The Dream Makers

*The Dream Makers*
The Dream Makers
Genre	Drama; Music
Written by	Bill Svanoe
Directed by	Boris Sagal
Starring	James Franciscus; Diane Baker; John Astin; Ron Thompson; Kenny Rogers; Mickey Jones; Michael Lerner; Katey Sagal
Music by	Fred Karlin
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Charles Robert McLain
Producers	Boris Sagal; Sara Macon (associate producer)
Production locations	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California
Cinematography	Howard Schwartz
Editor	Jim Benson
Running time	90 min.
Production company	MGM Television
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	Color
Audio format	Mono
Original release	January 7, 1975

The Dream Makers is a 1975 American made-for-television drama film starring James Franciscus, Diane Baker, John Astin, Ron Thompson, Kenny Rogers and directed by Boris Sagal. It aired on January 7, 1975 on the NBC television network.^[1]

Plot[]

A university professor with big dreams launches a career in the music industry, eventually running his own record label. 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[]

James Franciscus as Sammy Stone
Diane Baker as Mary Stone
John Astin as Manny Wheeler
Kenny Rogers as Earl
Mickey Jones as Jesse
Jamie Donnelly as Sally
Devon Ericson as Carol
Steven Keats as Barry
Michael Lerner as Mike
Ron Thompson as Dave
John Lupton as Dean Halder
Lois Walden as Jo
Erica Yohn as Helen
Ron Rifkin 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, A Case of Rape). Since the script was written by someone with first-hand knowledge of the record biz -- Bill Svanoe, from the folk trio The Rooftop Singers, who had a Number One hit in 1963 with Walk Right In -- you might've thought he'd come up with something more insightful than this heavyhanded rise-and-fall hogwash....
[When] 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, 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.^[2]

References[]

^ Hal Erickson (2008). "The New York Times". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
^ Puchalski, Steven. "THE DREAM MAKERS (1975)". ShockCinema.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.

External links[]

The Dream Makers at IMDb
Dream-Makers at the TCM Movie Database

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[1] Hal Erickson (2008). "The New York Times". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2012-01-17.

[2] Puchalski, Steven. "THE DREAM MAKERS (1975)". ShockCinema.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.

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