United Artists
This was a good week for movie lovers, more so today than when the film’s were originally released. While some were hits on their original run, many of them became better regarded with age. That is certainly true with one of 1941’s films, John Huston’s directorial debut, while another film from that year was a hit right out of the box and nearly spawned a sequel. 1951 has a beloved sports film, 1961 produced one of the best movie musicals of all time, 1981 scored an Oscar nomination for Meryl Streep, 1991 gave us the film debut of a popular rapper, 2001 gave us what has become a cult classic from David Lynch, and 2011 saw the prequel to a popular 1980s sci-fi-horror film. Read on to see what these films are, and if any of your favorites debuted this week.
1921
October 16 – Forever
- Cast: Wallace Reid, Elsie Ferguson, Montagu Love, George Fawcett, Dolores Cassinelli, Paul McAllister, Elliott Dexter, Barbara Dean, Nell Roy Buck, Charles Eaton, Jerome Patrick
- Director: George Fitzmaurice
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Also known as Peter Ibbetson. Adapted from George du Maurier’s 1891 novel Peter Ibbetson. The last surviving print of the film was held by Wallace Reid’s widow who donated it for a proposed museum archive, but it is now considered lost.
October 17 – Woman’s Place
- Cast: Constance Talmadge, Kenneth Harlan, Hassard Short, Florence Short, Ina Rorke, Margaret Linden, Jack Connolly
- Director: Victor Fleming
- Studio: Associated First National Pictures
- Trivia: The film survives in the British Film Institute.
1931
- No new films were released this week in 1931.
1941
October 17 – Jesse James at Bay
- Cast: Roy Rogers, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Sally Payne, Pierre Watkin, Ivan Miller, Hal Taliaferro, Gale Storm, Roy Barcroft, Jack Kirk
- Director: Joseph Kane
- Studio: Republic Pictures
October 17 – The Devil and Daniel Webster
- Cast: Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, James Craig, Anne Shirley, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene Lockhart, John Qualen, H. B. Warner, Alec Craig, George Cleveland, Lindy Wade
- Director: William Dieterle
- Studio: William Dieterle Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s premiere was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on October 16, 1941. Adapted by Stephen Vincent Benét and Dan Totheroh from Benét’s 1936 short story The Devil and Daniel Webster. The film’s title was changed to All That Money Can Buy to avoid confusion with The Devil and Miss Jones, also released in 1941. The original title was later restored. It has also been released under the titles Mr. Scratch, Daniel and the Devil and Here Is a Man. Thomas Mitchell was the original choice to play Daniel Webster, but he suffered a skull fracture while filming the carriage scene and was replaced by Edward Arnold, with a day’s notice. All of Mitchell’s scenes had to be re-filmed. Mitchell was hospitalized for 17 weeks but made a full recovery. The film’s music score by Bernard Herrmann won an Oscar. Walter Huston was nominated for Best Actor. The 107 minute All That Money Can Buy original version was not a box office success. The film was crudely edited to 85 minutes under the original title, but has since been restored to its full length.
October 17 – Week-End in Havana
- Cast: Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, John Payne, Cesar Romero, Cobina Wright, George Barbier, Sheldon Leonard, Leonid Kinskey, Billy Gilbert, Muriel Page
- Director: Walter Lang
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Denver, Colorado on October 6, 1941. Also known as A Week-End in Havana and That Week-End in Havana. The film was a follow-up to Down Argentine Way and That Night in Rio. The working titles of the film were Caribbean Cruise and Honeymoon in Havana. Betty Grable was originally scheduled to star but was replaced by Alice Faye. The second unit filmed longshots with doubles and atmospheric shots in Cuba over the course of a month.
Warner Bros. Pictures
October 18 – The Maltese Falcon
- Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook Jr., James Burke, Murray Alper, John Hamilton
- Director: John Huston
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in New York City on October 3, 1941. Based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. Sydney Greenstreet’s film debut. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards (Best Picture, Supporting Actor for Greenstreet, and Adapted Screenplay), and was one of the first 25 films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. George Raft was the first choice to play Sam Spade, but he rejected the offer because he didn’t want to work with an inexperienced director. The film was shot in sequence. Due to the film’s success, a sequel was planned but Huston was in high demand as a director and the major cast members were unavailable. To save money, Warner Bros. required actors to supply their own wardrobe. The studio wanted to change the title to The Gent From Frisco because the story had already been filmed as The Maltese Falcon in 1931. Huston mapped out production so meticulously that the film finished shooting two days ahead of schedule and $54,000 under budget. Huston’s father Walter makes a cameo appearance in the film, promising studio head Jack Warner that he would not charge for the appearance.
1951
October 17 – The Desert Fox
- Cast: James Mason, Cedric Hardwicke, Jessica Tandy, Luther Adler, Everett Sloane, Leo G. Carroll, George Macready, Richard Boone, Eduard Franz, Desmond Young, Michael Rennie
- Director: Henry Hathaway
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Based on the book Rommel: The Desert Fox by Brigadier Desmond Young. Kirk Douglas was originally announced to star. Richard Widmark was also a possible candidate to play Rommel. James Mason was so eager to take the role to boost his sagging film career that he agreed to a seven-year contract with Fox. One of, if not the first movie to use a pre-credits sequence. The film used actual black and white combat footage from the documentary Desert Victory.
October 17 – Thunder on the Hill
- Cast: Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, Robert Douglas, Anne Crawford, Philip Friend, Gladys Cooper, Michael Pate, John Abbott, Connie Gilchrist, Gavin Muir, Phyllis Stanley, Norma Varden, Valerie Cardew, Queenie Leonard, Patrick O’Moore
- Director: Douglas Sirk
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Boston on August 8, 1951. Based on the play Bonaventure by Charlotte Hastings. The film was originally announced to star Joan Fontaine and Burt Lancaster, but had been delayed for two years due to various commitments of the stars, as well as Fontaine’s pregnancy, and by January 1949 the entire production team and stars had been replaced.
October 19 – Angels in the Outfield
- Cast: Paul Douglas, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Lewis Stone, Spring Byington, Bruce Bennett, Marvin Kaplan, Ellen Corby, Donna Corcoran
- Director: Clarence Brown
- Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s Incorporated
- Trivia: The film had premieres in Pittsburgh, PA (September 7, 1951), Los Angeles (September 14) and New York City (October 17). Bing Crosby, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio and Harry Ruby have cameo appearances as themselves. The story was originally intended for Spencer Tracy, who was replaced by Clark Gable, but Gable chose to make Lone Star instead. With the Hays Code prohibiting swearing in most cases, Paul Douglas’ dialogue was scrambled to make it sound like gibberish. Barbara Billingsley appears uncredited as a hat check girl. An uncredited James Whitmore provided the voice of an angel. The radio announcer was an uncredited Peter Graves.
1961
October 17 – What a Whopper
- Cast: Adam Faith, Sid James, Carole Lesley, Terence Longdon, Clive Dunn, Freddie Frinton, Marie-France, Charles Hawtrey, Spike Milligan, Wilfrid Brambell, Fabia Drake, Harold Berens, Ewan Roberts, Archie Duncan, Terry Scott, Anna Gilcrist, Gordon Rollings, Bernard Hunter, Lloyd Reckord, Lance Percival, Molly Weir, Fyfe Robertson, J. Stevenson Lang, Alistair Hunter, Allan Casley, Frank Forsyth
- Director: Gilbert Gunn
- Studio: Regal Films International
- Trivia: The film opened in the UK on October 17, 1961, but a US release date is unknown.
October 18 – The Explosive Generation
- Cast: William Shatner, Patty McCormack, Lee Kinsolving, Virginia Field, Billy Gray, Steve Dunne, Phillip Terry, Arch Johnson, Edward Platt, Beau Bridges, Stafford Repp, Vito Scotti
- Director: Buzz Kulik
- Studio: Vega Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Jocelyn Brando and David Geffen appear in uncredited roles. Director Buzz Kulik’s first feature film.
Columbia Pictures
October 18 – Mr. Sardonicus
- Cast: Oskar Homolka, Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe, Vladimir Sokoloff, Erika Peters, Lorna Hanson
- Director: William Castle
- Studio: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on October 8, 1961. The film was based on a short story called ‘Sardonicus’ that was originally published in Playboy. Guy Rolfe could only wear the five-piece facial appliances for no more than an hour at a time, so the full makeup is only shown in a few scenes. The rest of the time Rolfe wore a mask over his face. William Castle’s gimmick for this film was that it had two possible endings. The audience was given a glow-in-the-dark card, the ‘Punishment Poll’, to decide whether Sardonicus would live or die at the end. Castle knew audiences would ultimately choose the punishment, and only that ending was filmed. Castle had contended there was an uplifting ending available but there has been no evidence to support the claim.
October 18 – The Devil at 4 O’Clock
- Cast: Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Kerwin Mathews, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Grégoire Aslan, Alexander Scourby, BarBara Luna, Cathy Lewis, Bernie Hamilton, Martin Brandt, Lou Merrill, Marcel Dalio, Tom Middleton, Ann Duggan, Louis Mercier, Michele Montau
- Director: Mervyn LeRoy
- Studio: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Based on a 1958 novel with the same title by British writer Max Catto. The exploding volcano effect, which used almost a ton of explosives on a volcano built on farmland outside of Fallbrook, CA, was so powerful it almost killed the helicopter pilot and cameraman filming it. The effect was so good it’s been reused in other films. Spencer Tracy was only able to work for a few hours in the morning, but Frank Sinatra did not come to the set until the afternoon so Tracy had to act against a broom as Sinatra’s stand-in while a script girl read his lines. The most expensive film Columbia Pictures had made to date at $5.7 million. Film debut of BarBara Luna.
October 18 – West Side Story
- Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, Betty Wand, George Chakiris, Simon Oakland, Ned Glass, William Bramley
- Director: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
- Studio: Mirisch Pictures, Seven Arts Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. John Astin appears in an uncredited role as Glad Hand, a well-meaning but ineffectual social worker. Elaine Joyce appears in the uncredited role of Tiger’s girlfriend Hotsie. Marni Nixon provided the singing voice for Natalie Wood, Jimmy Bryant was Richard Beymer’s singing voice, Tucker Smith was Russ Tablyn’s singing voice, and Betty Wand was Rita Moreno’s singing voice. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10 including Best Picture, and was the first film to win Best Director for two directors. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997. After 45 days of shooting, the film was 24 days behind schedule. Original Broadway Maria Carol Lawrence was considered for the film, but at 29 she was too old to play the part. Elvis Presley was approached to play Tony, but his manager Colonel Tom Parker turned it down.
1971
October 13 – Shoot Out
- Cast: Gregory Peck, Pat Quinn, Robert F. Lyons, Susan Tyrrell, Jeff Corey, James Gregory, Rita Gam, Dawn Lyn, Pepe Serna, John Chandler, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Nicolas Beauvy
- Director: Henry Hathaway
- Studio: Hal Wallis Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film opened in France on July 2, 1971, The Netherlands on August 19 and Argentina on September 16 before its October 13 US release. Adapted from Will James’s 1930 novel, The Lone Cowboy.
October 18 – Bunny O’Hare
- Cast: Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Cassidy, Jay Robinson, Joan Delaney, John Astin, Reva Rose
- Director: Gerd Oswald
- Studio: American International Pictures
- Trivia: The working titles for the film were Bunny and Claude, Bunny, Betty and Claude, and Bunny and Billy. The last film appearance of Bruno VeSota. Lee Marvin was the original choice for the Ernest Borgnine role.
1981
October 16 – …All the Marbles
- Cast: Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick, Laurene Landon, Richard Jaeckel, Burt Young, John Hancock, Faith Minton, Chick Hearn
- Director: Robert Aldrich
- Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by United Artists (United States/Canada), Cinema International Corporation (International)
- Trivia: The film opened in Canada on March 1, 1981, then in the US on October 16. The film was released outside the US as The California Dolls. The actresses who auditioned had to attend wrestling school, and at the end the two best wrestlers were cast. A sequel was announced two days before the film opened, but its poor performance in the US put the sequel on ice. This was Robert Aldrich’s last film. First major film role of actress Laurene Landon. Kathleen Turner auditioned to be one of the female wrestlers.
October 16 – The French Lieutenant’s Woman
- Cast: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae, Emily Morgan, Charlotte Mitchell, Lynsey Baxter, Jean Faulds, Peter Vaughan, Colin Jeavons, Liz Smith, Patience Collier, John Barrett, Leo McKern, Penelope Wilton, Alun Armstrong, Gérard Falconetti
- Director: Karel Reisz
- Studio: United Artists
- Trivia: The film was screened at TIFF, held a New York City premiere and opened in limited release on September 18, 1981. The film then opened in the UK on October 15, and the US on October 16. Based on The French Lieutenant’s Woman, a 1969 novel by John Fowles. The film received five Oscar nominations including Best Actress for Meryl Streep. Streep won the Best Actress BAFTA and Golden Globe. First major starring role in a theatrical movie for Jeremy Irons. James Fox had turned down the role for ‘moral reasons’.
1991
October 18 – Cool as Ice
- Cast: Vanilla Ice, Kristin Minter, Michael Gross, Deezer D, John Haymes Newton, Candy Clark, Victor DiMattia, Naomi Campbell, Kathryn Morris, Jack McGee, S.A. Griffin, Sydney Lassick, Dody Goodman, Bobbie Brown, Allison Dean
- Director: David Kellogg
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Vanilla Ice’s film debut. Gwyneth Paltrow was offered the role of Kathy, but her father Bruce forbade her from taking it for fear it would hurt her career. The film was nominated for seven Razzie Awards, winning on for Vanilla Ice as Worst New Star.
October 18 – Edward II
- Cast: Steven Waddington, Tilda Swinton, Andrew Tiernan, Nigel Terry, John Lynch, Dudley Sutton, Jerome Flynn, Jody Graber, Annie Lennox
- Director: Derek Jarman
- Studio: BBC Films, Working Title Films, distributed by Palace Pictures[
- Trivia: The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival on September 9, 1991, and at TIFF on September 11, followed by its UK release on October 18. The film did not open in the US until March 20, 1992. Based on the play of the same name by Christopher Marlowe. In one scene, Tilda Swinton carries an Hermes bag that cost more than the set she was standing on. Film debut of Steven Waddington.
October 18 – Other People’s Money
- Cast: Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck, Penelope Ann Miller, Piper Laurie, Dean Jones, R. D. Call, Mo Gaffney, Tom Aldredge
- Director: Norman Jewison
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the play of the same name by Jerry Sterner. Last theatrical film made by Gregory Peck. Danny DeVito refuses to eat junk food, so the donuts he eats in this film aren’t fried, contain no sugar, and are fat-free. They were made to order by Mani’s Bakery Cafe on Fairfax in Los Angeles.
2001
October 19 – From Hell
- Cast: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Richardson, Jason Flemyng, Samantha Spiro, Annabelle Apsion, Katrin Cartlidge, Susan Lynch, Lesley Sharp, Estelle Skornik, Paul Rhys, Vincent Franklin, Ian McNeice, David Schofield, Sophia Myles, Joanna Page, Mark Dexter, Anthony Parker
- Director: The Hughes Brothers
- Studio: Underworld Pictures, 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, 2001, and at TIFF on September 10. The film’s official premiere was held on October 17. Loosely based on the graphic novel From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. The role of Abberline was meant for Danieil Day-Lewis, and in 1997 it was announced Sean Connery would be cast. Connery dropped out and The Hughes Brothers met with Brad Pitt and Jude Law before settling on Johnny Depp. Depp initially turned down the role after coming off a similar role in Sleepy Hollow. Theatrical movie debut of Dominic Cooper.
Universal Pictures
October 19 – Mulholland Drive
- Cast: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Mark Pellegrino, Robert Forster, Brent Briscoe, Dan Hedaya, Angelo Badalamenti, Monty Montgomery, Lee Grant, James Karen, Chad Everett, Richard Green, Rebekah Del Rio, Melissa George, Geno Silva, Billy Ray Cyrus
- Director: David Lynch
- Studio: Les Films Alain Sarde, Asymmetrical Productions, Babbo Inc., Le Studio CanalPlus, The Picture Factory, distributed by Universal Pictures (United States), BAC Films (France)
- Trivia: The film had several festival screenings before its release including Cannes on May 16, 2001, TIFF on September 8, the Chicago International Film Festival in October 2001, and the New York Film Festival on October 6. The film then opened in New York City and Los Angeles on October 12 before rolling out to general release on October 19. The project was originally conceived as a pilot for a TV series with an open-ended conclusion. Once the pilot was rejected, David Lynch filmed an ending and turned it into a feature film. Lynch won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, and was Oscar nominated in the same category. The last feature film for Ann Miller. Sherilyn Fenn stated in 2014 that the story idea was intended to be a spin-off for her Twin Peaks character Audrey Horne. Lynch cast Naomi Watts and Laura Harring from their photographs. Justin Theroux met with Lynch right after his flight, dressed in black and untidy hair. Lynch liked the look so much he kept it for Theroux’s character.
October 19 – Riding in Cars with Boys
- Cast: Drew Barrymore, Mika Boorem, Marisa Ryan, Olivia Morgan Scheck, Celine Marget, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, Adam Garcia, Joseph M. Cannizaro, Noah Hartwick, Briana Tilden, Skye Arens, Patrick and Robert Salerno, Logan Arens, Cody Arens, Logan Lerman, Lorraine Bracco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Samantha Reale, Samantha Lucier, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Rosie Perez, Desmond Harrington, Sara Gilbert, Peter Facinelli, David Moscow
- Director: Penny Marshall
- Studio: Columbia Pictures, Gracie Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: Based on the autobiography of the same name by Beverly Donofrio. The last film directed by Penny Marshall.
October 19 – The Last Castle
- Cast: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Delroy Lindo, Steve Burton, Paul Calderón, Samuel Ball, Jeremy Childs, Clifton Collins, Jr., Brian Goodman, Michael Irby, Robin Wright, David Alford
- Director: Rod Lurie
- Studio: Robert Lawrence Productions, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures
- Trivia: The film was shot mainly at the 103-year-old former Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, which had previously been used for filming in The Green Mile.
October 19 – Waking Life
- Cast: Wiley Wiggins, Eamonn Healy, Timothy ‘Speed’ Levitch, Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Steven Prince, Caveh Zahedi, Otto Hofmann, Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan, Louis H. Mackey, Steven Soderbergh, David Sosa, Robert C. Solomon, Steve Brudniak
- Director: Richard Linklater
- Studio: Thousand Words, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Trivia: The film premiered at Sundance on January 23, 2001, and played several festivals before its limited US release on October 19. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their characters from Before Sunrise in one scene. The film took three weeks to shoot, three weeks to edit and fifteen months to animate.
2011
October 14 – The Big Year
- Cast: Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Rashida Jones, Anjelica Huston, Jim Parsons, Rosamund Pike, JoBeth Williams, Brian Dennehy, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Anderson, Tim Blake Nelson, Joel McHale, Calum Worthy, Veena Sood, Corbin Bernsen, Stacey Scowley, Jesse Moss, Kevin Pollak, Barry Shabaka Henley, Andrew Wilson, Al Roker, John Cleese, June Squibb, Steven Weber
- Director: David Frankel
- Studio: Red Hour Films, Deuce Three, Ingenious Media, Sunswept Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Based on the 2004 nonfiction book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik.
October 14 – The Thing
- Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Paul Braunstein, Trond Espen Seim, Kim Bubbs, Jørgen Langhelle, Jan Gunnar Røise, Stig Henrik Hoff, Kristofer Hivju, Jo Adrian Haavind, Carsten Bjørnlund, Jonathan Lloyd Walker, Ole Martin Aune Nilsen, Michael Brown
- Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
- Studio: Strike Entertainment, Morgan Creek Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s Hollywood premiere was held on October 10, 2011, and the film opened in France on October 12 and Australia and Hong Kong (October 13) before its October 14, US/Canada release on October 14. The film did not play in Mexico or the UK until December 2. It is a direct prequel to the 1982 film of the same name by John Carpenter.
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