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NBC SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES: SPECTRE (TV)

Summary

This made-for-television production is about a criminologist and a physician that investigate otherworldly doings in an English mansion. As the program opens, Dr. Ham Hamilton arrives at the palatial home of William Sebastian, a criminal psychologist with whom he’s teamed in the past -- to mixed results. Once inside, Ham questions why William sent him a note stating “I need you.” William asks Ham to accompany him on a case in England. He also explains how his mystical housekeeper Lilith has corrected his heart problems, though a hole in his chest is controlled by a doll which has been misplaced. William says he needs Ham’s medical assistance to be able to solve the case in London. Before leaving for the airport, William says Lilith has also corrected Ham’s alcoholic tendencies via a spell. Anita Cyon then arrives from London, telling William that she wants to cancel their arrangement for him to kill her brother, Mitri. Anitra says that the paranormal visions she’s seen have been explained to her satisfaction. When William presses an old tome – The Apocryphal Book of Tobot – against her body, the woman screams and burns up. William tells Ham that the visitor was a succubus, not Anitra. At the airport, Mitri meets Ham and William before flying them back to England. Once in mid-air, the plane experiences problems, and William thinks it’s part of a plan to frighten them. During the flight, William tries to convince the ever-skeptical Ham of the existence of paranormal beings. Upon landing and meeting the Cyons’ chauffeur, William requests that they stop at Merlin’s Mews. There, they find Quaylis, the owner of a library, in the center of a pentacle, where he’s been clawed to death as flames burn around him. Ham and William then see a creature trying to attack them, at least until the police arrive. Inspector Cabell questions them about what they saw before driving them to Cyon House. The inspector asks William if he thinks Sir Geoffrey Cyon could be behind a rash of occult-based murders around London. Once at Cyon House, they’re met by Sir Geoffrey and Anitra. During dinner, Geoffrey spells out William’s goal: He must prove Anitra’s claim that Geoffrey is under the influence of an evil force in the house. William finds glass splinters in his wine goblet before giving a toast against demons. After dinner, Anitra begs William and Ham to help her, stating that the spirits in the house are after Mitri as well as Geoffrey. On their way to bed, William finds himself winded and nearly falls off the second floor when the balustrade gives way. William reads Quaylis’s diary, stating that the demon of lechery has taken control of Geoffrey. Going outside, they discover a Stonehenge-like structure and check out the carvings on the Druid ring. Later, William and Ham go to New Scotland Yard, then return to Merlin’s Mews and meet with Inspector Cabell. William speculates that a demon may have taken over Geoffrey’s body before committing the recent murders. The next day, Inspector Cabell races to the estate after hearing that Mitri has been attacked in his room and that a dog was found gored on a tree branch. Mitri says he didn’t see his assailant. William and Ham return to the ruins, bearing religious medals for their protection. Finding an entrance into an underground cavern, they discover rocks with “obscene” carvings on them and a cathedral from which Geoffrey may have freed the demon. They also find half of a solid-gold prayer seal, as well as a sacrificial altar bearing dried blood, and an animal-like “disciple.” Taking the prayer seal with them, the two leave the cavern. When William becomes too ill to go to London, he sends William for the materials to make a golden bullet to slow down the demon. In town, Inspector Cabell says that Geoffrey has reported that Anitra is missing. As Mitri holds an orgy on the estate, William and Ham return to the Druid cavern. There, they find Mitri’s mummified body and the other half of the seal, thus realizing that he was the one who unleashed the demon. The two hide as a pagan ritual begins, during which a gagged and bound Anitra is laid on the sacrificial altar. The demon in the form of Mitri then presides at the ceremony, where he’s joined by Geoffrey. When Geoffrey can’t bring himself to kill Anitra, he then turns into the animal creature and is given an ax with which to murder her. Regardless, he fails again, begging the demon’s forgiveness. Another acolyte – Inspector Cabell – brings forth William to kill Anitra, using the doll responsible for the hole in William’s chest as bait. William appears in a trance and says he will follow the demon’s orders. However, William pours holy water on the altar, then joins the two halves of the seal to drive back the demon. William shoots him with a golden bullet as the minions break into a fighting frenzy. As Ham saves Anitra, William makes his escape, with Geoffrey staying behind to battle the demon and Inspector Cabell. Back at William’s estate, Lilith attends to William and Ham’s needs as the men read newspaper accounts of the catastrophic blaze that supposedly killed everyone at the Cyon mansion. After William states that the demon is not yet dead, Anitra drops by with a present – one of the Cyon estate paintings that William had admired. As Ham finally acts on his romantic feelings toward Anitra, William warns him to make sure that the visitor isn’t another succubus. Includes commercials.

Details

  • NETWORK: NBC
  • DATE: May 21, 1977 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:03228
  • GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery, suspense
  • SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 1977
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV – Commercials – Alka-Seltzer antacid relief
    • TV – Commercials – American Express traveler’s cheques
    • TV – Commercials – American Motors automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – California-Oregon-Washington Dairymen for milk
    • TV – Commercials – Chevy trucks
    • TV – Commercials – Clairol hair care products
    • TV – Commercials – Datsun automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – Dodge automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – Doritos chips
    • TV – Commercials – Dr. Scholl’s insoles
    • TV – Commercials – Dynamo detergents
    • TV – Commercials – Exxon for conservation
    • TV – Commercials – Gallo Red Rose wine
    • TV – Commercials – General Foods Cycle 2 dog food
    • TV – Commercials – Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid bandages
    • TV – Commercials – Kawasaki motorcycles
    • TV – Commercials – Kimbies diapers
    • TV – Commercials – Kingsford charcoal briquets
    • TV – Commercials – Lipton teas
    • TV – Commercials – Ocean Spray juices
    • TV – Commercials – Schlitz Light beers
    • TV – Commercials – Singer sewing machines
    • TV – Commercials – Stayfree mini-pads
    • TV – Commercials – Tegrin dandruff shampoos
    • TV – Commercials – Volkswagen automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – “Day of the Animals” motion picture
    • TV – Promos – “Columbo”
    • TV – Promos – “Dean Martin’s Celebrity Roast of Jackie Gleason”
    • TV – Promos – “Le Mans”
    • TV – Promos – “Man With the Power”
    • TV – Promos – “Princess Grace”
    • TV – Promos – “Rosetti and Ryan”
    • TV – Promos – “Suzy Visits: Sinatra & Ali”

CREDITS

  • Gordon L.T. Scott … Coordinating Producer
  • Gene Roddenberry … Producer, Writer
  • Danny Steinmann … Associate Producer
  • Clive Donner … Director
  • Samuel A. Peeples … Writer
  • John Cameron … Music by
  • Robert Culp … Cast, William Sebastian
  • John Hurt … Cast, Mitri Cyon
  • Gordon Jackson … Cast, Inspector Cabell
  • Ann Bell … Cast, Anitra Cyon
  • James Villiers … Cast, Sir Geoffrey Cyon
  • Gig Young … Cast, Ham Hamilton
  • Majel Barrett … Cast, Lilith
  • Jenny Runacre … Cast, Synda
  • Angela Grant … Cast, Butler
  • Penny Irving … Cast, First Maid
  • Vicki Michelle … Cast, Second Maid
  • Michael Latimer … Cast, Co-Pilot