Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Humorous Bucket, February 11, 2007
Walter (Character actor and Veteran Roger Corman regular Dick Smith) ,a nerdish painter who waits tables at a beatnik cafe, is jealous of the popularity of its various artistic regulars. He kills his landlady's cat by accident . Then he glosses the body in plaster to hide the missing cat. Many acclaimed as a brilliant sculptor. Many so called friends/enemies want to see more of his work.. Walter has to resort to similar methods to produce new pieces with mixed results .
Directed on a low budget by Roger Corman, it works and has a sense of humor with its horror. Its satire sit bites 48 years later. It does a bloodless horror that still thrills
This film is similar to House of Wax and the future Corman film, the cult classic, The Little Shop of Horrors. The beatnik reference makes this movie a cult classic of the early 1960's (made in 1959-GAWD it is as old as I am) as well as "Horror", but it was not as well received
so get it and enjoy this campy horror film
Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Will YOU join his human museum?, February 24, 2004
Dick Miller, one of the more popular character actors in Hollywood, whom I remember most from such movies as Gremlins (1984), Matinee (1993), and Demon Knight (1995) stars in this Roger Corman classic from 1959.
Miller is Walter Paisley, a simple-minded man with high aspirations who works in a beatnik coffee shop, The Yellow Door, as a busboy. He desperately wants to fit in, but finds himself usually the butt of jokes from some of the more pretentious bohemian crowd. The main reason for Walter's desire to be in the 'in crowd' is Carla, played by Barboura Morris, who I just saw in another Corman movie, The Wasp Woman (1960). Carla also works at The Yellow Door, and is really the only one that treats Walter with respect and kindness. One night while at home, Walter is struggling with some clay, trying to create a bust of Carla, but his efforts are in vain. After accidentally killing his landlord's cat with a knife, Walter tries to hide what he did by covering the cat, and the protruding knife, with clay and inadvertently creates his first work of art, aptly titled 'Dead Cat'. Walter soon gains acclaim for his sculpture, and his career as an artist is born. The pressure of coming up with new pieces leads him to use human models creating grisly, realistic, highly detailed sculptures of figures in death throes. Soon Walter becomes the talk of the community, with fame and fortune sure to follow...or does it?
I really enjoyed this movie, which is basically an update of one of my favorite movies, House of Wax (1953) starring Vincent Price. The beatnik angle played nicely off the more gruesome elements of the movie, providing levity in this dark psuedo comedy. What I really liked was the beatniks were shown in different fashion, some being played for comedic effect, while others being played a little more seriously. There wasn't a sense of trivializing the movement, but more of poking a little fun at it. Some other actors I recognized were Ed Nelson, whom I recently saw in Night of the Blood Beast (1958) and perennial 70's TV favorite and host of many a game show, Bert Convy, looking so very young I almost didn't recognize him. Along with Dick Miller's performance, I also really enjoyed the barrel-chested beat poet character Maxwell H. Brock, played by Julian Burton. He delivers some truly interesting poetry in eloquent fashion.
The film has a short run time, at 66 minutes, which tended to keep the pacing snappy. Corman really shows why, even though his movie may have been made cheaply, they didn't always have to look cheap, with his professional direction and ability to keep things interesting by drawing out great performances from his actors. The case does mention a trailer for A Bucket of Blood included, but I found none. What I did find was an excellent copy of the film on this DVD, well worth getting if you enjoy black humor.
Cookieman108
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Little Bucket Shop Of Blood Horrors, October 3, 2006
After watching "A Bucket Of Blood" (1959), I have come to the conclusion that it is an earlier, bloodier variation of the movie "The Little Shop Of Horrors" (1960). Both movies were written by Charles B. Griffith. Both movies were directed by Roger Corman. In addition, several of the actors appear in both films. For example, John Shaner appeared as a beatnik named Oscar in "A Bucket Of Blood," and played the dentist Dr. Phoebus Farb in "The Little Shop Of Horrors."
In "A Bucket Of Blood," Dick Miller plays Walter Paisley, a nerdish waiter at a Bohemian cafe.
In "The Little Shop Of Horrors," Jonathan Haze plays Seymour Krelboyne, a nerdish worker at a flower shop.
After accidentally killing his landlady's cat and covering the body in plaster, Walter is acclaimed as a brilliant sculptor.
After cross breeding flowers, and accidentally creating a hybrid plant, Seymour is acclaimed as a brilliant horticulturalist.
Lacking any artistic talent whatsoever, Walter has to kill people and cover them in clay to create new statues.
Because the plant is a carnivore, Seymour accidentally kills people and feeds them to his plant, making the plant grow to gargantuan size.
Walter's boss finds out about what's going on, but doesn't tell the police, because of the money and notoriety it generates for the coffee house.
Seymour's boss finds out about what's going on but doesn't tell the police, because of the money and notoriety it generates for the flower shop.
After everyone realizes what's really going on, the police chase Walter. The movie ends when Walter hangs himself before the police catch and arrest him.
After everyone realizes what's really going on, the police chase Seymour. The movie ends when Seymour is devoured by the giant plant before the police catch and arrest him.
Because the violence is deliberate and the ending shocking and depressing, "A Bucket Of Blood" is one of the more obscure Roger Corman movies.
Because the violence is accidental and the ending is played for laughs, "The Little Shop Of Horrors" is fondly remembered as one of Roger Corman's best movies.
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