DOUBLE FEATURES PART 1

THOSE OF A CERTAIN AGE may remember the motion picture phenomenon of double features. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are tidbits of exceptional twin billings, some imagined, others actually occurring, and two non-flick combinations. 

A 30s Heyday. Wikipedia says that during the Depression, “Theater owners decided they could both attract more customers and save on costs if they offered two movies for the price of one. The tactic worked; audiences considered the cost of a theater ticket good value for several hours of escapist and varied entertainment and the practice became a standard pattern of programming.” 

The business model also worked effectively for film studios, large and small. Wikipedia continues, “In the typical 1930s double bill, the screening began with a variety program consisting of trailers, a newsreel, a cartoon and/or a short film preceding a low-budget second feature (the B movie), followed by a short interlude. Lastly, the high-budget main feature (the A movie) ran.”

Schedule B’s to Get A’s. This led to a studio practice of requiring theaters to run B’s (at flat rate) to get the high-value A’s (returns based on audience count). Wikipedia notes, “The U.S. Supreme Court decided that this practice was illegal in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. in 1948, contributing to the end of the studio system.” 

At that time, Wikipedia observes, “nearly two-thirds of the movie houses in the United States were advertising double features…. By the mid-1960s, double features had been mostly abandoned in non–drive-ins in favor of the modern single-feature screening.” (What’s a “drive-in,” Grandpa?)

Ill-suited (But Actual) Pairings. Already shared here at SimanaitisSays: “Editorial pal Larry Givens once told me a story of double features, one of the motion pictures being Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

The tale continues, “Seated ahead of Larry and his sister at that long-ago Saturday matinee were four kids, the oldest of whom had evidently been delegated to shield his youngest brother’s eyes whenever the evil queen came on the screen. None of the kids could have foreseen the end of the second feature, inexplicably The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

Another ill-suited pairing: Once visiting friends at holiday time, we rented two flicks that we wanted to watch: A Christmas Story and Schindler’s List.

Two excellent movies, but….

A Suitable Pairing. By contrast, enthusiasts of international motor sports gain appreciation of its heritage in the 1950s and 1960s by pairing The Racers and Grand Prix. 

Neither is particularly high cinema, though Grand Prix did earn three Oscars for technical achievements. It’s also considerably less cringe-worthy (no wheel wringing nor dramatic dialogue such as “Don’t worry, Gino. He was dead when you hit him.”) Each flick, however, displays plenty of actual footage from the era. 

Other Racing. Consider twinning The Devil’s Hairpin (Cornell Wilde, the 1950s’ California racing scene) and Le Mans (Steve McQueen’s endurance acting).

It’s too early to tell whether Brad Pitt’s flick (now filming) will match Sylvester Stallone’s Driven.

Tomorrow in Part 2, we’ll consider endurance viewing as well as double features in other than cinema. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2023