A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : IN SEARCH OF . . . : All Those Grand Movies Listed and Then <i> POOF !</i>

Blame it on the recession, overzealous studio marketing and distribution executives or maybe just the alignment of the planets, but almost one-quarter of the more than 300 films listed in last January’s Sneaks issue never saw the light of the day last year. Or if they did, it was in a very limited engagement in some out-of-the-way theater outside of Los Angeles before making a quick exit to the lower shelves of video stores.

Of course, many of the films originally due for release were pushed ahead to 1992 for a variety of reasons. Universal’s “Mr. Baseball,” the Tom Selleck movie formerly titled “Tokyo Diamond,” for instance, began filming later than expected and will now be released this year.

But another Universal entry, “Welcome to Buzzsaw,” which stars Matthew Broderick, has disappeared without an explanation.

Paramount’s “Lame Ducks,” described as a comedy inspired by the Marx Brothers and executive produced by David and Jerry Zucker, also has been pushed back in order to fine tune the movie’s marketing campaign, a spokesman said.

Columbia’s “Radio Flyer,” directed by Richard Donner, is a film whose release date was changed several times last year before finally being pushed to 1992. According to sources, the delay was caused by Columbia conducting research screenings with various endings--some featuring an appearance by narrator Tom Hanks, some without him.

In addition to the two very limited theatrical releases of Warner Bros.’ “Born to Ride,” which quickly went to video, and “Rover Dangerfield,” the studio had another film pushed back: “Dick and Marge Save the World,” which was supposed to hit the theaters last fall (as “Mom and Dad Save the World”). A studio spokesman said “the marketplace was too crowded” then and it was pushed to this year.

Twentieth Century Fox’s animated “Fern Gully . . . the Last Rainforest,” was delayed because the studio didn’t want it to have to compete with Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and Universal’s “Fievel Goes West.” Also pushed back: “Alien 3,” “Jack the Bear” and “Love Potion 9.” One Fox film that looks as though it may suffer at the box office due to its delay is “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” a thriller set in Russia. Originally set for release last fall, it will now be released in February. Sources say the studio is worried that the film, with its references to the KGB and Gorbachev, is now dated due to the demise of the Soviet Union.

With Orion’s financial woes, it’s no wonder that more than half a dozen of their planned 1991 releases were nowhere to be seen. Now, “Clifford,” “Article 99,” “The Favor,” “Love Field,” “Married to It,” Woody Allen’s “Shadows and Fog,” “Car 54, Where Are You?,” “RoboCop 3” and “There Goes My Baby” are set for release this year--if the company can stay afloat.

MGM-Pathe was another studio beset with financial problems last year, and consequently several of its announced releases never made it. “Crisscross” comes out later this year and two others, “Conundrum” and “Skin Tight,” are still in development.

Although independent New Line scored with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II” and “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” last year, it pushed “Roadside Prophets” (soundtrack considerations), “Stepkids” (new marketing campaign) and “Past Midnight” (post-production delays) to this year.

More “Now You See Them, Now You Don’ts”: Paramount’s “Talent for the Game” and New Line’s “Fast Getaway.”

Roger Corman’s Concorde Pictures, which had 12 films listed in last year’s Sneaks--including “Crackdown,” “Dead Space,” “Deathstalker IV” and “Final Embrace”--sent most of its films to video after runs in such spots as Montgomery, Ala. and--are you ready?--Bulgaria. And, although it hasn’t made it to video yet, MGM-Pathe’s “Nameless,” was another film with an abbreviated run outside of L.A.

Among the films listed last year that never made it to a theater, instead going went straight to video, were Troma’s “Haunting Fear,” New Line’s “Mind Warp,” Triumph Releasing’s ‘Gate II” and Concorde’s ‘Angels in Red.”