Afternoon movie
Encyclopedia
The afternoon movie was a popular practice of local television stations from the 1950s through the 1970s. It consisted of the daily weekday
showing of old films usually between 12:30 and 2:00 P.M; if the film ran two hours or more, it was split into two parts. Atlanta local station WSB-TV
, for instance, would show films in this time slot under the umbrella title
Armchair Playhouse. Popular titles, such as House of Wax
, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
, the 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty
, or National Velvet
, would often turn up as afternoon movies (years later, in 1978, National Velvet was shown on network television, by CBS
).
WABC-TV
in New York City ran The 4:30 Movie
weekdays from 1968 to 1981. Other ABC
owned-and-operated stations also used the format at different times in the afternoon.
As more and more films began to be televised by entire networks in prime time
, and as more and more soap operas and daily syndicated programming filled the network airwaves and became extremely popular, the daily afternoon movie on TV was gradually phased out on the local affiliates belonging to the three major commercial networks (NBC, CBS and ABC).
Today, films are often shown locally on commercial stations in the afternoon during a weekend (especially since there are now so many more television channels), but none are shown in the afternoon on a weekday on the local affiliates.
Weekday
Weekday may either refer to only a day of the week which is part of the workweek thus not part of the weekend or to any of the days of the week.-Weekday as a day of the workweek:In most countries the days of the workweek are:# Monday# Tuesday# Wednesday...
showing of old films usually between 12:30 and 2:00 P.M; if the film ran two hours or more, it was split into two parts. Atlanta local station WSB-TV
WSB-TV
WSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
, for instance, would show films in this time slot under the umbrella title
Umbrella title
An umbrella title is a formal or informal name connecting a number of individual items with a common theme. It is most often used in lieu of listing separately the separate components or providing a convenient "label" for a collection of disciplines.-Academia:...
Armchair Playhouse. Popular titles, such as House of Wax
House of Wax (1953 film)
House of Wax is a 1953 American horror film starring Vincent Price. It is a remake of Warners' Mystery of the Wax Museum without the comic relief featured in the earlier film, and was directed by André de Toth...
, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
, the 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1935 film starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and directed by Frank Lloyd based on the Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall novel Mutiny on the Bounty.The film was one of the biggest hits of its time...
, or National Velvet
National Velvet (film)
National Velvet is a 1944 drama film, in Technicolor, based on the novel by Enid Bagnold, published in 1935. It stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp and a young Elizabeth Taylor....
, would often turn up as afternoon movies (years later, in 1978, National Velvet was shown on network television, by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
).
WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York City ran The 4:30 Movie
The 4:30 Movie
The 4:30 Movie was a television program that aired weekday afternoons on WABC-TV in New York from 1968 to 1981. The program was mainly known for individual theme weeks devoted to theatrical feature films or made-for-TV movies starring a certain actor or actress, or to a particular genre, or to...
weekdays from 1968 to 1981. Other ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
owned-and-operated stations also used the format at different times in the afternoon.
As more and more films began to be televised by entire networks in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, and as more and more soap operas and daily syndicated programming filled the network airwaves and became extremely popular, the daily afternoon movie on TV was gradually phased out on the local affiliates belonging to the three major commercial networks (NBC, CBS and ABC).
Today, films are often shown locally on commercial stations in the afternoon during a weekend (especially since there are now so many more television channels), but none are shown in the afternoon on a weekday on the local affiliates.