Wo die Liebe hinfällt

I haven't seen this show since the late '70s, but I remember it fondly. The one thing that really sticks out in my mind for this show was the theme song, and the big brass bed that was the trademark, and appeared in nearly every episode short. It used to play at 10pm on Fridays up until 1974, and it was truly missed when it was cancelled. It would be nice if the original pilot movie was available on video, but until then I just have the memories of a show from a great bygone era of TV.

This show is definitely a show that worked for the era it was produced in, the late 60's/early 70's. This show came out at the height of the sexual revolution and could have easily been called "Lust, American Style". Each episode pretty much was about the same thing, men and women in constant pursuit of each other. Also, the most memorable trademark was the ever present brass bed. However, despite the emphasis on sex there were a few more touching episodes in this series. One that comes to mind is an episode in which an old man creates a sculpture of his deceased wife on the anniversary of her death and the angel of death (played hilariously by Soupy Sales) comes down to inform him that he is about to die. At the end of the episode, there is a shot of the old man, who has become a statue himself, holding his wife's hand. This was perhaps the most moving episode from one of the wildest show's of the early 70's.

This series was basically an hour of two or 3 vignettes that were supposed to be comedy about love. Every show would start with phony fireworks & a heart shaped trade mark on screen. The theme song was catchy.

Each show would have a love situation of 20 to 30 minutes. If there were any extra time there would be a 1 or 2 minute comedy blackout. Some of the shows parts were funny & some were not.

The series would vary in quality & sometimes during it's run, pilots for new shows would be put in. Some of them actually made it after into series of their own. Happy Days pilot aired on this program. It had Richie, & Howard, & Marion & the pilot was actually OK.

An animated series called "Wait Until Your Father Gets Home" first aired on Lover American Style too. The great thing about this anthology is you never quite knew where they were going, but you would almost always see well known actors & actresses on the way.

In a way, this series set up the later show "The Love Boat" which basically borrowed this format & moved it too a cruise ship & added a regular crew in addition to the celebrity guests every week. Both shows were ABC so nobody complained.

As most mentioned, this was a moment in time not to be repeated again. Definitely a show that stood out as pure fun. I recall vividly seeing this show with my other brother and sisters. The instant we would see the still photos at the introduction to the show we knew it would be funny. I think we were too young to realize it had an adult theme (we thought love was too mushy) but we watched anyway! As soon as we saw someone like Joanne Worley in the beginning credits we knew it would be hilarious. We always like the busting fireworks at the end and who can forget the theme song?! Lovvvve American Style that's you and meeeeeee!!!!

This show was part of ABC's Friday night line-up back when networks put their good shows on Friday and Saturdays, as opposed to today when those nights are burial grounds for failing TV shows. It was popular in the late 60's and early 70's not just because it was witty, but because it was considered a bit naughty. In fact it was put on last in the evening in the lineup and given a great big warning label - for mature audiences only. For modern viewers, this show will seem much like a precode film from the early 1930's - you'll wonder what the big deal is since by and large nothing shocking ever really happens. Like precode films it does mark a transitional period. Precodes were the last hurrah of controversial material in the movies for the next 30 years. Love American Style marked the first inroad of controversial material on TV, as bigger and bigger shocks would be required to titillate audiences until now, almost 50 years later, the show appears quaint. You just have to remember that at the time this show first aired shows such "My Three Sons" and "The Beverly Hillbillies" were the norm for hit Television. The 60's didn't really happen in middle America until the 70's and this show was part of the first wave of that transition, for better or worse.

The episodes themselves are still pretty humorous, and often you'll see failed pilots end up as episodes of Love American Style. The most famous example was a 1972 episode that turned out to be the pilot for "Happy Days", one of ABC's most successful shows of the 1970's. If you're a boomer you're bound to enjoy this show. If you are younger, it's an interesting and humorous lesson in the journey TV has taken over the years.