The story always goes that producer Roger Corman never lost money on a movie. That mostly came from spending as little money as possible on flicks that were gonna pack the midnight aisles and every space at the drive-in. The quartet of titles selected here represents the best-known aspects of Corman's career: cheapie schlock (The Little Shop of Horrors), the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (The Masque of the Red Death), violent exploitation (Bloody Mama), and finally, how he keyed into the free love generation (The Trip). Plus, look out for very, very early appearances by Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Bruce Dern, and Peter Fonda. – Richard Whittaker
