The 1969 Star Trek movie

[Nebusj]

Every other studio at the time was either making psychedelic sex comedies (with real exposed boobies, for the first time ever!!), lavish musicals, or finishing driving the Western/World War II movie genres into the ground.

Should be mentioned, though: those lavish musicals --- much though I love 'em --- were money pits, desperately hoping to break even if they got lucky, which they didn't. (Everyone was trying to make another The Sound Of Music, which in 1965 earned all the money in the world.) Somewhere around Cabaret (1972) they finally gave up.

 

[EnriqueH]

Oh, mannnn.

This would've been AWWWWWESOME.

I can remember watching a Man From UNCLE rerun with my dad way back in the mid 80s, and it was a feature called "One Spy Too Many".

Can you imagine?

I always wished Bruce Mars had reprised Finnegan in some capacity.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

2001: A Space Odyssey came out in 1968. A Star Trek film would have still been overshadowed by it. There were other science fiction films in the late 60s and early 70s (I saw most of them), but most were much smaller in scale.

Planet of the Apes was released in 1968, and was a major hit (32 million during its original run, while 2001 earned 15 million in its first run) with an immediate impact with its social commentary (among other strengths), hence the studio push for a sequel. From this, we can imagine 2001 did not overshadow everything, so a known property such as Star Trek (with a budget increase no one would miss on screen) who knows?

While flashy, TV-to-movie productions such as Munster, Go Home! & Batman (both released in 1966) did not come close to meeting studio expectations (their respective peaks already passed by the time the films hit screens), Star Trek was growing a loyal audience not complaining that the fad had worn thin (as in the case of Batman as it entered their 2nd season).

Its safe to say a ST movie would not earn as much as the first Apes film, but the added attention, and potential of a stronger visuals realized, it might have sparked a new interest in audiences who somewhat ignored the TV version.

 

[gottacook]

While flashy, TV-to-movie productions such as Munster, Go Home! & Batman (both released in 1966) did not come close to meeting studio expectations (their respective peaks already passed by the time the films hit screens), Star Trek was growing a loyal audience not complaining that the fad had worn thin (as in the case of Batman as it entered their 2nd season).

Certainly The Munsters was exhausted by the time Munster Go Home (in color!) came out, but I don't believe the same is true for the Batman movie, which I saw at age 9 (the theater gave out photos each "autographed" by Adam West and Burt Ward). The TV series had only been on for half a season (two episodes a week starting in early 1966) and was still very, very popular when the movie came out. It didn't start to decline until during its first full season, which led to the decisions to add Batgirl and run only one episode a week (no more cliffhangers) for what turned out to be the final season.

What do you know about "studio expectations" for the movie versus its actual performance? On what assumptions were such expectations based?

 

[extremedalek]

This is the first time I've heard this being discussed. I've nothing to add, other than that!

 

[Khan 2.0]

heres an intriguing 'What If' scenario for the 69 'Lost' Trek movie:
http://www.chud.com/community/t/131642/mario-bavas-star-trek-1969

 

[Christopher]

I can remember watching a Man From UNCLE rerun with my dad way back in the mid 80s, and it was a feature called "One Spy Too Many".

That was one of the repackaged 2-parters I mentioned, a reworking of the second-season opener "Alexander the Greater Affair." They added a new action opening which was rather silly; not only does actor David Sheiner sport an obvious bald cap to match his shaven head in the episode (filmed months earlier), but the sequence showed him breaking through the security of a government facility, only to cut to the opening of the episode proper where he's still outside that facility and has to break in again. There's also a tacked-on subplot with Yvonne Craig as a sexy UNCLE researcher flirting with Solo, interpolating her in the middle of scenes where Solo's calling HQ on the radio or having her show up and say "Here's that thing you talked about arranging in the previous scene."

There was an episode late in the second season where Solo and the guest actress were watching an in-flight movie, and it was One Spy Too Many. Solo complained that spy movies were just light entertainment and were too far-fetched for his tastes.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Certainly The Munsters was exhausted by the time Munster Go Home (in color!) came out, but I don't believe the same is true for the Batman movie, which I saw at age 9 (the theater gave out photos each "autographed" by Adam West and Burt Ward). The TV series had only been on for half a season (two episodes a week starting in early 1966) and was still very, very popular when the movie came out.

The movie was produced after the 1st season wrapped production. Although season 1 was a hit, "Batmania" was already running its course by the time the movie was released. This was evident with the ratings for season two (1966-67), where the show--despite the pre-season announcement of a number of Hollywood notables to guest as villains--failed to match the eye-opening ratings of season 1.

There was only one, ratings bright spot: the 2-parter with Liberace, which ended up being the highest rated episode of the series, but that was the exception, as the rest of season collapsed.

It didn't start to decline until during its first full season, which led to the decisions to add Batgirl and run only one episode a week (no more cliffhangers) for what turned out to be the final season.

Again, with average ratings taking a serious drop over the course of season 2, Batgirl was added with the start of its third and final (1967-68) season. It did not matter, as "Batmania" had come and gone a year earlier, and the series had its foot on the gas pedal--running headfirst into a brickwall.

What do you know about "studio expectations" for the movie versus its actual performance? On what assumptions were such expectations based?

Dozier thought (among other things) the film would be a big hit for Greenway/lawn / Fox, based on the reception for the 1st TV season. With a budget of $1,540,000, but barely earning more with 1.7 million in North American grosses, it is not hard to imagine 20th Century Fox was less than happy with the performance. This is notable in that this occurred during a long period when Fox was suffering from incredibly expensive losses on the big screen (not even addressing the TV flops) that would run across the decade (ex. Cleopatra - budget 44 million / box office 57 million, or 1967's Doctor Dolittle - budget 17 million / box office 9 million).

 

[Richard Baker]

Buck Rogers went theatrical first then to series. That bootstrapping of production costs helped with the sets and SFX for sure.

 

[Christopher]

^I thought Buck Rogers went the same route as BSG -- pilot made as a TV feature, but released theatrically to generate buzz.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^I thought Buck Rogers went the same route as BSG -- pilot made as a TV feature, but released theatrically to generate buzz.

One difference is that the BSG pilot was released in the US after all episodes of the TV series had aired, though it had been released abroad before the series. The Buck Rogers pilot on the other hand was released everywhere before its series.

 

[Khan 2.0]

TV Hulk and Spiderman had several theatrical releases too

 

[Christopher]

TV Hulk and Spiderman had several theatrical releases too

Not in the US, as far as I know. The Bill Bixby Hulk series began with two TV movies before becoming a weekly series; as for the '70s Spider-Man, a number of its episodes were later repackaged for syndication as TV movies, sometimes with a bit of newly filmed bridging material added.

Okay, IMDb says the pilot movies of both shows got theatrical releases in a few countries, and at least a couple of Spidey 2-parters got German theatrical releases.

 

[Khan 2.0]

yeah Hulk/Spidey were just overseas release. heres the one sheet for TIH pilot (best Hulk movie so far )

 

[Hober Mallow]

Maybe the movie would have ended up being like the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies, totally unrelated to the series.

Technically, there was a 1973 Star Trek feature film...

 

[Khan 2.0]

Maybe the movie would have ended up being like the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies, totally unrelated to the series.

The galaxys future hangs in the balance when the 'United Star Command' is under threat from the alien 'Klingon' warrior race. Captain Kirk of the galactic star cruiser 'USS Enterprise' is ordered to the outer rim to investigate, where he uncovers a deadly ancient warlord who is out for revenge...

'Star Trek' starring Richard Chamberlain as Captain Kirk, Martin Landau as Mr Spock, Richard Crenna as Dr 'Bones' McCoy, with Kirk Douglas as Admiral Pike, and Omar Sharif as warlord 'Khan'

 

[PCz911]

Maybe the movie would have ended up being like the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies, totally unrelated to the series.

Technically, there was a 1973 Star Trek feature film...

This ....blew....my...mind.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Maybe the movie would have ended up being like the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies, totally unrelated to the series.

Technically, there was a 1973 Star Trek feature film...

Wow! Nice Pink Floyd soundtrack.

 

[CRM-114]

Maybe the movie would have ended up being like the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies, totally unrelated to the series.

Technically, there was a 1973 Star Trek feature film...

I've seen Turkish Star Trek before. If you want something really bizarre, go back to YouTube and search "Turkish Wizard of Oz".

Even better, search for the legendary Turkish Star Wars.

 

[mb22]

Or Turkish E.T., Superman, Exorcist...