1950–1959: Early film career
Corman worked his way up to a story reader. The one property that he liked the most and provided ideas for was filmed as The Gunfighter with Gregory Peck. When Corman received no credit at all, he left Fox and decided he would work in film by himself. Under the G.I. Bill, Corman studied English literature at the University of Oxford and lived in Paris for a time.
Corman then returned to Los Angeles and tried to re-establish himself in the film industry. He took various jobs, including television stagehand at KLAC-TV and a messenger at Fox. He worked as an assistant to literary agent Dick Hyland.
Corman wrote a script in his spare time and sold it to William F. Broidy at Allied Artists for US$2,000 (equivalent to $23,978 in 2025). "Dick thought it was funny and let me pay myself a commission," said Corman. Originally called House in the Sea, it was retitled Highway Dragnet (1954) and starred Richard Conte and Joan Bennett. Corman also worked without pay as associate producer on the film, to gain experience.
Corman used his script fee and personal contacts to raise US$12,000 (equivalent to $143,866 in 2025) to produce his first feature, a science-fiction film, Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954). It was produced by Corman's own company, Palo Alto, and released by Robert L. Lippert.
The film did well enough to encourage Corman to produce another film, the racing-car thriller The Fast and the Furious (1954), directed by its star, John Ireland, and co-starring Dorothy Malone. (Decades later, the title would be licensed from Corman for a blockbuster film of the same name.) Corman sold the movie to a new independent company, the American Releasing Company (ARC), run by James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff. Although Corman had a number of offers for the film from Republic and Columbia, he elected to go with ARC because they offered him a monetary advance which would enable him to produce two more movies.
Corman's second film for ARC was one he decided to direct, Five Guns West (1955), a Western, made in color for around $60,000, with Malone and John Lund. The script was written by Robert Wright Campbell, who worked with Corman on several more occasions. Corman announced he would make four more projects for ARC: High Steel, Cobra, Fortress Beneath the Sea, and an untitled film from Campbell. Instead, Corman did some uncredited directing on The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), then made another Western, Apache Woman (1955), starring Lloyd Bridges, written by Lou Rusoff. Rusoff and Corman reunited on Day the World Ended (1955), a postapocalyptic science-fiction film, which was popular.
Corman was to make The Devil on Horseback by Charles B. Griffith about the Brownsville Raid, but it was too expensive. The Woolner Brothers, Louisiana drive-in owners, financed Corman's Swamp Women (1956), a girls-on-the-lam saga. He returned to ARC for two Westerns, The Oklahoma Woman (1956) and Gunslinger (1956) (with Ireland); Gunslinger was co-written by Griffith, who became a crucial collaborator with Corman over the next five years. He bought a script from Curtis Harrington, The Girl from Beneath the Sea, which Harrington made for Corman years later, as Night Tide (1961).
Beverly Garland, one of Corman's early regular stock players, recalled working with him:
Roger made us work hard and long, I remember that! He was always fascinating to me, a fascinating man – and a good businessman! He had such incredible energy, it was tremendous – he was a dynamo to be around. I always knew he was going to be a huge success because there was no stopping him. He just made up his mind that he was going to be a success and that was it.
ARC changed its name to American International Pictures. Corman was established as their leading filmmaker. They financed Corman's next film as director, the science-fiction story It Conquered the World (1956). Co-written by Griffith, it was a follow-up to The Day the World Ended and became a big hit.
He optioned a TV play, The Stake, and hoped to get Dana Andrews to star. It was never made. Instead, Walter Mirisch of Allied Artists hired Corman to make The Undead (1957), inspired by The Search for Bridey Murphy. Griffith wrote the script. In June, Corman made a science-fiction film for Allied Artists, Not of this Earth (1957), also written by Griffith. In August 1956, AIP (American International Pictures) financed a Corman heist movie shot in Hawaii, Naked Paradise (1957), co-written by Griffith. Corman shot it back-to-back with a movie made using his own money, She Gods of Shark Reef (1958). Corman wound up selling the movie to AIP. Corman and Griffith reunited in Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) for Allied, which became one of his most successful early films.
For his own production company, Corman made a rock-and-roll "quickle", Carnival Rock (1957), released by Howco. Rock All Night (1957) was a heist film written by Griffith expanded from a TV play, "The Little Guy", with musical acts inserted. It was planned for him to make Rock'n'Roll Girl for AIP in December 1957. In April 1957, Corman announced he would try to make two films back-to-back from then on to save costs.
Corman made two "teen girl noirs", Teenage Doll (1957) for the Woolner Brothers and Sorority Girl (1957), starring Susan Cabot for AIP. For AIP, he made The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957), shot in August 1957. He was set to follow this with Teenage Jungle by Tony Miller. The success of Not of this Earth and Crab Monsters led to Allied offering Corman a four-picture deal for 1958.
Corman received his first serious critical praise for Machine-Gun Kelly (1958), an AIP biopic of the famous gangster, which gave Charles Bronson his first leading role and co-starred Cabot. Campbell wrote the script. Also for AIP, he did Teenage Caveman (1958), with Robert Vaughn, originally titled Prehistoric World. He helped produce two films for Allied Artists, both from scripts by Leo Gordon: Hot Car Girl (1958), directed by Bernard Kowalski and produced by his brother Gene (the first film they made together) from a script by Gordon; and The Cry Baby Killer (1958), which gave Jack Nicholson his first starring role.
He was given his biggest budget yet in 1958 for I Mobster, a gangster story, co-produced by Edward L. Alperson and Corman's brother Gene for 20th Century Fox. In September 1958, he was reported scouting locations in Australia to do a remake of H. Rider Haggard's She. War of the Satellites (1958) was conceived and shot in record time to take advantage of the Sputnik launch; it was his first collaboration with art director Daniel Haller. Corman also produced, but did not direct, Stakeout on Dope Street (1958), directed by Irvin Kershner, Night of the Blood Beast (1958), directed by Kowalski for AIP, using leftover costumes from Teenage Caveman, and Crime and Punishment U.S.A. (1959), directed by Dennis Sanders with George Hamilton in his first lead role.
