<P> It features an ensemble cast, starring Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O'Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid and Richard Masur as the seven members of the Losers Club, and Tim Curry as Pennywise . The child counterparts of the Losers that appear in part one are played by Jonathan Brandis, Seth Green, Emily Perkins, Brandon Crane, Adam Faraizl, Marlon Taylor, and Ben Heller . Michael Cole, Jarred Blancard, Gabe Khouth, Chris Eastman, Olivia Hussey, Frank C. Turner, Tony Dakota, Ryan Michael, Tom Heaton, and Chelan Simmons also play supporting roles . </P> <P> Originally conceived as a four - part eight - hour series, ABC enlisted writer Lawrence D. Cohen to adapt the 1,138 - page King novel . Cohen's script condensed the source work into a two - part, four - hour miniseries that retained the core elements of the novel, but Cohen was forced to abandon numerous subplots by virtue of the novel's length and the network's time - slot restrictions . Production on It began in early 1990, and the series was filmed over a period of three months in New Westminster, British Columbia in mid-1990 . </P> <P> It aired on ABC over two nights on November 18 and 20, 1990, attracting 30 million viewers in its premiere . Critics praised Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise . For his work on the miniseries, Richard Bellis received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore). </P> <P> In Derry, Maine, in 1960, Bill Denbrough gives his younger brother Georgie a paper sailboat to take the boat out onto the street to sail in the gutter . But Georgie is unable to stop it from sailing down the storm drain, peering in to see a strange clown who introduces himself as Pennywise . Pennywise then entices Georgie to reach into the drain to retrieve his boat, killing the boy while ripping his arm off . Months later, during the spring semester at their school, Bill befriends the overweight and nerdy new kid Ben Hanscom, asthmatic Eddie Kaspbrak who lives with his overbearing mother, Beverly Marsh who lives with her abusive father, comical Richie Tozier, and Jewish Boy Scout, Stanley Uris . Besides being tormented by a gang of local bullies led by Henry Bowers, the group each had disturbing encounters with Pennywise . During one afternoon after school, Bill and his friends encounter African - American outcast Mike Hanlon being pursued by Henry's gang . They chase the bullies off with rocks and befriend Mike, Henry vowing to kill them all . The group, calling themselves "The Losers Club", come to realize that they are each being terrorized by the same entity . Noticing that "It" assumes the appearance of what they fear, they deduce Pennywise is a monster that surfaces every 30 years in Derry to feed on the children of Derry before returning to hibernation again . </P>

When did it the movie originally come out