The Broadcast Log: NBC's Monday Night at the Movies, 1963–64

"The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC"

In March 1964, NBC announced it had reached a deal with MGM to supply movies alongside the continuing deal with 20th Century Fox. It was necessary since the network was keeping movies on two nights.

With MGM in the mix, the movie selection on Monday was more diverse than the short first season, which was nearly all adventure movies. The number of high-profile Fox titles continued to diminish as MGM gave the lineup some new life. The season led off with the romance Love in the Afternoon and other genres included some musicals, comedies, and dramas, though usually lighter fare. The first MGM movie on Monday was Executive Suite on 30 Sep, two days after the first new MGM movie on NBC (The Journey). Some MGM movies were also edited.

A change from previous seasons, the summer repeats were a mix of movies from Monday and Saturday.

Monday Night at the Movies would move to Wednesdays next season, but NBC kept movies going for a few weeks into the following season, which are included here. Tedious notes: When the fall season "began" varied by network. Premiere week and even a premiere night were still a few years away. Nielsen usually didn't begin counting weeks until October though NBC's lineups were rolled out over several weeks beginning in mid-September.

Programmer's Corner: Monday Night at the Movies' tough (black and white) competition on CBS remained the same: To Tell the Truth, I've Got a Secret, The Lucy Show, and The Danny Thomas Show. ABC opened its night with newcomer The Outer Limits and followed it with Wagon Train, now in color and expanded to 90 minutes. To rebuild the post-movie timeslots, NBC aired the Hollywood docuseries Hollywood and the Stars (many episodes are on YouTube). Closing the night was often-mocked Sing Along with Mitch, which would finally succumb to changing musical tastes and a lack of young viewers at the end of the season.

NBC MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, 1963–64

Regular season

16 Sep 1963: Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955, 2 hours)

A widowed doctor of both Chinese and European descent falls in love with a married American correspondent in Hong Kong during China's Communist revolution. (Romance / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry King, Otto Lang; with William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Torin Thatcher
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.7

Programming Note: While this was the first movie of the new season, afterward was the final airing of The Art Linkletter Show and then the NBC News special The Loyal Opposition, which was about the Republican Party.

23 Sep 1963: David and Bathsheba (1951, 2 hours 30 minutes)

After King David sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing from the palace roof, he enters into an adulterous affair which has tragic consequences for his family and Israel. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry King; with Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey, Kieron Moore

More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.9

Programming Note: This movie was slotted for 150 minutes. Hollywood and the Stars would debut the following week.

30 Sep 1963: Executive Suite (1954, 2 hours)

Walter Pidgeon, Shelley Winters, Paul Douglas

When the head of a large manufacturing firm dies suddenly from a stroke, his vice presidents vie to see who will replace him. (Drama / Black & White, MGM)

Director: Robert Wise; with William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, June Allyson, Fredric March

More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 15.4

Programming Note: Not only was this the first MGM movie to air on Monday but it was also the first edited movie to air on NBC.

7 Oct 1963: The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959, 2 hours)

A disgraced merchant marine officer elects to stay aboard his sinking cargo ship in order to prove the vessel was deliberately scuttled and, as a result, vindicate his good name. (Adventure / Color, MGM)

Director: Michael Anderson; with Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave, Emlyn Williams
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 15.5

14 Oct 1963: The Rains of Ranchipur (1955, 2 hours)

Despite marital problems, English Lord Albert Esketh and his rich American socialite wife Lady Edwina Esketh travel to India to buy a prize horse from the ruler of Ranchipur. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Jean Negulesco; with Lana Turner, Richard Burton, Fred MacMurray, Joan Caulfield, Michael Rennie
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 16.0

21 Oct 1963: The Mating Game (1959, 2 hours)

An uptight IRS agent is ordered to investigate a rural family in debt to the government... but the family — including lovely daughter Mariette — help him loosen up. (Romantic Comedy / Color, MGM)

Director: George Marshall; with Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 27.1

28 Oct 1963: Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955, 2 hours)

After her admission to the hospital, town-famous stern teacher Miss Dove nostalgically reminisces about her youth and about the pupils she taught over the years. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Koster; with Jennifer Jones, Robert Stack, Kipp Hamilton, Robert Douglas, Peggy Knudsen, Chuck Connors
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.4

4 Nov 1963: White Feather (1955, 2 hours)

In 1877 Wyoming, during the peace negotiations between the Cheyenne and the USA, an Indian girl falls in-love with a land surveyor, causing the ire of her Cheyenne fiance. (Western / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Robert D. Webb; with Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, John Lund, Debra Paget
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 18.2

11 Nov 1963: Father of the Bride (1950, 2 hours)

The father of a young woman deals with the emotional pain of her getting married, along with the financial and organizational trouble of arranging the wedding. (Comedy / Black & White, MGM)

Director: Vincente Minnelli; with Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.3

18 Nov 1963: The Reluctant Debutante (1958, 2 hours)

A teenage American girl while visiting her father, is thrown into London society during the "Debutante Season." (Comedy / Color, MGM)

Director: Vincente Minnelli; with Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, John Saxon, Sandra Dee
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 16.5

25 Nov 1963: President Kennedy tributes

President Kennedy's funeral took place earlier in the day, and this was the last day of news coverage. Since the shooting in Dallas, the three networks' had preempted all programming, airing only news coverage without commercial breaks for four days. Singin' in the Rain was the scheduled movie.

2 Dec 1963: House of Numbers (1957, 2 hours)

San Quentin prison inmate Arnie Judlow asks his twin brother Bill and his wife Ruth to assist him in a daring escape plan. (Film Noir / Black & White, MGM)

Director: Russell Rouse; with Jack Palance, Harold J. Stone, Edward Platt
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 16.7

9 Dec 1963: The Wings of Eagles (1957, 2 hours)

A biography of Navy flier-turned-screenwriter Frank W. "Spig" Wead. (War / Color, MGM)

Director: John Ford; with John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Dan Dailey
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 22.3

16 Dec 1963: The Lost World (1960, 2 hours)

Professor Challenger leads an expedition of scientists and adventurers to a remote plateau deep in the Amazonian jungle to verify his claim that dinosaurs still live there. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Irwin Allen; with Michael Rennie, Jill St. John, David Hedison, Claude Rains, Fernando Lamas
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 20.7

23 Dec 1963: The Power and the Prize (1956, 2 hours)

An American business executive plans to marry an Austrian refugee in London but he encounters disapproval and opposition from his American social and business circles. (Drama / Black & White, MGM)

Director: Henry Koster; with Robert Taylor, Elisabeth Müller, Burl Ives, Mary Astor, Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Coburn
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd

30 Dec 1963: Kiss Me Kate (1953, 2 hours)

An ex-husband and wife star in a The Taming of the Shrew musical, but off-stage, the production is troublesome with ex-lovers' quarrels and two gangsters looking for some money owed to them. (Musical Comedy / Color, MGM)

Director: George Sidney; with Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, James Whitmore, Kurt Kasznar
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 15.9

6 Jan 1964: Seven Cities of Gold (1955, 2 hours)

In 1769, a Spanish expedition to California seeks to conquer the land and discover its famed gold treasures while missionaries aim to gain new converts and establish a network of Catholic missions. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Robert D. Webb; with Richard Egan, Anthony Quinn, Michael Rennie, Jeffrey Hunter, Rita Moreno
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.4/34.8

13 Jan 1964: Singin' in the Rain (1952, 2 hours)

A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound. (Musical Comedy / Color, MGM)

Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly; with Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.4

20 Jan 1964: Action of the Tiger (1957, 2 hours)

Carson is an American contraband runner approached by Tracy, a French woman who wants him to help rescue her brother from Albania where he is being held as a political prisoner. (Action / Color, MGM)

Director: Terence Young; with Van Johnson, Martine Carol, Herbert Lom
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 15.8

27 Jan 1964: House of Bamboo (1955, 2 hours)

Planted in a Tokyo crime syndicate, a U.S. Army Investigator attempts to probe the coinciding death of a fellow Army official. (Film Noir / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Samuel Fuller; with Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi, Cameron Mitchell
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.7

3 Feb 1964: Phone Call from a Stranger (1952, 2 hours)

While awaiting a delayed flight, a lawyer who has left his unfaithful wife, befriends three fellow passengers. After the plane crashes and he is among the few to survive, he feels compelled to contact the families of his dead friends. (Film Noir / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Jean Negulesco; with Bette Davis, Shelley Winters, Gary Merrill, Michael Rennie
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 18.2

10 Feb 1964: Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953, 2 hours)

In the 18th century France, Jean-Paul, who was cheated out of his inheritance, land and titles by his uncle, decides to go to Guatemala in search of a famed Mayan treasure. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Delmer Daves, Otto Preminger; with Cornel Wilde, Constance Smith, Finlay Currie, Walter Hampden, Anne Bancroft
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.4

17 Feb 1964: The Safecracker (1958, 2 hours)

A British safe-cracker goes to prison but when WW2 starts he's recruited by the army intelligence and is sent to Nazi-occupied Belgium to crack the safe of a German Abwehr unit located in a chateau. (Crime / Black & White, MGM)

Director: Ray Milland; with Ray Milland, Barry Jones, Jeanette Sterke, Victor Maddern
More: Wikipedia | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 13.4

24 Feb 1964: Prince of Players (1955, 2 hours)

A tragic story about the early career of the 19th century American actor, Edwin Booth with some mention of the events leading to the assassination of President Lincoln by Edwin's brother, John Wilkes Booth. Edwin's days in the spotlight dwindle shortly after his brother is caught and killed for assassinating Lincoln. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Philip Dunne; with Richard Burton, Maggie McNamara, John Derek
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 10.6

2 Mar 1964: Underwater Warrior (1958, 2 hours)

Based upon the life of Commander Francis D. Fane, the evolution of the US Navy's Underwater Demolition Unit is seen from its inception near the end of World War II through its acceptance and finally successful utilization in Korea. (Adventure / Black & White, MGM)

Director: Andrew Marton; with Dan Dailey, James Gregory, Ross Martin, Raymond Bailey
More: Wikipedia | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 16.0

9 Mar 1964: The 39 Steps (1959, 2 hours)

In London, a diplomat accidentally becomes involved in the death of a British agent who's after a spy ring that covets British military secrets. (Thriller / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Ralph Thomas; with Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda de Banzie
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 15.0

16 Mar 1964: The View from Pompey's Head (1955, 2 hours)

Lawyer Anson Page leaves his family in New York for Georgia to investigate the case of a famous writer, nearly blind and embittered, whose royalties have never reached him. He also finds racial and class prejudices and his former love, now married to an uncouth businessman. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Philip Dunne; with Richard Egan, Dana Wynter, Cameron Mitchell, Sidney Blackmer
More: Wikipedia | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 18.5

23 Mar 1964: The Racers (1955, 2 hours)

Follows the professional and personal life of race car driver Gino Borgesa, as he struggles on the track and in his love life. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Hathaway; with Kirk Douglas, Bella Darvi, Gilbert Roland
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 16.6

30 Mar 1964: The Pride of St. Louis (1952, 2 hours)

The story of Jerome "Dizzy" Dean, a major-league baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs in the 1930s and 1940s. (Drama / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Harmon Jones; with Dan Dailey, Joanne Dru, Richard Hylton
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 18.9

6 Apr 1964: The Virgin Queen (1955, 2 hours)

Sir Walter Raleigh overcomes court intrigue to win favor with Queen Elizabeth I in order to get financing for a proposed voyage to the New World. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Koster; with Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 14.4

13 Apr 1964: Never Let Me Go (1953, 2 hours)

An American reporter stationed in post-war Moscow marries a ballet dancer, but their relationship is threatened by the country's political volatility. (Adventure / Black & White, MGM)

Director: Delmer Daves; with Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, Bernard Miles
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.1

Summer repeats

(Movies aired entirely in their allotted timeslot unless otherwise noted.)

20 Apr 1964: Seven Cities of Gold (1955)

27 Apr 1964: Father of the Bride (1950)

4 May 1964: Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955)

11 May 1964: White Feather (1955)

18 May 1964: Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)

25 May 1964: Count Your Blessings (1959)

1 Jun 1964: Singin' in the Rain (1952)

8 Jun 1964: House of Bamboo (1955)

15 Jun 1964: Never Let Me Go (1953)

22 Jun 1964: Underwater Warrior (1958)

29 Jun 1964: The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)

6 Jul 1964: The Pride of St. Louis (1952)

13 Jul 1964: 1964 Republican National Convention

Live from the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, it was the 1964 Republican National Convention. All three networks devoted more than their primetime hours to convention coverage. NBC's coverage ran for four-and-a-half hours.

20 Jul 1964: Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953)

27 Jul 1964: Imitation General (1958)

3 Aug 1964: Black Widow (1954)

10 Aug 1964: House of Numbers (1957)

17 Aug 1964: The Racers (1955)

24 Aug 1964: 1964 Democratic National Convention

Live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it was the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Like for the RNC, all three networks dedicated extra time to its coverage. NBC's coverage on this night ran for four hours. One of the oldest surviving Johnny Carson monologues includes jokes about the convention.

31 Aug 1964: Man on Fire (1957)

7 Sep 1964: David and Bathsheba (1951)

Programming Note: Like the fall airing, this movie preempted Hollywood and the Stars.

NBC MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, 1964–65

14 Sep 1964: The Lost World (1960)

21 Sep 1964: The Wings of Eagles (1957)

28 Sep 1964: Ask Any Girl (1959)

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NBC's NIGHT AT THE MOVIES

Sources: IMDb for movie information; Television Obscurities, Cedar Rapids Gazette, and San Bernardino Sun for listing information; Broadcasting for various notes; and as always, if you see bad links or incorrect information, let me know in the comments; if you see bad links or incorrect information, please let me know in the comments.

THE 1960s... 61–62: Sat | 62–63: Mon, Sat | 63–64: Mon, Sat | 64–65: Wed, Sat | 65–66: Tue, Sat | 66–67: Tue, Sat | 67–68: Tue, Sat | 68–69: Mon, Tue, Sat | 69–70: Mon, Tue, Sat