TV Chat

electricmonk

(2,011 posts) Sat Jul 5, 2025, 07:32 PM Jul 5

Looking for a tv show or made for tv movie title

It's possible I'm thinking of The Man in the High Castle but after watching some clips on YouTube of it the production value looks way too high for what I'm thinking of. Similar plot to what I'm trying to think of though. I remember watching a movie or tv show that was set in alternate universe that the US was full Nazi but not necessarily German. It might have been homegrown fascist. In my head it was a made for tv movie from the late 70s or early 80s and most of it takes place in the mid west like Nebraska or Iowa. I don't have Prime so I can't watch MitHC again to rule it out completely. I only saw it once during a free promotion 10 years ago. If it was High Castle I guess I'll have to borrow my sister's account and watch the full series.

Does that sound familiar to anyone else? Thanks.

2 replies

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Looking for a tv show or made for tv movie title (Original Post) electricmonk Jul 5 OP

Out of curiosity, I used your description to ask Chat GPT and got this: dgauss Jul 5 #1

Thanks electricmonk Jul 5 #2

dgauss

(1,375 posts)

1. Out of curiosity, I used your description to ask Chat GPT and got this:

Reply to electricmonk (Original post)

Sat Jul 5, 2025, 07:54 PM

Jul 5

You’re likely thinking of Shadow on the Land (also known as United States: It Can’t Happen Here) — a made-for-TV movie that aired on ABC in December 1968. It’s based on Sinclair Lewis’s 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here and revolves around a homegrown fascist takeover in the U.S., not foreign Nazis

🎬 Why this matches your memory:
Year: It premiered in 1968 — right in line with your timeframe.

Genre: A TV movie (not a theatrical release).

Plot: Depicts a totalitarian regime rising through democratic means and establishing martial law, an Internal Security Force reminiscent of fascist police, and a resistance movement called the “Society of Man”

Tone/Imagery: Features mid‑Americana scenes—flag routines, references to concentration camps, and local citizens under authoritarian control. It’s less about foreign invaders and more about Americans ushering in fascism .

Midwestern Feel: Though not set explicitly in Nebraska or Iowa, its presentation of American society slipping into dictatorship likely gives a “small‑town U.S.” vibe.

electricmonk

(2,011 posts)

2. Thanks

Reply to dgauss (Reply #1)

Sat Jul 5, 2025, 08:01 PM

Jul 5

A solid lead. I'll search for a copy of that. I read the book in high school but that was almost 45 years ago. I don't remember watching a tv adaptation of it but it could very well be the right one.

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