The CBS Late Movie is aCBS television series (later known asCBS Late Night) that aired during the 1970s and 1980s. The program ran in most Americantelevision markets from 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT) until 2:30 a.m. or later, on weeknights. A singleannouncer (in the early years, CBS staff announcer Norm Stevens) voiced the introduction andcommercial bumpers for each program, but there was nohost per se, orclosing credits besides those of the night's presentation. (The bumpers announcing the stars of the movie rotated names, two or three at a time, so more of the players would be mentioned.)
The program was launched following the cancellation ofThe Merv Griffin Show, which aired as part of the network's late night lineup from 1969 to 1972, and went on to have a long run infirst-run syndication after Griffin decided to end his contract with CBS before it could cancel the talk show.
From 1972 to 1984, "So Old, So Young", composed by CBS West Coast musical directorMorton Stevens and which also served as the theme for CBS' prime time movies until 1978, served as the program's theme music.[1]
Until 1969, CBS programming had never ventured into the late hours. However, three years earlier, scheduling coordinators at many of the network's affiliates, who were programming old movies after nightly local newscasts, took notice of the dwindling stock of new films available for acquisition. In fact, a 1966 poll of CBS affiliates revealed that approximately 80% of local outlets were demanding the network "supply a late evening entertainment show Mondays through Fridays" to fill the growing void in newer films.[2] Thus, CBS tentatively targeted the spring of 1968 as the premiere date for a new network late night series. But CBS spokespersons admitted they "did not know whether its show would be similar to others, but it [was] hopeful of devising something different" from the usual talk format exemplified byJohnny Carson'sTonight Show onNBC orJoey Bishop, who was about to bringhis own brand of chat toABC audiences.[3]
In 1967, at its annual convention, CBS met with 750 affiliate executives and told them the network could provide a Carson-style late night program by the following spring—but only if 85% of station-owners would commit to airing it. Otherwise, the financing required for such a production would prove cost-prohibitive. No official poll was taken among the executives, however, and this may have been due to the fact that in 1966 when a similar offer was dangled before affiliates, only 70% of CBS stations desired a late-evening talk show.[4] Yet in 1969, this is just what was offered to them—in the person ofMerv Griffin. But despite his success as a syndicated TV phenomenon, Griffin's CBS ratings could never compete with Johnny Carson's consistently high audience numbers. And thus, in pulling the plug on Griffin in early 1972, CBS committed its late night programming to classic feature films as well as the debut of more recent theatrical fare.
This move proved an effective ploy because two months afterThe CBS Late Movie premiered, the Nielsen ratings recorded that it had drawn a larger audience thanThe Tonight Show.[5] One CBS executive had a simple explanation for this sudden (though short-lived) good fortune: "People just like to watch movies."
TheCBS Late Movie/Late Night block, however, was not always cleared by every affiliate of the network; in several markets, the block was eitherdelayed by one hour from its regularly-scheduled time (most notably in theCentral andMountain time zones), picked up by a localindependent station (including those that later affiliated with theFox network), or not seen at all in certain cities. Those stations that did not carryCBS Late Night instead broadcast movies from their own libraries and/or their own lineup of off-network syndicated sitcoms, drama reruns, and first-run syndication products.
A large factor in the programming decisions of many CBS affiliates electing not to clearCBS Late Night (or delaying it) was due to head-to-head competition with NBC'sThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and starting in 1980,ABC News'Nightline. ABC themselves went with a similar format toCBS Late Night, withWide World of Entertainment, which later gave way toABC Late Night, which consisted of reruns of that network's prime time series, original movies, and some first-run programming. Preemptions and delays of the block by CBS affiliates increased during the 1980s, and into the early 1990s, as the syndication market began to grow more, and several stations deciding it would be more financially beneficial to air syndicated programming, thus keeping all advertising revenue for themselves. The debut ofThe Pat Sajak Show in January 1989 gained some affiliates back to theCBS Late Night lineup; however, some CBS affiliates elected to airThe Arsenio Hall Show in syndication instead; in the case of CBS' Chicago station,WBBM-TV, both shows aired back-to-back after the late newscasts.
It was not until 1999, when the final stations agreed to carryThe Late Late Show in its default time slot, that CBS' late night programming (excludingNightwatch/Up to the Minute) was cleared across the entire network. Even before that, full clearance of theLate Show with David Letterman across the network (which premiered in August 1993) wouldn't happen until the end of 1994.[6][7]
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First airing on February 14, 1972,The CBS Late Movie initially ran titles from a new package ofMGM films that had not been previously televised. These included theRichard Chamberlain courtroom dramaTwilight of Honor (1963), the original version of the sci-fi classicVillage of the Damned (1960),Sidney Lumet's prisoner-of-war entryThe Hill (1965), as well as two installments from theMargaret Rutherford-Miss Marple series—Murder Most Foul (1964) andMurder at the Gallop (1963). CBS' new anthology also offered packages of 1950sWarner Bros. andMGM films that, up until then, had been run only on local and independent stations but never on a network. These included theBurt Lancaster medieval action-pictureThe Flame and the Arrow (1950), theRandolph Scott westernFort Worth (1951), and theRichard Widmark military dramaTake the High Ground! (1953). But Warners also made available a new package to viewers that showcased the TV premieres ofVisconti's controversial anti-Fascist workThe Damned (1969), theBeau Bridges outback adventureAdam's Woman (1969) and theHammer-horrorChristopher Lee entry,Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1969).
As mentioned above, the first few weeks ofThe CBS Late Movie proved a winner with late night television audiences. Here is the lineup of feature films that initially drew viewers away from Johnny Carson and the rest of CBS' late night competition:
As the graph above indicates, films that had never before been shown on television proliferated duringThe CBS Late Movie's first couple of weeks. But later on in this period, older films that had been run previously on local stations began to increase in number. This may help explain the decline in audience that occurred a few months after the program's initial telecasts.
Also televised duringThe CBS Late Movie's first five years were repeats ofmade-for-TV movies previously seen on CBS and other networks (including some that first appeared as anABC Movie of the Week), and movies not well-suited for prime time due to content. (Violence was often the main factor, withtrue crime stories andpolice drama, and occasionally controversial subject matter, or strongsuspense,horror, orsci-fi themes.) Among these wereThe Abominable Dr. Phibes, its sequelDr. Phibes Rises Again, andTheatre of Blood (all three of which starredVincent Price),Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde,The Valley of Gwangi,7 Faces of Dr. Lao,The Creeping Flesh (with the horror team ofPeter Cushing andChristopher Lee),Asylum,Baron Blood,Frogs, the killer-rats-on-the-loose filmWillard and its sequelBen.
Richard Burton'sDoctor Faustus,Monty Python and the Holy Grail, andThe Monkees'Head made their network television debut on this series, as did such lower-budget schlock horror films asThe Giant Spider Invasion andNight of the Lepus, the latter of which featured giant rabbits on the loose, becoming a source of embarrassment for one of its stars,Star Trek actorDeForest Kelley, who refused to discuss the film later in interviews.
Well-known theatrical movies were also occasionally featured, such as the 1951Show Boat (which had made its network TV debut on NBC in 1972, and was shown on CBS as both aThanksgiving andFourth of July special), theDavid LeanGreat Expectations (1946), and a severely edited 75-minute version of the David LeanOliver Twist (1948). Some films were seen in two parts over two nights, such asThe Dirty Dozen andGrand Prix. Another older film that was featured was the 1939 version of theSherlock Holmes storyThe Hound of the Baskervilles, starringBasil Rathbone andNigel Bruce.
In 1975, repeats of episodes from theNBC Mystery Movie were added to the mix; the first of these wasBanacek, which made itsCBS Late Movie debut on January 7, 1975. However, these episodes were sometimes cut to fit into the 60-minute program frame (excluding time for commercials and public service announcements), especially on nights that they were paired up with another 60-minute drama.
But not all evenings were devoted to reruns of television serials, for in the summer of 1976, classicBritish films enjoyed a short revival onThe CBS Late Movie. These included theNigel Patrick mysterySapphire (1959),Carol Reed'sI.R.A. dramaOdd Man Out (1947), and thePowell and Pressburger fantasy,Stairway to Heaven (1946).
After 1976, the show also featured back-to-back reruns of different one-hour television series, some popular (Barnaby Jones,Kojak), some lesser known (Kolchak: The Night Stalker,Black Sheep Squadron,Dan August,Harry O), and some originally made for British television (The Avengers andThe New Avengers,Return of the Saint,Thriller). Repeats of several of the network's situation comedies were also shown in rotation during the 1970s and early 1980s, includingThe Jeffersons,M*A*S*H,Alice,Archie Bunker's Place andWKRP in Cincinnati. An original series,Behind the Screen, was part ofCBS Late Night from October 1981 to January 1982.[8] By the mid-80s, the concentration was on hit drama series such asMagnum, P.I.,Columbo,Simon and Simon,Hart To Hart, andThe Fall Guy.
TheLate Movie'stime slot was also at times taken over bytape-delayed sports events, such asNBAplayoffs andfinalsgames.
TV movies from other networks (Something for Joey,Birth of The Beatles) began to appear during the 1980s, and in 1985 the series was retooled asCBS Late Night. The expansion ofcable andsatellite television during the 1980s took over much of the show's movie fare, and it became mostly a haven for repeats ofMagnum, P.I. although new series such asNight Heat, a production ofCanada'sCTV network, also aired onCBS Late Night.Adderly,Hot Shots andDiamonds, other Canadian-filmed shows, later appeared.
AfterT. J. Hooker was canceled byABC in the summer of 1985, CBS picked up the show for its late night lineup, producingnew episodes and a two-hour TV movie for primetime.[9] The new shows were aired as the first portion ofCBS Late Night, with each episode's runtime extended to 70 minutes to allow CBS affiliates time for increased availability for advertisements.[10] The TV movie and the penultimate episode were both aired by CBS on May 21, 1986, with the series finale a week later.
In 1987, CBS aired an Americanized version of theBBC's long running pop music show,Top of the Pops, hosted byNia Peeples and featuring some performances from the BBC version of the program, alongside those taped in Hollywood. The show was presented on late Friday nights, and lasted almost a year.
In 1989,CBS Late Night was replaced byThe Pat Sajak Show. A year later,CBS Late Night returned afterThe Pat Sajak Show was shortened from 90 to 60 minutes in February 1990 and then cancelled altogether on April 13, 1990. During the same two-month time-span,CBS Late Night also televised reruns ofPatrick McGoohan's classic UK spy series,The Prisoner (1967–68).[11] The network also continued to show reruns of other old prime time shows such asWiseguy and shows from other networks including Fox's21 Jump Street andNBC'sStingray. The line-up also featured original programming; for example, there wasOvertime... withPat O'Brien as well asThe Kids in the Hall andThe Midnight Hour.
In March 1991, CBS retooled their late night by airing original series under a new umbrella title ofCrimetime After Primetime; new shows included, but were not limited to,The Exile,Silk Stalkings,Forever Knight,Stephen J. Cannell's anthology seriesScene of the Crime,Tropical Heat (shown asSweating Bullets on CBS), andDark Justice.
By that fall, CBS added two originalgame shows to the start of the late night lineup playing off the popularity of the syndicated dating game showStuds; the first to premiere in September 1991 wasPersonals, hosted byMichael Burger, paired a month later withNight Games, starring comedian Jeff Marder andPlayboy PlaymateLuann Lee as announcer. Both were adult-oriented game shows that followed a format similar toThe Dating Game.Night Games was canceled in June 1992, replaced byA Perfect Score, a similar show also hosted by Marder. BothScore andPersonals continued until December 1992, to be replaced by an earlierCrimetime After Primetime until being dropped forLate Show with David Letterman by the following August. Letterman's agreement with the network also came with the ability to produce programming in the hour after his show. In January 1995, Letterman's companyWorldwide Pants began producingThe Late Late Show withTom Snyder for the network, which he would continue to control untilJames Corden's run began in March 2015, when it came under network ownership.
CBS revived the concept of running late night crime and police procedural reruns, using the umbrella titleCBS Summer Showcase,[12] in the summer of 2015 between the May 20 finale ofLate Show with David Letterman and the September 8 premiere ofThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and the restoration of theEd Sullivan Theater between those dates. From May 21, 2015, until September 7, 2015, the network aired reruns ofpolice procedurals and scripted dramas in theLate Show slot beginning withThe Mentalist (May 21–June 5) and continued throughout the summer withHawaii Five-0 (June 8–12, July 27–31),CSI: Cyber (June 15–19, August 17–21),Elementary (June 22–26),Blue Bloods (June 29-July 5),The Good Wife (July 6–10, August 24–28),NCIS: Los Angeles (July 13–17),NCIS (July 20–24, September 7)Scorpion (August 3–7),NCIS: New Orleans (August 10–14) andMadam Secretary (August 31-September 4).[13][14][15][16]
The network dismissed concerns that it could hurt the ratings ofThe Late Late Show with James Corden, which follows theLate Show.[16] In an interview withVulture, Corden stated that he would not have been interested in havingThe Late Late Show temporarily moved up into theLate Show timeslot instead, explaining that "if it goes really well, then I’m just bummed in September. And if it goes terribly, then I’m the guy, 'Ah, well he can’t do it,' when in fact we’re only 25 shows in."[17] These fears were not realized, asThe Late Late Show received ratings consistent with what it had garnered previously, andSummer Showcase itself usually maintained Letterman's ratings share, even beating first-run episodes of ABC'sJimmy Kimmel Live! in the ratings.[18][19]
Corden subsequently used the lead-ins as an opportunity to spoof companionaftershows such asTalking Dead, withcold open sketches such asTalking Mentalist andTalking Hawaii Five-0. CBS CEOLes Moonves made a cameo appearance during the series premiere ofThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, manning a lever that he could use to switch back toThe Mentalist reruns if he was dissatisfied with the new program.[20][21]