List Of Movies That Aired Locally On New York City, NY TV From Sunday September 16, 1956-Sunday June 30, 1957. (Post #1. Network O&Os)

[KKLM]

Here's A list of what movies were showing locally in NYC during the 1956-57 TV season.
Post #1. Focuses On Network O&Os

(2) - WCBS (CBS) New York City, NY:
MGM Worldwide Television Distribution:
"The Man From Planet X" (1951) (United Artists)

Trifecta Entertainment & Media:
"Three Faces West" (1940) (Republic Pictures)
"That's My Man" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"A Lady Takes A Chance" (1943) (Republic Pictures)
"The Fighting Seabees" (1944) (Republic Pictures)
"Flying Tigers" (1942) (Republic Pictures)
"Cry Danger" (1951) (Republic Pictures)
"Love Happy" (1950) (Republic Pictures)
"Lady For A Night" (1942) (Republic Pictures)
"War Of The Wildcats" (1943) (Republic Pictures)
"Guest Wife" (1945) (Republic Pictures)
"Dark Command" (1940) (Republic Pictures)
"Angel & The Badman" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"Flame Of Barbary Coast" (1945) (Republic Pictures)
"Stranger On The Prowl" (1952) (Republic Pictures)
"Lady From Louisiana" (1941) (Republic Pictures)
"Try & Get Me" (1950) (Republic Pictures)
"It's In The Bag" (1945) (Republic Pictures)
"It's A Wonderful Life" (1946) (Republic Pictures)
"Dakota" (1945) (Republic Pictures)
"In Old California" (1942) (Republic Pictures)

Sony Pictures Television:
"Alias, Mr. Twilight" (1946) (Columbia Pictures)
"The Desperadoes" (1943) (Columbia Pictures)
"Let Us Live" (1939) (Columbia Pictures)
"The Guilt Of Janet Ames" (1947) (Columbia Pictures)
"Pennies From Heaven" (1936) (Columbia Pictures)
"Key Witness" (1947) (Columbia Pictures)
"Music In My Heart" (1939) (Columbia Pictures)
"The Lady From Shanghai" (1947) (Columbia Pictures)
"The More The Merrier" (1943) (Columbia Pictures)
"Commandos Strike At Dawn" (1943) (Columbia Pictures)
"You'll Never Get Rich" (1941) (Columbia Pictures)
"The Fuller Brush Man" (1948) (Columbia Pictures)
"Mr. Winkle Goes To War" (1944) (Columbia Pictures)
"Sahara" (1943) (Columbia Pictures)
"Slightly French" (1949) (Columbia Pictures)
"Too Many Husbands" (1940) (Columbia Pictures)
"Meet The Stewarts" (1942) (Columbia Pictures)
"Ladies In Retirement" (1941) (Columbia Pictures)
"Adam Had Four Sons" (1941) (Columbia Pictures)
"A Night To Remember" (1942) (Columbia Pictures)
"Counter-Attack" (1945) (Columbia Pictures)

Warner Bros. Television Distribution:
"Command Decision" (1948) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Come Live With Me" (1941) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"They Met In Bombay" (1941) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Random Harvest" (1942) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"A Night At The Opera" (1935) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Above Suspicion" (1943) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Johnny Eager" (1941) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Rasputin & The Empress" (1932) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Comrade X" (1940) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (1944) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Dodge City" (1939) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"The Bribe" (1949) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Love Finds Andy Hardy" (1938) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Two Mrs. Carrolls" (1947) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"The Thin Man" (1947) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Bad Man Of Brimstone" (1937) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Honky Tonk" (1941) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Slightly Dangerous" (1943) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Big Store" (1941) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Fountainhead" (1949) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Mrs. Miniver" (1942) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"It Happened In Brooklyn" (1947) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Dive Bomber" (1941) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"The Unsuspected" (1947) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Dancing Co-Ed" (1939) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Deep Valley" (1947) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"The Romance Of Rosy Ridge" (1947) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Manpower" (1941) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"High Wall" (1947) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Objective, Burma!" (1945) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Charge Of The Light Brigade" (1936) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"At The Circus" (1939) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Ninotchka" (1939) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Adventures Of Don Juan" (1948) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"My Dream Is Yours" (1949) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"On Borrowed Time" (1939) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Shopworn Angel" (1938) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Another Thin Man" (1939) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Footsteps In The Dark" (1941) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Keeper Of The Flame" (1942) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"B.F.'s Daughter" (1948) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Gentleman Jim" (1942) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Fighter Squadron" (1948) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"The Great Ziegfeld" (1936) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Destination Tokyo" (1944) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Camille" (1936) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Clock" (1945) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Naughty Marietta" (1935) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Mr. Skeffington" (1944) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Keep Your Powder Dry" (1945) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Picture Of Dorian Gray" (1945) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Brother Orchid" (1940) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Pride Of The Marines" (1945) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Lassie Come Home" (1943) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Undercurrent" (1946) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Too Hot To Handle" (1938) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Night Unto Night" (1949) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"The Crowd Roars" (1938) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"The Last Gangster" (1937) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
"Without Love" (1945) (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

(4) - WRCA (NBC) New York City, NY:
Trifecta Entertainment & Media:
"Man Of Conquest" (1939) (Republic Pictures)

Sony Pictures Television:
"Escape In The Fog" (1945) (Columbia Pictures)
"You Can't Take It With You" (1938) (Columbia Pictures)

Warner Bros. Television Distribution:
"The Dude Goes West" (1948) (Allied Artists)
"The Roaring Twenties" (1939) (Warner Bros. Pictures)
"Dillinger" (1945) (Monogram Pictures)
"The Babe Ruth Story" (1948) (Allied Artists)

MGM Worldwide Television Distribution:
"No Escape" (1953) (United Artists)
"The Magnetic Monster" (1953) (United Artists)
"Operation Manhunt" (1954) (United Artists)
"Fort Defiance" (1951) (United Artists)

(7) - WABC (ABC) New York City, NY:
Trifecta Entertainment & Media:
"Body And Soul" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"Mr. Peabody & The Mermaid" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"A Double Life" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"Dark Mirror" (1946) (Republic Pictures)
"One Touch Of Venus" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"Secret Beyond The Door" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"Magic Town" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"Miracle Of The Bells" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"Arch Of Triumph" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"Private Affairs Of Bel Ami" (1946) (Republic Pictures)
"Lulu Belle" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"So This Is New York" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"Ramrod" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"Lost Moment" (1947) (Republic Pictures)
"Letter From An Unknown Woman" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"Four Faces West" (1948) (Republic Pictures)
"Macbeth" (1948) (Republic Pictures)

MGM Worldwide Television Distribution:
"Belle Of The Yukon" (1944) (United Artists)
"Woman In The Window" (1944) (United Artists)
"Tomorrow Is Forever" (1946) (United Artists)
"Casanova Brown" (1944) (United Artists)
"It's A Pleasure" (1945) (United Artists)
"Along Came Jones" (1945) (United Artists)

Warner Bros. Television Distribution:
"Private Lives Of Henry VIII" (1933) (Allied Artists)
"Crack-Up" (1946) (RKO Radio Pictures)
"Bride By Mistake" (1944) (RKO Radio Pictures)
"They Live By Night" (1948) (RKO Radio Pictures)
"The Master Race" (1944) (RKO Radio Pictures)
"Show Business" (1944) (RKO Radio Pictures)
"Room Service" (1938) (RKO Radio Pictures)

Sony Pictures Television:
"Dead Reckoning" (1947) (Columbia Pictures)
"The Awful Truth" (1937) (Columbia Pictures)
"Talk Of The Town" (1942) (Columbia Pictures)

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

WCBS-2 ran a lot of movies, but I believe they ran late-night double or even triple features as early as 1956.

I think they would eventually adopt 24 hours-a-day telecasting, but I don't think that happened until the 1960's.

 

[davideduardo]

Interesting how few even from the same decade. The movie industry was very cautious…if not afraid… of television.

 

[KeithE4]

Interesting how few even from the same decade. The movie industry was very cautious…if not afraid… of television.

There may have been a few exceptions, but the studios refused to release any movie made after 1948 to television until the early 1960s.

 

[davideduardo]

There may have been a few exceptions, but the studios refused to release any movie made after 1948 to television until the early 1960s.

I'm amazed when thinking of those attitudes. Why would the movie industry fear little 13" to 19" TV screens with low resolution and a speaker that was worse than in the early transistor portables? Home video has not been a real threat to movie theaters until recently with sound bars and 70" screens with high resolution.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

There may have been a few exceptions, but the studios refused to release any movie made after 1948 to television until the early 1960s.

In the early years of TV broadcasting, major studios refused to sell any movies to TV. Athough some major studios began distributing movies to local TV stations by 1956, there was a "Gentlemen's Agreement" among most major movie studios in the second half of the 1950's not to release films made in 1949 or later to TV.

I had heard one reason was that in the late 1950's, some movie studio executives toyed with the idea of licensing post-1948 films to the networks for prime time showing. But the networks weren't very interested.

Some smaller studios and distributors did release some post-1948 films to television stations during the 1950's, especially during the late fifties.

Finally around 1960, some major studios began syndicating post-1948 movies to local TV stations. And in 1961, 20th Century Fox sold some 30 or so relatively recent movies (all post-1948, most made in the 1950's, and even a couple from.the late fifties) to NBC, which launched "Saturday Night At The Movies" in September of that year (Note to trivia buffs: The first movie broadcast on that series was 1953's "How To Marry A Millionaire", which co-starred Marilyn Monroe).

Click below for the intro to "Saturday Night At The Movies". Although from a 1972 showing of "The War Wagon", the opening theme music and the visuals of a theatre's neon lights are the same as back in 1961:

.

The dam had burst: Within five years, all three networks had multiple "movie nights" on their prime time schedules. In those pre-cable, pre-VCR, pre-DVD, and pre-streaming days, recent movies shown in prime-time on network TV were quite popular, especially among younger adults (remember that in the 1960's, there were millions of twentysomething young adults who were already married with young children and who simply couldn't go out to see a movie in a theatre, or go out for pleasure anywhere for that matter without their children with them. The idea of seeing a good two-to-five-year old movie on TV, often with name stars, was a very appealing way of spending an evening).

By the mid 1960's major movie studios would sell their films to network TV, sometimes with initial network TV showings just two years after their theatrical release. Then after the networks were done with them, the films would only then go to the local stations.