The Broadcast Log: NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies, 1962–63

NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies (via CLG)

Entering its second season, NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies wasn't a regular ratings powerhouse, but it had great name recognition and strong appeal to younger viewers. It was also a strong counter to CBS' dominant lineup of The Defenders, Have Gun Will Travel and Gunsmoke. None of the networks changed their lineup's latter half of Saturday night going into fall 1962. ABC stuck with Lawrence Welk, The Fight of the Week, and Make That Spare.

Like season one, all 30 titles for season two of Saturday Night at the Movies were from the 20th Century Fox catalog and were scheduled for two hours, though also like season one, several ran long. There remained a good variety in the titles, but some genres were much more represented. Science fiction was gone and comedy films were few. The creation of the Monday movie at midseason seemed to have an effect, too, as the number of adventure movies on Saturday dropped. Airing unedited, the 30 movies aired without break for 30 weeks. Two-thirds of the movies were in color.

Programmer's Note: NBC attempted to revamp the first 90 minutes of primetime with the black-and-white legal drama Sam Benedict and the rebooted/now-in-color sitcom The Joey Bishop Show. They didn't make much a dent, but fared better than ABC's lineup.

NBC SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, 1962–63

Regular season

22 Sep 1962: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953, 2 hours)

Showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers. (Musical Comedy / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Howard Hawks; with Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn

More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 21.2

Programming Note: Sam Benedict and The Joey Bishop Show premiered the previous week.

29 Sep 1962: Broken Lance (1954, 2 hours)

The saga of the Devereaux rancher family, set in 1880's Arizona. (Western / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Edward Dmytryk; with Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Katy Jurado
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.7

6 Oct 1962: The Egyptian (1954, 2 hours 45 minutes)

In ancient Egypt, a poor orphan becomes a genial physician and is eventually appointed at the Pharaoh's court where he witnesses palace intrigues and learns dangerous royal secrets. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Michael Curtiz; with Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Gene Tierney, Michael Wilding, Bella Darvi, Peter Ustinov, Edmund Purdom
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 20.9

13 Oct 1962: Three Coins in the Fountain (1954, 2 hours)

Three American women working in Rome share a spacious apartment and the desire to find love and marriage, each experiencing a few bumps in their journeys to romance. (Romance / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Jean Negulesco; with Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Maggie McNamara
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.5

20 Oct 1962: River of No Return (1954, 2 hours)

The titular river unites a farmer recently released from prison, his young son, and an ambitious saloon singer. In order to survive, each must be purged of anger, and each must learn to understand and care for the others. (Adventure Western / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Otto Preminger, Jean Negulesco; with Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 25.9

27 Oct 1962: Mister Scoutmaster (1953, 2 hours)

A snobby TV star worries that he is out of touch with the younger generation and that's why his TV show is failing. He becomes a Boy Scout leader in an effort to "get in touch." Overnight hikes and other adventures follow, all centered around one small boy who takes a liking to the old curmudgeon. (Comedy / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Levin; with Clifton Webb, Edmund Gwenn, George Winslow
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd

3 Nov 1962: Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953, 2 hours)

Fierce competition among sponge fishermen forces a Greek-American family to fish in the dangerous 12-mile reef area off the western coast of Florida. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Robert D. Webb; with Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Gilbert Roland
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 18.5

10 Nov 1962: The Desert Rats (1953, 2 hours)

Richard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them. (War / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Robert Wise; with Richard Burton, James Mason, Robert Newton
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.3

17 Nov 1962: White Witch Doctor (1953, 2 hours)

In 1907, a nurse arrives in the Belgian Congo to work for a missionary doctor but meets a grumpy animal hunter who secretly plans to search for gold in the dangerous Bakuba tribal region. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Hathaway; with Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Walter Slezak
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 22.3

24 Nov 1962: Sailor of the King (1953, 2 hours)

In 1940, Canadian sailor Andrew Brown is prisoner on a battle damaged German raider and he plans to delay the raider's at-sea repairs until a British naval task-force can destroy it. (War / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Roy Boulting; with Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie, Wendy Hiller
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 16.6

1 Dec 1962: Night People (1954, 2 hours)

During the Cold War, an American soldier is abducted in West Berlin, sparking a recovery effort led by Colonel Steve Van Dyke. (Mystery / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Nunnally Johnson; with Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Björk, Rita Gam
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.1

8 Dec 1962: No Down Payment (1957, 2 hours 5 minutes)

In California, four couples who have bought homes and are neighbors face money problems, alcoholism, racism, promiscuity, and discrimination against lack of education, until a tragic event forces them to reassess their lives. (Drama / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Martin Ritt; with Joanne Woodward, Sheree North, Tony Randall, Jeffrey Hunter, Cameron Mitchell, Patricia Owens, Barbara Rush, Pat Hingle
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.2

15 Dec 1962: Désirée (1954, 2 hours 10 minutes)

The rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Koster; with Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Merle Oberon, Michael Rennie
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 15.0

22 Dec 1962: Red Skies of Montana (1952, 2 hours)

Drama dealing with the hazardous work of the U. S. Forest Service's paratroop fire-fighters in Montana. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Joseph M. Newman; with Richard Widmark, Constance Smith, Jeffrey Hunter
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.2

29 Dec 1962: Rawhide (retitled Desperate Siege) (1951, 2 hours)

A stagecoach stop employee and a stranded woman traveller find themselves at the mercy of four desperate outlaws intent on robbing the next day's gold shipment. (Western / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Hathaway; with Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Hugh Marlowe, Dean Jagger, Edgar Buchanan, Jack Elam

More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd

Programming Note: The movie was retitled Desperate Siege to avoid confusion with the then-hit TV series Rawhide.

5 Jan 1963: Decision Before Dawn (1951, 2 hours 25 minutes)

As the US Army approaches Nazi Germany, they recruit German prisoners to spy behind German lines. (War / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Anatole Litvak; with Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 20.0

12 Jan 1963: The Sun Also Rises (1957, 2 hours 35 minutes)

A group of disillusioned American expatriate writers live a dissolute, hedonistic lifestyle in 1920s France and Spain. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry King; with Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Errol Flynn, Mel Ferrer, Eddie Albert, Juliette Gréco
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.6

19 Jan 1963: Women's World (1954, 2 hours)

An executive plans to fill a high-ranking position by interviewing the candidates' wives. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Jean Negulesco; with Clifton Webb, Van Heflin, Lauren Bacall, Cornel Wilde, Fred MacMurray, Arlene Dahl
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes; Nielsen Rating: 19.9

26 Jan 1963: Deadline – U.S.A. (1952, 2 hours)

With his newspaper about to be sold, crusading editor Ed Hutcheson tries to complete an exposé on gangster Rienzi. (Film Noir / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Richard Brooks; with Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.1

2 Feb 1963: Niagara (1953, 2 hours)

As two couples are visiting Niagara Falls, tensions between one wife and her husband reach the level of murder. (Film Noir / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Hathaway; with Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 21.3

9 Feb 1963: Kangaroo (1952, 2 hours)

In turn-of-the-century Australia, two criminals ingratiate themselves with a rancher in order to swindle him. However, the two partners become rivals for the affection of the rancher's beautiful daughter. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Lewis Milestone; with Maureen O'Hara, Peter Lawford, Finlay Currie

More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 18.8

Programming note: In the only week where Sam Benedict and Joey Bishop were preempted, the Saturday Night at the Movies lead-in was the first rebroadcast of the 1960 production of Peter Pan starring Mary Martin, which meant NBC started the night at 7 rather than 7:30.

16 Feb 1963: The Long, Hot Summer (1958, 2 hours 15 minutes)

Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Martin Ritt; with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 24.6

23 Feb 1963: The President's Lady (1953, 2 hours)

The story of president Andrew Jackson from his early years, the film begins when he meets Rachel Donaldson Robards. The plot concentrates on the scandal concerning the legality of their marriage and how they overcame the difficulties. (Drama / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Levin; with Susan Hayward, Charlton Heston, John McIntire
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.0

2 Mar 1963: The Roots of Heaven (1958, 2 hours 25 minutes)

In French Equatorial Africa, an idealist ecologist starts a campaign of public awareness to help save the African elephants from extinction. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: John Huston; with Errol Flynn, Juliette Gréco, Trevor Howard, Eddie Albert, Orson Welles
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.6

9 Mar 1963: In Love and War (1958, 2 hours 10 minutes)

In 1944, the family lives of three San Francisco Marines are affected by their personal experiences on the front lines in the Pacific and vice-versa. (War / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Philip Dunne; with Robert Wagner, Dana Wynter, Jeffrey Hunter, Hope Lange, Bradford Dillman, Sheree North, France Nuyen
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 22.1

16 Mar 1963: A Certain Smile (1958, 2 hours 5 minutes)

A law student at the Sorbonne is engaged to a fellow classmate. Unfortunately, she's more attracted to his philandering Uncle Luc, who's married to the charming Francoise. The two begin a tawdry affair. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Jean Negulesco; with Rossano Brazzi, Joan Fontaine, Bradford Dillman, Christine Carère
More: Wikipedia | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 18.0

23 Mar 1963: Fräulein (1958, 2 hours)

A Nazi's fiancee helps an escaped U.S. soldier, then meets him in postwar Berlin. (War-Romance / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry Koster; with Dana Wynter, Mel Ferrer, Dolores Michaels
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 17.6

30 Mar 1963: Ten North Frederick (1958, 2 hours)

At her father's funeral, Ann Chapin thinks back over the last five years of his life, years of apparent political and personal failure dominated by a selfish and dissatisfied wife and eased only by alcohol. However, it starts to emerge that there was in fact one brief and unsuspected period of happiness and love. (Drama / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Philip Dunne; with Gary Cooper, Diane Varsi, Suzy Parker, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Tom Tully
More: Wikipedia | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 19.9

6 Apr 1963: Night and the City (1950, 2 hours)

A small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter. (Film Noir / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Jules Dassin; with Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Hugh Marlowe
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 14.3

13 Apr 1963: I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1951, 2 hours)

A Methodist minister and his gently-bred new bride are called to a mountain community in 1910 and meets the problems and crises of his circuit-riding congregation fearlessly and honestly. (Drama / Color, 20th Century Fox)

Director: Henry King; with Susan Hayward, William Lundigan, Rory Calhoun
More: Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd; Nielsen Rating: 20.7

Summer repeats

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

20 Apr 1963: Broken Lance (1954)

27 Apr 1963: Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

4 May 1963: Night People (1954)

11 May 1963: Red Skies of Montana (1952)

18 May 1963: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

25 May 1963: The Egyptian (1954, 2 hours 45 minutes)

1 Jun 1963: River of No Return (1954)

8 Jun 1963: The Desert Rats (1953)

15 Jun 1963: Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)

22 Jun 1963: White Witch Doctor (1953)

29 Jun 1963: Sailor of the King (1953)

6 Jul 1963: The President's Lady (1953)

13 Jul 1963: The Sun Also Rises (1957, 2 hours 35 minutes)

20 Jul 1963: Decision Before Dawn (1951, 2 hours 25 minutes)

27 Jul 1963: Women's World (1954)

3 Aug 1963: Kangaroo (1952)

10 Aug 1963: Niagara (1953)

17 Aug 1963: The Long Hot Summer (1958, 2 hours 15 minutes)

24 Aug 1963: The Roots of Heaven (1958, 2 hours 25 minutes)

31 Aug 1963: Fräulein (1958)

7 Sep 1963: A Certain Smile (1958, 2 hours 5 minutes)

14 Sep 1963: Ten North Frederick (1958)

----------

NBC's NIGHT AT THE MOVIES

Sources: IMDb for movie information; Television Obscurities, Cedar Rapids Gazette, and San Bernardino Sun for listing information; Wikipedia-listed runtime information was confirmed but slight variations exist (5 or 10 minutes) depending on the source; 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