It was the last game show hosted by Gene Rayburn and aired as filler programming on the American Movie Classics (AMC) cable network.
The regular panel of the show consisted of veteran New York Times movie and theatre critic Clive Barnes and longtime To Tell the Truth panelists Kitty Carlisle and Peggy Cass.
Chauncey Street Productions parent Fred/Alan, Inc. had worked with Josh Sapan for several years at Showtime before he oversaw American Movie Classics at Rainbow Media.
He and Fred/Alan principal Alan Goodman created the idea for The Movie Masters, with the notion that it would recreate the salad days of broadcast network quiz shows.
There were dozens of casting calls where the production spoke to luminaries like Betty Comden and Margaret Whiting, before coming to the conclusion they would replicate a classic quiz show line up.