<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> A B movie or B film is a low - budget commercial movie, but not an arthouse film . In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less - publicized bottom half of a double feature (akin to B - sides for recorded music). Although the U.S. production of movies intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s, the term B movie continues to be used in its broader sense to this day . In its post--Golden Age usage, there is ambiguity on both sides of the definition: on the one hand, the primary interest of many inexpensive exploitation films is prurient; on the other, many B movies display a high degree of craft and aesthetic ingenuity . </P> <P> In either usage, most B movies represent a particular genre--the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple, while low - budget science - fiction and horror films became more popular in the 1950s . Early B movies were often part of series in which the star repeatedly played the same character . Almost always shorter than the top - billed films they were paired with, many had running times of 70 minutes or less . The term connoted a general perception that B movies were inferior to the more handsomely budgeted headliners; individual B films were often ignored by critics . </P>

What was the purpose of film studios producing 'b' movies
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