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1969–70: The fall of 1969 was included a TV milestone: 1,000 broadcasts of post-1948 movies. The achievement took the Big Three a mere 8 years. Despite mixed results overall, NBC stuck with its three nights of movies of Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday. To keep the number of new titles low, Monday included semi-regular Bob Hope specials and Tuesday had First Tuesdays once a month while Saturday repeated previous seasons' movies. A few years ago, that could've been an expensive solution, but now the price of Hollywood movies was dropping. In three years, the cost had dropped 25%. The market had become too flooded. This fall, NBC's asking price for 1-minute of advertising was $53,000 on Monday and Tuesday and $60,000 on Saturday.
On Monday: Filling in for the movies about once a month in the fall and occasionally in the winter and spring was a Bob Hope special followed by another high-profile entertainer: Flip Wilson, Mitzi Gaynor, Tennessee Ernie Ford, the Smothers Brothers, or Bing Crosby. They consistently brought in ratings. NBC also aired some movie repeats later in the season.
Like previous years, the new movies, comprised of 20 titles, are predominantly from Universal (11) and United Artists (4) libraries. The Universal titles include 4 made for TV projects, including one pilot, one sequel, and one crime drama that has some historical intrigue because it features a before-he-was-famous Tom Selleck. Another TV movie came from MGM. Given the popular competition was sitcoms, only a small handful of movies are comedies.
Programmer's Corner: NBC didn't move the country's #1 show, Laugh-In, which continued to claim the top spot but dropped about 5 points in the ratings. Opening the night was the occasionally-animated sitcom My World and Welcome to It, a one-season wonder that had great reviews and decent viewership but wasn't renewed. It didn't really fit anywhere else on NBC's schedule. The second season NBC Monday Night at the Movies suffered from an even more popular CBS lineup of Mayberry, R.F.D., new-to-the-night Doris Day Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. ABC had an full night of newcomers that was gone by winter. Soap opera The Survivors was cancelled. Anthology Love, American Style was moved to Friday. They were replaced by movies, which ate into NBC's ratings, and the occasional news series Now at 10:30.
NBC MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, 1969–70
Regular season
15 Sep 1969: Nobody's Perfect (1968, 2 hours)
Mischievous American seaman Doc Willoughby tries to outwit his superiors on the U.S.S. Bustard, attempts to woo U.S. Navy, Lt. Tomiko Momoyama and aims to return a stolen Buddha statue to its Japanese temple. (Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Alan Rafkin; with Doug McClure, Nancy Kwan, James Whitmore
More: Wikipedia, Letterboxd
Ratings Report: With a 56-share Laugh-In and competition still in repeats, Nobody's Perfect came in around 25.0/40.
22 Sep 1969: The Bob Hope Special and The Flip Wilson Show
Bob Hope's first special of the season some of the biggest men in the business: Steve Allen, Red Buttons, Sid Caesar, Johnny Carson, Buddy Hackett, Nipsy Russell, Phil Silvers, and Danny Thomas to name a few. (It had more than 50-share.) Later, Flip Wilson hosted his first TV special full of comedy skits and music. This special's success led to The Flip Wilson Show being greenlit for fall 1970.
29 Sep 1969: Duel at Diablo (1966, 2 hours)
In Apache territory, a supply Army column heads for the next fort, an ex-scout searches for the killer of his Native wife, and a housewife abandons her husband in order to rejoin her Apache lover's tribe. (Western / Color, United Artists)
Director: Ralph Nelson; with James Garner, Sidney Poitier
6 Oct 1969: Counterpoint (1968, 2 hours)
A famous orchestra conductor is captured by the Germans in WWII and is forced to perform at private concerts for the Nazi generals. (War / Color, Universal)
Director: Ralph Nelson; with Charlton Heston, Maximilian Schell
Ratings Report: Counterpoint was a popular choice. It was ahead of the competition by nearly 10 points.
13 Oct 1969: The Bob Hope Special and Mitzi's 2nd Special
Bob Hope's guests this month are Jimmy Durante, Barbara McNair, Donald O'Connor, and Tom Jones. Later, Mitzi Gaynor follows up her 1968 special with this one, featuring Ross Martin, Eddie Ryder, and The Four Fellows.
20 Oct 1969: By Love Possessed (1961, 2 hours 30 minutes)
Neurotic woman engages in an affair with the law partner of her impotent husband. (Drama / Color, United Artists)
Director: John Sturges; with Lana Turner, Jason Robards, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
27 Oct 1969: Destiny of a Spy (NBC World Premiere)📺 (1969, 2 hours)
TV Movie. A veteran Russian spy is brought out of retirement to be sent to the West to do an important sabotage job. However, he finds himself falling in love with an attractive British double agent. (Drama / Color, Universal)
Director: Boris Sagal; with Lorne Greene, Rachel Roberts, Anthony Quayle
More: Wikipedia
3 Nov 1969: Frankie and Johnny (1966, 2 hours)
A riverboat singer with a weakness for gambling wants to find his lucky red head, but his girlfriend Frankie is not amused. (Musical Romantic Comedy / Color, United Artists)
Director: Frederick De Cordova; with Elvis Presley, Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan
10 Nov 1969: The Pink Jungle (1968, 2 hours)
A South American fashion photo shoot turns into a diamond mine seeking adventure for an American photographer and his model. (Adventure Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Delbert Mann; with James Garner, Eva Renzi, George Kennedy
17 Nov 1969: Madigan (1968, 2 hours)
In New York City's Spanish Harlem, detectives Madigan and Bonaro are given 72 hours by their superior to capture a hoodlum wanted for homicide in Brooklyn. An NBC series based on the movie was later produced. (Crime Thriller / Color, Universal)
Director: Don Siegel; with Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens
24 Nov 1969: The Bob Hope Special and The Peapicker in Piccadilly
This month, Bob Hope welcomes Danny Thomas, Virna Lisi, Steve Lawrence, and Eydie Gorme. Later, Tennessee Ernie Ford is in England with Davy Jones, Harry Secombe, and Terry-Thomas.
1 Dec 1969: The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966, 2 hours)
A dog with a spying device under its skin is sent to the Russian government as a present. When the Russians send the dog to a veterinary, a British spy must get to the dog first and retrieve the spying device. (Comedy / Color, Embassy)
Director: Daniel Petrie; with Laurence Harvey, Daliah Lavi, Lionel Jeffries
8 Dec 1969: D.A.: Murder One (NBC World Premiere) 📺 (1969, 2 hours)
TV Pilot. A Deputy District Attorney suspects that a nurse has been murdering her rich husbands and relatives by giving them unneeded insulin doses, but his superiors don't believe him. This was the pilot for The D.A. (Crime / Color, Universal)
Director: Boris Sagal; with Robert Conrad, Howard Duff, Diane Baker, J.D. Cannon
Programming Note: D.A.: Murder One started at 9:30 because President Nixon held a press conference at 9. After two of the top show's in the country... Nixon knew where he could get eyeballs on him.
15 Dec 1969: Mission Batangas (1968, 2 hours)
A mercenary pilot in the Pacific during WWII agrees to help a woman steal the Phillipine treasury of gold away from the conquering Japanese forces. (War / Color, Manson Distributing)
Director: Keith Larsen; with Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, Keith Larsen
More: Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd
22 Dec 1969: For Those Who Think Young (1964, 2 hours; Original Air Date: 17 Dec 1968)
29 Dec 1969: The Stooge (1951, 2 hours)
Egotistical vaudevillian Bill Miller basks in the limelight with his successful musical-comedy act, but his success is due to his unheralded second banana. (Comedy / Black & White, Paramount)
Director: Norman Taurog; with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis
5 Jan 1970: Charlie Bubbles (1967, 2 hours)
A married writer has an affair with his secretary. (Comedy Drama / Color, Universal)
Director: Albert Finney; with Albert Finney, Colin Blakely, Billie Whitelaw, Liza Minnelli
12 Jan 1970: El Cid, Part 1 (1961, 2 hours; Original Air Date: 18 Nov 1968)
19 Jan 1970: Texas Across the River (1966, 2 hours)
In 1845 Texas, a Louisiana belle is courted by a wanted Spanish nobleman and a Texas brawling gunrunner but her suitors' passionate duel is interrupted by the cavalry and a Comanche attack. (Western Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Michael Gordon; with Dean Martin, Alain Delon, Joey Bishop, Rosemary Forsyth
26 Jan 1970: In Enemy Country (1968, 2 hours 15 minutes)
Wartime secret agents are on a mission to destroy a deadly new type of torpedo hidden in a Nazi stronghold in France. (Adventure / Color, Universal)
Director: Harry Keller; with Anthony Franciosa, Anjanette Comer, Guy Stockwell
2 Feb 1970: The Movie Murderer (NBC World Premiere) 📺 (1970, 2 hours)
TV Movie. An experienced arson investigator takes along his young associate as they try to find an arsonist who is burning down movie sets. In this TV flick, you can see a then-unknown Tom Selleck without a mustache. (Crime Mystery / Color, Universal)
Director: NAME; with Arthur Kennedy, Warren Oates, Tom Selleck
More: Letterboxd
9 Feb 1970: The Satan Bug (1965, 2 hours 15 minutes; Original Air Date: 21 Oct 1968)
16 Feb 1970: The Bob Hope Special and The Return of the Smothers Brothers
This time Bob Hope welcomes Bing Crosby, Ray Bolger, Johnny Cash, and Raquel Welch for a show at the Eisenhower Medical Center in California. Later, the Smothers Brothers return to TV with a variety special. Guests included Glen Campbell, Peter Fonda, and Pat Paulsen.
23 Feb 1970: Ritual of Evil (NBC World Premiere)📺 (1970, 2 hours)
TV Movie. In a sequel to Fear No Evil, psychiatrist David Sorell investigates the death of one of his patients, a young heiress. (Horror / Color, Universal)
Director: Robert Day; with Louis Jourdan, Anne Baxter, Diana Hyland
More: Wikipedia, Letterboxd
2 Mar 1970: Ambush Bay (1966, 2 hours 15 minutes; Original Air Date: 15 Feb 1969)
9 Mar 1970: The Mask of Sheba (NBC World Premiere) 📺 (1970, 2 hours)
TV Movie. An expedition searches for a priceless gold mask in the wilds of Ethiopia. (Adventure / Color, MGM)
Director: David Lowell Rich; with Eric Braeden, Stephen Young, Corinne Camacho
More: Wikipedia
16 Mar 1970: Savage Pampas (1966, 2 hours)
In the late 1800's, an army captain tries to tame the open plains of Argentina which are dominated by Indians and bandits. To help do this, the captain brings in a party of women to keep his soldiers happy.(Western / Color, Comet Pictures)
Director: Hugo Fregonese; with Robert Taylor, Mario Lozano, Felicia Roc
Summer repeats
(Movies aired entirely in the allotted timeslot unless otherwise noted.)
23 Mar 1970: Exodus, Part 1 (1960, 2 hours 30 minutes)
30 Mar 1970: Arabesque (1966)
6 Apr 1970: Jigsaw (1968)
13 Apr 1970: The Bob Hope Special and Bing Crosby - Cooling It
In his last special of the season, Bob Hope's guests include Ann-Margret, Phyllis Diller, and Wally Cox. Later, Bing Crosby hosts a special of music and some light comedy with Dean Martin, Flip Wilson, and Bernadette Peters.
20 Apr 1970: The Tiger and the Pussycat (1967)
Programming Note: The movie started at 9:30 because of President Nixon's press conference at 9.
27 Apr 1970: The Hell with Heroes (1968)
4 May 1970: Kid Galahad (1962)
11 May 1970: Journey to Shiloh (1968)
18 May 1970: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
25 May 1970: I'll Take Sweden (1965)
1 Jun 1970: The Smugglers 📺 (1968)
8 Jun 1970: I Walk Alone (1947)
15 Jun 1970: After the Fox (1966)
22 Jun 1970: Monday Night Baseball
29 Jun 1970: Run a Crooked Mile 📺 (1969)
Programming Note: Laugh-In was now on hiatus until the fall. Replacing it tonight was Liza, a Liza Minnelli-hosted salute to show business.
6 Jul 1970: How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
Programming Note: NBC Monday Night at the Movies moved to 8:30 for the next 6 weeks. The lead-in was again Monday Theatre, an umbrella title for busted pilots. First up: Midwest sitcom Two Boys.
13 Jul 1970: Two for the Seesaw (1962, 2 hours 30 minutes)
Jerry Ryan wanders aimlessly around New York after giving up his Nebraskan law practice. He meets Gittel, a struggling dancer from Greenwich Village, and they try to straighten out their lives together. (Romantic Drama / Color, United Artists)
Director: Robert Wise; with Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine, Edmon Ryan
Programming Note: This movie might've aired on a non-movie night in 1969. My '60s records aren't quite complete. I know the movie originally premiered on CBS in 1967. The Monday Theatre pilot was the music comedy The Kowboys (a la The Monkees).
20 Jul 1970: The War Lord (1966)
Programming Note: The Monday Theatre pilot was the Fugitive-esque comedy Run, Jack, Run.
27 Jul 1970: The Fortune Cookie (1966)
Programming Note: The Monday Theatre pilot was the mixed-race sitcom Me and Benjie.
3 Aug 1970: Samson and Delilah (1949)
Programming Note: The Monday Theatre pilot was the rural sitcom Southern Fried.
10 Aug 1970: The Train (1964, 2 hours 45 minutes)
Programming Note: The Monday Theatre pilot was the romance sitcom Three Coins in a Fountain.
17 Aug 1970: Monday Night Baseball
24 Aug 1970: What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968)
Programming Note: Replacing Monday Theatre was the one-hour documentary Trip to Nowhere about the effort in Phoenix to combat the drug problem among the youth.
31 Aug 1970: The Hallelujah Trail (1965)
Programming Note: The movie started at 8. Opening the night was Reply to the President, a discussion of the Indochina war issue by Sens. J.W. Fulbright and George McGovern.
7 Sep 1970: Monday Night Baseball
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NBC's NIGHT AT THE MOVIES
Sources: IMDb and Letterboxd for movie and TV specials information as well as Ultimate70s and Encyclopedia of Television: Series, Pilots and Specials, 1937-1973; Cedar Rapids Gazette and San Bernardino Sun for listing and programming information; Broadcasting for various ratings notes; if you see bad links or incorrect information, let me know in the comments.
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