1970s cult TV movies

[Gerard]

Philippe, did you ever give me a blast from the past!  I remember watching Two on a Guillotine on the old CBS Thursday Night at the Movies.  It creeped me out!  That's where I also saw The Innocents for the first time.  I couldn't sleep after that.

Back in the sixties, so many incredible, classic films, many in the horror/science-fiction genres were aired on the three major television networks.  I remember when The War of the Worlds appeared on NBC.  It was a family matter to watch it since my parents didn't want me to get too scared, and it ended up with them loving the film especially because of its highly religious content.  Speaking of that, when it was, I believe, ABC that was going to air the Oscar-winning The Song of Bernadette, it became a neighborhood sensation of expectation.  Our next-door neighbors went out and bought the first-ever color TV set for it, something that in today's money would've cost thousands of dollars.  It was like a major block party that night in their home, probably two-dozen adults and children with potluck dishes, waiting to watch the film in all it's technocolor glory.  The problem is, it had been filmed in black-and-white and everyone who saw it in theaters 20 years previous forgot that.  Over ten years later, my parents caved and decided to go with the "fancy people" (as my dad called those who had luxuries like color TV, air-conditioners and automatic transmission cars with radios) and buy our first ever color set.  Why?  Because Gone With the Wind was airing on television for the first time.  Thank goodness it had been filmed in color.

Gerard

[Uncle Roger]

I just checked out the opening of Sweet, Sweet Rachel - waves crashing on the rocks, Greek Revival mansion a la the Old House - very DS. Can't wait until I get the chance to watch the whole thing.

I did mention a particularly goofy episode of The Girl From UNCLE, where the villain puts her and Stan Freberg in a giant pop up toaster.

Top that, Caped Crusader!!

What was her response?

Not surprisingly, she said that it was one of her favorite episodes. And probably the most fun that she had on a set back then.In addition to Stan Freberg, the other guests in the episode were Jack Cassidy and Ann Sothern as THRUSH agents. Stefanie went to school with Ann's daughter Tisha Sterling and made her television debut on Sothern's TV show. She's billed under the stage name Taffy Paul. Not Taffy Pull!

[Gothick]

That's such an absurd episode of THE GIRL FROM UNCLE. It actually had a feature article in TV Guide because of the amazing giant toaster prop. The most absurd sequence in that particular story does not involve the giant toaster, however--at least, not directly. It has to do with a bouncing ball that just won't stop bouncing. Hilarious.

I also love the episode guest starring incredible British theater legend Margaret Leighton as another vicious THRUSH agent. The THRUSH ladies really left the men in the dust when it came to unbridled evil at its most ruthless and inventive.

SWEET SWEET RACHEL is a really good movie. Most of the episodes of THE SIXTH SENSE were bland and listlessly plotted, but I still enjoy watching the show. As is well known, several of the shows were edited down to 25 minute length to be shown as episodes of NIGHT GALLERY when the latter went into syndication. The irrepressible Harlan Ellison, who was involved either as a script writer or story editor on SIXTH SENSE, claimed that cutting the shows down 50 percent improved them considerably. Dear Harlan--what a laugh riot he was. And he wrote my personal episode of MAN FROM UNCLE, guest-starring Grayson Hall and Theo Marcuse.

cheers, G.

[Uncle Roger]

Stefanie did a bunch of these in the early 1970's such as the combination murder mystery/character study Five Desperate Women.
One of the most interesting is Paper Man. Stefanie, Dean Stockwell and James Stacy are college students. One of their group is somehow sent a credit card in the name of a non existent person. They activate the card, make duplicates and have a great time living high on the hog. Then a purchase of a gun, which none of them claims to have made, shows up on the credit card statement. One of the group dies unexpectedly when a computer glitch somehow sends him the wrong medication. Another is killed when the electronic elevator system malfunctions and crushes her.
There's plenty of suspects and there's a genuine possibility that the fake identity that they created may be responsible.
Hackers, identity theft and artificial intelligence seemed like science fiction in 1971. They are a little too real today. Paper Man could easily be remade/updated for the twenty first century.
Paper Man is on YouTube.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I just watched The House That Wouldn't Die (which I really enjoyed) and I have a few thoughts mostly unrelated to the movie:

The credits say "Introducing Katherine Winn" - though she was/is much better known as Kitty Winn in subsequent TV shows and theatrical movies.

Was the exterior for the house the same that was later used on The Waltons?

A dialogues exchange went basically: "I'm feeling dizzy." "Have a drink."
What great advice people gave in the '70s. Not!! 

I wonder if it bothered Aaron Spelling that he did so many really good and successful supernaturally themed TV-movies - and for a longer period of time - yet he never got the credit or publicity for it like DC did?

[Uncle Roger]

The Joan Crawford episode of The Sixth Sense can be seen in its entirety on YouTube. Besides Joan and Anne Lockhart, the cast also features David Ladd. David is the son of Alan Ladd and was married to Cheryl Ladd at the time that this episode was done.

[Philippe Cordier]

I remember when The War of the Worlds appeared on NBC.  It was a family matter to watch it since my parents didn't want me to get too scared, and it ended up with them loving the film especially because of its highly religious content.  Speaking of that, when it was, I believe, ABC that was going to air the Oscar-winning The Song of Bernadette, it became a neighborhood sensation of expectation.  Our next-door neighbors went out and bought the first-ever color TV set for it, something that in today's money would've cost thousands of dollars.  It was like a major block party that night in their home, probably two-dozen adults and children with potluck dishes, waiting to watch the film in all it's technocolor glory.  The problem is, it had been filmed in black-and-white and everyone who saw it in theaters 20 years previous forgot that. 

"War of the Worlds" had religious content???

Speaking of "The Song of Bernadette," that really is a good movie, I say after having seen it on TCM a couple of times in recent years. And Vincent Price is very good in his role. LOL regarding the black-and-white revelation!

I hadn't realized there had been several more comments to this thread after I last posted ... guess I got busy and forgot to check back.

The only reason I found this topic again now was that I am looking for a more recent thread in which Art Wallace's "The House" was discussed, but the "search" function isn't bringing me any recent results ...

[Gerard]

Oh, my, yes, Philippe, the '53 The War of the Worlds was very religious.  The heroine, Sylvia, was raised by her uncle (she was orphaned as a small child), who was the pastor of a local church.  When the military surrounds the original nest of Martians, he objects and states they should try to communicate, his niece states they are an "advanced civilization."  He retorts that if they are, they must be closer to god.  When he attempts to by praying and holding up a prayer book as he walks towards them, the Martians incinerate him.

As the war advances and nothing seems to work against the invaders, a nuclear bomb will be dropped and the scientists state that if it doesn't work they world will be conquered in six days.  Sylvia states:  "The same number of days it took for god to create it."

At the end of the film, after most of Los Angeles is evacuated and the Martians enter, destroying it, Sylvia and the hero are separated but he knows where to find her:  at a church.  As the city goes up in flames, he travels from church to church until he finds her.  Just as a Martian machine advances and attacks it, the machine goes down as all others do, the creatures destroyed by Earth bacteria to which they weren't immune.  The hero states:  "We were all praying for a miracle."  Church bells throughout Los Angeles that weren't destroyed start to ring.  As Now Thank We All Our God is sung, the narrator states:  "After all that man could do, the Martians were stopped and mankind was saved by the littlest things that god, in his infinite wisdom, were placed upon this Earth."

As for The Song of Bernadette, as an unbeliever, I have to say it's one of the most remarkable films ever made and deserved its slue of Oscars.  Made during WWII, 20th Century Fox managed to get photos of Lourdes "smuggled" to them from people in Nazi-occupied France to create massive sets.  Linda Darnell, a "vixen" actress at that time that was considered, well, "vixen" was cast as the virgin Mary because of her beauty but insisted that she be left uncreditted because she stated:  "I'm not worthy enough to portray Mary."  Every time I watch TSoB on youtube, I cry.  Hollywood was so different back then. 

And better.

Gerard

[Patti Feinberg]

"The House that Would Not Die":

I just watched this on YouTube about 3 weeks ago!

The Trilogy of Terror was spooky.

What was the picture; it starred Wiliam Demorest and Karen Black or K. Valentine; there were creepy little troll-like things?

There were also some of the Hammer films: Dracula 1972 AD, Mr. Sardonicus, and 2 V. Price Phibes movies.

Patti

[Uncle Roger]

Patti, I believe that the one that you're referring to is Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, which featured Kim Darby as the put upon heroine.

[Gerard]

Another made-for-TV horror film from that era that could've been great and a classic was Don't Go to Sleep.  I say "could've" was because of showing the ghost and it haunted one of the kids.  The movie starred Valerie Harper, Dennis Weaver and Ruth Gordon (who won the best-supporting-actress Oscar for Rosemary's Baby).  It was about a family relocating in order to move on after the oldest daughter was killed in a car accident.  She was a really nasty thing and tormented her younger brother and sister.  They played a trick on her and because of it she died.  Her ghost came back to possess her sister to exact revenge.  Although well-written and well-directed but, again, showing her ghost somehow ruined it being a "great" film.  They should not have shown it until the climax (which was an incredible climax, but it could've been ultra-incredible when the ghost showed up only then). 

Gerard

[Uncle Roger]

And what an effective use of a pizza cutter!!

[Gerard]

Uncle Roger, I have to say using such a simple appliance in such a horrific way was absolutely terrifying!

Gerard