B-movie

The term B-movie originally referred to a Hollywood motion picture designed to be distributed as the "lower half" of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters, or horror. In the days of the major film studios, this was official terminology that also gave rise to the practice of referring to "A-list" or "B-list" stars. (For example, Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, made a career out of acting in B-movies.) The major studios had "B-units" that made their B-movies, but there were also small studios?such as Republic Pictures and Monogram Pictures?which specialized in making B-movies.

See also

• B-movie Film Festival
• Cult film
• Drive-in theater
• Hammer horror
• Mystery Science Theater 3000
• Slasher film