Recalling the heyday of TV movies
The 1970s were the golden age of made-for-TV movies. They
covered every topic from Satanism (
”
Satan’s School For Girls
”
1973) to teen runaways (
”
Dawn: Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway
”
1976) to homosexuality (
”
That Certain Summer
”
1972).
Recalling the heyday of TV movies
The 1970s were the golden age of made-for-TV movies. They covered every topic from Satanism (“Satan’s School For Girls” 1973) to teen runaways (“Dawn: Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway” 1976) to homosexuality (“That Certain Summer” 1972).
Some of them were good, like “Pray For The Wildcats” 1974 with William Shatner and Andy Griffith. There were great ones like 1971’s “Brian’s Song” starring James Caan and some were truly awful like 1978’s “Zuma Beach” with Suzanne Somers.
All three of the major networks had at least one new movie a week. Most of them aired on Fridays or Sundays. It was great because you got to see a new movie every week. I watched a lot of those movies and liked quite a few, but the list below is my all-time favorite made-for-TV movies.
“Frankenstein: The True Story” 1973
Starring: Leonard Whiting, Michael Sarrazin, Jane Seymour.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates a human being using different parts from dead people.
Good news. This movie is available on DVD. I don’t know how true it is to Mary Shelley’s book because I have never read it, but this is an enjoyable film. Sarrazin plays the monster. He talks and is intelligent; he’s just not the best looking guy around. He gets upset when Dr. Frankenstein creates a woman for him (Seymour) and she snubs him. So he kills a lot of people and runs off to the Artic.
It’s a far cry from the old Universal “Frankenstein” film with Boris Karloff. I watched this every time it was on TV. If you find it, rent it.
“KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park” 1978
Starring: Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley.
The rock group KISS must stop a mad scientist from taking over the world using evil clones during their concert at an amusement park.
I haven’t seen this movie since 1978 and I don’t want to. I enjoyed it back then and I’m afraid that if I watch it now I’m going to hate it. All of my friends in the sixth grade loved it. It’s all we talked about for weeks. It’sort of like a Scooby-Doo episode except with KISS instead of Scooby, Shaggy and the rest of the gang.
I remember KISS doing karate against some zombies and that it was filmed at Magic Mountain in Southern California. I don’t remember what songs they sing. I’m not sure if I recommend this movie. If you watch it and it’s horrible, remember I was only 11 when I saw it.
“One Of My Wives Is Missing” 1976
Starring: Elizabeth Ashley, James Franciscus, Jack Klugman.
Daniel Corban (James Franciscus) has a fight with his wife who runs off and disappears. She returns as Elizabeth Ashley and he insists that she is an imposter. Jack Klugman is the policeman who helps him solve the mystery.
I always had a hard time believing the Franciscus character would be so upset that Elizabeth Ashley replaced his wife. It wouldn’t have bothered me. She was pretty sexy back then. There are so many twists and turns in the movie and it keeps you guessing right up until the end. All three leads put in very good performances.
“Satan’s Triangle” 1975
Starring: Doug McClure, Kim Novak, Alejandro Rey.
The Coast Guard rescues a woman who is the only survivor on a yacht in the Bermuda Triangle. Or is she?
This movie scared the heck out of me when I was 8 years old and if I watched it tonight it would scare the heck out of me again. This movie is truly frightening and has one of the best endings ever. I wish that I could find it somewhere on DVD or VHS.
Novak’s yacht runs into bad weather and everyone dies a horrible death except her. There is a dead priest hanging from the mast and a crewmember floating in mid air in a stateroom. McClure (he died too soon) who is always a good hero manages to explain all of the weird occurrences to the frightened Novak.
But wait until the ending when you find out the true story. I’m getting scared just writing this. If you ever get a chance to watch this movie, do not pass it up.
“When Michael Calls” 1972
Starring: Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Douglas, Ben Gazzara.
Helen’s dead nephew Michael keeps calling her on the phone and no one will believe her.
This is a really creepy film. Anyone who has ever seen it cannot forget the frightening phone calls. Whenever Helen (Ashley) answers the phone a child’s voice pleads with her, “Auntie my Helen, please help me.”
My little brother watched this movie once and refused to answer the phone when my sister was calling for a ride home from work. It’s that scary. It can be found on DVD under the title “Shattered Silence.” And yes, that is Academy Award winner (and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ husband) Michael Douglas.
There are so many different channels available today. There is SOAPnet, the military channel, a western channel, a history channel and the romance channel to name a few. I wish that someone would come up with the TV-movie channel and rebroadcast all of these old movies. I would never turn my TV off.
