award-winning film, and offered Spielberg a seven-year directing contract. A year later, he dropped out of college to begin directing television productions for Universal. It made him the youngest director to be signed to a long-term plan with a major Hollywood studio. Spielberg returned to Long Beach in 2002 to complete his Bachelor of Arts in Film and Electronic Media. Career 1969–1974: Entering film and television Spielberg's first professional job came when he was hired to direct one of the segments for the 1969 pilot episode of Night Gallery, written by Rod Serling and starring Joan Crawford. Crawford was "speechless, and then horrified" at the thought of a young and inexperienced newcomer directing her. Spielberg attempted to impress his colleagues with fancy camerawork, but executives ordered him to shoot it quickly. His contributions were not well received, thus Spielberg took a short break from the studio. However, Crawford said: In the early 1970s, Spielberg unsuccessfully tried to raise financing for his own low-budget films. He turned to writing screenplays with other writers, and then directing television episodes. These included the series: Marcus Welby, M.D., The Name of the Game ("L.A. 2017"), Columbo, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law and The Psychiatrist. Although unsatisfied with this work, Spielberg used the opportunity to experiment with his techniques and learn about filmmaking. He earned good reviews and impressed producers; he was earning a steady income and relocated to Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles. Based on the strength of his work, Universal signed Spielberg to do four television films. The first was Duel (1971), adapted from Richard Matheson's short story of the same name. It is about a psychotic tanker truck driver who chases a terrified salesman (Dennis Weaver) down a highway. Impressed with the film, executives decided to promote the film on television. Reviews were mainly positive, and Universal asked Spielberg to shoot more scenes so that Duel could be released to international markets. Several films followed soon after: Something Evil (1972), and Savage (1973). Both features gained mixed reviews. In 1974, Spielberg made his debut in a theatrical film, The Sugarland Express, about a married couple on the run, desperate to regain custody of their baby from foster parents. Based on a true story, the film would mark the first of many collaborations with the composer John Williams; Spielberg was impressed with his previous soundtracks. The film opened to four hundred theatres in the