Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #61 :: September 22•28

Paramount Pictures

Another big week with new films being released in every decade. Many of them are classics and Award winner or nominees, many are just popular, and there are a few that are just plain forgettable or, in one case, notorious. Many of this week’s films are based on literary properties, and big stars appear throughout the century including Gloria Swanson, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Edward G. Robinson, Buster Keaton, Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Gary Cooper, Dick Powell, Ava Gardner, Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, Joanne Woodward, Disney Poitier, Shirley MacLaine, Katharine Hepburn, George Segal, Denzel Washington, Faye Dunaway, Marsha Mason, Ryan O’Neal, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Goldie Hawn, Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Lily Tomlin, Liam Neeson, River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Michael Douglas, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Jason Statham, Brad Pitt and more. Think you know what films included these stars? Read on to see if you’re right!

1921

September 25 – The Affairs of Anatol

Cast: Wallace Reid, Gloria Swanson, Wanda Hawley, Theodore Roberts, Elliott Dexter, Theodore Kosloff, Agnes Ayres, Monte Blue, Bebe Daniels, Laura Anson
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Studio: Famous Players-Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1893 play Anatol by Arthur Schnitzler, which starred John Barrymore and ran for 72 performances. A copy of the film exists, and a copyrighted version was registered by Film Preservation Associates in 1999 with a new musical score from Brian Benison. Considered the final complete film of Wallace Reid. The ten he made following this are considered lost.

September 25 – The Idle Class

Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Mack Swain, Henry Bergman, Al Ernest Garcia, John Rand, Rex Storey, Lita Grey
Director: Charles Chaplin
Studio: Charles Chaplin Productions, distributed by First National
Trivia: Chaplin came across a set of golf clubs in prop storage which gave him the idea for this film. Golf players in the film use sand to make a golf tee. Manufactured golf tees were not in use until 1922.

September 26 – Camille

Cast: Rudolph Valentino, Rex Cherryman, Arthur Hoyt, Zeffie Tilbury, Patsy Ruth Miller, Elinor Oliver, William Orlamond, Consuelo Flowerton, Alla Nazimova
Director: Ray C. Smallwood
Studio: Nazimova Productions, distributed by Metro Pictures Corporation
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 11, 1921. Based on the play adaptation of La Dame aux Caméllas by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The film has survived and was included as a bonus on the DVD of the 1936 version of Camille with Greta Garbo. The film contains before-their-time innovations such as a fire pit in the middle of a living room and doors that open automatically upon approach. Alla Nazimova, concerned about showing her age on screen, had all of her closeups shot in heavily filtered soft focus which makes even the best existing prints difficult to watch.

1931

September 26 – Five Star Final

Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Marian Marsh, H.B. Warner, Anthony Bushell, George E. Stone, Frances Starr, Ona Munson, Boris Karloff, Aline MacMahon, Oscar Apfel, Purnell Pratt, Robert Elliott
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Studio: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film’s New York City premiere was held on September 10, 1931. Based on the play of the same name by Louis Weitzenkorn. The title is taken from the font Five Star Final introduced during World War I used for final edition newspaper headlines. The film was remade in 1936 as Two Against the World (aka One Fatal Hour) starring Humphrey Bogart. The film was nominated for Best Picture at the fifth Academy Awards. As happened a decade later with Citizen Kane, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst saw the film as an attack on him, printing negative reviews in his papers and pressuring theaters to not show the film. The film’s ‘Evening Gazette’ was based on the sensational tabloid ‘New York Evening Graphic’, which was not a Hearst property. The first film in which Marilyn Morgan was billed as Marian Marsh. One of 16 films made by Boris Karloff in 1931, the most famous being Frankenstein.

September 26 – Sidewalks of New York

Cast: Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Cliff Edwards, Frank Rowan, Norman Phillips Jr., Syd Saylor, Clark Marshall, Jerry Tucker
Director: Zion Myers, Jules White
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Buster Keaton’s most successful film to date. The vaudeville team of Bob Hope and George Burns had a small part in the film which was edited out of the final print.

1941

September 25 – You’ll Never Get Rich

Cast: Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, John Hubbard, Osa Massen, Frieda Inescort, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Donald MacBride, Cliff Nazarro, Marjorie Gateson, Ann Shoemaker, Boyd Davis, Patti McCarty
Director: Sidney Lanfield
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Rita Hayworth’s first starring role in a bug budget film from Columbia Pictures. The film’s success made her a major star, and boosted Fred Astaire’s career which he felt had flagged since breaking with Ginger Rogers. The song ‘Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye’ was Oscar nominated for Best Song.

September 26 – A Yank in the R.A.F.

Cast: Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, John Sutton, Reginald Gardiner, Donald Stuart, Ralph Byrd, Richard Fraser, Denis Green, Bruce Lester, Gilchrist Stuart, Lester Matthews, Frederick Worlock, Ethel Griffies, Morton Lowry, Fortunio Bonanova, James Craven, Dennis Hoey
Director: Henry King
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Trivia: The film premiered in Chicago and Hollywood on September 25, 1941. Originally titled The Eagle Squadron, and based on a story by ‘Melville Crossman’, otherwise known as 20th Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck. The film was shot entirely in Hollywood, with the Dunkirk evacuation filmed at Point Mugu, CA. In the original ending, the hero dies at Dunkirk but the RAF felt morale would be jeopardized, so it was re-shot with him surviving. Tyrone Power felt the music and dance numbers were out of place in the film, but Betty Grable felt that’s why audiences came to see her and she prevailed. The film used actual aerial combat footage provided by the R.A.F. Cast and crew had to show proof of American citizenship to enter the filming location at Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, CA. James Cagney and Fred MacMurray were considered for the male lead.

September 26 – Hold Back the Dawn

Cast: Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor Francen, Walter Abel, Curt Bois, Rosemary DeCamp, Eric Feldary, Nestor Paiva, Eva Puig, Micheline Cheirel, Madeleine Lebeau, Billy Lee, Mikhail Rasumny, Charles Arnt, Arthur Loft, Mitchell Leisen, Veronica Lake
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on September 11, 1941, and opened in London on September 19 before its September 26 US release. Veronica Lake appears uncredited. Adapted from the 1940 novel by Ketti Frings, which the studio purchased under the title ‘Memo to a Movie Producer’ before publication. Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Writing, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration Black-and-White, Best Cinematography Black-and-White, Best Music Scoring. Adapted for radio by Lux Radio Theater on November 10, 1941 with Boyer, Goddard and Susan Hayward, by The Screen Guild Theater on February 8, 1943 with Boyer and Hayward, by Academy Award Theater on July 31, 1946 with de Havilland and Jean Pierre Aumont, Screen Guild Theater on May 31, 1948 with Boyer and Ida Lupino, Screen Director’s Playhouse on May 14, 1949 with Boyer and Vanessa Brown, Screen Guild Theater on May 4, 1950 with de Havilland and Boyer, and again on June 15, 1952 with Barbara Stanwyck and Aumont. This was the last film scripted by Billy Wilder that he didn’t direct.

September 26 – It Started with Eve

Cast: Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Robert Cummings, Guy Kibbee, Margaret Tallichet, Catherine Doucet, Walter Catlett, Charles Coleman, Leonard Elliott, Irving Bacon, Gus Schilling, Wade Boteler, Dorothea Kent, Clara Blandick
Director: Henry Koster
Studio: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Originally known as Almost an Angel in 1938, but that version was never made and the title was transferred to another project. Oscar nominee for Best Original Music Score. Richard Carle, who was in every scene, died three weeks into production and was replaced with Walter Catlett. Every scene with Carle had to be re-filmed. Durbin then became ill for a month, delaying production, and when she returned Laughton became ill, delaying production again. Because of the delays, Robert Cummings had to also work on King’s Row at the same time. Lux Radio Theater broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 20, 1944 with Charles Laughton reprising his film role. The Screen Guild Theater broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on April 6, 1950 with Charles Laughton reprising his film role. The film was remade in 1964 as I’d Rather Be Rich.

September 27 – Sergeant York

Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias, Stanley Ridges, Ward Bond, Noah Beery Jr., June Lockhart, Dickie Moore, Clem Bevans, Howard Da Silva, Charles Trowbridge, Harvey Stephens, David Bruce, Charles Esmond, Joseph Sawyer, Pat Flaherty, Robert Porterfield, Erville Alderson, James Anderson, Tully Marshall
Director: Howard Hawks
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film’s New York City premiere was held on July 2, 1941. Elisha Cook Jr. and Gig Young appear in uncredited roles. Biographical film about the life of Alvin C. York, one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War I. The highest grossing film of 1941. The film earned 11 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, winning Best Film Editing and Best Actor for Gary Cooper. The first film to earn at least 10 Oscar nominations and not win Best Picture. It was also the only time Walter Brennan was nominated (his fourth) and didn’t win. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2008. The Screen Guild Theater broadcast a 30-minute radio adaptation of the movie on 18 January 1942 with Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Joan Leslie reprising their film roles.

1951

September 23 – You Never Can Tell

Cast: Dick Powell, Peggy Dow, Joyce Holden, Charles Drake, Albert Sharpe, Lou Polan, Frank Nelson, Will Vedder, Frank Gerstle, Ott George
Director: Lou Breslow
Studio: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Dick Powell was coached on how to act like a dog by Bert Granville, a vaudeville veteran actor who portrayed animals in acts for over 25 years.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

September 24 – Show Boat

Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, Leif Erickson, William Warfield
Director: George Sidney
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: The film premiered in Hollywood, California on July 17, 1951, and began a New York City engagement on July 19 before its general US release on September 24. Based on the 1927 stage musical of the same name by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (script and lyrics), and the 1926 novel by Edna Ferber. Filmed previously in 1929 and 1936, and the first in Technicolor. The second highest grossing film of 1951. Most of Hammerstein’s dialogue was thrown out, with new dialogue written by John Lee Mahin. Ava Gardner’s singing voice was dubbed by Annette Warren after unfavorable reactions to her singing from sneak previews. One of Gardner’s numbers can be seen in That’s Entertainment! III. Lux Radio Theater broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation on February 11, 1952, with Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, and William Warfield reprising their film roles.

September 24 – The Well

Cast: Richard Rober, Gwendolyn Laster, Maidie Norman, Barry Kelley, Harry Morgan, Tom Powers, Robert Osterloh, Christine Larson, George Hamilton, Ernest Anderson, Dick Simmons
Director: Leo C. Popkin, Russell Rouse
Studio: Cardinal Pictures, Harry Popkin Productions, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: Nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing. The film’s working title was Deep is the Well. Based on the real-life case of Kathy Fiscus, who fell into a pipe in an abandoned oil field in 1949 and died before she could be rescued. The Well was also the only leading role for actress Maidie Norman.

September 27 – The Red Badge of Courage

Cast: Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, Royal Dano, John Dierkes, Arthur Hunnicutt, Tim Durant, Andy Devine, Robert Easton
Director: John Huston
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Inc.
Trivia: The film had a limited US release beginning September 27, 1951, followed by a wide release on October 11. John Huston, William Schallert, and James Whitmore make uncredited appearances. Adapted from from Stephen Crane’s 1895 novel of the same name. John Huston was furious with the studio for cutting his two hour film down to 70 minutes, and many consider it a mutilated masterpiece. Huston insisted on a clause in his future contracts guaranteeing him a copy of his director’s cut on his films. MGM head Louis B. Mayer pitched the dramatic war film as a comedy to its test audience made up of students, resulting in scathing reviews that allowed him to butcher the film. Mayer hated the film because it lacked big names and female roles. MGM asked Huston in 1975 if he had a director’s cut they could release, but no version exists as the studio destroyed the original negative. Royal Dano was said to be in line for a Best Supporting Actor nomination, mainly for his death scene, but audiences found the scene too intense and his role was virtually removed from the final edit.

September 28 – Journey into Light

Cast: Sterling Hayden, Viveca Lindfors, Thomas Mitchell, Ludwig Donath, H. B. Warner, Jane Darwell, John Berkes, Peggy Webber, Paul Guilfoyle
Director: Stuart Heisler
Studio: 20th Century Fox

1961

September 25 – The Hustler

Cast: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, Myron McCormick, Murray Hamilton, Michael Constantine, Stefan Gierasch, Clifford Pellow, Jake LaMotta, Vincent Gardenia, Charles Dierkop
Director: Robert Rossen
Studio: Rossen Enterprises, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: The film premiered in Asheville, North Carolina on September 24, 1961. Pool champion Willie Mosconi has a cameo appearance. Adapted from from Walter Tevis’s 1959 novel of the same name. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997. Paul Newman had been unavailable for the role of Fast Eddie due to a commitment to Two for the Seesaw with Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor dropped out due to overruns on Cleopatra, freeing up Newman for the role … which had already been offered to Bobby Darin. Darin was never officially told he’d been replaced, learning of the news at a charity horse race. Jackie Gleason made all of his own pool shots, with scenes filmed in a wide shot to show him and the shot in the same frame. Newman had never played pool, so he installed a pool table in his home, removing the dining room table, so he could practice night and day before production began. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards. George C. Scott refused his nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Scott, however, was Golden Globe nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Most Promising Newcomer – Male. This was Piper Laurie’s last film until 1976’s Carrie. Laurie never met Jackie Gleason. One of the titles considered for the film was Stroke of Luck.

September 26 – A Thunder of Drums

Cast: Richard Boone, George Hamilton, Luana Patten, Arthur O’Connell, Charles Bronson, Richard Chamberlain, James Douglas, Tammy Marihugh, Carole Wells, Duane Eddy, Slim Pickens, Clem Harvey, Casey Tibbs, Irene Tedrow, Marjorie Bennett, J. Edward McKinley
Director: Joseph M. Newman
Studio: Robert J. Enders Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

September 26 – Murder, She Said

Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Arthur Kennedy, Muriel Pavlow, James Robertson Justice, Thorley Walters, Charles Tingwell, Conrad Phillips, Ronald Howard, Joan Hickson, Stringer Davis, Ronnie Raymond, Gerald Cross, Michael Golden, Barbara Leake, Gordon Harris, Peter Butterworth, Richard Briers, Lucy Griffiths
Director: George Pollock
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: The film opened in the UK on September 26, 1961, followed by a US release on January 7, 1962. Based on the 1957 novel 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie. The first of four films starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. Agatha Christie disliked this adaptation of her novel but dedicated her 1962 novel The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side to Rutherford, ‘in admiration’. The name of the manor in the novel is Rutherford Hall, but it was changed to Ackenthorpe to avoid comparisons with the star’s name. The film’s working title was Meet Miss Marple. Inspector Craddock appears in all four Miss Marple films, but he only appears in the original novel upon which this film is based.

September 27 – Paris Blues

Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong, Diahann Carroll, Barbara Laage, André Luguet, Marie Versini, Moustache, Aaron Bridgers, Guy Pedersen, Serge Reggiani, Emilien Antille, Roger Blin, Michel Portal, Dominique Zardi
Director: Martin Ritt
Studio: United Artists
Trivia: Filmed on location in Paris. Based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Harold Flender. The original novel and first draft of the screenplay were primarily about interracial romance, but United Artists ordered that aspect be changed, feeling the American public was not ready for such a thing. The film received an Oscar nomination for Duke Ellington for Best Music Scoring of a Motion Picture.

1971

September 22 – Desperate Characters

Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Kenneth Mars, Sada Thompson, Jack Somack, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Chris Gampel, Mary Alan Hokanson, Robert Bauer, Carol Kane, Michael Higgins, Michael McAloney, Wallace Rooney, Rose Gregorio, Elena Karam, Nick Smith, Robert Delbert, Shauneille Perry, Robert Bauer, Gonzalee Ford, Patrick McVey, L.J. Davis
Director: Frank D. Gilroy
Studio: ITC Entertainment, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The film was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in June 1971. Based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Paula Fox. Film debut of Carol Kane.

September 27 – The Trojan Women

Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Geneviève Bujold, Irene Papas, Brian Blessed, Patrick Magee
Director: Michael Cacoyannis
Studio: Josef Shaftel Productions Inc, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Trivia: The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1971. Adapted from Edith Hamilton’s translation of Euripides’ original play.

September 28 – And Now for Something Completely Different

Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth
Director: Ian MacNaughton, Terry Gilliam (animated sequences)
Studio: Playboy Productions, Kettledrum Films, Lownes Productions, Python (Monty) Pictures, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The film opened in London on September 28, 1971, then went into general UK release on September 30. The film did not play in the US until August 22, 1972. Sketches from the first two series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus were recreated and filmed without an audience, intended for American audience who had not yet seen the TV series.

1981

September 25 – Carbon Copy

Cast: George Segal, Susan Saint James, Jack Warden, Dick Martin, Denzel Washington, Paul Winfield, Macon McCalman, Vicky Dawson
Director: Michael Schultz
Studio: Hemdale Film Corporation, RKO Pictures, First City, distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures (United States), Hemdale Film Distributors (United Kingdom)
Trivia: The film opened in Australia on August 6, 1981, and screened at the Montréal World Film Festival on August 26 before its US release on September 25. Denzel Washington’s film debut. George Segal turned down the lead in Arthur for this film. The film received an R-rating which was changed to PG on appeal. It is rarely shown on television due to its racial content.

September 25 – Mommie Dearest

Cast: Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Mara Hobel, Steve Forrest, Howard Da Silva, Rutanya Alda, Harry Goz, Michael Edwards, Jocelyn Brando, Priscilla Pointer, Xander Berkeley, Jeremy Scott Reinbolt, Belita Moreno, Alice Nunn
Director: Frank Perry
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The film’s New York City premiere was held on September 18, 1981. Adapted from Christina Crawford’s 1978 autobiography of the same name. The film was distributed by Paramount, the only one of the Big 8 studios for which Crawford had never worked. The film received nine Razzie nominations, ‘winning’ five including Worst Picture & Worst Actress. It also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture of the Decade in 1990. Even Christina Crawford said her mother didn’t deserve the treatment she received from the movie, and Bette Davis defended Joan and made her dislike of Dunaway known during a Tonight Show interview. The set of the soap opera seen in the movie is the Cunningham home from Happy Days. The exterior or Christina’s apartment building is the same set from Laverne & Shirley. Anne Bancroft was originally cast as Joan Crawford, but left the project after the script was completed, calling it a ‘hatchet job’ on Crawford. Many others also turned down the role for being ‘too unsympathetic’. When Paramount learned audiences were laughing at the film, they changed the marketing campaign to label it a comedy. Producer Frank Yablans sued, stating he made the film as a serious drama. Jocelyn Brando’s final film. Film debut of Xander Berkeley. The film was originally rated R but changed to PG on appeal, without any cuts.

September 25 – Only When I Laugh

Cast: Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, James Coco, Joan Hackett, David Dukes, John Bennett Perry, Guy Boyd, Ed Moore, Peter Coffield, Mark Schubb, Venida Evans, John Vargas, Dan Monahan, Jane Atkins, Kevin Bacon, Phillip Lindsay
Director: Glenn Jordan
Studio: Rastar, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 13, 1981. Based on Neil Simon’s 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Marsha Mason), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (James Coco), and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Joan Hackett). Coco also received a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actor, the first performer to receive both Oscar and Razzie nominations in the same year for the same role. Joan Hackett’s final film. Since the film was shot at the height of New York City theatre season when all of the working theatres were booked, the film’s theatre scenes had to be filmed in Los Angeles. The film was retitled It Only Hurts When I Laugh in the UK to avoid confusion with a TV series titled Only When I Laugh.

September 25 – So Fine

Cast: Ryan O’Neal, Jack Warden, Mariangela Melato, Richard Kiel, Fred Gwynne, Mike Kellin, David Rounds
Director: Andrew Bergman
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Ryan O’Neal was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as Worst Actor of the Decade. Film debut of John Stockwell.

September 25 – Southern Comfort

Cast: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter, Lewis Smith, Les Lannom, Peter Coyote, Carlos Brown, Brion James, Sonny Landham
Director: Walter Hill
Studio: Cinema Group Ventures, Phoenix, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: The film was screened at the San Sebastián Film Festival on September 21, 1981, and held its premiere in Lafayette, Louisiana on September 24. At one point, the film was known as The Prey.

September 25 – The Boogens

Cast: Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, Anne-Marie Martin, Jeff Harlan, John Crawford, Med Flory, Jon Lormer, Scott Wilkinson
Director: James L. Conway
Studio: Taft International Pictures, distributed by Jensen Farley Pictures
Trivia: Only one creature was made for the film. Veteran character actor John Crawford’s last film.

September 25 – True Confessions

Cast: Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Cyril Cusack, Burgess Meredith, Kenneth McMillan, Ed Flanders, Dan Hedaya, Rose Gregorio, Jeanette Nolan, Missy Cleveland, Tom Hill, Gwen Van Dam, Jorge Cervera Jr., Darwyn Carson, Pat Corley, Richard Foronjy, James Hong, Kirk Brennan
Director: Ulu Grosbard
Studio: United Artists
Trivia: The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 1981. Adapted from the novel of the same name by John Gregory Dunne, loosely based on the Black Dahlia murder case of 1947. Robert De Niro had two weeks to drop as much weight as possible that he had gained for Raging Bull.

1991

September 24 – Together Alone

Cast: Terry Curry, Todd Stites
Director: P. J. Castellaneta
Studio: Frameline
Trivia: The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 13, 1991. Director P. J. Castellaneta directed, wrote, produced, edited and even catered the movie.

September 27 – Deceived

Cast: Goldie Hawn, Damon Redfern, John Heard, Robin Bartlett, Ashley Peldon, Beatrice Straight, George R. Robertson, Tom Irwin, Jan Rubeš, Anais Granofsky, Heidi Von Palleske, Stanley Anderson, Francesca Butler, Bruce MacVittie, Amy Wright, Kate Reid
Director: Damian Harris
Studio: Touchstone Pictures, Aysgarth Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Trivia: The film was originally titled The Mrs. but was changed to keep audiences from thinking it was another Goldie Hawn comedy. Final film of Kate Reid. Final film of Beatrice Straight, although her scenes were apparently cut as she only appears for about five seconds in the background and out of focus during a birthday party scene.

Tri-Star Pictures

September 27 – The Fisher King

Cast: Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, Michael Jeter, David Hyde Pierce, Lara Harris, Harry Shearer, Kathy Najimy, John de Lancie, Tom Waits, Melinda Culea, Paul Michael Lombardi
Director: Terry Gilliam
Studio: Hill/Obst Productions, distributed by Tri-Star Pictures
Trivia: The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival on September 10, 1991, and at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13. The official premiere was held in Beverly Hills on September 16. The first film Terry Gilliam directed that he did not write, and the first that did not feature any actors from Monty Python. It is, however, his second film to feature the Holy Grail. The film received five Oscar nominations — winning Best Supporting Actress (Ruehl) — and four Golden Globe nominations, winning two: Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor – Musical or Comedy (Williams). Tom Waits has a cameo as the beggar in the wheelchair at the train station.

September 27 – Necessary Roughness

Cast: Scott Bakula, Héctor Elizondo, Robert Loggia, Sinbad, Jason Bateman, Andrew Bryniarski, Duane Davis, Michael Dolan, Marcus Giamatti, Kathy Ireland, Andrew Lauer, Louis Mandylor, Peter Tuiasosopo, Harley Jane Kozak, Larry Miller, Fred Thompson, Rob Schneider, Garrett Schenck, Rodger Boyce, Chris Berman
Director: Stan Dragoti
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered in Denton, Texas on September 25, 1991. Director Stan Dragoti’s final film. Former NFL stars on the prison team are: Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice, Dick Butkus, Tony Dorsett, Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones, Randy White, Roger Craig, Hershel Walker and Ben Davidson.

September 27 – The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

Cast: Lily Tomlin
Director: John Bailey
Studio: Orion Classics
Trivia: The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 1991. Adapted from the one-woman stage show written by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin. Tomlin won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the show.

September 27 – Under Suspicion

Cast: Liam Neeson, Laura San Giacomo, Kenneth Cranham, Maggie O’Neill, Stephen Moore, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Alex Norton, Kevin Moore
Director: Simon Moore
Studio: Carnival Films, London Weekend Television, The Rank Organisation, distributed by Rank Film Distributors
Trivia: The film opened in the UK on September 27, 1991, but did not get a US release until February 28, 1992. Patrick Bergen was originally cast as the male lead but dropped out due to creative differences.

September 29 – My Own Private Idaho

Cast: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert, Chiara Caselli, Udo Kier, Rodney Harvey, Michael Parker, Jessie Thomas, Grace Zabriskie, Flea, Tom Troupe, Vana O’Brien, Jim Caviezel, Wade Evans
Director: Gus Van Sant
Studio: Fine Line Features
Trivia: The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival on September 4, 1991, the Deauville Film Festival on September 8, the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12 and the New York Film Festival on September 27. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V, and originating from John Rechy’s 1963 novel City of Night. Working titles included Blue Funk and Minions of the Moon. While Keanu Reeves’ agent was agreeable to giving the script to his client, River Phoenix’s was not. After Reeves agreed to be in the film, director Gus Van Sant convinced Reeves to deliver the script to Phoenix personally. Reeves drove his motorcycle from his family home in Canada to the Phoenix family home in Florida over the Christmas holiday. Phoenix agreed to play the role in which Reeves had already been cast and had to be convinced to take on the edgier role of the drug addicted hustler Mike. Kiefer Sutherland has said he turned down one of the leads to go skiing, a decision he regrets. The first feature film role of Jim Caviezel. Van Sant has a cameo as a hotel porter.

2001

September 28 – Dinner Rush

Cast: Danny Aiello, John Rothman, Zainab Jah, Alex Corrado, Michael McGlone, Polly Draper, Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu, Manny Perez, Ajay Naidu, Summer Phoenix, Jamie Harris, Andre De Leon, John Corbett, Kirk Acevedo, Mark Margolis, Annika Peterson, Juan Carlos Hernández, Ted Koch, Marcus Schenkenberg, Jennifer Griffin Chambers, Sandra Bernhard, Ellen McElduff
Director: Bob Giraldi
Studio: Access Motion Picture Group, Giraldi-Suarez-DiGiaimo Productions, distributed by Access Motion Picture Group
Trivia: The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2000, and screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 12, 2000 and the St. Louis International Film Festival in November 2000. Director Bob Giraldi is actually the owner of the restaurant ‘Gigino’ where the movie takes place.

September 28 – Don’t Say a Word

Cast: Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy, Sean Bean, Guy Torry, Jennifer Esposito, Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Shawn Doyle, Victor Argo, Conrad Goode, Paul Schulze, Lance Reddick, Aidan Devine, Alex Campbell, Arlene Duncan, Judy Sinclair, Larry Block, David Warshofsky, Darren Frost, Philip Williams, Louis Vanaria, Daniel Kash, Lucie Laurier, Isabella Fink, Ray Iannicelli, Colm Magner, Cyrus Farmer, Martin Roach, Patricia Mauceri
Director: Gary Fleder
Studio: Regency Enterprises, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment, Kopelson Entertainment, New Regency, Further Films, Epsilon Motion Pictures, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Norfolk, Virginia on September 24, 2001. Based on the novel Don’t Say a Word by Andrew Klavan. As the film is set in New York City and was released two weeks after the 9/11 attacks, there was some thought into delaying the release but instead the filmmakers quickly edited out and replaced shots that featured the World Trade Center, including the opening shot which now shows Brooklyn. Sean Bean actually spoke to Michael Douglas and Famke Janssen on the cell phones during filming. Looking for a ‘Victor Argo type’ to play the pathologist, the casting director suggested to simply cast Victor Argo.

September 28 – Enigma

Cast: Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows, Jeremy Northam, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tom Hollander, Donald Sumpter, Matthew Macfadyen, Robert Pugh, Corin Redgrave, Nicholas Rowe, Edward Hardwicke
Director: Michael Apted
Studio: Jagged Films, Broadway Video, distributed by Manhattan Pictures (United States), Buena Vista International (International)
Trivia: The film premiered at Sundance on January 22, 2001, and opened in general release in the UK on September 28. The film opened in limited release in the US on April 19, 2002, after a screening at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 21, 2001. Adapted from the 1995 novel Enigma by Robert Harris. The last film scored by John Barry. The film was produced by Mick Jagger, who makes a cameo appearance as an RAF officer at a dance. Jagger owned an original four-rotor Enigma encoding machine which he loaned to the film for historical accuracy in constructing props.

September 28 – Hearts in Atlantis

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, David Morse, Hope Davis, Mika Boorem, Deirdre O’Connell, Will Rothhaar, Timmy Reifsnyder, Alan Tudyk, Tom Bower, Celia Weston, Adam LeFevre
Director: Scott Hicks
Studio: Castle Rock Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2001. Loosely adapted from Stephen King’s Dark Tower tie-in ‘Low Men in Yellow Coats’, a novella in the 1999 collection Hearts in Atlantis. Theatrical movie debut of Anton Yelchin. Brie Larson auditioned for the role Carol Gerber.

Paramount Pictures

September 28 – Zoolander

Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, David Duchovny, Jon Voight, Woodrow Asai, Vince Vaughn, Judah Friedlander, Alexander Skarsgård, Nathan Lee Graham, Justin Theroux, Andy Dick, Andrew Wilson, John Vargas, Jennifer Coolidge, Tony Kanal, Patton Oswalt, Mason Webb
Director: Ben Stiller
Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, VH1 Films, NPV Entertainment, Red Hour Productions, Scott Rudin Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: David Bowie and Billy Zane made prominent cameos as themselves. Also making cameos were Lance Bass, Tyson Beckford, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Stephen Dorff, Shavo Odadjian, Fred Durst, Fabio, Tom Ford, Cuba Gooding Jr., Theo Kogan, Lukas Haas, Tommy Hilfiger, Paris Hilton, Carmen Kass, Heidi Klum, Lenny Kravitz, Karl Lagerfeld, Lil’ Kim, Anne Meara, Natalie Portman, Frankie Rayder, Mark Ronson, Gavin Rossdale, Winona Ryder, Garry Shandling, Christian Slater, Gwen Stefani, Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Donatella Versace, Veronica Webb and James Marsden. Mugatu’s fashion line ‘Derelicte’ is based on an actual fashion line from John Galliano. The film originally received an R-rating but was re-rated PG-13 on appeal. Coming two weeks after the 9/11 attacks, Stiller had any images of the Twin Towers digitally erased from the film, saying it was the right thing to do at the time. As of the 2016 Blu-ray release, the towers have been restored to the film. Stiller wrote the role of Hansel specifically for Owen Wilson and no one else was considered for the part. Stiller also wrote David Bowie’s scene as a judge of the walk-off into the script without knowing if he would even accept the part. This is the first American movie in which Alexander Skarsgård appeared. The role of Mugatu was written for Andy Dick, but he was tied up with the film Go Fish, so he took the smaller role of Olga the masseuse.

2011

September 23 – Abduction

Cast: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Nyqvist, Dermot Mulroney, Nickola Shreli, Elisabeth Röhm, Antonique Smith, Denzel Whitaker, Ilia Volok, Nich Donalies
Director: John Singleton
Studio: Vertigo Entertainment, Quick Six Entertainment, Tailor Made, Imagine Entertainment, distributed by Lionsgate
Trivia: The film held a premiere in Sydney, Australia on August 23, 2011, and a Hollywood premiere on September 15. John Singleton’s last film. The film was rushed into production due to Taylor Lautner’s commitment to the last two Twilight films. Freema Agyeman filmed a cameo role but it was removed during editing.

September 23 – Dolphin Tale

Cast: Nathan Gamble, Winter, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman, Kim Ostrenko, Jim Fitzpatrick, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Ray McKinnon, Austin Stowell, Michael Roark, Frances Sternhagen, Austin Highsmith, Betsy Landin, Juliana Harkavy, Tom Nowicki, Richard Libertini, Zoe Naomi
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Studio: Alcon Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Clearwater, Florida on September 21, 2011. Dolphin Tale was filmed in native 3D.

September 23 – Killer Elite

Cast: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Yvonne Strahovski, Robert De Niro, Lachy Hulme, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ben Mendelsohn, Grant Bowler, Matthew Nable, Michael Dorman, Jamie McDowell, Chris Anderson, George Murphy, Gillie McKenzie, Firass Dirani, Rodney Afif, Andrew Stehlin, Daniel Roberts
Director: Gary McKendry
Studio: Omnilab Media, Ambience Entertainment, Film Victoria, Wales Creative IP Fund, distributed by Open Road Films (US), Entertainment One (Canada), Inferno Distribution (International)
Trivia: The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2011, and was released in the US, Canada, the UK and other territories on September 23. Based on the 1991 novel The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Robert De Niro is the only American born actor in this film. While they share a title, this film has no connection whatsoever to Sam Peckinpah’s 1975 thriller The Killer Elite. This is the first film distributed by Open Road Films.

September 23 – Moneyball

Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Reed Diamond, Brent Jennings, Ken Medlock, Jack McGee, Vyto Ruginis, Nick Searcy, Glenn Morshower, Casey Bond, Nick Porrazzo, Kerris Dorsey, Arliss Howard, Derrin Ebert, Miguel Mendoza, Adrian Bellani, Art Ortiz, Royce Clayton
Director: Bennett Miller
Studio: Columbia Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Michael De Luca Productions, Rachael Horovitz Productions, Plan B Entertainment, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Oakland, California on September 19, 2011. Film director Spike Jonze has a small uncredited role. Based on the 2003 nonfiction book by Michael Lewis. At one point Steven Soderbergh was to direct the movie as a semi-documentary. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Pitt and Best Supporting Actor for Hill. Due to budget restrictions, Dodger Stadium was re-dressed as eight different ballparks the Oakland Athletics visited.

September 23 – Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

Cast: Muhammet Uzuner, Yılmaz Erdoğan, Taner Birsel, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Fırat Tanış, Ercan Kesal, Cansu Demirci, Erol Erarslan, Uğur Arslanoğlu, Murat Kılıç, Şafak Karali, Emre Şen, Burhan Yıldız, Nihan Okutucu
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Studio: Zeyno Film, distributed by The Cinema Guild
Trivia: The film premiered at Cannes on May 21, 2011 before its general release in Turkey on September 23. The film received a limited US release on January 4, 2012 after 2011 screenings at the New York Film Festival and the Santa Fe International Film Festival. The story is based on real events.

September 28 – This Is Not a Film

Cast: Jafar Panahi, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
Director: Jafar Panahi, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
Studio: Distributed by Kanibal Films Distribution (France), Palisades Tartan (US)
Trivia: The film premiered at Cannes on May 20, 2011, the opened in France on September 28. The film did not get a US release until February 29, 2012 after screenings at the New York Film Festival and the Portland International Film Festival. Director Jafar Panahi was put under house arrest in 2010 and banned from filmmaking for 20 years. This film was smuggled out of Iran on a USB stick hidden in a cake.

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