FM (1978)

Director:

John A. Alonzo

Writer:

Ezra Sacks (written by)

Release Date:

April 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

A Now Story With Now Music!

Plot:

Q-SKY is the #1 radio station in Los Angeles mainly because of the music they play, and running the station the way they want to...

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Radio Station | Concert Footage | Groupie | Rock 'n' Roll

Cast

Michael Brandon	...	Jeff Dugan
Eileen Brennan	...	Mother
Alex Karras	...	Doc Holiday
Cleavon Little	...	Prince
Martin Mull	...	Eric Swan
Cassie Yates	...	Laura Coe
Norman Lloyd	...	Carl Billings
Jay Fenichel	...	Bobby Douglas
James Keach	...	Lt. Reach
Joe Smith	...	Albert Driscoll
Tom Tarpey	...	Regis Lamar
Janet Brandt	...	Alice
Mary Torrey	...	Cathy
Roberta Wallach	...	Shari Smith
Terry Jastrow	...	Michael J. Carlyle

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG (Approved No. 25238) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

The Summit - 10 Greenwood Plaza, Houston, Texas, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Often believed to be the inspiration for the TV show "WKRP in Cincinnati" (1978), but in fact the pilot for that show was filmed before this film's release.

Quotes:

Jeff Dugan: Do you like music?
Regis Lamar: I can take it or leave it.
Jeff Dugan: I'm throwing a concert tonight... you ought to come. It's with Jimmy Buffett.
Regis Lamar: I love buffets, what are they serving?
Jeff Dugan: Regis, you and I are gonna get along just fine.

Soundtrack:

Southern Man

Great film, only if you like flicks about Radio

This is one of my favorite "Radio" themed films, mainly because I work in radio. The characters in this movie remind me of many of my fellow co-works, on many levels.

The film's plot centers on Station Manager and Morning Man Jeff Dugan. Dugan has the right idea, in keeping the station "Q-Sky" as uncommercial as possible. He LOVES playing GOOD music and so dislikes the idea of selling too much airtime to advertisers. Especially when it is the Army that wants to buy airtime, with high spot rotation in prime time hours.

That doesn't sit well with Dugan, and he tries his best to avoid "cashing in" on the deal. Wow, imagine that, a Station Manager who refuses good money! Dugan even attempts to ignore his corporate boss' desire to accept this package. Dugan finally gets so tired of saying "no, no, no!" to the Army and his boss, that he quits.

The rest of the on-air and support staff like Dugan a lot, and they dislike the fact that he quit. So they plot revenge against the same people Dugan was fighting with. Their idea of revenge is to go on strike, on the air. They dump all the commercials and go wall-to-wall music.

If you tried something like this in corporate radio today, kiss your job goodbye. So many radio stations today have taken the approach that Dugan so willingly and unselfishly fought against.

So if you like films about radio, or if you want to get a glimpse of how radio really "should be" today, you might find this film worth watching. This movie includes a good musical soundtrack, with bits of songs that were big in the 70's