# Would Movies Based On 1960's TV Classics Be Popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835 "2011-10-06T23:11:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/1 "2011-10-06T23:11:07Z")
I’ve been watching a lot of old TV shows on Retro TV, and it seems to me that many of them could be made into good movies.Take the following shows: \_Naked City -Route 66 -THe Saint They all had pretty good plots, and they are recent enough that plenty of “baby boomers” might be interested. Seems like a better idea than these endless remakes that Hollywood seems to have fixated upon. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/2 "2011-10-06T23:18:02Z")
The made one about The Saint with Val Kilmer. Dunno how well it did, though. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/3 "2011-10-06T23:19:24Z")
There _were_ Saint movies. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/4 "2011-10-06T23:21:43Z")
I don’t care how much y’all’s opinion of me lowers because of this, but I’m gonna say it anyway: **F Troop** I wanna see an _F Troop_ movie and I wanna see it ogd@mn soon. I loved that show, I own the DVD sets, I re-watch them frequently. I admit it’s not always great, but I loved that show when I was a kid, I loved it as a teenager, I loved it as a young adult, and now, as I crest the hill that is middle age, and find myself sliding relentlessly to decrepitude, I still love that show. Ah, O’Rourke, you were a sly old tom cat, weren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/5 "2011-10-06T23:28:07Z")
[The Saint](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saint_%28film%29) was made a few years back with IIRC Val Kilmer in it. [The Avengers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118661/) was made a few years back with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman [The Green Hornet](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0990407/)was just made with Seth Rogan [Naked City](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_City_%28TV_series%29) has not yet been turned into a movie [Route 66](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_66_%28TV_series%29) has not yet been made into a movie, though there was an amusing [Route 666](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_666_%28film%29). ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/6 "2011-10-07T00:07:49Z")
“Naked City” was originally a 1948 film (based on a book) so making it into a film would be full circle.[The Naked City - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_City) I am surprised it hasn’t been done more often but it seems it’s the comedies (Addams Family, Bewitched, Beverly Hillbillies) that get made into films. Probably because those do better in syndication as those audiences want something that isn’t too demanding to follow. Of course “Star Trek” is a massive exception but even that had its humorous bantering. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/7 "2011-10-07T00:23:05Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > I wanna see an _F Troop_ movie and I wanna see it ogd@mn soon. They call it “Dances With Wolves”. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/8 "2011-10-07T00:43:49Z")
The Fugitive. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/9 "2011-10-07T00:51:20Z")
The _Brady Bunch_ movies worked in part by mocking the era that had spawned them. Admittedly, that show was at the tail end of the sixties. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/10 "2011-10-07T01:41:02Z")
Apparently, [Robert Downey, Jr., is trying to make a _Perry Mason_ film](http://www.imdb.com/news/ni16334195/). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/11 "2011-10-07T02:02:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > They call it “Dances With Wolves”. Wins the thread. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/12 "2011-10-07T02:10:32Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > [The Avengers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118661/) was made a few years back with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman They’re making a new _Avengers_ movie, only this one has all these superheroes and stuff in it! Boy, they didn’t understand the TV show at _all_! I am surprised there hasn’t been an _I Dream of Jeannie_ movie. And I wish they had done a proper _Bewitched_ movie instead of that nonsense they made with Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman. In fact, in this climate of remakes and the popularity of genre fantasy on TV, they’d be ripe for a dark or modern retelling. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/13 "2011-10-07T02:13:51Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > They call it “Dances With Wolves”. Beat to the punch. _Spy_ magazine ran a comparison ca. 1991: \*Dances with Wolves: \*LT Dunbar encounters the Sioux, who are peaceloving and friendly \*F Troop: \*Capt Parmenter encounters the Hakawi, who are peaceloving and friendly… _and a laff riot_ ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/14 "2011-10-07T02:23:30Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > \*F Troop: \*Capt Parmenter encounters the Hakawi, who are peaceloving and friendly… _and a laff riot_ Starring Johnny Knoxville! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/15 "2011-10-07T02:59:04Z")
They’re coming out with a _Mr. Ed_ movie. With Jim Carrey. Woe… ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/16 "2011-10-07T03:12:54Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > [The Saint](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saint_%28film%29) was made a few years back with IIRC Val Kilmer in it. > [The Avengers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118661/) was made a few years back with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman Despite how old it makes everyone feel, I’m not sure we can called the 90’s “a few years back” anymore. ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/17 "2011-10-07T12:16:06Z")
I Dream of Jeannie was based on a movie called The Brass Bottle starring Burl Ives and Barbara Eden. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/18 "2011-10-07T12:55:14Z")
_Bewitched_ was pretty much based on _I Married a Witch_ with Fredric March and Veronica Lake. The _Dark Shadows_ movie starring Johnny Depp will be out soon. Russell Crowe has made noises in the past about a film version of Hogan’s Heroes; accounts vary as to whether he would play Hogan or Newkirk. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/19 "2011-10-07T13:03:58Z")
About _The Saint_ : This was actually a series of books long before it was a TV series. Any future movie would be based on the books, rather than the 60’s TV series. The 60’s series was actually pretty awful, BTW, and totally missed the point of the original. Even the Val Kilmer travesty was closer to the books. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/20 "2011-10-07T13:35:21Z")
I’ll apologize in advance to anyone who loves those old shows (I have plenty of old favorites too), but the fact is the vast majority of everything that used to be on TV back in the day was SHIT. The only reason anybody watched any of that crap was because there were only 3 channels and you didn’t really have any choice. They don’t stand up to the test of time; this is why when they attempt to update them for a modern audience they put out SHIT. This is why **The Avengers** was shit. This is why **Bewitched** was shit. This is why **The A-Team** was shit. This is why **The Green Hornet** , **Dragnet** , **Wild Wild West** , and **Land of the Lost** were shit. **The Brady Bunch** movies? Shit. **Charlies Angels**? Shit. **The Mod Squad** , **My Favorite Martian** , **Scooby Doo** , **Starsky and Hutch** , **Transformers** , all completely meritless SHIT. This is why when they try to revive _Knight Rider_, _The Love Boat_, and _Bionic Woman_ they all failed miserably because the original show was SHIT. Granted, there are some that worked, some to great effect, like **The Fugitive** , **Mission: Impossible** , and I don’t know …possibly **The Addams Family**. My point is, the hits are extremely rare, and the misses are both numerous and spectacularly bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835.md?page=2)