Low-budget master Roger Corman to get honorary Oscar

There's a joke in Hollywood that low-budget filmmaker Roger Corman could negotiate a deal in a phone booth, film the movie in the same booth and finance it with the loose change he found. The joke is not far from the truth.

Corman, whose Hollywood legacy includes films with titles such as "Candy Stripe Nurses," "The Terror," "The Masque of the Red Death" and "Bloody Mama," was legendary for making movies quickly and on shoestring budgets. He has the record, if you will, of completing a movie in two and a half days. The film was called "Little Shop of Horrors" and starred a little-known actor named Jack Nicholson. "Shop of Horrors" went on to inspire a big budget remake and a theater production.

Corman, 83, on Saturday will receive an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his lifetime achievement in filmmaking. Corman has 385 credits for producing, 56 for directing, six for writing and 32 for acting.

Besides producing entertaining movies for 50-plus years, Corman also has a sizable reputation for mentoring many of today's best directors including Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard and Jonathan Demme. They are just some of the graduates of what Hollywood calls the Roger Corman Film School.

A lot of actors also got career boosts from Corman including Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Dennis Hopper and William Shatner.

Perhaps not so well known is that Corman was instrumental in the 1960s of introducing American audiences to the works of international filmmakers including Sweden's Ingmar Bergman, Italy's Federico Fellini and Japan's Akira Kurosawa.

Here are six movies available on video and DVD that are testament to the lasting legacy of the Corman Film School.

"Frankenstein Unbound" (1990) -- Corman wrote the screenplay for this take on the Frankenstein story, which he also directed. Stars include John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda and Jason Patric. It was the last film Corman directed.

"The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) -- Director Jonathan Demme was a graduate of the Corman Film School and he cast his mentor as FBI Director Hayden Burke in this thriller about the FBI using serial killer Hannibal Lecter to catch another murderer. Stars include Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and Scott Glenn.

"Von Richthofen and Brown" (1971) -- Corman directs this biopic about the World War I ace known as the Red Baron (John Phillip Law) and the Canadian aviator Roy Brown (Don Stroud), who shot him down. The aerial scenes are outstanding.

"The Wild Angels" (1966) -- Corman got some flack for this film he directed about the Hell's Angels, but some film critics say it was the first film to capture the youth movement of the 1960s. Stars include Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Michael J. Pollard and Gayle Hunnicutt.

"Boxcar Bertha" (1972) -- Corman had a way of spotting talent. One of his finds was Martin Scorsese, who directs this movie about a Depression-era union leader (David Carradine) and his girlfriend (Barbara Hershey) getting revenge on an uncaring railroad mogul. Other stars include Barry Primus, Bernie Casey and John Carradine.

"The Terror" (1963) -- Corman boosted the careers of many actors including Jack Nicholson, who stars as a Napoleonic officer who tracks a mysterious woman to an even-more-mysterious castle. Other stars include Boris Karloff and Dick Miller.

Lest we forget: Movies about America's veterans

Three of my best friends in high school enlisted in the service within a couple of years of graduating.

John joined the Army and wound up in West Germany. Carl and Mike joined the Navy on the buddy system. Mike got out after two years but wound up re-enlisting and I lost touch with him. Carl was a lifer from the beginning. Over the next 20 years, he bounced around the globe. He spent time in Iceland, Scotland, Hawaii, Southern California and on a speck of dirt in the Indian Ocean called Diego Garcia. Vietnam was about over so none of them went there.

A few years ago, one of my nieces married a member of the Tennessee National Guard. He's been to Iraq twice.

College and neighborhood friends had kids that joined up. A couple of them joined the Marines. One of them was an Army tank driver. All of them wound up in Iraq. All of them came home in one piece.

I always think of them around Veterans Day, which is next Wednesday. I thank God they all came home safe and sound.

Hundreds of movies have been made about the military. Some of them were about great generals, such as "Patton." Some were about war heroes, such as "To Hell and Back" about World War II soldier Audie Murphy. Some were about famous battles or attacks, such as the Japanese sneak attack on Hawaii in "Pearl Harbor."

Movies have been made about every war the United States was involved in from the Revolution against Great Britain (Mel Gibson's "The Patriot") to Iraq ("Courage Under Fire"), and that includes the Indian wars as well as our war with Mexico.

Not as well known are the movies that take place after the troops come home.

World War II inspired some such as "Some Came Running" about a vet returning to his hometown and "The Men" about paralyzed vets trying to adjust.

There were a lot of movies about Vietnam veterans who came home disabled. "Coming Home" is about a paralyzed soldier falling in love with an officer's wife. "Taxi Driver" is about a vet who has anger issues. "First Blood" is about a vet who is lost in America.

Many movies have a character's wartime experiences in the background. Al Pacino's Michael Corleone is a war hero in "The Godfather," Denzel Washington's  detective Easy Rawlins is a World War II veteran in "Devil in a Blue Dress," and Jack Nicholson's detective Jake Gittes knows what to do with a hand grenade in "The Two Jakes."

As we get ready to pay tribute to the men and women who served, here are six movies that focus on veterans after they have returned from the battlefield. All are available on video and DVD. Lest we forget.

"The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946) -- Three veterans (Dana Andrews, Harold Russell and Fredric March, pictured above) meet on a plane carrying them home after the end of World War II and become fast friends. Then they find their lives will never be the same again. Other stars include Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Hoagy Carmichael.

"Home of the Brave" (2006) -- Four soldiers caught in a bloody ambush just days before leaving Iraq find it hard adjusting after returning from the Middle East. Stars include Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel (pictured at left), 50 Cent and Brian Presley.

"Born on the 4th of July" (1989) -- Tom Cruise stars as paralyzed Vietnam vet Ron Kovic who becomes an anti-war activist because he thinks his country has betrayed him in this Oliver Stone bio-pic. Other stars include Tom Berenger, Frank Whaley and Stephen Baldwin.

"The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) -- A Korean War veteran (Frank Sinatra) discovers a fellow POW (Laurence Harvey) has been brainwashed into becoming an assassin in this thriller. Other stars include Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury and James Gregory. Avoid the remake, which takes place after the first Iraq war.

"The Razor's Edge" (1984) -- Bill Murray is outstanding as a World War I veteran who embarks on a quest to find the meaning of life. Other stars include Theresa Russell, Catherine Hicks and Denholm Elliott.

"Jacknife" (1989) -- Robert De Niro stars as a Vietnam vet who has managed to make peace with his demons and tries to help Army buddy Ed Harris do the same while romancing Harris' sister (Kathy Baker).  Tom Isbell co-stars as the buddy that didn't make it home.