Charles B. Griffith
Encyclopedia
Charles B. Griffith was a Chicago
-born screenwriter, son of Donna Dameral, radio star of Myrt and Marge. along with Charles' grandmother, Myrtle Vail
, and was best known for writing Roger Corman
productions such as A Bucket of Blood
, The Little Shop of Horrors
, and Death Race 2000
.
He was credited with 29 movies, but is known to have written many more. He had also directed at least six films, acted in six films, was second unit director in six films, produced three films and was production manager of two films.
With a career spanning decades, he is often cited as the father of American black comedy
.
During the late fifties and early sixties, Griffith created both redneck classics such as Eat My Dust and black comedies such as A Bucket of Blood
and The Little Shop of Horrors
. He had a small role in It Conquered the World
, which he also wrote, as Dr. Pete Shelton.
Griffith died on September 28, 2007 in San Diego, aged 77, from undisclosed causes.
Quentin Tarantino
dedicated his film Deathproof to Griffith, whome he referred to as one of his main influences and called 'The father of redneck cinema".
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-born screenwriter, son of Donna Dameral, radio star of Myrt and Marge. along with Charles' grandmother, Myrtle Vail
Myrtle Vail
Myrtle Vail , sometimes credited as Myrtle Damerel, was an American actress and writer who was a radio fixture from 1932-1946 thanks to the popular soap opera Myrt & Marge, playing the elder half of the title as well as having created and written the show.-Radio Show:Vail thought of the idea while...
, and was best known for writing Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
productions such as A Bucket of Blood
A Bucket of Blood
A Bucket of Blood is a 1959 American comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Dick Miller and was set in beatnik culture. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days, and shares many of the low-budget filmmaking aesthetics commonly associated with Corman's work....
, The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
, and Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...
.
He was credited with 29 movies, but is known to have written many more. He had also directed at least six films, acted in six films, was second unit director in six films, produced three films and was production manager of two films.
With a career spanning decades, he is often cited as the father of American black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
.
During the late fifties and early sixties, Griffith created both redneck classics such as Eat My Dust and black comedies such as A Bucket of Blood
A Bucket of Blood
A Bucket of Blood is a 1959 American comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Dick Miller and was set in beatnik culture. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days, and shares many of the low-budget filmmaking aesthetics commonly associated with Corman's work....
and The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
. He had a small role in It Conquered the World
It Conquered the World
It Conquered the World is a 1956 American science fiction film about an alien from Venus trying to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist. It was directed by Roger Corman, written by Lou Rusoff , and starred Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally...
, which he also wrote, as Dr. Pete Shelton.
Griffith died on September 28, 2007 in San Diego, aged 77, from undisclosed causes.
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
dedicated his film Deathproof to Griffith, whome he referred to as one of his main influences and called 'The father of redneck cinema".