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Joe writes:
"My humble and educated guess is, there are many films that are under one hour
as well as feature length.  Simply stating minutes only is one of the ways
the film industry tries to keep rules based on consistency.  It's also easier
for editors, projectionists, etc. to guage a films length in terms of feet
and so forth by knowing total minutes.
 
i.e. a film that runs 129 minutes is 7740 seconds.  Film is projected at 24
frames a second, 16 frames a foot (35 mm) so this film would be 11,610 feet
long. "
 
Also keep in mind that films were initially measured by feet or by reels,
since in the silent era the running time could vary depending on how fast
the camera operator had been cranking--the projectionist would need to match
that speed to avoid fast- or slow-motion effects.
 
--Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN