# What were the names of these T.V. shows / movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [September 11, 2022, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362 "2022-09-11T05:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/1 "2022-09-11T05:10:41Z")
I recalled these two shows recently but can’t remember the names or anything else about them. This is a long shot but perhaps someone here might recognize these: 1. A short lived T.V. show circa 1970? The main character was a young woman who has some sort of minor magic power but seemed unaware that she had it. At the beginning of the show, she would say or do something that would accidently trigger the magic. A tinkling sound would play to indicate that the magic had taken place. The rest of the program would follow the other characters and show the effect that the magic had on them. I think the show was a 30 minute long comedy. 2. Late 1960s I’m guessing, my mom was watching this movie when I walked into the room. I stopped and watched a few minutes and then left. Apparently this was an old world war two comedy movie. I think some Americans(?) had escaped from the Germans(?) and had rescued some local villagers. To escape they all crowded into a stolen a tank but unfortunately no one knew how to drive it. After driving wildly about for several minutes they ended up tottering on the edge of a cliff. After several scary seconds they figured out how to reverse the tank and backed away from the edge. I left the room shortly after that and never learned the name of the move. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/2 "2022-09-11T05:25:20Z")
Is the first one “The Girl With Something Extra”? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/3 "2022-09-11T05:26:12Z")
#1 sounds like _Nanny and the Professor_ starring Juliet Mills and Richard Long. #2, haven’t a clue. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/4 "2022-09-11T05:34:06Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > #1 sounds like _Nanny and the Professor_ starring Juliet Mills and Richard Long. It does, indeed. From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Phoebe (who prefers to be called “Nanny”) claims to be neither clairvoyant nor magical, but appears to have a sixth sense about many things (accented by a tinkling musical sound whenever her senses assert themselves), including knowing the names of people she has never met, communicating with animals, and especially knowing someone is at the front door or on the telephone before they ring the bell. > **[Nanny and the Professor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanny_and_the_Professor)** > > Nanny and the Professor is an early 1970s American sitcom created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century-Fox Television that aired on ABC from January 21, 1970 until > December 27, 1971. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do. > Playing upon the popularity of Mary Poppins and other magical nannies of literature, this TV series posited another ostensibly magical British nanny taking care of a family in need of guidance. Unlike the candid "magicality" of its forebe... ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/5 "2022-09-11T05:35:09Z")
Wow thats a deep cut. If i recall Sally Field had ESP, not magic powers. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/6 "2022-09-11T14:28:33Z")
_ **Comrade X** _ (1940). Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr. > **[Comrade X (1940) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032349/?ref_=tttrv_ql)** > > Comrade X: Directed by King Vidor. With Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Oskar Homolka, Felix Bressart. An American reporter smuggling news out of Soviet Moscow is blackmailed into helping a beautiful Communist leave the country. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9vvz6QVbWZo/hqdefault.jpg "Comrade X (1940) - Trailer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vvz6QVbWZo) The tank chase comes at 01:37. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/7 "2022-09-11T16:35:05Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > If i recall Sally Field had ESP, not magic powers. I think they are the same. 🙂 But yes, I should have remembered Nanny and the Professor. I used to watch it, but I don’t remember the magic aspect at all! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/8 "2022-09-11T23:20:20Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Is the first one “The Girl With Something Extra”? Physical comedians at the time (e.g., Rip Taylor) would bring out a three cup brassiere and proclaim… . > [@terentii](#): > > Hedy Lamarr. That’s… Oh, NM. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/9 "2022-09-12T00:54:04Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Is the first one “The Girl With Something Extra”? Wow, this is the first thing that made me think I didn’t imagine that show. It was on in the morning line-up of reruns of inoffensive adult shows that preceded the 10am-2pm run of gameshows in the glorious 70s. After the game shows, there was a solid block of soap operas on all the broadcast channels. That means it must have originally run in the early 70s. Unusual that it got picked up for syndication, since I don’t think it ran that long. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/10 "2022-09-12T02:48:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > \*\*\*Hedy Lamarr. “That’s Hedley” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/11 "2022-09-12T02:56:28Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > > [@terentii](#): > > > > \*\*\*Hedy Lamarr. > > “That’s Hedley” - That joke was already almost made. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/12 "2022-09-12T13:25:54Z")
Not sure if this is solved, but if not a great place for this type of thing is the Tip Of My Tongue subreddit; > **[r/tipofmytongue](https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/)** > > r/tipofmytongue: Can't remember the name of that movie you saw when you were a kid? Or the name of that video game you had for Game Gear? Your … ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/13 "2022-09-12T13:33:35Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think they are the same. 🙂 > > But yes, I should have remembered Nanny and the Professor. I used to watch it, but I don’t remember the magic aspect at all! It was a contemporary, TV version of “Mary Poppins”. English nanny with vaguely defined clairvoyant/magical powers. They made the widower father not a jerk like in the movie, which made the nanny a potential love interest. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/14 "2022-09-13T02:06:18Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > > #1 sounds like _Nanny and the Professor_ starring Juliet Mills and Richard Long. > > It does, indeed. From Wikipedia: > > > [@](#): > > > > Phoebe (who prefers to be called “Nanny”) claims to be neither clairvoyant nor magical, but appears to have a sixth sense about many things (accented by a tinkling musical sound whenever her senses assert themselves), including knowing the names of people she has never met, communicating with animals, and especially knowing someone is at the front door or on the telephone before they ring the bell. > > [Nanny and the Professor - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanny_and_the_Professor) Interestingly, Juliet wasn’t the only Mills sister who worked with Richard Long. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/15 "2022-09-15T03:57:01Z")
For #1 - I don’t remember the show having a family with children or the magic woman speaking with a British accent. But I think most likely that you are right - it was The Nanny and the Professor. For #2 - Yes, that is it. I recognized the tank heading for the cliff scene in the trailer. Had I been older at that time I probably would have remembered Hedy Lamarr instead. Thank you for answering my questions. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-names-of-these-t-v-shows-movies/971362/16 "2022-09-15T16:16:26Z")
Right, the tank chase was a dead giveaway. I answered the same question for my daughter a few years ago—we watched it together when she was 12 or 13, and she couldn’t remember the title either.