The Morning After
The Morning After
| 13 February 1974 (USA)
The Morning After Trailers

A successful public relations man's refusal to admit his alcoholism jeopardizes his career, his family and his life. ABC Movie of the Week.

Reviews
Theo Robertson

Charlie Lester is a public relations marketing officer for a corporate company with a successful career and a family . He's also someone who enjoys a drink , so much so that he finds himself drinking more and more endangering both his career and family This come with a slight amount of baggage . I never saw this made for television film when it made its initial broadcast on British television in the late 1970s but in those days we only had two TV guides the Radio Times for shows broadcast on BBC and the TV Times for those ones shown on the regional ITV station and each magazine would have a film review column about the films being shown on the station that week . Obviously singing for your supper over integrity in this type of publicity that tried not to look like publicity and marketing while plugging the stations films . Apparently the TV guide of whatever station broadcast the film had their reviewer saying it was a very funny comedy starring Dick Van Dyke on good form which led to an avalance of letters saying the reviewer couldn't have seen the film . Indeed many years later I remember listening to an interview with some film critics on Talk Radio and this very film with the fall out associated was brought up . Some foolishness is too stupid to be forgotten and this film is a testimony to that As everyone is stating on this page - I'm sure they've all seen it - THE MORNING AFTER is despite starring Dick Van Dyke is in no way a comedy . If there's an amusing scene in it I must have blinked and missed it . Everything is written in a serious and dead pan tone that it's almost in danger of becoming unconvincing in its manner simply because it is too serious . It also has a very short running time and this brevity of structure sometimes feels we the audience are merely just getting the bullet points of the story . That said this is helped greatly by the casting of Dick Van Dyke best known for his affable roles so we quickly warm to his character Charlie . It's truly great Oscar winning material but is very much one of the better 1970s TVMs from America

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hbsurfer

I too saw this movie as a kid, I was only eleven years old and it made such an impact on me that i thought i would never be a drinker...and here i am both my parents were drinkers and both dead :( And i saw some things and behavior that was very disturbing to me and also very similar to some of the behavior in my own life now. When I'm feeling like my drinking is starting to get out of hand this film is the first thing that enters into my mind especially the end... I recall the chilling and sad feeling i got at the end of this movie as a kid, I believe this keeps me in check, don't misunderstand me I'm a very fit and successful man and father but we all have our demons and drinking and its devastation is not limited to its victims; rich or poor, fit or fat, married or single, this film puts it all on the line... the power of alcohol! I have only seen it once many years ago! but what an impact!! This should be available to the public and all who struggle especially those in AA groups! come on this needs to be released, how can we get this done? I really just want a copy of it for myself, but i think about the impact that this movie could have on the many people out there struggling just like that and like me. what an amazing performance, absolutely memorable!!! If anyone has a copy or knows how to get one let me know please! Steve, 714-655-0284 Peace and many blessings...

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pjwpellegrino

I am a HUGE fan of Mr. Van Dyke, and this is my favorite performance. I remember watching this movie in the '70's on TV, and have been looking for a copy ever since. Dick Van Dyke is not only a genius comedic actor, but he is also a wonderfully moving dramatic actor as well. If anyone knows where I can purchase a copy of this movie, please let me know at [email protected]. I have been waiting for years!!! Mr. Van Dyke reminds me so much of my father, and I have been watching his shows since I was a little girl. A couple of years ago, I received a DVD of a few of the old "Dick Van Dyke Show", and I watch it over and over. PLEASE email me if you know how to obtain a copy of "The Morning After", as I have been searching for this movie forever. Thanks so much, Paula Pellegrino [email protected]

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SFNative

I saw this movie when it came out. I was ten or eleven at the time and it's effect on me was profound.One scene in particular, struck me so hard as to become a recurring nightmare:Van Dyke's character wakes up on a beach and is going through the DTs. He runs down the beach clawing at himself and screaming. I remember asking my mother what he was doing and she explained the concept behind the DTs.Years later, as a young adult, I discovered the joys (?) of drinking. Although I always had fun, I had a fear of that exact situation happening to me. On a trip to Club Med, I awoke to find myself face down on a beach. No DTs but I immediately flashed back to that movie and viewed myself as Van Dyke's character. A lonely, lost man with a terrible problem. We will just say that things changed from that point on.Thank you, Dick.Another note:This film has always reminded me of "A Face In The Crowd". In that film, America's beloved Andy Griffith gave a chilling performance as a simple country man who allows fame and fortune turn him into a bitter wretch of a human being. As both films allow us to see very different sides of a pair of comic geniuses, I have often thought that they would make a great double-feature.

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