It can be argued that American International Pictures was the greatest of the B-movie studios.

AIP produced and distributed (or just distributed) hundreds of cheaply-made, but nonetheless thrilling, movies featuring madmen and mutants, bikers and beach bunnies, and delinquents and debutantes.

The studio’s co-founders, Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson, found that their success began with a title – but not just any title. Nicholson would dream up a title for a movie, and if Arkoff liked it, they asked the film exhibitors what they thought of it. If approved, the movie was a go, and Arkoff and Nicholson would hire a writer to pen the script.

AIP also tapped into an under-served market at the time: teenagers. The two polled teens to see what they wanted to watch. Their responses also helped determined which titles got made, as well as who was cast in their movies.

To celebrate this iconic studio’s 69th anniversary, on April 2nd, the Pop Culture Entertainment Group is launching The American International Podcast. The show will delve into AIP’s extensive catalog, one at a time, to discuss the casts, the plots, and the history and cultural impact of their films, covering everything from The Abominable Dr Phibes to Zontar, the Thing from Venus.

Here is my list of ten of the best AIP movie titles, and while these movies may or may not be on your top ten list, you can’t fault these lurid and intriguing titles.

The Abominable Doctor Phibes (1971)

AIP was quick to employ superlatives like “amazing” or “incredible” in their movie titles, but only one AIP villain was truly ‘abominable.” Vincent Price does an amazing turn as the (mostly) mute Doctor Phibes, whose drive to avenge his wife’s death turns him into a murderer. Phibes is not content to merely shoot the doctors and nurse that he holds responsible for his wife’s demise on the operating table; instead he devises an elaborate and baroque series of kills based upon ten biblical plagues. Phibes truly earns the “abominable” moniker, which director Robert Fuest says was added at the behest of AIP brass after shooting had already begun.

Attack of the Puppet People (1958)

This title is a bit of a misnomer – the “people” in the title aren’t really puppets, and they aren’t exactly attacking, either. In this film legendary auteur Bert I. Gordon, known for making movies about adversaries that are oversized – giant ants, grasshoppers or even people – reverses course in this movie and has his cast shrunk to the size of dolls by a demented puppeteer. They work together to reverse the effect, which I guess is something a demented puppeteer would consider an attack. Still, the title works – once you adjust your expectations.

The Beast With a Million Eyes (1955)

This is the classic example of AIP’s “title first” philosophy. Nicholson presented the title to Arkoff, who fell in love with it immediately and the two commissioned the script – and the poster art. Unfortunately, the budget for the film limited the ability of the movie’s effects department to render a beast worthy or the both the title and the movie’s poster. Those million eyes belonged to all the beasts on earth in the finished movie, which was, understandably, a big letdown for all involved.

A Bucket of Blood (1959)

One of AIP’s best movies, A Bucket of Blood features the great Dick Miller as the nebbishy Walter Paisley, a wannabe artist and accidental (at first) murderer. Roger Corman directed a comical tale of murder that perfectly sends up late-1950s Beatnik culture – but why is it called A Bucket of Blood? The answer isn’t readily available, but the name “A Bucket of Blood” is used by dozens of bars, speakeasies, and taverns around the world. Many of them have back stories that relate to prohibition, murder, or gunslingers, though very different folklore about where the name really comes from. While it would make sense if the hipster cafe frequented by Paisley in the film were called the “Bucket of Blood” (it’s the Yellow Door), the title still gives off the intended vibes of gruesome, yet hilarious – horror.

The Fast and the Furious (1954)

Little-known fact: the original title for the Vin Diesel car heist franchise was Redline, but producer Neil H. Moritz wasn’t feeling it, and was looking for something better. He found it by watching a documentary about the early days of Roger Corman and AIP, and their 1954 film The Fast and the Furious. There is almost no resemblence between the 1954 film about a man who joins a road race to elude police and the 2001 film, but Moritz had to negotiate with Corman before he was able to use the title he wanted.

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini/Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)

AIP’s first Annette Funicello at the beach movie bore the uninspring title Beach Party, and was followed by Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach. Clearly, AIP could do better, and they did, with Beach Blanket Bingo and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. Though the plots of all the movies are basically the same – not very racy romance between Annette and Frankie (or their romantic rivals) alongside strange comedy bits from mature comedians like Buster Keaton, Mickey Rooney and Morey Amsterdam – the latter titles promise something a bit more fun. No one actually plays Beach Blanket Bingo in the film, but the title is probably referring to a different kind of game, as explained in the title song: “Take a blanket, made for two now / Add a boy and a girl / That’s a game for me and you now / Yeah, let’s give it a whirl.” Game on!

I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957)

Before Teen Wolf, before Teen Wolf 2, and before Teen Wolf the series, there was I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Every movie, tv episode or comedy sketch ever dubbed I Was a Teenage _________ (fill in the blank) had its genesis in this movie. The iconic title was another of Nicholson’s light bulb moments, and spawned a quickly-produced sequel called I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, and a later film called Teenage Caveman. AIP was the first studio to make a monster out of a teenaged character, just one of their many pioneering achievements.

The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971)/The Thing with Two Heads (1972)

It’s to AIP’s credit that they weren’t content to have just one movie about a man with two heads; they made two. Both The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant and The Thing with Two Heads are about a scientist who creates a two-headed human: each have a really big and tall guy’s body with the added head of a shifty, evil antagonist. for the former movie, it’s a psycho-killer whose head gets implanted onto a mentally-challenged man; in the latter, a rich racist (Ray Milland) desperately wants to stay alive, and has his head grafted onto the body of a Black death-row inmate (Rosie Greer). In both cases, the special effects are not that special, with the two-headed effect created by having the smaller of the two men being carried around by the larger like a backpack, with some strategically placed bandages binding them together, buy you can’t deny the lure of a title that promises two brains running one body.

It Conquered the World (1956)

Could one vaguely pickle-shaped monster conquer the world? Doubtful, but that won’t stop it from trying in this Roger Corman space-invasion thriller. Written by AIP scribe Lou Rusoff, It Conquered the World was supposed to feature creatures somewhat lower to the ground, based on the (mistaken) belief that the Venusian creatures suffered under a greater gravitational force than we do on earth. However, the flat monster couldn’t be seen in the same shot as the humans it was threatening. The effects crew decided to tip their monster upward, alter it a little, and voila! A star was born. (Allegedly, star Beverly Garland complained about her nemesis’ less than imposing stature, saying that she could just bop it on the head with her handbag.) If only “It” had been more menacing, but unfortunately, this is another film that didn’t have a budget to match the promise of the compelling title.

Panic in Year Zero (1962)

Ray Milland appears on the list again, this time both as the film’s director, and starring as a dad out camping with his family at the same time an atomic bomb levels Los Angeles. Milland and his family, including Frankie Avalon as his son, are now on a desperate quest for survival. Panic in Year Zero is a perfect title describing a world where the survivors must start a new society from scratch, and where there are no rules, and no one to protect you but yourself.

Scream and Scream Again (1970)

Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing appear, if not really together, then on the bill of this horror movie featuring vampires, mad tyrants, mad scientists, and people being dissolved in vats of acid. Scream and Scream Again appeared on a double bill with The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, and despite the incomprehensible plot, the two titles must have been a hell of a draw at the time.