Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #45 :: June 2•8

Columbia Pictures

While there were films released in every decade this week except 1921, the early part of the century featured less than memorable releases. It’s not until after 1975 when Jaws signalled the era of the ‘Summer Blockbuster’ that studios began releasing multiple, big budget films, as reflected by the titles released in 1981, 1991, and 2001 (seems that everyone set out this week in 2011). So let’s take a stroll down the red carpet to see if any of your favorite films premiered this week.

1921

No new films were released this week in 1921.

1931

June 6 – Just a Gigolo

Cast: William Haines, Irene Purcell, C. Aubrey Smith, Charlotte Granville, Lilian Bond, Ray Milland, Yola d’Avril
Director: Jack Conway
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Adapted from the 1930 play of the same name, which also starred Irene Purcell. The song ‘Just a Gigolo’ is featured in the film. Though credited to Cedric Gibbons, because of his contract with MGM that put his name on all of the studio’s films, the art direction was actually by star William Haines, who soon left acting to pursue a highly successful interior design career.

1941

June 7 – Shining Victory

Cast: James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Barbara O’Neil, Montagu Love, Sig Ruman, George Huntley Jr., Richard Ainley, Bruce Lester, Leonard Mudie, Doris Lloyd, Frank Reicher, Hermine Sterler, Billy Bevan, Clare Verdera, Crauford Kent, Alec Craig, Louise Brien, Bette Davis
Director: Irving Rapper
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in New York City on May 30, 1941. Based on the 1940 play Jupiter Laughs by A. J. Cronin. Bette Davis snuck on to the set disguised as an extra playing a nurse to join her The Letter director and co-star. She said Irving Rapper didn’t realize it was her for the first few takes. The film’s original title was Winged Victory, but was changed when it was learned Moss Hart was writing a play with that title as a morale booster during World War II. The play was adapted to film with the title in 1944.

1951

June 2 – Along the Great Divide

Cast: Kirk Douglas, Virginia Mayo, John Agar, Walter Brennan, Ray Teal, Hugh Sanders, Morris Ankrum, James Anderson, Charles Meredith, Kenneth MacDonald
Director: Raoul Walsh
Studio: Warner Bros. Picture
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in New York City on May 16, 1951. This was Kirk Douglas’ first Western. It was also one of two films he told David Letterman that the audience could skip in his filmography. Morris Ankrum played the character of Ed Roden in this movie and its remake, Cheyenne: The Travelers. After the death of Virginia Mayo in 2005, Douglas was the last living cast member until his death in 2020.

1961

June 2 – Gidget Goes Hawaiian

Cast: James Darren, Michael Callan, Deborah Walley, Carl Reiner, Peggy Cass, Eddie Foy Jr., Jeff Donnell, Vicki Trickett, Joby Baker, Don Edmonds, Bart Patton, Jan Conaway, Robin Lory, Arnold Merritt
Director: Paul Wendkos
Studio: Jerry Bresler Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: For this sequel to Gidget, Deborah Walley took over the title role from Sandra Dee, who was under contract to Universal for the rival ‘Tammy’ film series and would not be released to Columbia to reprise the role. 150 actresses tried out for the role. Walley was established as Gidget with some scenes from the first film re-shot using new cast members.

Hammer Films

June 5 – Taste of Fear

Cast: Susan Strasberg, Ronald Lewis, Ann Todd, Christopher Lee, John Serret, Leonard Sachs, Anne Blake, Fred Johnson
Director: Seth Holt
Studio: Hammer Film Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation
Trivia: The film premiered in London on March 30, 1961 before its UK release on June 5. The film opened in the US on August 22, 1961 under the title Scream of Fear. The film was edited by one minute for the US release. Christopher Lee once said it was the best Hammer film he’d been in. His co-star Ann Tood disagreed, calling it ‘a terrible film’. A remake was announced in 2013 with J.A. Bayona directing, but so far no film has materialized.

June 6 – The Deadly Companions

Cast: Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, Chill Wills, Strother Martin, Will Wright, Jim O’Hara, Peter O’Crotty, Billy Vaughan, Big John Hamilton
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Studio: Carousel Productions, distributed by Pathé-America Distributing Company (US), Warner Bros. Pictures (International)
Trivia: Based on the novel of the same name by A. S. Fleischman. This was Sam Peckinpah’s motion picture directorial debut. Brian Keith suggested Peckinpah who was the producer of Keith’s just-cancelled TV series The Westerner. It was a learning experience for him, and he vowed to never direct another film unless he had script control. The film’s producer, Charles B. Fitzsimons, is Maureen O’Hara’s brother. Her younger brother Jim O’Hara also has a role in the film. The was the second of three films in which Keith and O’Hara appeared together between The Parent Trap and The Rare Breed. O’Hara, Fitzsimons and Fleischman formed Carousel Pictures to get the film made.

June 8 – Romanoff and Juliet

Cast: Peter Ustinov, Sandra Dee, John Gavin, Akim Tamiroff, Tamara Shayne, Alix Talton, Rik Van Nutter, John Phillips, Peter Jones, Suzanne Cloutier
Director: Peter Ustinov
Studio: Pavla Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in June 1961, and had its Los Angeles premiere on June 2. Film adaptation of the play Romanoff and Juliet, which was itself loosely based on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Peter Ustinov was nominated for the Golden Bear (Best Picture) at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival, and by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures. Ustinov provided the voices of all the U.N. delegates in the opening scene. Akim Tamiroff & Tamara Shayne were married in real life, and Suzanne Cloutier was married to Ustinov. Universal allowed Ustinov to direct the film after receiving an Oscar for his performance in Spartacus as long as he cast contract players Sandra Dee and John Gavin in the lead roles, and the film’s budget did not exceed $1 million.

June 8 – The Last Sunset

Cast: Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, Dorothy Malone, Joseph Cotten, Carol Lynley, Neville Brand, Regis Toomey, Rad Fulton, Adam Williams, Jack Elam, John Shay
Director: Robert Aldrich
Studio: Brynaprod, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: Adapted from Howard Rigsby’s 1957 novel Sundown at Crazy Horse. The film’s working titles were The Day of the Gun, Journey Into Sunset and The Hot Eye of Heaven. Titles Universal suggested for the film included The Magnificent Two, The Majestic Brutes, Seething Guns, The Fuel and the Fire, Two to Make Hate, Death is My Middle Name, and Appointment with a Dead Sun. Kirk Douglas wanted Sandra Dee for a supporting role, but Tuesday Weld was cast. When she became unavailable, Carol Lynley was cast. Lauren Bacall was offered the role of Belle Breckinridge but found the material too offensive. Douglas and Aldrich wanted Ava Gardner for the role.

1971

June 2 – The Young Graduates

Cast: Patricia Wymer, Steven Stewart, Gary Rist, Bruno Kirby, Jennifer Ritt, Dennis Christopher, Marly Holiday, Anthony Mannino, Robert Almanza, Joe Pepe, Max Manning, Frances Tremaine, Tom Benko, Pat Russell
Director: Robert Anderson
Studio: Tempo Enterprises, distributed by Crown International Pictures
Trivia: Bruno Kirby was credited as B. Kirby Jr. Joe Pepe was credited as Joe Pepi.

1981

June 5 – Final Exam

Cast: Cecile Bagdadi, Joel S. Rice, Ralph Brown, DeAnna Robbins, Sherry Willis-Burch, John Fallon, Terry W. Farren, Timothy L. Raynor, Sam Kilman, Don Hepner, Mary Ellen Withers, Jerry Rushing, Shannon Norfleet, Carol Capka, R.C. Nanney
Director: Jimmy Huston
Studio: Motion Picture Marketing
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Dayton, Ohio on February 27, 1981. Joel S. Rice’s character Radish served as a partial inspiration for Jamie Kennedy’s character in Scream. The film was seized in the UK during the ‘video nasty’ panic. The majority of the cast were stage actors. Timothy L. Raynor, who plays the killer, said the knife he carried was not a prop. The shot where he catches an arrow was real, an action Raynor was trained to do. The film was shot more or less in sequence with actors leaving production once their characters were killed. Cecile Bagdadi’s screams were so convincing that they were dubbed for another actress.

June 5 – Nice Dreams

Cast: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Stacy Keach, Paul Reubens, Evelyn Guerrero, Peter Jason, Tim Rossovich, Timothy Leary, Sandra Bernhard, Tony Cox, Michael Winslow, Cheryl Smith, Linnea Quigley
Director: Tommy Chong
Studio: C & C Brown Production, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: A body builder is played by Tommy Chong’s wife Shelby. Paul Reubens’ character mentions Bruce Springsteen when talking about the future of rock and roll. Springsteen and the E Street Band used to open for Cheech & Chong in the early 1970s. Carl Weathers has a cameo in the gym scene. This was Sandra Bernhard’s first screen appearance, but she’s only on screen for a few seconds and has no lines. Stacy Keach’s Sgt. Stedenko also appears in Cheech & Chong’s Up In Smoke. Evelyn Guerrero’s Donna also appears in Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie and Things Are Tough All Over.

June 5 – The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia

Cast: Kristy McNichol, Dennis Quaid, Mark Hamill, Sunny Johnson, Don Stroud, Barry Corbin, Arlen Dean Snyder, Ellen Saland
Director: Ronald F. Maxwell
Studio: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Trivia: Though the title is taken from the 1972 hit song by Vicki Lawrence, it shares almost no elements of the song’s lyrics in its story. Instead, Tanya Tucker recorded a new version of the song with lyrics rewritten based on the screenplay. The film was shot on location in Georgia with some scenes filmed in Tennessee. Kristy McNichol and Dennis Quaid did their own singing in the film. The film was cut by 16 minutes for its UK release. The dog in the film actually belonged to McNichol. The film was originally promoted with the title Ruby Red.

June 5 – Tuck Everlasting

Cast: Margaret Chamberlain, Paul Flessa, Fred A. Keller, James McGuire, Sonia Raimi, Marvin Macnow, Bruce D’Auria, Patricia Roth, Joel Chaney
Director: Frederick King Keller
Studio: One Pass Media
Trivia: Based on Natalie Babbitt’s 1975 book of the same title. The film was shot on location in Western upstate New York.

1991

June 7 – City Slickers

Cast: Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, Jack Palance, Noble Willingham, Tracey Walter, Jeffrey Tambor, Josh Mostel, David Paymer, Bill Henderson, Phill Lewis, Kyle Secor, Dean Hallo, Karla Tamburrelli, Yeardley Smith, Robert Costanzo, Walker Brandt, Molly McClure, Jane Alden, Lindsay Crystal, Jake Gyllenhaal, Danielle Harris, Eddie Palmer, Howard Honig, Fred Maio, Jayne Meadows, Alan Charof
Director: Ron Underwood
Studio: Castle Rock Entertainment, Face Productions, Nelson Entertainment, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: This was Jake Gyllenhaal’s film debut. Jack Palance won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Palance was always the first choice but was unavailable due to another commitment. Charles Bronson was approached but rudely rebuffed the offer because the character dies. Clint Eastwood was also considered but wanted more money than the budget could afford. Harvey Keitel auditioned for the role. Palance got out of his obligation to take the role. Palance did not watch his own movies, and never saw City Slickers until after he’d won the Oscar. Rick Moranis was originally cast as Phil, but had to leave production due to his wife’s illness. He was replaced by Daniel Stern. Billy Crystal’s on-screen daughter was played by his real daughter Lindsay. Crystal was so impressed with David Paymer’s performance that he cast him in Mr. Saturday Night, which earned Paymer an Oscar nomination. The film’s plot was a comedic take on John Wayne’s Western drama The Cowboys. Crystal liked his horse in the film so much, he bought him. Robin Williams was considered for several roles but was already committed to Hook.

June 7 – Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead

Cast: Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, John Getz, Keith Coogan, Josh Charles, Concetta Tomei, David Duchovny, Kimmy Robertson, Jayne Brook, Eda Reiss Merin, Robert Hy Gorman, Danielle Harris, Christopher Pettiet, Jeff Bollow, Michael Kopelow, Dan Castellaneta
Director: Stephen Herek
Studio: HBO Pictures, Outlaw Productions, Cinema Plus, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film was inspired by Risky Business. The first draft of the screenplay was titled The Real World. 20th Century Fox originally bought the script but wanted a lighter tone to the film. Writers Neil Landau and Tara Ison originally pictured Winona Ryder as the star. This was Christina Applegate’s first lead role. This was one of David Duchovny’s early roles, and casting director Sharon Bialy had trouble convincing the studio to hire him. Jennifer Love Hewitt was originally cast as Melissa, but Disney Channel would not release her from a television show she was starring in. The movie’s title had to be changed to avoid conflict with the MTV reality series. Landau did not like the lighter tone of the new title, but was sold on it when Johnny Carson made a pun on the title on The Tonight Show. Production nearly stopped towards the end of production due to Christopher Pettiet’s out of control drug addiction. Producers had to cut some of his scenes to remain on schedule. 20-year-old Keith Coogan, who was two years older than Applegate, was told he was too old to play a 15-year-old. He returned to audition in ‘stoner apparel’ and a wig and got the part. John Landis, John Hughes, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, Amy Heckerling, Chris Columbus, John Badham, and Joel Schumacher were all considered to direct the film. Hughes turned it down because he only directed films he wrote, and wanted to distance himself from teen movies. Edward Furlong was considered for the role of Kenny, but was unavailable as he was working on Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Griffin Dunne was considered for the role of Gus but was already committed to My Girl. While the film is supposed to be set in the Summer of 1990, all dates listed and calendars shown in the film correspond to dates in 1989, as does the mention of watching Super Password which had been cancelled in 1989.

June 7 – Jungle Fever

Cast: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, Anthony Quinn, Halle Berry, Tyra Ferrell, Veronica Webb, Michael Imperioli, Nicholas Turturro, Michael Badalucco, Rick Aiello, Miguel Sandoval, Debi Mazar, Tim Robbins, Brad Dourif, Theresa Randle, Queen Latifah, Gina Mastrogiacomo
Director: Spike Lee
Studio: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 1991, then had its New York City premiere on June 4. Spike Lee dedicated the film to Yusuf Hawkins, who was killed on August 23, 1989 after being wrongly believed to be in a relationship with an Italian-American woman, when in fact he was in the neighborhood to inquire about a used car for sale. Samuel L. Jackson was honored by the Cannes Film Festival, the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards, and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards for his performance. He had been out of rehab for two weeks before taking on the role of a crack addict, stating his look in the film was not make-up but the result of his own detoxification. Feature film debut of Halle Berry and Queen Latifah. Marisa Tomei had to turn down the role of Angie Tucci due to conflicts with My Cousin Vinnie. Rick Aiello and Miguel Sandoval reprise their roles of Officers Long and Ponte from Do the Right Thing.

2001

June 8 – Bride of the Wind

Cast: Sarah Wynter, Jonathan Pryce, Vincent Perez, Simon Verhoeven, Gregor Seberg, Dagmar Schwarz, Wolfgang Hübsch, August Schmölzer, Johannes Silberschneider, Hans Steunzer, Robert Herzl
Director: Bruce Beresford
Studio: Paramount Classics
Trivia: Loosely based on the life of Alma Mahler, a Viennese author, composer, author, editor and socialite. The title of the film alludes to a painting by Oskar Kokoschka named ‘Die Windsbraut’, which the artist dedicated to Mahler.

June 8 – Evolution

Cast: David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott, Ted Levine, Ethan Suplee, Michael Bower, Pat Kilbane, Ty Burrell, Dan Aykroyd, Katharine Towne, Gregory Itzin, Ashley Clark, Stephanie Hodge, Kyle Gass, Sarah Silverman, Richard Moll, Tom Davis, Jerry Trainor, Miriam Flynn, Caroline Reitman, Steven Gilborn, John Cho
Director: Ivan Reitman
Studio: The Montecito Picture Company, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures, Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The story by Don Jakoby was written as a serious science fiction thriller with John Carpenter in mind to direct, but director Ivan Reitman hired new writers to turn it into a comedy, calling it a modern-day successor to Ghostbusters. Jakoby approved. A short-lived animated series, Alienators: Evolution Continues, aired a few months after the film was released. David Duchovny turned down an unspecified role in Star Wars Episode III to make this movie. Film debut of Ty Burrell. Bill Murray was considered for the role of Governor Lewis. Jennifer Aniston was considered for the role of Allison. Will Smith was considered for the role of Harry Block. Robbie Coltrane was considered for the role of Gen. Woodman. John Cusack and Leonardo DiCaprio were considered for the role of Ira Kane. Michael J. Fox was considered for the role of Wayne. Duchovny’s character name Ira is a Caesar cipher of his X-Files character Fox.

Warner Bros. Pictures

June 8 – Swordfish

Cast: Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Sam Shepard, Vinnie Jones, Drea de Matteo, Rudolf Martin, Zach Grenier, Camryn Grimes, Angelo Pagan, Kirk B. R. Woller, Carmen Argenziano, Tim DeKay, Laura Lane
Director: Dominic Sena
Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, Silver Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film had premieres on May 11, 2001 in New York City and June 4, 2001 in Los Angeles. The film features Halle Berry’s first topless scene, for which she was paid an extra $500,000 on top of her $2 million salary … although Berry denies the claim joking that her breasts are worth much more than that. Berry said she knew the scene was gratuitous but wanted to overcome her fear of appearing nude on screen. Bridget Moynihan turned down the part because of the gratuitous nudity. Vinnie Jones was about to do a stunt but John Travolta stopped him. A stuntman stepped in and the wire broke, causing him to fall about 70 feet onto a concrete floor, breaking his spine. The explosion at the beginning of the film was captured with 135 synchronized still cameras. This movie is the source of the rumor that Thomas Jefferson shot a man on the White House lawn for treason. Travolta turned down the film six times until he heard Dominic Sena was directing. All of the computer screen images were added in post-production, so the actors were looking at blank screens. John Cusack and Val Kilmer were considered for the role of Stanley, but Sena went with Hugh Jackman because he didn’t bring too much baggage from other films with him. Don Cheadle was Sena’s one and only choice for the role of Agent Roberts. The film’s title is reference to computer passwords used in the films Hackers and The Net, and comes from Horse Feathers, where Groucho Marx uses the word to gain entry to a Speakeasy. Drea de Matteo filmed all of her scenes in one day.

June 8 – Y tu mamá también

Cast: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Diana Bracho, Andrés Almeida, Ana López Mercado, Nathan Grinberg, Verónica Langer, María Aura, Juan Carlos Remolina, Daniel Giménez Cacho
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Studio: Producciones Anhelo, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: The film opened on June 8. 2001 in Brazil and Mexico. It played festivals in the US in October 2001 before getting a limited release on March 15, 2002. The title translates to And Your Mom Too in English. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Alfonso Cuarón did not want to cast Diego Luna because he was a teen idol, but Gael García Bernal convinced him to because their existing friendship would be more realistic on film. The entire film was shot with a hand-held camera to give it a documentary look. When the producers tried to purchase the rights to the Frank Zappa song ‘Watermelon in Easter Hay’, they were told it was one of three songs that were never to be played in any media except the album in which they appear. After seeing an almost completed cut of the film, Zappa’s widow made an exception saying Frank would have been proud of the movie. The film’s final scene was the first scene filmed.

2011

June 7 – The Lion of Judah

Voice Cast: Bruce Marchiano, Georgina Cordova, Ernest Borgnine, Anupam Kher, Sandi Patty, Michael Madsen, Omar Benson Miller, Vic Mignogna, Rodney Newman, Alphonso McAuley, Scott Eastwood, Leon Clingman, Roger Hawkins, Matthew Rutherford, Adrienne Pearce, Samantha Gray, David Magidoff, Serena Porter
Director: Deryck Broom, Roger Hawkins
Studio: Animated Family Films, Character Matters, Sunrise Productions, distributed by Rocky Mountain Pictures
Trivia: Sequel to the Christmas short film Once Upon A Stable. The film holds a 0% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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