It probably helped that I saw "The Bloody Brood", a snobby and rather pretentious film that takes itself and the Beatnik culture a little too seriously. "A Bucket of Blood" is Roger Corman's take on these faux "artists" and gets to the heart of what lengths some people will go to attain such temporary fame. Walter Paisley, played masterfully by long time character actor Dick Miller, is such a person as he works his way up from a busboy who is ridiculed by the hipsters at the Yellow Door where his boss Leonard constantly reprimands him for talking to the guests to an overnight sensation. Miller will continue to employ the moniker Walter Paisley in future films as well. When Walter accidentally kills his cat he encases it in clay which makes it appear to those not in the know that Walter in fact sculpted a life-like rendition. When Leonard agrees to put his sculpture on display at the cafe they both work at it becomes an instant hit winning the approval of windbag Maxwell Brock who is the local beat poet artiste. Soon Walter is tasked with finding his next model which comes in the form of undercover cop Lou Raby (actor and future game show host Burt Convy) who attempts to arrest Walter on a mistaken drug charge. Walter kills him thus making Lou the first of his human sculptures that merely titillates the masses even more. When Leonard finds out the truth he suppresses it in order to cash in on a tasteless art dealer who will pay handsomely for Walter's work. This provides the comic relief as every time Leonard sees Walter's latest project he has to keep himself upright so as not to keel over from the shock. It's not long before Walter begins looking and acting the part of a highbrow virtuoso who becomes just as desperate for attention as his need for more "inspiration". A rather well done dark comedy from Roger Corman who was producing mostly trash like "Attack of the Giant Leeches" during this same time period. The acting is solid throughout the cast especially Julian Burton who seemed to relish his performance as the pompous Maxwell. It's amazing how sophisticated we've become in society in the sixty years since this movie came out. Instead of killing people for fame you can just star in your own porno. Instant notoriety. We've come a long way.
Review of A Bucket of Blood
