12/18/48 at 8 pm on WATV/13. Andrew Marton's 1937 British comedy with Rex Harrison played US theaters in 1939. NY TV debut 1/21/40 on then-experimental station W2XBS, known as WNBT by 1948, later WRCA and WNBC since 1963. 
12/18/53 at 12:05 am on WNBT. 1947 Ingmar Bergman was shown as FRUSTRATION, the new title concocted by Film Classics for its subtitled 1949 US release.
NY TV debut 12/18/58 at 11:15 pm on WABC's "Shock Theater.'' Zacherly introduces Dmytryk's 1941 sci-fi, one of several Columbia released in Screen Gems' "Son of Shock'' package.
12/18/63 at 5:30 pm on WNBC's "Movie 4.'' Menzies' striking 1953 sci-fi had been an afternoon staple on Channel 4 since its 3/13/59 debut, but its lurid Supercinecolor hues were not yet available to young TV viewers.
12/18/68 at 8 am on WABC's "Movie of the Day.'' Channel 7 showed many long MIA obscurities in the morning like this black-and-white1962 indie political drama top lined by a pair of busy character actors.
12/18/73 at 9 am on WABC's "Morning Movie.'' MGM suppressed John M. Stahl's 1931 version of Preston Sturges play with Sidney Fox and Paul Lukas due to Panama and Frank's 1951 remake. Both on @WarnerArchive double feature.
12/18/78 from 2:30 to 4:30 am on WCBS' "The Late Show.'' First saw this in CCNY film survey class taught by Lubitsch biographer Herman G. Weinberg, who claimed the master gladly relinquished the reins of THE WOMEN to suddenly available Cukor so he could do this passion project.
12/18/83 at midnight on WCBS. First celebrity I ever met was Ali McGraw, filming the commencement scene for LOVE STORY (1970) at CCNY. See if you can spot the insert I dictated from the ER @WeillCornell in this article published eight years ago today. nypost.com/2010/12/17/sti…
12/18/88 at 2:30 am on TNT. No idea whether the "Thrilling Technicolor'' sequence survives in Novarro's 1929 talkie debut, a musical set in Napoleon's France.
12/18/93 at 12:30 am on WNET. Lean's 1945 Coward adaptation was very late to TV, finally debuting in New York City on 3/5/1977, in color, on public broadcaster Channel 13.
12/18/98 at 2:45 am on TCM. 1925 special effects landmark may have made its US TV debut as late as 1993 on AMC, though TCM was showing a much longer restored version.
