Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #57 :: August 25•31

Samuel Goldwyn Productions

It’s the end of Summer, but there are a surprising number of big films with big star appearing on the list this week in the earlier part of the century. Moving closer to the present, Hollywood used this week as a dumping ground for films they felt wouldn’t perform well, or independent and foreign films used the week to generate interest and get some awards attention. Let’s take a look to see if any of your favorites debuted this week across the decades.

1921

August 28 – The Three Musketeers

• Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Léon Bary, George Siegmann, Eugene Pallette, Boyd Irwin, Thomas Holding, Sidney Franklin, Charles Stevens, Nigel De Brulier, Willis Robards, Lon Poff, Mary MacLaren, Marguerite De La Motte, Barbara La Marr, Walt Whitman, Adolphe Menjou, Charles Belcher
• Director: Fred Niblo
• Studio: United Artists
• Trivia: Based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père. The film originally had sequences filmed in the Handschiegl Color Process (billed as the ‘Wyckoff-DeMille Process’). The film had a sequel, The Iron Mask (1929), with Douglas Fairbanks and Nigel De Brulier reprising their roles. De Brulier would reprise his role as Cardinal Richalieu in The Three Musketeers (1935) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1939).

1931

August 29 – The Last Flight

• Cast: Richard Barthelmess, David Manners, John Mack Brown, Helen Chandler, Elliott Nugent, Walter Byron
• Director: William Dieterle
• Studio: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the novel Single Lady by John Monk Saunders. The film premiered in New York City on August 19, 1931. Also known as Single Lady and Spent Bullets. This was director William Dieterle’s first English-language film. Prior to this, he’d been working in Hollywood on German-language versions of American films. William Wellman was originally set to direct. The aircraft scenes were taken from The Dawn Patrol (1930). Censors objected to the film’s sexual innuendo and some instances of skimpy clothing. A musical adaptation, Nikki, opened on Broadway on October 21, 1931 with Fay Wray, Cary Grant and Douglass Montgomery. It played 39 performances.

August 29 – This Modern Age

• Cast: Joan Crawford, Pauline Frederick, Neil Hamilton, Monroe Owsley, Hobart Bosworth, Emma Dunn, Albert Conti, Adrienne D’Ambricourt, Marcelle Corday
• Director: Nick Grinde
• Studio: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
• Trivia: Based upon the story ‘Girls Together’ by Mildred Cram that appeared in the February 1931 issue of College Humor magazine.. The film is notable for Joan Crawford playing a blonde. She wore her hair that way because the actress originally cast to play her mother, Marjorie Rambeau, was blonde but she became ill and was recast with a brunette actress, Pauline Frederick. Crawford’s scenes had already been shot but the difference in hair color was not reason enough to re-shoot them. The film was boycotted by the Catholic Church of Detroit.

1941

August 29 – The Little Foxes

• Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright, Richard Carlson, Dan Duryea, Patricia Collinge, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, Jessica Grayson, John Marriott, Russell Hicks, Lucien Littlefield, Virginia Brissac, Terry Nibert, Henry ‘Hot Shot’ Thomas, Charles R. Moore
• Director: William Wyler
• Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on August 21, 1941. Based on Lillian Hellman’s 1939 play. Hellman also wrote the screenplay. The title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible. Teresa Wright’s and Patricia Collinge’s film debuts. Tallulah Bankhead had received critical acclaim for her starring role in the play, but William Wyler insisted on casting Bette Davis for the film. Davis had begged producer Samuel Goldwyn to let Bankhead star in the film, but he refused citing that none of Bankhead’s films had been box office hits. Warner Bros. refused to lend Davis to Goldwyn, who then offered the role to Miriam Hopkins, but Wyler refused to work with her. Goldwyn resumed negotiations with Jack Warner, securing Davis for $385,000. Davis earned $3,000 as a contract player at WB, and when she learned how much the studio received for lending her out, she demanded and received a share of the payment. Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, Dan Duryea, and Patricia Collinge all reprised their roles from the play. The character of David Hewitt is not in the original play. Hellman created him for the film to add a second sympathetic male to stand alongside Horace. Davis and Wyler fought frequently, from her choice of white makeup (Wyler thought she looked like a kabuki performer) to the set design Davis felt was far too opulent for a financially struggling family to her interpretation of the role. Davis had backed down against Wyler during filming of The Letter, but she stood her ground this time. Davis eventually walked off the film during production, but returned a week later. She and Wyler never worked together again. The film received nine Oscar nominations but no wins. A 30 minute radio adaptation was broadcast by Screen Guild Theatre on February 11, 1946 with Davis, Wright and Dingle reprising their film roles.

August 29 – Sun Valley Serenade

• Cast: Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, Lynn Bari, Joan Davis, William B. Davidson, Almira Sessions, The Modernaires, The Nicholas Brothers, Dorothy Dandridge, Glenn Miller Orchestra
• Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film premiered in Salt Lake City and Atlantic City on August 21, 1941. Dorothy Dandridge performed ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’ in the film, which was nominated for the Best Song Oscar, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996. It also received the first Gold Record for sales of 1.2 million. Future Olympic gold medalist Gretchen Fraser was the skiing stand-in for Sonja Henie. Pat Friday was the singing voice for Lynn Bari. The Sun Valley scenes were shot by the second unit; the stars never left Hollywood. The musical sequences were filmed with multiple microphones placed around different portions of the orchestra then mixed down to a mono track for the film’s release. The recordings were found and mixed into true stereo and have been included on the home video release. The film is shown 24 hours a day on a dedicated channel in all rooms at the Sun Valley Lodge and Inn. During the last skating sequence, the ice was dyed black for better reflection but the marks left by the skates were unsightly. The ice was covered with black liquid which then stained the white skates of the female skaters, and the studio refused to pay for cleaning or replacement. At one point, Sonja Henie fell and was covered in black dye.

August 29 – When Ladies Meet

• Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Herbert Marshall, Spring Byington, Rafael Storm, Mona Barrie, Max Willenz, Florence Shirley, Leslie Francis
• Director: Robert Z. Leonard
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Based upon a 1932 play by Rachel Crothers. A remake of the 1933 pre-Code film of the same name. The film has been shown on television as Strange Skirts. The film earned an Academy Award nomination for art directors Cedric Gibbons, Randall Duell and Edwin B. Willis. Gibbons was also nominated for the 1933 version. Nearly every aspect of the play and pre-Code version of the film remain in this remake. Spring Byington appeared in the original Broadway production but was passed over for the 1933 film role because she had not made a name for herself in Hollywood at that point. By the time of the remake, she was a prominent member of the MGM stock company and was a natural choice to reprise her stage role. Clare’s canopy bed is the same bed Joan Crawford slept in in 1940’s Susan and God.

1951

August 28 – Flying Leathernecks

• Cast: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Don Taylor, Janis Carter, Jay C. Flippen, William Harrigan as Dr. Lt. Cdr. Joe Curran, Brett King, Steve Flagg, James Bell, Barry Kelley, Maurice Jara, Adam Williams, James Dobson, Carleton Young, Michael St. Angel, Gordon Gebert
• Director: Nicholas Ray
• Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: Director Nicholas Ray cast Robert Ryan because he knew Ryan had been a boxer in college and was the only actor who he thought could ‘kick Wayne’s ass.’ There was controversy over the casting of both Ryan and John Wayne because they were clearly older than the real pilots during World War II. Producer Howard Hughes opted to shoot the film in color to take advantage of using actual color wartime footage, but the RKO studio logo at the beginning of the film is in black and white.

August 29 – Little Egypt

• Cast: Mark Stevens, Rhonda Fleming, Nancy Guild, Charles Drake, Tom D’Andrea, Minor Watson, Steven Geray, Verna Felton, John Litel, Kathryn Givney, Fritz Feld, Dan Riss, Jack George, Edward Clark, John Gallaudet, Freeman Lusk, Leon Belasco
• Director: Frederick de Cordova
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in Chicago on August 3, 1951. Highly fictionalized biography of the dancer Little Egypt in the 1890s. Final film of actress Bridget Carr.

August 29 – People Will Talk

• Cast: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Finlay Currie, Hume Cronyn, Walter Slezak, Sidney Blackmer, Basil Ruysdael, Katherine Locke
• Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Based on the German play by Curt Goetz. Nominated by the Writers Guild of America for Best Written American Comedy. Parley Baer and Margaret Hamilton appear in uncredited roles. Jeanne Crain campaigned for the female lead but lost to Anne Baxter. Baxter had to leave the production due to pregnancy and Crain was given the role. A 60-minute radio adaptation of the film was presented on Lux Radio Theater on January 25, 1954 with Crain and Cary Grant reprising their roles. The film’s working title was Dr. Praetorius.

August 29 – Rhubarb

• Cast: Orangey, Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, William Frawley, Gene Lockhart, Elsie Holmes, Taylor Holmes, Willard Waterman, Henry Slate, James Griffith, Jim Hayward, Donald MacBride, Hal K. Dawson
• Director: Arthur Lubin
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Adapted from the 1946 novel Rhubarb by humorist H. Allen Smith. Arthur Lubin had wanted Glenn Ford to star, but when the film was picked up by Paramount (after being rejected by Universal and other studios), Ray Milland was cast. A nationwide search was held to discover the cat for the title role. Fourteen different cats played Rhubarb. Strother Martin and Leonard Nimoy have uncredited roles in this film.

August 31 – The Strip

• Cast: Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest, William Demarest, James Craig, Kay Brown, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Rettig, Tom Powers, Jonathan Cott, Tommy Farrell, Myrna Dell, Jacqueline Fontaine, Vic Damone, Monica Lewis
• Director: László Kardos
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Much of the film was shot on location around the Sunset Strip. Interiors were shot at nightclubs Mocambo and Ciro’s, and restaurants Little Hungary and Stripps. The song ‘A Kiss to Build a Dream On’ was Oscar nominated for Best Song. The character of Edna is never addressed by name in the movie.

1961

August 25 – Ada

• Cast: Susan Hayward, Dean Martin, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ralph Meeker, Martin Balsam, Frank Maxwell, Connie Sawyer, Ford Rainey, Charles Watts, Larry Gates, Robert S. Simon, Bill Zuckert
• Director: Daniel Mann
• Studio: Avon Productions, Chalmar Inc., distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Based on the novel Ada Dallas by Wirt Williams. The film’s original title was Ada Dallas, but changed to avoid confusion with Stella Dallas. The film was a box office disaster, loving over $2.3 million for the studio. Elizabeth Taylor was sought for the lead. Daily Variety announced Ava Gardner and Robert Mitchum as the stars on February 12, 1960. Final film of actresses Margaret Bert and Gloria Pall.

August 31 – Victim

• Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price, Nigel Stock, Peter McEnery, Donald Churchill, Anthony Nicholls, Hilton Edwards, Norman Bird, Derren Nesbitt, Alan MacNaughtan, Noel Howlett, Charles Lloyd-Pack, John Barrie, John Cairney, David Evans, Peter Copley, Frank Pettitt, Mavis Villiers, Margaret Diamond, Alan Howard, Dawn Beret
• Director: Basil Dearden
• Studio: Allied Film Makers, distributed by Rank Film Distributors
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on August 31m 9161, but did not get a US release until February 5, 1962. The first English-language film to use the word ‘homosexual’. It was highly controversial to the British Board of Film Censors, and in the U.S. it was refused a seal of approval from the American Motion Picture Production Code. Jack Hawkins, James Mason, and Stewart Granger turned down the lead before it was offered to Dirk Bogarde. All of the pub interiors were filmed in an actual pub, The Salisbury, which was an actual gay pub until new ownership turned it into a tourist pub in the 1980s.

1971

August 25 – A Gunfight

• Cast: Kirk Douglas, Johnny Cash, Jane Alexander, Karen Black, Keith Carradine, Dana Elcar, Raf Vallone, Eric Douglas, Robert J. Wilke, Paul Lambert
• Director: Lamont Johnson
• Studio: Joel Productions, Harvest Productions, Thoroughbred Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film was financed by the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, although there are no leading Native American characters in the story. Tribe head Chief Charlie was a fan of Johnny Cash. The funding also helped keep production in the US. Feature film debuts of Keith Carradine and Eric Douglas.

August 25 – Joe Hill

• Cast: Thommy Berggren, Anja Schmidt, Kelvin Malave, Evert Anderson, Cathy Smith, Hasse Persson, David Moritz, Richard Weber, Joel Miller, Franco Molinari, Robert Faeder, Wendy Geier, Liska March, Michael Logan
• Director: Bo Widerberg
• Studio: Bo Widerberg Film, Sagittarius Productions, distributed by Europafilm (Sweden), Paramount Pictures (United States)
• Trivia: The film was screened at Cannes in May 1971, where it won the Jury Prize, before opening in Sweden on August 25, followed by the UK on September 23 and the US on October 24. It’s the only film Bo Widerberg made in the US. The film was mostly unavailable for 40 years until a digital restoration was undertaken in 2015, making the film available on video for the first time. Thommy Berggren was the only professional in the cast with the others being mostly amateurs in their only film roles.

August 27 – The Love Machine

• Cast: Dyan Cannon, Robert Ryan, Jackie Cooper, David Hemmings, Shecky Greene, John Phillip Law, Jodi Wexler, William Roerick, Maureen Arthur, Clinton Greyn, Sharon Farrell, Alexandra Hay, Eve Bruce, Greg Mullavey, Edith Atwater, Gene Baylos, Ben Lessy, Elizabeth St. Clair, Claudia Jennings
• Director: Jack Haley Jr.
• Studio: Sujac Productions, Frankovich Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on August 6, 1971. Adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s best-selling 1969 novel of the same name. Susann received a record, at the time, sum of $1.5 million for the rights to the novel. She also makes a brief cameo in the film as a newscaster. Susann was unhappy with the finished film and didn’t like the casting choices outside of Robert Ryan and Shecky Greene. Brian Kelly had been cast as Robin Stone, but before production began was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. John Phillip Law was a last minute replacement and had to wear the costumes already created for the shorter Kelly, resulting in the ill-fitting appearance of his clothes. Stephen Boyd was also considered for the role. This was the last scripted theatrical film directed by Jack Haley Jr., although he did go on to direct made-for-TV movies and documentaries. Jodi Wexler received an ‘Introducing’ credit; this was her only film. Don Rickles and Sugar Ray Robinson have uncredited cameos.

1981

August 26 – Prince of the City

• Cast: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino, Carmine Caridi, Tony Page, Norman Parker, Paul Roebling, Bob Balaban, James Tolkan, Steve Inwood, Lindsay Crouse, Matthew Laurance, Tony Turco, Ronald Maccone, Ron Karabatsos, Tony DiBenedetto, Tony Munafo, Robert Christian, Lee Richardson, Lane Smith, Cosmo Allegretti, Bobby Alto, Conard Fowkes, Peter Friedman, Peter Michael Goetz, Lance Henriksen, Eddie Jones, Cynthia Nixon, Ron Perkins
• Director: Sidney Lumet
• Studio: Orion Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on August 19, 1981. Based on Robert Daley’s 1978 book of the same name. The character of Daniel Ciello was based on real-life NYPD Narcotics Detective Robert Leuci. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Actor – Drama. Alan King appears uncredited as himself, and Bruce Willis is an uncredited extra. Orion Pictures originally bought the film rights for Brian De Palma to direct and Robert De Niro to star but a deal fell through and it was offered to Sidney Lumet. Screenwriter Jay Presson Allen was able to interview nearly everyone in the book to research her screenplay. The first draft of the script came in at 365 pages, written in ten days. Knowing the studio would not back a 3 hour movie, Lumet and Allen offered to slash the budget by $10 million, and the studio gave them the okay. Lumet only agreed to direct if the film could be at least three hours, and he did not want a star with past baggage in the lead role. Treat Williams was cast after three weeks of conversations with Lumet and script readings with 50 other cast members. Williams spent months learning about police work, went on a drug bust and lived with Leuci for a time. Lumet and Allen brought the script down to 240 pages after a month of re-writes, and with a $10 million budget Lumet complete the film for under $8.6 million. Orion was unable to afford TV ads for the film so the studio had to rely on print ads, and they opened in limited release to garner word of mouth. The only major Hollywood film after The Godfather to film in all five New York City boroughs.

August 28 – Body Heat

• Cast: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J. A. Preston, Mickey Rourke, Kim Zimmer, Jane Hallaren, Lanna Saunders, Carola McGuinness, Michael Ryan
• Director: Lawrence Kasdan
• Studio: The Ladd Company, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film was inspired by Double Indemnity (1944), and launched Kathleen Turner’s career. The film originally contained more graphic sex scenes but they were cut down for wider distribution. The film was shot in cold temperatures with different methods used to simulate the heat, although Kim Zimmer’s memoir disputes this, saying she remembers filming in blazing heat. This was Zimmer’s film debut. To make the crew more comfortable during the sex scenes, Turner and William Hurt lined up the crew and introduced themselves to each one … while naked. Christopher Reeve was offered the male lead but turned it down saying he didn’t think he’d be convincing as a seedy lawyer. This was Lawrence Kasdan’s directorial debut. Jeff Goldblum was considered for the tap dancing lawyer role played by Ted Danson.

August 28 – Chu Chu and the Philly Flash

• Cast: Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, Jack Warden, Danny Aiello, Adam Arkin, Danny Glover, Sid Haig, Vincent Schiavelli, Ruth Buzzi, Vito Scotti, Lou Jacobi
• Director: David Lowell Rich
• Studio: Melvin Simon Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Raquel Welch was originally to play the tole of Chu Chu. Alan Arkin agreed to do the film if his wife could re-write the screenplay.

Compass International Pictures

August 28 – Hell Night

• Cast: Linda Blair, Peter Barton, Vincent Van Patten, Suki Goodwin, Kevin Brophy, Jimmy Sturtevant, Jenny Neumann
• Director: Tom DeSimone
• Studio: Compass International Pictures
• Trivia: The film was screened at Cannes on May 20, 1981, and received a limited US release starting August 7 before its general release on August 28. Linda Blair received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress. Chuck Russell served as an executive producer on the film, and Frank Darabont was a production assistant. Peter Barton’s limp in the film was a result of an on-set injury and not an acting choice; Barton, however, claims he was not hurt and put a rock in his shoe to remind him to limp. The many tunnels in the film were actually just two that the actors ran through, filmed at different angles. Kevin Brophy has said he still has the purple cape he wore in the film and wears it every Halloween. This was the last film released by Compass International Pictures.

1991

August 30 – Child’s Play 3

• Cast: Justin Whalin, Brad Dourif, Jeremy Sylvers, Perrey Reeves, Dean Jacobson, Travis Fine, Donna Eskra, Andrew Robinson, Dakin Matthews, Burke Byrnes, Matthew Walker, Peter Haskell, Edan Gross
• Director: Jack Bender
• Studio: Universal Pictures[
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on October 25, 1991. The film did not get a UK release until May 15, 1992. The film was released just nine months after Child’s Play 2, although the story takes place eight years later, and one month before Bride of Chucky … which was not produced until seven years later because of this film’s poor box office performance. Previous films’ stars Alex Vincent appears in archival footage, and Catherine Hicks is shown in a photograph. Franchise creator Don Mancini wanted to introduce the concept of multiple Chucky’s but the idea was scrapped due to budget constraints. Jonathan Brandis was considered for the role of 16-year-old Andy. Mancini considered Peter Jackson to direct. This was the first film in the series to use computers to aid Chucky’s puppetry, specifically to perfect the lip-sync. John Ritter was supposed to play a security guard at the Good Guy Doll Factory. This was the last film in the series to use Child’s Play in the title. This is the only Child’s Play film in which all of the victims are male.

August 30 – Dead Again

• Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Andy García, Derek Jacobi, Wayne Knight, Robin Williams, Hanna Schygulla, Campbell Scott, Jo Anderson, Lois Hall, Richard Easton, Gregor Hesse, Obba Babatundé, Vasek Simek, Christine Ebersole, Raymond Cruz
• Director: Kenneth Branagh
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Derek Jacobi was BAFTA nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and Patrick Doyle received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. The film was shot completely in color, but after test screenings it was decided to present the past sequences in black and white to help clear up audience confusion. The costume and set design departments were disappointed with the change because they would have used colors that photographed better in black-and-white had the decision been made during production. The exterior of the convent is the same building that was used for Wayner Manor in the Batman TV series. Hanna Schygulla played Sir Derek Jacobi’s mother, despite being five years younger than him.

August 30 – Prospero’s Books

• Cast: Sir John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Michel Blanc, Erland Josephson, Isabelle Pasco, Tom Bell, Kenneth Cranham, Mark Rylance, Gerard Thoolen, Pierre Bokma, Jim van der Woude, Michiel Romeyn, Paul Russell, James Thiérrée
• Director: Peter Greenaway
• Studio: Miramax Films
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on August 30, 1991, and in the US on November 15. Prospero was Sir John Gielgud’s favorite stage role and had tried for years to get a film version of The Tempest made. This was one of the first movies to use HDTV technology.

2001

United Artists

August 31 – Jeepers Creepers

• Cast: Justin Long, Gina Philips, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Eileen Brennan, Brandon Smith, Jon Beshara, Avis-Marie Barnes, Tom Tarantini, Chris Shepardson, Will Hasenzahl, Victor Salva
• Director: Victor Salva
• Studio: American Zoetrope, Cinerenta-Cinebeta, Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG, distributed by United Artists/MGM Distribution Co.
• Trivia: The film was screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2001, and held an official premiere at the München Fantasy Filmfest on July 20, before its US release on August 31. The film opened in the UK on October 19. Victor Salva wanted the main villain to focus on killing only male characters as he was tired of films in which females are always victimized. A final scene involving a truck driving into a train had to be cut and re-written due to budget constraints, which allowed Justin Long and Gina Philips to improv much of their dialogue in the new ending. The role of the Creeper was written specifically for Lance Henricksen, who then dropped out of the project. Salva wrote the main characters as brother and sister to eliminate any sexual tension and keep them focused on escaping the Creeper. The Creeper had a single line of dialogue which was cut from the film. At the time of the film’s release, it was the highest grossing film to be released on Labor Day weekend, a record broken by the first sequel. Long and Philips were not allowed to meet Jonathan Breck (the Creeper) before filming began to get a true reaction when they saw him in makeup. Breck also has a cameo without makeup as a police officer The film’s original title was Here Comes the Boogeyman. This was Justin Long’s first leading role.

August 31 – Made

• Cast: Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter Falk, Famke Janssen, P. Diddy, Faizon Love, Vincent Pastore, David O’Hara, Makenzie Vega, Leonardo Cimino, Jenteal, Federico Castelluccio, Jamie Harris
• Director: Jon Favreau
• Studio: Artisan Entertainment
• Trivia: The film opened in limited release on July 13, 2001 before its general release on August 31. Jon Favreau’s directing debut. Sam Rockwell, Bud Cort, Drea de Matteo, Dustin Diamond, Jennifer Esposito and Grandmaster Flash appear uncredited. Vince Vaughn’s father and Jon Favreau’s grandmother also have cameos.

August 31 – O

• Cast: Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Elden Henson, Andrew Keegan, Rain Phoenix, Martin Sheen, John Heard, Anthony Johnson, Rachel Shumate
• Director: Tim Blake Nelson
• Studio: Daniel Fried Productions, Chickie the Cop, Dimension Films, distributed by Lions Gate Films
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 26, 2001 and screened at the Urbanworld Film Festival on August 4 before opening in general release in the US and Canada on August 31. The film did not get a release in the UK until September 13, 2002. A modern adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello. The film was originally intended for release on October 17, 1999 but was shelved following the Columbine High School shootings. Christina Ricci was cast in the role of Desi but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

August 31 – Tortilla Soup

• Cast: Héctor Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, Elizabeth Peña, Tamara Mello, Raquel Welch, Paul Rodriguez, Constance Marie, Marisabel García, Nikolai Kinski, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Judy Herrera, Ken Marino, Troy Ruptash, Louis Crugnali, Joel Joan, Ulises Cuadra, Mark de la Cruz, Eli Russell Linnetz, Stoney Westmoreland, Karen Dyer, Anthony C Sena
• Director: María Ripoll
• Studio: Starz/Encore Entertainment, distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films
• Trivia: The film was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 9, 2001, held an official premiere on August 21, and entered limited release on August 24 before opening wide on August 31. Based on the film Eat Drink Man Woman.

2011

August 26 – Headhunters

• Cast: Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Julie Ølgaard, Reidar Sørensen, Baard Owe, Nils Jørgen Kaalstad
• Director: Morten Tyldum
• Studio: Friland Film, Yellow Bird, distributed by Nordisk Film
• Trivia: The film screened at the Locarno Film Festival on August 4, 2011, and the Haugesund Film Festival on August 23 before its general release in Norway on August 26. The film did not play in the US until April 27, 2012. Based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Jo Nesbø, the first of his novels to be made into a film. The film received a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Film.

August 26 – Higher Ground

• Cast: Vera Farmiga, Taissa Farmiga, McKenzie Turner, Joshua Leonard, Boyd Holbrook, Dagmara Domińczyk, Norbert Leo Butz, John Hawkes, Bill Irwin, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Donna Murphy, Nina Arianda, Kaitlyn Rae King, Taylor Schwencke, Michael Chernus, Sean Mahon, Jack Gilpin, Molly Hawkey
• Director: Vera Farmiga
• Studio: The Group Entertainment, Ruminant Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
• Trivia: The film premiered at Sundance on January 23, 2011, and was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 25 before entering limited release in the US on August 26. The film opened in Canada on September 23, also in limited release. Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut. She was five months pregnant at the time. An adaptation of the 2002 memoir This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost by Carolyn S. Briggs, who co-wrote the screenplay. Film debut of Taissa Farmiga.

August 26 – Perfect Sense

• Cast: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Connie Nielsen, Stephen Dillane, Ewen Bremner, Denis Lawson, Alastair Mackenzie, Kathryn Engels
• Director: David Mackenzie
• Studio: Senator Film Verleih, IFC Films
• Trivia: The film premiered at Sundance on January 24, 2011 and played several festivals around the world before getting a general theatrical release in Turkey on August 26. The film appears to have not received a theatrical release in the US, instead making its debut on video on January 6, 2012. The film’s working title was The Last Word. The bar of soap Ewan McGregor bites into was white chocolate. Denis Lawson is McGregor’s uncle in real life.

August 31 – Oslo, August 31st

• Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Hans Olav Brenner, Ingrid Olava, Tone Mostraum
• Director: Joachim Trier
• Studio: Strand Releasing
• Trivia: The film premiered at Cannes on May 18, 2011, and was screened at the La Rochelle Film Festival on July 5 before its general release in Norway on August 31. The film played several film festivals in the US before opening in New York City on May 25, 2012. Loosely based on the novel Will O’ the Wisp by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle. It is the second film in Joachim Trier’s ‘Oslo Trilogy’.