''The NBC Monday Movie'' was a television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

of films that debuted on February 4, 1963 (in the middle of the 1962-63 season). It was referred to as ''Monday Night at the Movies'' prior to the mid-1980s. Contrary to popular contemporary belief, the corporate initials, "NBC", were, at first, not part of the official title for the network's anthologies of old movies, and would not be for years to come. Thus, in 1964, when the show was transferred by the network's programming executives to Wednesday nights, it became ''Wednesday Night at the Movies''. And in 1965, when the program moved to Tuesdays, it became ''Tuesday Night at the Movies''. It would remain there until 1969. The name would henceforth change depending on whichever night of the week the program aired. Moreover, by 1968, there was once again a weekly ''Monday Night at the Movies'' on the air. It ran until 1997. In the latter years of ''Monday Night at the Movies run, more and more

made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

s were showcased, while theatrical films, fewer in number, were

edited Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, and ...

for content, to remove objectionable material, and occasionally, but not always, to reduce the film's running time to fit into the two-hour time slot. Most widescreen films were

pan-and-scan Pan and scan is a film editing technique used to modify widescreen images for display on a fullscreen screen. It involves cropping the sides of the original widescreen image and panning across it when the shot's focus changes. This cropping ca ...

ned so the image would fit the standard 4:3 television screen (as opposed to letterbox format). An exception was the 1951 film version of ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'', which made its television debut on ''Monday Night at the Movies'' in 1972. ''Show Boat'' had been produced by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

before the advent of widescreen American films in 1953. It was a rather unusual offering since (then) it was a twenty-one-year-old film. (In fact, the oldest film shown on any of NBC's "At the Movies" anthologies was ''

Saratoga Trunk ''Saratoga Trunk'' is a 1945 American historical romance film, directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, and Flora Robson. Written by Casey Robinson, based on the 1941 novel '' Saratoga Trunk'' by Edna Ferber, the film is ...

'' (1945), which aired on ''Saturday Night at the Movies'', January 13, 1968, 23 years after its Hollywood premiere.)

Background

The idea for the show came about when advertisers opted out of two 60-minute shows the network ran on Monday nights for the 1962–1963 season -- '' It's A Man's World'' (from 7:30-8:30 pm, Eastern Time) and '' Saints and Sinners'' (from 8:30-9:30), the latter of which suffered from having "no chemistry, and never any real ratings." Having experienced some audience success with '' Saturday Night at the Movies'' ever since its premiere in Fall 1961, the network decided to acquire more

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

s as a stop-gap measure for NBC's dismal numbers on Monday nights. Thus, a package of 42 movies from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

and 35 titles from

were purchased by the network for both its Monday and Saturday night movie series at a cost of $14 million. With a 7:30 pm (EST) start time, the movies of the show's first season were made up of mostly action-adventures, an occasional romance such as ''

My Cousin Rachel ''My Cousin Rachel'' is a Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Bearing thematic similarities to her earlier and more famous novel ''Rebecca'', it is a mystery-romance, set primarily on a large estate i ...

'', and two

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

musicals. These films usually ran under 100 minutes, the normal running-time for a two-hour movie slot (with commercial interruptions) in 1963.

The first two series of films (February 1963-April 1964)

The first incarnation of ''Monday Night at the Movies'' lasted from February 1963 until early September 1964. Despite the promise of big name stars each week, the series was no match for the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

lineup of game shows and sitcoms such as ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...

'' and ''

The Danny Thomas Show ''The Danny Thomas Show'' (titled ''Make Room for Daddy'' for its first three seasons) is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the sho ...

''. In hopes of better ratings and to re-coup some of their investment, the films in the second list below would be re-broadcast on '' Saturday Night at the Movies'' in the late spring and summer of 1964. Unless otherwise indicated, all films aired from 7:30pm–9:30pm Eastern Time on Monday Nights. The last number in the second list below notes the Nielsen rating the movie received: These first sixteen titles (all produced by 20th Century Fox studios) were aired on the following dates: # (1963-02-04) ''

The Enemy Below ''The Enemy Below'' is a 1957 American DeLuxe Color war film in CinemaScope about a battle between an American destroyer escort and a German U-boat during World War II. It stars Robert Mitchum and Curt Jürgens as the American and German comm ...

'' (1957) # (1963-02-11) ''

The Bravados ''The Bravados'' is a 1958 American Cinemascope Western film (color by DeLuxe) directed by Henry King, starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins. The CinemaScope film was based on a novel of the same name, written by Frank O'Rourke. Plot Jim ...

'' (1958) # (1963-02-18) '' Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison'' (1957) # (1963-02-25) '' King of the Khyber Rifles'' (1953) # (1963-03-04) '' Hell and High Water'' (1954) # (1963-03-11) ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full s ...

'' (1954) # (1963-03-18) ''

Boy on a Dolphin ''Boy on a Dolphin'' is a 1957 American romantic adventure film theatrically released by 20th Century-Fox. It is set in Greece and shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. It was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Samuel G. Engel from a sc ...

'' (1957) # (1963-03-25) ''

From Hell to Texas ''From Hell to Texas'' is a 1958 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Don Murray and Diane Varsi. Plot Ruthless cattle baron Hunter Boyd orders his riders to capture a former ranch-hand, Tod Lohman, suspected of murde ...

'' (1958) # (1963-04-01) ''

'' (1952) # (1963-04-08) '' April Love'' (1957) # (1963-04-15) ''

An Affair to Remember ''An Affair to Remember'' is a 1957 American romance film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Filmed in CinemaScope, it was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is considered among the most romantic films of all ti ...

'' (1957) (2 hrs, 30 min.) # (1963-04-22) ''

The Barbarian and the Geisha ''The Barbarian and the Geisha'' (working titles ''The Townsend Harris Story'' and ''The Barbarian'') is a 1958 American adventure film directed by John Huston and starring John Wayne. The film was shot primarily on location in Japan. Townsend H ...

'' (1958) # (1963-04-29) '' The Hunters'' (1958) # (1963-05-06) '' Harry Black and the Tiger'' (1958) # (1963-05-13) ''

The Mudlark ''The Mudlark'' is a 1950 film made in United Kingdom, Britain by 20th Century Fox. It is a fictional account of how Queen Victoria was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert. It was di ...

'' (1950) # (1963-05-20) ''

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

'' (1958) From here through September 9, the above titles were rerun on Monday nights. None of them appeared on NBC's other film series, '' Saturday Night at the Movies''. The second season began below and mixed in MGM titles with those of 20th Century Fox. Like the above-listed films, these were all television premieres. The Nielsen ratings are listed next to the release year of each title. One interesting note: There is no entry below for November 25, 1963. This was the Monday after the Friday that

President John Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

was assassinated. Monday was the date of the state funeral, which was given all-day coverage by the networks. Understandably, NBC thus postponed broadcasting the musical ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

'' (originally slated for 1963-11-25) until later in the season. # (1963-09-16) '' Love Is a Many Splendored Thing'' (1955) (19.7) # (1963-09-23) '' David and Bathsheba'' (1951; 2hrs, 30 min.) (17.9) # (1963-09-30) ''

Executive Suite ''Executive Suite'' is a 1954 American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama film directed by Robert Wise and written by Ernest Lehman, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Cameron Hawley. The film stars William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara St ...

'' (1954) (15.4) # (1963-10-07) '' The Wreck of the Mary Deare'' (1959) (15.5) # (1963-10-14) ''

The Rains of Ranchipur ''The Rains of Ranchipur'' is a 1955 American drama and disaster film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Frank Ross (producer), Frank Ross from a screenplay by Merle Miller, based on the 1937 novel ''The ...

'' (1955) (16.0) # (1963-10-21) '' The Mating Game'' (1959) (27.1) # (1963-10-28) '' Good Morning, Miss Dove'' (1955) (19.4) # (1963-11-04) ''

White Feather The white feather is a widely recognised propaganda symbol. The white feather was most prominently used in the 'White Feather Movement, white feather movement' in Britain during the First World War, in which women gave white feathers to non-en ...

'' (1955) (18.2) # (1963-11-11) '' Father of the Bride'' (1950) (19.3) # (1963-11-18) '' The Reluctant Debutante'' (1958) (16.5) # (1963-12-02) '' House of Numbers'' (1957) (16.7) # (1963-12-09) ''

The Wings of Eagles ''The Wings of Eagles'' is a 1957 American Metrocolor film starring John Wayne, Dan Dailey and Maureen O'Hara, based on the life of Frank "Spig" Wead and the history of U.S. Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is ...

'' (1957) (22.3) # (1963-12-16) ''

Lost World The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century. The ...

'' (1960) (20.7) # (1963-12-23) '' The Power and the Prize'' (1956) (N/A) # (1963-12-30) '' Kiss Me Kate'' (1953) (15.9) # (1964-01-06) '' The Seven Cities of Gold'' (1955) (17.4) # (1964-01-13) ''

'' (1952) (19.4) # (1964-01-20) '' Action of the Tiger'' (1957) (15.8) # (1964-01-27) '' House of Bamboo'' (1955) (17.7) # (1964-02-03) '' Phone Call from a Stranger'' (1952) (18.2) # (1964-02-10) '' Treasure of the Golden Condor'' (1953) (17.4) # (1964-02-17) '' The Safecracker'' (1958) (13.4) # (1964-02-24) '' Prince of Players'' (1955) (10.6) # (1964-03-02) '' Underwater Warrior'' (1958) (16.0) # (1964-03-09) '' The 39 Steps'' (1960) (15.0) # (1964-03-16) '' The View from Pompey's Head'' (1955) (18.5) # (1964-03-23) ''

The Racers ''The Racers'' is a 1955 American CinemaScope drama sports film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Kirk Douglas, Bella Darvi and Gilbert Roland. The film is based on the book by Hans Ruesch entitled ''The Racer'', based on the life of Rudolf ...

'' (1955) (16.6) # (1964-03-30) ''

The Pride of St. Louis ''The Pride of St. Louis'' is a 1952 American biographical film of the life of Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean. It starred Dan Dailey as Dean, Joanne Dru as his wife, and Richard Crenna as his brother Paul "Daffy" Dean ...

'' (1952) (18.9) # (1964-04-06) '' The Virgin Queen'' (1955) (14.4) # (1964-04-13) '' Never Let Me Go'' (1960) (17.1) From here, reruns were shown for the remainder of the season until mid-September 1964, when NBC announced that it would discontinue ''Monday Night at the Movies''. Instead, a new prime-time movie night, Wednesdays, from 9 until 11 p.m. (ET), became the time slot for the network's alternative film anthology during the 1964–65 seasonAdams, Val. "NBC-TV Acquires Post-1948 Movies: Buys Paramount Features for Showing in Fall." ''New York Times''. (February 12, 1964): p. 67. while Saturday nights remained a mainstay for NBC's film broadcasts.

References

External links

Episode List: NBC Monday Night Movies (Feb. 8 1971 - May 19, 2003) - TV Tango
{{DEFAULTSORT:NBC Monday Movie 1963 American television series debuts 1960s American anthology television series 1970s American anthology television series 1980s American anthology television series 1990s American anthology television series 2000s American anthology television series 2003 American television series endings American English-language television shows American motion picture television series NBC original programming