Double Features We've Known And Loved

[Brian Fretwell]

One odd double bill I saw long ago was "Mosquito Squadron" a sort of rip off of 633 Squadron (starring David McCallum) and "I Start Counting" starring Jenny Agutter a story about a teenage girl and her thoughts that her brother was a serial killer. I can only imagine that the distributers had two films they didn't know what to do with so doubled them up. I saw it for the Jenny Agutter film!

[Dave Groves]

When I was a kid every film show was a double bill along with Newsreel, trailers for the next presentation and often a cartoon. Every programme lasted three hours! Staff would walk down the aisle just before the picture ended and sit on a three legged stool watching for the end to appear. They then turned a handle to close the curtains and sat there till the Censors credit signalled time to reopen them. They later became automatic. There was no proscenium arch. Originally, pictures were projected on the back wall so they hung curtains from a ceiling track. It sounds primitive but it was well done. I don't remember any double bills but a film called ' Laughing in the Sunshine' with Jane Hylton had tremendous colour and clarity.

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

The strangest “official” double feature, which I did not actually see, was Rosemary’s Baby with The Odd Couple. They actually made a trailer and poster for the pairing, which I have seen.

My favorite double feature from childhood was Thunderball with Goldfinger.

Up through the late 1970’s a theatre (here in the USA) could book an older second feature for a few hundred dollars flat rate from most studios regardless of what studio released the primary feature. As you can imagine, that led to some strange “unofficial” pairings.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Mitchell, that would explain some of the weirder theater marquees I've seen.


Even though these films had all been shown on TV, I went to this triple feature in 1970:



When they say "Gruesome Green", they're not kidding. These B&W films were projected with a green filter over the lens!

[Brian Fretwell]

In 1973 the local Odeon had a double bill of M*A*S*H and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on. I asked a girl I had known for some time to it, she said yes. We got engaged the next year and married the year after - a year after that she left me. It took a while before I watched either film again on TV.

AT the time the cinema was open in the circle only, it later became a clothes warehouse shop and now has been demolished for flats.

[Rik Jackman]

As a teenager I used to go up to Baker Street (I think it was called The Screen at Baker Street at the time?) with friends quite a few times as they showed a double feature of Young Frankenstein and The Rocky Horror Picture Show every Friday night.

[Osi Osgood]

In a matter of speaking, I first fell in love with film during a double feature, as my dad had a second job while in the air Force, running the projectors in the air Force Base movie theater, and I was up there, in the projection booth, watching first, Disney's Robin Hood, then Silent Running, with Bruce Dern. I only remember going to one other double feature in the early 80's, first, it was Battle Beyond the Stars, but I actually fell asleep during the second film, Star Trek the Motion Picture.

[Paul Suchy]

Back in 1974, the Ritz Theatre played a double feature of "Mame" and "Bug" (I wish I had taken a picture of the marquee reading MAME BUG). In the mid 80's, I saw a double bill of "Aliens" and "Stranger Than Paradise". After the audience was worked over for 2 hours of Alien action, Jim Jarmusch's odd little independent film didn't stand a chance; 90% of the audience walked out after 10 minutes (those of us who stayed had a great time).

[Douglas Meltzer]

I went to see this Independent-International double feature in 1971. Ironically, 15 years later I ended up shooting one of their last releases!

[Ed Gordon]

Back in the 70's we went to see Woody Allen's Sleeper downtown at a premiere first run theater. The were also showing some movie I never heard of called Harold and Maude. They ran the "bonus 2nd feature" first. Needless to say, we were captivated by Harold and Maude and a bit underwhelmed by the main feature, Sleeper. That "bonus 2nd feature" became a cult classic.

Back in the day, Seattle had it's "Film Row" which was a few blocks downtown where every major studio had an office. I believe these were regional distribution centers which serviced several nearby states. We had a lot of "Major Studio Previews" where they would preview upcoming releases. This often resulted in triple features being shown in the large "movie palaces" that had survived. The extra bonus was the large turnouts. Nothing better than seeing a movie with a huge crowd!

[Melvin England]

Staying "on topic" but taking a humerous and very light hearted approach, I have a 1970's book called "The Making of The Goodies Disaster Movie."
For those who don't know, The Goodies were Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden who presented comedy sketches on British television.

The book is, naturally, a send up of the movie industry and a very funny read if you ever find a copy.

On one page there was a spoof London cinema listings guide with the following double PORNO offering........



(Please don't tell me these films were actually made!!!)

The book even had to get passed the censors !!!!!!!!



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[Chip Gelmini]

The China Syndrome
There Goes the Neighborhood

hmmmmm........

[Douglas Meltzer]

Melvin & Chip, very funny! The Goodies TV show aired in the States during the late 70s.

Here's a double bill that I never got around to seeing, but still kept the clipping.

[Brian Fretwell]

The Ladykillers and Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Margate in 1975!!! A small cinema in the High Street (not the Dreamland cinema), which still stands but is a Salvation Army hall now.