User reviews

Not including almost every entry in the terrific Edgar Allen Poe cycle he did, "A Bucket of Blood" unquestionable is Roger Corman's best and most entertaining film. And – coincidentally or not – this movie also contains many references towards Poe (a walled-up cat!!), so maybe Corman simply needs the legendary horror author's oeuvre in order to deliver great movies? "A Bucket of Blood" is a truly slick and ingenious little quickie that terrifically blends the classic terror premise of "Mystery of the Wax Museum" with the typical psychotronic-humor that Corman largely invented himself. Corman regular Dick Miller (terribly underrated throughout his whole career) gives away a near-perfect performance as Walter Praisley, a clumsy waiter and wannabe artist whose biggest wish to get as famous as the talkative stars he serves coffee to every day. His dream accelerates rapidly and unexpectedly when he covers his landlady's dead cat in clay and people proclaim it an art-masterpiece. Walter naturally enjoys his easily earned artist-status but he also realizes that he'll have to move on to bigger (read: bloodier) projects if he wants to stay in the picture. Dick Miller's exhilarating acting together with Charles Griffith's wit scripting skills, makes this a very fun production that every cult-film fan will enjoy watching. Although chuckles clearly have the upper hand in "A Bucket of Blood", Corman doesn't ignore the horror entirely and some of the death-sequences are definitely more chilling than the ones featuring in other contemporary and "serious" horror movies.

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.

Purportedly made in five days, A Bucket of Blood is one of those films that just seems to grow on you after each viewing(beginning with the first!). Dick Miller plays his most substantial role in his long and varied career as a very stupid, amoral busboy for a beatnik cafe. His name is Walter Paisley and he wants to "fit" in with all the other cool cats at the cafe like the pompous Maxwell who recites poetry, the two clowns higher than kites that just take space and never order any coffee, the cafe owner Leonard that wears the trappings of being a beatnik but is more concerned about making a buck, the lovely artist Carla that wants to be surrounded by creative and artistic people, and a host of other beatnik types. Walter, by a set of bizarre and ridiculous circumstances, takes a cat he accidentally killed and covers it with clay. He brings it in to his "friends" and that laud him as a great and gifted artist. From there Walter works his way up to human sculptures. The story is filled with loads of black humour including a heavy dose of fun poked at the beatnik culture. Miller plays Paisley wonderfully with a certain innocence. All the acting is pretty good with a few stand-outs. Anthony Carbone as Leonard adds a lot of credibility to the film with his more realistic performance, and he has some of the best lines and facial expressions. Barboura Morris is beautiful and credible. But the top acting honors easily go to Julian Burton(where is this guy now?) as Maxwell. He is the poet that makes every word sound as if art were dripping from his tongue. He recites lines like, "Life is an obscure hobo bumming a free ride on the omnibus of art" and "ring rubber bells, clang cotton gongs, strike silken cymbols." He is wonderfully over-the-top in his whole portrayal and always makes me laugh with that garbage he utters. Director Roger Corman has little budget to work with here, but he makes a minor masterpiece with what he did have to work with. Walter Paisley is Born. And he lives on in video and dvd!

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.

Nobody in the film-making industry ever got more out of less than the legendary Roger Corman, and "A Bucket of Blood" is a prime example of his work. Granted, the movie was made in five days on a budget of $50,000. Yes, there are no big-name stars in the cast. Nevertheless, I have seen many, many movies produced on enormous budgets, and with "A- List" casts, that are far less entertaining than A.B.O.B.

"A Bucket of Blood" was also unquestionably Dick Miller's finest hour. Miller plays Walter Paisley, a nebbish of a busboy working in a hip coffee shop frequented by the sort of arty "Beatnik" types well-known in the 1950s. Walter desperately wants to belong to the arty beat crowd, but he lacks both the intellect and the talent. Nevertheless, he manages to stumble upon a means of artistic expression that gains him acceptance, at lest for a while. Only the jaded café owner suspects what Walter has really been up to, but he is unwilling to let on because of the high prices he is getting for selling Walter's "art".

This film works because everybody in it seemed to have been having as much fun making it as the viewer has seeing it. the movie also works because it is something most horror movies nowadays are not, it is clever and well-written. In fact, apart from anything else, A.B.O.B. is worth seeing for its' juicy satire of the 1950s "Beat" culture alone, something that was very current at the time the movie was made, but which has long disappeared today.

"A Bucket of Blood" was made during the same period, and featured many of the same cast members, as Roger Corman's more-famous movie, "The Little Shop of Horrors". Both include the same mix of horror and humor, and there is no doubt that fans of T.L.S.O.H. would enjoy A.B.O.B. equally much. The two would make a great double-feature, or a great double-release on DVD.

Last night, I saw Dario Argento's The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. Tonight I watched Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood. Good thing I saw the Argento film first, because after Corman's skewed, but hilarious take on art, fashion, society and murder, I would have had trouble taking Bird seriously. Playing with the cliches of 50s hipster noir, Corman and his cast had a ball with this story of a nobody -- played by Dick Miller in the defining role of his career -- who becomes a renowned bohemian artist. Shot in an absurdly short time (3 days according to legend) on a budget that wouldn't have bought dinner for a major studio's crew, the movie is consistently engaging and funny. Always witty, with inspired, goofy beatnik poetry, a cast of eccentrics, and those great exterior shots that characterize Corman's black and white movies, Bucket is drive-in cinema at its finest. Is art murder? Are art dealers accomplices? Is this movie art? Well, no, but it's not murder either.

I really got a kick out of this. First of all, Corman pokes fun at the vapid artists that were part of the coffeehouse scene of the fifties. They are so full of themselves as to be caricatures. I knew some of these guys--all shadow and no substance. Walter, the main character, finds a way to turn dead bodies into sculptures, using clay, and is immediately embraced by this pompous crowd, showing they have no knowledge of anything. As it goes on, he has to begin killing more and more, just like Seymour in "Little Shop." His standing is based on decaying bodies. I suppose Corman just ignored this. Eventually, things would collapse, but that doesn't matter because it isn't a serious movie. My copy had a television quality to it. I wonder if it was a kine-scope. Anyway, see this for the characters. Suspend your disbelief and go from there.

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.

This might be Corman's best movie out of all his works (it is definitely my favorite) and it is loved and praised many cult horror fans (still not enough in my opinion). Horror comedy and satire are both very hard genres to make them work (horror comedies are usually not horrifying nor funny, at least not in the right way) and satire is hard to capture and carries on without sounding or looking bitter, but Corman manages both aspects magnificently and mostly thanks to smartly written screenplay by Charles B. Griffith. The film truly stands the test of time as its satire works today as well, maybe even better when the world is infested with pretentious hipster wannabes who crave to be praised as deep and meaningful artist while just being hacks. In this case, satire works on many levels - it only doesn't successfully mock beatnik culture of that era, but also Corman's previous films as well.

Dick Miller gives nuanced and wonderful performance as Walter Paisley, a dimwitted and impressionable busboy who more than anything wants to be an artist. Miller keeps the awkward clumsiness at right level without overacting once so Walter doesn't turn into cheap slapstick hero. The depth given into Walter makes the viewer feel compassion towards him before he starts his killing spree. Even after that it is hard not to feel sorry for him.

The film suffers from many low production values typical for Corman's film. There are enough plot holes and inconsistencies that reduce the film into 'just another B-movie' category (the screenplay is so well written that one can't go over nitpicking) but never takes away the entertainment value. It rather adds certain charm to the movie. Miller himself also has expressed dissatisfaction considering the low production values, as this could have been classic little film.

Although the poem read by Maxwell (Julian Burton) at the beginning of the film was meant to mock pretentious beatniks (and set the proper mood for community of artists) I kind off liked that really.

Just a wonderful movie. In Walter Paisley we trust.

If anyone is fed up with the pretentious nitwits that dictate what is good art, chances are you'll enjoy this classic campy tale. The protagonist is a weakling who works as a waiter at a beatnik coffee shop and hangs around psuedo artist snobs, sucking up their every last syllable as if it is a mocha frapuccino. He wants very much to carve a niche for himself in this group of losers and manages to do so when he makes a sculpture out of his landlady's dead cat! True to herd mentality, everyone is soon basking in this guy's coolness, singing his praises, and generally kissing his talentless behind. Only problem is, he keeps making sculptures from bodies! By the time these Bohemians catch on to the fact that this guy may not be so hip after all, the death toll has risen and laughter is abound. Also make sure to look out for the fat bearded character Maxwell, this guy is a total riot. The sad thing is every time I go to an open mike I meet some "poet" who is just like him. Great sardonic humor from the master of the macabre Roger Corman. 8/10

If you have an hour of your life to spare, this is definitely worthy of your time: a classic Corman black comedy! Nerdy beatnik coffeehouse busboy Walter (played by Dick Miller) takes a stab at being an artist, with amazingly good results. Now an overnight sensation in the art world, things get out of hand when he needs to advance his craft with new subjects.

One of the film's strong points is its hilariously droll skewering of the Folk movement and of the Beat lingo and attitudes which so characterized a certain fringe of society in the late 1950's. It's the kind of treatment one would later see in a Christohper Guest "mocumentary" in the 2000's.

There's no bucket, very little (if any) blood, but it's bloody humorous.

(Movie tag-line) - "Inside Every Artist Lurks.... A Madman!"

Now, here's a big bucket of ultra-cheap, 1950s, Horror that's so haywire, so laughable, and so bad that it's actually good (to the very last drop), that I think it quite rightfully deserves a 5-star rating for itself. Indeed!

This off-beat, black comedy tells the tale of how a bungling, frustrated and totally talentless busboy named Walter Paisley achieves his 15-minutes-of-fame and suddenly becomes what he's always dreamed of being - The New Darling of the Art World.

A Bucket Of Blood's story is set in the artsy-fartsy world of the 1950s Beatnik Culture where everything is just so cool and hip (ad nauseum). And reciting the most vacuous poetry imaginable is sure to win you raves of approval from all of the hep-cats and hep-gals without question.

While at home in his squalid flat, struggling hopelessly to create something worthwhile out of some clay, Paisley accidentally kills the landlady's cat that's gotten itself stuck in between the wall in his room.

Struck with the brainstorm of a dumb-bell, Paisley takes the cat, covers it with clay, and after seeing what a masterpiece he's "created", doesn't waste a minute to show it to all of his friends, passing it off as his own unique offering to the world of avant-garde art.

Naturally, all of the cool dudes (and dude-ettes) down at the Yellow Door Cafe are totally blown away by Paisley's new-found talent as a gifted sculptor.

But, of course, they want to see more.

And, so, now, in a freshly-ignited, murderous frenzy, Paisley obligingly delivers.

With its $50,000 budget and 5-day shooting schedule this "Roger Corman" quickie offers us a demented horror film with personality, where the shallowness of the Beatnik Generation (and the art world) is clearly mocked with a gleeful flair that cleverly melds itself into the very sarcastic roots of this picture.

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.

Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) is a dim-witted busboy at the beatnik café The Yellow Door. He tries to make a clay sculpture at home. He hears Frankie the cat in his wall. He tries to get him out using a knife and accidentally kills him. He covers the cat with clay and he becomes the toast of the club with his amazing cat 'sculpture'. This sets him off on a serious of killings and cover-ups using his clay.

It has some hilarious stuff with the slow innocent Walter. Director Roger Corman is making fun of the beatnik culture. Actually I don't find the beatnik stuff that funny and the music rather annoying. I guess you have to experience it at the time to truly feel the jokes. Walter turning evil isn't scary but it is good solid old-fashion horror. This is relatively well made despite its low budget.

This is a well known terror-comedy , it's a quickie but was shot for five days and is deemed one of Corman's best and funniest movies ever made although with lack budget .The picture concerns a geeky employee -Dick Miller- working at the Yellow Door café , he's a busboy named Walter Paisley . He's deeply impressed by Maxwell H. Brock's spontaneous poetry recital. Walter attempts to convince the Yellow Door patrons of his artistic potential. When his attempt at sculpting proves futile, Walter lashes out angrily at his landlady's cat and accidentally kills the animal . Later on , he feels ferocious desires , developing a bloodthirsty anger and is forced to murder for creation of his special sculpures . A Comedy of Errors! A Comedy of Terrors! .The Picture That'll Make You... sick sick SICK with Laughter!. Roger Corman's Cult Classic is Bloody Good Fun!.You'll be sick - from laughing!. Will YOU join his human museum?. You'll be sick, sick, sick - from laughing!. A new dimension in horror!. Inside every artist...Lurks a mad man!

Horror comedy blending black humor , parody , tongue-in-cheek and horror . The comedy is absurd and cheesy but gets its moments here and there . Incredible cheap but effective visual effects . Stars Dick Miller , a rare starring role for him , who gives overacting as a sculptor with a peculiar talent for lifelike artwork . This was his most memorable role would have to be that of the mentally unstable, busboy/beatnik artist Walter Paisley, whose clay sculptures are suspiciously lifelike . Corman enthusiasts will see thematic similarities to his subsequent work Little shop of horrors (1960) . As Little shop of horrors was made in a record breaking two days , while A Bucket of Blood was made in just five dias . This Corman terror/spoof noted for his magnificent beatnik atmosphere . The principal actors and technicians will repeat along with Corman in various films ,in fact, the picture belongs to horror-black comedy sub-genre as ¨A Little Shop of Horrors¨ and ¨Creature from the haunted sea¨, both of them written by Charles B. Griffith . In the film appears the Corman's ordinary actors as Barbara Mouris , Antony Carbone , Bruno VeSota ,and, of course, Dick Miller, who settled in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s , there he was noticed by producer/director Roger Corman, who cast him in most of his low-budget films, often as dislikeable sorts, such as a vacuum-cleaner salesman in Emisario de otro mundo (1957). , and he is also fondly remembered for his supporting role as the flower-eating Vurson Fouch in Corman's legendary Little Shop of Horrors (1960) and this Walter Pasley in A Bucket of Blood (1959) .

The picture contains an atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Jacques R. Marquette . There are also various technicians from Corman factory , as production designer Daniel Haller, producers Samuel Z. Arkoff , James H. Nicholson and wrtter Charles B. Griffith . The motion picture was well directed by the famous writer, producer , director Roger Corman. He made all kinds of genres , usually directing in a few days . As he made Westerns as The Oklahoma Man, Apache Woman, Five guns West . Monster Movies as Attack of the crab monsters, It conquered the world , Beast with a Million of Eyes, Viking Women and the sea Serpent , Frankenstein Unbound . Science Fiction as Gass, The man with X Ray eyes , Last Women on Earth . Youthful films as Carnival Rock, Rock at night , Sorority Girl, Teenage Doll. Mobster or Gangster movies as Bloody Mama, St Valentine Massacre, I Mobster , Machine Gun Kelly . But he especially shot Terror movies as The Undead, Tower of London, Haunted Palace , and Edgar Allan Poe saga as Fall of the Usher House, Tales of Terror, Raven, Terror, Pit and Pendulum , Tomb of Ligeia, Masque of Red Death , among others. Rating 6/10 . Acceptable and decent terror/comedy film .The flick will appeal to classic and cult movies fans.

I found this 66 minute flick quite amusing. The acting isn't even that bad for a film like this. The effects in some places are so awful (like the dead cat) that it actually adds to it's charm. This is the only role I have ever seen Dick Miller play a real nerdy character. Miller plays Walter Paisley, a nerdy busboy who is jealous of the talent and popularity of its artistic regulars. But after accidentally killing his annoying landlady's cat and hiding it in clay, his life changes. He shows off his work at his job and is quickly declared a great sculptor. His female interest at work even notices him but soon she begs to see more of his work. Walter realizes he can't really sculpt and needs more "bodies" to cover with clay. This movie is very similar to "The Little Shop of Horrors" which received a lot more attention. Charles Griffith wrote both screenplays and it shows. I however find this little movie to be just as charming. A good Corman flick if you're into this kind of thing. As a fun little side note -- At the time of its original release there was a promotion in the newspaper that made the offer, "If You Bring In A Bucket Of Blood To Your Local Theater, You Will Be Given One Free Admission." I hope no one complied...lol.

Daddy O, this is with out a doubt the coolest horror film with beatniks that has ever been produced, one viewing and you'll be pulling your bongos outa the closet and throwing paint at the wall. Beatniks, coffee, art, murder and a Paul Horn soundtrack, It's Crazy Man.

This very funny comedy-horror from Roger Corman was shot in five days. Its about a loser busboy with no artistic talent whatsoever who improbably impresses the local beatniks when he suddenly starts producing life-like clay statues. Turns out his masterpieces are in fact people he has murdered covered in a thin layer of clay! What really elevates this one is its hilarious digs at the Beat Generation - with pretentious poetry, over-earnest folk music, organic breakfasts and clueless art appreciation all part and parcel of the fun. Nice also to see Dick Miller in a rare lead role. I dig this scene Daddy-O!

This film was produced and directed by Roger Corman, the King of the B's. Corman directed a little over 50 films, but he produced seven times that many. He launched the careers of martin Scorsese, Francie Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdonovich, to name a few. he is a wizard of the low-budget film.

While this is a perfect example of that, it is still a fascinating work. It takes place in the land of beatniks. pretentious SOBs that think they are "hip." Walter (Dick Miller) was just a low functioning busboy. he wanted to be appreciated, but those around him were too busy loving themselves.

He stumbles upon a "talent" while he was trying to create and becomes a star. One cannot talk about his talent without giving away secrets, but suffice it to say, it makes for interesting theater.

An excellent example of Corman's work.

Really a great beatnik 50s flick that transports you wonderfully to that time period. Directed by Roger Corman this is one of his better thought of horror films away from the Edgar Allan Poe movies he was doing in the 60s.

Here Dick Miller takes centre stage and does a very good job in doing so. He plays Walter Paisley a name that Miller would play multiple times in his career funny enough. He is a truly weak and meek busboy who works at The Yellow Door, which is a smoky coffee shop. He does yearn to be like some of the people who stop by The Yellow Door and spout poetry like Maxwell H. Brock (wonderfully played by Julian Barton who makes this character quite memorable to me). So he starts wrapping dead bodies in clay to create art that the people just can't get enough of. A great twisted joke that runs the entire run time and like THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS screenwriter Charles B. Griffith brings a screenplay just oozing with a great sense of humour. Supposedly shot in only 5 days which is beyond incredible that you can get a picture this good with so little time on shooting. Also starring Ed Nelson and Bert Convy.

Walter (Dick Miller) is a far from bright busboy with aspirations, working at a beatnik cafe. When he accidentally kills a cat, he covers it in plaster and passes it off as art, which is well received, so he decides to follow up with larger subjects.

It's another cheap Corman film, so has gained something of a cult following. It is however not funny, well acted or exciting.