Edit: Just realized that both Night Stalker and Duel were already mentioned. Duel was Steven Spielberg's first move, I think - a made for TV movie.

In Japan, "Duel" was a theatrical release as movie.




*Japanese version poster*

The film was called FEAR NO EVIL and I have a fair copy on DVD from a tv broadcast. But I also saw a pristine 16mm print along with BROTHERHOOD OF THE BELL one night and made me realize how wonderful these movies are!
Been trying to get both AMC and TCM to run them. Would give anything for really good, clear copies on DVD!

I stand corrected.

That probably goes pretty far to explain why I haven't seen it again.

Thanks.

I don't know what MFTV is, but I looked up Purgatory on IMDB, and this is what I found.

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0158131/

Is that what you were thinking of?

Ken V.

Edited to add: Okay, now I get it . . . .MFTV means Made For TV . . . right?

yep, I think that's it! ty ken, you're a gem

In Japan, "Duel" was a theatrical release as movie.

Maybe so. Here it was an ABC TV "Movie of the Week." All the movies of the week on that program were made-for-tv, and it was also a launch point for some pilots for television shows like "Alias Smith and Jones."

"DUEL" was given a short theatrical release-I have a mint one sheet from Universal.
Another good film was "THE CAT CREATURE" starring David Hedison, Meredith Baxter and Gale Sondergaard. Directed by Curtis Harrington.
Good films friends!

Oh, let's look it up in Wikipedia...

Initially shown on American television as an ABC Movie of the Week installment, it (Duel) was eventually released to cinemas in Europe and in some limited venues in the United States.

and...

The original made-for-television version was only 74 minutes long and was completed in 13 days (3 longer than the scheduled 10 days), leaving 10 days for editing prior to broadcast as the ABC "Movie of the Week". Following Duel's successful TV airing, Universal released Duel overseas in 1973, especially in Europe. Since the TV movie's 74 minutes was not long enough for theatrical release, Universal had Spielberg spend 2 days filming several new scenes. These new scenes turned Duel into a 90 minute film. The new scenes were the railroad crossing, school bus, and David Mann's telephone conversation with his wife. Also a longer opening sequence was added with the car backing out of a garage and driving through the city. Expletives were added to make the film sound like a major motion picture.

...Expletives were added to make the film sound like a major motion picture.

Aww...Hollywood. I don't understand how if it's not rude and crude it's not fun.

Stephanie

From the 1960's to the present there have been some great MADE FOR TV FILMS that people don't discuss anymore. Let's hear your favs!

SOMETHING FOR A LONELY MAN, 1968, starring Dan Blocker ("Hoss" of BONANZA) Dan starred as a blacksmith who led a group of people to found a town. And the railroad passed it by. But he had an ah-deer... Great, touching story

I don't watch too much TV as an adult, but I can remember some made for TV mini-series that had a profound affect on me when I was younger. Thinking back on these, I forgot how many really great actors used to be involved with these movies - TV was king back in the late 70's & early 80's. Here are my favorites - although some might not count because of the caliber of actors in them:

Peter the Great (1986) - starring Maximilian Schell as Peter, Vanessa Redgrave as the Regent Sophia and everyone from Omar Sharif to Sir Laurence Olivier sprinkled throughout. After seeing this mini-series I rushed out and bought the Robert Massie book that it was based on and was just floored by it. It turned my into a real Russophile. I ended up going to Russia and few years later, studied Russian in college and even lived in Russia with a Russian family one summer. Good times.

Marco Polo (1978) - starring Ken Marshall as Marco, F. Murray Abraham as Jacopo, and Anne Bancroft as Marco's mother. It's been so long that I don't remember much about this mini-series, except that it had me running out to the library to find all I could on Marco Polo - and incited my desire to travel and see the world.

The Bastard (1978) - starring Andrew Stevens as Philip Kent, Tom Bosley as Benjamin Franklin, and everyone from Lorne Greene, Buddy Ebsen, and Harry Morgan to William Shatner (as Paul Revere, no less). This mini-series had me buying every John Jakes book I could get my hands on. Loved Jake's historical fiction. (I thought that the North and South mini-series based on his books was good too.)

Nobel House (1988) - starring Pierce Brosnan as Ian Dunross. Several people mentioned the Clavell's Shogun was their favorite (and it was excellent), but my favorite Clavell book is Noble House and I thought that did a great job with the mini-series adaption of it.

-Luthie

I have always loved the mini-series CHIEFS, based on the Stuart Woods novel. It was broadcast back in 1983. Reading some of the posts on imdb, I am very concerned we can't get a real copy of it in the US, and that it may have been reduced from a six-hour miniseries (including commercials) to barely over three hours. Look at the different lengths per country as listed on imdb:

USA:200 min / Brazil:229 min (video version) / Germany:283 min (3 parts)

This had some major actors, so it's subject to interpretation whether it fits, but some might be considered "B" performers now: Charlton Heston, Keith Carradine, Stephen Collins, Brad Davis, Tess Harper, Billy Dee Williams, and more.

Anyone else see this?

Sean
bkwormonthenet