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| NBC Saturday Night at the Movies |
With a 23.6 Nielsen rating for the season, this season was the peak for NBC Saturday Night at the Movies.
NBC had hopes for their nights. Affiliates pushed back on adding more commercials, so NBC increased its advertising rate. One minute was $57,000 on either Tuesday or Saturday. The two movie nights were successful enough, by January, NBC planned to add a third movie night to the fall schedule.
While 1 movie from United Artist aired on Tuesdays, 5 aired on Saturdays, the first bigger showcase of a deal that was to last well into the next decade, plus another one was set with Universal, which was behind 17 of this season's Saturday titles. Of the 3 other movies, 2 were from 20th Century Fox and 1 was from Warner Bros. — Saratoga Trunk, the oldest movie NBC would air under the banner. (Of note, the cost of Hollywood movies was soaring. CBS was paying MGM about $800,000 per movie, twice the average price in 1965.)
While comedy was the most dominant genre on the schedule, it also included some high profile dramatic and thriller titles, including Mirage and Freud. There was even a musical, Flower Drum Song. But no movie would do nearly as well as The Birds, which set records.
NBC had hopes for their nights. Affiliates pushed back on adding more commercials, so NBC increased its advertising rate. One minute was $57,000 on either Tuesday or Saturday. The two movie nights were successful enough, by January, NBC planned to add a third movie night to the fall schedule.
While 1 movie from United Artist aired on Tuesdays, 5 aired on Saturdays, the first bigger showcase of a deal that was to last well into the next decade, plus another one was set with Universal, which was behind 17 of this season's Saturday titles. Of the 3 other movies, 2 were from 20th Century Fox and 1 was from Warner Bros. — Saratoga Trunk, the oldest movie NBC would air under the banner. (Of note, the cost of Hollywood movies was soaring. CBS was paying MGM about $800,000 per movie, twice the average price in 1965.)
While comedy was the most dominant genre on the schedule, it also included some high profile dramatic and thriller titles, including Mirage and Freud. There was even a musical, Flower Drum Song. But no movie would do nearly as well as The Birds, which set records.
Also included here in these listings is The Wizard of Oz, though it didn't air under the Saturday Night at the Movies banner.
Programmer's Corner: NBC tried the youthful adventure series Maya to kick off the night but it was off the schedule before March, replaced with new episodes of the British spy thriller The Saint, which had a successful run during the summer. The movie's lead-in, Get Smart, continued to cool and more competition as CBS moved venerable family sitcom My Three Sons against it — plus the already popular Lawrence Welk. Yet audiences flipped to the movie at 9 p.m. CBS tried to plug its Saturday holes with proven sitcoms Hogan's Heroes and Petticoat Junction, but they stumbled. Newcomer Mannix didn't chart well either. Post-Welk, ABC hoped to improve on Hollywood Palace's ratings with the western Iron Horse, but by winter, Hollywood Palace was back in its old timeslot.
NBC SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, 1967–68
Regular season
16 Sep 1967: What a Way to Go! (1964, 2 hours 15 minutes)
A four-time widow discusses her four marriages, in which all of her husbands became incredibly rich and died prematurely because of their drive to be rich. (Comedy / Black & White, 20th Century Fox)
Director: J. Lee Thompson; with Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings, Dick Van Dyke
Programming Note: This was premiere night for Maya but not Get Smart.
Ratings Report: According to Trendex, What a Way (40.7) was double Hogan's Heroes (20.2) ratings at 9 and blew all competition away at 9:30. 57.2 against 24.4 for Petticoat Junction and 13.6 for Iron Horse.
Ratings Report: According to Trendex, What a Way (40.7) was double Hogan's Heroes (20.2) ratings at 9 and blew all competition away at 9:30. 57.2 against 24.4 for Petticoat Junction and 13.6 for Iron Horse.
23 Sep 1967: The Pink Panther (1963, 2 hours 15 minutes)
The bumbling Inspector Clouseau travels to Rome to catch a notorious jewel thief known as "The Phantom" before he conducts his most daring heist yet: a princess' priceless diamond with one slight imperfection, known as "The Pink Panther." (Comedy / Color, United Artists)
Director: Blake Edwards; with David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine
Programming Note: Premiere night for Get Smart.
30 Sep 1967: Never on Sunday (1960, 2 hours)
An American scholar in Greece sets about improving the prostitute with whom he is infatuated. (Romantic Comedy / Black & White, United Artists)
Director: Jules Dassin; with Melina Mercouri, Jules Dassin, Giorgos Foundas
7 Oct 1967: Man's Favorite Sport? (1964, 2 hours 30 minutes)
The author of a best-selling fishing guide is actually incredibly inexperienced when it comes to the sport, which causes mayhem when he is entered into a competition. (Romantic Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Howard Hawks; with Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss, Maria Perschy
14 Oct 1967: Mirage (1965, 2 hours 15 minutes)
An accountant suddenly suffers from amnesia. This appears related to the suicide of his boss. Now some violent thugs are out to get him. They work for a shadowy figure known simply as The Major. (Thriller / Color, Universal)
Director: Edward Dmytryk; with Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, Walter Matthau
21 Oct 1967: Mister Moses (1965, 2 hours 15 minutes)
In 1960s Kenya, an American snake-oil salesman and diamond smuggler is chased out of villages and pursued by the authorities until fate entrusts him with helping a native tribe that believes he is a holy man. (Adventure / Color, United Artists)
Director: Ronald Neame; with Robert Mitchum, Carroll Baker, Ian Bannen
Ratings Report: Mister Moses ranked #9 for the week.
28 Oct 1967: The Chalk Garden (1964, 2 hours 15 minutes)
An elderly woman hires a governess with a mysterious past to look after her disturbed and spoiled teenage granddaughter, who eventually understands the meaning of self-sacrifice, as an example of love, and grows into a better person. (Mystery / Color, Universal)
Director: Ronald Neame; with Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills
4 Nov 1967: Marnie (1964, 2 hours 45 minutes)
Mark marries Marnie although she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems, and tries to help her confront and resolve them. (Thriller / Color, Universal)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock; with Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery
11 Nov 1967: Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964, 2 hours)
In New Mexico, a Confederate veteran returns home to find his fiancée married to a Union soldier, his Yankee neighbors rallied against him and his property sold by the local banker who then hires a gunman to kill him. (Western / Color, United Artists)
Director: Richard Wilson; with Yul Brynner, Janice Rule, George Segal
Programming Note: The lead-in was the Hallmark Hall of Fame feature "A Bell for Adano," preempting both Maya and Get Smart.
18 Nov 1967: Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962, 3 hours)
An immature young man from Middle America grows to manhood after a cross-country journey and his military service in World War I. (Adventure / Color, 20th Century Fox)
Director: Martin Ritt; with Richard Beymer, Diane Baker, Corinne Calvet, Fred Clark
25 Nov 1967: The Thrill of It All (1963, 2 hours 15 minutes)
A housewife's sudden rise to fame as a soap spokesperson leads to chaos in her home life. (Romantic Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Norman Jewison; with Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis
Ratings Report: Thrill ranked #7 for the week.
2 Dec 1967: The Brass Bottle (1964, 2 hours)
A real-estate developer buys an antique brass bottle that contains an ancient genie who's determined to fulfill his new master's every wish. (Fantasy Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Harry Keller; with Tony Randall, Burl Ives, Barbara Eden
9 Dec 1967: Incident at Phantom Hill (1966, 2 hours)
After a convoy carrying a million dollars in gold is ambushed, an army captain is sent on a secret mission to retrieve the bullion with the reluctant help of one of the robbers. (Western / Color, Universal)
Director: Earl Bellamy; with Robert Fuller, Jocelyn Lane, Dan Duryea
16 Dec 1967: White Christmas (1954, 2 hours 30 minutes; Original Air Date: 19 Dec 1964)
Programming Note: Maya was preempted for Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, and Get Smart was preempted for Christmas with Lorne Greene. Both were repeats.
23 Dec 1967: Wild Seed (1965, 2 hours)
A 17-year-old girl runs away from her east coast home, going west to Los Angeles to meet her biological father. On the road, she is protected and befriended by an independent-minded young drifter who helps her on her journey. (Romantic Drama / Black & White, Universal)
Director: Brian G. Hutton; with Michael Parks, Celia Milius
30 Dec 1967: Something Wild (1961, 2 hours 15 minutes)
A young rape victim tries desperately to pick up the pieces of her life, only to find herself at the mercy of a would-be rescuer. (Drama / Black & White, United Artists)
Director: Jack Garfein; with Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker
Programming Note: Maya was preempted for the Orange Bowl Parade.
6 Jan 1968: The Birds (1963, 2 hours 30 minutes)
A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people. (Horror Thriller / Color, Universal)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock; with Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy
Ratings Report: This was the highest-rated movie broadcast (38.9) to date, breaking the record Bridge on the River Kwai set earlier in the season. An estimated 65 to 70 million people watched The Birds.
13 Jan 1968: Saratoga Trunk (1945, 2 hours 45 minutes)
An opportunistic Texas gambler and the exiled Creole daughter of an aristocratic family join forces to achieve justice from the society that has ostracized them. This is the oldest movie NBC aired under its At the Movies banner. (Romantic Drama / Black & White, Warner Bros.)
Director: Sam Wood; with Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman
20 Jan 1968: Captain Newman, M.D. (1963, 2 hours 30 minutes)
In 1944, an Army doctor is in charge of a neuropsychiatric ward at an Army Air Corps hospital in Arizona, and he must deal with a variety of tough cases. (War Comedy-Drama / Color, Universal)
Director: David Miller; with Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, Bobby Darin
Programming Note: Get Smart was preempted, so the movie would fit inside primetime.
27 Jan 1968: No Man Is an Island (1962, 2 hours 15 minutes)
During the early Pacific war years, American seaman George Tweed is the only U.S. serviceman on Guam not captured by the Japanese forces. (War / Color, Universal)
Director: Richard Goldstone, John Monks Jr.; with Jeffrey Hunter, Marshall Thompson, Barbara Perez
3 Feb 1968: Flower Drum Song (1961, 2 hours 45 minutes)
A young woman arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown from Hong Kong with the intention of marrying a rakish nightclub owner, unaware he is involved with one of his singers. (Musical / Color, Universal)
Director: Henry Koster; with Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Benson Fong, Jack Soo, Juanita Hall
10 Feb 1968: Freud (1962, 3 hours)
An examination of Czech-Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud's career when he began to treat patients diagnosed with hysteria, using the radical technique of hypnosis. (Drama / Black & White, Universal)
Director: John Huston; with Montgomery Clift, Susannah York, Larry Parks
Programming Note: This night marked the end of Maya.
17 Feb 1968: Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965, 2 hours)
A young sailor returns home to discover his girl has married an older, wealthy man. (Drama / Color, Universal)
Director: Harvey Hart; with Ann-Margret, Michael Parks, Janet Margolin
More: Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd
Programming Note: The Saint returned to NBC's schedule and opened Saturday with the series six episode "Invitation to Danger." New episodes this season were usually from late series five and early series six but aired in no particular order.
Programming Note: The Saint returned to NBC's schedule and opened Saturday with the series six episode "Invitation to Danger." New episodes this season were usually from late series five and early series six but aired in no particular order.
24 Feb 1968: Strange Bedfellows (1965, 2 hours)
Carter meets Toni and impulsively marry him to find that they disagree on everything. They separate and seven years later on the eve before their divorce they meet again and spend the night together. (Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Melvin Frank; with Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Gig Young
2 Mar 1968: I'd Rather Be Rich (1964, 2 hours)
A dying grandfather's last wish is to meet his granddaughter's fiance, but the fiance is delayed and a young chemical engineer is persuaded to take his place. When the grandfather recovers, he uses the situation to his advantage – playing matchmaker. A remake of It Started with Eve. (Romantic Comedy / Color, Universal)
Director: Jack Smight; with Sandra Dee, Robert Goulet, Andy Williams
9 Mar 1968: Moment to Moment (1965, 2 hours 15 minutes)
When an erring wife's supposedly dead lover turns up an amnesiac, it's her unsuspecting shrink husband who's enlisted to get those memories back. (Thriller / Color, Universal)
Director: Mervyn LeRoy; with Jean Seberg, Honor Blackman, Sean Garrison
Summer repeats
16 Mar 1968: What a Way to Go! (1964, 2 hours 15 minutes)
23 Mar 1968: Send Me No Flowers (1964)
30 Mar 1968: Mirage (1965, 2 hours 15 minutes)
6 Apr 1968: The Thrill of It All (1963, 2 hours 15 minutes)
13 Apr 1968: The Brass Bottle (1964)
20 Apr 1968 (1): The Wizard of Oz (1939, 2 hours)
Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well. This was the NBC premiere for the movie, which had aired for 9 years on CBS. It didn't air under the NBC Saturday Night at the Movies banner. It aired as its own special movie presentation. (Musical Fantasy / Color and Black & White, Warner Bros.)
Director: Victor Fleming; with Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton
More: Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd
Programming Note: The movie started at 7 p.m., preempting The Saint and Get Smart.
Director: Victor Fleming; with Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton
More: Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd
Programming Note: The movie started at 7 p.m., preempting The Saint and Get Smart.
20 Apr 1968 (2): Winchester 73 📺 (1967)
27 Apr 1968: Fun in Acapulco (1963)
4 May 1968: The Chalk Garden (1964, 2 hours 15 minutes)
11 May 1968: Never on Sunday (1960)
18 May 1968: Fluffy (1965)
25 May 1968: The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
1 Jun 1968: That Touch of Mink (1962)
8 Jun 1968: Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
15 Jun 1968: Prescription: Murder (1968)
22 Jun 1968: Flower Drum Song (1961, 2 hours 45 minutes)
29 Jun 1968: The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
6 Jul 1968: A Hard Day's Night (1964)
13 Jul 1968: The Errand Boy (1961)
20 Jul 1968: I'd Rather Be Rich (1964)
27 Jul 1968: Moment to Moment (1965, 2 hours 15 minutes)
3 Aug 1968: The High Bright Sun (as McGuire, Go Home!) (1965)
10 Aug 1968: McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965)
17 Aug 1968: Something Wild (1961, 2 hours 15 minutes)
24 Aug 1968: Cinderfella (1960)
31 Aug 1968: The Lively Set (1964)
7 Sep 1968: Johnny Carson Discovers Cypress Gardens and Miss America 1969
Johnny Carson, in his first color special for NBC, hosted a comedy and music show from Cypress Gardens in Florida. Some silent footage from its filming can be seen here. Afterward, Judith Ford, of Illinois, was crowned Miss America 1969 in the two-hour live ceremony that had protesters.
14 Sep 1968: The Outsider (1967)
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NBC's NIGHT AT THE MOVIES
Sources: IMDb and Letterboxd for movie information; Cedar Rapids Gazette, The Daily Banner, and San Bernardino Sun for listing and programming information; Broadcasting for various other notes; if you see bad links or incorrect information, let me know in the comments.
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