A Bucket of Blood (1959)
-
73% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
62% of users liked it
(4,738 ratings)
A fine example -- perhaps the best available -- of "B"-movie overlord Roger Corman's "Weekend Wonders" from the producer/director's early career (see also the original Little Shop of Horrors), this horror-comedy was also the first of beloved actor Dick Miller's… More A fine example -- perhaps the best available -- of "B"-movie overlord Roger Corman's "Weekend Wonders" from the producer/director's early career (see also the original Little Shop of Horrors), this horror-comedy was also the first of beloved actor Dick Miller's dozen-odd portrayals of the character Walter Paisley. A geeky waiter and busboy at a happening Beatnik café, Walter is intensely jealous of the swinging social lives of the artistic types who hang there. A bizarre twist of fate changes everything; when Paisley accidentally kills his landlady's cat, his frantic attempts to hide the body lead him to encase it in a layer of clay, creating a morbid sculpture -- which is eventually discovered and hailed as an artistic triumph by the unwitting Bohemian art crowd. (When asked what he's named the piece, the befuddled Walter stammers, "Uhh... Dead Cat?") Beset by numerous requests for similar "truthful" works, the moronic Paisley is forced to find inspiration -- a matter which is readily solved when a nosy undercover cop tries to slap a heroin-possession charge on him and finds himself on the business end of a cast-iron skillet. Before long, the creative urge prods Walter to narrow the competition by whacking his peers with various blunt or sharp implements, and the demand for more sculptures just keeps growing. Miller's tour-de-force performance, writer Charles B. Griffith's hilarious "Daddy-O" dialogue, and Corman's emphasis on the story's more lurid aspects raise this bargain-basement production (ultra-cheap even by Corman's standards) to classic status. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Directed By
- Roger Corman
- Written By
- Charles B. Griffith
- Genres
- Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Oct 21, 1959 Wide
- On DVD
- Jan 25, 2005
- Studio
- American Pop
Critic Reviews
-
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
A monolith of lowbrow entertainment from the days when cheap movies could be made and marketed cheaply.
-
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
One of Corman's best.
-
Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
Classic Corman camp comedy, with the original Dick Miller performance as Walter Paisley.
-
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A true cult film delight from the 1950s made for all eras.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Subscription Services
Cast
-
Dick Miller
as Walter Paisley
-
Barboura Morris
as Carla
- Antony Carbone
-
Julian Burton
as Maxwell Brock
-
Ed Nelson
as Art Lacroix
-
Anthony Carbone
as Leonard De Santis
-
John Brinkley
as Will
-
Judy Bamber
as Alice the Awful
-
Myrtle Domerel
as Mrs. Surchart
-
Jhean Burton
as Naolia
-
John Herman Shaner
as Oscar
-
Bert Convy
as Lou Raby
-
Alex Gottlieb
as Singer
-
Bruno Ve Sota
as Art Collector
- Bruno VeSota
- Myrtle Damerel