Il fiore dai petali d'acciaio (1973)

... aka: Flor de petalos de acero, La
... aka: Flower with Petals of Steel, The
... aka: Flower with the Deadly Sting, The

Directed by:
Gianfranco Piccioli

American actress Carroll Baker hit the big time after her turn in Baby Doll (1956), which earned her an Oscar nomination and other awards and accolades. Problems quickly arose for the actress, especially in regards to her stifling studio contract with Warner Bros., who were offering her mostly trashy roles she was disinterested in and refusing to loan her out to other studios. This ended up costing her roles in such classics as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and The Three Faces of Eve (1957). Frustrated and now viewed as an uncooperative "problem" actress, Warner severed their ties with Baker, and the actress went somewhere she could be appreciated: Italy. Baker lived and worked there for well over a decade, during which time she headlined many Italian giallo that were eager to capitalize on the actress' sexy image (and willingness to show some skin) and the ever-dwindling marquee value attached to her name. Many of these films initially received X ratings here in America, though now they're much milder than your typical R rated film.

Like its contemporaries, Flower with the Deadly Sting (aka Flower with the Petals of Steel) has the usual assortment of decadent, hedonistic types involved in a dangerous game of sex, lies, blackmail, double-crossing and death by tacky 70s home decor. Evelyne Graffi (Baker) and Daniela (Paola Senatore) are not only stepsisters, but also lovers. Daniela is getting some on the side from wealthy doctor Andrea Valenti (Gianni Garko), but he's about had it with both her and her sister. Evelyne - who was also romantically involved with Andrea in the past - encourages the relationship only because Andrea frequently gives Daniela money, but that doesn't stop her from being insanely jealous whenever the two are together. Luckily for her, Dr. Valenti is about to call the whole thing off.

Late one night, a woman fitting Daniela's physical description, who's never acknowledged and whose face is never shown, swings by Andrea's apartment. After telling her to leave, he steps out of the room briefly to compose himself and then comes back in to find the woman dead. She's either committed suicide or has been murdered by the titular "flower with petals of steel" sculpture. Instead of going to the police, Andrea opts to use his knowledge of anatomy and surgical skills to dismember her corpse. He then takes it to a mill and has it smashed into an unrecognizable pulp by grindstones. It isn't long before the police show up at the hospital Andrea works at asking about Daniela, who's now missing. They're especially suspicious since her car is still parked right outside Andrea's pad. Evelyne won't go away and starts to cause problems, not the least of which is the missing person's report she's filed. She also keeps digging up information about the good doctor's sordid past.

Andrea was once married to a woman who really liked sex. A lot. She liked it so much that he used it as an easy excuse to have her locked away in a nuthouse for treatment. Andrea had even bribed an unscrupulous doctor (Umberto Raho) with the promise of a promotion to have her falsely committed for five years. She's since been released, but Mrs. Valenti has herself disappeared and no one has the faintest clue what's happened to her. Either way, someone is out to ruin Andrea and whoever's doing it frequently leaves him packages that tell him they know what occurred in his apartment the night Daniela went missing and about what he did to his wife. Andrea has visions of the body he dismembered being bloody and reassembled and hears dolls crying. He receives phone calls from a whispering, jealous female who warns "I don't want you with anyone else." He discovers a possible rooftop entrance someone could have easily used to enter his apartment. And so on.

Flower is a case of competent mediocrity. It'll pass the time adequately on a rainy day, but is extremely forgettable. A routine, ordinary film, this is visually unimpressive and has a mediocre plotline with the obligatory final reel twist. A generous helping of female flesh (including some clothes-free scuba diving), chic cow-print bedding ensembles and a fun finale are your compensations.

Ivano Staccioli, as the obligatory police inspector who takes a liking to Baker's character, and the gorgeous and sexy Pilar Velázquez, who plays Adrian's secretary (another of his lovers), co-star.

★★

Bucket of Blood, A (1959)

... aka: Living Dead, The

Directed by:
Roger Corman

"You're a real artist now... now go on back and scrub down those garbage cans."

Poor Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) is getting no action at all. He works bussing tables at a beatnik coffee house called The Yellow Door and is surrounded by painters, poets, performance artists and musicians, but has yet to come into his own as much of anything. He spends his days dealing with pretentious types who make fun of him and his nights all alone in his cramped apartment dreaming of winning over the respect and admiration of his peers. One evening he sits down with some clay to sculpt a bust of Carla (Barboura Morris) - one of the only people at The Yellow Door who is ever kind to him - and finds inspiration (and talent) completely absent. That all changes when he hears his landlord Mrs. Swickert's (Myrtle Vail) cat Frankie meowing from behind a wall. Trying to get the trapped cat out, Walter stabs through the wall and accidentally kills it. He then covers it with clay and takes it to work, where his boss Lenny DeSantis (Antony Carbone) agrees to stick it in the back corner of the alcove in case anyone is interested in purchasing it. And, surprisingly enough, they are.

Walter's new art piece (aptly entitled "Dead Cat") becomes all the rage for its authenticity and detail. He wins over the admiration of the other patrons, gains a few new female groupies and is dubbed "The silent voice of creation!" by bearded poet and coffee house attraction Maxwell Brock (Julian Burton). Because of his instant success, Lenny sends Walter home to create more of the same and on his way out the door one of his admirers hands him a little vial of heroin. Undercover cops have been staking the joint because of all the dope heads who've been hanging out there and one of them, Lou, follows Walter home, pulls a gun on him and ends up getting whacked over the head with a skillet. What's Walter to do with the body? Let's just say his next artistic vision will be a full-sized figured entitled "Murdered Man."

After accidentally knocking the cat off the shelf and discovering the real cat under the clay, Lenny quickly catches on to what Walter is up to. He prepares to call the police, but when an art collector (Bruno Ve Sota) offers him 500 dollars for the cat and first dibs on Walter's next piece, he has a change of tune. Still, Lenny attempts to dissuade Walter from creating any more "art." Head still spinning from the sudden amount of attention he's been receiving and descending further into madness, Walter has a few more masterpieces to unleash upon the public, including a nude sitting woman (made possible by model Judy Bamber) and a decapitated head (made possible by a table saw). The cops start closing in right as Walter's talents are about to showcased at a prestigious black tie event.

 

A Bucket of Blood is classic Corman. Shot in just five days for peanuts (just 50,000 dollars), this is a fresh, original, entertaining, highly-enjoyable black comedy with a clever premise, a good cast, lots of genuine macabre laughs and a reasonable run-time (65 minutes) to ensure it doesn't wear out its welcome or drag. Charles B. Griffith's screenplay is successful at both sending up the emerging beatnik coffee house subculture as well as taking jabs at the pretentiousness and self-righteousness of the fickle art scene.

Corman supporting player Miller, usually off to the side in these things, went on to get maximum mileage from this rare starring vehicle, which deservedly went on to become a cult classic. Miller would continue to reference this character in numerous other films throughout his career. In the Corman production HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD (1976), he played a sleazy talent agent named Walter Paisley; in TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983) he was a diner patron named Walter Paisley; in CHOPPING MALL (1986), he was a janitor named Walter Paisley, and so on. Ed Nelson (from ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS and many other Corman productions) and future game show host Bert Convy are also in it.

Amusing comic art from the original Bucket of Blood poster...

Corman's THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960), which was also written by Griffith and went on to become a cult classic, was shot around the same time on the same sets.

Bucket was remade in 1995 by Michael McDonald; a comedian best known for his 10 year stint on the Fox sketch comedy series Mad TV. That version debuted on Showtime, was released on VHS under the title Death Artist, starred Anthony Michael Hall as Paisley, also featured small roles played by Paul Bartel, Mink Stole, Jennifer Coolidge and Will Ferrell (making his film debut) and was again produced by Corman.

★★★