Roger Corman still the cult classic king
Raised in Detroit before relocating to California at the age of 14 with his family, Roger Corman’s parents never suspected a simple gift would help drive their young son’s career towards Hollywood.
“I read Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher for a school assignment,” recalled Corman from his office in Los Angeles. “I really loved it and asked my parents for the complete works of Poe for Christmas one year. They were delighted because I could have asked for something less academic like a shotgun! I read every story and when I got the chance to make movies, Usher was the first Poe film I made.”
By then, in 1960, Corman was already a veteran filmmaker with 40 films to his credit. Beginning with a few westerns and crime dramas which he wrote in the 50s, Corman quickly established his niche as a director and producer in the world of low-budget, cult movies.
In addition to the Poe horror influence, a 1936 British sci-fi film also made an early impact on Corman.
“I would go to Saturday matinees and watch westerns and crime films. When I saw my first science fiction film, ‘Things to Come,’ it awoke my interest in scifi. It continues to this day with my current project, ‘Death Race 2050,’ which is an updated remake of my black scifi comedy ‘Death Race 2000’ from
1975.”
Crowned by fans and critics as the King of the B-movies, Corman – who turned 90 this year – has produced and/or directed over 400 films. Eight were based on the works of Poe although in 1963’s “The Raven” he tempered the author’s usual dark themes with light comedy.
Transposing Poe’s famed narrative poem to film, Corman signed up Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff and says the trio of Hollywood legends got along well.
“There was no battle of egos, just a little discussion about technique. Peter loved to improvise but Boris did not. Boris pointed out he was a classically trained actor who learned his lines from the script and came prepared to deliver them as written. ‘It puts me off’ he told me of Peter’s improvisations. I told Peter I loved what he did, but that we needed to stay a bit closer to the script.”
While Price starred in most of Corman’s Poe films, he used Ray Milland in “Premature Burial” as well the 1962 non-Poe horror sci-fi thriller “X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes.”
“Whereas Vincent was always sort of a character star, Ray was this handsome leading man who played romantic roles so he brought a different quality to the screen. ‘X’ was also one of Don Rickles’ first films. I was surprised that Don was actually a little nervous because he was known as this brash comedian. But I reminded him this was a movie, and that we could do the scenes over if needed and that put him at ease.”
Like many directors, Corman often drew from a stable of favorite actors such as Price, as well as Ed Nelson, Jack Nicholson, and many others. Dick Miller first appeared in Corman’s “Apache Woman” in 1955 and would go on to appear in dozens of Corman films.
“I was a not very successful writer at the time and a friend, who was working with Roger, said he would put a plug in for me,” recalled Miller from Los Angeles. “When Roger told me he needed actors, not writers, I said ‘I’m an actor too!’ So he hired me and I probably wouldn’t have been in this business as an actor if it wasn’t for Roger.”
Miller appeared in hundreds of films and TV shows, his career being featured in the 2014 documentary, “That Dick Miller Guy” (see www.thatguydickmiller.com).
With Halloween approaching, several Corman films have been featured on cable channels in October. Turner Classic Movies will broadcast “Dementia 13” on the 31st.
So what can today’s budding filmmakers take away from viewing Roger Corman films?
“It’s not so much watching them but understanding how they were made – the preparation and willingness to deviate when necessary especially if you’re on a low budget,” said Corman. “I also took every film I made seriously and did my best on every one.”