Rating: 4/5
I will talk to you of art, for there is nothing else to talk about.
So starts the poem that Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) overhears during his busboy shift at The Yellow Door coffeehouse. He claims to be an artist to the patrons, quoting lines from the poem, but he has no artistic inclinations.
Inspired by the poem, Walter goes home to make a sculpture of Carla (Barboura Morris), the hostess. He stops when he hears Frankie, the neighbor’s cat, in the wall. He uses a knife to free it but accidentally kills the cat instead.
In a moment of panic/inspiration — same thing, really — he covers the cat in clay and passes it off as a sculpture, knife, and all.
People around him, however, suspect he’s up to something. What starts as unfortunate accidents turns into something darker.
Charles B. Griffith wrote this Beat Generation satire for Roger Corman, who found the Beatniks fascinating. Griffith’s script captures one of the most authentic portraits of the Beatniks in the 50s.
Dick Miller is so good as the fool who thinks he is king. This role was so iconic that several directors have used the name Walter Paisley in other films for roles Dick Miller played.
This movie is only 66 minutes, but it uses its time deftly to tell the complete story with no bloat.
Corman’s made a lot of crap. But now and again, he made a gem like this. I can’t believe he’s still alive.