Weird double-bills you saw in the 1970's

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 988
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What did you see back in the day when you got value for money with two films (and maybe a short film) on the programme?

I'll start the ball rolling with Blue Sextet - a soft-core film from 1971 directed by David Durston, starring John Damon, who was actually Stuart Damon from the TV series The Champions !

This was paired with Sweet Kill a.k.a. The Arousers starring Tab Hunter in a perverse little tale about necrophilia !

Both probably cut by the BBFC.

This was the kind of stuff 14 and 15 year olds were sneaking in to watch back then !

Paired in a double bill in the UK in about 73/74 I think - both distributed by Grand National Films (had a creepy opening company logo featuring a clock tower with spinning pointers on the dial for some reason !)

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  • JEFF62JEFF62 Posts: 5,093
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    Not sure about being weird but here are some of the double bills I remember:-

    The Italian Job plus Monte Carlo Or Bust.

    These two films always came as a package. A good two hour comedy film followed by a classic 90 minute thriller. Good value for money.

    Any two Bond films from 1962 - 1973 in double bills.

    Cinemas would mix and match them so you would get Dr No plus Thunderball or You Only Live Twice plus From Russia With Love. One bill that stands out is Live And Let Die plus On Her Majestys Secret Service. They were nearly always paired up together.

    Piranha (1979) plus Carrie (1976)

    Piranha was the main film and Carrie was a the secondary feature as it had been out as a main film in 1976. In those days you could go in anytime so I saw Pirabha first and then Carrie. So my evening ended with one of the greatest shock horror endings ever!

    Up Pompeill plus On The Buses

    Went to see this mainly for On The Buses which had already been out in 1971 as a main film but now showing as a second feature to Up Pompeill. But Up Pompeill was a AA certificate and On Th Buses an A certificate so as I was under 14 were not allowed in. We asked why we couldnt just see On The Buses only but no you cant get in to any part of the double bill. (For you younger ones AA is like a 15 and A is like a PG!)
  • Johnny ClayJohnny Clay Posts: 5,315
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    My rather spotty memory recalls these gems from the heady days of the mid to late seventies:

    Car Quake & The Giant Spider Invasion

    Grubby David Carradine wheelspinner paired with amazingly bad cheapy-crawly.

    Candleshoe & Spider-man

    Decent Disney kid-flick paired with decidedly ropey pilot for short-lived US TV series. The rope holding Spidey clearly visible in many shots.

    Phantom of the Park & The Island of Doctor Moreau

    Tacky TV film promoting glam rock bores KISS paired with actually not too bad Welles' adaptation with Burt Lancaster/Michael York squaring up.

    Looking back, the school holidays in particular were obviously an opportunity for the distributors to offload any old tat and make a few quid. But, jacked up on Kia-ora additives and too uneducated to know any better, we probably thought they were great at the time. And that's the important thing really.
  • soulboy77soulboy77 Posts: 24,396
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    Life of Brian and Aeroplane double bill in '81, still two of my favourite comedy films. When I saw them being advertised together, I just couldn't resist. Still feel sorry for the girlfriend at the time who I dragged along.
  • Eddie BadgerEddie Badger Posts: 6,005
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    soulboy77 wrote: »
    Life of Brian and Aeroplane double bill in '81, still two of my favourite comedy films. When I saw them being advertised together, I just couldn't resist. Still feel sorry for the girlfriend at the time who I dragged along.

    I remember that one from my student days. My face was aching from laughing so much.

    I also remember the summer Bond double bills and Enter The Dragon and Cleopatra Jones. Ahh the good old days :)
  • TakaeTakae Posts: 13,555
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    A documentary about American surfers-skateboarders and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. When the doc came on, we all were like "Huh?" This was a children's Saturday double matinee, by the way. I think it was in 1979 or 1980 at an A.B.C. cinema?

    I can't remember much about that documentary except for certain cinematic scenes of surfing and skateboarding in slow motion, the hippy-rock music soundtrack, and how weird that the narrator talked in slow motion.
  • Virgil TracyVirgil Tracy Posts: 26,805
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    I remember seeing Dad's Army and What's Up Doc , odd double-bill .
  • Metal MickeyMetal Mickey Posts: 1,606
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    Semi-horror pair up The Car plus Day Of The Animals - I'd actually like to see The Car again, I loved it at the time!

    Rubbish Jaws rip-off Grizzly, with rubbish Porky's rip-off Drive-In.

    Worst ape movie Battle For The Planet Of The Apes with The Neptune Factor (very poor sci-fi submarine adventure)

    Aside from the endless Bond doubles, the best one I remember was probably Car Wash and American Graffiti... I also seem to remember all of the 70's TV comedy movies (Likely Lads, Dad's Army, Are You Being Served, Bless THis House, On The Buses etc.) being billed together in various combinations.
  • Eddie BadgerEddie Badger Posts: 6,005
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    Semi-horror pair up The Car plus Day Of The Animals - I'd actually like to see The Car again, I loved it at the time!

    Rubbish Jaws rip-off Grizzly, with rubbish Porky's rip-off Drive-In.

    Worst ape movie Battle For The Planet Of The Apes with The Neptune Factor (very poor sci-fi submarine adventure)

    Aside from the endless Bond doubles, the best one I remember was probably Car Wash and American Graffiti... I also seem to remember all of the 70's TV comedy movies (Likely Lads, Dad's Army, Are You Being Served, Bless THis House, On The Buses etc.) being billed together in various combinations.

    I remember them, The Neptune Factor looked like it had been filmed in an aquarium and had a budget that almost went into double figures.
  • filmfan7filmfan7 Posts: 3,429
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    The Thing and Cat People !.... slightly cheating here as think it was early 80s !...good thread this I wonder when they stopped the double features ?
  • Virgil TracyVirgil Tracy Posts: 26,805
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    I remember seeing Battle for the Planet of the Apes with Butch Cassidy and the sundance kid .
  • Fairyprincess0Fairyprincess0 Posts: 30,038
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    I'm slightly jealous of anyone who was around to watch 70's double-bills, what with being born in 1980....
  • stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    I remember the local cinema having Superman and Superman 2. Both tedious films and I asked to go home as I was bored.
  • sheila bligesheila blige Posts: 8,010
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    I remember seeing Dirty Harry & Magnum Force as a double bill and I think Assault on Precinct 13 doubled up with Halloween. I'm fairly certain I saw a couple of Eastwood's Dollar films in a double bill too.
  • Eddie BadgerEddie Badger Posts: 6,005
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    I'm slightly jealous of anyone who was around to watch 70's double-bills, what with being born in 1980....

    We got our money's worth in those days...well sometimes. Some of the second features could be pretty awful. They'd be the straight to DVD stuff now.
  • Peachy KeenPeachy Keen Posts: 2,577
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    I once saw 'The Man With The Golden Gun' with the Peter Sellers comedy 'The Party'.

    Other strange double bills included:-

    'The French Connection' / 'The Poseidon Adventure'

    'Blazing Saddles' / 'Confessions Of A Window Cleaner'
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 988
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    I loved the film Carrie when it first was released and saw it a few times with different films on the bottom half of the bill. One of the strangest was The Town That Dreaded Sundown, which featured a scene in which a character was killed with a trombone (well, a knife attached to the slide !).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Town_That_Dreaded_Sundown
  • neo_walesneo_wales Posts: 13,625
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    In my home city we had a cinema that showed double bills of film anywhere 2 to 20 years old, I do remember Apocalypse Now and 2001, great films both.
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