Cinema: Decline of the Bs

In the good old days before television, low-budget “B” pictures were the opium of the people, and a producer’s only problem was to keep grinding out enough of them to fill exhibitors’ schedules. But now, says one movie man who ought to know, a producer will have to put quality above quantity if he wants to lure people away from their TV sets.

Producer Robert Lippert, who developed a flair for turning out quickies that cost $100,000 and grossed $1,000,000 (Rocketship XM, The Steel Helmet), announced that he was through with the Bs for good. “Even the kids,” said Lippert, a little sadly, “won’t take the cheap westerns any more. Remember how we used to go to those serials and our mouths would hang open? Now, when the hero throws a punch, the kids laugh like hell.” Lippert’s new job: financing and distributing films made by Famous Artists Corp. talent, in a cooperative deal which gives Lippert 20% of each film, the actors 80%.