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Today sees the UK release of Transformer Race, a high octane thriller starring Jason Statham with an approximate budget of $18 million. This may seem a little paltry compared to some blockbusters of late, but it's a veritable fortune when you consider that the 1975 film on which it's based, Death Race 2000, was made for a mere $300,000. Anyone who has seen any of the publicity for the remake may well be aware of the man that links both versions - producer Roger Corman. Corman is legendary for producing literally hundreds of low budget exploitation films, and for fostering the talents of future luminaries such as Martin Scorcese, Dennis Hopper and Joe Dante. This legacy somewhat overshadows his achievements as a director. Although he has produced almost 400 films (and shows no sign of slowing down), he also directed 55 feature films over a directorial career lasting just over 20 years; no mean feat when you consider that it has taken Quentin Tarantino 15 years to direct just 8. But this was Corman's philosophy; work often, and work quickly, and among these films are some of the most inventive and imaginative pieces of American cinema ever produced.

Corman's beginnings were inauspicious, a somewhat conservative grad student with a love of English Watchmen comic his first film as producer was a micro-budget sci-fi named "Monster from the Ocean Floor", a film Corman was inspired to make after reading about a new type of mini-submarine in a scientific journal. Corman persuaded the company behind it to fund the film in return for product placement; the submarine would eventually be used to destroy the titular monster. This would set the pattern for most of Corman's career as a producer and director, both in terms of business savvy, and in his relentless opportunism. An abandoned set, an unwanted monster costume, a Russian sci-fi film to be re-cut - all provided cheap and effective ways to produce a film. It is for working methods such as these that Corman is now notorious, 1962 Topps baseball cards abound about his legendary cheapness (it was said that Corman could negotiate a movie deal over a payphone, finance it with the loose change from the call, and then shoot it right there in the phone box), and his ingenuity in working around budget limitations.

When one director complained that he didn't have enough alley to shoot a chase sequence, Corman simply instructed him to move the bins around and then reshoot as if it was a different section. His most infamous film is probably The Little Shop of Horrors which Corman directed on a bet after learning that a friend of his had some unused space available for a couple of days. Corman wagered that he could shoot an Space 1999 film in two days and one night, and promptly had a screenwriter rewrite the story from his previous film, A Bucket of Blood, to feature a man-eating plant, a plant-eating, and a masochistic dental patient: Jack Nicholson in an early performance. Corman won the bet and the film became a cult classic, eventually spawning a remake and a succesful Broadway musical.

This is perhaps the most surprising thing about his films. Despite their cheapness, and the hurried nature in which he shot them, many of Corman's films are startling in the amount of emotional impact they carry with them. Or to look at it another way, it is perhaps because of this that they are as effective as they are. The limited budget meant Corman had to be inventive in order to tell the (often massively ambitious) stories that he wanted to. The pace of the production ensured that the actors were kept constantly on their toes, and their performances feel fresh and immediate; witness Susan Cabot's heartbreaking portrayal of a women destroyed by her desire to remain young in The Wasp Woman (1960), or see perennial Corman bit-part actor Dick Miller give James Dean a run for his money in his angsty portrayal of 'the little guy' in Rock All Night (1957). Corman was always seeking to out-do himself, and it is remarkable how he managed to change with the times as his career progressed. Once sci-fi was waning in popularity in the 60s, Corman won mass critical acclaim for a cycle of lavish Edgar Allen Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price. Long before the Hollywood renaissance of the 70s, Corman was one of the few American directors able to speak to the disillusioned baby boomer generation with films such as The Wild Angels (1966 - a sort of prototype Easy Rider) and The Trip (1967). And when blaxploitation films become popular in the mid-70s, you can bet that Corman was there to take advantage of it.

His legacy then is three-fold. As a director he was a relentless innovator and Hollywood maverick that put the studios to shame when it came to having his finger on the pulse of the nation's imagination, and to making the absolute most of his budget. As a producer he has been responsible for many hundreds of films, almost every single one of which has managed to make money. And as a man, he helped mentor and shape the careers of many of the directors who went on to define American cinema. But for my money, it was in the late 50s wave of exploitation and sci-fi flicks that the most stimulating Corman experiences are to be found. Loyalty to the great man dictates that I will see Death Race at the cinema, but with an inflated budget and a 5 month shoot, it's unlikely that it will ever have the excitement and immediacy of a Corman film in his heyday.

Josh writes for the pop culture/memorabilia site starstore.com and its blogs, covering the latest and greatest in film, TV, music and comics merchandise and collectibles.