Anyone know where this was filmed? Thanks
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bcxists — 18 years ago(October 18, 2007 03:29 PM)
Actually, "Bucket of Blood" was filmed largely at the Gas House in Venice, CA. The Gas House was a soup kitchen, art gallery and literary coffeehouse that ran from 1958-60. The owner of the Gas House was named Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, who prior to that had booked acts in San Francisco's hungry i nightclub during the mid-'50s. Nord later started the Co-Existence Bagel Shop in North Beach before coming down to Los Angeles and opening the Gas House in Venice.
The Gas House was covered in LIFE magazine in the summer of 1959, replete with a photo of Tex Kleen reading poetry inside an empty bathtub placed in the middle of the room.
An artist named Shanna Baldwin did a groovy sketch of the Gas House regulars, which also included (later) Colorado poetry legend James Ryan Morris. Furthermore, the songwriter who penned "Nature Boy," one Eden Ahbez, often frequented the Gas House, and in 1960 he even wrote a song about it (which remains unreleased to this day).
Lastly, the Gas House along with another Venice beatnik joint called the Venice West Cafe was covered extensively in Lawrence Lipton's essential beat tome, "The Holy Barbarians" (1959). Lipton and owner Eric Nord were filmed doing a poetry/bongo number in the 1960 film "The Hypnotic Eye."
I hope that helps.
Yours,
Brian Chidester