let us praise the wonderful roger corman

roger corman passed away at the advanced age of 98 on 5/9/24.  he was given the moniker 'king of the b movies' for his gifts at making movies fast & on the cheap.  corman also produced his films & distributed them as well.  the filmmaker was also an extremely gifted employer of top-tier movie-making talent.  the list of actors & directors, writers & editors. etc etc. that he hired for his movie studios is off the charts.  corman also was notable for hiring women in key important jobs, like directing films.  but for me, corman is a film lover's film lover.  the dude knew how to make every cent on his productions work for value.  he knew how to make a film & he knew how to market a movie.  roger corman's flicks have been -- are -- a great pleasure for this old filmgoer.  i cannot add anything that hasn't already been said about corman.  however, i did write, & publish on this blog, a sonnet i wrote last december about one of my favorite corman productions.  the movie is indefensible really.  but i love it.  it was directed by bettina hirsch & stars harvey korman in dual roles.  this pic is precisely the kind of quickie exploitation movie roger corman is famous for.  moviemaking & filmgoing were made infinitely richer for roger corman's cinema.  i know of no higher praise!

Roger Corman Sonnet: Munchies [1987]

before we blame it all on dad who knew 

we were visited by an alien civilization

& got proof in peru in the form of little arnold

the mischievous who learned both spanish & english

in the space of two minutes who wanted only

earth things like corn chips & salsa & clark bars

or blame it on dad's twin brother who wanted to 

control his own little postage stamp sized of america

& did stop at nothing including kidnapping little

arnold the mischievous for whatever his diabolical desires

let's begin with cindy played by nadine van der velde

who might be the cutest woman in 1980s U.S. cinema

cuz my gawd! paul her boyfriend played by charles stratton 

was a complete dork even if we've come to the end of the world