CHANNEL 11 FILM FESTIVAL OPEN

[DerGunzWald]

@oldnyTV-OMG, I always thought the music was spooky!

[oldnytv5911]

Wow! I remember this like it was yesterday. The theme always kinda scared me as a kid. I thought I recalled also seeing this maybe in the mornings or afternoons when I would be home sick from school like in the early to mid 70's? One movie I distinctly remember watching of the FF was 1944's "The Lodger".

[shoresean1237]

Wow, this takes me back. I wish you also had the outro and the bumpers from this same show. It was a bit like the channel was saying : We know these are the same films we play almost all the time, so we'll put some effort into the intro to make up for it.

[castillianwagon500]

Thanks so much for putting this up. What's the name of the music ? It's great ! I know it's Cubin.

[konga5]

@wmbrown6; PLEASE HELP! Do you know the origin of the Chiller Theater animated hand intro? You seem to have great knowledge of WPIX! I'm impressed. Thank you!

[wmbrown6]

@konga5 - I'd say the animated hand intro for "Chiller" would've been made at the same time (1970) as the "Channel 11 Film Festival" open; both were perhaps the last film-based opens and bumpers for WPIX movie shows. Where it was made, I can't say.

[oldschoolbx1970]

I remember this. Thanks for posting.

[candrew14]

WPIX used this intro well into the 1980's for late night movies - I believe 2am

[monkeeman1966]

I remember watching "Island Of The Burning Doomed" (1967) on this WPIX intro many years ago.

[kstarpictures]

Looks like this movie opener is older than the early 80's. The graphic design style and music suggests late 60's or early 70's. You can even tell the 1978 "11" is keyed over the end graphic via video at the end.

[wmbrown6]

@kstarpictures - The design of this open, in fact, dated to 1970 - the year "The Channel 11 Film Festival" title first took effect (on that Oct. 5, replacing "Tonight at the Movies"). It and the "six-fingered hand" open and bumper for "Chiller" were perhaps the last such opens and bumpers of WPIX movie umbrellas to be created on film. And the music - Syd Dale's "Cuban Presto" - was originally from a 1966 (British) KPM music library album.

[wmbrown6]

(CONT'D) The centerpiece of this whole open was to showcase stars of those films in WPIX's inventory at the time - including the Samuel Goldwyn library (plus his last three productions of 1952-59) which the station acquired after WCBS-TV lost the rights to the pre-1951 package at the end of the 1969-70 season (one of the last airings of a Goldwyn film on Channel 2 was a Nov. 10/11, 1969 "Late Show" screening of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty").

[wmbrown6]

The very first film shown under the "Channel 11 Film Festival" banner, on Oct. 5, 1970, was actually the 1933 Mae West/Cary Grant pic "I'm No Angel." The "Film Festival" title may well have been inspired by the occasional theme weeks of West films which were aired in mid-1969 and again in early or mid-1970 under the banner of "The Mae West Film Festival."

[wmbrown6]

There was also a bumper which consisted of the opening squares plus the segment of: Gary Cooper, Peter Lorre, Jimmy Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, James Mason, and David Niven, with the title layout being the last image before the brief fade-out.

[143AC]

A Great way to start a L&H Film at WPIX TV.

[beebaker116]

i was telling my 4th grade students that tv used to go off the air...national anthem...tone...and off...blank sreen [just the bullseye or whatever] they just got silent and looked at me...they think i'm a 100 years old...LOL

[cnmmnc8852]

Yeah I remember watching this...but it always reminded me of Andy Warhol for some reason

[witchman67]

This music was also used in the movie "The Comedians"

[MisterBouncyBounce]

@witchman67 actually it wasn't used in the film, it was only used in an extended trailer for the film. i saw the trailer on TCM and i was like "WOW" i went and got the movie and not a note was in it. been looking for "cuban presto" by sid dale for a long time now....still looking.

[798389]

Didn't they call it "Movie Greats" before it was "The Channel 11 Film Festival"?

[wmbrown6]

@798389 - Actually, prior to Oct. 5, 1970 (when "The Channel 11 Film Festival" title first took effect), WPIX's late-night movie series was called "Tonight at the Movies," with a brief time period (April-May 1970) where they were called "Movie Favorites." "Movie Greats" was always associated with WNEW-TV . . . but their late night movies in those days were aired under "The 11:30 Movie."

[farodyoung]

What great memories! Growing up in Newark New jersey during the 70's. But i have to admit as a kid this strong musical tone was a little scary :)

[wmbrown6]

I've also found (via TV Guide) that "The Channel 11 Film Festival" (or what evolved into same) debuted on April 13 (14), 1970 at 12:15 A.M. It replaced "The Phil Donahue Show" which, ironically, was one of the programs that in early November 1969 had replaced WPIX's prior late-night movie showcase "Tonight at the Movies." What I'm trying to determine is what month in 1970 WPIX first acquired the Goldwyn films (the earliest I've seen was September 1970).

[wmbrown6]

(CONT'D) The earliest reference to the "Film Festival" title in The New York Times listings for WPIX's late-night movies was for the Oct. 12, 1970 screening of "My Beautiful Daughter" (1950) starring Gina Lollobrigida and Richard Ney.

[jdlewis007]

The title of this awesome piece of music used for this opening sequence is "Cuban Presto," by British composer Syd Dale. It was originally released on the KPM Music Library album "Accent on Percussion" in 1966. Dale's library music was featured in many films and TV series, including, most notably, much of the music used on the second and third seasons of the 1967-1970 "Spider-Man" animated series produced and directed by Ralph Bakshi. Dale passed away in 1994.

[MisterBouncyBounce]

i've always loved that piece of music and never knew it was from a song called cuban presto until i read it on youtube and ever since i've been dying to hear the whole piece but can't find it anywhere not even for purchase. if you know anywhere i can hear it or buy it i'd really appreciate it.

[fromthesidelines]

Yes, Goldwyn's last three films (as you mentioned) were available separately in a different "package" WPIX acquired in 1970, along with the pre-1951 Goldwyn library {it ended with "I Want You"} that he originally leased to CBS' owned and operated stations in 1964. According to A. Scott Berg's biography of Goldwyn, Sam often pestered the network when they omitted his name in newspaper ads when the films were first seen. "SCHAEFER AWARD THEATER"- that takes me back! I saw their ads in TV GUIDE.

[wmbrown6]

@fromthesidelines - By 1964-65, ads for "Award Theatre" as printed in TV Guide were prepared directly by whoever did the ads for WCBS-TV itself at the time; this is manifested by the fact that when the films were shown several months later on "The Late Show," the exact same ad artwork was reused, only with the title changed. "Midnight Lace," for example, was first shown on "Award Theatre" on April 15, 1967; the same ad artwork was recycled for its May 31, 1969 "Late Show" airing.

[farodyoung]

Man, who would have thought that this is still around ! Im from Newark NJ grew up there during the 70's and i remember this so well as a kid, just cant remember the year. Man if we could only go back in time when life was so simple! This was the time when these great movies were shown everybody had to watch it!

[fromthesidelines]

The stars represented in this title were all featured in films WPIX had in its library {Bob Hope, for example, starred in two Sam Goldwyn films the station leased, as were Gary Cooper's 1938-'42 Goldwyn features}. Eventually, Channel 11 literally sliced out most of the stars' faces after their films were no longer part of the station's inventory; I remember seeing the "edited" version, and it was TERRIBLE!!!

[wmbrown6]

@fromthesidelines - WPIX picked up the rights to the Goldwyn films in or around 1970, after WCBS-TV's rights to them had expired. Besides the pre-1950 films that had originally aired "first-run" on Channel 2 starting in 1965 (including six that had their New York TV debuts on the prestigious "Schaefer Award Theatre"), Channel 11 got a batch of "off-network" Goldwyn films such as "Hans Christian Andersen," "Guys and Dolls" and "Porgy and Bess."

[wmbrown6]

The Goldwyn features that debuted on WCBS's "Award Theatre" were: "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (on Jan. 16, 1965); "My Foolish Heart" (on May 30, 1965); "The Best Years of Our Lives" (on July 4, 1965); "The Pride of the Yankees" (on Oct. 8, 1965); "The Bishop's Wife" (on Dec. 17, 1966; later a Channel 11 holiday staple); and the 1939 version of "Wuthering Heights" (on Feb. 18, 1967; the last pre-1948 feature to be debuted on "Award Theatre").

[wmbrown6]

In fact, "Mitty" was the first Goldwyn film to be shown by any TV station. And at least two other CBS O&O's (WBBM in Chicago and KNXT in Los Angeles) premiered this film on the exact same day (Jan. 16, 1965) as WCBS. Which showed "Mitty" in color, the first to have this distinction in the period when color TV really began to take off (as opposed to the half-hearted attempts at color in the '50's).

[MisterBouncyBounce]

how do you know all this stuff?

[Shawnster65]

I also remember seeing this sometimes late at night on Channel 11.

One of the movies I remembered seeing was the horror movie classis "The Twisted Brain" aka "Horror High."

Man those were the days! What got me about this opening was the graphics. Gunny how I never knew who any of those stars were back then, but I do NOW, lol

[the430movie]

I love this opening credit! Every time this came on, we would Tango to this! and when it finished we'd jump back in our seats! who ever lost their seat had to watch the movie sitiing on the floor! I miss those times!

[qqrk1372]

I remember this opening. Love the bongos. SO COOL!

[DanZero77]

Ok this might sound crazy, but as I was moving the slider back on this video, I noticed a faint appearance of the "Circle 11" logo from the early 70s at the part where it shows "The Channel 11 Film Festival"..... and if you notice the slight shaking of the video at that point... the 1976-1982 "11" appears to be superimposed over it!!!!!! Guess that means this opening is older than we think!

[wmbrown6]

It is; in fact, both it and the "six-fingered hand" open for "Chiller" were perhaps the last opens for WPIX movie shows to be produced on film, during the 1970-71 season (after that, such opens were largely produced on videotape). Indeed, "The Channel 11 Film Festival" started in 1970, a year after the "circle 11" logo was introduced. (Although some of WPIX' ads in the papers and in TV Guide during 1971-72 referred to the program as the "WPIX Film Festival.")

[plocequ1]

When i die, I hope heaven is in the 70s

[1995RangeRover]

Wow thanks for posting I remember this!

[StukInBuf]

If I recall right: WPIX used to have a Sunday Afternoon movie intro that sounded like popcorn. In key of B-minor, it goes like this... B-A-B-D-F#-B, repeating the same 6-note sequence again, and then B-C#-D-C#-D-B-C#-B-C#-A-B-B-A-­B, before going back to the top and doing it all over again.

Then, there was another 'PIX Sunday Afternoon movie intro with a white background with a spinning statue of some kind, and some timpani-roll-style music.

[wmbrown6]

I seem to recall that during the 1973-74 period, WPIX had a whole Sunday morning/afternoon movie block, which had a "groovy" circle split into four parts - only three of which constituted this block (designated as "part 1," "part 2" etc., and set in Ronda Bold). And indeed, this whole movie block (which began with - surprise, surprise - Abbott & Costello flicks) had as its theme Hot Butter's "Popcorn," the first 20 seconds of it from my recollection.

[MSTS1]

That's a good one TT..

[wmbrown6]

The 18th star around 0:14 was most likely Jayne Mansfield.

[classicphile]

Yeah, I too think its Jayne Mansfield

[EarlSnohomish]

Star roll call: Jane Russell, Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney, Sophia Loren, Rex Harrison, Charles Boyer, Joan Crawford, Anthony Quinn, Glenn Ford?, (can't tell - MM again?, Doris Day?, Kim Novak?, Jayne Mansfield?), Lee Marvin?, Gary Cooper, Peter Lorre, James Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, James Mason and David Niven.

Thanks for reposting, Tap!

[tapthatt2012]

i think jayne mansfield

[EarlSnohomish]

Yeah, the smile looks like Jayne's, Tap. Don't know if any of her films aired on WPIX, though (not that it means anything, of course).

BTW, Happy Easter and Passover to one and all!

[tapthatt2012]

same to you, bud.