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ABC Color Movies (since 1961)
(ABC Primetime, 1961 - Present)
[Network film presentations prior to 1961 were usually quite
dated or foreign. NBC's "Saturday Night at the Movies" on
September 23, 1961 started a new trend. After years of waging
war on TV, Hollywood studios began negotiating with "the enemy"
so finally better movies began to appear. There were perhaps
two converging trends at work here: (1) the networks obtained
the rights to broadcast more recent feature films from major
motion picture studios, and (2) the advent of color TV made
these film broadcasts more acceptable to the audience, which
had only seen TV as a black and white delivery medium. After
NBC tried it and succeeded in terms of high ratings, the other
networks soon followed suit with color feature film series.
ABC experimented with a late-night umbrella concept under
the title "Wide World of Entertainment" (the title aligned with
their popular "Wide World of Sports"...not to be confused with
NBC's "Wide Wide World" :-) ABC's late-night entertainment block
varied from talk shows to variety shows to rock concerts, but
included occasional Made-for-TV Movies as well...It was
sometimes called "Wide World Mystery"...
This was similar to NBC's late-night concept of a number of
Made-for-TV Movies to introduce rotating series concepts,
which could be spun off on their own if they were successful,
all premiering under the umbrella title, "NBC Mystery Movie";
The concept of a network movie series has been slowly eroding
since the late 1990s, replaced by more late-night talk and
reality shows and various other attempts to find ratings;
Below are some of the titles used by ABC for its movies...
"The ABC Sunday Night Movie" (Fall, 1962)
"The ABC Wednesday Night Movie" (Summer, 1966)
"The (ABC Tuesday) Movie of the Week" (Fall, 1969)
"The ABC Monday Night Movie" (Winter, 1970)
"The (ABC Wednesday) Movie of the Week" (Fall, 1972)
"The ABC Suspense Movie" (on Saturday) (Fall, 1973)
"ABC Wide World of Entertainment" (Winter, 1973)
(aka: Wide World Mystery)
"The ABC Family Movie"]
Theme 1: "The Sunday Night Movie (Signature)"
[aka: "Sunday Night Movie Theme"]
[probable dates of use: 1962 - 1969]
Composer: Winston S. Sharples (ASCAP)
1978 Publisher: American Broadcasting Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
1998 Publisher: American Broadcasting Music, Inc. (ASCAP), of
New York, NY
Copyright Date:
Recordings:
LP: "Theme from Peyton Place and 11 Other Great Themes"
Frank DeVol and his Orchestra
ABC-Paramount ABC/ABCS-513 (1965)
Theme 2 (Tuesday/Wednesday): "New Movie Theme"
[adapted from figures in "Nikki" & "Are You There"]
[aka: "Wednesday Night"]
[probable dates of use: 1966 - 1974]
[This nice broad anthem of a movie theme incorporated
what musicians call "licks" (musical figures or motifs)
from arrangements of compositions by Burt Bacharach --
"Nikki" and "Are You There" which were popular songs
on the Billboard charts at the time.
In a 1966 article on TV music in the BMI promotional
publication "Many Worlds of Music", THEME credit for
the ABC Tuesday/Wednesday Night Movie was given to
Harry Betts (a BMI composer/arranger)...Bacharach
(an ASCAP composer) received no BMI mention.
Many viewers remember the "horn fifths" played in the
string section from the introduction of the Bacharach
song "Nikki"; and, as contributor Steve Owen points out,
other phrases from the Bacharach song "Are You There"
were ALSO incorporated in this contemporary (for the
times) network movie theme.
Usually the way these things happen is that the TV
composer comes to a meeting at the network and is told,
"We've been using a custom piece written for us a few
years back, and now we would like something more
up-to-date, more hip." When the composer asks for a
specific example, the network guy who doesn't
know what a network movie theme should sound like
may say something like "I don't know how to tell you
your business...but you know what I like to listen to?
I like songs by Burt Bacharach. If you could write
something like Bacharach, it'd really be cool..."
Of course that particular directive may be the wrong
advice on which to base a TV theme for a network movie.
But, with this sentence echoing in his head, the
composer stumbles out the door wondering "How the heck
can I turn love songs into a movie theme?" But he
goes out and listens to a bunch of Bacharach records
and looks for some way to please his client...
Of course the melody of a pop song may be filed for
copyright, but rarely is the arrangement. With a
creative composer/arranger like Bacharach, those
memorable licks may have been part of "the song" to
fans, but they probably never found their way to the
copyright office...
There may have been some discussion with Bacharach to
ask if they would allow the movie theme to "quote"
from their arrangements if it wasn't using the whole
tune or even a whole melody. Or perhaps Bacharach was
given some compensation for his cooperation...At any
rate the THEME went on the air, and became widely known.
So the influences converge -- the proud anthem style
in which most movie themes are written, and the licks
from contemporary songs "liberally quoted." In less
capable hands, this could yield a goulash of styles.
But in the case of a talented and experienced man like
Harry Betts who had a solid foundation in jazz and
production music, this mixture worked at the time,
resulting in a THEME remembered fondly decades later
by those viewers growing up in the 1960's....]
Credited Composer: Harry Richard Betts (BMI)
1978 Publishers:
1998 Publishers: MCA Duchess Music Corporation (BMI),
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Recordings:
Theme 3/4 (Sunday/Monday): [may have been the
same composition at one point]
[probable dates of use: 1969 - 1974]
[cannot verify if these refer to the same or two different
compositions yet...but Betts is credited in the BMI
periodical "Many Worlds of Music" as composer of the
THEME for the "ABC Sunday/Monday Night Movie" (1972-73).]
Title: "Sunday Night Movie Theme"
Composer: Harry Richard Betts (BMI)
Original Publisher: [unknown]
1998 Publisher: MCA Duchess Music Corporation (BMI),
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Recordings:
Title: "Monday Night Movie Theme"
Composer: Harry Richard Betts (BMI)
Original Publisher: [unknown]
1998 Publisher: MCA Duchess Music Corporation (BMI),
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Recordings:
Theme 5 (The ABC Suspense Movie): "Suspense Movie
Theme"
[probable dates of use: circa 1973]
[credited in BMI's "Many Worlds of Music" (1973 edition)]
Composer: Patrick Moody Williams (ASCAP/BMI)
1998 Publisher: [none found in ASCAP or BMI] but it is probably
MCA Duchess Music Corporation (BMI),
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Recordings:
Theme 6 (late-night): "Theme for ABC TV 'Wide
World of Entertainment'"
[probable dates of use: 1973 - 1976...
ALSO: Betts may have composed TWO Themes under this title --
one used during the 1973-74 season, and the more familiar
one with a heavy back-beat from 1974 - 1976...Both are on
ABC Network affiliate THEME Tapes.]
Composer: Harry Richard Betts (BMI)
1998 Publisher: MCA Duchess Music Corporation (BMI),
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Recordings:
Theme 7 (Sunday/Monday): "New Sunday/Monday Movie
of the Week"
[probable dates of use: 1974 - 1980]
Composer: Perry Lafayette Botkin, Jr. (ASCAP)
1978 Publisher: American Broadcasting Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
1998 Publisher: American Broadcasting Music, Inc. (ASCAP), of
New York, NY
Copyright Date:
Recordings:
Theme 8 (Sunday/Monday): "Star Tunnel: ABC Movie
Theme"
[Probable dates of use: 1980 - 1984]
[BMI Title: "Star Tunnel Theme". The visual opening for the
network movie at this point was an animated sequence of
concentric stars in a receding tunnel perspective, hence the
title above.]
Composers: Ferdinand Jay Smith, 3d (BMI), and
Jeffrey J. Tyzik (ASCAP)
[original composer claimant:] A B C/Dunhill Music, Inc.,
as employer for hire of Ferdinand Jay Smith <3d>; &
American Broadcasting Music, Inc., as employer for
hire of Jeff Tyzik.
Original Publishers: A B C/Dunhill Music, Inc. (BMI), and
American Broadcasting Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
1998 Publishers: ABC Circle Music, Inc. (BMI),
of New York, NY; and
American Broadcasting Music, Inc. (ASCAP),
of New York, NY
Composition Date [as per copyright form, "creation date"]: 1980
Copyright Date: Nov. 3 1981; PAu-348-237.
Other Themes (since 1984): [under
investigation]
Titles, Publishers and Composers: [unknown at this time...]
ABC Late Night Entertainment programs such as "ABC Wide World
of Entertainment" also at times included feature films.
THEMEs since 1984 have been often part of a yearly "promotion
music package" coordinated with the Fall promotional campaigns
written by "jingle" companies who produce such packages. So
the details of THEMES are incomplete for the years 1984 -
present time. Following are a few that are known:
Theme 12 (circa 1988): "A B C Movie of the Week
Theme"
Composers: Randall Craig Thornton (ASCAP),
Bryan L. Hofheins (ASCAP/BMI),
Samuel F. ("Sam") Cardon (BMI), and
Kurt Roland Bestor (BMI)
[Original copyright claimant: American Broadcasting Music, Inc.,
& A B C Circle Music, Inc., as employers for hire of
Randall Thornton, Bryan Hofheins, Sam Cardon & Kurt Bestor.]
1998 Publishers: A B C Circle Music, Inc. (BMI),
of New York, NY; and
American Broadcasting Music, Inc. (ASCAP), of
of New York, NY
Composition Date [as per copyright form, "creation date"]: 1988
Copyright Date: Oct. 20, 1988; PAu-1-154-018.
Theme 13 [1989 - 1973 ABC Umbrella
Theme]: "ABC Mystery Movie Theme"
[for a rotating number of series including "Columbo"...
which see...
BMI alternate title
aka: "ABC Mystery Movie Main Title"]
Composer: Mike Post (BMI)
[pseudonym of Leland Michael Postil]
2001 Publisher: Songs of Universal, Inc. (BMI)
c/o Universal Music Publishing Group
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recording:
Theme 14 (circa 1990): "ABC 1990 Generic Movie
Open"
Composers: Bryan L. Hofheins (ASCAP/BMI),
Samuel F. ("Sam") Cardon (BMI), and
Kurt Roland Bestor (BMI)
[Original copyright claimant: A B C Circle Music, Inc.,
as employers for hire of Bryan Hofheins, Sam Cardon
& Kurt Bestor.]
1998 Publisher: A B C Circle Music, Inc. (BMI),
of New York, NY
Composition Date [as per copyright form, "creation date"]: 1990
Copyright Date: April 19, 1990; PAu-1-359-167.
Theme 15 (circa 1996): "ABC Movie (Opening and
Closing Theme)"
[ASCAP title aka: "ABC Movie (OP & CL) (FFM)"]
Composer: Leslie Francis Summerfield (ASCAP)
1998 Publisher: Also Known As Songs (ASCAP),
c/o American Broadcasting Music, Inc.,
of New York, NY
Copyright Date: [none found]
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