Five Reasons To Watch Netflix This Weekend: The TV Movie Edition

There was a time when the made-for-TV movie was a staple of broadcast television. Some of the movies were stand-alone and some of them were essentially a string of movies featuring the same character.

But in the 70s and 80s, a favorite format was the "ripped from the headlines" made-for-TV film. The goal was to have a movie title and premise so compelling and/or shocking that the viewer would find it impossible to stay away.

Sadly, not all of these films have stood the test of time. In fact, many of them are now just tragically lame.

We've highlighted five of the best (or worst) of the genre, all of them currently available on Netflix (just click on the movie title):

'Are You In The House Alone?' (1978)
Kathleen Beller plays Gail Osbourne, a 16-year-old high school student who begins receiving threatening phone calls from a mysterious voice who asks here "Are you in the house alone?" As you might imagine, this doesn't end well for Gail and for a TV movie there are some fairly jarring scenes. The movie also stars TV movie staple Blythe Danner as Gail's mother Anne, Dennis Quaid as a very evil Phil Lawver, as well as Robin Mattson and Ellen Travolta. One piece of trivia about Kathleen Beller. She's best known for her role as Kirby Ander Colby in "Dynasty," but she retired not long after to become a midwife. She's been married to musician Thomas Dolby since 1988. (Original airdate: 9/20/1978, CBS)





'Bitter Harvest' (1981)
If you're looking for an example of the best of the MFTV movie genre, you couldn't find a better choice than this film. Ron Howard plays a Michigan dairy farmer who struggles to figure out why his cows are getting sick. He tries to get help from the Michigan Farm Bureau, who blame him for the issue. He becomes desperate when he and his family begin feeling sick as well and he's able to determine the problem is due to the presence of PBB, a flame retardant used in extinguishers. But that turns out to be the least of his problems. Despite the age, the story holds up very well and the acting from Howard and a cast that includes Art Carney, Barry Corbin and Richard Dysart is uniformly excellent. (Original airdate: 5/04/1981, ABC)

'Someone I've Touched' (1975)
On the other end of the MFTV spectrum is that insanely campy film, which stars Cloris Leachman as a pregnant housewife who finds out that she has contracted VD from her unfaithful spouse. There are so many nutty moments in the movie that it's difficult to pick out just one, although listening to the 49-year-old Leachman warble the theme song is certainly a personal favorite. (Original airdate: 1975, ABC)





'Intimate Strangers' (1977)
There are some films that have to be watched through the prism of the time when they were produced. At first glance, a movie about domestic abuse starring Dennis Weaver and Sally Struthers would seem to be absolutely dreadful. But both Weaver and Struthers give spot-on performances and it was a subject that still had a lot of taboos in the late 1970s. Yes, there are some cliche moments, but with a cast that includes Tyne Daly and Larry Hagman, this is well worth watching. Seeing it also makes me wish the networks were still trying to air socially conscious MFTV movies. (Original airdate: 11/11/1977, ABC)





'Cocaine: One Man's Seduction' (1983)
As good as Dennis Weaver is in 'Intimate Strangers," more often that not he ended up in cringe-worthy films like this one. Weaver plays a real estate agent who gets hooked on cocaine and it's about as realistic as the classic ant-pot film "Reefer Madness." But aside from the camp value, one good reason to watch is the supporting cast, which includes James Spader and Jeffrey Tambor.