NBC claimed that their disaster movie A FIRE IN THE SKY, about a comet hurtling toward Phoenix, Arizona, used a record 5,700 extras and the most extensive model work ever created for television. The film, which starred Richard Crenna, Elizabeth Ashley, and Merlin Olsen, aired on 26 November 1978, and was subsequently released to theaters overseas by Columbia.
MOSES--THE LAWGIVER was an Italian-British co-production that first aired on Italian television in late 1974. In the U.S., it ran in hour-long segments on CBS over a six-week period on June 21 & 28; July 5, 12, & 26; and August 5, 1975. Burt Lancaster starred as Moses, with the support of Anthony Quayle, Ingrid Thulin, and Irene Papas. Ennio Morricone provided the score. The cast, working in Israel and the Negrev, found itself trapped during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, while filming this $6 million epic. A severely edited version of the production, running 141 minutes and titled simply MOSES, was released to U.S. theaters on 26 March 1976 by Avco Embassy Pictures--in Super Spectrasound.
I have found evidence that KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park played theatrically (it is listed under the alternate title of KISS in Attack of the Phantoms).
I have found evidence that KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park played theatrically (it is listed under the alternate title of KISS in Attack of the Phantoms).
I do not know however if the test engagement in Rockford was successful.
It would seem that ATTACK OF THE PHANTOMS never went beyond test screenings in the U.S.. Further research indicates that Avco Embassy (AE) originally picked up the film for foreign distribution in April 1979. They even screened it twice at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival (out of competition), on May 13 and May 17, presumably to get some publicity for its overseas release. At the same time, AE had the film rated by the MPAA and set up at least that one domestic test screening in the July-August 1979 timeframe. Nevertheless, no source confirms an actual domestic release:
In its weekly rundown of film company releases, Boxoffice magazine never lists the film as a current or future release of Avco Embassy.
The IMDB does not list a U.S. theatrical release date for the film, nor list Avco Embassy as a distributor.
The Wikipedia entry on the film, while discussing the foreign theatrical release, makes no mention of a domestic release.
The image of the one-sheet poster that was in my earlier post does not contain any number from the National Screen Service on the bottom, indicating that the poster was not actually distributed to theaters.
The film does not appear in the editions of John Willis' book Screen World which chronicle all U.S. film releases in 1979 or 1980.
The American Film Institute Catalog does not list the film among American theatrical releases.
In 1972, as Charles Bronson was enjoying considerable international popularity, Universal Pictures took an episode of the television show The Virginian in which he had appeared (with Lois Nettleton and George Kennedy) and padded it out with an episode that had starred Brian Keith and Geraldine Brooks to create the theatrical film THE BULL OF THE WEST, which was released to overseas markets. The Bronson episode was "Nobility of Kings" (10 November 1965) and the Keith episode was "Duel at Shiloh" (2 January 1963).
The television movie BRIAN'S SONG, about the friendship between Chicago Bears' football players Gayle Sayers and Brian Piccolo aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on 30 November 1971. The film was well received by critics and the public alike, and received very high viewership. The film was directed by Buzz Kulik and featured a well-remembered score and theme by Michel Legrand.
As I recall reading, in mid-1972 an enterprising Chicago theater owner requested a print of the film and began showing it at his theater. The poster below appears to be a one-off, printed for that theater, with a laudatory quote from "The Management."
Columbia Pictures, apparently sensing that there might be some profit to be made from additional theatrical showings of the film, prepared the more formal advertising below, but my recollection is that the film did not do particularly well in Chicago, and plans for any wide national release (if there were any) were scaled back. The explanation given at the time was that everyone who was likely to be interested in seeing the film had already seen it on television. The extent of showings outside of Chicago is not known.
On April 17, 1969, CBS broadcast the MGM-produced television movie U.M.C., a medical drama starring Richard Bradford as "Dr. Joe Gannon" and James Daly as "Dr. Paul Lochner." The film was also intended as the pilot of a series. But when the series debuted in the fall of 1969 as "Medical Center," the part of "Dr. Gannon" had been recast with Chad Everett. This made the pilot film unsuitable to be aired as part of the series. In 1971, MGM released it as a theatrical feature overseas under the title OPERATION HEARTBEAT. The film was directed by Boris Sagal (THE OMEGA MAN) and scored by George Romanis.
On April 17, 1969, CBS broadcast the MGM-produced television movie U.M.C., a medical drama starring Richard Bradford as "Dr. Joe Gannon" and James Daly as "Dr. Paul Lochner." The film was also intended as the pilot of a series. But when the series debuted in the fall of 1969 as "Medical Center," the part of "Dr. Gannon" had been recast with Chad Everett. This made the pilot film unsuitable to be aired as part of the series. In 1971, MGM released it as a theatrical feature overseas under the title OPERATION HEARTBEAT. The film was directed by Boris Sagal (THE OMEGA MAN) and scored by George Romanis.
I recently watched it on the Warner Archive. Maurice Evans was also in it, as was Edward G. Robinson. They both played doctors, and Robinson was originally going to play Dr. Zaius in PLANET OF THE APES, a part that Maurice Evans took over. There's a scene in "Operation Heartbeat" where Evans does heart surgery on Robinson.
is there a RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN poster? watching it recently i noticed the increased headroom which sometimes means it will be released theatrically in 1:75?1:85?1:66
Yes - I have eight Italian photobusta posters for RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN.
City Beneath The Sea, a 1971 Irwin Allen production/A pilot for a TV series that didn't sell) got released to British cinemas as One Hour to Doomsday It's later shown on UK TV under its cinema title (and on Sky under its original title).
John Brosnan wrote in an article sbout underwater productions that he had not-at-all-fond memories of seeing this in a UK cinema (and of rubbish the small-screen effects looked on the bg screen!).
is there a RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN poster? watching it recently i noticed the increased headroom which sometimes means it will be released theatrically in 1:75?1:85?1:66
Yes - I have eight Italian photobusta posters for RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN.
Cool!!!!!!
were any of the latter eps of the 90's COLUMBO MYSTERY MOVIE released as features? The ones released on ws dvd appear to been framed for 1:78/1:33 "BUTTERFLY IN sHADES oF GREY" with Wm. SHatner for example. brm
Great thread, and nice to re-acquaint with it... but why are some of Bob's film posters no longer visible, while others remain unscathed ??
I was using the photo hosting site Image Shack when it was free. Then they decided that advertising wasn't getting the job done for them, so they starting charging a monthly fee for the service. If you don't pay, your photos are quarantined. I shifted over to the Photobucket site, which is still free, if you can put up with the videos that play each time you upload. (If you want to pay, you can dispense with the videos.) In short, all my prior photos hosted on Image Shack are no longer being "broadcast," although I believe they are still on the site. Anyone who wants to see them can ante up the $4 monthly payment.
THE BORGIA STICK aired on NBC on 25 February 1967. It was directed by David Lowell Rich and scored by Kenyon Hopkins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And the main title was covered by George Benson.
The George Benson Quartet Featuring Lonnie Smith – "The George Benson Cookbook" Columbia Records – CS 9413 (1967)