Why B-Movies never won Oscars | HOW TO SEE B-Movies with Dave Kehr

The term "B" movie has come to mean low-budget films, but originally it meant something very specific in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Although the films were never designed to break the box office or win Oscars, there are many enjoyable and stylistically sophisticated filmmaking techniques to reclaim from this era. Ahead of the Academy Awards this Sunday, MoMA Film Curator Dave Kehr explores the films of the Republic Pictures Library, recently restored by Martin Scorsese and Paramount.

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Check out the entire HOW TO SEE series

Films shown:
The Plunderers. 1948. USA. Directed by Joseph Kane
Train to Alcatraz. 1948. USA. Directed by Philip Ford
Valley of the Zombies. 1946. USA. Directed by Philip Ford
Hell Fire. 1949. USA. Directed by R. G. Springsteen
The Inside Story. 1948. USA. Directed by Allan Dwan
Storm Over Lisbon. 1944. USA. Directed by George Sherman
City That Never Sleeps. 1953. USA. Directed by John H. Auer
I've Always Loved You. 1946. USA. Directed by Frank Borzage
Accused of Murder. 1956. USA. Directed by Joseph Kane
Trigger, Jr. 1950. USA. Directed by William Witney
Driftwood. 1947. USA. Directed by Allan Dwan
S.O.S. Tidal Wave. 1939. USA. Directed by John H. Auer
The Flame. 1947. USA. Directed by John H. Auer
Night of the Living Dead. 1968. USA. Directed by George A. Romero
Casablanca. 1943. USA. Directed by Michael Curtiz

"Martin Scorsese Presents Republic Rediscovered: New Restorations from Paramount Pictures" is organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film.

The comments and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker alone, and do not represent the views of The Museum of Modern Art, its personnel, or any artist. 

#film #bmovies #oscars #davekehr #moma #martinscorsese #filmschool #hollywood #horrorfilm #western #restoration #citythatneversleeps

[erikramaekers]

Detour, He Walked by Night, Ride Lonesome, The Hitch-Hiker, Stranger on the Third Floor.Some of the best movies i have ever seen.

[searchlike]

This made my day. Dave Kehr making videos regularly is great news.

Everything about this video is amazing. Please do more! I could watch this for days.

[irelanunez]

I'm delighted with the program choice and the wise comments by Curator Dave Kehr, huge critic and film lover whose sensitivity and sense of humor are making a fantastic contribution/revolution to the task of film conservation and dissemination. Republic movies on Peruvian late late TV warmed my insomniac nights as a teenager in Lima. I used to watch them almost in guilt, with a very low sound, so as to prevent my parents, who slept in the same room, getting awake and send me to my bedroom immediately. I'm glad that they have been restored and made available to be fully enjoyed again.

[joebloggs]

I have been a movie buff since o was a kid..i am 67 now and still love the classics..this is great stuff..tailor made for a guy like me..thanks!

[davenewton]

It is amazing how much you manage to cover in only 12 minutes - a quick overview of the history, style and techniques, the relevance of some of their restrictions as applicable to amateur/independent film makers today, restoration, and more. And you have a good voice for the narration. Having watched a couple of your pieces I've bookmarked the series to dive into further, because this is the sort of series to keep a pen & pad handy to jot down all the things that will lead down a rabbit hole of google & youtube searches that eat up significant parts of several evenings. Many thanks.

[nn]

Really great! Congrats and more please.
Dave Kerr has a great voice and a good sense of humor for it. And he obviously knows his stuff. The editing is wonderful.

[davidphilipleasure]

This was lovely. Looked all over the internet for some kind of information about B films. The conversational tone added with the useful information was very needed. I also enjoyed seeing David Kehr talking at the end of the video. Nice little bow to tie on top. Thank you very much, very helpful.

We need more videos like this.

[thegreatmonster]

My thoughts: Yep. More of these. PLEASE.

[johnscanlan]

I think this is a fantastic tutorial on an important segment of American film history that virtually no one has studied. I suggest that you expand on this topic by looking at the whole sub-genre of the shorts/serials that nobody under 60 years old even knows about. These ultra cheap films provided excellent very entry level work experiences for the star struck American young adults who came from all over the country to Hollywood with no acting skills or experiences and gave them a chance to get their first professional film work!

[bradfordrick]

The commentary was very pleasant and sincere, and expert, of course. The film vignettes were of appropriate length, the pacing was great. But the best was the unexpectedly interesting topic. This series, so far, is one of the best things on the tubes for a film lover.

[ktjp]

Wonderful! Perfect length, loved Dave’s voiceover. Insightful and interesting commentary. Fantastic and can’t wait for more in the series.

[GlenHallstrom]

That's great, Dave. I adore B movies. I play a lot of Role-Playing Games and I'm always looking for adventure ideas. I'm also fortunate to be a film buff and B films are a wonderful source of inspiration. Recently I've gotten a lot of the old Mill Creek 50/100/200 movie sets with a lot of B's in the mix. These modest movies are fantastic for ideas and just a lot of fun. It's great to find those diamond-in-the-rough B films.

[charcasc]

Very much enjoyed the films I saw last month as part of MOMA's Republic Pictures retrospective and looking forward to part 2 in August.

[goodboybuddy]

Thanks. There is something direct and innocent about these movies that I always found charming and, of course, a little humorous. My Dad was a fan of B westerns way back in the day. He rode his horse into a small town to see them. Cool.

[rileybartolomeo]

Love Dave Kehr's video essays ! We definitely need some newer episodes for 2021 ! Maybe subjects he couldn't get to with the prior season.

[janhpostma]

This was excellent. Impressive to see the rationale behind the choices on the screen - what was not done as well as what was done and the influence of the economics behind it all.

[bucksdiaryfan]

B movies essentially filled the role of television shows before television existed. Its no surprise old 30s B movie westerns came back big as television series in the 1950s (eg Hopalong Cassidy)

[lekmirn.hintern]

Beautiful job -- well paced, well delivered text, luscious footage... I was fortunate enough to catch some of these at MoMA last year, and which I'd've been able to catch more. I got a much better understanding of Republic thanks to these series, which I had always held to be a little dull compared to its more 'termite' Poverty Row cousins.



Wish there was a way to get some of these on DVD...

[dankshadows]

Fascinating and enjoyable. Thank you for these treasures.