NBC Saturday Night at the Movies

NBC Saturday Night at the Movies is the first anthology series on television to present relatively recent theatrical movies in colour from major Hollywood movie studios.

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.

Whereas 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, meaning that some have to be heavily edited or split into 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 single night.

20th Century-Fox sold 31 post-1950 films to NBC during the first NBC Saturday Night at the Movies season, 30 of which were actually broadcast in 1961-1962.

Before NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, films on television were low-budget and monochrome.

However, with NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, viewers at homes enjoyed recently-released colour films from major Hollywood studios unavailable at the time on television.

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.

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.

Each of the first 3 NBC Saturday Night at the Movies seasons start with a 1950's film released by 20th Century-Fox and starring iconic and world-famous sex symbol Marilyn Monroe.

How to Marry a Millionaire, the first Fox film shot on CinemaScope (and second released), is the first colour and CinemaScope film on primetime television, just before Marilyn Monroe's death.

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

Television's popularity led to a decline in movie theatre attendance, but also led Hollywood to develop larger-than-life, innovative and creative experiences that television could not replicate.

Some notable filmmaking innovations, including widescreen and stereo sound, did not have enough to counter television's popularity, but did successfully change the Hollywood film industry.

With innovations, such as widescreen and stereo sound, Hollywood successfully made a pivot towards blockbusters and high-end visual experiences, but also made a surge in colour production.

Hollywood also started to target a younger demographic wanting to leave the house, pivoting from the older demographic who stayed home with television.

CinemaScope has anamorphic lenses to squeeze a wide picture onto standard film, making widescreen affordable for film theatres around the world.

VistaVision is a widescreen film format for higher resolution and clarity.

Panavision is a company that develops superior lenses to counter visual distortions in close-ups.

Technicolour is a process to counter early television's monochrome.

Eastmancolour is a cheaper alternative to the expensive three-strip Technicolour process, which allows more films to be shot in colour than monochrome.

During the pivotal period when television won over film, graphics designers and filmmakers, like Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Pablo Ferro, reimagined motion graphics.

Kinetic typography and panning shots define the works made by Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Pablo Ferro.

Prior to the era marked by Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Pablo Ferro, Hollywood film studios usually have film posters, film trailers and film title sequences being designed by different artists.

For film title sequences before television, they were static text cards, separate from the film, and were typically being projected on the closed theatre curtains, opened to reveal the first scene.

Some traditional elements, including cards, satin and books, are often used in titles before television.

Likewise, film advertising (posters and trailers) was handled separately before television; its primary mission was to simply publicize the screening times and stars.

The National Screen Service (NSS) had dominated the film trailer scene until the 1960's with its own approach comprising large text laden with fiim clips.

However, with television's growth and popularity as a threat to the film industry, Saul Bass had defied conventions with his innovative approach: a unified film branding and titles as mini-movies.

Maurice Binder and Pablo Ferro further developed the film branding field, each with their distinct and influential styles, solidifying title designers as an integral part of the filmmaking process.

For Maurice Binder, he made film title sequences something sexy, sultry and sensual by incorporating elegant graphics, creative typography and abstract imagery featuring (or hinting) at women.

Pablo Ferro used multi-screen effects, hand-drawn typography and rapid-fire editing techniques.

Due to Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Pablo Ferro, title sequences are being utilized after raising the movie theatre curtains and before the beginning of the first scene of the actual film.

Together, those innovative title sequences being made by Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Pablo Ferro feature bold and dynamic graphics, all of which influence similar trends.

John Whitney Sr. pioneered motion control photography, utilizing decommissioned WWII anti-aircraft computers to create precise geometric patterns.

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

Besides, this NBC Saturday Night at the Movies presentation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes serves as a posthumous tribute to Marilyn Monroe, whose pink dress and Diamonds number have been iconic.

The Seven Year Itch, intended to be included in the first NBC Saturday Night at the Movies season, is actually the first film in its third one.

Noted for its title sequence by Saul Bass and Marilyn Monroe's iconic and sexy white skirt scene, The Seven Year Itch is a major success.

Having been the first film of the third NBC Saturday Night at the Movies season, The Seven Year Itch began to be aired some months before John F. Kennedy's assassination.

In addition to the films that started the first three NBC Saturday Night at the Movies seasons, the other Marilyn Monroe films include Niagara, River of No Return and Let's Make Love.

Responding to the success created by NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, ABC jumped on the NBC bandwagon by purchasing fifteen films released by United Artists in the late-1950's.

Hollywood Special is a short-lived and irregular film series for ABC, aired in 1962.

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

Joel Crager was the main announcer of The ABC Sunday Night Movie until the early-1980's.

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.

The opponent of the plan for CBS to launch a movie series was James T. Aubrey.

With James T. Aubrey's departure, CBS was given the go-ahead to launch The CBS Thursday Night Movies in the mid-1960's or before 1966.

After a decade, CBS decided to move its movie series to Friday nights in 1975.