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The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes
The Man With Kaleidoscope Eyes is not just a book about Roger Corman and an outstanding cast of familiar and funny supporting characters. It’s a novel about Hollywood when it stood poised between the collapse of the old studio system and the rise of the new independent film movement, a monumental change for which Corman was largely responsible. It’s also a romantic story about finding the courage to reshape your own world and—perhaps most importantly—about the risks and challenges artists must sometimes face if they want to advance to the next plateau.
160 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2022
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 12, 2024
...In which a successful (but still up-and-coming) director decides on the subject of his next teen exploitation picture, as a new hallucinogenic chemical has become in vogue among the youth culture. And so, gathering together a cast of "on the cusp of fame" actors, and with one Jack Nicholson writing the script, Roger Corman prepares to make "The Trip" - but honestly understands that to make it, he needs to take it...
I enjoyed this, perhaps, more than I expected to. I am 55 (in 2022) and grew up during the 70s, the hedonistic "come down" and fragmentation of the 60s, and the reactionary rise of Reagan era "let's destroy the Government, rich people are all we need" rhetoric (which has finally cashed out as just "let's destroy Democracy"). But politics isn't what this book is really about...
Growing up as a child in the 70s, the freaks and leftovers of the hippie era were strange and frightening, sometimes on their own and sometimes through deliberate media representation ("we can go OUT of the ordinary but we CAN'T live there" being the message, to quote Negativland quoting some corporate directive memo). Luckily, as I grew up and was attempting to "place my opinions" on such historical movements and events, I stumbled upon the delicious satire of the era, The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which allowed me both to laugh at the excesses and also sympathize with and understand the monumental era I never lived through but whose echoes were still sounding around me. But "acid counterculture" isn't really what this book is really about...
Instead, what you get is a love letter to a number of things. In no order - first and second would obviously be a time (the late 60s just before the Summer of Love) and place (Los Angeles, and it's non-celebrity film community). Third would be the youth culture of the time (all the music and hangout spots and various "types"). Fourth would be, specifically, Roger Corman himself and the milieu of teen exploitation films. By the time the book opens, Corman is already well past his 1950s monster films and early 1960s Edgar Allen Poe movies, which have gotten him established but now he's plateaued and, while he has a hit with biker film THE WILD ANGELS, he's unsure of where to go next (at least partially because he feels unsure of ANGELS and its resonance). And, through a series of events, he decides on a film about the new fad sweeping the youth culture, a little tablet called LSD...
I opined, in a recent review, that THE TRIP was the "least exploitative exploitation film ever made," as it tries to, seriously and soberly, contend with the experience of being "experienced," not resorting to the "freak out psychos" and "Manson killers" which would follow in its wake. And this book is about how such an informed and rigorous treatment came about - a fictionalization of some very real events. The strengths of this text are in the portrayal of Corman and the capturing of the time and place. Corman, always a bit of an outsider among the straights by being thoughtful and intuitive, is portrayed here as neither a "head" nor a mere exploiter, but a serious man who (while having come-up in the industry by making "junk that sells") has an artistic temperament and desire to always add a "little more" into his latter works, salting some fine psychological character work and symbology into his later monster and Poe films. And, honestly, I really enjoyed this angle on exploitation films and film-making - it made me reconsider some of my reductive assumptions about the form (that while most studios were grinding out ugly cash-grab takes on sex and violence, it was guys like Corman who were looking to say "but what can we do with this freedom?" and "how can we put up on screen what is important to our target market, young people?").
And, of course, "what can we do with this freedom?" exactly aligns with the youth culture at the time, tired of the war in Vietnam (which beats along in the background here) and within a year of their final rupture from "the Culture" (helped along through the auspices of a certain chemical compound). "Acid isn't recreational, it's confrontational," we're told at one point and that does really sum up the attitude of the youth culture of the time, looking for a way out by looking inwards at themselves and their basic motivations. But what happens when a man like Corman buys a ticket....?
There are all kinds of enjoyable grace notes in this book, which is neither as heavy as I've made it sound, nor totally lighthearted (thus, THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES is neither a comedy, nor a turgid drama - more like a historical/psychological novel). There's a funny sequence with a tripping girl, "locked out" of a car, as she over-defines what she means by her statement to a reductio ad absurdum - made me chuckle out loud. There's a cute SHINING in-joke involving Nicholson. The "procurement of the contraband" sequence made me laugh, with its combination of paranoia and Corman's miserliness. And the portrayal of various Hollywood figures makes them feel like real people - for me, for some reason, Bruce Dern in particular. Also, it made me want to go back and re-watch a number of the films that exist in the book's orbit: THE INTRUDER (well, honestly, that would be a "watch"), THE WILD ANGELS and TARGETS (a personal favorite, which I've already enthused over here: https://rue-morgue.com/review-what-we...) in particular.
If you are of the age to have grown up with AIP features, if you're just interested in film history, or exploitation films, or the way youth culture and "Hollywood" worked together (and yet at odds, as the climax of the book somewhat shows) you should check out THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES!
I enjoyed this, perhaps, more than I expected to. I am 55 (in 2022) and grew up during the 70s, the hedonistic "come down" and fragmentation of the 60s, and the reactionary rise of Reagan era "let's destroy the Government, rich people are all we need" rhetoric (which has finally cashed out as just "let's destroy Democracy"). But politics isn't what this book is really about...
Growing up as a child in the 70s, the freaks and leftovers of the hippie era were strange and frightening, sometimes on their own and sometimes through deliberate media representation ("we can go OUT of the ordinary but we CAN'T live there" being the message, to quote Negativland quoting some corporate directive memo). Luckily, as I grew up and was attempting to "place my opinions" on such historical movements and events, I stumbled upon the delicious satire of the era, The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which allowed me both to laugh at the excesses and also sympathize with and understand the monumental era I never lived through but whose echoes were still sounding around me. But "acid counterculture" isn't really what this book is really about...
Instead, what you get is a love letter to a number of things. In no order - first and second would obviously be a time (the late 60s just before the Summer of Love) and place (Los Angeles, and it's non-celebrity film community). Third would be the youth culture of the time (all the music and hangout spots and various "types"). Fourth would be, specifically, Roger Corman himself and the milieu of teen exploitation films. By the time the book opens, Corman is already well past his 1950s monster films and early 1960s Edgar Allen Poe movies, which have gotten him established but now he's plateaued and, while he has a hit with biker film THE WILD ANGELS, he's unsure of where to go next (at least partially because he feels unsure of ANGELS and its resonance). And, through a series of events, he decides on a film about the new fad sweeping the youth culture, a little tablet called LSD...
I opined, in a recent review, that THE TRIP was the "least exploitative exploitation film ever made," as it tries to, seriously and soberly, contend with the experience of being "experienced," not resorting to the "freak out psychos" and "Manson killers" which would follow in its wake. And this book is about how such an informed and rigorous treatment came about - a fictionalization of some very real events. The strengths of this text are in the portrayal of Corman and the capturing of the time and place. Corman, always a bit of an outsider among the straights by being thoughtful and intuitive, is portrayed here as neither a "head" nor a mere exploiter, but a serious man who (while having come-up in the industry by making "junk that sells") has an artistic temperament and desire to always add a "little more" into his latter works, salting some fine psychological character work and symbology into his later monster and Poe films. And, honestly, I really enjoyed this angle on exploitation films and film-making - it made me reconsider some of my reductive assumptions about the form (that while most studios were grinding out ugly cash-grab takes on sex and violence, it was guys like Corman who were looking to say "but what can we do with this freedom?" and "how can we put up on screen what is important to our target market, young people?").
And, of course, "what can we do with this freedom?" exactly aligns with the youth culture at the time, tired of the war in Vietnam (which beats along in the background here) and within a year of their final rupture from "the Culture" (helped along through the auspices of a certain chemical compound). "Acid isn't recreational, it's confrontational," we're told at one point and that does really sum up the attitude of the youth culture of the time, looking for a way out by looking inwards at themselves and their basic motivations. But what happens when a man like Corman buys a ticket....?
There are all kinds of enjoyable grace notes in this book, which is neither as heavy as I've made it sound, nor totally lighthearted (thus, THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES is neither a comedy, nor a turgid drama - more like a historical/psychological novel). There's a funny sequence with a tripping girl, "locked out" of a car, as she over-defines what she means by her statement to a reductio ad absurdum - made me chuckle out loud. There's a cute SHINING in-joke involving Nicholson. The "procurement of the contraband" sequence made me laugh, with its combination of paranoia and Corman's miserliness. And the portrayal of various Hollywood figures makes them feel like real people - for me, for some reason, Bruce Dern in particular. Also, it made me want to go back and re-watch a number of the films that exist in the book's orbit: THE INTRUDER (well, honestly, that would be a "watch"), THE WILD ANGELS and TARGETS (a personal favorite, which I've already enthused over here: https://rue-morgue.com/review-what-we...) in particular.
If you are of the age to have grown up with AIP features, if you're just interested in film history, or exploitation films, or the way youth culture and "Hollywood" worked together (and yet at odds, as the climax of the book somewhat shows) you should check out THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES!
September 30, 2022
The time, place, sights and sounds of one of (if not THE) most pivotal points of a changing culture are deftly presented in this fun, surprising and heart-felt tome from film critic/essayist and fiction author Tim Lucas. Without getting too much into particulars, it presents a fact-based fictionalized account of the moment in time when drive-in film wonderboy producer/director Roger Corman is eager to move on from his successful run of Edgar Allan Poe films for American International Pictures and into the area of modern topics and concerns, starting with 1966’s THE WILD ANGELS. Upon deciding that the next subject to tackle is LSD, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery along with cohorts soon-to-be very well-known as well as those of a more behind-the scenes nature.
Starting life as a yet-to-be-produced screenplay, Lucas made the welcome decision to turn it into a very enjoyable book, and we’re all the better for it. The pages crackle with life, wit, and heart, and it works beautifully whether you are familiar with the author’s writing and interests (many sly references abound for the benefit of those who are), the subject and his legendary crew of fostered talent (the detail in these portrayals rings beautifully true and make each scene easy to visualize), or are just merely curious,. THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES is an instant classic that deserves a spot on your bookshelf and in your life.
Starting life as a yet-to-be-produced screenplay, Lucas made the welcome decision to turn it into a very enjoyable book, and we’re all the better for it. The pages crackle with life, wit, and heart, and it works beautifully whether you are familiar with the author’s writing and interests (many sly references abound for the benefit of those who are), the subject and his legendary crew of fostered talent (the detail in these portrayals rings beautifully true and make each scene easy to visualize), or are just merely curious,. THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES is an instant classic that deserves a spot on your bookshelf and in your life.
February 8, 2025
Will appeal to both film 'buffs', and to those interested in the 1960s counterculture LSD scene. A great bit of reporting.
June 6, 2025
Hard to fathom how this novel could be better than it is! A serious tale about fantasy / adventure - grounded in the reality of the time (1966). Reality, ha.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews