FM (1978)

Taglines: The movie coming at you at the speed of sound.

FM movie storyline. 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. It has led them to a ratings success. The interesting radio personalities include: Jeff Dugan, rebellious head of the radio station; Mother, who is burned out from being a DJ; Eric Swan, a self centered romantic who wants more than just being a DJ; The Prince of Darkness, the hip night DJ; and Laura Coe, the easy-going type. The movie focuses on the battle between Jeff and his corporate bosses, who want more advertising and less music.

FM is a 1978 film about internal conflicts at an FM radio station directed by John A. Alonzo and starring Michael Brandon, Eileen Brennan, Alex Karras, Cleavon Little, Martin Mull and Cassie Yates. The screenplay was written by Ezra Sacks. This film was produced by Universal Pictures and originally released to theaters in the spring of 1978.

About the Production

The story unfolds across a background of concerts, broadcast music, appearances by various rock stars, and public appearances by the station’s DJs. A minor subtheme to the film is the competition between QSKY and another area radio station, KLAX. The major event of that subtheme occurs when Jeff arranges to broadcast a live concert by Linda Ronstadt that is being sponsored by a competing radio station. Another minor subtheme is the ongoing task of massaging egos of the various DJs to keep them happy and on the air.

Martin Mull appears in his feature film debut as a zoned-out record spinner. He plays Eric Swan, a libidinous disc jockey with eyes for everyone female. The character is self-centered, smarmy, quick-tempered, and overbearingly insincere. During the course of the film, Swan beds a supposed girlfriend, encounters a female fan with a peculiar physical “gift”, and barricades himself in owing to a severe emotional breakdown due to his agent’s dropping him and his girlfriend’s leaving him, all within the confines of QSKY’s studio.

Also rounding out the cast are Cleavon Little, who plays the Prince of Darkness, QSKY’s overnight host (Little had previously played a disc jockey in the film Vanishing Point (1971)); Eileen Brennan as “Mother”, the 40-something nighttime DJ; Alex Karras as “Doc Holiday”, the midday DJ with the lowest ratings on the station who is eventually dismissed from the station; Cassie Yates as Laura Coe, who takes over Doc’s midday slot; and Tom Tarpey as new sales manager Regis Lamar, the bane of the disk jockeys’ existence.

In addition, the film includes live appearances by Tom Petty & REO Speedwagon and live performances by Linda Ronstadt & Jimmy Buffett. Steely Dan performed the title theme, which became a sizable hit. The Eagles, James Taylor, Bob Seger, Dan Fogelberg, Billy Joel, and Queen were featured on the Platinum-plus soundtrack album.

Record company executive Irving Azoff participated in the making of the film as executive producer, but he disowned it before release and asked that his name be removed from the credits, a request which Universal agreed to. Azoff said the film was “not an authentic representation of the music business” and that the studio reneged on its promise to allow him creative control over it, particularly regarding selections of music.

Directed by: John A. Alonzo
Starring: Michael Brandon, Eileen Brennan, Alex Karras, Cleavon Little, Martin Mull, Cassie Yates, Norman Lloyd, Jay Fenichel, James Keach, Janet Brandt, Roberta Wallach, Mary Torrey
Screenplay by: Ezra Sacks
Production Design by: Lawrence G. Paull
Cinematography by: David Myers
Film Editing by: William C. Carruth, Jeff Gourson
Costume Design by: Kent Warner
Set Decoration by: Peg Cummings
Music by: Steely Dan
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: April 28, 1978