Double Features We've Known And Loved

[Douglas Meltzer]

A double feature in a movie theater is a rare happening these days, however when I was growing up they were very common. When Times Square/42nd Street was in its grindhouse glory, every theater on the block had two films on the bill. I remember one theater paired each new film it showed with what had to be an extremely well-run print of Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, and that lasted into the mid 1970's!

Some of the pairings I recall are: Trog & Taste the Blood of Dracula, Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster & Frogs, and the very interesting double bill of A Clockwork Orange & Deliverance, which was probably not a good one to see on a date!

I'm interested to hear about double features that Forum members went to.

[Graham Ritchie]

Sunday night was the night out here for double features at the cinema. We went to see "The Fly" followed by "Aliens" both released in 1986.

[Mark McLaughlin]

Put and the Pendulum plus Frogs. Frogs blew my 10 year old self away. Love that movie.

[Rob Young]

Dr. Who & The Daleks (1965) followed by Daleks' Invasion Earth (1966).

This summer just gone in stunning 4K restorations at an Odeon Luxe.

Slightly off topic, but went to a triple bill back in 1992 to see Alien, Aliens and the then new Alien III. Only thing was, Alien started at about 2pm and Aliens finished about 6pm. But we then had to wait until about 8pm for Alien III. Didn't realize this when we bought the tickets...long day of Aliens...!

[Brian Fretwell]

I remember a Hammer double bill of the Horror of Frankenstein and The Curse of Dracula.

[Melvin England]

There are two double bills that stand out for me.

The first one was one where I wanted to see the second film but thought I would just tolerate the first. It wasn't to be. It was The Jazz Singer (Neil Diamond) together with The French Lieutenants Woman (Meryl Streep).
As a teenager I was in love with Meryl Streep and would watch anything of hers. I found The Jazz Singer to be a far better and uplifting film than anticipated (many critics would disagree) and thought "great start, ready for Meryl!" But no.............. what a complete drag of a film THAT turned out to be (IMHO). Neil certainly saved the day for me THAT day !

Just as an amusing extra, us kids going through puberty in the 1970's had only one thing on our minds. Sex. But just the thought of it. No one really dared try putting it to the test. Then one week, the local cinema (The Cecil, as featured in a super 8 documentary) decided to put on a double bill of eroticism. I told my mum and dad that I was going to see the latest film "Convoy" starring Kris Kristofferson.

But no......

"My Nights With Sandra, Olga, Suzi and Julie" together with "Candido Erotico"

Let me tell you, that 16 year old (yes, they thought I was 18) got the best sex education that afternoon than he had ever had up to that point! Strange thing is, I have never seen either of those films ever surface on any format since. I'm sure someone will correct me.


And the great thing was.......... mum and dad never found out !

[David Baker]

THE DUNWICH HORROR and THE PREMATURE BURIAL at the Lake Theater in downtown Lake Worth , Florida , circa 1970 .

( this was the last double - feature they showed before closing )

[Jim Seaburg]

I was adamant about going to see HORROR OF PARTY BEACH and CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE. Both awful films even though HORROR OF PARTY BEACH is now a cult classic.
My favorite multi billed fright fest was at a local drive in circa 1961 that played TEENAGE CAVEMAN, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN and TEENAGE WOLF PACK. I was fine with 3 of them but for an uninitiated horror fan at 8 years old couldn’t handle the trauma of seeing Michael Landon transform into the werewolf. I couldn’t even watch him in Bonanza after that scared to death he would change again. LOL! Stupid kid. Today I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF is one of my favorite 50’s films.

[Michael O’Regan]

The double bill was standard in our local cinema in Ireland, when I was growing up. The one that stands out for me though is my first horror double bill, in fact my first exposure to horror on the big screen - Evil of Frankenstein and Dracula (58). 1974, Ormonde Cinema, Cobh.

[Mark A. Mander]

Last double feature I saw was The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, shown as a tribute when Roger Moore died, Mark

[Steve Klare]

I haven't seen a double-feature in a hard-top theater since I was a teenager, but one place they seem to be common is Drive-Ins (-assuming you can find one of those...). The majority of these I've been to in the last decade or so have been double-features, probably trying to make up for all the hours they lose every day to plain-old daylight.

We went to one up on Maine about 10 years ago and the first feature was a Harry Potter movie, which I was fine with, but the second one was Cowboys and Aliens, which is what I really was there to see.

The problem is August is really starting to feel like Autumn up in Maine and it wasn't much more than "cool" outside at the start of the opening feature. By the time those Bad Hombres from the Sky landed during the Second feature, there came a call from the passenger seat (my wife) to leave and go some place warm! We even had a blanket in the car, but that wasn't nearly enough to get me even half-way to the closing credits.

She gave me the DVD that Christmas and set a new record for the longest it ever took me to finish a movie!

PS: This was the last time I saw a 35mm screening at a Drive-In: we went back three years later and in the meantime they went Digital.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Great replies! I saw these two double features as a kid and saved the newspaper clippings...





Three out of four of these films ended up being released on Super 8mm (unfortunately, not Monster Zero).

[Barry Attwood]

I remember a double bill of "Alien" & John Carpenter's "The Fog" here in the U.K. which was great, I also saw a Triple bill of the first 3 "Star Wars" films, which was brilliant as well. I must admit I do miss the double bills, it was great value, and mostly the films on offer were very repeatable, so I never minded if I had already seen them more than once!

[Janice Glesser]

The last 35mm double feature I was fortunate to see was in 2018 in Palo Alto, CA.

[Mark Williams]

I think my favourite theatrical double bill’s was one of the last in the UK...the Canadian slasher My Bloody Valentine & The Funhouse which was directed by Tobe Hooper.

Both films had bombed in the USA so the distributor lumped them both together and hoped for good box office here.

Both films performed well in the UK.

The tag line on the UK poster was:

Pay to get in, Pray to get out!

Marketing genius 🤣

BTW My Bloody Valentine was due to be released by Marketing Film USA but got cancelled when they went bust.