Do you remember when movie theaters used to have double features? Two movie for the price of one! Which, of course, wasn't really the case, since double features were so common we didn't know what the proper price for one movie should be. Usually, the double feature paired an expensive Hollywood production (an A-movie) with a B-movie, which was made on a budget of less than $100,000, which could be as low as $10,000. People sometimes fumed about having to sit through the B-movie first in order to see the film they really came for. Or if the B-movie played last, they only stayed because they felt they needed to get their money's worth. Or the double features might even be two B-movies, because the teenagers making out in a dark theater or a drive in didn't care.
But the double feature wasn't just a marketing stunt that stuck around. It was a scheme to keep Hollywood studios in business, and theater owners didn't have a choice. It was only when antitrust laws were enacted and enforced that the double features went the way of the dodo. Whether you enjoyed them or not, you'll want to learn about how the double feature worked at JSTOR Daily. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: Warner Bros./Toho)
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