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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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

Пікірлер: 84

  • @erikramaekers63
    @erikramaekers633 жыл бұрын

    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
    @searchlike6 жыл бұрын

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

  • @chaidle

    @chaidle

    6 жыл бұрын

    Search who is dave

  • @thegreatmonster
    @thegreatmonster6 жыл бұрын

    My thoughts: Yep. More of these. PLEASE.

  • @themuseumofmodernart

    @themuseumofmodernart

    6 жыл бұрын

    Here's a preview of next week's episode with Dave exploring the Western! kzread.info/dash/bejne/dWl4ttGyj73FfJc.html

  • @ShootMeMovieReviews
    @ShootMeMovieReviews2 жыл бұрын

    These are the kinds of films that seem to get no distribution at all today. I'll definitely sign up and see what you have on offer. The variety of films available to the general public is being strangled and bottlenecked by streaming services and people need to be offered a greater range of material.

  • 6 жыл бұрын

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

  • @themuseumofmodernart

    @themuseumofmodernart

    6 жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it! More episodes are on the way!

  • @Oranguice81

    @Oranguice81

    6 жыл бұрын

    I Love This!!! It reminds me of what Turner had accomplished, and now a lot of those restored are either Hard to find and/or priced inextricably high... Keep up the Good Work Dave!!!

  • @themuseumofmodernart

    @themuseumofmodernart

    6 жыл бұрын

    Check out a preview of next week's episode with Dave exploring Westerns. kzread.info/dash/bejne/dWl4ttGyj73FfJc.html

  • @davenewton9652
    @davenewton96524 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @joebloggs8636
    @joebloggs86362 жыл бұрын

    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!

  • @irelanunez
    @irelanunez5 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @nn9
    @nn96 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @johnscanlan9335
    @johnscanlan93352 жыл бұрын

    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!

  • @bucksdiaryfan
    @bucksdiaryfan3 жыл бұрын

    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)

  • @RaymondHng
    @RaymondHng2 жыл бұрын

    4:10 That is definitely a figure skating element, a spiral.

  • @itsjudystube7439
    @itsjudystube74395 жыл бұрын

    We are fortunate in the UK to have tv channels ,showing old films...Turner Classic Movies and Talking Pictures.

  • @GlenHallstrom
    @GlenHallstrom3 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @goodboybuddy1
    @goodboybuddy16 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @davidphilipleasure
    @davidphilipleasure11 ай бұрын

    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.

  • @arrowcollarman
    @arrowcollarman6 жыл бұрын

    Really enjoyed that! The restored films look amazing!

  • @mynameis999
    @mynameis9996 жыл бұрын

    Wish there was a way to watch them where I am. Intrigued.

  • @cogniterra
    @cogniterra5 жыл бұрын

    Loved this video--thanks, Dave!

  • @ktjp1978
    @ktjp19786 жыл бұрын

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

  • @donnieheeler
    @donnieheeler6 жыл бұрын

    This was such a good video!

  • @demodifyable
    @demodifyable6 жыл бұрын

    I watched it beginning to end. Great work!

  • @josephgil8165
    @josephgil81656 жыл бұрын

    Great work!

  • @lekmirn.hintern8132
    @lekmirn.hintern81324 жыл бұрын

    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...

  • @faren31
    @faren314 жыл бұрын

    This is stupendous. Thank you, Mr. Kehr and MOMA for these amazing videos.

  • @erwinwoodedge4885
    @erwinwoodedge48855 жыл бұрын

    Niiiice! Intelligent analysis of a genre easily forgotten.

  • @anthonywest8137
    @anthonywest81376 жыл бұрын

    A fantastic and intriguing video. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video and learning about the history of B movies. Thank you for sharing.

  • @rileybartolomeo7559
    @rileybartolomeo75593 жыл бұрын

    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
    @janhpostma6 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @charcasc7462
    @charcasc74626 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @lorepietz6202
    @lorepietz62022 жыл бұрын

    I loved and enjoyed this. Please do more and your a great narrator.

  • @vnzkee
    @vnzkee4 жыл бұрын

    I loved this and this series. It's inspiring to see these films brought to life in context and what it meant to produce disposable works. I'd like to see a recap on the films of other countries that had b-grade films, like those of Seijun Suzuki for example.

  • @allangoncalves9288
    @allangoncalves92885 жыл бұрын

    Great content! Thnks for the effort

  • @minkstole977
    @minkstole9776 жыл бұрын

    i LOVE this series! dave is so knowledgeable, thank you!!! could we see something on david cronenberg?

  • @isabelaoliveira9270
    @isabelaoliveira92702 жыл бұрын

    Really interesting essay 👍

  • @dankshadows
    @dankshadows2 жыл бұрын

    Fascinating and enjoyable. Thank you for these treasures.

  • @Quixoticscope
    @Quixoticscope19 күн бұрын

    You should do a story on new line cinema. They started out producing b- horror movies and ended up becoming a major studio with the lord of the rings franchise.

  • @nickoelng
    @nickoelng6 жыл бұрын

    Great!! And your voice is amazing

  • @arthurharrison1345
    @arthurharrison13456 жыл бұрын

    Wow, thanks for this gem!

  • @genethejean1906
    @genethejean19066 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant! More, more, more!

  • @bradfordrick1
    @bradfordrick13 жыл бұрын

    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.

  • @themuseumofmodernart

    @themuseumofmodernart

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @joemarvelly6181
    @joemarvelly61813 жыл бұрын

    This is brilliant. Instant subscribe

  • @mmdoom
    @mmdoom4 жыл бұрын

    love this !

  • @bartsimpson83
    @bartsimpson832 жыл бұрын

    If you're an independent filmmaker or want to be, looking up BOTH types of B movie (these and the later cheapo sci fi and horror films) is actually a good idea because you can study how people like Roger Corman for instance were able to make something interesting for practically no money.

  • @stevechism436
    @stevechism4365 жыл бұрын

    Valley of the Zombies was the first horror film I ever saw..about 1953, on my granddad;s 13 inch B&W TV....Quite scary for a 7 year old. A zombie named Merks that robbed blood banks for food..

  • @fleshgordon
    @fleshgordon6 жыл бұрын

    More of this please

  • @themuseumofmodernart

    @themuseumofmodernart

    6 жыл бұрын

    Here's a preview of next week's episode! kzread.info/dash/bejne/dWl4ttGyj73FfJc.html

  • @LesleyGene
    @LesleyGene4 жыл бұрын

    Love it!

  • @simeonfrohm
    @simeonfrohm6 жыл бұрын

    fantastic!!

  • @Bluebuthappy182
    @Bluebuthappy1826 жыл бұрын

    Very interesting

  • @FlippytheMasterofPie
    @FlippytheMasterofPie6 жыл бұрын

    More!

  • @lamecasuelas2
    @lamecasuelas2 Жыл бұрын

    WOW! Hellfire looks super interesting, you know. And decades before Shinichiro Watanabe or The Coen brothers

  • @ciesaro
    @ciesaro2 ай бұрын

    You never see any films by Republic anymore. BTW I was just thinking of the subject of if a B movie ever won an Oscar. Thanks Dave

  • @juliaribeiro484
    @juliaribeiro4846 жыл бұрын

    This was GREAT. I want to be friends with Dave lol

  • @joseargandona5062
    @joseargandona50623 жыл бұрын

    Certainly, many B movies back there could easily kick the ass of many so called "A" movies from todays.

  • @pearlshifer1776
    @pearlshifer17766 жыл бұрын

    where can we see these films?

  • @misaelpaintsstreetart1522
    @misaelpaintsstreetart15226 жыл бұрын

    cover the making of metropolis , i bet you can dig up some fun facts about that gem

  • @alessia200571
    @alessia2005716 жыл бұрын

    where s the picture "les amants" of René Magritte? on the 5 floor? Thanks.

  • @neimeisterjs
    @neimeisterjs6 жыл бұрын

    Trigger, Jr is underrated

  • @Hillers62
    @Hillers628 ай бұрын

    At 3:00 ...Storm Over Lisbon is the same as The Asylum Studios movies...make a film loosely similar to a big movie, and release it at about the same time...BTW...sometimes the Asylum films are better than the original...yes, I'm a fan...

  • @richardburt9812
    @richardburt98126 жыл бұрын

    John Alton!

  • @stan_dinghere
    @stan_dinghere6 жыл бұрын

    love shit like this. i hope paramount makes these movies somewhat accessible

  • @davidrobot7818
    @davidrobot78186 жыл бұрын

    Moma/Dave , How can one find out if a movie still falls under copyright?

  • @chaidle

    @chaidle

    6 жыл бұрын

    David Robot man, can you tell me where I can download those kinds of movies? I really need those kinds. Or something like guy maddin. And also what is the no.1 movie forum for those kinds like which is exceptional from well known indie movies

  • @oobrocks
    @oobrocks2 жыл бұрын

    Oscar now has the opposite problem: the last big budget film to win best picture is 2003's LOTR: ROTK. My guess is once Oscar voters realized Oscar increases box office, they Only want to promote smaller films. Oscar thinks "Spider-Man No Way Home got it's reward via money" It's also ptly y Oscar has lost so many viewers

  • @ageeblue752
    @ageeblue752 Жыл бұрын

    they are great movies to me..... how ignorant n envious they were about them at that time.............

  • @Hillers62
    @Hillers628 ай бұрын

    I think the Film Academy is very biased when it comes to nominees...I am still furious that "Smokey and the Bandit" was never nominated!!!!

  • @thecuss6817
    @thecuss6817 Жыл бұрын

    The highest rated film on IMDB never to be nominated for an Academy Award? "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" not even nominated as a foreign film, for original soundtrack, or for Wallach's performance.....

  • @lxDarkToothxl
    @lxDarkToothxl5 жыл бұрын

    Casablanca was an incredible movie. A piece of art. What ever happened to good film making?

  • @UXASSAKY
    @UXASSAKY6 жыл бұрын

    Boring. Very boring. Although Mr. Kehr's voice sounds very nice and accessible.