Night of Courage - ABC Movie - 1/12/87

[screamllc]

Here are some caps from "Night of Courage," the ABC Monday Night Movie which aired on January 12, 1987.
The movie starred Barnard Hughes, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Daniel Hugh Kelly. DHK plays a high school teacher who's trying to get the bottom of the killing of one of his students by a gang.

[cheride]

I've always sort of liked this movie, but I've never been fond of the glasses.

[Liz]

Oh, I disagree strongly! I ADORE him in his glasses, always have. Strangely enough, I missed this film. During those days I was working nights and sometimes forgot to check the TV Guide to see if there was any non-series I wanted to tape. Wonder if it's on DVD?

[lmlewis]

I don't mind glasses in general, but it does look like these might've been borrowed from Kathy Kasternak. Yeah, I know big frames were in, but they sort of scream "1980's!"

But he makes 'em look pretty good.

[owlcroft]

I think they look like the glasses he wore as a "doctor" in "Faster Heart", so that makes me wonder if they're really his. But what's with the one scene where he's glass-less?

[kslmoran]

Amy, Is there anything you didn't tape back then? I never knew about this movie. I've tried to rent or find most of his movies and some are not available. He seemed to have a pretty big part in this one, right? It's not available on Netflix, I've looked. And I think the glasses are his. He's blind as a bat. I had a pair just like them around that time.

[lmlewis]

Okay. I think we need to define 'blind as a bat'. I'm fair-to-middling myopic. I couldn't use frames like those back when they were popular because the lenses were so dang thick at the edges. Glass, which was less thick, was too heavy. Also, when you look through a high-myope's glasses, at their face, the part behind the glass appears much smaller. I don't see that much distortion here (thought maybe that is a function of the lens size). We need a good side-view, to see if they're proper bottle-bottom prescriptions v. fakes with contacts ;-)

[screamllc]

kslmoran said:

Amy, Is there anything you didn't tape back then?

;D I'll admit, I was a taping fool in my youth. (I made sure I got straight A's in school, too, so my parents couldn't take away any of my watching/taping privileges!) When I was eight, I wanted to be a network programming executive! (I must have heard that on Entertainment Tonight when I was young! ) I collected all the TV Guides so I could see what was hot, what was not, and which time-slot worked the best on any given night! I know..that screams NERD...but, I played soccer, sang, and had a real life, too!

The coolest thing is going back now, after 25+ years of recording shows, and seeing all the pieces of pop-culture and Americana. I've found episodes of Friday Night Videos (Remember those?), years of awards shows, Circus of the Stars specials, music specials, and entire runs of so many different tv series. (Of course, now that so many shows are coming out on DVD, the tapes are pushed to the background.) But, to see all the original commercials from decades of recording....You'll never see those on any DVD collection. Even the newsbreaks are a time-capsule, a window into the past...the emergence of the AIDS epidemic...Deaths of Presidents/World Leaders...the Challenger Explosion...

Promotional ads have gone from the Commodore 64 to artificial intelligence, from PONG to X-Box...

I miss "Madge" and "Mr. Whipple" and the "Ancient Chinese Secret." "Where's the Beef?" ruled the world...Pepsi was 'The Choice of a New Generation," and Joe Isuzu used to annoy the heck out of me!

Remember when KFC was Kentucky Fried Chicken? And AFV was America's Funniest Home Videos?

I remember Chuck Woolery as the original host of "Wheel of Fortune". Password, Hollywood Squares - Paul Lynde was hysterical - The Gong Show! I taped the Merv Griffin show on occasion, and OH, how I miss Johnny Carson!

"The Electric Company" "Captain Kangaroo" "Sesame Street" and "Schoolhouse Rock" educated my generation.

And, on a fluffier note, who can forget "Must See TV", "Let's All Be There", "You'll Love It" ,"We've Got The Touch", "Welcome Home to CBS", and all the other promos for all the different networks?...Oh, wait...there were only three back then...go figure! I did tape the entire day the day FX went online. - They showed "The Greatest American Hero"! (I did the same when the FOX network premiered.)

Anyway...as I always tend to do, I'm rambling! What can I say? I'm a TV junkie!
...I'm expecting an Oompa Loompa any minute!

[screamllc]

lmlewis said:

Okay. I think we need to define 'blind as a bat'. I'm fair-to-middling myopic. I couldn't use frames like those back when they were popular because the lenses were so dang thick at the edges. Glass, which was less thick, was too heavy. Also, when you look through a high-myope's glasses, at their face, the part behind the glass appears much smaller. I don't see that much distortion here (thought maybe that is a function of the lens size). We need a good side-view, to see if they're proper bottle-bottom prescriptions v. fakes with contacts ;-)

It was very difficult to get a good view from the side, but here goes:



In many scenes, there didn't seem to be much glare, and I couldn't see a noticeable thickness, so perhaps he fluctuated between his own glasses and fakes with contacts.

[lmlewis]

I'm ready to buy into at least the 'Sometimes they're real, sometimes they're not' Theory. The ones in the pic on the right definitely look like the real deal to me. The left, not so sure, but it's kinda dark.

[lmlewis]

. . . and karma unto you, Amy, for such diligent screen cap research.

[owlcroft]

Please allow me to toss some karma you-ward also. Persistent accurate research under time pressure. Karmic kudos!

[lmlewis]

Yeah, I think we can sic her next on the question of the grassy knoll--whatcha think, Owl? ;D

[screamllc]

lmlewis said:

Yeah, I think we can sic her next on the question of the grassy knoll--whatcha think, Owl? ;D

You guys are so funny! And, thanks for the Karma. It's been fun digging through my tapes, finding all the neat stuff I'd forgotten I'd taped.
You know, ironically, I do have a special on the Kennedy assassination which has the very graphic version if the Zapruder film...Hmmm...let me zoom in on that grassy knoll...

[osscar2002]

Hi all;
I was reading these posts, and noticed your questions about DHK's glasses, and thought you might be interested in this transcript of an interview he did on the subject back in 1978.
I wasn't sure how to put up a link so I'll just type in the Address. Go to 'Ryan's Bar online'
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and open up the interview section, then just scroll down to his name for a list of all the interview's he did while on the show.
Sorry for making it so complicated but I'm not much good these techie things!
Osscar