Corman Graduates: Jack Hill Part 1 with Calum Waddell

We're unveiling a new series on the podcast: Corman Graduates, where we chronologically discuss the filmography of a director who went through "the Roger Corman school of filmmaking" and we're starting with Jack Hill, director of films like TEH BIG DOLL HOUSE and COFFY. Joining us for this first episode is writer, film historian, and filmmaker Calum Waddell, who literally wrote the book on Jack Hill with 2009's Jack Hill: The Exploitation and Blaxploitation Master, Film By Film.

We start at the very beginning of Hill's career with "The Host," his student film at UCLA, and his entry into the world of Roger Corman with his work on 1962's THE WASP WOMAN and 1963's THE TERROR before getting his first feature-length assignment, 1966's BLOOD BATH aka TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE, which saw Hill try to create a film around footage from a film shot in Yugoslavia that Corman had invested in.  Corman eventually hands it to Stephanie Rothman, another Corman graduate, who took Hill's film about an obsessed artist who murders his models into a vampire film (at Corman's request, of course). Did we like the film? We discuss!

We then talk about what Jack Hill felt was his true directorial debut, 1967's SPIDER BABY, which Hill did away from Corman and took some time before it reached theaters and then was mostly forgotten until Quentin Tarantino stepped in the 1990s when he re-released Hill's 1975 film SWITCHBLADE SISTERS on his now-defunct Rolling Thunder Pictures label. We'll discuss the incredible performances - including Sid Haig and Lon Chaney Jr. - and why the film was so prophetic to the horror films that followed it.

Don't miss this look into the beginnings of Jack Hill's career with the keen insight and first-hand knowledge of another exploitation expert, Calum Waddell.

To buy some of Calum's books (which we highly suggest you do), head here: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/calum-waddell_1660/.

For more about the New World Pictures Podcast, including previous episodes, t-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts, other merch and more, head here: https://newworldpicturespodcast.com/.

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/