Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #99 :: June 15•21

Warner Bros. Pictures

With 1922 sitting the week out, only nine decades produced new films this week, and it really isn’t until 1962 when we get any truly memorable films. That year saw the release of a classic comedy that influenced a Chevy Chase comedy, and featured a film in which the cast actually caught wild animals. That year also produced a classic movie musical based on a hit Broadway show that was recently revived. 1972 gave us Alfred Hitchcock’s next to last film, and 1982 brought another stage-to-film musical adaptation that wasn’t nearly as successful as the studio predicted it would be. 1992 saw a big screen match between The Bat, The Cat and The Bird, and 2012 saw yet a third Broadway musical come to film, unsuccessfully, and produced one of Adam Sandler’s rare box office failures. Could any of these be one of your favorites? Read on to learn more about these and other films released this week.

1922

• No new films were released this week in 1922.

1932

June 16 – The Dark Horse (USA)

• Cast: Warren William, Bette Davis, Guy Kibbee, Vivienne Osborne, Frank McHugh, Sam Hardy, Harry Holman, Charles Sellon, Robert Emmett O’Connor, Berton Churchill, Robert Warwick
• Director: Alfred E. Green
• Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, distributed by First National Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on June 8, 1932. It was released in London on June 30, and then received a wide UK release on December 5. Olympian Jim Thorpe has an uncredited role. The Abraham Lincoln speech referred to in this movie wasn’t a speech at all, but a published letter from Lincoln. It was his first announcement of running for political office.

June 20 – Heroes of the West (USA, serial)

• Cast: Noah Beery Jr., Julie Bishop, Onslow Stevens, William Desmond, Martha Mattox, Philo McCullough, Harry Tenbrook, Frank Lackteen, Edmund Cobb, Francis Ford
• Director: Ray Taylor
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film opened in London on June 30, 1932, followed by a general UK release on November 28. Based on The Tie That Binds by Peter B. Kyne. Universal’s 82nd serial, and the 14th with sound. All of the Indian yelling and screaming is the same recording being played over and over. All of the Indians speak gibberish nonsense.

1942

June 16 – Eagle Squadron (USA)

• Cast: Robert Stack, Diana Barrymore, John Loder, Nigel Bruce, Jon Hall, Eddie Albert, Evelyn Ankers, Leif Erickson, Edgar Barrier, Isobel Elsom, Alan Hale Jr., Don Porter, Frederick Worlock, Stanley Ridges, Gene Reynolds, Robert Warwick, Clarence Straight, Edmund Glover, Gladys Cooper, Rhys Williams, Paul Cavanagh, Gavin Muir, Richard Fraser, Richard Crane, Howard Banks, Harold Landon, Todd Karns, Charles King Jr., Jill Esmond, Ian Wolfe, Alan Napier, Harold De Becker, Donald Stuart, Carl Harbord, Charles Irwin, Florence Gill, Olaf Hytten
• Director: Arthur Lubin
• Production Company: Walter Wanger Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Based on a story by C.S. Forester that appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine. The film was originally conceived as a documentary with six months of pre-production filming in the can that was recycled for the film.

1952

June 15 – I Dream of Jeanie (USA)

• Cast: Ray Middleton, Bill Shirley, Muriel Lawrence, Eileen Christy, Rex Allen, Lynn Bari, Dick Simmons, Scott Elliott, Andrew Tombes, James Dobson, Percy Helton, Glen Turnbull, Louise Beavers, James Kirkwood, Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer, Fred Moultrie
• Director: Allan Dwan
• Production Company: Republic Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the songs and life of Stephen Foster, who wrote the 1854 song ‘Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair’.

1962

June 15 – Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (USA)

• Cast: James Stewart, Maureen O’Hara, Fabian, Lauri Peters, Lili Gentle, John Saxon, John McGiver, Marie Wilson, Reginald Gardiner, Valerie Varda, Natalie Trundy, Josh Peine, Michael Burns, Minerva Urecal, Richard Collier
• Director: Henry Koster
• Production Company: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in June 1962. Based on the novel Mr. Hobbs’ Vacation, by Edward Streeter. The portrait hanging along the staircase of the beach cottage is of Captain Daniel Gregg, played by Rex Harrison, from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). The statue of the woman’s head on the Hobbs’ bedroom mantelpiece can also be seen in Harvey (1950), also starring James Stewart.

June 19 – Hatari! (USA)

• Cast: John Wayne, Hardy Krüger, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons, Gérard Blain, Bruce Cabot, Michèle Girardon, Valentin de Vargas, Eduard Franz
• Director: Howard Hawks
• Production Company: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film was released in the UK on December 13, 1962. The title is Swahili for ‘Danger!’ Filmed on location in northern Tanganyika (in what is now Tanzania). The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Color Cinematography but lost to Lawrence of Arabia. All of the animal captures in the film were performed by the actors themselves (although a stand-in, Mildred Lucy ‘Rusty’ Walkley, was used for some scenes involving Elsa Martinelli’s character). Government-licensed animal catcher Willy de Beer was hired by Hawks as a technical adviser, and he and his assistants worked with the actors on how to go about catching the animals. During filming, the rhino really did escape and the actors had to recapture it, which Hawks included in the completed film for its realism. Much of the audio in the capture sequences had to be re-dubbed due to John Wayne’s cursing while wrestling with the animals. The memorable Henry Mancini tune ‘Baby Elephant Walk’ was written for and first appeared in Hatari!

June 19 – The Music Man (USA)

Warner Bros. Pictures

• Cast: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford, Pert Kelton, Bill Spangenberg, Wayne ‘Scotty’ Ward, Al Shea, Vern Reed, Timmy Everett, Susan Luckey, Ron Howard, Harry Hickox, Charles Lane, Mary Wickes, Peggy Mondo, Sara Seegar, Adnia Rice, Jesslyn Fax, Monique Vermont
• Director: Morton DaCosta
• Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film was released in the UK on July 12, 1962. Percy Helton and Max Showalter appear in uncredited roles. Based on Meredith Willson’s 1957 Broadway musical, which was also directed by Morton DaCosta and starred Robert Preston. Pert Kleton and The Buffalo Bills also reprised their stage roles. Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment. The film also won the Golden Globe for Best Mostion Picture – Comedy or Musical. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2005. Warner Bros. did not want Preston to star in the film because he was not a major box office star. Bing Crosby, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra were all considered. Grant told the studio no one could do the part like Preston and he wouldn’t even see the movie if Preston didn’t star. Meredith Willson insisted on the casting of Preston. Original stage Marion, Barbara Cook, lost the film role to Shirley Jones because Warners needed a bankable star after the casting of Preston. Jones was pregnant with son Patrick Cassidy during the filming, and during the scene when she hugs Preston on the foot bridge, the baby kicked him. The final parade scene featured the University of Southern California’s marching band and took eight hours of shooting over two days to film the scene. All the musical instruments for the production were specially made for the film by the Olds Instrument Company in Fullerton, California. The instruments were then refurbished and sold by Olds with no indication they were ever used in the film.

June 20 – The Pigeon That Took Rome (USA)

• Cast: Charlton Heston, Elsa Martinelli, Harry Guardino, Salvatore Baccaloni, Carlo Angeletti, Gabriella Pallotta, Brian Donlevy, Arthur Shields, Rudolph Anders, Vadim Wolkowsky
• Director: Melville Shavelson
• Production Company: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1961 novel The Easter Dinner by former spy Donald Downes. Oscar nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White. Golden Globe nominated for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy (Heston), Supporting Actor (Guardino), Supporting Actress (Pallotta). Director Shavelson had originally wanted Bob Hope for the lead. The film’s working title was The Easter Dinner.

June 21 – Boys’ Night Out (USA)

• Cast: Kim Novak, James Garner, Tony Randall, Howard Duff, Janet Blair, Patti Page, Jessie Royce Landis, Oskar Homolka, Howard Morris, Anne Jeffreys, Zsa Zsa Gabor, William Bendix, Larry Keating, Fred Clark, Jim Backus, Ruth McDevitt, Billy Halop
• Director: Michael Gordon
• Production Company: Kimco, Filmways Pictures, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: Based on a story by Arne Sultan and Marvin Worth. Frank Sinatra originally recorded the film’s title song three months before the film’s premiere. At the last minute, Patti Page also recorded a version which was used in the film, while Sinatra’s was all but forgotten in the MGM vaults until a 1995 box set was issued that contained the song. The only film produced by Kim Novak’s company Kimco. First feature film appearance by Howard Morris. Final acting job for Patti Page.

1972

June 19 – One Is a Lonely Number (USA)

• Cast: Trish Van Devere, Monte Markham, Janet Leigh, Melvyn Douglas, Jane Elliot, Jonathan Lippe, Mark Bramhall, Paul Jenkins, A. Scott Beach, Henry Leff, Dudley Knight, Maurice Argent, Thomas McNallan, Joseph Spano, Morgan Upton, Kim Allen, Peter Fitzsimmons, Christopher Brooks
• Director: Mel Stuart
• Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film was released in Ireland on August 18, 1972, and made its UK debut on television on June 29, 1975. Kathleen Quinlan appears in an uncredited role in her film debut. Also known as Two Is a Happy Number. Based upon the short story ‘The Good Humor Man’ by Rebecca Morris. Trish Van Devere was Golden Globe nominated for Best Actress – Drama Film. First film role for Joe Spano.

June 21 – Frenzy (USA)

• Cast: Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster, Billie Whitelaw, Anna Massey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Bernard Cribbins, Vivien Merchant, Michael Bates, Jean Marsh, Clive Swift, Madge Ryan, Elsie Randolph, John Boxer, Jimmy Gardner, Gerald Sim, Noel Johnson
• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 1972, and was released in London on May 25. The film opened in Canada on June 29. The penultimate film for Alfred Hitchcock. Based on the 1966 novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern. Hitchcock’s trademark cameo comes about three minutes into the film. Michael Caine was the first choice for the role of Rusk, but he found the character disgusting and didn’t want to be associated with it. Helen Mirren met with Hitchcock for the role of Babs Milligan but eventually rejected the role. Years later she said she regretted that decision. Some scenes of the film were shot without Hitchcock who tended to his wife Alma, who had suffered a stroke during production. This was the first Hitchcock film to feature nudity. Henry Mancini was originally hired to produce the film’s score, but after some behind-the-scenes drama in which Hitchcock suggested Mancini was copying Bernard Herrmann, Mancini was fired and replaced with Rob Goodwin. Knowing that the days of the Covent Garden Market were numbered, Hitchcock wanted to shoot there to preserve the market on film. The market closed in 1974 and was relocated.

June 21 – The Groundstar Conspiracy (USA)

• Cast: George Peppard, Michael Sarrazin, Christine Belford, Cliff Potts, James Olson, Tim O’Connor, James McEachin, Alan Oppenheimer
• Director: Lamont Johnson
• Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Adapted very freely from L. P. Davies’ 1968 novel, The Alien. The film, then titled The Alien, was set to star Robert Stack, Geneviève Bujold and David Janssen, but Bujold left the project causing delays that required a new cast. George Peppard & Michael Sarrazin were then announced under a new title, The Plastic Man. Carol White was the original female lead but shortly into filming asked to be released so she didn’t miss the start date on Made (1972). After Candice Bergen and Tuesday Weld were approached — and rejected for being too expensive — the part was filled by Christine Belford, reshooting all of White’s scenes. Production had to be temporarily halted due to the death of Sarrazin’s father.

June 21 – The Revengers (USA)

• Cast: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Woody Strode, Roger Hanin, Susan Hayward, René Koldehoff, Jorge Martínez de Hoyos, Arthur Hunnicutt, Warren Vanders, Larry Pennell, John Kelly, James Daughton, Scott Holden, Lorraine Chanel, Jorge Luke, Raúl Pérez Prieto, Carlos Arnez Rocha
• Director: Daniel Mann
• Production Company: Cinema Center Films, Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A., distributed by National General Pictures
• Trivia: The film was released in the UK on May 31, 1972. Based upon a story by Steven W. Carabatsos. The film marked Susan Hayward’s return from voluntary retirement. It was her final film. Van Heflin was cast as Hoop but died before production began. He was replaced with Ernest Borgnine.

1982

June 17 – Monkey Grip (Australia)

• Cast: Noni Hazlehurst, Colin Friels, Alice Garner, Harold Hopkins, Candy Raymond, Michael Caton, Tim Burns, Christina Amphlett, Don Miller-Robinson, Lisa Peers, Cathy Downes, Justin Ridley, Pearl Christie, Vera Plevnik, Jamie Fonti
• Director: Ken Cameron
• Production Company: Roadshow
• Trivia: The film screened at Cannes in May 1982 and at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14. Based on the novel Monkey Grip (1977) by Helen Garner. Featured an original soundtrack by Australian rock band the Divinyls. The film takes place in Melbourne, but only a week of filming was done in that location. Sydney stood in for the rest of the production.

June 18 – Annie (USA)

Columbia Pictures

• Cast: Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, Edward Herrmann, Lois de Banzie, Geoffrey Holder, Peter Marshall, Ken Swofford, Lu Leonard, The Rockettes
• Director: John Huston
• Production Company: Rastar, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: Prmeieres for the film were held in New York City on May 17, 1982 and Los Angeles on May 19. The film entered a limited US release on May 21 ahead of the general release. It opened in the UK on July 7. Based on the 1977 Broadway musical of the same name by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan, which in turn is based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip created by Harold Gray. The film earned two Oscar nominations: Best Production Design and Best Song Score and its Adaptation. Aileen Quinn won the title role out of a pool of 8,000 girls who auditioned. Sean Connery and Cary Grant were considered for the role of Daddy Warbucks. Bette Midler was considered for the role of Miss Hannigan. The film was changed from the play’s Christmas setting to the Fourth of July due to the summer shooting schedule. Miss Hannigan’s redemption at the end was added to the film. In the play she is arrested with Rooster and Lily. The film featured five new songs and cut six from the show. The ‘Easy Street’ number was to be the film’s showstopper and a specially-created outdoor set was built, with filming taking up a week. Reviewing the footage, it was felt the number was too bloated and two months after principal photography had ended, the scene was re-shot indoors, giving it the same intimacy as the version in the show. Steve Martin was offered the role of Rooster, but he was in the midst of a break-up with Bernadette Peters, who would have been his co-star, and felt it would have been too painful to work with her for several months. Production designer Dale Hennesy died during production; the city street he created on the Warner Bros. backlot was renamed Hennesy Street in his honor. Columbia insisted on the lines ‘God dammit!’ and ‘Come back here, ya Goddamned kid!’ in order to avoid a G-rating, thinking only parents with small children would come to see the film. The film was rated PG. Albert Finney shaved his head to play Daddy Warbucks, and Aileen Quinn didn’t recognize him at the premiere because the hair had grown back. Kristin Chenoweth auditioned for the role of Annie but was rejected because of her thick Southern accent. Quinn had to die her hair red because her natural brown hair was visible through the red wig. John Huston was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Director. Randal Kleiser was considered to direct due to the success of Grease, but was unable because of complications during production of The Blue Lagoon.

June 18 – Author! Author! (USA)

• Cast: Al Pacino, Dyan Cannon, Tuesday Weld, Alan King, Bob Dishy, Bob Elliott, Ray Goulding, Eric Gurry, Elva Leff, B. J. Barie, Ari Meyers, Benjamin H. Carlin, Richard Belzer
• Director: Arthur Hiller
• Production Company: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Dyan Cannon turned down the role of Gloria because she felt the character was bitchy and had already played those kinds of roles. She accepted the role of Alice, a character she loved. Cannon enjoyed making the film, saying the experience was like ‘being on a cruise’. Alan King said his character was a cross between Hal Prince and Zero Mostel. While Al Pacino enjoyed working with the actors, he did not get along with the director. The movie received one Razzie nomination for Worst Original Song. Pacino was Golden Globe nominated for Best Actor – Comedy or Musical but lost to Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie.

June 18 – Firefox (USA)

• Cast: Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, David Huffman, Warren Clarke, Ronald Lacey, Kenneth Colley, Klaus Löwitsch, Nigel Hawthorne, Stefan Schnabel, Thomas Hill, Curt Lowens, Clive Merrison, Kai Wulff, Dimitra Arliss, Austin Willis, Michael Currie, Alan Tilvern, Oliver Cotton, Hugh Fraser, Wolf Kahler
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Production Company: Malpaso Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s New York City premiere was held on June 14, 1982. The film opened in Canada on June 18 and in the UK on July 15. Based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Craig Thomas. The Firefox fighter jet in the movie takes its design inspiration from the SR-71 Blackbird. Four large-scale replicas were created, with one full-size model that was 66 feet long, 44 feet wide and 20 feet high. It was built one a skeleton created from a radio station broadcast antenna, and could taxi at 30-40 miles per hour. The footage of the ‘Mother One’ submarine breaking the surface was recycled from Ice Station Zebra. A new special effects technique for the shooting of the flying sequences called ‘Reverse Bluescreen Photography’ was developed by John Dykstra for this movie.

1992

June 19 – Batman Returns (USA)

• Cast: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Michael Murphy, Vincent Schiavelli, Andrew Bryniarski, Cristi Conaway, Rick Zumwalt, Anna Katarina, Paul Reubens, Diane Salinger, Doug Jones
• Director: Tim Burton
• Production Company: Warner Bros., Polygram Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in Hollywood on June 16, 1992. The film was released in Canada on June 19 and in the UK on July 10. Tim Burton did not want to make another Batman movie, but agreed after he was given more creative control. Annette Bening was originally cast as Catwoman but became pregnant and was replaced with Michelle Pfeiffer. The film earned two Oscar nominations for Visual Effects and Makeup. Michael Keaton was paid $10 million to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, which Burton felt he deserved. Dustin Hoffman was first choice for The Penguin. DeVito was recommended by Jack Nicholson. The Max Shreck character replaced Harvey Dent after Billy Dee Williams opted out of the film. Burgess Meredith was asked to play the role of Tucker Cobblepot, father of Oswald, but had to decline due to his health issues. Paul Reubens was cast, and later reprised the role of Penguin’s father on several episodes of Gotham, though with a different name and in a different continuity from the film. Robin appeared in an early draft of the script but was dropped because there were already too many characters. Hennesy Street from Annie was used for the streets of Gotham City. Secrecy was so tight on the film that cast and crew had to wear ID badges with the fake working title Dictel to go anywhere near the sets. Kevin Costner was refused a chance to visit the set. Catwoman was supposed to die at the end, but the studio opted to have her survive for future installments. A body double was used for a new final scene as Pfeiffer was not available. More than 60 latex suits were created for Catwoman at $1,000 each. At least half of the Warner Bros. lot was taken up with sets for the film, as well as two of the largest soundstages at Universal. The sets were built to be mobile, shifted between days of filming, often causing Pfeiffer to get lost on her way to filming. The first film made with Dolby Digital sound.

2002

June 21 – The Importance of Being Earnest (USA)

• Cast: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O’Connor, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Anna Massey, Edward Fox, Patrick Godfrey
• Director: Oliver Parker
• Production Company: Ealing Studios, Film Council, Fragile Films, Newmarket Capital Group, distributed by Miramax Films
• Trivia: The film was released in the UK on September 6, 2002, and was screened at Canada’s Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival on September 22. Based on Oscar Wilde’s classic 1895 comedy of manners The Importance of Being Earnest. This marks the third time Judi Dench has played Lady Bracknell. Finty Williams, who plays a young Bracknell, is Dench’s daughter.

2012

June 15 – Fast Girls (UK)

• Cast: Lenora Crichlow, Lily James, Bradley James, Noel Clarke, Rupert Graves, Lashana Lynch, Jake Pennington, Phil Davis, Lorraine Burroughs, Tiana Benjamin, Dominique Tipper, Hannah Frankson, Jonathan Illori
• Director: Regan Hall
• Production Company: StudioCanal
• Trivia: The film was released in the US and Canada on DVD on February 26, 2013. The original story was set at the Olympics but the International Olympics Committee forbid any reference to the Games, so a fictional competition had to be created.

June 15 – Rock of Ages (USA)

New Line Cinema

• Cast: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Åkerman, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Bryan Cranston, Will Forte, Constantine Maroulis
• Director: Adam Shankman
• Production Company: New Line Cinema, Offspring Entertainment, Corner Stone Entertainment, Material Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film opened first in the UK on June 13, 2012. It was also released in Canada on June 15. Based on the rock jukebox Broadway musical Rock of Ages by Chris D’Arienzo. Several 1980s musicians make cameos including Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, Debbie Gibson, Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme, and Joel Hoekstra of Night Ranger. Eli Roth and T.J. Miller have small roles. Tom Cruise rehearsed for five hours every day to get his voice ready for his rock performances. Diego Boneta’s feature film debut.

June 15 – That’s My Boy (USA)

• Cast: Adam Sandler, Justin Weaver, Andy Samberg, Leighton Meester, Vanilla Ice, James Caan, Milo Ventimiglia, Blake Clark, Meagen Fay, Tony Orlando, Will Forte, Rachel Dratch, Nick Swardson, Peggy Stewart, Luenell, Ciara, Ana Gasteyer, Susan Sarandon, Eva Amurri Martino, Todd Bridges, Dan Patrick, Rex Ryan, Jackie Sandler, Erin Andrews, Peter Dante, Alan Thicke, Ian Ziering, Colin Quinn, Baron Davis, Dennis Dugan, Koji Kataoka
• Director: Sean Anders
• Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison Productions, Relativity Media, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: The film’s Hollywood premiere was held on June 4, 2012. It also opened in Canada on June 15, and then in the UK on September 7. The film was originally titled I Hate You, Dad, and then changed to Donny’s Boy before the producers finally settled on That’s My Boy. The ‘Donnie Burger Story’ scenes were shot on the Married… with Children set. Final film of Peggy Stewart. Erin Andrews’s debut.

June 15 – Your Sister’s Sister (USA, limited)

• Cast: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia
• Director: Lynn Shelton
• Production Company: Ada Films, Ealing Pictures, distributed by IFC Films
• Trivia: The film screened at TIFF on September 11, 2011, at Sundance on January 20, 2012, at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 17, 2012, and at the Provincetown International Film Festival on June 14, 2012. The film was released in the UK on June 29. Shot in 12 days. Rachel Weisz was cast to play Hannah but had to drop out three days before production. Rosemarie DeWitt replaced her the day before shooting began. The dialogue was partially improvised.

June 20 – Kumaré (USA, documentary)

• Cast: VK Gandhi, Purva Bedi, Kristen Calgaro
• Director: Vikram Gandhi
• Production Company: Kino Lorber
• Trivia: The film was screened at various film festivals including South by Southwest Film Festival on March 13, 2011, the Woodstock Film Festival on September 23, 2011, and the PlanetePlus Doc Film Festival on May 16, 2012.

June 21 – Tortoise in Love (New Zealand)

• Cast: Tom Mitchelson, Alice Zawadzki, Tom Yates, Mike Kemp, Steven Elder, Anna Scott, Lesley Staples, Duncan Armitage
• Director: Guy Browning
• Production Company: Immense Productions
• Trivia: The film premiered in London on May 24, 2012, followed by a UK release on July 13. The film’s funding was entirely crowd sourced from the village of Kingston Bagpuize and the neighbouring village of Southmoor. In return, they received shares in the film, with any profits going towards village improvement projects.