Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Video Vault of Mora Tau 7/17/12!

For this trek into the VVoMT - this blog's good buddy Melissa Bradley inspired this post thanks to her comment on this past Saturday Night at the Movies post - wherein she waxed nostalgic for the way the American Broadcasting Company used to be the exclusive source for the James Bond movies - and they continued rerunning them for almost twenty years, from Dr. No through The Living Daylights.



They finally lost the license to show...and rather appropriately it was for Licence to Kill, which premiered on Fox. Then, the other networks jumped in to the bidding, and NBC scored the first showing of GoldenEye; while a couple of years later CBS bid highest to show Tomorrow Never Dies for the first time.



By the time The World is Not Enough was released the networks weren't showing movies any more - so 007 moved to cable - first on TBS for a few years, then over to Spike TV, where I believe they currently still reside, though other cable networks do schedule one now and again.


But this is about the long love affair between ABC and 007 - and here are several short promos from across the 80's. (You can really tell when VCRs came into American households - just look at the earliest available TV promos on YouTube!)


We have to mention the late great Ernie Anderson - formerly a horror host in Cleveland (Ghoulardi) and later a very successful announcer - and the voice of ABC for me and scads of other television fiends in the 80's. Of course, you remember the great way he'd say The Looovvve Boat!



This is from sometime in 1980 - a feature film that was then 17 years old. Wow.








December 23, 1979:







November 2, 1986:






1986:









January 1, 1989:





April 13, 1986:







This one is a well remembered favorite - because I had it taped (on BETA!) along with the movie and watched it a few dozen times on my own tape. From November 22, 1981:












And lastly - from September 24, 1982 - a little clip that shows how racy the James Bond movies were considered back in the day:







Thanks to Melissa for prompting this look back - sure - I have the whole series coming in a Blu-Ray box set in a couple of months - but there was something very special about watching these movies on network television on a Sunday night.


Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

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14 comments:

  1. UnknownJuly 18, 2012 at 12:02 AM

    Oh my gosh, thank you for the memories. I love looking at these little clips. Sunday night was Bond night with me and my dad. Those stars and that music heightened the anticipation. It was a Sunday night event.

    Thanks for sharing these and thank you for the awesome shout out my friend. :)

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    1. Craig EdwardsJuly 18, 2012 at 12:47 AM

      Thanks for reminding me of those wonderful Sunday evenings with the family in front of the big console TV!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJuly 18, 2012 at 12:48 AM

    Enjoyed watching these clips.Thanks for sharing & bringing back some fond memories.

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    1. Craig EdwardsJuly 18, 2012 at 12:52 AM

      I'm glad you enjoyed them - thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Joe RichardsonJuly 18, 2012 at 12:53 AM

    Love these! Of course, I love everything vintage Bond.

    Isn't that a riot, that Bond was considered risque back in the day? Now a prime time sitcom would make Bond movies look like G-rated material.

    Thanks for unearthing these!

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    1. Craig EdwardsJuly 18, 2012 at 12:59 AM

      Yeah, there's really something lost in the old feature films playing on network TV - and the fact that the 007 movies were by far the oldest movies in rotation (not counting super classics like The Wizard of Oz and The Ten Commandments.)

      It is something to think about - Goldfinger rating that parental warning - in a version edited of its pre-credit sequence - both to avoid the female dancer's vibratory charms, and to cut down the running time to fit a two hour slot. As you say, a mild episode of certain sitcoms would outracy the spiciest Bond movie before the first commercial.

      You're welcome - thanks for dropping in, chum!

      Delete
  4. Maurice MitchellJuly 18, 2012 at 4:53 PM

    Craig, thanks for the trip down memory lane. "Benson and the Greatest American Hero won't be seen tonight." LOL Great memories

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    1. Craig EdwardsJuly 18, 2012 at 11:49 PM

      Yeah, the networks don't say that stuff any more - and certainly not in the golden tones of Ernie Anderson!

      Delete
  5. Maynard MorrisseyJuly 19, 2012 at 10:38 AM

    That's a very nice promo collection.
    Love the ABC Saturday Night spot before Moonraker, just cool!

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    1. Craig EdwardsJuly 19, 2012 at 11:23 PM

      It's my favorite too, Harry!

      Delete
    2. Maynard MorrisseyJuly 21, 2012 at 1:32 PM

      Oh btw, you might wanna have a nice little award :)
      http://www.horrormoviediary.net/2012/07/holy-fuck-i-got-4-awesome-awards.html#more

      Delete
    3. Michele (TheGirlWhoLovesHorror)July 21, 2012 at 5:29 PM

      Bah, I got beaten! Gave you the same award, Craig:
      http://thegirlwholoveshorror.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-liebster-award-or-insanely-long-and.html

      Delete
  6. LuanaJuly 19, 2012 at 1:36 PM

    I saw most of my James Bond on TV...and occasionally would get to the theatre to see new releases. Those were the days. The movies led me to the books by Ian Fleming which were awesome! My ring tone is the James Bond theme. Oh YEAH!

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    1. Craig EdwardsJuly 19, 2012 at 11:25 PM

      I certainly did up to 1983 - then I got a licence..to drive! And out I went opening night for each Bond movie, not missing an opening Friday until 1995's GoldenEye - when I was trapped at work on the CBS series American Gothic - but I saw that one at the first show Saturday - and I've seen every other one opening day since - that's almost thirty years of being front and center at the first showing! I already have November 9th as a day off work for Skyfall!

      Delete