Un secchio di sangue

A Bucket of Blood is a nice little Corman horror film. It plays better than many of his other non-Poe, non-Price films. It's the story of a "backwards" busboy in a beatnik dive trying to fit in by becoming an artist. His creations are the talk of the joint. But just how is the seemingly talentless busboy able to create such realistic images of death?

Dick Miller plays the busboy in one of the few feature roles I remember seeing him in. The mix of emotions he imbibes into his character is a highlight of the film. At one moment he's confused, the next a raving lunatic. Corman kept the screenplay simple and it works. I've seen too many low budget directors try to creative effects, etc. that their budgets just do not allow. Corman doesn't do this. This one is definitely recommended to fans of the 50s quickie horror films.

Roger Corman will always be remembered for being the guy who made all those cheap and nasty exploitation movies in the 50s and 60s. What people DON'T remember is that many of them were actually very good! 'A Bucket Of Blood' is one of his best, possibly THE best.

'Bucket..' is a black comedy concerning bus boy and wanna be artist Walter Paisley (the immortal Dick Miller) who works in an arty coffee shop frequented by poets, painters, beatniks and druggies. By an odd series of circumstances, which I won't spoil for those that haven't watched this, he becomes "the next big thing". As his career takes off he becomes hip, cool and adulated by most. He does have one enemy who knows his secret and an undercover cop is sniffing around, so poor Walter better stay on his toes...

This movie is a lot of fun, still holds up well, and is an entertaining, well made (for its obvious low budget) satire on art, success, fame and death. Dick Miller has gone on to a long and varied career since the 50s, but no matter what he does he will ALWAYS be Walter Paisley!

In Roger Corman's autobiography, he credits himself to creating the sub-genre "black comedy". His version of "black comedy" featured gruesome elements, that were sometimes played for laughs. With BUCKET OF BLOOD and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, he furthered this along, and although I'm not sure if he did indeed invent the "black comedy", he sure had a good run with it.

BUCKET OF BLOOD is near-perfect. Which is saying a lot when you think of some of Corman's films. BUCKET OF BLOOD stars Dick Miller in his only starring performance. He plays a struggling busboy/artist, whose only real desire in life is to impress the local beatnik girl (the talented Barboura Morris). Miller works at the same coffee house that Morris frequents. The place, run by Anthony Carbone, features poetry and art. There are also pretentious beatniks, drug dealers, and undercover detectives.

I don't want to give much else away, aside from that the film itself has a life of its own. The energy is high, the camera and editing work are effectively polished, and the dialogue is uniformly crisp. Corman's direction is fluid. Next to LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and maybe a few of his Poe films, BUCKET OF BLOOD is his best film.

Dick Miller, has never received such a juicy part to play as this. He handles the jokes well, and his interplay with Carbone, and especially Ed Nelson, is great.

The sets are cheap, the conclusion is rushed, but BUCKET OF BLOOD made me giggle, and unlike some horror films, it is supposed to.

This delicious black comedy is one of the films that Roger Corman used to make before he got a bigger budget and went on to do fantastic adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe stores, starting with 'The Fall of the House of Usher', the year after this was made. A Bucket of Blood stars Dick Miller, whom you may know as 'that guy from Gremlins', which Dante almost certainly cast him in due to his affiliation with Corman, as he plays a character named Walter Paisley in both The Howling and A Bucket of Blood. Anyway, in this film he has been cast a busboy for a public house, who is also an aspiring artist. However, Walter lacks creativity and is looking for an idea when he inadvertently kills his landlady's cat, which he then proceeds to cover in plaster and present as a piece of art. The art world is filled with weirdo's, and because of that, this sculpture becomes an instant hit and Walter is now very much 'in'. One masterpiece isn't enough, however, and Walter must add more to his collection to gain the fame he wants...but where is that next masterpiece going to come from?

Aside from being a cheap black comedic exploitation thriller, A Bucket of Blood is also a commentary on the art world. Anything can pass for a masterpiece when it comes to being 'creative' (shown by that strange woman with a bed in real life), and a dead cat certainly fits that bill. The film also comments on the fact that one masterpiece isn't enough for an 'artist' to cement themselves in the annals of history and thus they need several. Dick Miller's portrayal of the aspiring artist at the centre of the tale isn't award worthy, but he does a very good job. The character is naive, with an air of pathos, spanning from a need to be accepted, and Dick Miller captures this essence so well that you cant imagine anyone else in the role. I really enjoy seeing Miller on screen and it's a shame he didn't get more roles as he has a lot of potential for playing characters of this sort.

This film is an obvious predecessor to many other indie themed exploitation thrillers, such as The Driller Killer and is important for that reason. The jazz styling makes a nice atmosphere for the movie and it helps to capture the pseudo-cool jazz trend that is often associated with art in the late 50's and early 60's. And, aside from everything I've said so far; this film is just really good. It's a lot of fun and many of things shown on screen are really funny. There's also some lovely death sequences including, most notably, someone being cut in half with a buzz saw. Naturally (considering this was made in 1959), we don't get to see the death, but it still happens and it's not Corman's fault he couldn't show it. This film is a damn good time and it's a shame that it hasn't gained itself a more established following the forty-five years since it's release. Recommended viewing.

A Bucket of Blood (1959)

Beats, Artists, and a Sweet Tempered Killer

This is a romp, a riot, and a rebellious ripoff. Most of all it's rotten, so rotten it's terrific. It's a must see, in a way, for anyone into the beats, and into C-grade horror films.

Is it good at all? Yes, yes! As clumsy as it is, Bucket of Blood has an innovative (if ridiculous) plot. It has an unlikely hero who meets an unlikely demise. It has real poetry, and real hep cat talk (of the lowest form, but hey, show me more fun). It has mood, heroes and villains, a chase scene (on foot), stupid broads and stupid cats and funny situations.

One key to liking this kind of thing is to remember that the filmmakers, even if on a starvation budget, are no idiots. Director Roger Corman most of all. They know they are making a laugh-out-loud send up of horror films, and they know the beat slang is absurd, and they know the plot is crazy, man. So you can have fun with them, and really get a good laugh, and a little chill, and a weird reminder that in some sad sad happy way, this is what it was like in smaller city coffeehouses where Ginsberg never set foot but where Corman and crew did. Even the photography, led by Jacques R. Marquette (of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman fame, quote unquote), is really worth watching.

There is nothing like it.