Editing Roger Corman (section)

== Career ==
=== 1950–1959: Early film career ===
Corman worked his way up to a story reader. The one property that he liked the most and provided ideas for was filmed as ''[[The Gunfighter]]'' with [[Gregory Peck]]. When Corman received no credit at all, he left Fox and decided he would work in film by himself. Under the [[G.I. Bill]], Corman studied English literature at the [[University of Oxford]] and lived in Paris for a time.<ref name="VarietyObit">{{Cite news |last1=Natale |first1=Richard |last2=Gray |first2=Tim |title=Roger Corman, Pioneering Independent Producer and King of B Movies, Dies at 98 |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/roger-corman-dead-producer-independent-b-movie-1235999591/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512020254/https://variety.com/2024/film/news/roger-corman-dead-producer-independent-b-movie-1235999591/ |archive-date=2024-05-12 |url-status=live |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=2024-05-12}}</ref>

Corman then returned to Los Angeles and tried to re-establish himself in the film industry. He took various jobs, including television stagehand at [[KCOP-TV|KLAC-TV]] and a messenger at Fox. He worked as an assistant to literary agent Dick Hyland.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=1952-02-13|page=74|title=Hollywood}}</ref>

Corman wrote a script in his spare time and sold it to [[William F. Broidy]] at [[Allied Artists Pictures Corporation|Allied Artists]] for US$2,000 ({{Inflation|US|2000|1954|fmt=eq}}). "Dick thought it was funny and let me pay myself a commission," said Corman.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/features/king-of-bs-roger-corman-started-out-with-an-agency-gig-1201506765/ |website=Variety |date=May 29, 2015 |title='King of B's' Roger Corman Remembers His Stint as an Agent Vice President |first=Steven |last=Gaydos |access-date=December 13, 2017 |archive-date=December 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213200704/http://variety.com/2015/film/features/king-of-bs-roger-corman-started-out-with-an-agency-gig-1201506765/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Originally called ''House in the Sea'', it was retitled ''[[Highway Dragnet]]'' (1954) and starred [[Richard Conte]] and [[Joan Bennett]]. Corman also worked as associate producer on the film for nothing, just for the experience.{{fact|date=June 2024}}

Corman used his script fee and personal contacts to raise US$12,000 ({{Inflation|US|12000|1954|fmt=eq}}) to produce his first feature, a science-fiction film, ''[[Monster from the Ocean Floor]]'' (1954). It was produced by Corman's own company, Palo Alto, and released by [[Robert L. Lippert]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMYf7vlGQn0C&pg=PA94|pages=94–95|title=Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup|first=Tom|last=Weaver|publisher=McFarland|date=2006|isbn=9780786428588}}</ref>

The film did well enough to encourage Corman to produce another film, the racing-car thriller ''[[The Fast and the Furious (1954 film)|The Fast and the Furious]]'' (1955), directed by its star, [[John Ireland (actor)|John Ireland]], and co-starring [[Dorothy Malone]]. (Decades later, the title would be licensed from Corman for [[The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)|a blockbuster film of the same name]].) Corman sold the movie to a new independent company, the [[American Releasing Company]] (ARC), run by [[James H. Nicholson]] and [[Samuel Z. Arkoff]]. Although Corman had a number of offers for the film from Republic and Columbia, he elected to go with ARC, because they undertook to advance money to enable him to make two more movies.<ref>{{cite book|pages=120–121|title=The Directors Take Three|url=https://archive.org/details/The_Directors_Take_Three/page/n129/mode/1up/search/%22fast+and+the+furious%22?q=corman+%22fast+and+the+furious%22|first=Robert J.|last=Emery|publisher=Allworth Press|year=2003}}</ref>

Corman's second film for ARC was one he decided to direct, ''[[Five Guns West]]'' (1955), a Western, made in color for around $60,000, with Malone and [[John Lund (actor)|John Lund]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Seven Theaters Offer 'Sabrina'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 24, 1954|page=14}}</ref> The script was written by [[Robert Wright Campbell]], who worked with Corman on several more occasions. Corman announced he would make four more projects for ARC: ''High Steel'', ''Cobra'', ''Fortress Beneath the Sea'', and an untitled film from Campbell.<ref>{{cite news|title=Paul Schofield Gets Huston Attention|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 9, 1955|page=21}}</ref> Instead, Corman did some uncredited directing on ''[[The Beast with a Million Eyes]]'' (1955), then made another Western, ''[[Apache Woman (1955 film)|Apache Woman]]'' (1955), starring [[Lloyd Bridges]], written by [[Lou Rusoff]]. Rusoff and Corman reunited on ''[[Day the World Ended]]'' (1955), a postapocalyptic science-fiction film, which was popular.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety201-1956-02/page/n208/mode/1up/search/%22apache+woman%22+?q=%22apache+woman%22+variety|magazine=Variety|title=$65,000 'Day' may hit $1,000,000|date=February 22, 1956|page=3}}</ref>

Corman was to make ''The Devil on Horseback'' by [[Charles B. Griffith]] about the [[Brownsville Raid]],<ref>{{Cite news|title=Story of Ex-Fighter to Be Dramatic Film|author= Hopper, Hedda.|work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 12, 1955|page=12}}</ref> but it was too expensive. The [[Woolner Brothers]], Louisiana drive-in owners, financed Corman's ''[[Swamp Women]]'' (1956), a girls-on-the-lam saga. He returned to ARC for two Westerns, ''[[The Oklahoma Woman]]'' (1956) and ''[[Gunslinger (film)|Gunslinger]]'' (1956) (with Ireland); ''Gunslinger'' was co-written by Griffith, who became a crucial collaborator with Corman over the next five years. He bought a script from [[Curtis Harrington]], ''The Girl from Beneath the Sea''.<ref>{{cite news|title='Matador' is eyed by two studios: Allied and United Artists Are Discussing Plan to Sponsor Jointly Conrad Novel R.K.O. to Share Arness Of Local Origin|first=Thomas M.|last=Pryor|newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 12, 1956|page=23}}</ref> Harrington made it for Corman years later as ''[[Night Tide]]'' (1961).

[[Beverly Garland]], one of Corman's early regular stock players, recalled working with him:

<blockquote>Roger made us work hard and long, I remember that! He was always fascinating to me, a fascinating man – and a good businessman! He had such incredible energy, it was tremendous – he was a dynamo to be around. I always knew he was going to be a huge success because there was no stopping him. He just made up his mind that he was going to be a success and that was it.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Weaver|first1=Tom|title=Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup|url=https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/interviews-with-b-science-fiction-and-horror-movie-makers/|year=1988|page=54|access-date=February 16, 2023|archive-date=February 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216005921/https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/interviews-with-b-science-fiction-and-horror-movie-makers/|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Baseline Drive-in Ad - 5 April 1957, Highland, CA.jpg|thumb| left|[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in]] advertisement from 1957 for the double feature, ''[[Attack of the Crab Monsters]]'' and ''[[Not of This Earth (1957 film)|Not of This Earth]]''. Corman films were popular on the drive-in circuit, and generally marketed towards a teenage audience.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dirks|first=Tim|title=The History of Film The 1950s|url=https://www.filmsite.org/50sintro.html|website=[[Filmsite]]|access-date=March 1, 2023|archive-date=March 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301055511/https://www.filmsite.org/50sintro.html|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
ARC changed its name to American International Pictures. Corman was established as their leading filmmaker. They financed Corman's next film as director, the science-fiction story ''[[It Conquered the World]]'' (1956). Co-written by Griffith, it was a follow-up to ''The Day the World Ended''. It was a big hit.

He optioned a TV play, ''The Stake'', and hoped to get [[Dana Andrews]] to star.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Drama: Gable, Turner Costar Deal Foreseen; Andrews Indicated for 'Stake'|author=Schallert, Edwin.|date=April 24, 1956|work=Los Angeles Times|page=21}}</ref> It was never made. Instead, [[Walter Mirisch]] of [[Allied Artists Pictures Corporation|Allied Artists]] hired Corman to make ''[[The Undead (film)|The Undead]]'' (1957), inspired by ''[[The Search for Bridey Murphy]]''. Griffith wrote the script. In June, Corman made a science-fiction film for Allied Artists,  ''[[Not of This Earth (1957 film)|Not of this Earth]]'' (1957), written by Griffith. In August 1956, AIP financed a Corman heist movie shot in Hawaii, ''[[Naked Paradise]]'' (1957), co-written by Griffith. Corman shot it back-to-back with a movie made with his own money, ''[[She Gods of Shark Reef]]'' (1958). Corman wound up selling the movie to AIP. Corman and Griffith reunited in ''[[Attack of the Crab Monsters]]'' (1957) for Allied, which wound up being one of his most successful early films.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Flynn, Sanders, Raft Sought as Stellar Trio; 'Sheep Man' Keel Film|author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 28, 1956|page=25}}</ref>

For his own production company, Corman made a rock-and-roll "quickle", ''[[Carnival Rock]]'' (1957), released by Howco. ''[[Rock All Night]]'' (1957) was a heist film written by Griffith expanded from a TV play, "The Little Guy", with musical acts inserted.<ref>{{cite news|title=Film Events: Prize TV Play Will Be Filmed|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 6, 1956|page=B2}}</ref> He was meant to make ''Rock'n'Roll Girl'' for AIP in December 1957.<ref>{{Cite news|title='Tin Star' Filming Set in Black and White|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 11, 1956|page=F12}}</ref> In April 1957, Corman announced he would try to make two films back-to-back from then on to save costs.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety206-1957–05/page/n9/mode/1up/search/%22roger+corman%22?q=%28%22roger+corman%22%29+AND+creator%3A%28variety%29|title=Shoot Two Features Together|page=10|date=May 1, 1957}}</ref>

Corman made two "teen girl noirs", ''[[Teenage Doll]]'' (1957) for the [[Woolner Brothers]] and ''[[Sorority Girl]]'' (1957), starring [[Susan Cabot]] for AIP.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Brian Donlevy Will Do 'Golden Spur' on Own; Schell Term-Pacted|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=June 14, 1957|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A9}}</ref> For AIP, he made ''[[The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent]]'' (1957), shot in August 1957.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Movieland Events: 'Viking Women' Soon Descending on Films|work=Los Angeles Times  |date=June 17, 1957|page=C12}}</ref> He was meant to follow this with ''Teenage Jungle'' by Tony Miller.<ref>{{cite news|title=Movieland Events: 'Tomorrow's Miracle,' Masaryk Story Set|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 18, 1957|page=C6}}
</ref> The success of ''Not of this Earth'' and ''Crab Monsters'' led to Allied offering Corman a four-picture deal for 1958.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Movieland Events: Hollywood Story Promises Novelty|work=Los Angeles Times  |date=September 6, 1957|page=24}}</ref>

Corman received his first serious critical praise for ''[[Machine-Gun Kelly (film)|Machine-Gun Kelly]]'' (1958), an AIP biopic of [[Machine Gun Kelly (gangster)|the famous gangster]], which gave [[Charles Bronson]] his first leading role and co-starred Cabot. Campbell wrote the script. Also for AIP, he did ''[[Teenage Caveman (1958 film)|Teenage Caveman]]'' (1958), with [[Robert Vaughn]], originally titled ''Prehistoric World''. He helped produce two films for Allied Artists, both from scripts by [[Leo Gordon]]: ''[[Hot Car Girl]]'' (1958), directed by [[Bernard Kowalski]] and produced by his brother Gene (the first film they made together) from a script by Gordon; and ''[[The Cry Baby Killer]]'' (1958), which gave [[Jack Nicholson]] his first starring role.<ref name="HRObit">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/roger-corman-dead-independent-director-producer-king-of-the-b-1235896846/|title=Roger Corman, Giant of Independent Filmmaking, Dies at 98|date=May 12, 2024 |publisher=Hollywood Reporter|access-date=May 12, 2024|archive-date=May 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512032035/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/roger-corman-dead-independent-director-producer-king-of-the-b-1235896846/|url-status=live}}</ref>

He had his biggest budget yet for ''[[I Mobster]]'' (1958), a gangster story, co-produced by [[Edward L. Alperson]] and Corman's brother Gene for 20th Century Fox. In September 1958, he was reported as scouting locations in Australia to do a remake of [[H. Rider Haggard]]'s ''[[She: A History of Adventure|She]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Shocker Pioneers Tell How to Make Monsters: Want to Make a Monster? Experts Tell How It's Done|author=Scheuer, Philip K.|date=September 21, 1958|work=Los Angeles Times|page=E1}}</ref> ''[[War of the Satellites]]'' (1958) was conceived and shot in record time to take advantage of the Sputnik launch; it was his first collaboration with art director [[Daniel Haller]]. Corman also produced, but did not direct, ''[[Stakeout on Dope Street]]'' (1958), directed by [[Irvin Kershner]], ''[[Night of the Blood Beast]]'' (1958), directed by Kowalski for AIP, using leftover costumes from ''Teenage Caveman'', and ''[[Crime and Punishment U.S.A.]]'' (1959), directed by Dennis Sanders with [[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]] in his first lead role.<ref>C. Gerald Fraser, obituary of Denis Sanders in ''New York Times'', Dec. 15, 1987. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/88130/Crime-and-Punishment-USA/overview {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709135734/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/88130/Crime-and-Punishment-USA/overview |date=2012-07-09}}.</ref>

=== The Filmgroup ===
[[File:Barboura Morris & Susan Cabot in The Wasp Woman (1959).jpg|thumb| right|[[Barboura Morris]] and [[Susan Cabot]] in a scene from ''[[The Wasp Woman]]'' (1959)]]
In January 1959, Corman announced he would be moving into distribution.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety213-1959–01/page/n313/mode/1up/search/%22roger+corman%22?q=%28%22roger+corman%22%29+AND+creator%3A%28variety%29|page=23|title=Roger Corman seeks own distribution|date=January 14, 1959}}</ref>

In 1959, Corman founded [[The Filmgroup]] with his brother Gene, a company producing or releasing low-budget black-and-white films as [[double feature]]s for drive-ins and action houses.<ref>pp. 22–41 Ray, Fred Olen "Filmgroup" in ''The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors'' McFarland, 1991</ref> In February 1959, Filmgroup announced they would release 10 films. Their first movies were ''[[High School Big Shot]]'' (1959) and ''[[T-Bird Gang]]'' (1959), produced by Stanley Bickman.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety213-1959–02/page/n162/mode/1up/search/%22roger+corman%22?q=%28%22roger+corman%22%29+AND+creator%3A%28variety%29|title=Roger Corman Sets 10 to Nourish Filmgroup|date=February 18, 1959|page=3}}</ref>
{{quote box|quote= Roger seemed a driven man. Roger wanted to accomplish a lot, he had to have a lot of drive to do it, and he pushed through. He not only pushed through, he ''punched'' through! With a lot of energy, and a lot of disregard at times... What we did for Roger Corman – I mean, things that you could never do in a real studio, but you did for this guy! Everything seemed unreal with him.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Weaver|first1=Tom|title=Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup|url=https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/interviews-with-b-science-fiction-and-horror-movie-makers/|year=1988|page=69|access-date=February 16, 2023|archive-date=February 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216005921/https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/interviews-with-b-science-fiction-and-horror-movie-makers/|url-status=live}}</ref><br />– [[Susan Cabot]]|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
For AIP, Corman and Griffith made a black comedy, ''[[A Bucket of Blood]]'' (1959). Corman announced he would follow it with a similar comedy, ''The Bloodshot Private Eye''.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Gwen Verdon Will Bring In 'Redhead': City Assured of Star, Play; Acting 'Vacation' to De Sica|author=Scheuer, Philip K.|date=December 18, 1959|work=Los Angeles Times|page=C9}}</ref> It does not seem to have been made. Instead, Griffith reused the same script structure and Corman employed many of the same cast in ''[[The Little Shop of Horrors]]'' (1960). This film was reputedly shot in two days and one night.<ref>{{cite news|author=Simpson, MJ|date=September 23, 1995|title=Interview with Roger Corman|url=http://www.mjsimpson.co.uk/interviews/rogercorman.html|access-date=October 24, 2007|quote="I shot Little Shop of Horrors in two days and a night for about $30,000, and the picture has lasted all these years."|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716073909/http://www.mjsimpson.co.uk/interviews/rogercorman.html|archive-date=July 16, 2011}}</ref>

For Filmgroup, Corman directed ''[[The Wasp Woman]]'' (1959), starring Cabot from a script by Gordon. His brother and he made two films back-to-back in South Dakota: ''[[Ski Troop Attack]]'' (1960), a war movie written by Griffith and directed by Corman, and ''[[Beast from Haunted Cave]]'' (1959), the first film directed by [[Monte Hellman]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Tim|date=2021-04-20|title=Monte Hellman, 'Two-Lane Blacktop' Director, Dies at 91|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/obituaries-people-news/monte-hellman-dead-dies-director-two-lane-blacktop-1234956241/|access-date=May 12, 2024|work=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=April 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421152104/https://variety.com/2021/film/obituaries-people-news/monte-hellman-dead-dies-director-two-lane-blacktop-1234956241/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Corman went to [[Puerto Rico]] and produced another two films back-to-back: ''[[Battle of Blood Island]]'' (1960), directed by [[Joel Rapp]], and ''[[Last Woman on Earth]]'' (1960), directed by Corman from a script by [[Robert Towne]]. Filming on these two films went so quickly and incentivized by the tax breaks on offer for filming in Puerto Rico, Corman commissioned Griffith to write a third, which was shot at the same time: ''[[Creature from the Haunted Sea]]'' (1961).<ref>{{cite book |last=Weaver |first=Tom |title=Double Feature Creature Attack: A Monster Merger of Two More Volumes of Classic Interviews |year=2003 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=0-7864-1366-2 |pages=189–192}}</ref>

Corman was going to make ''Part Time Mother'' from a script by Griffith<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|167569403}}|title= Genet's 'deathwatch' to be given locally|date=December 23, 1959|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> but it appears to have never been made.

=== 1960–1969: Adaptations and studio work ===
[[File:House of Usher (1960) - Poster.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[House of Usher (film)|House of Usher]]'' (1960), Corman's first [[Edgar Allan Poe]] adaptation]]
AIP wanted Corman to make two horror films for them, in black and white, at under $100,000 each on a 10-day shooting schedule. Corman, however, was tired of making films on this sort of budget and was worried the market for them was in decline. He proposed making a film in color for $200,000, shot over 15 days. Corman proposed an adaptation of "[[The Fall of the House of Usher]]" by [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and AIP agreed. The film was announced in May 1959.<ref>{{cite news|title=Filmland Events: Ilona Massey Signed for Airplane Drama|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 5, 1959|page=A13}}</ref>

[[Richard Matheson]] was hired to do the adaptation and [[Vincent Price]] was brought in to star; Haller did the art direction. The resulting film, ''[[House of Usher (film)|House of Usher]]'' (1960), shot in early 1960, was a critical and commercial hit.

Following this, Corman bought two scripts, ''Sob Sisters Don't Cry'' and ''Cop Killer''.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|167672426}}|title=Filmland Events|date=February 13, 1960|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In March 1960, Corman announced that Filmgroup would be part of an international production group, Compass Productions.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|167593632}}|title=Filmland Events|date=March 17, 1960|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> He directed a [[Sword-and-sandal|peplum]] in Greece, ''[[Atlas (1961 film)|Atlas]]'', (1961) in August.

He was going to direct a thriller from a script by [[Robert Towne]], ''I Flew a Spy Plane Over Russia''.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|167750888}}|title=Filmland Events|date=June 2, 1960|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> It was not made; neither were two comedies he was to make with [[Dick Miller]] and Jon Haze, ''Murder at the Convention''<ref>{{cite news|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-hollywood-steals/135618578/|author=Scheuer, P. K.|date=July 13, 1960|title=Hollywood steals political thunder|id={{ProQuest|167722969}}|access-date=November 22, 2023|archive-date=November 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122235026/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-hollywood-steals/135618578/|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''Pan and the Satyrs''.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|167823876}}|author=Scheuer, P. K.|date=November 15, 1960|title=Harrison, portman up for 'sherlock'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|via=ProQuest}}</ref>

''House of Usher'' had been so successful that AIP wanted a follow-up, and Corman, Haller, Matheson and Price reunited on ''[[The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)|The Pit and the Pendulum]]'' (1961). It was another sizable hit, and the "[[American International Pictures#List of Corman-Poe films|Poe cycle]]" of films was underway.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8237--the-house-is-the-monster-roger-corman-s-poe-cycle|title="The House Is the Monster": Roger Corman's Poe Cycle|publisher=Criterion|accessdate=13 May 2024|archive-date=March 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306232936/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8237--the-house-is-the-monster-roger-corman-s-poe-cycle|url-status=live}}</ref>

Corman hired [[Charles Beaumont]] to write ''Masque of the Red Death'' and announced two films, ''Captain Nemo and the Floating City''<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|167799171}}|title=Zweig's 'jeremiah' bought for film|date=March 2, 1961|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> and ''House of Secrets''.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|167833005}}|title=Hitler announced as subject of two films|date=March 31, 1961|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

=== ''The Intruder'' ===
Following ''The Pit and the Pendulum'', Corman directed one of [[William Shatner]]'s earliest appearances in a lead role with ''[[The Intruder (1962 film)|The Intruder]]'' (a.k.a. ''The Stranger'', 1962). Based on a novel by [[Charles Beaumont]], the film was co-produced by Gene Corman and was shot in July and August 1961.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Intruder|url= http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews32/the_intruder_corman.htm|work=DVD Beaver |access-date=April 19, 2013|archive-date=July 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712060932/http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews32/the_intruder_corman.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> It took a while for the film to be released and it lost money.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|168300813}}|author=Seidenbaum, A.|date=March 23, 1963|title=Chained by Timidity|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

Corman was unhappy with his profit participation on the first two Poe films, so he made a third adaptation for different producers, ''[[The Premature Burial (film)|The Premature Burial]]'' (1962), written by [[Charles Beaumont]] and starring [[Ray Milland]]. The film was co-financed by Pathe labs; AIP put pressure on Pathe by threatening to withdraw lab work from them and ended up buying out their interest.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Corman|first1=Roger|last2=Jerome|first2=Jim|title=How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime|date=1990|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=0306808749|pages=[https://archive.org/details/howimadehundredm00corm/page/83 83]–84|url=https://archive.org/details/howimadehundredm00corm|url-access=registration|quote=Premature Burial.|access-date=January 30, 2017|language=en}}</ref>

For producer [[Edward Small]], Corman made a historical horror piece about [[Richard III]], ''[[Tower of London (1962 film)|Tower of London]]'' (1962), starring [[Vincent Price]]. It was meant to be the first in a three-picture deal with Small, but Corman did not enjoy working with the producer.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nasr|first= Constantine|title=Roger Corman: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series)|page=17|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|location=Jackson, Mississippi|date=2011|isbn=978-1617031663}}</ref>

For Filmgroup, he also bought the rights to a Soviet science-fiction film, ''[[Nebo Zovyot]]'' (1959) and had some additional footage shot for it by his then-assistant, Francis Ford Coppola; the result was ''[[Battle Beyond the Sun]]'' (1962). He also released ''[[The Magic Voyage of Sinbad]]'' (1962), dubbed from a Soviet film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/the-magic-voyage-of-sinbad|title=The Magic Voyage of Sinbad|date=May 12, 1962 |access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref>

The fourth Poe was an anthology, ''[[Tales of Terror]]'' (1962), shot in late 1961. One of the installments, "The Black Cat", was a comedy, inspiring Corman to do a whole Poe story comedically next: ''[[The Raven (1963 film)|The Raven]]'' (1963). Later, Corman used the sets for that film for ''[[The Terror (1963 film)|The Terror]]'' (1963), made for Filmgroup but released by AIP, and starring [[Boris Karloff]] (whose scenes were all shot in two days) and Jack Nicholson. Corman did not direct all of this film; additional scenes were shot by Monte Hellman, Coppola, and Jack Hill, among others.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

''[[The Young Racers]]'' (1963) was produced and directed by Corman in Europe for AIP, starring and written by Campbell. Working on the film was Francis Ford Coppola, whom Corman financed to make his directorial debut, ''[[Dementia 13]]'' (1963).{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Back in the U.S., Corman made ''[[X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes]]'' (1963), a contemporary science-fiction film for AIP starring [[Ray Milland]]. He followed it with ''[[The Haunted Palace]]'' (1963), ostensibly part of the Poe cycle—it featured Price and was made for AIP, written by Beaumont—but was actually based on a story by [[H. P. Lovecraft]].{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Corman directed a war film in Yugoslavia with his brother, ''[[The Secret Invasion]]'' (1964), with [[Stewart Granger]] and [[Mickey Rooney]], from a script by Campbell. Following this, he announced he would make ''The Life of Robert E. Lee'' as part of a four-picture deal with Filmgroup worth $3.75 million. Other movies were ''Fun and Profit'' by Joel Rapp, ''The Wild Surfers'' by John Lamb, and ''Planet of Storms'' by [[Jack Hill]].<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|168397800}}|author=Scheuer, P. K.|date=August 30, 1963|title=MGM to assemble comic 'big parade'|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> None of these films was made, nor was ''The Gold Bug'', a Poe adaptation written by Griffith.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|168456531}}|author=Scheuer, P. K.|date=November 11, 1963|title=The couch, and I' as harvey session|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

=== End of the Poe cycle and filming in Europe ===
Corman made two Poes in England starring Price, the much-delayed ''[[The Masque of the Red Death (1964 film)|The Masque of the Red Death]]'' (1964), with Campbell rewriting Beaumont's scripts, and ''[[The Tomb of Ligeia]]'' (1965), from a script by Robert Towne.<ref name="three">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-moguls-nat-cohen-part-three-1962-68/|date=21 January 2025|access-date=21 January 2025|title=Forgotten British Moguls: Nat Cohen – Part Three (1962-68)}}</ref> Corman made no further Poes; AIP started up a fresh Poe cycle in the late 1960s, but Corman was not part of it.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Corman got Towne to write a script called ''The Red Baron''.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155111194}}|title=Movie Call Sheet|date=March 19, 1965|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> He bought the rights to another Soviet science-fiction film, ''[[Planeta Bur]]'' (1962), and had some additional footage added to it by [[Curtis Harrington]]. The result was ''[[Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet]]'' (1965). Harrington used footage from ''Planeta Bur'' in another film financed by Corman, ''[[Queen of Blood]]'' (1966).{{cn|date=May 2024}}

He also bought the rights to a Yugoslavian film, ''Operation Titan'' (1963), and financed additional shooting by [[Jack Hill]] and [[Stephanie Rothman]]. The result was ''[[Blood Bath]]'' (1966). He also had an investment in the [[beach party film]]s ''[[Beach Ball]]'' (1965) and ''[[It's a Bikini World]]'' (1967).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://henryjenkins.org/2007/10/stephanie_rothman.html|title=Exploiting Feminism: An Interview with Stephanie Rothman (Part One)|date=October 15, 2007 |publisher=Confessions of an Aca Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins|access-date=May 12, 2024|archive-date=November 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120182507/https://henryjenkins.org/2007/10/stephanie_rothman.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Working for major studios ===
Corman said, "For ten years as an independent I could get financing for $100–$200–$300,000 pictures. Everything had been interesting, artistically satisfying, economically satisfying. But I decided I was going nowhere and wanted to move directly into the business. So I accepted a contract with Columbia."<ref name="columbia" />

In August 1965, Corman announced he had signed a contract with United Artists to make two films over three years. He also signed with Columbia to make a Western, ''The Long Ride Home'', based on a script by Robert Towne.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155292242}}|author=Martin, B.|date=August 2, 1965|title=Movie Call Sheet|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

He was announced for a number of other projects at Columbia: the biopic of [[Robert E. Lee]], an adaptation of ''[[Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man]]'', an adaptation of Kafka's ''The Penal Colony'', and a script by novelist Richard Yates about the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]].<ref name="Corman p125">Corman 1990, p. 125.</ref><ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|116987235}}|author=P. B.|date=September 12, 1965|title=Horror with a rich, happy ending|work=The New York Times}}</ref> He intended to make ''The Deserters'' for UA, from a script by Wright, but that was not made either.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155331846}}|author=Martin, B.|date=December 31, 1965|title=Menotti opera to be filmed.|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

He later reflected, "Every idea I submitted was considered too strange, too weird; every idea they had seemed too ordinary to me. Ordinary pictures don't make money."<ref name="columbia"/>

=== ''The Wild Angels'' ===
After a year of not directing, Corman took a leave of absence under his contract with Columbia to make a film for AIP, the first biker movie, ''[[The Wild Angels]]''. It starred [[Peter Fonda]] and [[Nancy Sinatra]], from a script by Griffith; [[Peter Bogdanovich]] worked as Corman's assistant. The film opened the 1966 Venice Film Festival and was hugely successful at the box office, making over $6 million on a $350,000 budget and kicking off the "biker movie" cycle.<ref>[[Joan Didion]] said she went to see ''The Wild Angels'' because "there on the screen was some news I was not getting from the ''New York Times''. I began to think I was seeing ideograms of the future." Didion, Joan; ''The White Album''; (1979) p.100</ref>

He wanted to make a film about the [[Manfred von Richthofen|Red Baron]], but Columbia turned it down because of ''[[The Blue Max]]'' (1966). He proposed a movie about the [[St Valentine's Day Massacre]] and also an adaptation of the novel ''Only Lovers Left Alive''.<ref name="columbia"/> [[Nick Ray]] was meant to be making ''Only Lovers'' in Britain.

Corman did begin directing ''Long Ride Home'' with [[Glenn Ford]] at Columbia. However, Corman left production a few weeks into the shoot in June 1966 and was replaced by [[Phil Karlson]].<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155465611}}|author=Martin, B. |date=July 1, 1966|title=Train on a 'foreign' track.|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> The film was retitled ''[[A Time for Killing]]'' (1967).

Corman received an offer to direct a studio film, ''[[The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)|The St. Valentine's Day Massacre]]'' (1967), for 20th Century Fox, starring [[Jason Robards]] and [[George Segal]]. He did not enjoy the restrictions of working for a major studio. He was given a $2.5 million budget and made it for $400,000 less.<ref name="AIP">Mark McGee, ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland, 1996, p. 266</ref> Corman, an independent director, was most comfortable in his own style:  shoestring budgets and shooting schedules measured in days, rather than weeks. Nonetheless, it is generally considered one of his best films as a director.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Corman was meant to follow this with ''Robert E. Lee'' for United Artists at a budget of $4.5 million.<ref name="columbia">{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155444364}}|author=Thomas, K.|date=June 10, 1966|title=Cormann—whiz kid of the B's|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> It was not made. Neither was a story Corman optioned, ''The Spy in the Vatican''.<ref name="auto789">{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155433741}}|author=Martin, B.|date=July 12, 1966|title=Filmways inks Jack Clayton|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

=== 1965–1971: Return to independent films ===
{{stack|[[File:Roger Corman on set of The Trip (1967).jpg|thumb|Corman (age 41) on the set of ''[[The Trip (1967 film)|The Trip]]'' (1967).]]}}
Corman continued to finance films for Filmgroup: ''[[Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet]]'' (1965), dubbing a Soviet movie ''[[Planeta Bur]]'' into English with some additional footage shot by Curtis Harrington, ''[[Queen of Blood]]'' (1966), using some Soviet footage but a mostly new film, directed by Harrington, ''[[Blood Bath]]'' (1966), an adapted Yugoslavian film with additional footage shot by [[Stephanie Rothman]] and Jack Hill, and  ''[[Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women]]'' (1967), yet another dubbed version of ''Planeta Bur'' with some additional footage shot by Corman's then-assistant [[Peter Bogdanovich]].{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Corman had money in ''[[Navy vs. the Night Monsters]]'' (1967). He financed two Westerns shot back to back in Utah, directed by Monte Hellman and written and co-produced by Jack Nicholson, ''[[The Shooting]]'' (1967) and ''[[Ride in the Whirlwind]]'' (1967), which were never released theatrically in the US but became cult successes several years later.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|156573556}}|author= Thomas, K.|date=October 4, 1970|title=Monte Hellman and Hollywood's best-kept secret|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="auto789"/> He also financed two films directed by Dan Haller, ''[[Devil's Angels]]'' (1967), a follow-up to ''Wild Angels'' written by Griffith, and a car racing film shot in Europe, ''[[The Wild Racers]]'' (1968). He announced a comedy about the population explosion, ''There Just Isn't Any Room'', but it appears to have never been made.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155638079}}|author= Betty. |date=April 22, 1967|title=Senta to play secret agent|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

Corman directed ''[[The Trip (1967 film)|The Trip]]'' for AIP, written by [[Jack Nicholson]] and starring [[Peter Fonda]], [[Dennis Hopper]] and [[Bruce Dern]]. This began the psychedelic film craze of the late 1960s and was the American entry at Cannes that year.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|117483759}}|author=V. C.|date=September 18, 1966|title=Roger Corman: A good man gone to 'pot'|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Corman took [[LSD]] and used the experience to shape the film.<ref name="trip"/> AIP made some changes to the film in post-production, which made Corman unhappy.<ref name="trip">{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/roger-corman-trip-psychedlic-film |title=What Roger Corman's Psychedelic Film 'The Trip' Helps Us Realize |date=April 21, 2022|publisher=PopMatters|access-date=May 12, 2024 |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925192803/https://www.popmatters.com/roger-corman-trip-psychedlic-film |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 1967, Corman announced plans to build a new film studio.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|155884455}}|title='Isadora' shooting under way|date=September 7, 1967|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> However, this did not happen for a number of years.{{clarifyme|date=June 2024}}{{fact|date=June 2024}}

Corman made a film for American TV, ''[[Target: Harry]]'' (1968), shot in Europe with his brother producing. He did some uncredited directing on AIP's ''[[De Sade (film)|De Sade]]'' (1969) when director [[Cy Endfield]] fell ill. He financed Bogdanovich's first feature, ''[[Targets]]'' (1968), which incorporated footage from ''The Terror''. He also produced ''[[The Dunwich Horror (film)|The Dunwich Horror]]'' (1970) for AIP, directed by Haller and co-written by [[Curtis Hanson]], and financed Haller's ''[[Paddy (film)|Paddy]]''.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kevin Thomas|title=She's Young, Pretty and Produces Film: Incomplete Source|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 22, 1970|page=h1}}</ref>

For AIP, Corman returned to the director's chair for a gangster film, ''[[Bloody Mama]]'' (1970), starring [[Shelley Winters]] and a young [[Robert de Niro]]. It was a big hit at the box office. He also directed a black comedy, ''[[Gas-s-s-s]]'' (1970), written by [[George Armitage]]; it was cut without his permission by AIP and was a financial failure.<ref>{{cite news |author=Goldman, C. |date=1971 |title=An interview with Roger Corman |volume=7 |pages=49–54 |work=Film Comment |issue=3 |jstor=i40151685}}</ref>

{{stack|[[File:ROGER CORMAN, RICHTHOFEN & BROWN 1970.png|thumb|Roger Corman, ''Von Richthofen and Brown'' (1970).]]}}
United Artists finally agreed to finance his Red Baron project, although they asked that it emphasize American characters. Accordingly, it was filmed as ''[[Von Richthofen and Brown]]'' (1971), shot in Ireland in July 1970. There were several plane crashes during filming and one person died.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|525577654}}|title=12 Film Planes Grounded|date=September 17, 1970|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref> Corman was going to make a film of ''Couples'', a novel by [[John Updike]] for [[United Artists]], and ''In'' from a script by Richard Schupe,<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|156409055}}|author=Martin, B.|date=February 18, 1970|title=Movie Call Sheet|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> but decided to take a break from directing. "Directing is very hard and very painful," he said in 1971. "Producing is easy. I can do it without really thinking about it."<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|210229038}}|author=Goldman, C.|date=1971|title=An interview with Roger Corman|work=Film Comment|volume=7|issue=3|pages=49–54}}</ref>