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Fame Is the Name of the Game

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Fame Is the Name of the Game
GenreMystery fiction
Based onOne Woman
by Tiffany Thayer
Written byCarol Sobieski
Screenplay byRanald MacDougall
Directed byStuart Rosenberg
StarringTony Franciosa
Jack Klugman
Susan St. James
Robert Duvall
Theme music composerBenny Carter
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerRanald MacDougall
CinematographyJohn F. Warren
EditorEdward W. Williams
Running time100 minutes
Production companyUniversal TV
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseNovember 26, 1966 (1966-11-26)
Related

Fame Is the Name of the Game is a 1966 American made-for-television drama film starring Tony Franciosa that aired on NBC and served as the pilot episode of the subsequent series The Name of the Game. It was directed by Stuart Rosenberg and was produced by Ranald MacDougall, who also wrote the teleplay, from the novel One Woman by Tiffany Thayer.[1]

The film stars Tony Franciosa as investigative journalist Jeff Dillon and also presents the screen debut of 20-year-old Susan Saint James as Peggy Chan, Dillon's new editorial assistant. (In the series, St. James's character is renamed Peggy Maxwell, and she is the research assistant to all three of the rotating lead characters.) In the film, Jeff Dillon writes for Fame magazine, a publication of Janus Enterprises, and Glenn Howard (George Macready) is just the managing editor. In the subsequent series, Dillon writes for People magazine, a division of Howard Publications, and Glenn Howard (Gene Barry) is head of the whole company.

The telefilm also features Jill St. John, Jack Klugman, and Robert Duvall.

Plot

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An investigative reporter looks into the murder of a call girl. His investigation unearths her diary, which has the names of many prominent people inscribed within its pages. He sets out to find her killer from among the names contained in the diary.

Cast

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Production

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The film was the first in a series of at least twelve movies made for television by Universal for NBC. The films were budgeted between $750,000 and $1,250,000 and would air on Tuesday and Saturday nights. Some would be pilots for series. [2]

Advertising

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In the weeks before the telefilm's first broadcast, NBC ran an unprecedented blitz of TV ads which erroneously billed Fame is the Name of the Game as television's first "world premiere" of a "major motion picture".

Reception

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The Los Angeles Times called it "a slickly produced and directed whudunnit so filled with gimmicks and gals that it really didn't matter who committed the murders or why."[3]

The film received strong ratings of 23 with a 40 share of the audience,[4] leading to the spin-off series.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marill, Alvin H. (1987). Movies Made for Television, The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964–1986. New York: Zoetrope. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-918-43280-3.
  2. ^ "New movies made just for TV". The Los Angeles Times. 20 November 1966. p. 516.
  3. ^ "Movies for TV answer a need". The Los Angeles Times. 28 November 1966. p. 90.
  4. ^ "NBC Movie 'Fame' Given High Rating". The Los Angeles Times. 29 November 1966. p. 75.
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