A Bucket of Blood (1959)

A dim-witted busboy finds acclaim as an artist for a plaster-covered dead cat that is mistaken as a skillful statuette. The desire for more praise soon leads to an increasingly deadly series of works.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay)

Stars:

Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dick Miller	...	Walter Paisley
Barboura Morris	...	Carla
Antony Carbone	...	Leonard de Santis
Julian Burton	...	Maxwell H. Brock
Ed Nelson	...	Art Lacroix
John Brinkley	...	Will
John Herman Shaner	...	Oscar (as John Shaner)
Judy Bamber	...	Alice
Myrtle Vail	...	Mrs. Swickert (as Myrtle Damerel)
Bert Convy	...	Lou Raby (as Burt Convy)
Jhean Burton	...	Naolia
Bruno VeSota	...	Art Collector (as Bruno Ve Soto)
Lynn Storey	...	Sylvia (as Lynne Storey)

Storyline

Walter Paisley, nerdy busboy at a Bohemian café, is jealous of the talent (and popularity) of its various artistic regulars. But after accidentally killing his landlady's cat and covering the body in plaster to hide the evidence, he is acclaimed as a brilliant sculptor - but his new-found friends want to see more of his work. Lacking any artistic talent whatsoever, Walter has to resort to similar methods to produce new work, and soon people start mysteriously disappearing...

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Plot Keywords:

sculptor | dead cat | beatnik | suicide by hanging | statue of a cat | 

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Taglines:

Inside every artist... Lurks a mad man!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The sets for this film would be re-used for Roger Corman's next production The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). They were previously used for The Diary of a High School Bride (1959).

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Goofs

When Carla and Walter and the others are sitting at the table Carla's hands and arms repeatedly change position between shots.

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Quotes

Maxwell H. Brock: Life is an obscure hobo, bumming a ride on the omnibus of art.

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Connections

Edited into FrightMare Theater: A Bucket of Blood (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Ballad of Tim Evans
("Go Down, You Murderer")
Music & Lyrics by Ewan MacColl
Performed by Alex Hassilev

User Reviews

"Walter Paisley Is Born"

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!

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Vermächtnis des Professor Bondi

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alta Vista Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1