loretta Young, Franchot Tone, Lewis Stone, Roland Young, Jessie Ralph
• Director: Sam Wood
• Trivia: Based on the 1935 play of the same title by Bernard Merivale.

April 11 – Second Childhood (USA, short, Hal Roach Studios)

• Cast: Darla Hood, Eugene Lee, George McFarland, Carl Switzer, Billie Thomas
• Director: Gus Meins
• Trivia: The 144th Our Gang short, the last to be directed by Meins. Unbeknownst to the cast, actress Zeffie Tilbury was blind, led around by her staff between takes. Much of the cast returned for the 1940 remake, Kiddie Kure.

April 11 – The Singing Kid (USA, First National Pictures)

• Cast: Al Jolson, Sybil Jason, Beverly Roberts, Edward Everett Horton, Lyle Talbot, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra
• Director: William Keighley

April 12 – Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille
• Director: Frank Capra
• Trivia: Charles Lan, Franklin Pangborn and ‘Gabby’ Hayes appear in uncredited roles. Carole Lombard quit the film three days before filming to make My Man Godfrey, replaced with Jean Arthur. The working title was Opera Hat.

April 13 – Comin’ Round the Mountain (USA, Republic Pictures)

• Cast: Gene Autry, Ann Rutherford, Smiley Burnette, LeRoy Mason, Champion
• Director: Mack V. Wright

April 14 – Federal Agent (USA, George A. Hirliman Productions)

• Cast: William Boyd, Irene Ware, Don Alvarado, Lenita Lane, George Cooper
• Director: Sam Newfield

April 15 – Feud of the West (USA, Walter Futter Productions)

• Cast: Hoot Gibson, Buzz Barton, Ed Cassidy, Joan Barclay
• Director: Harry L. Fraser

April 15 – Lightnin’ Bill Carson (USA, Excelsior Pictures)

• Cast: Tim McCoy, Lois January, Rex Lease, Harry Worth, Karl Hackett
• Director: Sam Newfield

April 15 – The Drag-Net (USA, Burroughs-Tarzan Pictures Inc.)

• Cast: Rod La Rocque, Marian Nixon, Betty Compson, Jack Adair, John Dilson, Edward Keane
• Director: Vin Moore

1946

April 10 – Dragonwyck (New York City, 20th Century Fox)

• Cast: Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Walter Huston, Glenn Langan, Anne Revere, Spring Byington, Harry Morgan, Jessica Tandy
• Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Trivia: Gregory Peck was to play the male lead, but when original director Ernst Lubitsch dropped out due to illness, Peck also dropped out and was replaced with Vincent Price.

April 10 – Murder in the Music Hall (USA, Republic Pictures)

• Cast: Vera Hruba Ralston, William Marshall, Helen Walker, Nancy Kelly, William Gargan, Ann Rutherford
• Director: John English
• Trivia: The film involves a murder in Radio City Music Hall with The Rockettes as suspects.

April 11 – The Undercover Woman (USA, Republic Pictures)

• Cast: Stephanie Bachelor, Robert Livingston, Isabel Withers, Helene Heigh, Edythe Elliott
• Director: Thomas Carr

April 12 – Thunder Town (USA, Producers Releasing Corporation)

• Cast: Bob Steele, Syd Saylor, Ellen Hall, Bud Geary, Charles King
• Director: Harry L. Fraser

April 15 – Devil Bat’s Daughter (USA, Producers Releasing Corporation)

• Cast: Rosemary La Planche, Molly Lamont, John James, Michael Hale, Nolan Leary
• Director: Frank Wisbar
• Trivia: A sequel to 1941’s The Devil Bat without any of the original cast returning. Film debut of Michael Hale.

April 15 – Ding Dong Williams (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)

• Cast: Glenn Vernon, Marcy McGuire, Felix Bressart, Anne Jeffreys, James Warren, Tommy Noonan, Jason Robards Sr.
• Director: William Berke
• Trivia: Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers appear as themselves.

1956

April 11 – Backlash (USA, Universal International Pictures)

• Cast: Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, William Campbell, John McIntire, Barton MacLane, Harry Morgan, Edward C. Platt
• Director: John Sturges
• Trivia: The Western drama sometimes crosses into the film noir genre.

April 11 – Seven Wonders of the World (USA, documentary, Cinerama Productions Corp.)

• Cast: Lowell Thomas, Paul Mantz
• Directora: Tay Garnett, Paul Mantz, Andrew Marton, Ted Tetzlaff, Walter Thompson
• Trivia: Claude Dauphin is the narrator for the French version of the film. It was the second Cinerama film to go into production, but the third to be released.

April 12 – The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (New York City, 20th Century Fox)

• Cast: Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Marisa Pavan, Lee J. Cobb, Ann Harding, Keenan Wynn, Gene Lockhart
• Director: Nunnally Johnson
• Trivia: Based on the 1955 novel by Sloan Wilson.

April 13 – Anything Goes (USA, Paramount Pictures)

• Cast: Bing Crosby, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Zizi Jeanmaire, Phil Harris, Kurt Kasznar
• Director: Robert Lewis
• Trivia: Adapted from the 1934 stage musical Anything Goes by Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, and P. G. Wodehouse, which had already been produced as a film in 1936 (and was retitled when the drastically rewritten 1956 version was released). Crosby starred in both versions but each character had a different name.

April 13 – Tribute to a Bad Man (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: James Cagney, Don Dubbins, Stephen McNally, Irene Papas, Vic Morrow
• Director: Robert Wise
• Trivia: Spencer Tracy was the original star, but he clashed with director Wise and claimed the high altitude of the location was making him sick, demanding it be moved lower, his disruptions finally leading to his dismissal. Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint and Jennifer Jones turned down the role of Jocasta Constantine, and Irene Papas was cast.

April 15 – Crashing the Water Barrier (USA, documentary short, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Knox Manning, Donald Campbell
• Director: Konstantin Kalser
• Trivia: Oscar winner for Best Short Subject (One-Reel) in 1957. Director Kalser admitted in 1966 that the film was produced by Marathon Petroleum as an advertisement.

1966

April 10 – Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (USA, Circle Productions Inc.)

• Cast: Chuck Courtney, John Carradine, Melinda Plowman, Virginia Christine
• Director: William Beaudine
• Trivia: Released on a double bill with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter. John Carradine called the film his only regret.

April 10 – Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (USA, Circle Productions Inc.)

• Cast: John Lupton, Narda Onyx, Estelita Rodriguez, Cal Bolder, Jim Davis
• Director: William Beaudine
• Trivia: Despite the film’s title, Jesse James actually encounters Frankenstein’s granddaughter. Both this film and Billy the Kid vs. Dracula were shot in eight days, and were the last feature films directed by Beaudine, who finished out his career directing television productions.

April 15 – Women of the Prehistoric Planet (USA, Standard Club of California Productions Inc.)

• Cast: Wendell Corey, Keith Larsen, John Agar, Paul Gilbert, Merry Anders, Stuart Margolin
• Director: Arthur C. Pierce
• Trivia: Despite the film’s title and poster, featuring a blonde and brunette in a catfight, there is only one woman in the film and she does not originate from the prehistoric planet.

1976

April – Hot Potato (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Jim Kelly, George Memmoli, Geoffrey Binney, Irene Tsu, Ron Prince
• Director: Oscar Williams
• Trivia: Also known as Twist the Tiger’s Tail. It is a follow-up to Black Belt Jones. Star Jim Kelly arranged his own fight scenes. The film served as a bridge between the waning blaxploitation genre and the beginning of the kung fu genre.

April 9 – All the President’s Men (USA, Wildwood Enterprises)

• Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards, Jane Alexander, Stephen Collins, Ned Beatty, Meredith Baxter
• Director: Alan J. Pakula
• Trivia: Robert Redford initially wanted Al Pacino to co-star with him as Carl Bernstein but later felt Dustin Hoffman was the better choice. Redford got top billing on posters and trailers, while Hoffman was top billed in the film itself. Jason Robards was always the first choice for Ben Bradlee, but Bradlee wanted George C. Scott to play him, unimpressed with Robards’ visit to the Washington Post newsroom. The film earned eight Oscar nominations, winning Supporting Actor for Robards, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction and Best Sound. It also received ten BAFTA and four Golden Globe nominations (with no wins). The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2010.

April 9 – Family Plot (USA, Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions)

• Cast: Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, William Devane, Ed Lauter, Katherine Helmond
• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• Trivia: Screenwriter Ernest Lehman envisioned the film as dark, sweeping and dramatic, but Hitchcock pushed him toward light comedy. The film’s original title was Deceit until it was changed midway through filming. Hitchcock’s signature cameo comes about 40 minutes into the film. Roy Thinnes was cast as Arthur Adamson, but Hitchcock was unhappy with his performance and replaced him with William Devane. John Williams was recommended to Hitchcock following his Oscar win for Jaws, and Williams has stated that the director was present at scoring sessions often offering suggestions. This was the final film directed by Hitchcock.

April 11 – The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (USA, Haworth Productions)

• Cast: Sarah Miles, Kris Kristofferson, Jonathan Kahn, Margo Cunningham, Earl Rhodes
• Director: Lewis John Carlino
• Trivia: The original story by Yukio Mishima is set in Japan, but the film relocated the story to England. Sarah Miles earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, and Jonathan Kahn was nominated for Best Actor Debut. It was his only feature film performance.

April 14 – Dixie Dynamite (USA, Saber Productions)

• Cast: Warren Oates, Christopher George, Jane Anne Johnstone, Kathy McHaley, R. G. Armstrong
• Director: Lee Frost
• Trivia: Steve McQueen appears uncredited in a scene as a motorbike driver.

April 14 – The River Niger (USA, Asanti Productions Inc.)

• Cast: Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., Glynn Turman, Jonelle Allen, Roger E. Mosley
• Director: Krishna Shah
• Trivia: The film has rarely been seen since its release.

1986

April – America 3000 (USA, Golan-Globus Productions)

• Cast: Chuck Wagner, Laurene Landon, William Wallace, Sue Giosa, Victoria Barrett
• Director: David Engelbach

April – The Ladies Club (USA, Heron Communications)

• Cast: Karen Austin, Diana Scarwid, Christine Belford, Bruce Davison, Shera Danese
• Director: A.K. Allen
• Trivia: A.K. Allen was a pseudonym for director Janet Greek.

April – P.O.W. The Escape (USA, Golan-Globus Productions)

• Cast: David Carradine, Charles R. Floyd, Mako Iwamatsu, Steve James, Phil Brock
• Director: Gideon Amir
• Trivia: The film’s story is a loose reimagining of Vera Cruz. The working title was Behind Enemy Lines.

April – The Devastator (USA, Rodeo Productions)

• Cast: Rick Hill, Katt Shea, Crofton Hardester, Terrence O’Hara, Bill McLaughlin
• Director: Cirio H. Santiago
• Trivia: Also known as The Destroyers and Kings Ransom.

April 11 – Band of the Hand (USA, Michael Mann Productions)

• Cast: Stephen Lang, Michael Carmine, Lauren Holly, Leon Robinson, John Cameron Mitchell
• Director: Paul Michael Glaser
• Trivia: The film, which holds a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was nominated for Worst Picture at the 1986 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, but lost to Howard the Duck.

April 11 – Critters (USA, Smart Egg Productions)

• Cast: Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy ‘Green’ Bush, Scott Grimes, Lin Shaye, Billy Zane, Ethan Phillips
• Director: Stephen Herek
• Trivia: Herek’s directorial debut.

April 11 – Off Beat (USA, Touchstone Pictures)

• Cast: Judge Reinhold, Meg Tilly, John Turturro, Cleavant Derricks, Jacques d’Amboise, Harvey Keitel, Joe Mantegna, Amy Wright, Anthony Zerbe, Penn Jillette, William Sadler, Chris Noth, Austin Pendleton, James Tolkan, Fred Gwynne
• Director: Michael Dinner

April 15 – Desert Bloom (New York City, Carson Productions)

• Cast: Annabeth Gish, Jon Voight, JoBeth Williams, Ellen Barkin, Jay Underwood
• Director: Eugene Corr
• Trivia: The film received a limited US release on January 22, 1986, and expanded to a nationwide release on April 18.

1996

April – They Bite (USA, Trio Entertainment)

• Cast: Donna Frotscher, Ron Jeremy, Nick Baldasare, Christina Veronica
• Director: Brett Piper

April 9 – Tremors 2: Aftershocks (USA, lmited, Stampede Entertainment)

• Cast: Fred Ward, Christopher Gartin, Helen Shaver, Michael Gross, Marcelo Tubert
• Director: S.S. Wilson
• Trivia: Kevin Bacon and Reba McEntire were expected to reprise their roles from the first film, but McEntire had to back out due to a major concert tour she had planned, and Bacon opted to make Apollo 13 instead. With a lack of star power, the studio quickly lost interest, but when other actors and effects artists offered to lower their fees to get the film made, or to work for free, the studio moved forward with the project. The film’s proposed $18 million budget was cut to $4 million, and production was moved to the home video unit of Universal as the original film had been a bigger hit on home video than in theaters. The same script was used, but several effects scenes were cut, and filming was moved from Australia to Mexico to cut costs. The film was released straight to home video, with only a limited theatrical release.

April 12 – Fear (USA/Canada, Imagine Entertainment)

• Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Alyssa Milano, Amy Brenneman
• Director: James Foley
• Trivia: The film was panned by critics, but was a teen idol launching pad for stars Wahlberg and Witherspoon. The film’s original title was No Fear. Leonardo DiCaprio was interested in the male lead role but then decided he was not right for the project, so he put in a good word for Wahlberg.

April 12 – Getting Away with Murder (USA, Savoy Pictures-The Rank Organisation)

• Cast: Dan Aykroyd, Lily Tomlin, Bonnie Hunt, Brian Kerwin
• Director: Harvey Miller
• Trivia: This was Miller’s final project.

April 12 – James and the Giant Peach (USA/Canada, Allied Filmmakers-DiNovi Pictures)

• Cast: Paul Terry, Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite, Steven Culp
• Voice Cast: Paul Terry, Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Susan Sarandon, David Thewlis, Miriam Margolyes
• Director: Henry Selick
• Trivia: Director Selick approached Elvis Costello to provide songs for the film, but Disney had no interest in Costello, suggesting Randy Newman instead, whom Selick had no interest in using because he was already being used at Pixar for Toy Story. Andy Patridge wrote four songs for the film, but was ultimately replaced with Newman because Disney wanted to own the songs in perpetuity. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Newman’s score.

April 12 – Jane Eyre (USA, Cineritino S.r.L.-Flach Film)

• Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna Paquin, William Hurt, Fiona Shaw, John Wood, Geraldine Chaplin
• Director: Franco Zeffirelli
• Trivia: First opened in South Korea on January 20, 1996. Zeffirelli’s use of Haddon Hall as the setting for Thornfield Hall has been used in subsequent versions of the story, making Haddon Hall now synonymous with Thornfield Hall.

April 12 – Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (US, limited, Lakeshore Entertainment-Broadway Video)

• Cast: Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson
• Director: Kelly Makin
• Trivia: Expanded to a nationwide US release on April 19, 1996. The film features cameos from Brendan Fraser and Janeane Garofalo, though Garofalo was almost entirely cut from the film. Dave Foley had already left the group to work on NewsRadio, but he was contractually obligated to appear in the film, though he plays fewer characters than the other actors. The movie faced controversy due to the Cancer Boy character, which Paramount insisted be removed from the film to no avail. The troupe later regretted their hardline stance and felt it made the studio resentful and reluctant to fully market the film. The studio did win when it came to the title, which was originally The Drug. The studio wanted something more marketable, and Bruce McCulloch came up with Brain Candy. Two endings were filmed, with the more upbeat one making the cut.

2006

April 13 – Opal Dream (Netherlands, Academy Features-BBC Film)

• Cast: Vince Colosimo, Jacqueline McKenzie, Christian Byers, Sapphire Boyce
• Director: Peter Cattaneo
• Trivia: Opened in the US on November 22, 2006. Also known as Poppy and Dingan.

April 14 – Hard Candy (USA, limited, Launchpad Productions-Vulcan Productions)

• Cast: Patrick Wilson, Elliot Page, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes, Gilbert John
• Director: David Slade
• Trivia: Opened in wide US release and limited Canadian release on April 28, 2006. David Slade’s feature debut following a music video directing career. The film was shot in 18 days, mostly in sequence. Early working titles were Vendetta and Snip Snip.

April 14 – Scary Movie 4 (USA/Canada, Dimension Films)

• Cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman, Anthony Anderson, Carmen Electra, Chris Elliott, Kevin Hart, Cloris Leachman, Michael Madsen, Dr. Phil McGraw, Leslie Nielsen, Shaquille O’Neal, Molly Shannon
• Director: David Zucker
• Trivia: First opened in Denmark on April 12, 2006. Carmen Electra won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress.

April 14 – The Wild (USA/Canada, C.O.R.E. Feature Animation)

• Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Eddie Izzard, Jim Belushi, Janeane Garofalo, Richard Kind, Greg Cipes, Patrick Warburton, William Shatner
• Director: Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams
• Trivia: First opened in Israel on April 6, 2006. The film started production in 2003, and took two years to complete. It was the only film produced by C.O.R.E. before they shut down in 2010. The film was nominated for Worst Animated Film by the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards in 2006.

2016

April 15 – The Jungle Book (USA/Canada/UK, Walt Disney Pictures)

• Cast: Neel Sethi
• Voice Cast: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Garry Shandling, Jon Favreau
• Director: Jon Favreau
• Trivia: First opened in Australia on April 7, 2016. This was Garry Shandling’s final film. It was Disney’s third live-action adaptation of the story, but more closely based on the 1967 animated original. The film was shot entirely on sound stages, with entirely computer animated animals, the actors recording their lines and performing motion capture for reference. Animal puppets from the Jim Henson Creature Shop were used for Sethi to act against, but none appear in the film. The film won an Oscar for Visual Effects and was nominated in the same category at the BAFTAs.

April 15 – Barbershop: The Next Cut (USA/Canada, Cube Vision)

• Cast: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Regina Hall, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Anthony Anderson, Jazsmin Lewis-Kelley, J. B. Smoove, Common, Lamorne Morris, Utkarsh Ambudkar
• Director: Malcolm D. Lee
• Trivia: Third film in the Barbershop series. The main cast reprised their roles except for Michael Ealy and Leonard Earl Howze.

April 15 – Criminal (USA/Canada/UK, Summit Entertainment)

• Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Gal Gadot, Antje Traue, Alice Eve, Michael Pitt
• Director: Ariel Vromen
• Trivia: First opened in Israel on April 7, 2016. Ryan Reynolds appears as a CIA agent in the film’s opening scene, and his character’s death sets the plot in motion.

April 15 – Green Room (USA, limited, Broad Green Pictures)

• Cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Patrick Stewart
• Director: Jeremy Saulnier
• Trivia: Expanded to a wide US release on May 13, 2016. Anton Yelchin’s final film released during his lifetime.