The Origin of the B Movie

A B movie, as its most basic, is a low-budget film. But that doesn't mean it's necessarily less than an A movie. They were crucial for studios to keep theaters filled with ticket-buyers, since the big films took such a big bite out of a studio's revenue to produce. They were also less of a financial risk, so they opened the door for new producers and directors, actors needing experience, and writers who had risky ideas. The B movie also gave smaller, independent studios a chance to sell their films to the public. The system ended up giving us a lot cheap films, but some of those movies showcased new talents, new techniques, and even new storytelling genres that couldn't get funding from the major studios, but made it to the big time over the years. Turner Classic Movies explains all these concepts in this delicious history of B movies.