They should be called leaders.

We know them as trailers, but they don’t trail anything; they play before the movie, not after it. The name dates to their earliest incarnation, when they actually did follow the feature. The documentary “Coming Attractions” dates the very first trailer to a 1912 Edison serial entitled “What Happened to Mary?” After each installment, a black card with white text would appear to inform audiences “The next incident in the series of ‘What Happened to Mary’ will be shown a week from now.” Not exactly “In a world…” but it did the trick back in 1912.

What happened to Mary wasn’t nearly as important as what happened to trailers, which have grown into one of the most popular forms of advertising in the world. Some think they spoil the movies — Gene Siskel famously hated them so much he wouldn’t enter a theater while they were playing — but for the rest of us, they’re a treasured part of the moviegoing ritual, a delicious cinematic appetizer to prepare us for the main course.

Let’s take number 33, Speed, to prove the point that a great trailer has nothing to do with a great movie:

Go to IFC to see them all.

The teaser trailer for W. which based on the life and presidency of George W. Bush. It is directed by Oliver Stone and stars Josh Brolin as George W. Bush.