Roger Corman

[Laughing Gravy]

Okay, granted, the guy's made a lot of movies that aren't steller. Or even very good. Okay, they're crappy. But for the budgets he's had, Roger Corman's done a terrific job of entertaining his audience, something that somebody like Brian DePalma isn't able to do with $50 million. Here's some memorable ones:

THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED: Life after Earth is nuked. A really nifty monster with itty-bitty monsters growing on its shoulders.

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD: Peter Graves! Lee Van Cleef! Beverly Garland! And a giant cucumber from Venus that craps these big bats that bite people and turn 'em into slaves. Imagine INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS made for 1/3 the budget.

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS: Technically, only one monster. One of Corman's most ridiculous (the crab doesn't walk sideways, and it has Bette Davis eyes. Really!). Still a lot of fun.

NOT OF THIS EARTH: The original and the best. Beverly Garland is attacked by a vampire alien.

THE UNDEAD: Whoah! A hooker is hypnotized and finds out that in a previous life, she was a witch who hung out with dwarves and devils.

ROCK ALL NIGHT: Russell "The Professor from Gilligan's Island" is a mad-dog killer! What else do you need to know?

MACHINE GUN KELLY: A break-through role for Charles Bronson. Morey Amsterdam gets eaten by a tiger. Partially, anyway.

THE WASP WOMAN: An unsung classic. Susan Cabot, who was later brutally murdered by her own son, stars as the Queen Wasp.

THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: "Feed me!"

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM: Vincent Price at his hammy best.

THE INTRUDER: A forgotten minor gem. Corman says it got the best reviews of any of his pictures, but was the first one he ever made that lost money. William Shatner in a story about racial prejudice in the south.

TALES OF TERROR: A tour-de-farce for Price, Basil Rathbone, and Peter Lorre.

THE RAVEN: Price and Lorre are joined by Boris Karloff in a sorceror's duel that beats anything in the recent Harry Potter film. One of my most anticipated DVD releases.

X (THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES): Ray Milland can see through clothes, and eventually through everything else. Don Rickles' best dramatic role.

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH: Corman's masterpiece; Vincent Price is evil Prince Prospero, who discovers a terror greater than himself. Where, oh where, is the DVD?

THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE: Corman's best cast by far includes Jason Robards and George Segal.

BLOODY MAMA: Shelley Winters is Ma Barker (just as she would be on TV's BATMAN). Don Stroud and Robert DeNiro are two of her sons.

[Wirehed]

My wife and I love Roger Corman movies. I'm not sure I can put them in any kind of order though.

[Rouge 2]

The best thing that Corman did was give a start to Coppola(who gave a start to Lucas!), Scorsese, Jack Nicolson, James Cameron and lots more. He started these guys out and without him they may not have ever entered the industry.

Every time you watch Star Wars, Raging Bull, The Godfather, As Good as it Gets, and the Terminator - give a mini special thanks to Rog