Broadcast Log for NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies, Season 1

NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies was NBC’s third movie night, following NBC Saturday Night at the Movie (which premiered in September 1961) and NBC Monday Night at the Movie (which premiered in February 1963). The latter was cancelled following the 1963-1964 season and the network shifted its second movie night to Wednesdays.

The movie night kicked off on September 16th, 1964 and ran for 29 weeks, ending on March 31st, 1965. Several months of summer repeats followed; a number of these movies had premiered on NBC Saturday Night at the Movies.

The October 7th, 1964 broadcast, See How They Run, is generally considered to be the very first made-for-TV movie. The November 18th, 1964 broadcast, The Hanged Man, is said to be the second.

Season 1: 1964-1965
Ep. # Title Airdate Format
1. To Catch a Thief 09/16/1964 Color
2. Career 09/23/1964 B&W
3. Green Mansions 09/30/1964 Color
4. See How They Run (made-for-TV movie) 10/07/1964 B&W
5. Torpedo Run 10/14/1964 Color
6. Beau James 10/21/1964 Color
7. But Not for Me 10/28/1964 B&W
8. Gaby 11/04/1964 Color
9. Sad Sack 11/11/1964 B&W
10. The Hanged Man (Made-for-TV Movie) 11/18/1964 Color
11. The Rack 11/25/1964 B&W
12. Cry Terror 12/02/1964 B&W
13. We’re No Angels 12/09/1964 Color
14. Julie 12/16/1964 B&W
15. Atlantis: The Lost Continent 12/23/1964 Color
16. Elephant Walk 12/30/1964 Color
17. This Could Be the Night 01/06/1965 Color
18. Hell is for Heroes 01/13/1965 B&W
19. The Brothers Karamazov 01/20/1965 Color
20. Detective Story 01/27/1965 B&W
21. The Angry Hills 02/03/1965 B&W
22. Naked Jungle 02/10/1965 Color
23. Submarine Command 02/17/1965 B&W
24. Key to the City 02/24/1965 B&W
25. Fancy Pants 03/03/1965 Color
26. The Catered Affair 03/10/1965 B&W
27. Fear Strikes Out 03/17/1965 Color
28. The Last Voyage 03/24/1965 Color
29. Hot Spell 03/31/1965 B&W
 
*Summer Repeats Begin*
 
REP Houdini* 04/14/1965 Color
REP The Last Hunt 04/21/1965 Color
REP Cry Terror 04/28/1965 B&W
REP Sad Sack 05/05/1965 B&W
REP Last Train from Gun Hill* 05/12/1965 Color
REP Julie 05/19/1965 Color
REP Hell is for Heroes 05/26/1965 B&W
REP Bad Day at Black Rock* 06/02/1965 Color
REP We’re No Angels 06/09/1965 Color
REP The Caddy* 06/16/1965 B&W
REP Beau James 06/23/1965 Color
REP This Could Be the Night 06/30/1965 Color
REP Fear Strikes Out 07/07/1965 Color
REP The Hanged Man (Made-for-TV Movie) 07/14/1965 Color
REP Fancy Pants 07/21/1965 Color
REP Key to the City 07/28/1965 B&W
REP The Angry Hills 08/04/1965 B&W
REP See How They Run (made-for-TV movie) 08/11/1965 Color
REP Hot Spell 08/18/1965 B&W
REP Adam’s Rib* 08/25/1965 B&W
REP Torpedo Run 09/01/1965 Color
REP Elephant Walk 09/08/1965 Color

*Originally aired as installments of NBC Saturday Night at the Movies

In September 1965, NBC replaced NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies with Bob Hope Presents and I Spy and began NBC Tuesday Night at the Movie.


Related Posts

Become a Patron Today

Are you a fan of obscure television? Please support Television Obscurities on Patreon by becoming a patron today.

12 Replies to “Broadcast Log for NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies, Season 1”

  1. Actually, NBC shifted its other night of movies to Tuesdays starting in the 1965-66 season with “NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies.” But . . .

    This was the first season NBC went to other studios besides 20th Century-Fox and MGM. To wit, Paramount and, for the new made-for-TV movies, Universal (though NBC, this season, would still pick up a few MGM’ers). A few pointers . . .
    – “To Catch a Thief,” in 1968-69, was made part of the 60-film “Portfolio II” package syndicated by Paramount Pictures (the only Hitchcock film to be still owned by Paramount today) – and, in New York City, snapped up by WCBS-TV, where that title aired on the brief revival of the “Schaefer Award Theatre” (briefly reconstituted as a once-a-month special showcase) on May 23, 1970.
    – “Beau James,” “Detective Story,” “Fear Strikes Out,” “Houdini,” “The Naked Jungle” and “Submarine Command” later became part of Paramount’s 50-film “Portfolio I” package that was first leased in NYC by WABC-TV in 1967 – and which also, at first, contained “Psycho” whose early TV airing trajectory was the subject of many articles on this site. “But Not for Me,” “The Caddy,” “Career,” “Elephant Walk,” “Fancy Pants,” “Hell Is for Heroes,” “Hot Spell,” “Last Train from Gun Hill,” “The Sad Sack” and “We’re No Angels” were also part of Paramount’s first two syndicated “Portfolios.”
    – “Adam’s Rib,” “Julie” and “Key to the City” were later part of the 90-film “MGM/6” package first made available to TV stations in 1965 – and which WABC-TV purchased. As for the other MGM titles: “Bad Day at Black Rock,” “The Brothers Karamazov,” “Gaby,” “The Rack,” “This Could Be the Night,” “The Angry Hills,” “Atlantis: The Lost Continent,” “The Catered Affair,” “Cry Terror!,” “Green Mansions” and “The Last Voyage” would become part of the 145-film “MGM/7” package from 1968, with (again, in NYC) the first five going to WNBC-TV and the last six to WOR-TV. “Torpedo Run” would be shown occasionally on “The CBS Late Movie” in the ’70’s.

  2. Aw, you beat me to it, ‘W.B’!!! ;) But I’m happy you provided more in-depth information than I might have done…

    To make a long story short, yes indeed, NBC shifted “WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES” to Tuesdays in the fall of 1965, where it remained a tradition for almost 15 years (more or less). Wednesday nights became somewhat more competitive that fall, thanks to the additions of “BOB HOPE PRESENTS THE CHRYSLER THEATER” [shifting from Fridays] and “I SPY” (it eventually knocked “THE DANNY KAYE SHOW” off CBS in 1967, only to falter when it moved to Monday nights in the fall of ’67).

    Universal’s two “Project 120” features {minus “The Killers” [featuring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, and Ronald Reagan], which was released theatrically after NBC decided it was “too violent” to appear on their network} were somewhat successful, but it wasn’t until the fall of ’66 when they were “reactivated” as “World Premiere Movies” [MCA decided to “sit out” the 1965-’66 season].

  3. Would you have any info as to which Paramount titles besides what I mentioned went into their ‘Portfolio I’, and which went into ‘Portfolio II’? Unfortunately, Google News archive search no longer makes any linkup to New York Times TV listings with capsuled descriptions of the sections in question – and nor, for that matter, does The Times’ 1851-1980 online search itself, so I can’t tell now which titles went to WCBS after 1969, and which else were part of the group that went to WABC. Also, which syndicated package from MGM would “Torpedo Run” have been part of?

  4. More info: “But Not for Me,” “The Caddy,” “Career,” “Elephant Walk,” “Fancy Pants” “Hell Is for Heroes” “Hot Spell” were later aired on WCBS-TV, thus these were part of “Portfolio II.” “We’re No Angels” was part of the “Portfolio I” that WABC leased from 1967 to 1976. “Last Train From Gun Hill” was part of another Paramount-syndicated package that was leased in the early 1970’s by WNBC-TV and played on their “Movie 4” near the end of its run as a weekday afternoon movie show.

  5. Warner Bros-Seven Arts Syndicated Volume 13 In 1969-70 Had 12 Features Among Them “The Battle Of The Villa Fiorita”,”The Bramble Bush”,”Cheyenne Autumn”,”Claudelle Inglish”,”FBI Code 98″,”Four For Texas”,”Hail Mafia”,”A Majority Of One”,”Merrill’s Mauraders”,”The Music Man”,”Parrish”,”Rome Adventure” Were Part Of Volume 13 That NBC Affilliate KING In Seattle Leased From 1969 to 1979 on the other hand Warner Bros The Kinney Shield Syndicated Volume 14 In 1970-71 Had 12 Features Among Them “Black Gold”,”Badman’s Country”,”The Couch”,”House Of Women”,”Lad A Dog”,”Never Too Late”,”Ocean’s 11″,”Robin And The Seven Hoods”,”Sunrise At Campobello”,”Susan Slade”,”The Third Day”,”What Ever Happened To Baby Jane” Were Part Of Volume 14 That NBC Affilliate KING In Seattle Leased From 1970 To 1980 Had The Warner Bros Titles Volume 15 Was Syndicated In 1971-72 Had 24 Features That NBC Affilliate KING In Seattle Leased From 1971 To 1981
    The Cool Ones And Mary,Mary Were Part Of Volume 15 That

  6. Volume 13 Was Available For 1969-70 Had Movies From Warner Bros 12 Of Them “The Battle Of The Villa Fiorita”,”The Bramble Bush”,”Cheyenne Autumn”,”Claudelle Inglish”,”FBI Code 98″,”Four For Texas”,”A Majority Of One”,”Merrill’s Mauraders”,”The Music Man”,”Parrish”,”Rome Adventure”,”The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die”

  7. Also produced by Universal for NBC television during ’64/’65, but released as a theatrical feature, was “Dark Intruder,” in actuality the pilot for a never-launched Jack Laird supernatural series called THE BLACK CLOAK, starring Leslie Nielsen. This 59-minute thriller was almost passed off as an episode of THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR (to be titled “Something with Claws”), but Universal changed its mind at the last minute and went the theatrical route instead, releasing “Dark Intruder” as second-bill support for William Castle’s “I Saw What You Did.”

  8. In 1969 There Was Volume 13 For 1969-70
    Black Gold,The Bramble Bush,Cheyenne Autumn,Claudelle Inglish,The Couch,Four For Texas,John Paul Jones,A Majority Of One,The Music Man,Never Too Late,Parrish,The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die Volume 14 For 1970-71 In 1970
    Badman’s Country,The Battle Of The Villa Fiorita,Girl On The Run,House Of Women,Merrill’s Mauraders,Not With My Wife You Don’t,Ocean’s 11 The 1960 Version,Robin And The Seven Hoods,Ten Little Indians,The Third Day,This Rebel Breed,What Ever Happened To Baby Jane.
    MGM 11 For 1967-68 Which It Had The Brothers Karamazov,And It Happened At The World’s Fair With Elvis Presley As Well As Man On Fire.

  9. MGM 6 Released September 16,1965,Sold To Two TV Stations In Seattle,90 On CBS Affilliate KIRO-TV Channel 7 Seattle The First Movie On MGM 6 On CBS Affilliate KIRO 7 Seattle Was The Mating Game On December 9,1965 On The Late Show In Syndication At 9 PM ,ABC Affilliate KOMO 4 Seattle Aired December 9,1965 Was Sunday In New York On Fourmost Movie,MGM 7 Was Released On March 28,1968,KOMO 4 Showed 75 Films On MGM 7 It Happened At The World’s Fair March 28,1968 Was The First,KING 5 Showed 70 Films On MGM 7 The Prize Was The First On KING 5 Star Movie On March 28,1968,In Portland Oregon Two Stations KGW Showed 75 And KOIN Had Showed 70,King Creole,G.I.Blues,Blue Hawaii,The Sad Sack,Don’t Give Up The Ship,All In A Night’s Work,Desire Under The Elms,Captain Carey,U.S.A.Too Late Blues,Psycho,The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,Last Train From Gun Hill,The Counterfeit Traitor,Arrowhead,Beau James,The Buccaneer,The Rainmaker And 43 Others Part Of Portfolio I From Paramount Television Enterprises In 1967.Sold To KTNT Now KSTW 11,

  10. Arrowhead,Branded,Wild Is The Wind And 57 Others Part Of Portfolio I From Paramount Television Enterprises,MGM 6 Had 45 Off Network,45 First Run,MGM 7 Had 75 Features On KOMO 4 And 70 On KING 5 In Seattle As Well As In Portland Oregon,KGW Had 75 And KOIN Had The 70 Features.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.