WHAT HAPPENED TO NETWORK MOVIES, DO WE NEED THEM BACK ?

[tlyle]

There was also a movie that introduced us to Anorexia Nervosa. ABC produced one about a teenager, and then Karen Carpenter died, they did another one.

I read recently that CBS have up the rights to the Hallmark movies going forward.

 

[searadiofreak]

Yes, and some of these movies were groundbreaking...I remember one with Bill Bixby tackling being a gay father in the early 70's. Can't remember the title, but it was an ABC made for tv movie that attracted a lot of attention at the time. Wonder what ever happened to that.

The movie I was referring to was called, "That Certain Summer", with Hal Holbrook and Martin Sheen, (yes Charlie's dad). Not sure where I got Bill Bixby from. It was a groundbreaking made for tv movie that aired in the Fall of '72.

 

[johnnya2k6]

Made-for-TV movies/miniseries on cable (especially on HBO and Lifetime) tend to push the envelope further than on network TV, which explains the migration. The last network movie I know of that took risks was 1994's "My Breast", starring Meredith Baxter.

Later that same year came "Without Warning", also on CBS. In shades of that infamous "War Of The Worlds" radio broadcast, numbers of viewers called up their CBS stations wondering if what they're seeing in the film are actually transpiring. I remember reading in the News-Miner that even then-affiliate KTVF received a couple of calls themselves!

 

[Ultimajock]

Later that same year came "Without Warning", also on CBS. In shades of that infamous "War Of The Worlds" radio broadcast, numbers of viewers called up their CBS stations wondering if what they're seeing in the film are actually transpiring. I remember reading in the News-Miner that even then-affiliate KTVF received a couple of calls themselves!

...and that Welles broadcast was also a CBS production. A significant parallel between the two dramas is that, in 1938, actor Frank Readick imitated announcer Herbert Morrison's broadcast of the Hindenburg disaster, while actor Kenny Delmar used a fairly realistic imitation of President Roosevelt (although his character was identified as being "The Secretary of the Interior," who would have been Harold Ickes at the time); and, in 1994, real-life newscasters Sander Vanocur, Bree Walker and Sandy Hill played characters identified as themselves. These appear to have been primary elements leading to the dramas being taken as real-life events...

 

[TexasTom]

Yes, and some of these movies were groundbreaking...I remember one with Bill Bixby tackling being a gay father in the early 70's. Can't remember the title, but it was an ABC made for tv movie that attracted a lot of attention at the time. Wonder what ever happened to that.

As already noted by another poster, the movie was "That Certain Summer". It was available in a syndicated movie package until well into the eighties, because it ran as an overnight movie here (Dallas) in the mid-eighties. I may actually still have a VHS recording of it somewhere.

As for what happened to it...hard to say. It may be that someone still has a clean 35 mm copy of that (or other TV movies) stashed away somewhere, but that's far from a given. It's likely that in many cases, all that remains of these old TV movies are 16 mm syndication prints or viewer recordings made off-air from broadcasts.

One example of a TV movie where I know the original 35 mm prints were lost is the PBS TV movie of Ursula K LeGuin's "The Lathe of Heaven" that was originally produced in 1979. It reran on PBS a couple times in 1980 and 1981...and then disappeared for over 20 years, finally resurfacing as a PBS rebroadcast and DVD re-release in 2002 or 2003. When the DVD came out, I picked up a copy despite noting a warning that the original film had been lost and the DVD was struck from a 2" quad videotape source. Unfortunately, the end result actually looked worse than a VHS recording that I had made from a rebroadcast back in the summer of 1980... It's a shame -- while this movie was low budget ($250,000 for an almost two hour movie), it was faithful to the book and surely qualifies as a bit of a cult classic.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

A lot of TV movies like "Boy in the Plastic Bubble" are public domain and can be downloaded off archive.org

http://www.archive.org/details/The_Boy_In_The_Plastic_Bubble

 

[jwk1979]

Remember that in 1973, the only way to see movies once they fell out of first run (other than the rare theatrical re-release) was to watch them when they were broadcast on TV. There were no DVDs, Blu Ray disks, prerecorded VHS tapes, pay movie channels, pay per view movies, or streaming video as alternative sources to see those movies. Except for a very small number of households with industrial grade video tape recorders at home, no one was able to record and archive broadcasts of movies for re-watching in the future.

Consequently, when a movie showed up on network TV, it was a very big deal -- and the box office blockbusters translated to huge ratings. Today, it's a very different matter...there are so many different places to see movies that there is nothing special about a movie being shown on broadcast television. And that's reflected in the ratings, which generally aren't all that good when theatrical films run on broadcast networks.

So, no, we probably aren't going to get those movie nights back...although I tend to agree that they'd be an improvement over the reality shows. But then I'd personally consider signing off for transmitter maintenance to be an improvement over most reality television.

Another problem with the Networks' Movie Nights were that a movie would be several years old before it debuted on one of the networks. Rocky won the Best Picture Oscar in 1976 but it din't debut on TV until 1979. "American Grafitti" was released in the theaters in 1974 but wasn't shown on Network TV intil 1979 and suddenly starred Susanne Somers, even those she only appeared on screen about 15 seconds.

 

[LibertyNT]

Our Local FOX affiliate KDFW will still show movies, typically at night. some are even rated R.

the CW Affiliate KDAF will sometimes show a movie,

and if I'm not mistaken all the ION stations play movies all the time.

 

[gregg75]

Wasn't "Lizzie Borden" with Elizabeth Montgomery a TV movie? That is a classic now.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Remember that in 1973, the only way to see movies once they fell out of first run (other than the rare theatrical re-release) was to watch them when they were broadcast on TV. There were no DVDs, Blu Ray disks, prerecorded VHS tapes, pay movie channels, pay per view movies, or streaming video as alternative sources to see those movies.

I remember that CBS heavily promoted their broadcast of "The Graduate" around that time.
I knew it contained all of those Simon and Garfunkel songs that I liked on the radio. But I had no
idea what the movie was actually about (and frankly was too young to be knowing about such things.)

My parents of course forbade me to watch it. Never one to let curiosity get the best of me, I smuggled
a little black-and-white portable into my room and watched it anyhow. And of course, I just didn't get it.
(I recall thinking "gee....I wonder why Mrs. Robinson is taking her clothes off?")

 

[LKellerIII]

Remember that in 1973, the only way to see movies once they fell out of first run (other than the rare theatrical re-release) was to watch them when they were broadcast on TV. There were no DVDs, Blu Ray disks, prerecorded VHS tapes, pay movie channels, pay per view movies, or streaming video as alternative sources to see those movies.

I remember that CBS heavily promoted their broadcast of "The Graduate" around that time.
I knew it contained all of those Simon and Garfunkel songs that I liked on the radio. But I had no
idea what the movie was actually about (and frankly was too young to be knowing about such things.)

My parents of course forbade me to watch it. Never one to let curiosity get the best of me, I smuggled
a little black-and-white portable into my room and watched it anyhow. And of course, I just didn't get it.
(I recall thinking "gee....I wonder why Mrs. Robinson is taking her clothes off?")

In those days, The Graduate would have been "edited for content," certainly. But nowdays, regular network TV shows have racier content than that 1968 film.

I remember seeing the Australian film Walkabout in the mid 70s on KTVU's 8 O'Clock Movie with shots of actress Jenny Agutter fully nude - from the back. I was astonished, but it was a local broadcast, and I guess they figured liberal Bay Area viewers wouldn't be offended. If that film was ever broadcast by any of the major networks, I'm sure those scenes were deleted.

 

[Markieo]

Remember that in 1973, the only way to see movies once they fell out of first run (other than the rare theatrical re-release) was to watch them when they were broadcast on TV. There were no DVDs, Blu Ray disks, prerecorded VHS tapes, pay movie channels, pay per view movies, or streaming video as alternative sources to see those movies.

I remember that CBS heavily promoted their broadcast of "The Graduate" around that time.
I knew it contained all of those Simon and Garfunkel songs that I liked on the radio. But I had no
idea what the movie was actually about (and frankly was too young to be knowing about such things.)

My parents of course forbade me to watch it. Never one to let curiosity get the best of me, I smuggled
a little black-and-white portable into my room and watched it anyhow. And of course, I just didn't get it.
(I recall thinking "gee....I wonder why Mrs. Robinson is taking her clothes off?")

In those days, The Graduate would have been "edited for content," certainly. But nowdays, regular network TV shows have racier content than that 1968 film.

Which brings me to this question: When did the networks start putting the words "Edited For Television" on their movies? It would always happen right after the 'Directed By' credits.

 

[Ultimajock]

Remember that in 1973, the only way to see movies once they fell out of first run (other than the rare theatrical re-release) was to watch them when they were broadcast on TV. There were no DVDs, Blu Ray disks, prerecorded VHS tapes, pay movie channels, pay per view movies, or streaming video as alternative sources to see those movies.

I remember that CBS heavily promoted their broadcast of "The Graduate" around that time.
I knew it contained all of those Simon and Garfunkel songs that I liked on the radio.

...plus, CBS, through its Columbia Records subsidiary, owned all those Simon & Garfunkel recordings (and the Columbia Masterworks soundtrack album for The Graduate), so they had an additional commercial incentive to heavily promote the movie's CBS network screening. Same for ABC's use of Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" in She Lives!, the 12 September 1973 Wednesday Movie of the Week; the Croce recording was part of the ABC Records album release You Don't Mess Around with Jim, and ABC Circle Films produced the flick. When Croce died in that Louisiana plane crash eight nights later, ABC Records planned a rush release of the recording as a single, and the 45 reached the #1 spot on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts the following winter. Today, only ABC is co-owned with a record company -- not ABC Records, the catalogue of which is part of Universal Music nowadays, but Walt Disney (originally Disneyland) Records, primarily a kiddie music outlet with a few grownup releases tossed in -- so there's much less incentive for that kind of cross-promotion nowadays...

 

[searadiofreak]

It is hard to believe "The Graduate" aired on network tv. But I guess, after its theater run it would have been a logical place to go before the days of video/dvd/etc.

Today, the movie seems tame even in its unedited form. TCM runs it on special occasions, but that is about the only place you will see it on the tv platform today. (Still one of my top5 movies of all-time, FWIT)

 

[Mario500]

Today, only ABC is co-owned with a record company -- not ABC Records, the catalogue of which is part of Universal Music nowadays, but Walt Disney (originally Disneyland) Records, primarily a kiddie music outlet with a few grownup releases tossed in -- so there's much less incentive for that kind of cross-promotion nowadays...

What did you mean by "kiddie music" and "grownup releases" in your message? Did you mean recordings of young children and adults or recordings marketed toward children or adults?

 

[Ultimajock]

Today, only ABC is co-owned with a record company -- not ABC Records, the catalogue of which is part of Universal Music nowadays, but Walt Disney (originally Disneyland) Records, primarily a kiddie music outlet with a few grownup releases tossed in -- so there's much less incentive for that kind of cross-promotion nowadays...

What did you mean by "kiddie music" and "grownup releases" in your message? Did you mean recordings of young children and adults or recordings marketed toward children or adults?

...the latter: their current roster is largely made up of Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers types, while rock legend Brian Wilson and quirk rockers They Might Be Giants are also on the label...

 

[FreddyE1977]

It is hard to believe "The Graduate" aired on network tv. But I guess, after its theater run it would have been a logical place to go before the days of video/dvd/etc.

Today, the movie seems tame even in its unedited form. TCM runs it on special occasions, but that is about the only place you will see it on the tv platform today. (Still one of my top5 movies of all-time, FWIT)

Yes, it seems awfully tame all these years later. Now that I understand why Mrs. Robinson shut the door and stripped. ;D

In general I think all of the editing for content, commercials, reformatting into 4:3 or letterboxing, etc., make watching a movie on commercial TV too painful an experience. In view of the other options at least.

 

[LKellerIII]

It is hard to believe "The Graduate" aired on network tv. But I guess, after its theater run it would have been a logical place to go before the days of video/dvd/etc.

In general I think all of the editing for content, commercials, reformatting into 4:3 or letterboxing, etc., make watching a movie on commercial TV too painful an experience. In view of the other options at least.

Exactly. As others have pointed out, network movie nights were popular because in those pre-VCR days, there was no way to see films once they left the theatres, except for second-run movie houses.

The first forums for seeing uncut films without commerials were HBO and Showtime, which both came along in the mid 70s, but had few subscribers at first. Then VCRs and video-rental stores really put the hurt on network movies by the early 1980s.

 

[EZway2go]

Wasn't "Lizzie Borden" with Elizabeth Montgomery a TV movie? That is a classic now.

Yes, I thought of that one as well. Elizabeth Montgomery starred in several made-for-TV movies, including A Case Of Rape. She wanted to shed her Bewitched image. As for shedding images, Lucille Ball played a homeless person in Stone Pillow and Carol Burnette played a mother who lost her son in Friendly Fire. I think Barbara Eden made a couple movies based on that Harper Valley P.T.A. song.

In addition to the aforementioned That Certain Summer, some of those 90-minute Tuesday night ABC Movies-of-the-Week I remember are... Brian's Song, The Night Stalker, Sally Field in Maybe I'll Come Home In The Spring, and Stockard Channing in The Girl Most Likely. Sally Field was also in Sybil, but that wasn't a Movie-of-the-Week.

New network movies do pop up from time to time, although they're usually on channels like Lifetime or SyFy. The Memory Keeper's Daughter was a good one Lifetime ran 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[Ultimajock]

I think Barbara Eden made a couple movies based on that Harper Valley P.T.A. song.

...Harper Valley P.T.A. was not a made-for-TV movie, it was an independently-produced 1978 theatrical release that Eden had starred in. Universal subsequently hired Eden to star in the 1981-82 NBC sitcom, Harper Valley, based on the movie.