The world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of schlockmeister Roger Corman's B-movie classic A Bucket of Blood recently took place at the Company of Angels in Silverlake. Ed Trotta, artistic director of COA, did the adaptation in concert with Corman's Concorde/New Horizons company and Windchime Productions. It is the first Corman film to be adapted for the stage since A Little Shop of Horrors.
A Bucket of Blood stars Tom Slovick as Walter Paisley, a lowly bus boy turned artist in the beatnik hang-out known as The Yellow Door. When life-sized statues of the patrons start popping up, people begin to become suspicious. The original film was released in 1959, starring Dick Miller, Burt Convy and Ed Nelson.
Corman has produced more than 450 films, most of them low-budget quickies aimed at the exploitation market. Such film artists as Martin Scorcese, Ron Howard, Joe Dante, Francis Ford Coppola and Jack Nicholson got their start working for Corman. In 1998 Corman was presented with the first Producer's Award ever given at the Cannes Film Festival.
A Bucket of Blood will run through Halloween at the Company of Angels, 2106 Hyperion Ave. For tickets and information call (213) 380-6006.
-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent