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Old Movies Resurface as TV Shows

July 19, 1964 - Old movies, which are providing the story lines for four new television shows this fall, will continue to turn up in serial form as the Hollywood studios assume a larger role in television.

When the season begins in September, viewers will be seeing the characters from “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” (pictured), “Peyton Place,” “Twelve O’Clock High,” and “No Time for Sergeants.”

In the planning stages are “Andy Hardy,” “See Here, Private Hargrove,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” and “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies.” These projects, owned by MGM, will be prepared by the studio for NBC.

The old movie redone as a TV serial is considered good economics. Since audiences are already familiar with the stories, the commercial risks seem smaller. In addition, less money is usually spent creating a series from a studio-owned property than starting with only an idea.

A script reader who works for 20th Century-Fox said: “In looking at scripts, I don’t confine myself to thinking of them as movies. I must always weigh the television prospects.”

Several years ago, Fox tried taping one-hour TV versions of its most successful films, such as “Laura.” The experiment was not successful. Viewers preferred Otto Preminger’s original, which could be seen on “The Late Show.”


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