Opening credits for the nightly "Million Dollar Movie" on WOR-TV Channel 9 (NY/NJ area) circa the '70s. The song is "Tara's Theme" composed by Max Steiner for "Gone With the Wind."
Memories of my mom letting me stay up late watching tv with her on that little black and white set in our living room. My dad would come home from work and say, "what are you still doing up?" and then he would give me the tastycake he saved for me from his lunch. He has been gone a while now but when I hear this I can still see him in the doorway, smiling.
I agree, however, as I see NYC descending into crime and chaos, it reminds me of that which was normal then and is not now. The other day I walking through 14th Street and First and Second Avenues. The streets were filthy, the peddlers well selling all kinds of things on the streets like they did back in the day, and people were sleeping on the street in the middle of the day. Peddlers selling junk might have been appealing 30-plus years ago, but today we largely have different sensibilities. People are hesitant to bring items sold on the street into their homes and clothing and other things is inexpensive when purchased at discount scores new. In fact, what I saw was appalling yet entirely familiar to my memories of the past. Whatever the city was, it was a moment in time when the dysfunction of the day worked and was part of an evolution. The end result has proved to be quite bland and boring yet confronted with going back to crime and chaos, I am not a fan. That said, I am not a young man any longer and that which attracts young men to urban life is off my radar entirely. My idea of an exciting night these days is a pastrami sandwich and a heart UN-healthy candy bar. I do recall being young, and the vast, dark, dangerous city seemed to have an energy to it that called out to me. I am still young enough to relate to the appeal of that albeit barely, but even if it suddenly were as it had been, I don't have much energy after the sun sets. I hate to admit that but it is the truth. I do miss my youth but I do not miss the lack of wisdom with which I operated as a young man. It's amazing that I am still here.
Absolutely agree. The older I get the more I miss those days. Playing outside in the summers at night while our parents sat on the front porches. And getting to come outside in our PJ's.
Any kid who grew up in the NYC metropolitan area in the '50s-60's will immediately recognize the first few notes of the music, as the theme from channel 9's million dollar movie...what a treat it was for a youngster to stay up late (either on a non school nite, or snowed in) and see the late movie, and falling asleep on the couch in the den with the black andwhite tv set flickering in the darkness....
Same here - grew up in the 50s-60s NYC metro area (Bloomfield, NJ). Life was much simpler then. No Netflix, no Amazon-prime, no digital anything. The choices were made for you. MDM had some great selections and some fairly awful ones, as well. Who then could have envisioned the vast array of choices and complexity we have at our fingertips today. If MDM was featuring something of interest - well, that was great. I used to sew in the semi-finished basement of my parents home - we had an old B/W TV by the machine. Sometimes an afternoon movie would come on which was really interesting to watch - usually not. Most of the afternoon movies were awful. WABC am radio was the far better choice, in that case. Who could forget Dan Ingram and Cousin Brucie. Those were the days when the whole family would gather in the TV room on weekends to watch Bonanza and what not together. Perhaps we were not as worldly and "sophisticated" as we are today ..........but we were content. Oh and, yes, being "snowed-in" absolutely was fun back then....not so fun when I became an adult and had to drive in it so as to get to work to take care of patients in the hospital. That scenario (driving) was more of a nightmare. Sometimes simple is good!
***** Very well said indeed Lois..just one point on the limited selections/offerings we had back then...the next day at school or work everybody had watched pretty much the same thing, and were eager to talk about it, and you knew what everybody was referring to...not bad I'd say!..pretty tough for that to happen today, with the internet and 200+ cable channel available...not to mention dvds etc etc!...PS just my opinion, but I think possibly the last show on tv that had that watercooler..homeroom chatter might have been Seinfeld...
Daniel, I do believe such is what bonds a generation. There is no way anyone who has not experienced what we have been discussing could understand it - anymore than you and I, or the rest of our generation, could understand the Great Depression or WWII on the home front. What we have been discussing is an era in which one had to live through in order to understand or relate to. You are correct, many of the TV shows of the 70s were the subject of work conversation the following day. This was esp true if you had a job which involved sharing a room with other people where the nature of the work permitted unlimited conversation with co-workers. It is hard for me to relate to the "I-phone crowd" of today's young people where they must be in constant contact with friends and peers via texting. I can't image the need to do so.
I remember this so well from when I was a kid, and half the time they were very good, but older movies. This, Joe Franklin, Mets on WOR and Yankees on WPIX. This was classic late night TV.
As I am writing this I am in my apartment near Union Square. When I look at this clip, I think to myself, I wish I were in NY, or that I could go to NY. Whatever this place is now, it's dull and nothing like its former self.
@@Michael-te7fj At the time this clip played, crime was really bad, the subways were WAY worse than it is now (though the cars were more interesting), and everything was older and dirtier. OTOH, stuff was cheaper, and there were many more mom-and-pop stores that catered to everyday people, instead of "boutique" stores. NYC was just different.
@@zorkmid1083 Why does someone always bring up crime and the subways. I took subways for years in the 80s and 90s and never saw any crime. Just didn't take them late at night.
So many memories of late night tv as a kid on the weekends watching channel 9 wwor. The saddest thing about this is how this theme just faded away. I don't even remember when they stopped it. When you're a kid you think everything lasts forever. My goodness such nostalgic feelings this brought back for me.
Yes,but the number of channels,and movie actor availability;are TWO different issues. on TV,at that time;no good actor was expected to cross over,if they had made a name on screen. and,remember;there was greatly written live theater on TV in the early days. Serling,Chayefsky,etc etc.. It all went down in quality,quickly;with sponsor meddling and manipulation. this discussion,can't be framed as a simple either or;as it's just too nuanced a subject matter for that.
Maybe 'quality' is the wrong word. Perhaps TV back then was 'special' (whether good or bad). Mainly because it wasn't as saturated as it is now. TV and movies were more of a big deal. Indeed less is more. I'm not one to think there wasn't 'crap' back in the day or that things were 'innocent', but I do think things were generally more 'sincere' back then.
For years I debated my old man about this being the Million Dollar Movie theme and not Tara's theme from Gone With The Wind. I was a kid, you couldn't tell me nothing then. I wish I could have that debate with my dad one more time. Ah, sweet memories.
**** Growing up as a kid in Brooklyn, I remember this so well on TV. I just never knew that I would one day spend 35 years working around those same sights and sounds..I still hold the city life within me.****
I remember during "King Kong" week they had an image of Kong rising up from behind the NY skyline. One year during Christmas vacation I watched that movie every day it was on! My mother teased for years about hearing Fay Wray screaming for a solid week! Good 'ol WOR! Thanks so much for posting this gem.
@@waynej2608 ...Many just like you said the same thing. However, I've seen "Gone with the Wind" as a small child first, as early as 1959 in the movie theater. You're also a native New Yorker, and so am I. Wayne, do you remember the old Eyewitness News theme? The music was from "Cool Hand Luke."
Watching this now brings back a flood of feelings. I remember an older version. When I was a kid, every time I viewed it, it created a feeling of "tragedy and mourning" as if I were witnessing the passing of a great era; the society, generation, and civilization depicted by the images.
You were indeed witnessing the passing of a great era. So was I. There are many good things about the present. That said, the flavor of the past as I recall it was rich.
@Open Borders for Israel I remember that older version as well, it has slightly different footage but the same music, Absolutely agree with you, I remember distinctly it had images of the escalator at 53rd & Lex, there was something magical and almost transcendent about that intro as you say a kind of sad commemoration of a culture, including its million dollar movies!. It is indeed an overview of an era that has passed away, but for me it was the era of my youth in New York. It seemed even when it was a contemporary image back then I was looking back at times gone, and that certainly is the feeling now. Take care everyone.
I remember my youth before cable. I lived on the third floor of my parents house and on clear nights could watch channels 11, 5 and 9. It was a thrill to watch a New York ball game or program on these stations. This still evokes fond memories and reminiscent of a simpler time in my life. I watch this clip once in awhile and I get a nostalgic longing to go back before cable which in my opinion ruined television. It gives me chills.
...you are correct - I miss the days of 'free' TV, ball games and cheesy c0ommercials. "...call Murray Hill 5-7000...that's Murray Hill 5-7000...out of town call collect!!!..."
This always reminds me of my youth in NYC. Winter evenings, the days ending so soon. After dinner we'd sit around the TV and watch the Million Dollar Movie. Me always on the floor.
Awesome! I remember my dad letting me watch Errol Flynn Movies, The Blue Max, The Vikings, etc instead of doing my homework right away! If only I could turn back the clock for just one day!!!
When I came across this video I started to cry as the memories were overwhelming. Reminding me of a simpler time in my life back in the early 60s and 70’s
I grew up in NJ from the mid 1960s- mid 1980s, and like many of you, never knew the MDM theme was the GWTW song (that is until we finally saw GWTW, usually as adults). But I had no idea that experience was so universal for kids growing up in the Tri-State area until the early 1990s, watching the great late night show Later with Bob Costas. His guest was Billy Crystal, and he talked about the same thing! (This was before the internet).
How I remember this so well!! So great to see! BEFORE CABLE TV took hold of our lives! So 1970s NYC! A Different time and place.....I LOVE it, but also makes me feel sad. It reminds me of so many people no longer with us. For me it was a simpler time in life. Way to much crap today! Very true, not a whole lot to choose from back then BUT YES! less was much more!! GREAT memory..............
It's Thanksgiving Day and Mighty Joe Young is about to start. Of course you could always jump over to WPIX and watch Babes in Toyland with Laurel and Hardy.
Loved MDM. Watched so many of them all week. I remember Gentlemen Jim, Angles With Dirty Faces, They Drive By Night, King Kong, Son of Kong, White Heat, Trapeze, and many many more.
Wouldn't surprise me. WOR always seemed the poor man out among the local three. On Sunday nights, they really had no programming - it was all bible shows. It's incredible to think that there was a time when we had just 6 channels, and even then programming was thin - and yet I somehow ended up a couch potato.
Wow what memories. Just arrived in the states 1981 and in Maplewood NJ. Would always watch the late showing of fabulous old movies on a Friday and Saturday night. The music would stir one's heart. Many happy memories of my time in America.
I miss all the NYC TV channels from the 1970s. Most of us fondly remember the "simpler" times of our childhood, when our parents took care of everything and it seemed like our lives would last forever.
Yes, a classic opening and framing for a movie... as if to say "This is art and a treasure you are to watch... Enjoy." We really miss much of this type of attitude and experience these days. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Btw... If I recollect accurately, WOR would have a different theme for the commercial breaks...? Or was this the Late Late Movie on ABC..? Perhaps it was the latter.
I don't know why on Earth I thought of this opening theme and wondered if it was on You Tube earlier today. I felt somewhat certain it would be here, and I was right! I grew up in Brooklyn in the 60's and 70's, and reading these comments has been such a cozy and enjoyable experience. Thanks for sharing, all. :)
When I was a kid I would sometimes be woken up late at night with this on the TV.... Watching and listening to this sure does churn up memories from long ago. Boy Im getting old. Thank you so much for this treasure!
I remember an earlier one with a man in a hat and trench coat getting on a down escalator. And for years as a child I had no idea that the MDM theme was the GWTW theme!!
Ohhh, you remember that one too?! I've been dying to find that one! And I also didn't know the theme came from Gone with the Wind until I saw the movie!
-that- is the version of this that was so ominous... not just with the guy going into the elevator, but that phone just hanging there by a cord, not hung-up... -would love to find a version of that lead in -and- find out what version of Tara's theme they used (who recorded it) --because all of the editions i've heard on here? are in a higher register, didn't use horns like this, and didn't start with the tymp. roll... (this read of it as a freight-train.)
As a kid in the late '50s, early'60s this reminds me of cold, rainy Saturdays watching M$M with my sister while my mom would be ironing and watching as well.
I’m 70 years old now but I remember the opening segments to WOR TV channel 9 that music I love so much the same movie every night for a week oh I miss those days those days
You will never hear music like this again on the old classic channel 9. Today it's all loud music with no sense and a bunch of commercials that are worthless and sell crap.
My father and I used to watch these movies together years ago and we always stayed until the theme was done.... This is the same recording but the scenes are different. The old one ended with a phone dangling in a phone booth. I like to play this because I feel that my father is next to me again.
MrRJMGREEN Someone left the phone off the hook in the public phone booth,. It was still dangling as Tara's theme played. It seemed empty and unfinished...it reminded me of the unhappy mask of show Business.
I remember watching this Great Show, and waiting for a Commercial so I could Hear a Famous Classic Piece that I had Never Heard Before in My Life. The Music Emotion was Fantastic. I was in 8th Grade. - JPGold out.
They showed a movie for a week. During the closing, the announcer would get on and say "If you've missed any part of this movie, or would like to see it again, tune in tomorrow".
This ran for years and years, late 70s through the 80s, and a great way to discover a cool old movie. That stately theme from Gone With The Wind suggested something classic.
Growing up in the City (NYC) as a kid in the '50, '60s, and early '70s, I never realized this was the theme from Gone With the Wind (GWTW). I watch TCM now, and on Sunday, 14 April 2019, TCM celebrated its 25th On-Air Anniversary, and they showed this movie, GWTW, because it was the first movie they aired. I remembered the Million Dollar Movie, Channel 9, out of NYC. Good times, Good memories.
this is what i love about RU-vid .. you can find anything you're looking for. if you grew up in the 60's you know this introduction to the Million Dollar Movie aired Saturday night on WOR Ch 9 in nyc showing the best movies from the silver screen and im sure it brings back memories to you like it dose for me. good memories .
I used to run around my Queens, NY apartment on Sunday afternoons screaming, "It's Million Dollar movie. My Dad and I watched all the greats together. Our favorites were Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne. Loved that time...
i was also from queens village and when i hear this music im remembering being in footsie pjs and about 10 yrold; the music makes me nervous like in the past; dark lonely nyc and my dad was not home yet from work; i now live in pa and im 70 yrs old and still get that feeling
If you grew up in the New York tri-state area back in the 1970’s, you know this into to the Million Dollar Movie. Back when we only had 8 channels of entertainment. Truly a classic.
So happy that I've come across this again. This, and the ABC 4:30 movie intro are my favorites of all time. Thanks for posting and preserving such great memories.
I am the silhouette of the guy on the fountain at Lincoln Center. I was a junior in high school. We're talking '78 - '79. My family went to the opera and I (being a typical high school kid at the opera) was bored. I came outside, sat on the fountain and noticed a small film crew pointing a camera in my direction. Sometime later, when "Million Dollar Movie" added new shots of New York to its opening montage, this image was added.
Yes, this version i believe is from the late 1960s and throughout most the 1970s. I know of another version that was used in the late 1950s and early to mid 1960s. Old NYC TV!!
Wow, look how many views this program opener has! I'll never forget the Million Dollar Movie, my absolute favorite program during my teen years in Upper Montclair, NJ. I saw "Maytime" with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy for the first time on this program, and am an avid fan of the Singing Sweethearts even today. Thanks for the upload!
How I would love to visit Manhattan if it were still there. There's something about this grainy clip that captures what was and will never be again. Whatever the city is today, it's a very trying, dull, bland place. Boston is much the same. Glad I lived to see it.
This song reminds me of my Father who worked in Manhattan his whole life practically... He was born in Hell's Kitchen worked for IBM for 36 years in the Pan Am building, Equitable life building and his last place was Bank of New York on Rector Street down near the World Trade Towers. I moved from Woodside Queens to Long Island when I was eight but both my grandma's lived there so I was always there so when I hear and see this channel playing that music from Gone With the Wind it still brings me to tears cuz it reminds me of my Father so much and being in Woodside...seems so long ago i guess cuz it was because I'm 63 now!😥 UGH! It Sucks getting older I hate it! Anyone from Woodside area here or born Astoria?
Jamaica Queens born & raised. Used to pretend I was an opera singer when I would hear that music. Back when I could see the twin towers from my grandparents bedroom...still hurts. Wish we could go back in time.
Why does everything have to change.. And like so many have already commented, this Intro alone brings a tear to my eye and much emotion... the best of my memories in my living room with my parents/family. ❣️
I am in the same room I recall being able to stay up late from time to time with my parents in as I write this. Same furniture. Two television sets that are modern which I rarely turn on. I am tearing up remembering snuggling between my parents both now gone nearly twenty years, and how I enjoyed when they let me stay up in their bed even though I knew it was difficult for them to go with the flow of me bouncing around until I settled down and talking while the movie was on. When I arrived at the house today my Internet had been shut off because of the expiration date of my credit card. When I phoned the cable company, the representative asked me "how long have you had the phone number associated with your account." 61 years I replied. She broke out in hysterical laughter. I was three years old when my mother and father got the phone number for our new house.
i remember this also from queens ny; being 10yr and in footsie pjs and worrying about my dad who was late coming home from nyc work; nyc scary dark and lonely just like they protrayed it
Man this brings me back, especially that guy sitting by the water. Seven years old, my dad in the den eating sardines and smoking a cigarette. Somehow that is simpler times. Miss you, dad.
Million Dollar Movie debuted on the old WOR TV Channel 9 in New York in 1971 great movies on television back in the day mostly from MGM Technicolor Paramount and Warner Brothers
I'm glad that others are also searching for the earlier version that I remember so fondly; indeed, the escalators were my favorite, and I believe that there were better traffic shots. Where I grew up on the north shore on LI, Channel 9 wasn't easy to tune in, owing to too much interference from Channel 8 (WTNH) in New Haven, CT. However, I'd manage for Mets games and for this intro -- I was never interested in the movie itself! (I think of the theme when I remember those few occasions that I was driven into the city at night across the 59th St. bridge ...)
This is coming late, but I also remember the earlier version, I remember it from growing up in Jersey during the 60s. I can still picture this theme playing from the big TV we had in the family room.
That brings back a lot of memories.I think viewing old movies at a time when you weren't inundated with millions of choices on demand, made it a special, more personal.
I had this theme in my head all day. What's that line from the movie Field of Dreams, "memories so thick you have to brush them away from your face". My childhood in Brooklyn comes to mind as a kid and how I dreamed of one day living in the city.
