I thought it was a term going back to the times when double features were standard-- B-films were the ones packaged with really bankable films to create the “double” that would be shown as a matinee, or an evening show on a less desirable day-- a Tuesday, or a Friday that happened to be a minor holiday.
They weren’t so bad that anyone would complain about them, but they weren’t good enough for the stand-alone shows on the weekends and evenings.
They were like the “B-side” of a 45 record.
Some films were B-films at the time, even though they were pretty good, and are considered important now, because they starred unknowns who happened to become famous later, and some films that are considered B-films because they are sort of “comfort” films, better for the couch than a theater, like Yours, Mine and Ours, were actually A-films in their time, seeing as they starred to people who guaranteed full houses for the first week.
It wouldn’t be impossible for both to be true. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
The NYT article I cited didn’t say anything about the need to fill out the lower half of a double bill; just the fact that the B-films were lower-budget.
I remember catching this on late night TV about 25 years ago. I was like, “WTF is this?” Great movie, though, with awesome sets.
I think a B movie needs to be more than just “low budget,” since I can think of low budget films that are really good in other ways. I mentioned Clerks above. I think it was made for less than $30K, but the writing/script is exceptionally clever, IMO.
And I just remembered another B film I love: Forbidden Zone.
Yes, that is my definition of B-movies as well. I remember the drive-in A and B movies from when I was a kid, and usually enjoyed the B movie more. Campy fun! I’d often sleep through the A movie.
And movie theaters make more money from concessions than from ticket sales, Studios take most of the box office (often 50–65%), leaving theaters with slim profits from the movie itself. But, with markups over 800% and nearly all revenue going to the theater, soda and popcorn are pure gold. So keeping folks longer and eating makes sense.
I am too young to remember the double-feature era, but I am old enough to remember the tail end of the grindhouse era. My fond memories are of early Chuck Norris movies, Sho Kosugi’s ninja trilogy, and Cannon Group/Golan-Globus movies.
Good Guys Wear Black
Enter the Ninja
Sword of the Valiant
Lifeforce
Another feature of the B movie is that they are much more likely to make a profit than a major feature film. So much so, that by the 1960s, both films on a double feature were likely to be B movies.
There was a spate of movies in the early-mid eighties that epitomized the spirit of b-moviedom.
Zone Troopers, Trancers (by-line “Jack Deth’s back, and he’s never been here before”), Critters too. There’s probably others.
Larry Cohen made some really good movies around this time, The Stuff comes to mind prominently, and “Q The Winged Serpent”.
I remember Strange Behavior also (Michael Laughlin?).
I think there are arguments to be made for either side.
That said, any movie with a line like “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass … and I’m all out of bubblegum” deserves mention in any discussion where an excuse an be found to mention it.
In the OP I deliberately avoided a tight definition of B-movies. I liked the fluff shown on Saturday afternoon TV: Sssssss, Godzilla and Mothra, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang… but these are not my favourite B-movies.
I saw Star Wars, Jaws, Raiders, Clash of the Titans at the drive-in. The only B-movie I remember was The Deep, mainly because of the stellar “performance” from Jacqueline Bisset.
I think the original 1979 Mad Max would qualify as a B movie. I hadn’t seen it in years but caught part of it recently and was struck by the low production quality. The idea behind the film was smart, though, and it quickly became a successful franchise afterwards.
Hobo with a Shotgun. Snakes on a Plane. A couple that have no purpose other than drenching you with ridiculousness. Lots of others in that category, but those are the first that came to mind.
