Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
Ebook504 pages5 hours

Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

HOLLYWOOD "B" MOVIES: A Treasury of Spills, Chills and Thrills, focuses on the support features Hollywood produced in that golden era when cinemagoers demanded value for their admittance money. The 250 movies detailed in this book are truly representative of Hollywood's golden age. Hollywood doesn't make movies like this any more (not deliberately anyway) but for the classic film fan, the "B" movie provides a fascinating subject. So what exactly is a "B" movie, and how does it differ from an "A"? Many people today would reply, "A matter of budget!" And that is certainly true to a certain extent. Moviegoers of the time, however, were not nearly as aware of budgets as we are now. For the average moviegoer of previous decades, a "B" movie was simply any movie that a theater advertised in small letters as a "plus" to the main feature. Generally, the support attraction played before Interval, so that patrons would not feel too unhappy if they arrived late and missed the first ten or twenty minutes. Therefore, in the minds of many moviegoers, the "B" was a movie of no extra special entertainment value. To a cinema manager, however, a "B" was any film at all with a running time of less than 70 (or 75) minutes. This short running time meant that the movie could not stand alone, even as a main attraction, because such was the competition between two or three or four cinemas in every neighborhood that yesteryear's patrons demanded the whole show run not less than 3 hours. The distributor (or "film exchange"), however, applied yet another definition. To the exchange, a "B" meant any feature with an entertainment quotient so low it had to be sold to exhibitors at the lowest flat rate possible. This book extensively covers all three of these categories. Of course, patrons did have their favorites. Mysteries were overwhelmingly popular, especially series movies like Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Edgar Wallace and Torchy Blane. Westerns and slapstick comedies were also strongly favored in blue-collar neighborhoods, as were the series pictures of Blondie and Maisie. Of course, it sometimes turned out that patrons regarded the "B" feature as more entertaining than the extensively touted "A" attraction, particularly if it was actually an "A" in disguise (a film the exchange had decided to offload at bargain basement rentals). You're in the Navy Now (Gary Cooper), Zaza (Claudette Colbert), Zero Hour! (Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden), The Young Stranger (James MacArthur, Kim Hunter), Without Honor (Laraine Day), The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (Abbott and Costello), Whistling in Brooklyn (Red Skelton), What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (Robert Walker), Western Union (Randolph Scott), Tropic Zone (Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming), Trooper Hook (Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck), That Certain Woman (Bette Davis, Henry Fonda), and Texas Carnival (Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Ann Miller), were just some of many films offloaded by distributors, as detailed in the book. In many cases, the bargain price reflected neither the movie's extensive budget nor its entertainment value. With both Scaramouche (Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer) and The Doughgirls (Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, Jane Wyman) for instance, it was the title itself that held no appeal to patrons or exhibitors; Way Out West (Laurel and Hardy) was disadvantaged by its short running time; White Tie and Tails (one of the best "B" movies ever made) by the studio's decision to cast perennial heavy Dan Duryea as the hero. Romance in Manhattan, a Ginger Rogers vehicle, was also saddled with an unpopular lead (Francis Lederer); a movie titled Abilene Town appealed to Texans but was a dead loss in Vermont; and those little gems, Death on the Diamond (Robert Young), Kind Lady (Ethel Barrymore), and Kid Glove Killer (Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt) were simply undone by the mere fact that they were products of MGM's "B" unit.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 16, 2011
ISBN9781458195821
Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
Author

John Howard Reid

Author of over 100 full-length books, of which around 60 are currently in print, John Howard Reid is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Merryll Manning series of mystery novels, anthologies of original poetry and short stories, translations from Spanish and Ancient Greek, and especially books of film criticism and movie history. Currently chief judge for three of America's leading literary contests, Reid has also written the textbook, "Write Ways To Win Writing Contests".

Read more from John Howard Reid

Related to Hollywood "B" Movies

Related ebooks

Industries For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Hollywood "B" Movies

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Hollywood "B" Movies - John Howard Reid

     cbook_preview_excerpt.html}rH`_k2+]Vu%NY[(.b2l>b^K$@\< ,KY._z}{?=?&n./&|>詰mtfY9KwZ=zZ _sĺʢMtb3$x?KL6KW9.-1vS~-6iiD\HpSy*-K +4''w p̹a8@hHRٹ4yl;W=Or?dl[b''[h?vesL/϶èՑgJtY½XX!Cvuf͜GWmX6)bBOq; ~0xE+$2wk#oұJ l%b|皚00ޣnh0YPb]\x[ɋ8zYİ݃zz>K=k'bW)\=a NCa_qΏ Ǚ멎1iFF/Lm_n]i" wB=^rZXIayvٯRqqÛFNm6um(OJ2*yJ 仿**h-SOԒFPv:p Է5gffB=mƓwO 4 hvSH,Πw˅ids $+S̴gX풚ʑ}2]D,j}}=pU`-\5ß=e5|[r7l3mDX߃ݕWQ~uZ){/k'4DAJSxvՋXˏ۔#ݰnbn4Wul&έɾĉzףB7$x ͏4$_XmlsؾJG+r펑ڸP.ww&d9IA6oLy]woff@ź3um^M:wvXJAG`&!M-7l04(sW}smfNYS {{l۱qkjBwݱh# Gnwۀf+{i^>46s|0r)76EɏQ ˴[cShȟlVlRAޮbNl=t_Bq™\(],MO%{A\g3BDrwd<]$ *d3%r-Ǧw[a7d8=g~xnfߩe;M׆zK/ )CdM_<0m@A/h^ׅUeB2 ʬ 7?6ZXA ?y'pKoHEZdL /,1L/(=艏2@g Xcbe@.Zᎄfj=EI9-3IK[ʥ[Qze蕙vawhtZpպ_m(5I6l'LnN *="_f4郯Jظ)3/w4!>^~CP <;S^ЎD=aۿWh^UvW}wJS0{PsJk6M:"WҸ64i\93~&.',UAptec 6iqTU ׶GJX |m_lECZ5b.&ۯ,o7X1o]YG,IỤB4{p- G H-2G&FnAD厵jqE"]y͆jC*;K J@oz}'zy;7(K^ď7lz`3kryWrEFJ+]+o5.x0㴲voW7^.o=RzhFWli?ZG=vb~iDSgwoͦm[0Iad sרm~.w8;Ɖ`Vswx>v(LvЂ&^rV~U]sM߸{>D>AYWq# %7M:1plJ^IU D_K?5OMx&`q!_'.ټ* 83 Ya᾽D#a1s-uCۭSzuj=#z& ;%XpMwwȘ[_rT^K?2ySux`^ۋ+}'|R0B]{L3puALR/o&7+CmN4Π_|V8tJh'3LUuOh0ˎy 5K}[# khr{85@ YRCX7LAD)- N/&g_ay".뎧Gd!TFG3tEF֭%Da9>a!Ynf uL!tL4MzĠ-ixYA@6ZꫬsGmҥil {Kۧa5ѳ1dW.Y0ޢ!Ӫ8dICHv@+y)SiW.q/6>5LT4S]KEb@Ch壇ZPf+Ҿ;NڗyMӅDa^=4|t_ZO@%4OD{/ACEy-s1X~nMk_?!>ٯNj6EfK9u^/xе1} ?]Eje¬-#dgOϸ U3'[QwTM7 i"6[`CbykL˴QkinjO˂tm?kH LRO{f 72ƀдOzxqN,@$Eht7$BWߋ/Ԅhڳ=wB: B9jpA?ʼWK6thz>ITB;3)4N^=_Lvg?WbvYۑM^Bf =|ɶy8hz~NI$'V_>K\7: aϲ:TL}~m]\^(%qZRL$){i:otzʬϑY-3tD8 iCXRW]>?,ܩBL:k˼w8 -2}`]<3Y_OqïX[W#:$b G \c{Jߐfh")T`9e.Ǝ8 u$&ih̀u+X $cZ"Y:Y3ut>{1"]A/B'c#.em-9\ۼ< :s[+^1ƏKh>]$1S  %lù4)_L[%ө42VzJĸ.*/NjóQHnÀRUi. C(SnIv/f˚l[Bs}n}L0rOL킶a׼,5SF:A5/h S؏򤰛rԅ_fny2(ҭ( m$Uor5M~J w9e4Ŧq7/LʓZqfb,53<~M˺擪Ϋ(Q:ir]t;&Ǜ;&D ι.p<#3~+T[߱Ud\m>&9 |¨#h)-Y\6Ieb`-^Bf43bͪ< PPZ9f^V.R,fiH#n+I+FgрMAypx/H=D$MROQuj3,c}d.gEёe CYJP-\™Maa2WL-I>wv%N9FN'C1nߏ?msDSZm[};G#50'%Jl.rNdT21[?zO I-sZBcUS-K(&oS ^ƻI9TӂcLzNl6BZCNIGPy^2NOk}ʔ\nx8~IgBUeD}5qjBlnxAr=iRP9mUj?nGW;o{|bBp8 >z]Y{|9Ņڵ[wZDlwӛP0Qcw^QR2W)AyӏO&wOL GVhf0-j>­9ʠ׊l;|`HtQ)[:FM:NVkBȀf$0*tn+T;pna0ҁn[QJbΓqŜc3W.k&%5xIF-{kz*K,pRqO7I2Q.JeQZgmK NJgMFlJXY]W"3I$ H\R&`VJ%Fv ngOSѕR_{A4H7a(|4҂-2\#Ԣg @Oĩl껐:9y :Dgys⡥L}Jh.@vXrw&5&6t") ֏)m?KѬ[Oz!^jV?Ͱ?~y4' 5$0`#iA.݀Ry g'- XLi^4{Rax]xy(04AIycSZ3k2J|0"K*b.(5)ҡ:؛haņ{jgMHha%s7asSڥK(zK6-$г(N6Q!7 |A?@T&] > iLE̋F(Xg%@4i68Z2T% J>h!~eФKE  EFZ K+*6$ԝ*i@Z?Jޕ@ms<7>yEu+*S(UR>I(xȉ_% N1\KS+@/1( L,;ZhNHו$*W5:VZJY̎l(Rf%QuR߆Kj0ȬRaJI1eƭZHi!`ۆ[-q[ް V)3rkpsԪ@ zzrT{k(QΊz]1)R6GrWJLgTkb+FJ١_MV{<-Vٶa!{C*15[nYG(7YjڇS;C߉7*2BW$ԦāǍ7[&Sܯ + eXޔ-'# = )يQi:f03zV5{|q+84t򛃖qnKb3d1&=3YJ3TH%j]r[,Z%s! q֬@&:*CIJHWI:[G9ؒ2⌯Bp$(X:3^pk!djSHZ|N.MP+mjKo2\'Dh[+ lm,zJmb2kKsTĖDi@yQ)PL39=1=(U7kA>myN^ kFo9mK(#;߽oǵ=~m3lruh>3PF?{{uzT#䠤U]{[7KKxY狗R {hNٵ7=ƞI {{ߨ5+ʢ WF[ް?YX)i9gݚBI#qvX*x]Z`s_ 2 F)Vii#*:/3T{X,C, V.h鍦]Gj`nԗYܻU%+VzԓU)F;#}ι,óT?m)7&9Yӂ"S3a&5p/Yo>ݤq%+_,K,._K[SZobsN+D:UY('GF,Sj9oPÊ1{zs XiQc2jL)qHK/kݾYȣĦDf%yMPP)O Ie_9k3: !';q uA؆bBB,iL\*2L get7JkEJaU3׺=;D+jJ3Bg Z (# /|c͌WA$炊IX;ZK/lo=SMrJ1kŴ)rT] mX(U84 K(B[L!;)i "Q`4" c|117dI)MKRs5ٰ~78WQo9,R? j -]<3DZZ vsUYXu qSFib _sƥ0/0ɵ!r)b1F. %dXv͕Ufz6pc: 2kWT.\3*P\{됐[:ŝqB&u|W q& }'$\RS4twHjv*P+YAJDŽ?Z\l-`.ˬ:٤ w#Bnн:,zRc[SG~⻟5^s=t .3FK4nd4vD?WBLэpט. 4>!vyY6ی3)!7]qӔ|]9tmӖq45% WYaho+:Ye )͓w!AyfX/d]Gb+ щImt@U߆Eapꐈ fp f,7`L;Hoqrvw1ŷ8U'ijØuLokLL|0Yt /1@v cac v+ fVަDNV9":T5g>F4oFM,~Z;B'd f0S.X0ѯvM8o7^aܑ&w[Kt^$ K=eJJNaDK䯡t(Dz pi/\[ٍJ>E7x|S__ ox0tU1wT/+嘇0yY'j^0F@kPa?x_tFmĪC3b P#v#S[qycE#!)}PV`8d(7GAϚq Nb``m ZY!%AeVO(CLE}d|@BD@sg!c_;ح~@yc0Ou:߃ *pl$D#3Wxr)2bSTyZ͙֧9ZО*+bԌ 쭓/;MxZVJM2{n.'FYʈ etلx? Ì\AEןY~kOg YPUWoIycSYނ3NirNSYxOŒ'DMKAB;yTSUZMoc̦gMhdPs]!t}h`t=a 3ypŒ_7!3CHK{9ת*">J`cWU&&O2Kz®T$I:,F l፠)&Xbнx#ZiCŮY8,+񏅨Z )_ V]08?v9uL›c8|Z1 =KIr2Fb*hװ%ۡܭᗔ~ݜWNuCl 3ڞXZᣁv+H\WTޚnUc*IP U.'qrKK ˣg5xث| vqC :CXFhZ?bt% ZHiW`(%GT?BLY< Ax9"<>:WQ7F֭E)Yf=!KB^:мaېZ3@UIv2 -bcѓ}*7:`'LB=`Hz3ڕNӍ {JS-!BOZ̎bs fz*WS]8AŒh(}NN-J;Mmx6=U1SP{y1XjO3|GAѧ>@e#-ҲZtoiYVB3O̵5L }\-*)XLf,R}X}׭؈wQ7EBt!d^&Y ӽxe)eas˜`٘B4{ۦ>0 !_xb!ǚ ֜LńMf`JFCMI&&_gUν /JjYhn qV" K]}Q/o)OvdY%\,%j-mӞiDwe2ЍoIJ&wGX tq|yOrē \>HiX ]z og`:42yc1{Y>|SEsC&]f}Fn8|]^EVY-HTE",1khM!{^ ptϹ7~`Й:n?̃qO :ɠ?Iɾ=Xχ6?894k}$dtwQ^~v"w Ag o6K04[UZy)T/hS~m}Df8μmhy'2?EP _E9kKqI, ˺p jh-vQL5e[zK{04Uuv@ݜƅɹ|kJ2~i|舘b5Rܥ{ mUvc2Y@wpG;VbU)^DshMQg$^%Jメ]cClZ `+*Y"NXjg.TKM4׍xiJIbԅ!)l6^e%.4MXScJs Տ>;~Bg-[HLr;j, z$3-z6RJ?Nn[ /Sh3>s7>*RЩ&4ި!YjXp$‚ᥕg I7Ёߺm˝ |#]7 ?1OL.)w5gNcw$Ӟƒ=Hl"(!6Uv4zSJ5Sa^_!d- ZsQH3eK \ڙVkԲb5+0Wl]|r &4փt2RIyJD b ]"JlL!LIso}TKZWWèrVg",v]؅$ڼ1IW0vyuJ-B0Ő&v^O]LVt劜-)CTd> "!V^2c8SXӂNǬfxќB}*՟mNZ̚Cr8:?u.TN<&t")mL3s*ˊjC*e[ EQSֈS&ii `\Pg ۑ= ! #Yuzi`0/_1+Fh uc4 ˳ՠECzs_]IH4a_f#gEڊW)_Ĩ6oq)廴6C՘}4^:~'ِro P bsHؐb!E4SIBǢ^A{XlY>KGV|ZN,! :lcOC[9"CD879Tr޲c1o śѐwk~j_+vdՃ?n!o.ѧàO9C!.BaͲ'!TḢwJ t>$Mac4OZ`˛JgKj9 %BA,4h4XBLg2p:yOC-?~#ruL!Њ6H\ʈMf ~kKo6{P@aL+@0DbP>^S<$-:I[*R(. o;k>X.!hha}~;F9bh @E=-8e~w*N t?8EfOǴ+>$5ZLP+] ~?[ܣӌ
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1