A Bucket of Blood
Director: Roger Corman
Screenplay: Charles B. Griffith
Minutes: 66
Year: 1959
Score: 6.93
Release: Olive Signature
I don’t really care for the concept of a blind spot when it comes to movies. Time, being a master to us all, taste, changing like the wind, and availability all play a part in whether or not somebody watches something. This, of course, is said to excuse the fact that this was my first viewing of A Bucket of Blood.
From OliveFilms.com:
With A Bucket of Blood, the multi-talented Roger Corman singlehandedly created his own genre hyphenate: the black-comedy-beatnik-culture-horror film. Dick Miller (Gremlins, The Trip) stars as Walter, a busboy at the hep-cat hangout the Yellow Door Café who dreams of artistic greatness. Inspired by the scribes and artists who surround him, Walter is introduced to the world of sculpture quite literally by accident – thanks to thin walls and a sharp steak knife. From his very first sculpture – the aptly titled “Dead Cat” – Walter is hailed a genius by the art snob set, a wunderkind who, unbeknownst to his doting devotees, has raised murder to the level of high art. But when the tortured artist turns his creativity towards the human form, he’s sure to make their blood run cold.
Rounding out the cast are Barboura Morris (The Trip, The Haunted Palace) as Carla, the woman of Walter’s dreams; Bert Convy (Semi-Tough) as undercover cop Lou Raby; Antony Carbone (Pit and the Pendulum) as Leonard, owner of the Yellow Door; and Julian Burton (The Masque of the Red Death) as Maxwell, the Yellow Door’s resident poet-philosopher.
A Bucket of Blood is written by Charles B. Griffith (Death Race 2000), photographed by Jacques R. Marquette (Burnt Offerings), edited by Anthony Carras (The Comedy of Terrors), with music by Fred Katz (The Little Shop of Horrors), and art direction by Dan Haller (Pit and the Pendulum).
As I was watching this Roger Corman classic, my mind was flickering back and forth between this and Color Me Blood Red by Herschel Gordon Lewis. While Bucket is much more accessible, Color takes the idea and shoves it through a plate glass window. I am surprised that it did not take me long to forget any preconceived notions and get lost in this beatnick play. This re-centering of attention falls heavily on the capable shoulders of Dick Miller.
Dick Miller, for those not in the know, is an actor with over 180 films and if you, like me, are a child of the 1980s you will definitely know his face, if you didn’t know his name. Specifically the films of Joe Dante; Gremlins, Small Soldiers, and The ‘Burbs. To hear Miller tell it, when he met Roger Corman, about to shoot Apache Woman, Miller said that he was a writer, Corman said that he didn’t need writers, he needed actors, to which Miller said, “Okay, I’m an actor.” After a few years and seven Corman films later, Miller would move into the starring roles for a few films, all leading up to this little, 66 minute, $50,000, picture, written by Corman regular Charles B. Griffith.
The film tells the story of Walter Paisley, a barista yearning to be a respected artist, his intended medium, clay. As he sits, frustrated with a lack of ideas (and lack of obvious talent) he hears his cat, crying, stuck in a wall. In an attempt to cut the feline free he accidentally stabs his furry friend. The next morning he debuts his newest creation. A sculpture of an impaled cat. He becomes the toast of his little beatnik circle and his new admiring friends are eager to see any new work, which he gladly, and maliciously, supplies.
There are a few plot details that one must ignore. How the cat gets stuck in the wall to begin with. How Paisley gets his sculptures done and cured overnight. How the cat, as you learn a little later, goes from being a short haired cat to a very long haired one. But fans of the low budget scene are very capable in the art of ignoring blemishes.
As I mentioned earlier this was my first viewing of the picture and in a way I am glad to have waited. It looks and sounds incredible and I know from years of seeing pretty bad copies of borderline good films that it was rare for movies like this to get the love and attention that they deserve. I haven’t listened to the commentary yet, but it certainaly contains wonderful nuggets, but the interviews, especially the one with Dick Miller breath life into the experience.
It is important to remember that Olive Signature titles have one and done availability and there are only 3500 copies of this release in existence. If you don’t snag it now you might not be able to later.
Special Features:
- Mastered from new 4K scan
- “Creation Is. All Else is Not” – Roger Corman on A Bucket of Blood
- “Call Me Paisley” – Dick and Lainie Miller on A Bucket of Blood
- Audio commentary by Elijah Drenner, director of That Guy Dick Miller
- Archival audio interview with screenwriter Charles B. Griffith
- “Bits of Bucket” – Visual essay comparing the original script to the finished film
- Essay by Caelum Vatnsdal
- Rare prologue from German release
- Super 8 “digest” version
- Theatrical trailer
- German theatrical trailer
- Gallery of newly-discovered on-set photography
Director: 6 – Cinematography: 6 – Edit: 5 – Parity: 3 – Main performance: 10 – Else performance: 2 – Score: 8 – Sound: 5 – Story: 8 – Script: 6 – Effects: 10 – Design: 7 – Costumes: 8 – Keeps interest: 10 – Lasting: 10