Larry Buchanan
Encyclopedia
Larry Buchanan (January 31, 1923 – December 2, 2004) was a film director
, producer and writer, who proclaimed himself a "schlockmeister
". Many of his titles have landed on "worst movie" lists, but all at least broke even and many made a profit.
Buchanan was born in Mexia, Texas
. He was orphaned as a baby, and was raised in Dallas
in an orphanage
. It was while growing up there that he became fascinated with the movies which were shown in the orphanage's theater. He considered becoming a minister, but visited Hollywood and landed a job in the props department at 20th Century Fox
. He made movies for the United States Army Signal Corps
during World War II
.
In the early 1950s, Buchanan began producing, writing, editing and acting in his own movies. The first was The Cowboy in 1951.
He is perhaps best known for exploitation, science fiction
, and other genre films, including Free, White and 21
, High Yellow, The Naked Witch, The Loch Ness Horror
, and Mistress of the Apes. Among Buchanan's work, eight direct-to-television films he wrote, produced, and directed under his own Azalea Films production entity in the mid- and late-1960s, for American International Pictures
, still generate a good degree of fan adoration. The titles — The Eye Creatures
, Zontar, The Thing from Venus
, Creature of Destruction
, Mars Needs Women
, In the Year 2889
, Curse of the Swamp Creature
, Hell Raiders, and It's Alive!
— were largely remakes of AIP films from a decade earlier. Buchanan's instructions from AIP were We want cheap color pictures, we want half-assed names in them, we want them eighty minutes long and we want them now.
In 1964, Buchanan created The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, which presented an alternate history
in which John F. Kennedy
and Lee Harvey Oswald
both survived Kennedy's assassination
. In 1984 he produced Down on Us
, which charged that the United States government was responsible for the deaths of Jimi Hendrix
, Jim Morrison
and Janis Joplin
.
Buchanan's autobiography
is entitled It Came from Hunger: Tales of a Cinema Schlockmeister.
After he died in 2004 in Tucson, a long obituary in the New York Times summarized his work thus: "One quality united Mr. Buchanan's diverse output: It was not so much that his films were bad; they were deeply, dazzlingly, unrepentantly bad. His work called to mind a famous line from H. L. Mencken
, who, describing President Warren G. Harding's
prose, said, 'It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it.'"
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producer and writer, who proclaimed himself a "schlockmeister
Schlock
Schlock is an English word of Yiddish origin meaning "something cheap, shoddy, or inferior "In the field of science, "schlock" refers to shoddy or unreliable results....
". Many of his titles have landed on "worst movie" lists, but all at least broke even and many made a profit.
Buchanan was born in Mexia, Texas
Mexia, Texas
Mexia is a city in Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,552 at the 2008 census.The city's motto, based on the fact that outsiders tend to mispronounce the name , is "A great place, no matter how you pronounce it."...
. He was orphaned as a baby, and was raised in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
in an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
. It was while growing up there that he became fascinated with the movies which were shown in the orphanage's theater. He considered becoming a minister, but visited Hollywood and landed a job in the props department at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. He made movies for the United States Army Signal Corps
United States Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In the early 1950s, Buchanan began producing, writing, editing and acting in his own movies. The first was The Cowboy in 1951.
He is perhaps best known for exploitation, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, and other genre films, including Free, White and 21
Free, White and 21
Free, White and 21 is a 1963 movie by self-proclaimed "schlockmeister", Larry Buchanan. It was based on the true story of the controversial trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman in Dallas, Texas in the 1960s....
, High Yellow, The Naked Witch, The Loch Ness Horror
The Loch Ness Horror
The Loch Ness Horror is a 1981 independent monster movie directed by Larry Buchanan. The films reception was poor, due to its bad special effects and Scottish stereotypes. The plot revolves around The Loch Ness Monster feeding on unsuspecting swimmers and eventually going on a killing spree...
, and Mistress of the Apes. Among Buchanan's work, eight direct-to-television films he wrote, produced, and directed under his own Azalea Films production entity in the mid- and late-1960s, for American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
, still generate a good degree of fan adoration. The titles — The Eye Creatures
The Eye Creatures
The Eye Creatures is a 1965 science-fiction film about an invasion of an unnamed American countryside by a flying saucer and its silent, shambling alien occupants...
, Zontar, The Thing from Venus
Zontar, The Thing from Venus
Zontar, the Thing from Venus also known as Zontar: The Invader from Venus is a 1966, made for television, science fiction film, directed by Larry Buchanan and based on the teleplay by Hillman Taylor and Buchanan. It is a remake of Roger Corman's It Conquered the World , and also featured an alien...
, Creature of Destruction
Creature of Destruction
Creature of Destruction is a 1967 American made-for-television film directed by Larry Buchanan. It is an uncredited color remake of the 1956 film The She Creature directed by Edward L. Cahn.- Plot summary :...
, Mars Needs Women
Mars Needs Women
Mars Needs Women is an American International Pictures made for TV science fiction film filmed in 1966 and released in 1967 which features Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, and Byron Lord. it was shot during a two week period in Houston and Dallas, Texas...
, In the Year 2889
In the Year 2889
In the Year 2889 is a 1967 apocalyptic science fiction television film about a futuristic nuclear war. The film is the remake of Day the World Ended . In the film, a nuclear war has wiped out almost all of Earth's citizens. It is set in the year 1977; not 2889...
, Curse of the Swamp Creature
Curse of the Swamp Creature
-Plot:Deep in the rural swamps of Texas the insane Dr. Simond Trent is conducting experiments on the local swamp people in an attempt to discover the secret of evolution...
, Hell Raiders, and It's Alive!
'It's Alive!'
'It's Alive!' is a 1969 American film directed by Larry Buchanan. It is about a mad farmer who tries to feed a stranded couple to a dinosaur he keeps in a cave. Its tagline is: "Trapped In a Cave of Terror!" It was filmed in the Ozark Mountain area of northern Arkansas and Tennessee...
— were largely remakes of AIP films from a decade earlier. Buchanan's instructions from AIP were We want cheap color pictures, we want half-assed names in them, we want them eighty minutes long and we want them now.
In 1964, Buchanan created The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, which presented an alternate history
Alternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
in which John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
both survived Kennedy's assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. In 1984 he produced Down on Us
Down on Us
Down on Us is a low budget 1984 movie about the United States government's plot to assassinate 1960's rock stars, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix, using an elite force of killers. It is sometimes known as Beyond the Doors....
, which charged that the United States government was responsible for the deaths of Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
and Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
.
Buchanan's autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
is entitled It Came from Hunger: Tales of a Cinema Schlockmeister.
After he died in 2004 in Tucson, a long obituary in the New York Times summarized his work thus: "One quality united Mr. Buchanan's diverse output: It was not so much that his films were bad; they were deeply, dazzlingly, unrepentantly bad. His work called to mind a famous line from H. L. Mencken
H. L. Mencken
Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the...
, who, describing President Warren G. Harding's
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
prose, said, 'It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it.'"
Biography and Film Criticism
- Rob Craig: The Films of Larry Buchanan: A Critical Examination: Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland: 2007: ISBN 0786429828