Monster of the Day #3518

Monster of the Day #3518

Roger Corman got super lazy in 1959, directing only three films that year. What a slugabed. I mean, he directed 20 films in the four years prior to that. One of the 1959 films was one of his classics, though, A Bucket of Blood, starring Dick Miller and setting the making of the satirical…
Monster of the Day #3517

Monster of the Day #3517

1958 saw Corman expanding his range a bit, to sometimes dubious results. Aside from his Viking epic he made Teenage Caveman, with the weirdly suave Robert Vaughn (shades of George Hamilton playing Evel Kneivel) at 26 playing the titular hero. The film has a Rod Serling twist at the end. Was there a (presumably…
Monster of the Day #3516

Monster of the Day #3516

After producing / directing eight films in 1957, Roger Corman took a break. He only directed five films that year, and only also produced three of those. What a slacker. (Although he also produced Night of the Blood Beast, which he didn't direct.) I think he spent the time he wasn't directing two films…
Monster of the Day #3515

Monster of the Day #3515

The Devil you say. Is there a weirder indie genre film of the '50s than Roger Corman's The Undead? The fact that Corman knew he could make money with this film--because he wouldn't have made it otherwise--proves that he respected his audience more than most of those toiling in the same fields. We watched…
Monster of the Day #3514

Monster of the Day #3514

So here we get Corman's take on a giant monster movie. As you might expect from a Corman cheapie, the script is extremely weird. This is mostly remembered, of course, for Paul Blaisdell's fantastic giant crab prop. Happy Friday, everyone. Watch something stupid this weekend. Also, Watch Party tonight. Wheeee!

Watch Party tomorrow night…

Obviously we're going a Corman. I'm thinking, because of us, to do one of his '50s monster films, but what do you think guys? Would you rather do something else, like The Fast and the Furious? And if we do a monster movie, is it Day the World Ended, because it's the first, or…
Monster of the Day #3513

Monster of the Day #3513

It's crazy that Corman produced eight movies in 1957, but that he produced and directed eight movies that year is insane. Obviously sci-fi and horror were working for him, because three of the eight films were sci-fi or horror. I'm counting the highly idiosyncratic The Undead, which, man, it's hard to see anyone but…
Monster of the Day #3512

Monster of the Day #3512

Roger Corman directed (and produced, although he produced more) three films in 1955, including The Day The World Ended, which we featured yesterday. In 1956, he direct four films (and produced more), including his second monster movie, the much loved It Conquered the World with Peter Graves and Lee Van Cleef and Beverly Garland.…
Monster of the Day #3511

Monster of the Day #3511

The second film Roger Corman produced was his first monster movie, Monster From the Ocean Floor in 1954. By 1955, he realized it would be cheaper to direct some films himself than to hire someone else to do it. He directed without credit some of Beast with a Million Eyes (the first film he…
Holy Moley! Godzilla at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre

Holy Moley! Godzilla at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the release of Gojira, and Chicago (and numerous out cities, presumably) is paying due homage to The King of the Monsters. The city's premiere art house venue, The Music Box Theatre, is running this bill in June (next month! Yikes!). Hey Music Boxers, This summer, we're celebrating…