''The Dream Makers'' is a 1975 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring

James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: ''Mr. Novak'', ''The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', ''Doc Elliot'', an ...

Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...

John Astin John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles. He is best known for starring in ''The Addams Family'' (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising th ...

, Ron Thompson,

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

and directed by

Boris Sagal Boris Sagal (October 18, 1923 – May 22, 1981) was an American television and film director. Early life and career Born in Yekaterinoslav, Ukrainian SSR (now known as Dnipro, Ukraine) to a Ukrainian-Jewish family, Sagal immigrated to the United ...

. It aired on January 7, 1975 on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

television network.

Plot

A university professor with big dreams launches a career in the music industry, eventually running his own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. To ensure radio stations play run his recording artists' music he illegally pays off deejays and in doing so runs the risk of destroying everything he's built.

Cast

as Sammy Stone *

as Mary Stone *

as Manny Wheeler *

as Earl *

Mickey Jones Mickey Jones (June 10, 1941 – February 7, 2018) was an American musician and actor. He played drums with acts such as Trini Lopez and Bob Dylan, with whom he played on his 1966 world tour. He became a founding member of The First Edition ...

as Jesse *

Jamie Donnelly Jamie Donnelly is an American actress known for her portrayal of Jan in the musical, and later film, '' Grease,'' along with Magenta in ''The Rocky Horror Show'' during its run in the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. Biography Donnelly was born i ...

as Sally *

Devon Ericson Devon Ericson is an American actress and cover singer. Early years Ericson was born in Salt Lake City and was named for Devon, England. Her mother, Audrey Planty, won British ice-skating championships and toured with the Ice Follies in the Uni ...

as Carol *

Steven Keats Steven Keats (born Steven Paul Keitz; February 6, 1945 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor who appeared in such films as '' Death Wish'' (as Charles Bronson's character's son-in-law), '' Black Sunday'' and the Chuck Norris thriller ''Silent ...

as Barry * Michael Lerner as Mike * Ron Thompson as Dave *

John Lupton John Rollin Lupton (August 23, 1928 – November 3, 1993) was an American film and television actor. Early years Lupton was the son of Adelma Lupton and Dorothy Marsh Lupton. He developed an interest in drama while he was a student at Sh ...

as Dean Halder *

Lois Walden Lois Walden (born February 8, 1946) is an American author, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, performer & teaching artist for The Acting Company. She is the author of two novels: ''One More Stop'', a 2012 finalist for the Lambda Literary ...

as Jo *

Erica Yohn Erica Yohn (October 1, 1928 – January 27, 2019) was an American stage and television actress. Yohn had many bit parts in film and television, such as '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', and television shows, such as '' Rhoda'', '' ER'', '' Murphy ...

as Helen *

Ron Rifkin Ron Rifkin (born Saul M. Rifkin; October 31, 1939) is an American actor best known for his roles as Arvin Sloane on the spy drama ''Alias'', Saul Holden on the drama '' Brothers & Sisters'', and District Attorney Ellis Loew in ''L.A. Confidentia ...

as Herb

Reception

Steven Puchalski wrote on ''Shock Cinema'':

A boring, middle-class family man gets addicted to the fast-paced world of the music industry in this generic NBC made-for-TV movie by director Boris Sagal (
The Failing of Raymond ''The Failing of Raymond'' is a 1971 American made-for-television psychological thriller film starring Jane Wyman (in her television film debut), Dean Stockwell, Dana Andrews, Paul Henreid and Murray Hamilton. It aired as the ''ABC Movie of the ...
,
A Case of Rape ''A Case of Rape'' is a 1974 American made-for-television drama film starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Ronny Cox. It premiered on NBC on February 20, 1974. The film tells the story of a wife and mother who is raped twice by the same man and her o ...
). Since the script was written by someone with first-hand knowledge of the record biz -- Bill Svanoe, from the
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
trio
The Rooftop Singers The Rooftop Singers were an American country folk-singing trio in the early 1960s, best known for the hit " Walk Right In". The group was composed of Erik Darling and Bill Svanoe (vocals, guitar) with former jazz singer Lynne Taylor (vocals). ...
, who had a Number One hit in 1963 with ''
Walk Right In "Walk Right In" is a country blues song written by musician Gus Cannon and originally recorded by Cannon's Jug Stompers in 1929. Victor Records released on a 78 rpm record and in 1959, it was included on the influential compilation album ''The Cou ...
'' -- you might've thought he'd come up with something more insightful than this heavyhanded rise-and-fall hogwash....
hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...
Sammy is sacked for allegations involving drugs and kickbacks, his out-of-control ego is determined to find a way back on top, possibly with the help of a hungry new band dubbed Cat Weazel (
Kenny Rogers and The First Edition Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, until 1970 billed as The First Edition, were an American rock band. The band's style was difficult to singularly classify, as it incorporated elements of country, rock and psychedelic pop. Its stalwart member ...
, just before they broke up and Rogers went solo). Sammy is persona non grata though, with every shot at a fresh start quickly quashed and the leaden script explicitly informing us that Sammy is "hooked on power like a junkie," until this delusional dude hits rock bottom...
Every single aspect of this shallow cautionary tale feels artificial, from Sammy's nearly-overnight success to the non-stop string of cliches he slams into on the way down.

References

External links

* * 1975 films 1970s English-language films 1975 television films Films directed by Boris Sagal Films scored by Fred Karlin NBC network original films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links