June was a very busy month… I somehow landed an incredible amount of freelance work, all of which I’m very excited about (and some TV movie related). I also found myself in France for a week, attending a conference on female filmmakers, where I co-presented a paper with my good friend Heidi Honeycutt (I Spit on Your Celluloid) on the women behind the camera on the ABC: Wide World of Mystery’s Classic Ghosts series. Admittedly, there was not a huge turn out for the panel (there were two panels going at all times and we presented against papers on The Substance), but those who did show up were very enthusiastic about the women we discussed (Jacqueline Babbin, Gloria Monty and Lela Swift) and it lit a little fire in me.
While I can’t officially announce it yet, I have written a lengthy piece on some other women involved in the production of the telefilm in its heyday and it truly is an undocumented piece of TV history. I am hoping to create a more accessible database in the near future.
That database will be a part of a website I’m currently building to help promote my work a little better. Now that I’ve done quite a few commentaries and written my share of essays, I’d like to have a one-stop shop for anyone interested in the work I do. But, while I have no problem pimping my stuff, I’m starting to feel even more passionate about the stories that still need to be told about the made for TV movie. Hopefully this database will be a move in the right direction and it can grow into other pieces of my research. We’ll see!
Movie of the month
It’s the middle of summer and 2025 has been… interesting… so far, so I wanted to take a big brain break and chose something fun for this month’s watchalong on Bluesky. We’ll be meeting up at 1pm CST on July 26th for a viewing of Horror at 37,000 Feet. Use #TVMParty to join the discussion.
Announcements:
Really excited to announce that I provided a commentary track for Canadian International Pictures’ release of the very rare “telefilm” The Heatwave Lasted Four Days. Telefilm is in quotes because it was originally made as part of a series of movies intended to teach English to French speakers in Canada, but would air only once on American television as part of the ABC: Wide World of Mystery (there’s that WWM again… very happy to see this series of programming is picking up steam!). It's a rare and amazing film with a terrific cast and crew, and CIP’s extras really honor a movie that was mostly forgotten.
You can watch CIP’s wonderful trailer for The Heatwave Lasted Four Days here:
TV Movies that Need a DVD/Blu Ray Release: June’s Selections:
150: Mirror, Mirror, 1979
151: Games Your Mother Never Taught You, 1982
152: First Affair, 1983
153: Reflections of Murder, 1974
154: The Deadly Hunt, 1971
155: Jealousy, 1984
156: Surviving: A Family in Crisis, 1985
157: Deadly Messages, 1985
158: Coffee, Tea or Me, 1973
159: Drop-Out Father, 1982
160: For Ladies Only, 1981
161: Little Girl Fly Away, 1998
162: A Very Missing Person, 1972
163: Murder Can Hurt You, 1980
164: Something Evil, 1972
165: Donato and Daughter (aka Dead to Rights), 1993
166: Rich Men, Single Women, 1990
167: Tainted Blood, 1993
168: David, 1988
169: Sins of Dorian Gray, 1983
170: The Elevator, 1974
171: Snatched, 1973
172: Honeymoon with a Stranger, 1969
173: One of My Wives is Missing, 1976
174: Vanishing Act, 1986
175: An Element of Truth, 1995
176: When Dreams Come True, 1985
177: The Gladiator, 1986
178: Beverly Hills Madam, 1986
179: Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife, 1987
180: Double Jeopardy, 1996
181: Goodnight, My Love, 1972