The Morning After

Like many of you, I saw this movie many many years ago. I was probably 14 or 15 years old when I 'stumbled upon it'. Anyway, my father was an alcoholic and had died just a year or so before. As I watched this movie I saw my father in the role of Charlie Lester. I have never forgotten this movie. I am now 5+ years into my own recovery from alcoholism and would very much like to see it again, or even better, to own a copy of this extremely powerful movie. And like most of you, I cannot hear "Yesterday" (Beatles version only) without seeing Charlie (or my father) standing in front of the mirror watching himself lose the battle. I don't think that I have ever heard a more appropriate song in a movie...even ones written FOR the movie.

If for no other reason, this movie should be released as an educational tool for those who are trying to overcome and deal with this most unrelenting and overpowering disease know as alcoholism.

I watched this film while I was in treatment for alcoholism in June of 1987.

Thanks to God and AA, I have been continuously sober for the past 16 years.

In a few days, it could be 17 but we do this one day at a time. I am going to reveal how the movie ends. Don't keep reading if you don't want to know. However, the movie is not available for purchase anywhere that I know so there's little chance that I'll spoil anything for you. The way it ends is that the Dick Van Dyke character gives up and goes away to drink himself to death. I generally hate movies that end badly but this one had a tremendous impact on me. Van Dyke's portrayal is so convincing. It reminds me of the tremendous power of alcohol and the "life and death" struggle that is recovery. God bless you for reading this and if you know of a way to purchase this film, please let me know.

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.

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 pjwpellegrino@hotmail.com. 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 pjwpellegrino@hotmail.com

Dick Van Dyke earned a well deserved Emmy nomination for his powerhouse performance in THE MORNING AFTER, a 1974 ABC Movie of the Week where Van Dyke played a successful public relations man who begins to forsake everything in his life for the bottle. This intense look at the disease of alcoholism is uncompromising in its approach to the story and Van Dyke pulls out all the stops to turn in this gut-wrenching performance, which, if the truth be told, probably wasn't a real stretch as Van Dyke was drinking very heavily at the time. Van Dyke had been drinking for years but kept it well hidden. A few years later, he made his alcoholism public and got sober a few years after that. I was 16 years old when this movie premiered but I remember Van Dyke's performance haunted me long after the movie was over. I remember a scene where his wife, played by Lynn Carlin, won't give him the car keys so he can go out and get more liquor and he practically beats her up to get the keys. I also remember the final scene of a drunken Van Dyke, all alone in the world, on a beach, with his bottle, drinking and passing out. The movie is a powerful indictment against drinking and vividly portrays the isolation from everything important in a drinker's life that alcohol can cause. Another landmark TV movie that should be made available on video if it is not.