The golden era of 3-D films, roughly 1952-1955 saw a huge leap forward in both the quality and quantity of 3-D films. However, despite many technical advancements in the complex process associated with shooting and editing 3-D films, 3-D films were still plagued by many problems. Mainly shot on a shoestring budget with lackluster sets and scripts, 3-D films still pose problems for theater projectionists and managers who simply wanted to show movies which were easy to work with and made a lot of money for the theater franchise. By the end of the 1950’s 3-D had once again vanished into oblivion.

With the advent of the 1960’s, moviegoing audiences tastes were changing. Movie tickets prices were rising and so were audience expectations. Moviegoers wanted to see big screen spectacles and films that portrayed life with greater realism. Newer, easier to project larger screen formats such as Cinemascope, Vistavision, and Cinerama eclipsed the audience demand for 3-D pictures.

The movement towards widescreen images and more realism especially in science-fiction/horror films left current 3-D films in the dust. Big screen releases such as 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey showcased what could be accomplished in the 2-D film medium and the door was essentially closed seemingly for good on the era of three-dimensional entertainment.

One would have thought this would have spelled the end of 3-D films. But. for those still interested in the format, hope prevailed. Astoundingly, only two 3-D films were made from the years 1961 to 1980. In 1961, Beaver- Champion/ Warner Bros. released The Mask which was a 2-D picture which utilized some 3-D scenes. Using new technology called Space-Vision 3-D, stereoscopic films were printed with two images, one above the other, in a single academy ratio frame, on a single strip, and needed only one projector fitted with a special lens. This so-called “over and under” technique eliminated the need for dual projector set-ups, and produced widescreen, but darker, less vivid, polarized 3-D images. Unlike earlier dual systems, it could stay in perfect sync, unless improperly sliced in repair. Theaters still used paper red/green anaglyph glasses.

The years of 1980 – 1984 have become known as the 3-D revival apex years. The United States was enjoying relatively stable years with no war to overshadow movie releases and the countries economy was thriving after having survived the 1970’s oil crisis as well as the Watergate scandals. The time was ripe for 3-D to make a comeback. Utilizing the new SpaceVision over-under process, Hollywood studios dug into their vaults and re-issued House of Wax and Dial M for Murder. Both films had modest production budgets in the 1950’s and to re-released them to modern theaters in the new process was simple and inexpensive. The success of these two reissues paved the way for a new crop of 3-D films including : Amityville 3-D, Comin at Ya!, Treasure of the Four Crowns, and Jaws 3-D.