roger-corman – Arkham TV

The Pit And The Pendulum (1961)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 80min Classic horror movie about both a pit and a pendulum, directed by Roger Corman, written by Richard Matheson using a title by Edgar Allan Poe, with Vincent Price (134)

Recap

After the death of his sister, Francis Barnard visits his brother in law Nicholas Medina and is shocked by just how brazen everybody lies to him about her death. Is Nicholas truly mourning or are these just crocodile tears? He decides to stay the night, and that’s when it starts to get spooky.

This is the second movie of the so-called “Corman-Poe-Cycle”: Corman wanted to make movies with slightly higher budgets, especially with better sets, and wanted to use the fame and reputation of Edgar Allan Poe to market these films. Nerds like me were always complaining that the movies were named after Poe’s works, but never sticked to their actual plots. So I thought, yeah, well, I shall give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐, because it has Vincent Price and nice sets and in a way even the status of a classic.

Boy, was I wrong! So I shall give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐ alright, but much unlike before I shall not complain about how this is not Edgar Allan Poe. Yes, it all starts a little slow, and Vincent Price, while as enjoyable as usual, goes thoroughly over the top in a way that does not necessarily improve the movie. And no, I have no idea how horrific this horror has been back in the 60s,but for today’s standards it’s all quite tame and maybe even a little lame. So this movie may be a little old, but on the other hand I didn’t remember nor expected that such an old movie would make such clever use of surprising plot twists. I tip my hat to Richard Matheson who never was as famous as Poe but sure could spin an entertaining yarn.

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The Little Shop Of Horrors (1960)

⭐⭐⭐ 72min Classic horror comedy directed by Roger Corman with an early appearance of Jack Nicholson

Recap

Seymour is the hapless employee of a flower shop who is nursing a beautiful plant that he calls Audrey Junior after the colleague he is simping for. The shop isn’t doing so well until Audrey Junior becomes its attraction. Trouble is that that she is a carnivorous and dominant plant, bullying Seymour into being her butcher.

This is one of those horror movies that use comedy to make up for their lack of skill, budget and effort. This is not bad in itself, many okay and even good movies do this, and as usual the comedy indeed improves the quality of this one. However I watched the 1986 remake first, which had been diligently crafted by the man who had put his hand in the colon of Luke Skywalker’s jedi instructor. This remake today is a classic of timeless elegance, one of the 100 best movies ever made, so in comparison it makes the original look old, not vintage old, but geriatric.

So apart from being remade by Frank Oz, this has only two things going for it:

There is a legend that Roger Corman made this to win a bet. He had claimed that he could make a movie within only two days, and indeed it was made within two days in the studio plus some nightly outdoor shooting.

Also, in this one there is a very early appearance of a ridiculously young Jack Nicholson.

So I must say that this movie is barely okay. Especially for its historical value it is quite fit for nerds, but it just really didn’t age well.

A good way to quickly compare both movies is to compare the dentist scenes of the original with Jack Nicholson (Bonus 1) and the remake with Steve Martin and Bill Murray (Bonus 2)

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A Bucket Of Blood (1959)

A hapless artist wannabe becomes the beatniks’ darling when he covers a dead cat in clay. Directed by Roger Corman. 66min imdb

Movie 65min

Trailer

Recap:

Walter is a hapless sculptor wannabe. Good thing that he has a day job as a busboy at the beatnik joint The Yellow Door Cafe. One day he accidently kills his landlady’s cat, so he covers it with his sculpting clay and, BINGO, becomes the darling of the Boheme. Of course he now must deliver more and greater works. His boss at the Cafe soon faces a dilemma because as Walter’s agent he sure makes some profit, but he also finds out the secret behind the masterpieces.

Were the actual beatniks really as obnoxious as depicted in this movie? I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t around. It feels a bit shabby when a producer of conventional entertainment supplies makes fun of real artists. But who cares. On the one hand this movie caters to my prejudices, on the other hand it’s fun. With more effort and diligence and, yes, with more artistic skill this could have become a genuine masterpiece, but even as a cheap little lowbudget flick it’s still mighty entertaining.

(Fun (?) fact: the german title was Das Vermächtnis Des Professor Bondi “because” the german title of House Of Wax (1953) had been Das Kabinett Des Professor Bondi)

Doomed (2015)

Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s the Fantastic Four (2015)

A documentary that tells the history of The Fantastic Four (1994), which was executive produced by Roger Corman.

Contains footage of Roger Corman, Lloyd Kaufman an Stan Lee as themselves. 85min imdb

Documentary 85min

Trailer

Recap:

In 1994 they finished the movie of the Fantastic Four, and while the cast and crew tried their best concerning promo and stuff, the producers Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger made no move to release it. In fact, the release eventually was canceled. But why? The official story says that Bernd Eichinger made this movie only because his contract on the F4 movie rights was running out and he had to do something for ha renewal of this contract. This docu suggests that maybe the Fox intervened because they wanted the F4 as a toy for their new Wunderkind Chris. Columbus, and then there is Avi Arrad who claimed that he bought the movie to get it out of the way to make room for his own, bigger Marvel projects.

This documentary does ask some interesting questions, but it answers not too many. Still, it’s quite interesting to watch.

Related movie:

War Of The Satellites (1958)

66min

(VPN:D)

Sound

English

Captions

various

Roger Corman’s quick reaction to the Sputnik fad.

Review:

The UN space program is experimenting with manned satellites, but all attempts fail. Eventually some kind of meteorite crash lands on earth, containing a warning of aliens who declare that they don’t want people like the earthlings in space and that the planet is quarantined. The satellite program is continued nonetheless, so the aliens replace the most important scientist with a shapeshifter.

Well yes, very old fashioned and quite entertaining movie by Roger Corman. Nothing special though.

⭐⭐⭐