Charles B. Griffith, 77; Screenwriter for Roger Corman Films ("Bucket of Blood," "Little Shop of Horrors")
Stephen Bowie
Charles B. Griffith, 77, screenwriter
Scribe wrote 'Little Shop of Horrors' for Corman
By VARIETY STAFF
Charles B. Griffith, known for melding black humor in his screenplays
for Roger Corman including "Little Shop of Horrors," died Sept. 28 in
San Diego. He was 77.
Griffith, to whom Quentin Tarantino dedicated his recent film "Death
Proof," also wrote exploitation classics including "Death Race 2000,"
directed by Paul Bartel and "Eat My Dust," starring Ron Howard, which
Griffith also directed.
"Little Shop of Horrors" later became a musical by Alan Menken and
Howard Ashman, which was then made into a feature directed by Frank
Oz.
Griffith's grandmother Myrtle Vail was a vaudevillian who created one
of radio's earliest soap operas, "Myrt & Marge." Born in Chicago, he
came to Hollywood to help Vail break into television. After an actor
friend introduced him to Corman, he received his first feature writing
credit on Corman's "It Conquered the World."
He went on to write screenplays for sci-fi, girlie and action pics
including "Gunslinger," "Naked Paradise," "Attack of the Crab
Monsters," "Bucket of Blood," "Teenage Doll," "Rock All Night,"
"Forbidden Island" and "Beast from Haunted Cave," directed by Monte
Hellman.
Griffith played a centrol role in 1960s and '70s film and pop culture
--- his motorcycle pics "The Wild Angels," starring Peter Fonda, and
"The Devil's Angels," with John Cassavetes, served as forerunners to
"Easy Rider," and his original script for psychedelic fable "The Trip"
was rejected by Corman rejected for glorifying drugs, leaving Jack
Nicholson to write the final version. He also contributed uncredited
scenes to Roger Vadim's "Barbarella."
Griffith retired in the 1980s to write books, travel and cook.
He is survived by his wife Marmory, a daughter and four grandchildren.
Bob Feigel
<stephe...@hotmail.com> magnanimously proffered:
>Griffith played a centrol role in 1960s and '70s film and pop culture
>--- his motorcycle pics "The Wild Angels," starring Peter Fonda,
I wonder if he was responsible for one of my favourite lines from a
film:
"We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna
be free to ride. We wanna be free to ride our machines and not be
hassled by The Man! ... we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good
time. And that's what we are gonna do. We are gonna have a good
time... We are gonna have a party. Let's tear up this church." -
Heavenly Blues (played by Peter Fonda in the 1966 pre-Easy Rider Roger
Corman flick, The Wild Angels.
--
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
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Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
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Hoodude
>> Griffith played a centrol role in 1960s and '70s film and pop culture
>> --- his motorcycle pics "The Wild Angels," starring Peter Fonda,
> I wonder if he was responsible for one of my favourite lines from a
> film:
>
> "We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna
> be free to ride. We wanna be free to ride our machines and not be
> hassled by The Man! ... we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good
> time. And that's what we are gonna do. We are gonna have a good
> time... We are gonna have a party. Let's tear up this church." -
> Heavenly Blues (played by Peter Fonda in the 1966 pre-Easy Rider Roger
> Corman flick, The Wild Angels.
"Theme From The Wild Angels" and "Blue's Theme" by Davie Allan and the
Arrows being favorite tunes of mine back in the day, as well as
appreciation of the movie to this day.
--
Transduce That Marimba
Bob Feigel
magnanimously proffered:
Here's a YouTube clip of Davie Allan playing "Blue's Theme":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1fWQtRmZE
Davie playing an old favourite that has been featured in 60's surf
movies. The Theme from Peter Gunn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liPtnCfUGCs&mode=related&search=