MovieChat Forums > Are You in the House Alone? (1978) Discussion > Why are old TV movies like this so hard ...

Why are old TV movies like this so hard to find?


I started watching these old 1970's TV movies recently because I was getting too hot and bothered by my usual steady diet of sleazy European horror flicks and softcore porn. Many of them are great. There's this one, "Bad Ronald", "The Darker Side of Terror", "When Michael Calls", "Terror on the Beach", "Savages", "Snowbeast", "The Mysterious Monsters" ad infinitum. But what's interesting is how few of them are available on legitimate DVD. Some of the really good ones are like "The Night Stalker" and "Trilogy of Terror", but other equally entertaining ones are not. Why? You'd think there'd be more of a market for these than Season 6 of "Laverne and Shirley", for instance.

Then there's the 500 some cable channels. Even the stations that occasionally used to show these, like TBS or TNT, have replaced them with the mainstream Hollwood crapola that if you didn't see at the theater, you saw later on DVD, or on pay-per-view, or (unedited) on the other pay-cable stations. Lifetime shows TV movies a lot, but all the worst ones--the ones that focus on social "problems" and appeal to the sort of bored (and hopefully very drunk) housewives who actually look up to people like Delta Burke.

Perhaps I'm a voice in the wilderness here (and before you flame me, by the way, I am aware that THIS movie, at least, has been showing on the Showtime stations recently, but it is still a rare exception), but it would nice to see these movies appear SOMEWHERE where I could see them (and without having to devote my life to combing the monthly schedules of every obscure TV cable station hoping to get lucky).

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Retroplex and encore airs these now and again.
I taped them last year when they aired them
its rare they do it at all!

No Place to Hide and are you in the house alone?

I taped both of them.

gosh you brought back memories!

Terror on the beach, Snowbeast and Bad Ronald I have not seen in years!

Terror on the beach was a young Susan Dey film!
and how about Mary Jane Harper cried last night..?

when michael calls, wow. I havent seen that in decades!!


how about Eye Of The Cat? that was a dandy! and have not seen it since I was
7 or 8!
The Screaming woman, I could go on and on.

you have great taste it movies :)

I agree this crap they show now leaves me cold!!
I love spending nights alone bundled up re-watching these good old films.

I wish I could find them too. maybe a website would have some decent copies?

Good luck for you too!

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I recorded this one on DVD from Encore on Demand a little while back. I have had some good luck finding some good copies on DVD from iOffer.com; just be aware that a lot of these are burned to DVD from old VHS, but some of the quality is very good...and hey, where else are you going to find them?

I've gotten "Midnight Offerings", "Bad Ronald", "Death of Ocean View Park", "Ghost of Flight 401", "Friendships Secrets & Lies" and quite a few others.

I really miss the 70s and 80s made for TV movies. Back then, they were "events" that people looked forward to watching...now, all the made for TV movies are all "message" and "social issue" movies. What happend to the good old "scare" stuff that didn't have to mean anything, just some good fun jumps and chills?

Getting ready now to go to iOffer and look for "Killdozer" and "Where Have all the People Gone?"....happy movie watching! :)

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This movie is actually airing right now on the "THIS" channel. I think it's only available if you've switched your tv to DTV. Anyway, here in the LA-area, the "THIS" channel comes on Ch. 5.2 for me. It's been airing a ton of movies I've never heard of before and many of them seem to be from the '70s and '80s. They also have The Outer Limits, Mr. Ed, and The Patty Duke show which air after midnight. Hope this helps!

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No way!!! I'm not the only one watching this on "THIS" right THIS minute?!?!? With the new switch to digital, we just barely got that channel on 2.2 out here in northern Utah just outside of Salt Lake. I'd never heard of it, but when I saw Blythe Danner and a few other faces I recognized (Dennis Quaid?! Sweet! Among others.) I simply had to find out what exactly I was watching.

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Great minds think alike! You probably already have this, but the program listing for the "THIS" channel can be found here:

http://thistvnetwork.net/

I'm thinking about catching that Vincent Price marathon later today! :)

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Ha! Totally with you on the great minds: I caught two of the Vincent Price flicks in the marathon. "Cry of the Banshee" and "More Dead than Alive" Talk about two VERY different roles. Thanks for the address link.

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Fans of 70s horror might be interested in two guides to 70s TV movies:

The ABC Movie of the Week Companion and Television Fright Films of the 70s.

Am I anywhere near the imaginary cliff?

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i totally agree with this post there is a market for the creepy tv movie, theyre great!!!! how about at least a box set of them ,from the 70s say.i sometimes feel like the more i want a certain film to be shown the more time passes that it never is!!!!.shame.

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Saw it off THIS today, good film.

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Watch Free Online

Are You Alone in the House?
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v16451703EPzHWtQA

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I found this film on VHS for 75 cents at a thrift store. I find a lot of TV movies that way, but often they have different titles than the ones they had when they originally aired, and the packaging and description are misleading. The packaging of this film makes it look like a slasher, but it's much better.

As others have said, you can also watch this online, but I prefer to find a physical product. In this case, my six bits were well spent!

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Netflix keeps it streaming if you are still looking for it.

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This made-for-TV movie has thankfully been issued on Region 1 DVD by Shout! Factory on a double bill with The Initiation of Sarah starring Kay Lenz.

I'm a totally bitchin' bio writer from Mars!

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