Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #74 :: December 22•28

Paramount Pictures

As we barrel toward the end of the year, Hollywood and foreign nations roll out their biggest and best films to take advantage of holiday crowds, and to get one last shot at nominations for the various awards, notably the Academy Awards which has a deadline of December 31 (in normal times). And this week was no exception with fifteen of this week’s films nominated for Oscars, and a lot of those scored wins, with a few more that also scored Golden Globe noms but not Oscar noms. There were also some pure crowd-pleasers and a few Oscar hopefuls that audiences failed to respond to, and some of the biggest stars and directors are represented this week. Let’s take a walk down the red carpet and see if any of your favorite films are on this week’s list!

1921

December 24 – The Fire Eater

Cast: Hoot Gibson, Louise Lorraine, Walter Perry, Thomas G. Lingham, Fred Lancaster, Carmen Phillips, George Berrell, Bradley Ward, George A. Williams
Director: B. Reeves Eason
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: This film is considered to be lost.

December 25 – A Sailor-Made Man

Cast: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Noah Young, Dick Sutherland
Director: Fred C. Newmeyer
Production Company: Associated Exhibitors
Trivia: Considered to be Harold Lloyd’s first feature-length film, quite by accident as the amount of material written would exceed the traditional two-reel format. It was decided to shoot everything and edit out what didn’t work, but preview audiences enjoyed the entire film so it was released at its full length. The success of the film prompted Lloyd to abandon the two-reel format, with his next film designed to run five reels.

December 28 – Orphans of the Storm

Cast: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Frank Losee, Catherine Emmet, Morgan Wallace, Lucille La Verne, Frank Puglia, Sheldon Lewis, Creighton Hale, Leslie King, Monte Blue, Sidney Herbert, Lee Kohlmar, Marcia Harris, Adolph Lestina, Kate Bruce, Flora Finch, Louis Wolheim, Kenny Delmar, Fay Marbe
Director: D. W. Griffith
Production Company: D.W. Griffith, Inc., distributed by United Artists
Trivia: The last D.W. Griffith film to feature Lillian and Dorothy Gish. It was a box office failure. Based on the 1874 French play Les Deux Orphelines by Adolphe d’Ennery and Eugène Cormon, which had been filmed twice before Griffith’s version. Extra William J. Walsh was killed on set when a prop rifle loaded with a blank round was accidentally discharged when the rifle fell over. The fountain in the Bel-Air scene was made of marble and filled with cider, because water would not photograph with the sparkle needed to suggest wine.

1931

December 26 – Arrowsmith

Cast: Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett, A.E. Anson, Clarence Brooks, Alec B. Francis, Claude King, Bert Roach, Myrna Loy, Russell Hopton, David Landau, Lumsden Hare
Director: John Ford
Production Company: Samuel Goldwyn Productions, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on December 7, 1931. It opened in London on March 23, 1932, and entered general UK release on September 26. Adapted from Sinclair Lewis’s 1925 novel Arrowsmith. The pre-Code film received four Oscar nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Writing, Adaptation, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction. The first American sound film to feature a black character with a university degree who speaks perfect English, does not shuffle, and does not act in the usual stereotypical manner in which blacks were depicted in Hollywood films at the time.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

December 26 – Mata Hari

Cast: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, C. Henry Gordon, Karen Morley, Alec B. Francis, Blanche Friderici, Edmund Breese, Helen Jerome Eddy, Frank Reicher
Director: George Fitzmaurice
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: The film didn’t open in the UK until March 23, 1932. Greta Garbo’s most successful film. Only a censored version of the film exists today. According to online reports, not officially confirmed but for more than ten years apparently never contradicted, a print of the original uncut version, subtitled in French and Dutch, survives at the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique in Brussels, where it was publicly shown in 2005.

1941

December 26 – Hellzapoppin’

Cast: Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Martha Raye, Hugh Herbert, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige, Mischa Auer, Dick Lane, Lewis Howard, Clarence Kolb, Nella Walker, Shemp Howard, Elisha Cook Jr., Frank Darien, Catherine Johnson, Gus Schilling, Slim Gaillard, Slam Stewart, Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, Gil Perkins, Dale Van Sickel
Director: H. C. Potter
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on December 25, 1941. It opened in the UK on February 13, 1942. Adaptation of the musical that ran on Broadway from 1938 to 1941. While the original Broadway cast was slated to appear, only Olsen & Johnson and Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers appear in the film. Dale Van Sickel appears in a gag cameo as the Frankenstein Monster, making him the second person after Boris Karloff to play the role in the Jack Pierce make-up. Dan Rowan & Dick Martin cited the film as the inspiration for Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.

1951

December 22 – I Want You

Cast: Dana Andrews, Dorothy McGuire, Farley Granger, Peggy Dow, Robert Keith, Mildred Dunnock, Martin Milner, Jim Backus, Ray Collins, Marjorie Crossland, Walter Baldwin , Walter Sande, Peggy Maley, Jerrilyn Flannery, Erik Nielsen
Director: Mark Robson
Production Company: Samuel Goldwyn Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Oscar nominated for Best Sound. Based on short stories by Edward Newhouse that were written about his hometown, the Edgerton neighborhood of Rochester, New York. Film debut of Paul Smith, and final film of Peggy Dow.

December 25 – Double Dynamite

Cast: Jane Russell, Groucho Marx, Frank Sinatra, Don McGuire, Howard Freeman, Nestor Paiva, Frank Orth, Harry Hayden, William Edmunds, Russell Thorson
Director: Irving Cummings
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Originally titled It’s Only Money, but Howard Hughes changed it as a reference to Jane Russell’s famous cleavage. Filmed in 1948 but not released until 1951. The last film directed by Irving Cummings.

December 25 – My Favorite Spy

Cast: Bob Hope, Hedy Lamarr, Francis L. Sullivan, Arnold Moss, John Archer, Luis Van Rooten, Alden ‘Stephen’ Chase, Morris Ankrum, Angela Clarke, Iris Adrian, Frank Faylen, Mike Mazurki, Marc Lawrence, Tonio Selwart, Ralph Smiley
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The working title of this film was Passage to Cairo.

December 25 – Quo Vadis

Cast: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov, Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie, Abraham Sofaer, Marina Berti, Buddy Baer, Felix Aylmer, Nora Swinburne, Ralph Truman, Norman Wooland, Peter Miles, Geoffrey Dunn, Nicholas Hannen, D. A. Clarke-Smith, Rosalie Crutchley, John Ruddock, Arthur Walge, Elspeth March, Strelsa Brown, Alfredo Varelli, Roberto Ottaviano, William Tubbs, Pietro Tordi
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by Loew’s, Inc.
Trivia: The film had advance openings in New York City on November 8, 1951 and Los Angeles on November 29 before it’s general US release. The film opened in the UK on January 25, 1952, and in Canada on February 1. Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Christopher Lee and Walter Pidgeon are among the notable uncredited cast. Adapted from the novel Quo Vadis (1896) by the Polish Nobel Laureate author Henryk Sienkiewicz. Nominated for eight Academy Awards but won none. The film was such a success it was single-handedly credited with saving MGM from bankruptcy. The film was originally cast in 1949 with Elizabeth Taylor and Gregory Peck. Taylor did appear in a cameo. John Huston was originally set to direct until production was halted. Clark Gable turned down the role of Marcus Vinicius very early in the film’s production history because he thought he would look ridiculous in Roman costumes. Fifteen year old Sophia Loren makes her American film debut as an uncredited extra.

December 27 – Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (serial)

Cast: Judd Holdren, Larry Stewart, George Eldredge, Gene Roth, Don C. Harvey, William Fawcett, Jack Ingram, I. Stanford Jolley, Skelton Knaggs, Jimmy Stark, Rusty Wescoatt, Zon Murray
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet, Wallace Grissell
Production Company: Sam Katzman Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The only film serial ever based on a television program, Captain Video and His Video Rangers. There are no female characters in the serial. The robot suits were originally designed and worn in The Phantom Empire. Some scenes were printed in ‘Cine-Color’ to distinguish it from the black-and-white TV series.

1961

December 22 – The Second Time Around

Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Steve Forrest, Andy Griffith, Juliet Prowse, Thelma Ritter, Ken Scott, Isobel Elsom, Rudolph Acosta, Timothy Carey, Tom Greenway, Eleanor Audley, Blossom Rock, Jack Orrison
Director: Vincent Sherman
Production Company: Cummings-Harman Productions, distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox
Trivia: Based on the novel Star in the West by Richard Emery Roberts.

December 23 – Barabbas

Cast: Anthony Quinn, Arthur Kennedy, Jack Palance, Silvana Mangano, Harry Andrews, Ernest Borgnine, Katy Jurado, Vittorio Gassman, Norman Wooland, Valentina Cortese, Arnoldo Foa’, Michael Gwynn, Laurence Payne, Douglas Fowley, Guido Celano, Enrico Glori, Carlo Giustini, Gianni di Benedetto, Robert Hall, Rina Braido, Nando Angelini, Tullio Tomadoni, Joe Robinson, Frederich Ledebur, Marcello Di Martire, Spartaco Nale, Maria Zanoli, Gustavo De Nardo, Vladimiro Picciafuochi
Director: Richard Fleischer
Production Company: Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, distribtued by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: The film opened in Italy on December 23, 1961. It premiered in London on June 4, 1962, and opened in the US on October 10, 1962. Yul Brynner had been under consideration for the title role. Based on Nobel Prize-winning Pär Lagerkvist’s 1950 novel of the same title. Director Richard Fleischer scheduled filming of the crucifixion during an actual solar eclipse.

December 26 – Lover Come Back

Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Edie Adams, Jack Oakie, Jack Kruschen, Ann B. Davis, Joe Flynn, Howard St. John, Karen Norris, Jack Albertson, Charles Watts, Donna Douglas, JoAnne Ludden-Paige
Director: Delbert Mann
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered in Los Angeles on December 20, 1961 and opened in Sweden on December 26, but did not get a general US release until March 3, 1962. It opened in the UK on January 25, 1962. The second film to star Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and co-star Tony Randall. Jack Oakie’s final film. The screenplay was co-written by Paul Henning, who eventually cast Donna Douglas on The Beverly Hillbillies. Doris Day had been the longest surviving member of the cast when she passed away in 2019.

December 27 – The Outsider

Cast: Tony Curtis, James Franciscus, Gregory Walcott, Bruce Bennett, Vivian Nathan, Edmund Hashim, Paul Comi, Stanley Adams, Wayne Heffley, Ralph Moody, Jeff Silver, James Beck, Forrest Compton, Peter Homer, Sr., Mary Patton
Director: Delbert Mann
Production Company: Universal-International
Trivia: The film opened in the UK on February 11, 1962. Film debut of Lynda Day George. Lance Henriksen also makes his film debut in an uncredited role. Final film of Charles Stevens and Gertrude Michael.

December 28 – Flight of the Lost Balloon

Cast: Mala Powers, Marshall Thompson, James Lanphier, Douglas Kennedy, Robert W. Gillette, Felipe Birriel, Leo Ledbetter
Director: Nathan Juran
Production Company: W.M.J. Productions, distributed by Woolner Brothers, American International Pictures
Trivia: Inspired by Jules Verne’s 1863 novel Five Weeks in a Balloon. The film’s working title was Cleopatra and the Cyclops. The film was shot in ten days. A promotional gimmick of a ‘motion sickness pill’ were given to ticket buyers.

December 28 – The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

Cast: Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty, Lotte Lenya, Coral Browne, Jill St. John, Jeremy Spenser, Stella Bonheur, Peter Dyneley, Carl Jaffe, Harold Kasket, Viola Keats, Cleo Laine, Bessie Love, Elspeth March, Henry McCarty, Warren Mitchell, John Phillips, Paul Stassino, Ernest Thesiger, Mavis Villiers, Jean Marsh
Director: José Quintero
Production Company: Louis De Rochemont Associates, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Based on the novel by Tennessee Williams. This was Ernest Thesiger’s final film. The only theatrical film directed by José Quintero. Lotte Lenya was Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actress, her first film in more than 30 years and only her second film ever.

1971

December 22 – Mary, Queen of Scots

Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Patrick McGoohan, Timothy Dalto, Nigel Davenport, Trevor Howard, Daniel Massey, Ian Holm, Andrew Keir, Robert James, Katherine Kath, Frances White, Vernon Dobtcheff, Raf De La Torre, Richard Warner, Bruce Purchase, Brian Coburn, Richard Denning, Maria Aitken, Jeremy Bulloch
Director: Charles Jarrott
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: A Royal Film Performance took place in London onMarch 27, 1972 ahead of the March 28 UK release. The film received five Oscar nominations, including Best Actress for Vanessa Redgrave. Redgrave was originally cast as Queen Elizabeth but was replaced with Glenda Jackson. Redgrave was later re-cast in the title role. A meeting between the queens is depicted in the film for dramatic purposes, but they never met in real life.

December 22 – Minnie and Moskowitz

Cast: Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassel, Val Avery, Timothy Carey, Katherine Cassavetes, David Rowlands, Alexandra Cassavetes, Zoe R. Cassavetes, Lady Rowlands, Holly Near, Judith Roberts, Kathleen O’Malley
Director: John Cassavetes
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film did not open in the UK until November 1972. John Cassavetes appears in an uncredited role. To shorten the film’s running time, Universal removed a scene early in the film which violated its contract with the director, however all prints of the film since then have been missing that scene. John Cassavetes’ wife, mother, brother-in-law, mother-in-law and children appear in the film.

December 22 – Star Spangled Girl

Cast: Sandy Duncan, Tony Roberts, Todd Susman, Elizabeth Allen, Artie Lewis, Allen Jung, Helen Kleeb, Harry Northup, Gordon Bosserman, Jim Conners, Peter Hobbs
Director: Jerry Paris
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1966 Neil Simon play The Star-Spangled Girl. Britt Ekland, Ali MacGraw, Cybill Shepherd and Goldie Hawn were offered the lead role, but turned it down. Sandy Duncan hired a professional trainer to help her with her swimming scenes. Davy Jones of The Monkees sang the film’s theme song ‘Girl’. He performed a shorter and slightly rewritten version of the song on The Brady Bunch.

December 22 – Straw Dogs

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T. P. McKenna, Del Henney, Jim Norton, Donald Webster, Ken Hutchison, Len Jones, Sally Thomsett, Robert Keegan, Peter Arne, Colin Welland, Cherina Schaer
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Production Company: ABC Pictures, Talent Associates, Amerbroco Films, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation (US and UK), 20th Century Fox (International)
Trivia: Based upon Gordon M. Williams’s 1969 novel, The Siege of Trencher’s Farm. The film opened in London on November 25, 1971 before its US release on December 22. The general UK release began on January 30, 1972. David Warner appears in an uncredited role due to a foot injury that made him uninsurable. June Brown and Chloe Franks appeared in the film but their scenes were deleted. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. Sam Peckinpah instructed Dustin Hoffman and Susan George to live together for two weeks prior to filming, with the screenwriter in tow to incorporate some of their interactions into the script.

December 22 – The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

Cast: Jerry Orbach, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jo Van Fleet, Lionel Stander, Robert De Niro, Irving Selbst, Hervé Villechaize, Joe Santos, Carmine Caridi, Frank Campanella, Harry Basch, Sander Vanocur, Phil Bruns, Philip Sterling, Jack Kehoe, Despo Diamantidou, Sam Coppola, James Sloyan, Paul Benedict, Lou Criscuolo, George Loros, Harry Davis, Burt Young, Jackie Vernon, Ted Beniades, Fat Thomas, Roy Shuman, Alice Hirson, Michael V. Gazzo, Robert Gerringer, Walter Flanagan, Dan Morgan, Dorothi Fox, Robert Weil, Margo Winkler, Leopold Badia, Fran Stevens, Florence Tarlow, Rita Karin, Tom Lacy, William H. Boesen, Gary Melkonian, Gustave Johnson, George Stefans, Alisha Fontaine, Lorrie Davis, Frank Jourdano, Elsa Raven, Gloria LeRoy
Director: James Goldstone
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Jimmy Breslin, which in turn was based on the life of gangster Joe Gallo. Francis Ford Coppola asked producer Irwin Winkler for the opportunity to write and direct the film but Winkler turned him down, thinking he did not have the skill to make a film about the mafia. Al Pacino had been cast but pulled out for a role in The Godfather, and was replaced with Robert De Niro. Hervé Villechaize’s film debut, although his voice was dubbed by Paul Frees to conceal his French accent.

December 23 – Dirty Harry

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni, John Vernon, John Larch, John Mitchum, Woodrow Parfrey, Josef Sommer, Mae Mercer, Albert Popwell, Lyn Edgington, Ruth Kobart, Lois Foraker, William Paterson, Debralee Scott
Director: Don Siegel
Production Company: The Malpaso Company, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered in San Francisco on December 21, 1971, and opened in Los Angeles and New York City on December 22 before its general US release. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2012. The film opened in the UK onMarch 30, 1972. The film drew upon the real life case of the Zodiac Killer. The script’s original title was Dead Right. John Wayne and Frank Sinatra were among the actors offered the lead role before Clint Eastwood. The producers had such a hard time casting the lead the project was sold to ABC, which wanted to make it into a TV movie but the violence was so extreme they sold it to Warner Bros. which then did cast Sinatra and hired Irvin Kershner as director. They both left the project. Paul Newman turned down the lead, saying it was too right-wing for him so he suggested Eastwood. Theatrical movie debut of Andrew Robinson. Theatrical movie debuts of Josef Sommer and Debralee Scott, and uncredited theatrical movie debut of Richard Lawson.

1981

Kennedy Miller Entertainment

December 24 – Mad Max 2

Cast: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Mike Preston, Max Phipps, Vernon Wells, Emil Minty, Kjell Nilsson, Virginia Hey, William Zappa, Arkie Whiteley, Steven J. Spears, Syd Heylen, Moira Claux, David Downer, Jerry O’Sullivan
Director: George Miller
Production Company: Kennedy Miller Entertainment, distributed by Roadshow Film Distributors (Australia), Warner Bros. (international)
Trivia: The film opened in Australia on December 24, 1981, and in Japan on December 26. The film did not open in the UK until March 4, 1982. The US and Canadian engagements began on May 21, 1982. Released in the US as The Road Warrior. Jerry O’Sullivan was credited as Jimmy Brown. Mel Gibson only has sixteen lines of dialogue in the film. The film was shot in sequence. There were over eighty custom vehicles made for this movie. More than half got demolished. The film takes place five years after Mad Max (1979), and fifteen years before Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).

December 25 – Modern Problems

Cast: Chevy Chase, Patti D’Arbanville, Mary Kay Place, Nell Carter, Brian Doyle-Murray, Mitch Kreindel, Dabney Coleman, Tom Sherohman
Director: Ken Shapiro
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Chevy Chase was nearly electrocuted while filming a flying scene involving wires and had to spend several weeks in hospital. The film was recut prior to release to avoid an R rating, which upset the writers, who felt the film’s best laughs were lost. The last theatrical film directed by Ken Shapiro.

December 25 – Ragtime

Cast: James Cagney, Brad Dourif, Moses Gunn, Elizabeth McGovern, Kenneth McMillan, Pat O’Brien, Donald O’Connor, James Olson, Mandy Patinkin, Howard Rollins, Mary Steenburgen, Debbie Allen, Jeffrey DeMunn, Robert Joy, Norman Mailer, Edwin Cooper, Jeff Daniels, Fran Drescher, Frankie Faison, Alan Gifford, Richard Oldfield, Richard Griffiths, George Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Jeter, Andreas Katsulas, Joe Praml, Calvin Levels, Bessie Love, Christopher Malcolm, Stuart Milligan, Zack Norman, Ethan Phillips, Barry Dennen, Jan Tříska
Director: Miloš Forman
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1975 historical novel Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow. The film began a limited US engagement on November 20, 1981. This marked one of the first film appearances for several actors including Samuel L. Jackson, Debbie Allen, Jeff Daniels, Andreas Katsulas, Ethan Phillips, Stuart Milligan, and John Ratzenberger. This was James Cagney’s and Pat O’Brien’s final film. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, six Golden Globes and one BAFTA. Because of the presence of the ailing James Cagney, the movie was officially exempted from the long-running actors’ strike of the early 1980s. It was the only production to receive that honor. Though Cagney was 81 at the time of production, his character was actually 32 at the time in which the film is set. Donald O’Connor was hired for the film at Cagney’s request.

December 25 – Taps

Cast: George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, Brendan Ward, Evan Handler, John P. Navin, Jr., Billy Van Zandt, Giancarlo Esposito, Earl Hindman, Jeff Rochlin, Jess Osuna
Director: Harold Becker
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Based on Devery Freeman’s 1979 novel Father Sky. The film began a limited US engagement on December 9, 1981 before going into general release on December 25. The film opened in the UK on February 12, 1982. Sean Penn’s film debut. Timothy Hutton received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. Sean Penn’s debut film, and Tom Cruise’s second film. Hutton, Penn, Cruise and others were required to participate in a 45-day-long orientation with the students of Valley Forge Military Academy where the movie was filmed. Cruise was initially to play a background character but was offered a larger role, which he refused but was convinced by the director and producer to accept. The film debut of Evan Handler.

December 25 – Reds

Cast: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann, Jerzy Kosiński, Jack Nicholson, Paul Sorvino, Maureen Stapleton, Nicolas Coster, William Daniels, M. Emmet Walsh, Ian Wolfe, Bessie Love, Max Wright, George Plimpton, Harry Ditson, Leigh Curran, Kathryn Grody, Dolph Sweet, Gene Hackman, Nancy Duiguid, Dave King, Roger Sloman, Stuart Richman, Oleg Kerensky, John J. Hooker, Jan Tříska
Director: Warren Beatty
Production Company: Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance, JRS Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: The film premiered December 3, 1981. It opened in the UK on February 25, 1982. Warren Beatty had only intended to produce the film, with John Lithgow considered for the part of John Reed. Production was to have lasted for 16 weeks at the most, but it ultimately took a year. Beatty was said to be obsessive and relentless while directing, requiring 70 to 80 takes at times. As many as 65 people worked on editing over 2.5 million feet of film, with post-production ending more than two years after the start of production. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning three including Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Maureen Stapleton). It was also nominated for six BAFTAs, winning two for Stapleton and Jack Nicholson, and was nominated for seven Golden Globes, winning Best Director. Beatty also won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.

1991

December 25 – The Inner Circle

Cast: Tom Hulce, Lolita Davidovich, Bob Hoskins, Aleksandr Zbruyev, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Bess Meyer, Mariya Baranova, Irina Kupchenko, Vladimir Kuleshov, Vsevolod Larionov, Aleksandr Filippenko, Evdokiya Germanova
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Production Company: Numero Uno International, Mosfilm, distributed by Columbia Pictures

December 25 – The Prince of Tides

Cast: Nick Nolte, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Kate Nelligan, Jeroen Krabbé, Melinda Dillon, George Carlin, Jason Gould, Brad Sullivan
Director: Barbra Streisand
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Based on Pat Conroy’s 1986 novel of the same name. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and three Golden Globes. Nick Nolte won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama. Robert Redford had initially acquired the rights to direct and star in the film with Streisand, but could not get a satisfactory script. When Streisand showed more enthusiasm for the project than he had, Redford relinquished the rights to her.

December 27 – Hear My Song

Cast: Adrian Dunbar, Tara Fitzgerald, Ned Beatty, David McCallum, Shirley Anne Field, William Hootkins, James Nesbitt, John Dair, Stephen Marcus, Joe Cuddy
Director: Peter Chelsom
Production Company: Miramax Films
Trivia: Based on the story of Irish tenor Josef Locke. The film was screened at TIFF on September 7, 1991. Vernon Midgley provided Ned Beatty’s singing voice. The film was nominated for two BAFTAs: Original Screenplay and Original Score. Ned Beatty received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

December 27 – Naked Lunch

Cast: Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, Roy Scheider, Monique Mercure, Nicholas Campbell, Michael Zelniker, Robert A. Silverman, Joseph Scorsiani, Peter Boretski, Yuval Daniel, John Friesen, Sean McCann
Director: David Cronenberg
Production Company: Recorded Picture Company, distributed by Alliance Releasing (Canada), First Independent Films (United Kingdom), Shochiku-Fuji Company (Japan)
Trivia: An adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ 1959 novel of the same name. The film premiered in London on December 12, 1991 and began a limited US engagement on December 27. The UK release began April 24, 1992. Peter Weller turned down RoboCop 3 for this film.

2001

December 25 – Ali

Cast: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Bentt, Robert Sale, James Toney, Charles Shufford, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Bruce McGill, Barry Shabaka Henley, Albert Hall, Giancarlo Esposito, David Haines, Laurence Mason, LeVar Burton, David Cubitt, Leon Robinson, Ted Levine, Malick Bowens, Victoria Dillard, David Elliott, Brad Greenquist
Director: Michael Mann
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Peters Entertainment, Forward Pass, Overbrook Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing (North America), Initial Entertainment Group (International)
Trivia: The film premiered in the UK on December 11, 2001, and in the US on December 12. The film’s general UK engagement began on February 22, 2002. The film received two Oscar nominations for Will Smith (Best Actor) and Jon Voight (Supporting Actor). Smith initially turned down the role, but relented after Muhammad Ali called and said he was the only one a good looking as himself who could play the role.

December 25 – The Shipping News

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Pete Postlethwaite, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans, Gordon Pinsent, Jason Behr, Larry Pine, Jeanetta Arnette, Katherine Moennig, Marc Lawrence, John Dunsworth
Director: Lasse Hallström
Production Company: Miramax Films
Trivia: Based on Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same title. The film premiered in Canada on December 18, 2001 before its general release on December 25. The film received a limited US release on December 25 for awards consideration, and received an official premiere on January 9, 2002 in New York City. The general US release began on January 18, 2002. The film was released in the UK on March 1. The film was originally to be directed by Fred Schepisi, with John Travolta in the lead male role. The film was nominated for two BAFTAs and two Golden Globes. The author of the novel, E. Annie Proulx, would only grant the movie rights to the book upon the condition that it be filmed on-location in Newfoundland.

December 25 – Kate & Leopold

Cast: Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne, Bradley Whitford, Spalding Gray, Josh Stamberg, Matthew Sussman, Charlotte Ayanna, Philip Bosco, Cole Hawkins, Kristen Schaal, Stephanie Sanditz, Viola Davis, Andrew Jack
Director: James Mangold
Production Company: Miramax Films
Trivia: Premieres for the film were held on December 11, 2001 in Los Angeles, and on December 16 in New York City. The film opened in the UK on April 5, 2002. Hugh Jackman was nominated for the Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden Globe. The film’s song ‘Until…’ by Sting won the Golden Globe and was nominated for the Academy Award. The 120 minute director’s cut was altered days before the film’s theatrical release. In the film’s original edit, Stuart was Leopold’s descendant, which was Stuart’s reason for specifically tracking him down. Criticism that this plot line also meant that Kate was Stuart’s ancestor led to those scenes being cut. In the Director’s Cut, however, this plot line is followed. Film debut of Kristen Schaal.

USA Films

December 26 – Gosford Park

Cast: Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Camilla Rutherford, Maggie Smith, Charles Dance, Geraldine Somerville, Tom Hollander, Natasha Wightman, James Wilby, Claudie Blakely, Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, Laurence Fox, Trent Ford, Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, Emily Watson, Derek Jacobi, Richard E. Grant, Jeremy Swift, Sophie Thompson, Meg Wynn Owen, Adrian Scarborough, Frank Thornton, Frances Low, Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Ron Webster
Director: Robert Altman
Production Company: USA Films, Capitol Films, The Film Council, Sandcastle 5 Productions, Chicagofilms, Medusa Film, distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors (United Kingdom), USA Films (United States)
Trivia: Influenced by Jean Renoir’s French classic, La Règle du jeu (The Rules of the Game). Premieres for the film were held on December 3, 2001 in New York City, and on December 7 in Beverly Hills. It opened in Canada on December 26, and in Los Angeles and New York City the same day for Academy Awards consideration. The film’s general US release began January 18, 2002, followed by the UK on February 1. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Altman and Best Supporting Actress for both Mirren and Smith, and won Best Original Screenplay for Fellowes; it was also nominated for nine British Academy Film Awards. Downton Abbey was originally conceived as a spin-off of the film. Both are written by Julian Fellowes. Robert Altman used two cameras simultaneously in a scene, meaning the actors had to constantly remain in character never knowing if either camera was focused on them. Altman included the ‘F’ word several times in the film to earn an R-rating so kids wouldn’t see the film. When Ivor Novello plays the piano, it is actually Jeremy Northam’s brother Christopher Northam who is playing. He is a classically trained pianist.

December 26 – Mean Machine

Cast: Vinnie Jones, David Kelly, Jason Statham, Jamie Sives, Danny Dyer, Stephen Martin Walters, Rocky Marshall, Adam Fogerty, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown, Vas Blackwood, Robbie Gee, Geoff Bell, John Forgeham, Sally Phillips, Andrew Grainger, Jason Flemyng, Martin Wimbush, David Reid, David Cropman, Omid Djalili, J. J. Connolly
Director: Barry Skolnick
Production Company: SKA Films, Ruddy/Morgan Productions, Brad Grey Pictures, distributed by Paramount Pictures (through United International Pictures.
Trivia: An adaptation of the 1974 American film The Longest Yard. The film opened in the UK on December 26, 2001, but did not get a US release until February 22, 2002.

2011

December 21 – Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor, Léa Seydoux, Samuli Edelmann, Ivan Shvedoff, Miraj Grbić, Ilia Volok, Andreas Wisniewski
Director: Brad Bird
Production Company: Skydance Productions, TC Productions, Bad Robot Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise. The film premiered in London on December 13, 2011. An IMAX version of the film premiered in the US on December 16, followed by a New York City premiere on December 19. The film opened in the UK on December 26. Tom Wilkinson appeared uncredited. Ving Rhames and Michelle Monaghan appear in uncredited cameos. During early production, the film’s code name was ‘Aries’. Though it appears that Tom Cruise is free solo climbing the Burj Khalifa, he is actually attached to several safety cables which were digitally erased by Industrial Light & Magic. Cruise did most of his own stunts to show the audience it was actually him. It also gave the director the freedom to use more camera angles without having to hide a stuntman’s face. This was Brad Bird’s live action directorial debut after helming animated films at Disney/Pixar. Jeremy Renner’s character Brandt, was specifically created as the eventual replacement for Tom Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt for when Cruise decides to step away from the franchise.

December 22 – In the Land of Blood and Honey

Cast: Goran Kostić, Zana Marjanović, Vanessa Glodjo, Rade Šerbedžija, Feđa Štukan, Nikola Đuričko, Branko Đurić, Jelena Jovanova, Alma Terzić, Ermin Bravo, Boris Ler, Goran Jevtić, Miloš Timotijević, Ermin Sijamija, Džana Pinjo, Dolya Gavanski
Director: Angelina Jolie
Production Company: GK Films, distributed by FilmDistrict
Trivia: The film opened in Bosnia & Herzegovina on December 22, with a US engagement beginning on December 23, and a Canadian release from January 27, 2012. Angelina Jolie’s first commercial film as a director. Shot back to back in two versions, one in English and the other in the native Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian.

December 22 – The Darkest Hour

Cast: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman, Dato Bakhtadze, Gosha Kutsenko, Veronika Vernadskaya, Nikolay Efremov, Pyotr Fyodorov, Georgiy Gromov, Artur Smolyaninov, Anna Rudakova
Director: Chris Gorak
Production Company: Regency Enterprises, Bazelevs Company, New Regency, Jacobson Company, distributed by Summit Entertainment (United States), 20th Century Fox (International)
Trivia: The film opened in Russia on December 22, 2011. The film’s US and Canadian engagements began on December 25. The UK release launched January 13, 2012. The film was shot natively in 3D.

December 23 – We Bought a Zoo

Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Colin Ford, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Elle Fanning, Patrick Fugit, John Michael Higgins, Angus Macfadyen, Carla Gallo, J. B. Smoove, Stéphanie Szostak, Desi Lydic, Peter Riegert, Michael Panes, Dustin Ybarra, Kym Whitley, Crystal the Monkey, Bart / Tank the Taylor Cerza
Director: Cameron Crowe
Production Company: Vinyl Films, LBI Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, distributed by 20th Century Fox
Trivia: Loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. The film premiered in New York City onDecember 12, 2011. The zoo scenes were filmed at Greenfield Ranch in Hidden Valley, Thousand Oaks, CA, where a zoo was erected for the filming. Director Cameron Crowe traveled to the set of the film True Grit to persuade actor Matt Damon to take on the role of the lead character in the film.

December 25 – War Horse

Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatc, Céline Buckens, Toby Kebbell, Patrick Kennedy, Leonard Carow, David Kross, Matt Milne, Robert Emms, Eddie Marsan, Nicolas Bro, Rainer Bock, Hinnerk Schönemann, Gary Lydon, Geoff Bell, Liam Cunningham, Sebastian Hulk, Gerard McSorley, Tony Pitts, Pip Torrens, Philippe Nahon, Jean-Claude Lecas, Julian Wadham, David Dencik, Edward Bennett, Johnny Harris, Tam Dean Burn, Maximilian Brückner, Maggie Ollerenshaw
Director: Steven Spielberg
Production Company: DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Amblin Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, distributed by Walt Disney Studios
Trivia: Based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel of the same name and its 2007 stage adaptation. The film premiere in New York City on December 4, 2011. The UK engagement began on January 13, 2012. Jeremy Irvine’s film debut. Production took 63 days, with 5,800 extras and 300 horses. Filming took place under the code name ‘Dartmoor’. Fourteen different horses were used for the main horse, Joey. Spielberg and Michael Kahn edited the film digitally, a first for Spielberg. Real and animatronic horses were used throughout filming, with Spielberg asserting that only three seconds of CGI were used to ensure the safety of the horses involved. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards (including Best Picture), five BAFTAs and two Golden Globes. Steven Spielberg almost drowned in the mud inside the trenches during the shooting. He was rescued by the crew.

December 26 – Albert Nobbs

Cast: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Mark Williams, Serena Brabazon, Michael McElhatton, Kenneth Collard, Bronagh Gallagher, Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Director: Rodrigo García
Production Company: Mockingbird Pictures, Trillium Productions, Parallel Film Productions, Morrison Films, WestEnd Films, Chrysalis Films, Allen & Associates, CanalPlus, Irish Film Board, distributed by Entertainment One
Trivia: Based on the 1927 novella The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs by George Moore. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2011, and was screened at TIFF on September 11. The film opened in general release in Australia and New Zealand on December 26, and in Spain on December 27. The film received a limited US release on January 27, 2012, and a limited Canadian release on February 3. The film opened in the UK on April 27, 2012. Glenn Close first played the titular character in a 1982 stage production and spent 15 years trying to turn it into a film. The film earned three Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

December 26 – The Iron Lady

Cast: Meryl Streep, Alexandra Roach, Jim Broadbent, Harry Lloyd, Iain Glen, Emma Dewhurst, Victoria Bewick, Olivia Colman, Anthony Head, Nicholas Farrell, Richard E. Grant, Susan Brown, Martin Wimbush, Paul Bentley, Robin Kermode, John Sessions, Roger Allam, David Westhead, Michael Pennington, Angus Wright, Julian Wadham, Nick Dunning, Pip Torrens, Nicholas Jones, Alexander Beardsley, David Rintoul, Matthew Marsh, Phoebe Waller-Bridge,Reginald Green
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Production Company: Pathé, Film4 Productions, UK Film Council, Yuk Films, CanalPlus, CinéCinéma, DJ Films, distributed by 20th Century Fox (United Kingdom), Pathé Distribution (France)
Trivia: Loosely based on John Campbell’s biography The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer’s Daughter to Prime Minister. The film opened in Australia and New Zealand on December 26, 2011, and in New York and Los Angeles on December 30 for Academy Awards consideration. The UK release began January 6, 2012. The film’s limited Canadian and general US release began January 13, 2012. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and won both, Best Actress (Streep) and Best Make-up. The film was also nominated for four BAFTAs, winning the same two as at the Oscars. Streep also won the Golden Globe, the film’s only nomination.

December 28 – Pariah

Cast: Adepero Oduye, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Kim Wayans, Pernell Walker, Sahra Mellesse
Director: Dee Rees
Production Company: Focus Features
Trivia: The film premiered at Sundance on January 20, 2011. It was also screened at TIFF on September 12. The film is a feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah. Adepero Oduye was 33 when she portrayed 17 year old Alike.

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