‘Lost’ Roger Corman Film Lands Exclusively on Crackle
After more than a decade without a home, Virtually Heroes, the long-considered ‘lost’ movie from legendary filmmaker Roger Corman, has landed on Crackle–and it’s free to watch.
The action comedy follows Sergeant Books, a self-aware soldier in a video game, who seeks help from a straight-talking Monk (Mark Hamill). After the Monk teaches him the cheat codes of life, Books can attempt to break free from the game world.
Virtually Heroes was an official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, but was unavailable until August 2022, when Screen Media nabbed North American distribution rights. Now, you can watch the lost film from the “Picasso of B movies” free–and that’s not nearly the end of Crackle’s Roger Corman collection.
The free streaming service has more than 30 titles directed or produced by Corman, who is known for his highly successful low-budget exploitation films, and for launching the careers of several prominent directors and actors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, and Jonathan Demme. Here are just a few of the library’s highlights.
The Little Shop of Horrors
This 1960 cult classic, produced and directed by Corman, was shot in two days and one night
on a leftover set and a $28,000 budget. It’s about a clumsy young man who nurtures a plant and discovers that it’s carnivorous, forcing him to kill to feed it. It’s absurd, it’s dark, it’s funny, and it features a memorable cameo by a young Jack Nicholson.
A Bucket of Blood
After accidentally killing his landlady's cat and covering the body in plaster to hide the evidence, a man (Dick Miller) is acclaimed as a brilliant sculptor. The suspenseful 1959 comedy is set in West Coast beatnik culture of the late 1950s, and referred to by some critics as one of Corman’s best. In true Corman form, the film was produced on a $50,000 budget and shot in five days.
Machine-Gun Kelly
The 1958 film noir chronicles the criminal activities of the real-life George "Machine Gun" Kelly. It was the first lead role for actor Charles Bronson. Corman called the film a major turning point in his career, too, because it earned him his first brush with critical attention. According to Corman, the movie was shot in ten days for $60,000.
Watch these films and dozens more from Roger Corman, completely free on Crackle.