What decade is the pinnacle of b-movies ?

greg · October 15, 2007, 03:33:06 AM

yes there has been many a great b flick since the dawn of film but i think i have to go with the 80s..just wondering how other people felt

Doc Daneeka · October 15, 2007, 05:31:25 AM

1960s, 70s were the most "accepted" time for B-Movies, We had Hammer, Amicus, Tigon, American International, these companies did not just put out the occasional B-Movie, they flourished in the genre! The reason being is that they flew completely under the high-nosed critics radar! They often still made a fair amount in the box office, because a lot of the time, they were actually OK movies! Not to mention the 70s was the big decade of Grindhouse, which became a B-Film subgenre on it's own.

asimpson2006 · October 15, 2007, 10:34:45 AM

Quote from: Mr. Briggs Inc. on October 15, 2007, 05:31:25 AM
1960s, 70s were the most "accepted" time for B-Movies, We had Hammer, Amicus, Tigon, American International, these companies did not just put out the occasional B-Movie, they flourished in the genre! The reason being is that they flew completely under the high-nosed critics radar! They often still made a fair amount in the box office, because a lot of the time, they were actually OK movies! Not to mention the 70s was the big decade of Grindhouse, which became a B-Film subgenre on it's own.

Agreeded. My dad grew up in the 60's and 70's and told me that the 70's B-movies were the big thing then. I was going to say the 80's since a bunch were made then, but I think the 70's as well was a big time for b-movies.

RCMerchant · October 15, 2007, 05:31:44 PM

I would say the 60's and 70's too. All the rules were being broken. Extreme gore ,nudity,violence,satanism, cannibalism,blaxpliotation,bikers,spagetti westerns and giallos, Godzilla fliks, Kung Fu, Hammer films..so much good/bad stuff all going on! And the directors! Al Adamson,TV Mikals,HG Lewis, Andy Milligan,Doris Wishman,George Romero,William Gridler,Lucio Fulci, Jess Franco, Tobe Hopper...! Too much coolness...! Brain-over-load-ing motor-functi on s a jd ...BBBBrt!!!

Just Plain Horse · October 18, 2007, 05:55:00 PM

I can understand why people want to say, "the seventies", but my vote goes to the sixities... Curse of the Fly, Horror Hotel, Devil Doll, The Manster, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Konga, The Deadly Bees, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Dementia 13, Manos, The Man with the X-ray Eyes, Red Zone Cuba, The Wasp Woman... maybe the films of the sixties weren't as sleazy or as blatantly bad, but I think they marked a shift away from convention & as such deserve the credit a bit more, methinks. I think the seventies were so deluged with them, mainstream people finally took notice... I sometimes wonder if maybe the eighties deserve it more :P

Torgo · October 18, 2007, 08:59:20 PM

I agree with everyone else that the 60's and 70's were the pinnacle of B-movies.

Some could argue that the 50's were the best, but if I had to go with a decade, I would go with the 60's.

JaseSF · October 18, 2007, 10:09:33 PM

The Drive-In Era. (Late 50s through to mid 70s) has to be the prime period. The AIP output in particular stands out.

Megalons Revenge · October 18, 2007, 10:51:25 PM

My vote goes to the 80s. But if I had to pick something else, I would definatly say 50s.

Khaz · October 19, 2007, 09:23:33 AM

I think that the 80's really had it going on for truly bad horror flix, but the 60-70's are the true B-movie decades in my books.

Ed, Ego and Superego · October 19, 2007, 12:12:02 PM

The 50's and 60's...the made for drive in movie era. Where people could get away with gluing stuff on an iguana and call it a dinosaur. That anti-communist fear was a real motivator!
-Ed

Megalons Revenge · October 19, 2007, 04:12:58 PM

That anti-communist fear was a real motivator!
-Ed
[/quote]

a fear of anti-communists?

BoyScoutKevin · October 29, 2007, 07:28:03 PM

Quote from: Megalons Revenge on October 19, 2007, 04:12:58 PM
That anti-communist fear was a real motivator!
-Ed

a fear of anti-communists?
[/quote]

Yes, for the "Manchurian Candidate" taught us, that even the anti-Communists are controlled by the Communists.

Jack · October 30, 2007, 07:46:30 AM

I'm partial to the '80s, but that's mostly due to personal bias.

You had the invention of the VCR and that opened up a whole new area of low budget film making in the direct-to-video market. It's always going to produce some pretty interesting results when something like that happens. And you had the slasher craze, the teen sex comedies, the babes, the hairstyles, the fashions. Utopia.

Ometiklan · October 30, 2007, 07:06:51 PM

I gotta go withe the 1950s
Sci-Fi and Horror.
Love that cheese!

HarlotBug3 · October 31, 2007, 03:21:58 PM

Quote from: Jack on October 30, 2007, 07:46:30 AM
I'm partial to the '80s, but that's mostly due to personal bias. You had the invention of the VCR and that opened up a whole new area of low budget film making in the direct-to-video market. It's always going to produce some pretty interesting results when something like that happens. And you had the slasher craze, the teen sex comedies, the babes, the hairstyles, the fashions. Utopia.

There is no Barrel Bottom without barrel distribution- no B moives without the VCR (or beta ;). Even if you think the actually film content was 'better' in the earlier decades, the dramatic advances in special effects for some...but not for others, made the stratification pronounced enough for truly BAD movies.