Android (1982)

 

A strange doctor secretly experiments with androids on his space station. His assistant is Max, a curious android who wants to see the world and meet a girl. Criminals hide on their station and soon violence erupts.

From memory: Low budget, butt neatly assembled sci-fi drama is mildly entertaining with a slightly silly android coming-of-age story; Klaus Kinski, of course, is always worth the watch.

Halliwell*: "Cheaply made,but a bobby-dazzler science fiction addicts." 

Maltin***: "Entertaining sci-fi story...Charming, quirky ultra-low-budget film made on leftover sets from Roger Corman's BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS."

Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

 

A young woman arrives in Hollywood to try her luck as an actress. An incompetent agent hooks her up with a production company which specializes in low budget B-movie fair, plagued by strange deadly accidents.

From memory: Wildly uneven hit-or-miss spoof of the low budget film industry finds most of its humor by having been produced in the same way the films it makes fun of were made.

Halliwell (no star): "Bizarre action film spoof, with dialogue and a slim narrative added to action sequences taken from previous Roger Corman movies; it will mainly interest fans of Corman or of the other talents involved."

Maltin**1/2: "Shameless low-budgeter...Engaging nonsense and some funny gags (especially for film buffs and Corman devotees) - though not enough to completely hide the fact that this is a schlock movie." 

Der Stand der Dinge (1982)

 

The crew is running out of money to finish their film.

From memory: Arguably Wim Wenders' best movie is a sum of his work and his artistry and also presents the haphazardness of film-making, photographed in beautiful black-and-white images; alone, the entrance sequence of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film demonstrates what Wenders would Wenders himself could have done with such a project.

Halliwell*: "A sort of B movie about the making of a B movie and a reflection on the meaning of cinema, within the loose format of a thriller."

Maltin***: "Fascinating if uneven mystery...Interesting as a peek behind the scenes at the filmmaking process, and as a homage to Corman." 

Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

Day the World Ended (1955)

In a post-Apocalyptic world after an atomic war seven disparate people find themselves in a protected valley in the home of a survivalist and his beautiful daughter.

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

Scientists become trapped on a shrinking island with intelligent, murderous giant crabs.

She Gods of Shark Reef (1958)

Two brothers, one wanted for murder, are shipwrecked on an island inhabited by nubile young women who have amassed a valuable cache of pearls.

Laughable and extremely boring exotic adventure, one of Corman's worst.

On re-watching: It simply doesn't get better.

Maltin BOMB: "Location filming in Hawaii does nothing for this confusing tale..."

The Raven (1963)

 

A magician, who has been turned into a raven, asks a former sorcerer for help. 

From memory: At times hilarious horror comedy with a great cast genre stars goes on a bit too long, but the climactic finale makes it worth the waiting.

Halliwell*: "The rather splendid duel is a long time coming; the preliminaries are largely confined to chat in a single set, and the random jokes do not quite atone for the boredom."

Maltin***: "Funny horror satire...Climactic sorcerer's duel is a highlight."

 

 

 

 

Teenage Cave Man (1958)

A young man defies tribal laws and searches for answers. The result of his quest yields knowledge of past generations.

Silly caveman yarn with a twist ending has risible creatures and a banal message about civilization.

Maltin**: "...AIP quickie with predictable "surprise" ending."

Machine-Gun Kelly (1958)

The criminal exploits of Public Enemy number 1, George 'Machine-Gun' Kelly, during the 1930s.

Good crime drama with Bronson giving a convincing portrayal of the famous hoodlum as a mean-spirited, cowardly psychopath.

Maltin**1/2: "With typical efficiency, Corman gives this gangster chronicle pacing and more than passing interest. Bronson is fine in the title role."

War of the Satellites (1958)

An "unknown force" declares war against planet Earth when the United Nations disobeys warnings to cease and desist in its attempts at assembling the first satellite in the atmosphere.

Silly, low-budget sci-fi yarn is entertaining for what it's worth, but not more.

Maltin**: "Ruthless combination of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and KRONOS...Not so hot, but any movie with Dick Milleras a heroic scientist can't be all bad."

Michael Weldon/Psychotronic: ""It is one of Corman's dullest."

Carnival Rock (1957)

An ocean-side nightclub owner loves a singer who only has eyes for a gambler.

Quite doomy meldodrama, nicely made with a capable cast and some welcome musical interruptions.

Maltin**: "Forgettable melodrama..."

The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957)

A group of lonely Viking women build a ship and set off across the sea to locate their missing menfolk, only to fall into the clutches of the barbarians that also hold their men captive.

Pretty bad and fairly sexist nonsense with a boring story, bad acting and a laughable creature.

Halliwell (no star): "This claims to be'The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent' Viking Women, it turns out, are all leggy, slim blondes who wear skin-tight leather and plenty of eye-liner, and look incapable of even fixing their own make-up."

Maltin BOMB: "By any name, it stinks."

Rock All Night (1957)

Cloud Nine, the local teen hangout, has been taken over by a pair of escaped killers, who hold the local teens hostage. The bartender realizes it's up to him to save the kids.

Not-so-bad closed-room drama with lots of jive mumbo jumbo, and the music performances take up almost half of the running time.

Halliwell (no star): "Talky, cheap rock movie, with some occasionally bright dialogue, and a single set in which heavy drinkers philosophise and listen to a few indifferent numbers; at least, it doesn't take itself too seriously."

Maltin**: "OK Corman potboiler with better-than-average performances, and dig this - Johnson's one of the bad guys and Miller's the hero!"

The Undead (1957)

A beautiful woman is sent back in time via hypnosis to the Middle Ages where she finds she is suspected of being a witch, and subject to being executed.

Wildly imaginative and silly low-budget horror flick has atmosphere, humor and some memorable scenes (especially the witches' dance).

Halliwell (no star): "A tale told by the devil, but signifying no more than the usual ineptly acted fantasy."

Maltin***: "One of Corman's best early films...Lots of atmosphere and black humor, with a neat twist ending."

Not of This Earth (1957)

An alien agent from the distant planet Davana is sent to Earth via a high-tech matter transporter. There, he terrorizes Southern California in an attempt to acquire blood for his dying race, the result of a devastating nuclear war.

Although the plot is quite absurd, this sci-fi-horror quickie is made with some originality and good instinct for cinematic scenes; it also has a nice, memorable open ending.

Halliwell**: "Modestly budgeted minor sci-fi; original and competent."

Maltin**1/2: "Above-par low-budget entry...Good supporting cast; great bit by Dick Miller."

Naked Paradise (1957)

A gangster and his two henchmen try to get a boat to get off a tropical island after a botched robbery heist.

Low budget shows badly on this tediously talkative exotic crime drama with not much of a plot.

Maltin BOMB: "On-location filming can't salvage this balderdash..."

Gunslinger (1956)

After her husband is gunned down, a woman takes his place temporarily as Marshal of a small Western town.

Unusual and interesting, but not really good Western sets a tough woman in its center.

Maltin*1/2: "Strange little Western..." 

Swamp Women (1956)

An undercover policewoman helps three female convicts escape from prison so that they can lead her to a stash of stolen diamonds hidden in a swamp.

Exploitation movie with some really bad girls and a Louisiana bayou setting is slow-going and quite dated in its appeal.

Maltin*1/2: "Heavy-handed nonsense..."

Apache Woman (1955)

A government agent is sent to a western town to investigate attacks that the townspeople say are being committed by rampaging Apaches.

Mildly entertaining low-budget Western with an anti-racist message and a bumpy plot.

Halliwell (no star): "Routine Western, to which Corman added a subplot about racial prejudice, which may have improved its liberal credentials but does little for it as a movie."

Maltin BOMB: "Sometimes hilariously bad, but mostly a bore."