History and Context

Corman hired Stephanie Rothman in 1964. In conjunction with social changes happening through the United States, he was beginning to experiment with bolder aesthetic styles and controversial themes, wanting to support revolutionary movements. After the failure of The Intruder (1962), he realized he could still make films that had a subversive subtext as long as the text was commercial and somewhat formulaic. The previous year had been one of his most prolific and he needed a talented assistant.

He found Stephanie Rothman, the first woman he'd ever hired to direct. Rothman had won the Directors Guild of America Fellowship for student filmmakers – and was the first woman to do so. At the time, it was nearly impossible for women to be hired for behind-the-scenes work, especially if they didn't already have family connections to the film industry or union representation. She made her first film for him, It's a Bikini World (1967), within a year of being hired.

In 1970, Corman established the production and distribution company New World Pictures. He asked Rothman to make The Student Nurses (1970), the first film for the new company. In it, she was able to explore issues of abortion rights, immigration, and other sociopolitical conflicts. Financially, it was a huge success. This taught Corman that exploitation movies could be socially conscious and profitable.

The Velvet Vampire (1971) was Rothman's follow-up to The Student Nurses. Encouraged by Corman and her own success, she once again decided to tackle difficult themes. In order to make a vampire movie interesting and lucrative, she had to challenge expectations and push genre conventions.