Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #76 :: January 5•11

United Artists

The first week of January is a weird mixture of titles, some that have carried over from awards season limited runs in December, and a few that are completely new to theaters. In the later decades, January became known as a dumping ground for movies even the studios knew were going to be bombs, and you may find one or two on this list, with one that defied expectations and became a huge hit. This week’s premieres include a silent film that became the first to cost over a million dollars, classic films with Barbara Stanwyck & Gary Cooper, and Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, a thriller that gave a typical ‘good girl’ actress a villainous role, and a box office failure turned cult hit. These and many more are celebrating anniversaries this week, so read on to see if your favorites are on the list!

1922

January 11 – Foolish Wives

• Cast: Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George, Mae Busch, Erich von Stroheim, Dale Fuller, Al Edmundson, Cesare Gravina, Malvina Polo, C. J. Allen
• Director: Erich von Stroheim
• Production Company: Jewel Productions, distributed by Universal Film Manufacturing Company
• Trivia: The most expensive film ever made at its time, with Universal billing it as the ‘first million-dollar movie’. Director von Stroheim intended the film to run six to ten hours over two evenings but the studio objected and edited the film drastically before it was released. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2008. The working title for the picture was Monte Carlo. 1000 franc notes were produced for the film via photoengrave technique, a counterfeiting method, the Treasurey Department was alerted, von Stroheim and the engraverss were taken into custody, and the matter was resolved after protracted litigation. Actor Rudolf Christians died unexpectedly during production with a few scenes yet to be filmed. Universal forbid von Stroheim from refilming his scenes and shut down production, leaving the director with 326,000 feet of film from which to craft his story. After removing retakes and unusable footage, he had 150,000 feet of film to work with. His final cut consisted of 30 reels, Universal insisted on 14. Von Stroheim was forbidden from any further role in editing, and Universal’s editing department got it down to 18 reels. To meet the January 11 premiere, a special train carriage with cutting apparatus was provided so that a team of editors could complete the cutting en route from Hollywood to New York. The premiere ran three and a half hours. An additional 3500 feet of film were cut, and a 10-reel print was released to the public. The film was overhauled by Universal again in 1928, completely changing the film’s structure and narrative. The Museum of Modern Art obtained this cut, believing it was the 1922 version and presented it to museum audiences.

1932

• No new films were released this week in 1932.

1942

January 6 – Blue, White and Perfect

• Cast: Lloyd Nolan, Mary Beth Hughes, Helene Reynolds, George Reeves, Steven Geray, Henry Victor, Curt Bois, Marie Blake, Emmett Vogan, Mae Marsh, Frank Orth, Ivan Lebedeff, Wade Boteler, Charles Trowbridge, Edward Earle, Cliff Clark, Arthur Loft, Ann Doran, Charles Williams
• Director: Herbert I. Leeds
• Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox
• Trivia: Based on Blue, White, and Perfect, a six-part serialized story by Borden Chase that was published in Argosy magazine and published as Diamonds of Death, a paperback novel.

January 6 – Don Winslow of the Navy

• Cast: Don Terry, Walter Sande, Claire Dodd, Anne Nagel, John Litel, Wade Boteleter, Ben Taggart, Kurt Katch, John Holland, Ethan Laidlaw, Robert Barron, Lane Chandler, Dirk Thane, Peter Leeds, Jerry Mandy, Samuel S. Hinds, Herbert Rawlinson, Arthur Loft, Paul Bryar
• Director: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Serial film based on the comic strip Don Winslow of the Navy by Commander Frank V. Martinek.

January 8 – The Black Sheep of Whitehall

• Cast: Will Hay, John Mills, Basil Sydney, Henry Hewitt, Felix Aylmer, Owen Reynolds, Frank Cellier, Joss Ambler, Frank Allenby, Thora Hird, Margaret Halstan, Barbara Valerie, Leslie Mitchell, George Woodbridge, George Merritt, Aubrey Mallalieu, Kenneth Griffith, Cyril Chamberlain, Katie Johnson, Ronald Shiner
• Director: Basil Dearden, Will Hay
• Production Company: Ealing Studios, distributed by United Artists (UK)
• Trivia: The film opened in London on January 8, 1942. Debut of Thora Hird.

Samuel Goldwyn Productions

January 9 – Ball of Fire

• Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Dana Andrews, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers, S.Z. Sakall, Tully Marshall, Leonid Kinskey, Richard Haydn, Aubrey Mather, Allen Jenkins, Dan Duryea, Ralph Peters, Kathleen Howard, Mary Field, Charles Lane, Aldrich Bowker, Charles Arnt, Addison Richards, Elisha Cook Jr., Pat West, Kenneth Howell, Tommy Ryan, Will Lee, Tim Ryan, Gene Krupa and his orchestra
• Director: Howard Hawks
• Production Company: Samuel Goldwyn Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in Los Angeles on December 30, 1941 and entered limited release on December 31 before expanding to a general release. The film opened in Canada on February 26, and in the UK on March 22. Also known as The Professor and the Burlesque Queen. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2016. Martha Tilton provided Barbara Stanwyck’s singing voice. Partly inspired by Snow White, the professors were loosely based on the seven dwarfs. Lucille Ball was almost cast as ‘Sugarpuss’ until Gary Cooper recommended Barbara Stanwyck. Ginger Rogers was the original choice. She called the film ‘fluff’ and turned it down, later regretting her decision. Carole Lombard also turned down the role. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actress. Stanwyck fractured Kathleen Howard’s jaw when a staged punch accidentally made contact.

January 10 – All Through the Night

• Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt, Kaaren Verne, Jane Darwell, Frank McHugh, Peter Lorre, Judith Anderson, William Demarest, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, Wallace Ford, Barton MacLane, Edward Brophy, Martin Kosleck, Jean Ames, Ludwig Stössel, Irene Seidner, James Burke, Ben Welden, Hans Schumm, Charles Cane, Frank Sully, Sam McDaniel
• Director: Vincent Sherman
• Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film opened in London on August 20, 1942. Contract players Jackie Gleason and Phil Silvers are in the film because studio head Jack Warner phoned Vincent Sherman because he didn’t want to keep paying them for doing nothing. Since production was well under way, they appear in the opening scene and are little seen until the climax.

1952

January 7 – The African Queen

• Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell, Peter Swanwick, Richard Marner
• Director: John Huston
• Production Company: Horizon Pictures, Romulus Films, distributed by United Artists (US), Independent Film Distributors (UK)
• Trivia: Adapted from the 1935 novel of the same name by C. S. Forester. The film premiered in Los Angeles on December 25, 1951, then opened in London on January 7, 1952. The general US release did not begin until March 21, 1952. The film opened in Canada on April 24. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1994. Bogart’s character was supposed to have a thick Cockney accent but he was unwilling to attempt it, so the character was rewritten as Canadian. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards with Bogart winning his one and only Oscar for Best Actor. The first choices for the lead roles were John Mills and Bette Davis. An earlier version at Warner Bros. was to star Davis and David Niven. Film debut of Theodore Bikel.

January 8 – The Bushwackers

• Cast: John Ireland, Wayne Morris, Lawrence Tierney, Dorothy Malone, Lon Chaney Jr., Myrna Dell, Frank Marlowe, William Holmes, Jack Elam, Ward Wood, Charles Trowbridge, Norman Leavitt, Stuart Randall, George Lynn, Gordon Wynn, Gabriel Conrad, Eddie Parks, Bob Broder
• Director: Rod Amateau
• Production Company: Jack Broder Productions, distributed by Realart Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in Boston on December 7, 1951. It did not play in the UK until March 4, 1952. Directorial debut of Rod Amateau.

January 9 – Radar Men from the Moon

• Cast: George Wallace, Aline Towne, Roy Barcroft, William Bakewell, Clayton Moore, Peter Brocco, Bob Stevenson, Don Walters
• Director: Fred C. Brannon
• Production Company: Republic Pictures
• Trivia: The serial was re-released in the US on September 30, 1957. The first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody. This serial recycles the flying sequences from Republic’s earlier 1949 serial King of the Rocket Men. The serial was edited into the 100-minute TV movie Retik the Moon Menace in 1966. The most expensive Republic serial of 1952. The working title was Planet Men from Mars. The budget was so tight that George Wallace did not always have a stunt double. Clayton Moore accidentally broke Wallace’s nose during a fight scene.

1962

January 11 – Only Two Can Play

• Cast: Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling, Virginia Maskell, Kenneth Griffith, Raymond Huntley, David Davies, Maudie Edwards, Meredith Edwards, John Le Mesurier, Frederick Piper, Graham Stark, Eynon Evans, John Arnatt, Sheila Manahan, Richard Attenborough, Howell Evans, Tenniel Evans, Laurence Luxton, Desmond Llewelyn
• Director: Sidney Gilliat
• Production Company: British Lion Films (UK), Kingsley-International Pictures (US)
• Trivia: Based on the 1955 novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis. The film opened in London on January 11, 1962, but did not come to the US until March 20. Nominated for the 1963 Best Film BAFTA. Peter Sellers wanted director Gilliat to replace Virginia Maskell but the director refused. Convinced the film would be a disaster, Sellers sold his percentage of the profits back to the producers. The film became a massive hit which meant Sellers lost out on a lot of money, which probably contributed to his continued bad-mouthing of the film years later.

1972

January 9 – Eagle in a Cage

• Cast: Kenneth Haigh, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Billie Whitelaw, Moses Gunn, Ferdy Mayne, Lee Montague, Georgina Hale, Michael Williams, Hugh Armstrong, Athol Coats
• Director: Fielder Cook
• Production Company: Group W Productions, distributed by National General Pictures
• Trivia: This was first announced in 1967 as a starring vehicle for Albert Finney, Anouk Aimee, and Robert Ryan.

1982

January 7 – If You Could See What I Hear

• Cast: Marc Singer, R. H. Thomson, Shari Belafonte, Harvey Atkin, Helen Burns, Douglas Campbell, David Gardner, Nonnie Griffin, Sharon Lewis, Adrienne Pocock, Sarah Torgov
• Director: Eric Till
• Production Company: Cypress Grove, Shelter Films, distributed by Ciné 360 Inc., Jensen Farley Pictures
• Trivia: The film opened in Japan on January 7, 1982, but was not released in the US until April 23. Biographical drama film about blind musician Tom Sullivan.

1992

January 10 – Kuffs

• Cast: Christian Slater, Milla Jovovich, Tony Goldwyn, Bruce Boxleitner, Troy Evans, George de la Peña, Leon Rippy, Mary Ellen Trainor, Joshua Cadman, Kim Robillard, Scott Williamson, Aki Aleong, Henry G. Sanders, Lu Leonard, Steve Park, Dennis Holahan, Patricia J. Earnest, Craig Benton, Ashley Judd
• Director: Bruce A. Evans
• Production Company: EvansGideon Inc., distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Ashley Judd’s film debut. The script was written specifically for Christian Slater in mind for the title role. The film’s original title was Gun for Hire.

Hollywood Pictures

January 10 – The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

• Cast: Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Julianne Moore, Madeline Zima, John de Lancie, Kevin Skousen
• Director: Curtis Hanson
• Production Company: Hollywood Pictures, Interscope Communications, Nomura Babcock & Brown, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
• Trivia: The title is taken from an 1865 poem by William Ross Wallace and there are several nods to the comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. Rebecca De Mornay initially auditioned for the role of Claire Bartel and Annabella Sciorra auditioned for the role of Mrs. Mott. Madeline Zima’s film debut.

2002

January 11 – Charlotte Gray

• Cast: Cate Blanchett, James Fleet, Abigail Cruttenden, Rupert Penry-Jones, Billy Crudup, Michael Gambon, Anton Lesser, Ron Cook, Helen McCrory
• Director: Gillian Armstrong
• Production Company: FilmFour Productions, Senator Film, Working Title Films, distributed by FilmFour Distributors (United Kingdom), United International Pictures (Australia), Senator Film (Germany)
• Trivia: Adapted from Sebastian Faulks’ 1999 novel Charlotte Gray. The film’s premiere was held on December 17, 2001, and it received a limited release in the US and Canada for awards consideration on December 28. The general US release began on January 11, 1982. The film opened in the UK on February 22. Cate Blanchett was author Sebastian Faulks’ only choice to play Charlotte.

January 11 – Last Orders

• Cast: Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Ray Winstone, JJ Feild, Cameron Fitch, Nolan Hemmings, Anatol Yusef, Kelly Reilly, Stephen McCole, Laura Morelli, George Innes
• Director: Fred Schepisi
• Production Company: Future Films, distributed by Metrodome Distribution (United Kingdom), Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Germany)
• Trivia: Based on the 1996 Booker Prize-winning novel Last Orders by Graham Swift. The film premiered at TIFF on September 10, 2001. The film had a limited US run in Los Angeles starting December 7, and entered general release in the UK on January 11, 2002. The film also received a limited release in Canada beginning March 29. David Hemmings’ son Nolan Hemmings plays his character Lenny as a young man in the flashback scenes. Charlotte Atkinson’s film debut.

2012

Alliance Films

January 6 – Goon

• Cast: Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Jay Baruchel, Marc-André Grondin, Eugene Levy, David Paetkau, Kim Coates, Richard Clarkin, Jonathan Cherry, Ricky Mabe, Georges Laraque, Curt Keilback, Larry Woo
• Director: Michael Dowse
• Production Company: No Trace Camping, Caramel Film, Don Carmody Productions, Inferno Pictures Inc., distributed by Alliance Films
• Trivia: Adaptation of the book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey by Adam Frattasio and Doug Smith. The film was screened at TIFF on September 10, 2011, the opened in the UK on January 6, 2012. The film opened in Canada and went straight to Video on Demand in the US on February 24. It did receive a limited US theatrical release starting March 30. The film was not a box office success but developed a strong following on Netflix, which led to the production of a sequel.

January 6 – Beneath the Darkness

• Cast: Dennis Quaid, Tony Oller, Aimee Teegarden, Stephen Ford, Devon Werkheiser, Brett Cullen, Amber Bartlett, David Christopher
• Director: Martin Guigui
• Production Company: Sunset Pictures, distributed by Image Entertainment
• Trivia: The film screened at the Austin Film Festival on October 22, 2011, then held a premiere in Hollywood on January 4, 2012. The film entered limited release in the US on January 6, then went to home video on February 12.

January 6 – The Devil Inside

• Cast: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama, Suzan Crowley, Bonnie Morgan, Brian Johnson, Preston James Hillier, D.T. Carney, John Prosky
• Director: William Brent Bell
• Production Company: Insurge Pictures, Prototype, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in Los Angeles on January 5, 2012, then opened in the US and Canada on January 6. The film did not open in the UK until March 16. Maria’s murder trial footage is actually from the trial of serial killer Aileen Wournos. Despite scathing reviews, the film earned over $101 million against a $1 million budget. The original script was written as a straightforward drama, but the process became frustrating and it was turned into a ‘found footage mockumentary’ at the suggestion of the producer. A sequel was put on ice after the director began receiving hate mail over the film’s ending, which left everything unresolved and asked viewers to visit a website to see how the story played out. That website was taken down in 2013.