This “Olive Signature” Blu-ray release from Olive Films (www.olivefilms.com – www.facebook.com/olivefilms) will be available for purchase on September 24th.
To many, producer/director/writer/actor Roger Corman is considered King of the B-movies. In the early 1950s, he took notice of the growing market for films aimed at the teen market and began shooting low-budget, profitable genre flicks. Over this time, he specialized in titles like the car chase crime picture The Fast and the Furious (1955) as well as a series of creature features that included Monster from the Ocean Floor (1955), The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), It Conquered the World (1956), Not of This Earth (1957) and Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957). While he has never stopped making these kinds of titles and continues to do so to this very day, the end of the 50s did see Corman yearning to experiment with his familiar drive-in fare.
Shot in 5 days on a tiny $50,000 budget, A Bucket of Blood was one such example of the filmmaker heading further off the beaten path. In this case, a production that combined comedy, current social fashions as well as horror in equal measure. The results were not only a box office success, but one of Corman’s best reviewed and most beloved pictures. Olive Films have released a new Blu-ray under their Olive Signature line. It’s an exceptional disc that includes a crisp and clean image courtesy of a new 4K master as well as plenty of fascinating (and in some cases never-before-seen) extra features. Corman fans and genre movie enthusiasts would be well advised to pick this release up.
Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) is a slow-witted bus boy at a beatnik café called The Yellow Door. The poets, painters and other customers are all either artisans or followers of the movement. While they are genial and almost pity Walter, the servant dreams of being famous and successful… or at the very least reaching the social standing of his customers. Walter also desires the affection of café hostess Carla (Barboura Morris) who is friendly to him. The protagonist heads home to his small, run-down flat to try and create a sculpture, but finds creating art a slow and difficult task. Things change when he accidentally kills a cat stuck in the walls while trying to free it. Walter molds clay over the carcass and passes it off as his own creation… and immediately becomes a sensation. The lead finds the praise and interest intoxicating and he eventually takes on more grandiose works. Of course, this results in several disappearances and new statues, all with his victims hidden under the clay.
This is a zippy and fun movie that expertly combines dark humor with a pinch horror. Part of the reason it works so well is star Miller. His character should not be sympathetic, but his meek personality and mannerisms make him endearing. The supporting beatnik characters are just as distinctive and each have their own entertaining quirks and personality traits. And the movie effectively pokes fun at the beatnik world and the various artist’s quests for recognition and success in their careers, despite their claims of being bohemians and not caring about superficiality and commercialism. These are great characters and the screenplay really enjoys commenting on the price of fame and fortune in the fickle art world.
These elements are nicely balanced with creepier bits as Walter finds himself forced into violent murders to maintain his prestigious station as an artistic genius. The works themselves are memorably eerie and one can see how they might gain a following. Most of this film was shot at two locations, the little café and Walter’s cramped, shadowy apartment. For many flicks it would be an uncomfortable budgetary restraint, but here it helps give the film a claustrophobic feel. The black and white photography is quite striking as well, featuring plenty of inky black shadows in the frame that add to the sense of unease. Director/producer Roger Corman appeared to be at total ease with the comic/creepy tone, absolutely nailing it.
This all makes it easy see why A Bucket of Blood was and continues to be so popular. The movie is well-acted, the dialogue is memorable (including some amusing observations and funny beat poetry), its characters stand out, the story is simple but intriguing and there’s plenty of subtext behind the subject matter. It’s a great little low-budget cult movie that is deserving of its cult status. In fact, the picture was successful enough to inspire Corman to immediately start work on an equally successful picture in exactly the same tone with an almost identical story, Little Shop of Horrors (1960).
The movie certainly looks better on Blu-ray than it ever has before and comes with plenty of fantastic extras. First is an interview with Roger Corman himself, who explains the history of the production, confirming that he was getting tired of making the same picture over and over again and wanted to expand his repertoire (while still maintaining a financially successful track record). There is also a nice interview with recently deceased star Dick Miller, who appears alongside his wife. He’s not a big talker, but his spouse manages to pry some tidbits from him about his career and work with Corman. And it comes with an informative feature commentary track from the man who directed a documentary film on the star called That Guy Dick Miller. It’s very detailed, providing plenty of info on the actors, screenwriter and various crew members along with their various credits in film.
Additionally, the release includes an archival audio interview with the film’s screenwriter, Charles B. Griffith, who also penned the later B-movie classics Death Race 2000 (1975) and Eat My Dust (1976). It’s clear that he was a sharp guy and his talk about what inspired the script, working with Corman as well as his other experiences in Hollywood, is detailed and interesting. There are some other great plusses like a visual essay that comparing the original script to the finished film. These extra scenes add more detail and background to the characters.
Another fun inclusion is an entertainingly misleading German trailer for the film along with a rare prologue from the German release, where it was sold as a sequel to the Vincent Price picture, House of Wax (1953). The 8-minute intro is an incredibly awkward attempt to tie the two disparate films together – it’s both bizarre a lot of fun to watch. Other extras include a subtitled, Super 8 “digest” version of the film, the US trailer, some newly discovered on-set photography, and an essay on the picture by biographer Caelum Vatnsdal, author of the book, You Don’t Know Me, But You Love Me: The Lives of Dick Miller.
Curiously enough, those who check out all of these extras will also learn that this picture was recently adapted for the theater and more frequently as a stage musical. The subject matter is every bit as relevant today as it was back then and these updated productions have been gaining more and more traction and success. As a result, it may not be long before this title gets the same kind of screen updating that Little Shop of Horrors received in the late 80s. A Bucket of Blood is assuredly one of Roger Corman’s greatest films – any self-respecting horror/cult movie fan will enjoy this excellent Blu-ray that gives this artful B-movie the treatment it truly deserves.