The CBS Late Movie
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The CBS Late Movie was a CBS television series (later known as CBS Late Night) from the 1970s and 1980s, that ran in most American television markets from 11:30 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. or later, on weeknights. A single announcer voiced the introduction and commercial bumpers for each program, but there was no host per se, or closing credits besides those of the night's presentation. (The bumpers announcing the stars of the movie notably rotated names, two or three at a time, so more of the players would be mentioned.)
First airing on Valentine's Day 1972, the series originally featured repeats of the network's made-for-TV movies, and occasional theatrical movies shown on CBS in prime time on earlier dates, or movies not well-suited for prime time due to content. (Violence was often the main factor, with true crime stories and police drama, and occasionally controversial subject matter, or strong suspense, horror, or sci-fi themes.) Among these were The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, The Valley of Gwangi, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave. The Planet of the Apes movie series was also featured, on successive nights.
A memorable aspect to the show's commercial breaks was the frequent appearance of public service announcements, from the Ad Council and other organisations, that often dealt with "mature" topics such as venereal disease, sexual and violent crimes, and abuse of hard drugs. Announcements also ran in much greater proportion than during prime time.
After 1976, the show also featured back-to-back reruns of different one-hour television series, some popular (Barnaby Jones, Kojak), some lesser known (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Black Sheep Squadron, Dan August), and some originally made for British television (The Avengers and The New Avengers, Return of the Saint, The Prisoner). The Late Movie time slot was sometimes taken over by tape-delayed sports events, such as NBA playoffs and finals games.
TV movies from other networks (Cage Without a Key, Something for Joey, Birth of the Beatles) began to appear during the 1980s, and in 1985 the series was retooled as CBS Late Night. The expansion of cable and satellite television during the 1980s took over much of the show's movie fare, and it became mostly a place for repeats of popular CBS shows, including Magnum, P.I.. Night Heat, a production of Canada's CTV network, also aired on CBS Late Night, becoming the first Canadian-produced drama to appear on American television. Adderly, Hot Shots and Diamonds, other Canadian-filmed shows, later appeared.
The last broadcast of CBS Late Night was during 1989; the series was replaced first by The Pat Sajak Show, then by Crimetime After Primetime (essentially CBS Late Night under a different title). The timeslot was finally taken over by Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993.
