NBC Saturday Night at the Movies

NBC Saturday Night at the Movies is television's first anthology series to air relatively recent motion pictures coming from major Hollywood studios in colour.

During television's early stages, major Hollywood studios did not release their films on television.

Instead, films shown on television during its early stages were typically low-budget B movies or older monochrome academy ratio films that have already lost their value in theatres.

By the 1950's decade, movies were on local television stations or during non-primetime line-ups.

Famous Film Festival and Hollywood Film Theatre are movie series on ABC in the 1950's decade.

While Famous Film Festival presented British films made during and after WWII, Hollywood Film Theatre presented some pre-1948 films by RKO.

RKO sold some pre-1948 films to ABC, while others were syndicated to local television stations.

Together, Famous Film Festival and Hollywood Film Theatre, both on ABC in the 1950's, aired films lasting 90 minutes, which meant some have to be severely either edited or aired in 2 parts.

NBC Saturday Night at the Movies was the first network movie anthology series to run two hours (or occasionally longer), so that almost all films can be aired on one night.

From its September 1961 premiere to its October 1978 end, NBC Saturday Night at the Movies was a showcase for Hollywood films

Don Stanley was the main announcer of NBC Saturday Night at the Movies and recorded the opening credits and bumpers at NBC Colour City Studios.

The first two seasons of NBC Saturday Night at the Movies begin with a Marilyn Monroe film in both 1961 and 1962.

How to Marry a Millionaire is the first colour and CinemaScope film on primetime television, nearly a year before Marilyn Monroe's death.

In addition, How to Marry a Millionaire is the first film on NBC Saturday Night at the Movies.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is the first film of the second NBC Saturday Night at the Movies season.

Plus, on television's NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes pays tribute to the recently-deceased Marilyn Monroe, whose pink dress and Diamonds number have been iconic.

The Seven Year Itch, noted for its sexy scene, where Marilyn Monroe's white dress is lifted by a breeze from a subway grate, is included in the third NBC Saturday Night at the Movies season.

Other films involving Marilyn Monroe in the first three seasons of NBC Saturday Night at the Movies include Niagara, River of No Return and Let's Make Love.

With NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, viewers would offer access to more recent and high-quality Hollywood films not usually available at the time on television.

Due to high ratings being generated by NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, NBC and its rivals added more movie series to the primetime schedule.

Hollywood Special is ABC's supposed mid-season replacement for Bus Stop's television iteration, in which it purchased films released by United Artists in the late-1950's period.

The ABC Sunday Night Movie, which began to air on a regular basis in the mid-1960's, was the new name for its short-lived and irregular Hollywood Special series.

CBS, meanwhile, jumped on the bandwagon of both NBC Saturday Night at the Movies and the ABC Sunday Night Movie with The CBS Thursday Night Movies.

Unlike both NBC and ABC, CBS delayed running feature-length films at the behest of its hierarchy.

After 10 years, CBS decided to move its movie series to Friday in 1975.

The September 1961 launch of NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, in particular with the rise of colour television, enhanced the cinematic experience at home.

In addition, the huge popularity of some network movie anthology series on television, including NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, offered a windfall to the film studios.

Even before it became widespread, NBC actively promoted colour programming and was a pioneer in bringing colour to television.

Colour television offers a more vibrant and visually appealing experience that mirrors the cinema.