Misleading Psycho in The Psycho Ward Forum

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Misleading Psycho

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Rick	Re: Psycho	#41	[-]
Oct 18 06 11:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* one of the first things he ran was WHITE ZOMBIE Akkk! I was working in Dallas in '77 and stayed up very late one night to see WHITE ZOMBIE for the very first time (this was pre-VCR ownership). I wonder if your friend was responsible for my missing sleep that night?
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Arch Stanton	Re: Psycho	#42	[-]
Oct 19 06 11:20 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Apparently, time doesn't diminish memory, it destroys it. I checked with Count Gamula, who grew up in Fort Worth, and he says that it was local UHF station 39 that ran PSYCHO five nights straight when he was in either junior high or high school, which would make it the late '60s. This, coupled with Ryan's recollection, makes me feel certain that's correct. However, I am fairly certain that it was Channel 27 that first ran WHITE ZOMBIE...
Count Gamula	Re: Psycho	#43	[-]
Oct 19 06 12:50 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* However, I am fairly certain that it was Channel 27 that first ran WHITE ZOMBIE... Yes it was. Mark Lamberti was one of the best things to happen to horror fans in the Dallas area in the '80s. When he bacame program director at the newly established Channel 27, all kinds of previously unseen goodies started to show up. I remember seeing WHITE ZOMBIE, THE MONSTER MAKER, THE CLIMAX, COBRA WOMAN (and the other Jon Hall/Maria Montez movies), SPOOKS RUN WILD and many others for the first time on that station. Basically, if it was horror/sci-fi and it was available, he tried to book it. They also ran SCIENCE FICTION THEATER, ONE STEP BEYOND, MEN INTO SPACE and DANGER MAN. As for PSYCHO, I remember it was supposed to have its network when I was in probably 7th or 8th grade (1967-8). I think it was scheduled for a Friday night on CBS. I saw the previews the week before and it looked so scary I wasn't sure I wanted to see it. Something happened that week causing CBS to cancel it. I think some senator or congressman's wife was stabbed or something and it seemed like bad taste to show the movie at that time. It was fairly soon after that (less than a year I sure) that PSYCHO showed up on local channel 39. Since it had never been on TV before they made a big deal out of it and ran it every weeknight that week. I was still a little nervous from that preview I saw so it gave me the chance to chicken out during one viewing and try again the next night. I made it all the way through the second time and watched it again the next night too.
Count Gamula	Re: Psycho	#44	[-]
Oct 19 06 1:10 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Obviously I had not read all the previous posts in this thread when I made the post above, but after reading back, I'm glad to find that my memories seem to be pretty close. I was in the 7th grade in September 1966 when PSYCHO was originally scheduled to premier on CBS. That might make the local week-long showing (which was in prime time, by the way) as early as 1967.
Arch Stanton	Re: Psycho	#45	[-]
Oct 19 06 1:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, Channel 33 first broadcast in October 1967. Channel 39 started in March 1968. If you're correct about it being 39, it had to be in mid-1968.
Count Gamula	Re: Psycho	#46	[-]
Oct 19 06 2:08 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Where did you get the info about local stations, Arch? I remember 33 being around in the late '60s but it was very hard to pick up in my area back then. I first saw HORROR OF DRACULA on 33 and it was mostly snow. I think they went off the air for a while and later came back as a religous oriented station. They still showed movies though (I saw a lot of old WB movies there for the first time) and they upped the power of their signal and we could get it much more clearly. That was probably in the early '70s. Channel 39 was always pretty clear and that's the way I remember seeing PSYCHO.
Arch Stanton	Re: Psycho	#47	[-]
Oct 19 06 2:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here: www.knus99.com/tvlist.html Wikipedia has March 1968 on 39, but this says February.
Count Gamula	Re: Psycho	#48	[-]
Oct 19 06 3:10 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah, I found that page too. Pretty interesting to see all that history of Dallas/Ft. Worth TV. I noticed I was right about 33 leaving the airwaves for a while. They went dark in Oct 1968 and returned in Feb 1972 owned by a religious organization. It says a new tower was built in 1969 so that must be why our reception was so much better when it came back. Before that, in my neck of the woods you had to reeeeeally want to see something badly to watch it on Channel 33 since you could barely make out the picture. This must be pretty boring to anyone who didn't grow up here so my apologies for the side trip. Bottom line is, I guess the first TV showing of PSYCHO in North Texas was at least 1968.
yendor1152	Re: Misleading Psycho	#49	[-]
Oct 20 06 9:11 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In March of 1968, I was a 15 year old freshman and an intense horror movie fanatic. Like Kerry, et al, I saw the promos for the 1966 premiere of Psycho on CBS and was disappointed when it was cancelled. But I DISTINCTLY remember that Psycho did indeed have its NATIONAL television premiere on March 1, 1968. It wasn't a local showing, or a regional showing--it was on the CBS Friday Night Movie, at 9 PM EST. I went back and checked my diary (yes, I actually kept one and still have it), and this is what I have written: "Friday. School let out early because of big blizzard. Walked home, ma and dad were shoveling the driveway. Watched DS (Dark Shadows) and the 4:30 movie "Master of the World," with Vincent Price. Talked on phone, watched Wild, Wild West, made a pizza with Sue (older sister) and then watched Psycho! Very scary!" I don't know if Psycho was ever shown regionally or "locally" elsewhere, but I DO know that Psycho had its national television premiere on Friday Night, March 1, 1968. Rod
ryanbrennan	Re: Misleading Psycho	#50	[-]
Oct 20 06 11:41 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* The Times tells us that NYC's WABC-TV would be showing PSYCHO on June 24, 1967--"the first time that the 1960 film about a homicidal psychopath will be telecast." No one is doubting your distinct memory of seeing the movie on your local affiliate or your diary entry that proves you saw it on a certain night. However, Rick's newspaper clipping quoted above -- citing an ABC station -- pre-dates the broadcast you saw.
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yendor1152	Re: Misleading Psycho	#51	[-]
Oct 20 06 12:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Question: why would a "local" affiliate run Psycho under the name of "CBS Friday Night Movie" unless it was a NATIONAL broadcast? Rod
grgstv338	Re: Misleading Psycho	#52	[-]
Oct 20 06 1:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Question: why would a "local" affiliate run Psycho under the name of "CBS Friday Night Movie" unless it was a NATIONAL broadcast? Are you sure it was CBS that you saw it on - or that it was 9 p.m.? If it was late night (say, the 11:30 p.m. slot) then the CBS Friday Night Late Movie could indeed be different from region to region (Rod, were you in N.Y. then or in Maine?). If it was shown in primetime, perhaps it might have been on a local affiliate rather than CBS? According to the N.Y. Times TV listings, the Friday, March 1, 1968 CBS Friday Night movie - the 9 p.m. one - was FLIGHT FROM ASHIYA with Yul Brynner and Richard Widmark (the listing comment is "scenic misery"!). The 11:30 p.m. CBS movie (here in N.Y., at least) was NO ROOM FOR THE GROOM with Tony Curtis ("one long bad joke" says the Times - hey, in case anyone's interested...). Also, just to show how things vary region to region, that day's 4:30 p.m. movie on Channel 7 (a regular feature in the N.Y. area) was LOVER COME BACK. ***** Going back to June 24, 1967, the N.Y. Times TV section has PSYCHO having aired on channel 7, WABC, at 11:30 p.m. as part of the movie showcase called Best of Broadway. It would be odd for a movie to be already airing in late night slots and then make a national primetime debut.
yendor1152	Re: Misleading Psycho	#53	[-]
Oct 20 06 2:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It wasn't the "late" movie. I don't even think the CBS Late Movie was running in early 1968. In those days, we only had three networks, and Psycho came on at 9 PM in prime time. At least, that's when I saw it. Where did you find that listing about the Yul Brynner movie? Rod
grgstv338	Re: Misleading Psycho	#54	[-]
Oct 20 06 2:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Where did you find that listing about the Yul Brynner movie? The New York Times online records (via the ProQuest search site). ProQuest lets you search the archives of a few newspapers, the Times being one of them (although I can't log on at home, I can get access when I'm at work). There's always one other possibility (although I'm thinking it's rather remote). These are, after all, newspaper listings, so they're subject to change (like TV Guide listings). I guess CBS could have come on the air that night and said something like, "Sorry, folks, FLIGHT TO ASHEE-SHA-SHEE-SHA-whatever has gotten lost along with our luggage; instead, we will now air Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO!" Again, I'm not sure how likely something like that was. You don't think it's possible PSYCHO got shown in primetime by a local station (like others say it did in Texas)? Or did you only get the three network stations - CBS, NBC and ABC? No UHF?
yendor1152	Re: Misleading Psycho	#55	[-]
Oct 20 06 6:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In 1968, our UHF station showed a rotating clock over and over again. There were local stations, but they only interrupted regular primetime shows to broadcast a local sports game. Otherwise, either CBS, NBC, or ABC stuff was broadcast. And I don't think the Psycho showing that I remember was a sudden switch from the Yul Brynner action flik. I checked through my dogeared diary and found that I was looking forward to Psycho for at least a week. "Master of the World," which we saw on the "4:30 Movie" was indeed local. That lasted until 6, when the local news came on. I'm not sure what happened between 6 and 7:30, but my Friday night lineup always began with Wild, Wild West. I think that may have come on opposite The Time Tunnel, if memory serves me well. And Tarzan was somewhere in there, too. Since I don't remember watching those two shows regularly, I've got a feeling they were on opposite WWW. I usually didn't want the primetime movie unless it was something (a) famous; (b) hyped endlessly by the network; or (c) was recommended by friends and/or family. For example, Bridge on the River Kwai was shown in September 1967 (on ABC, I think), and I remember that as a "big event." Uh-oh. A thought just occurred to me: one of you is gonna say "but Rod, Kwai was originally shown on a UHF station in December 1964, and I also saw it a whole week straight in 1965! So it couldn't have premiered in 1967." But it's in my diary!! :) Rod
grgstv338	Re: Misleading Psycho	#56	[-]
Oct 20 06 7:30 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, all I think people have tried to do is point out that PSYCHO had aired on commercial television before 1968 (unless that June 1967 late night airing in N.Y. was also canceled). As for Friday, March 1, 1968, I've got no idea what did or didn't air in all areas (Rod, where were your network affiliates? Boston, Bangor?); all I've got to go by are those N.Y. Times TV listings. Here's what the Sunday, February 25th, weekly television listings have for that upcoming Friday (it's identical to what's listed on that day's daily paper):
grgstv338	Re: Misleading Psycho	#57	[-]
Oct 20 06 8:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sorry, couldn't resist... *Quote:* Uh-oh. A thought just occurred to me: one of you is gonna say "but Rod, Kwai was originally shown on a UHF station in December 1964, and I also saw it a whole week straight in 1965! So it couldn't have premiered in 1967." Heh, heh, heh - it didn't. ;) The network debut of BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI was on Sunday, September 25, 1966. Here's the N.Y. Times listing: There's also a follow-up article to its airing that ran in the next day's paper: Ah, the wonders of Proquest! (And, wow - those were the days, when just the airing of a hit movie on TV was the occasion for a full newspaper story!) Seriously, though, I've no idea about the accuracy of the listings in general - just that this was how things were listed in the papers at the time.
HalLane	Re: Misleading Psycho	#58	[-]
Oct 20 06 8:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Awww, bummer, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is being pre-empted by an NBC SPECIAL REPORT again! Maa-nn, why couldn't they have bumped THE FRIENDLY GIANT??!
yendor1152	Re: Misleading Psycho	#59	[-]
Oct 20 06 8:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I would be willing to bet that Kwai was repeated in September 1967. As for the Yul Brynner film playing on Friday, March 1, 1968, I wouldn't be at all surprised if many CBS affiliates decided NOT to show Psycho and replaced it with more innocuous fare. I recall that both Psycho and The Birds premiered as films ON NATIONAL TELEVISION in 1968. Rod
grgstv338	Re: Misleading Psycho	#60	[-]
Oct 20 06 10:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I wouldn't be at all surprised if many CBS affiliates decided NOT to show Psycho and replaced it with more innocuous fare. It would be unusual for New York City to get the innocuous fare. The reason I searched the Sunday listings too was to gauge whether or not PSYCHO might have been yanked a day or two before its scheduled airing, but that doesn't seem to have been the case; nor did I find any stories about WCBS being too sensitive to air PSYCHO at that time (which would again be odd since the film apparently aired in June 1967 without reported incident). On Monday I'll try and search some other cities' newspapers' TV listings (I think I can do Chicago and Washington, D.C.) and maybe see if their markets showed PSYCHO around that time. *Quote:* I recall that both Psycho and The Birds premiered as films ON NATIONAL TELEVISION in 1968. I'm not questioning the accuracy of your diary but rather whether this was truly a national airing and whether you could accurately call it a true premiere. As other sources indicate, PSYCHO seems to have already aired in late night slots in other markets (NYC, maybe Texas). Just shows how tricky memories can be. After all, you see RIVER KWAI in 1967 and assume it's the movie's television premiere when it seems like it must have been a rerun.
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Misleading Psycho