# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/21 "2011-10-07T16:11:06Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > 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. [Wonka] Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.[/Wonka] In the Val Kilmer movie he was depicted as a thief for hire, in it only for the money. Also he had a very moody personality. While it strayed toward the end of its run, most of the early plots in the Roger Moore series were adapted directly from the books. He went after crooks for his own amusement, and antagonized the police (especially Inspector Teal) who tried and failed to catch him in the act. Roger Moore captured Simon’s Teal-baiting personality nearly perfectly. The only major element from the books that I don’t recall seeing in the series was the fact that he gave most of his ill-gotten gains back to the victims or to charity, keeping only 10% for “expenses”. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/22 "2011-10-07T16:46:58Z")
These all began their runs in the late 50’s, but I think [Have Gun Will Travel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_Gun_Will_Travel), [Johnny Staccato](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Staccato) and [Playhouse 90](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playhouse_90) would all do well today, if they were produced to the original standards. ---
**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, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/23 "2011-10-07T17:20:35Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > In the Val Kilmer movie he was depicted as a thief for hire, in it only for the money. > [@](#): > > The only major element from the books that I don’t recall seeing in the series was the fact that he gave most of his ill-gotten gains back to the victims or to charity, keeping only 10% for “expenses”. IIRC, the ending of the Val Kilmer movie showed that he’d donated a massive amount of money to charity. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/24 "2011-10-07T17:30:19Z")
I would love to see a \* Hogan’s Heros\* movie. ---
**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, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/25 "2011-10-07T17:34:13Z")
> [@](#): > > [Wonka] Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.[/Wonka] > > In the Val Kilmer movie he was depicted as a thief for hire, in it only for the money. Also he had a very moody personality. In the books he was thief who stole from other criminals. And the really bad guys he would murder, but only after robbing them. And he was definitely in it for the money. The whole point of The Saint is that he used highly illegal methods against the bad guys. The Roger Moore series almost totally removed that aspect. He barely broke the law at all. The Val Kilmer version, for all it’s flaws, at least made him a lawbreaker. And while he started as someone who would steal to order, by the end of the film he would only go against bad guys > [@](#): > > While it strayed toward the end of its run, most of the early plots in the Roger Moore series were adapted directly from the books. Only very loosely. Most of them have major plot points removed. Clever twists in the tale are gone. Vital plot points where The Saint breaks the law are eliminated. Usually this makes the TV version pointless. > [@](#): > > He went after crooks for his own amusement, and antagonized the police (especially Inspector Teal) who tried and failed to catch him in the act. Roger Moore captured Simon’s Teal-baiting personality nearly perfectly. That didn’t even make sense in the TV version. In the books, Teal wanted to catch The Saint for his criminal acts. In the TV show, he used mostly legal methods to help the police get evidence for lawful punishment of the crooks. Teal on TV had no reason to be antagonised by him. > [@](#): > > The only major element from the books that I don’t recall seeing in the series was the fact that he gave most of his ill-gotten gains back to the victims or to charity, keeping only 10% for “expenses”. The books were inconsistent as to how much he gave away and how much he kept. In the earliest he kept 10% and gave 90% to charity. In later books it seemed like he kept most for himself, though he did found at least two legitimate charities financed by crooks’ money. In the TV series I never saw any suggestion that he took a single penny. The crooks had helpfully kept records of how much they had taken from each of their victims, allowing the return of their property. ---
**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, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/26 "2011-10-07T18:07:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The crooks had helpfully kept records of how much they had taken from each of their victims, allowing the return of their property. How very considerate of them… ---
**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 7, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/27 "2011-10-07T20:29:34Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I would love to see a \* Hogan’s Heros\* movie. I can guarantee, from the very bottom of my soul/and/or/brainstem, you would not. ---
**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, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/28 "2011-10-07T20:34:39Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I can guarantee, from the very bottom of my soul/and/or/brainstem, you would not. It would be post-modern, and wink-wink broadly as it pushed every S&M/bondage trope ever made while kicking Bob Crane’s corpse with a steel-toed jackboot. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/29 "2011-10-07T21:16:36Z")
Actually, I am pushing for **Mr. Lucky** , a movie based on an early '60s TV show loosely based on a '40s movie. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/30 "2011-10-07T21:42:12Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > They’re coming out with a _Mr. Ed_ movie. With Jim Carrey. Woe… You misspelled “Whoa”. (Wouldn’t be the same without Connie Hines.) Scarlett Johansson would make a fine Honey West. A new (non-TV) version of “… Dobie Gillis” would be interesting. Have Warren Beatty and Ellen Burstyn play teachers or something. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/31 "2011-10-07T21:50:09Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > 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. And a radio program and series of movies before it was a TV show. Every interepretation has been done in a different style. Interestingly, Ian Fleming thought Roger Moore would do a good film version of James Bond based on his portrayal of the Saint. And Patrick Magoohan(?) was originally considered for the Saint in the TV show. Like Bond, the Saint was a malleable character. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/32 "2011-10-07T21:51:38Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I would love to see a \* Hogan’s Heros\* movie. Yeah, because that Stalag 17 movie Hogan’s was based on wasn’t ever made? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/33 "2011-10-07T22:13:20Z")
As long as we’re listing recent movies based on 1960s TV shows, let’s not forget the 2008 adaptation of _Get Smart_ and the various _Flintstones_ flicks. ---
**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, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/34 "2011-10-07T23:29:56Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Scarlett Johansson would make a fine Honey West. Actually, I thought she and Haley Joel Osment would make a good _Sapphire and Steel_. If they put on good British accents. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/35 "2011-10-08T01:01:56Z")
I heard talk on these bords once of a possible movie based on _UFO_, now that would be cool. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/36 "2011-10-08T01:40:09Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > They’re coming out with a _Mr. Ed_ movie. With Jim Carrey. Woe… Oh, dear. :rolleyes: I can hear it now: Wilbur: “Dammit, Ed! I just mucked out your stall this morning and look at it now, knee-deep in -” and so on. Mr. Ed: " (pbpbppbpbtttttt!) Willlllburrrr! Bring a pitchfork!" ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/37 "2011-10-08T02:36:51Z")
What animal was Mr. Ed again? ---
**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 8, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/38 "2011-10-08T11:19:13Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > What animal was Mr. Ed again? A horse. But played by a zebra, strangely enough. ---
**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 8, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/39 "2011-10-08T11:36:57Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > A horse. But played by a zebra, strangely enough. Actually, he wasn’t a zebra at all. That’s a myth. He was a donkey, painted with stripes in one coat, then painted again on the second coat to hide the stripes. Then they smeared peanut butter on the catgut and yanked his tail. Or was that Wilbur? ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835/40 "2011-10-08T12:23:08Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > A horse. But played by a zebra, strangely enough. It’s true…It must be. I reads it on the [interweb](http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp)! 😉 How about a remake of Green Acres. That would rock, especially if it were directed by Terry Gilliam or David Lynch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-movies-based-on-1960s-tv-classics-be-popular/598835.md?page=3)