A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
|
|
|
World of Westfahl |
Encyclopedia Introduction |
All Entries |
Acknowledgements
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
(1926– ). American director and producer.
Directed: The
Tower of London
(1962); The Tomb of Ligeia (1964).
Produced: Monster
from the Ocean Floor (and appeared in, uncredited) (Wyott Ordung 1954);
Night of the Blood Beast (Bernard L.
Kowalski 1958); The Brain Eaters (Bruno
VeSota 1958); Attack of the Giant Leeches
(Kowalski 1959); Beast from Haunted
Cave (Monte Hellman 1959); Battle Beyond
the Sun (Mikhail Karzhukov, Aleksandr Kozur, and Francis Ford Coppola 1960);
Dementia 13 (Coppola 1963); Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (uncredited)
(Curtis HARRINGTON 1965); Blood Bath (uncredited)
(and appeared in) (Jack Hill and Stephanie Rothman 1966); Queen of Blood (Harrington 1966);
The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (uncredited) (Michael A. Hoey 1966);
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women
(Peter Bogdanovich 1966); Targets
(Bogdonavich 1968); The Dunwich Horror (Daniel Haller 1970); Ivanna (José
Luis Merino 1970); Beast of the Yellow Night (Eddie Romero
1970); The Cremators (Harry Essex
1972); Night of the Cobra Woman (Andrew
Meyer 1972); The Twilight People (Romero
1973); The Final Programme (Robert
Fuest 1973); The Fantastic Planet (animated)
(René Laloux 1973); The
Down and Dirty Duck (animated) (Charles Swenson 1974); Death Race 2000 (Paul Bartel 1975);
Deathsport (Henry Suso and Allan Arkush 1978); Piranha (Joe DANTE 1978); The
Bees (Alfredo Zacarias 1978); Galaxy
Express (animated) (Rintaro 1979); The Island of the Fishmen (Sergio
Martino 1979); Up from the Depths (Charles
B. Griffith 1979); Humanoids from the
Deep (Barbara Peters 1980); Battle Beyond
the Stars (Jimmy T. Murakami 1980); The Territory (Raoul Ruiz 1981);
Galaxy of Terror [Mindwarp: An Infinity of
Terror; Planet of Horrors] (Bruce
D. Clark 1981); Android (Aaron Lipstadt 1982); Forbidden
World [Mutant] (Allan Holzman
1982); Sorceress (Jack Hill 1982); Spaceship (Bruce Kimmel 1983);
Space Raiders (Howard R. Cohen 1983); Deathstalker (James Sbardellati 1983);
School Spirit (Alan Holleb 1985); Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (Hector
Olivera 1985); Barbarian Queen (Olivera
1985); Amazons (Alejandro Sessa
1986); Shadow Play (Susan Shadburne
1986); House (Steve Miner 1986); Chopping Mall (Jim WYNORSKI 1986);
Mountain top Motel Massacre (Jim
McCullough Sr. 1986); Sorority House
Massacre (Carol Frank 1986); Deathstalker
II (Wynorski 1987); Munchies (Tina
Hirsch 1987); House II: The Second Story (uncredited)
(Ethan Wiley 1987); Slumber Party
Massacre II (Deborah Brock 1987); Andy
Colby's Incredible Adventure (Brock 1988); The Lawless Land (Jon Hess 1988);
The New Gladiators (Joe Ritter 1988); Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (Alfonso Corona 1988);
Dance of the Damned (Katt Shea 1988); Apprentice to Murder (Ralph L. Thomas
1988); Watchers (Hess 1988); Crime Zone (Luis Llosa 1988);
Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back
(Joe Finley 1989); Masque of the Red
Death (Larry Brand 1989); Lords of
the Deep (and acted in) (Mary Ann Fisher 1989); Time Trackers (Cohen 1989);
The Terror Within (Thierry Notz 1989); Wizards
of the Lost Kingdom II (Griffith 1989); Warlock
(Miner 1989); Sorority House Massacre
II (Wynorski 1990); Transylvania
Twist (Wynorski 1990); Ultra Warrior
(Augusto Tamayo San Rom´n and Kevin Tent 1990);
Dune
Warriors (Cirio H. Santiago 1990); The
Terror Within II (Andrew Stevens 1990); Watchers
II (Notz 1990); The Haunting of
Morella (Wynorski 1990); Deathstalker
II: Match of Titans (Cohen 1990); Slumber
Party Massacre III (Sally Mattison 1990); Immortal Sins
Hervé Hachuel 1991); Dead Space (Fred Gallo 1991);
The Unborn (Rodman Flender 1991); Future Kick (Damian Klaus 1991);
Munchie (Wynorski 1992); Raiders of the Sun (Santiago 1993);
The Skateboard Kid (Larry Swerdlove
1993); To Sleep with a Vampire (Adam
Friedman 1993); Dracula Rising (Fred
Gallo 1993); Stepmonster (Jeremy
Stanford 1993); Carnosaur (Adam Simon
and Darren Moloney 1993); Quake (video)
(Louis Morneau 1993); New Crime City (Jonathan
Winfrey 1994); Demon Keeper (Joe
Tomatore 1994); The Unborn II (Rick
Jacobson 1994); Revenge of the Red Baron
(Robert Gordon 1994); The Fantastic Four (Oley Sassone 1994); Dinosaur Island (Fred Olen RAY and
Wynorski 1994); Watchers III (Jeremy Stanford 1994);
Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys (Charles Gale 1995); Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds
(uncredited) (Ray 1995); Caged Heat 3000
(Aaron Osborne 1995); Carnosaur 2
(Morneau 1995); [Roger Corman Presents] Suspect
Device (tv movie) (Rick Jacobson 1995); [Roger
Corman Presents] The Alien Within (tv movie) (Scott P. Levy 1995); [Roger Corman Presents] Sawbones (tv
movie) (Catherine Cyran 1995); [Roger
Corman Presents] Virtual Seduction (tv movie) (Paul Ziller 1995); [Roger Corman Presents] Bram Stoker's
"Burial of the Rats" (tv movie) (Dan Golden 1995); [Roger Corman Presents] The Black Scorpion
(tv movie) (Winfrey 1995); [Roger Corman
Presents] Not Like Us (tv movie) (David Payne 1995); [Roger Corman Presents] Wasp Woman (tv movie) (Wynorski 1995);
[Roger Corman Presents] Not of This Earth
(tv movie) (Terry Winkless 1995); [Roger
Corman Presents] Dark Secrets [A Bucket of Blood] (tv movie) (Michael James
McDonald 1995); [Roger Corman Presents] Piranha
(tv movie) (Levy 1995); [Roger Corman
Presents] Last Chance [Terminal Virus] (tv movie) (Golden 1995); [Roger Corman Presents] Hellfire (tv
movie) (David Tausik 1995); Droid Gunner (Ray
1995); Vampirella (video) (Wynorski
1996); [Roger Corman Presents] Humanoids
from the Deep (Jeff Yonis 1996); House
of the Damned [Spectre] (Scott P. Levy 1996); Bio-Tech Warrior (Bret McCormick 1996);
[Roger Corman Presents] Alien Avengers (tv movie) (Lev L. Spiro
1996); [Roger Corman Presents] Last Exit to
Earth (tv movie) (Shea 1996); [Roger Corman Presents] Flash Frames [Subliminal
Seduction] (tv movie) (Andrew Stevens 1996); Time Under Fire [Beneath the Bermuda Triangle] (Levy 1996);
Alien Terminator (Payne 1996); Inhumanoid (tv movie) (Victoria Muspratt
1996); Carnosaur 3: Primal Species (Winfrey
1996); The Haunted Sea (Golden and
Daniel Patrick 1997); Starquest II [Galactic Odyssey] (Fred Gallo 1997);
Black Scorpion II: Aftershock [Black Scorpion: Ground Zero] (Winfrey 1997);
Spacejacked (Jeremiah Cullinane
1997); Desert Thunder (Wynorski 1998);
Star Portal (Jon Purdy 1998); Falling Fire
[3 Minutes to Impact] (tv movie) (Daniel D'Or 1998); Watchers Reborn (John Carl Buechler 1998);
Alien Avengers II [Aliens
Among Us; Roger Corman Presents Alien
Avengers II; Welcome to Planet Earth]
(tv movie) (Payne 1998);A Very Unlucky Leprechaun (Brian Kelly 1998);
Club Vampire (Andy Ruben 1998);Future
Fear (Lewis Baumander 1998); Shepherd
(Peter Hayman 1999); Cybermaster (Eli
Necakov 1999); Knocking on Death's Door
(Mitch Marcus 1999); The Phantom Eye [Roger Corman's The Phantom Eye] (and
appeared in) (miniseries) (Gwyneth Gibby 1999); The Haunting of Hell
House [Henry James' The Haunting of
Hell House; The Ghostly Rental] (Marcus
1999); The White Pony (Kelly 1999); Nightfall
[Isaac Asimov's Nightfall] (video) (Gibby
2000); The Doorway (Michael B.
Druxman 2000); Termination Man (Gallo
2000); Black Scorpion (tv series) (2001); Raptor (video) (Wynorski 2001);
Slaughter
Studios (video) (Brian Katkin 2002); Sting
of the Black Scorpion (video; re-edited episodes of Black Scorpion) (Stanley Yung 2002); Wolfhound (video) (Donovan
Kelly 2002); Dinocroc (Kevin O'Neill 2004); Saurian
(tv movie) (Buechler 2006); Scorpius
Gigantus (Tommy Withrow 2006).
Wrote:
Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype (with Charles
B. Griffith) (Griffith 1980).
Appeared in: The Howling (uncredited) (Dante 1981); The
Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan DEMME 1991); John Carpenter Presents "Body Bags" (John CARPENTER and
Tobe HOOPER 1993); Apollo 13 (Ron HOWARD 1995); Scream 3
(Wes CRAVEN 2000); Looney Tunes: Back
in Action (Dante 2003); The
Manchurian Candidate (Demme 2004).
Appeared in
Documentaries: Roger Corman: Hollywood's
Wild Angel (Christian Blackwood 1978); The
Horror of It All (Gene Feldman and
Suzette Winter 1983); The Horror Hall of
Fame (Ron de Moraes 1990); "Creature Articulation: The Art of Imitation"
(1994), episode of Movie Magic; 100 Years of Horror (series of
documentary videos) (Ted Newsom 1996); A-Z of Horror (documentary miniseries)
(Ursula MacFarlane 1997); "Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain" (1997),
episode of Biography; Inside the Labyrinth: The Making of The
Silence of the Lambs (Jeffrey Schwartz 2001); A
Galaxy Far, Far Away (Tariq Jalil 2001); It Conquered Hollywood!: The Story
of American International Pictures (Eamon Harrington and John Watkin 2001); The
Wicker Man Enigma (David Gregory 2001); Burnt
Offering: The Cult of The Wicker Man (Andrew Abbott and Russell Leven
2001); Mario Bava: Operazione Paura (Gabriele Acerbo and Roberto Pisoni 2004);
Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen (Michael
Palm 2004); Jonathan Demme and the Making
of The Manchurian Candidate (2004); The
Perfect Scary Movie (2005); Playing
the Game: Looking Back at Death Race 2000 (Robert Nunez 2005); The Sci-Fi Boys
(Paul Davids 2006); Working with a Master: Joe Dante (video documentary short) (Frank
H. Woodward 2006); Comedy Central Roast
of William Shatner (Joel Gallen 2006).
Presented: Dinocroc (Kevin O'Neill 2004).
Received Thanks or
Special Thanks: Reel Radicals: The
Sixties Revolution in Film (documentary) (Lewis A. Bogach and Don
Fizzinoglia 2002); Unleashing the Beast:
Making The Howling (video documentary) (Jeffrey Schwartz 2003); Targets: An Introduction by Peter
Bogdanovich (short) (Laurent Bouzereau 2003); Frog-g-g (Cory Jarrett 2004).
First, considering his directorial career, one must begin with
an unpleasantly blunt assessment: Roger Corman was a lousy director. And please
do not say that he was a lousy director only because he was hampered by little
money, inept talent, and insufficient time; for in the 1960s, when he was
blessed with larger budgets, better casts and crews, and more leisurely
shooting schedules, his films did not noticeably improve—indeed, in most
respects they grew worse. And in 1990, when he briefly returned to directing
with a worthwhile project (based on a novel by Brian W. Aldiss) and all the resources
that a wealthy producer could provide, the resulting film, Frankenstein Unbound, was still a conspicuous mediocrity.
However, while his films provide no evidence of any special skills
in directing, Corman still merits considerable praise, for he is also a
consistently interesting director.
His early films bristle with energy, since he seems to be driving everyone on
the set to work at a frenzied pace, as if thinking, "Hey, if we finish this one
two days early, we can shoot another film on the same sets." Thus, while the
contemporaneous films of Edward L. CAHN fascinate us with the stultifying
spectacle of life in slow motion, Corman's films fascinate in precisely the
opposite fashion, displaying life in fast forward. And while he may be working
quickly, Corman also strives at all times to put something unusual, something
unexpected, into each of his films, whether it is a surprising plot device—the human Quisling assisting the alien invader of It
Conquered the World or the surprise ending of Teenage Caveman—or a striking
visualization—like the carnivorous plant of The Little Shop of Horrors or the strangely erotic scene when Ray
MILLAND's X—The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
realizes that he can see people naked, as revealed to audiences solely by
means of dancing feet. In sum, just when some cringe-inducing awkwardness is
about to make you switch the channel, Corman is capable of stunning you with a
brilliancy. This does not make him, I emphasize again, a genuinely talented
director, but a filmmaker who never slows down and never bores you definitely
stands out in the milieu of 1950s science fiction films, which is why his
efforts have been widely celebrated.
His films of the 1960s, however, command less attention: the Poe
adaptations thrust Corman, very much a man in tune with today's society, into
the stilted, alien world of the nineteenth century, and his larger budgets led
him to emphasize garish color and lavish sets at the expense of other cinematic
virtues. Brightly decorated with nary a shadow in sight, and hampered by the
ever-insincere Vincent PRICE, they are not really horror films, but rather
constipated comedies. (The Raven, by
any rational consideration one of his worst efforts, may earn occasional
compliments only because it at least was openly intended to be comedic.) Still, once out of Poe's clutches, Corman
did come up with two final gems, the amusingly dated The Trip and the post-apocalyptic Gas-s-s-s, Or It Became Necessary
to Destroy the World in Order to Save It,a flawed but intriguing capstone to his entire career filled
with sly references to science fiction, teenage romps, and Edgar Allan Poe.
But Corman was always a producer as well as a director, and as
the 1960s progressed he noticed something that he deemed highly significant:
the films he had invested special efforts in, and the better films of his
colleagues, did not seem to make any more money than his company's less
distinguished productions. In the realm of B-movies, he concluded, success bore
little relationship to quality; rather, turning a tidy profit hinged upon
matters like a clever concept, a well-chosen title, an attractive poster, and/or
good timing. Thus, recognizing that planning and marketing movies were the forms
of creativity most likely to result in rich rewards, Corman turned all of his
energies into producing, hiring other people to perform the chores of directing
films that were guaranteed to be successful regardless of their aesthetic virtues.
Compiling the extensive results of his long producing career,
and sorting out items of genre interest from the routine thrillers and
shoot-em-ups, proved to be a time-consuming chore which further delayed the
completion of this entry, and the results, all in all, make for depressing
reading. The Corman system is obvious enough: first, you churn out a steady
stream of formulaic fare, featuring lots of blood and lots of breasts, which
can reliably earn money in venues like small-town theatres, foreign countries,
television, and/or the direct-to-video market; in addition, you accumulate a
library of other potential projects of every conceivable nature, and you always
keep your eyes on the trade journals. Then, when Arnold SCHWARZENEGGER is set
to appear in Red Sonja (1985), you
unveil something called Barbarian Queen,
and when Steven SPIELBERG is getting ready to release Jurassic
Park (1993), you dust off a scenario called Carnosaur—confident that the massive
publicity for the major releases will, as one side effect, generate a modicum
of interest in your cheap knock-offs. Finally, to keep everyone on their toes,
you occasionally toss out something completely unexpected—a biography of
Albert Schweitzer? (Light in the Jungle:
The Story of Albert Schweitzer [1990]?) Well, Corman may have said to
persuade his skeptical colleagues, maybe we can take the high road for once while
still slipping in some bare-breasted native women for our steady customers ….
And let us put to rest one enduring myth about Corman's
producing career: that he had a marvelous eye for spotting "new talent." All
Corman has ever kept an eye out for is cheap talent, competent craftspersons
willing to work for peanuts. Occasionally, of course, such a search will lead
to people with genuine skills in directing (like Joe DANTE) or genuine skills
in insinuating themselves into the Hollywood hit-making machinery (like Ron
HOWARD,
who launched his career with Corman's Grand Theft Auto [1977]); but Corman's roster of discoveries
includes many others who have failed to distinguish themselves in any way (have
you been to any Jimmy Murakawi film festivals recently?).
But again, I must back away from comments suggesting hostility
to Corman to express appreciation for Corman's contributions in a third area,
as a performer. It is not simply that, whenever he is asked to play a small
role in a film, such as Dante's Looney
Tunes: Back in Action, he consistently does a professional job; I am
thinking more about his performances as himself, in interviews and
documentaries, where he consistently emerges as a likable, down-to-earth person
who genuinely loves bad movies and the people who make bad movies. I still
recall with affection the time when he served as host to an AMC showing of some
1990s Godzilla films, noting wryly while introducing Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995) that the oxygen-destroying machine in
the original Godzilla (1954) had
"rather belatedly" resulted in the creation of a new monster; for Corman is a
man who fully realizes that, if there is money to be made by creating a sequel,
any premise, no matter how ludicrous, will suffice.
What finally protects Corman from harsh condemnation, then, is
his complete lack of pretension regarding his chosen career and the world of second-tier
filmmaking he has entered and mastered. After all, the man has never presented
himself as a good director, or as a good producer, but only as someone intent
upon creating profitable products that, now and again, might be worth a second
look. And what's wrong with that? he asks. The would-be critic can say nothing
in response.
|
|||||||||||
To contact us about encyclopedia matters, send an email to Gary Westfahl. Hosted & Designed By:
If you find any Web site errors, typos or other stuff worth mentioning,
please send it to our Webmaster.
Copyright © 1999–2009 Gary Westfahl All Rights Reserved Worldwide
