Hollywood JargonHollywood SlangHollywood Speak
make-out movies  Noun, e.g., The first makeout movies were horror films because by the first reel they provided couples perfect reasons to embrace and to never look at the screen again.

Definition: Movies that inspire couples to kiss and caress. Initially these were cheap and cheesy movies made by American International Pictures and Hammer Films Productions for teenage audiences.

History: During the 1950s and 1960s filmmakers like Roger Corman, the American International Pictures producer and director, churned out scores of flicks, many shot within one week, such as “Attack of the Crab Monsters” (1957), “A Bucket of Blood” (1959), “House of Usher” (1960), “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961), “Tales of Terror” (1962), etc. According to “Moguls and Movie Stars,” a documentary by Turner Classic Movies, Corman’s films commanded a box office that rivaled those of the major studios because they tapped into the teenage market—a group alienated by mainstream movies starring icons such as Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.  

What the documentary doesn't say is that Corman’s films succeeded not because teenagers wanted to watch them, but because no one did. This enabled theaters and particularly drive-ins, which accounted for one-third of the movie screens in America, to become venues for teenagers to kiss, feel up, be felt up, pick up, be picked up, and booze. Twas a bad Saturday night for Johnny or Sally when afterward someone asked, “What was the movie about?” and he or she could answer truthfully.


Related Terms:   payoff   classic movie

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