Der Morgen danach

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.

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 would love to have a copy of this movie. I saw it when it was on TV and I was actively drinking very heavily. I have been sober 30 years now but I will never forget this movie. Anyone know where to get a copy??? I feel like it would be an impact on may lives of alcoholics as well as drug abusers. It has a very profound message for all ages. The realism stems from Van Dykes own personal bout with alcohol abuse. He brings to the movie what no other has done and I have seen a lot of movies about addiction. Recovery programs this is a must see!!! Individuals with addictions should see this movie. It will make you self examine your addictions. Please, someone get this out to the public again. It should never have been stopped from viewing in the first place.

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.

Richard Matheson has given us another masterful screenplay, and Dick Van Dyke is perfectly cast in the dramatic role of his career. I saw this on its initial television release date, and I recall the wide recognition that it garnered; but "The Morning After" seems to have slipped from visibility lately. Still, at the time of this film, "lovable drunk" jokes and comics were prolific on television – and since "The Morning After", and its terrific eye-opening impact, they disappeared almost overnight. Now there were other, numerous efforts in those days to increase the awareness of alcoholism ... but I maintain that the impact of this unforgettable, much-discussed television film, with its chilling end, had a huge impact on the American consciousness. But we'll never be able to measure the number of lives it must have saved. Highly recommended to all.