ED WOOD discussions
Barbel
ScotlandPosts: 36,373Chief of Staff
After some chat in the Imaginary Conversations thread, an Ed Wood thread seemed a good idea.
Edward Davis Wood Jr (1924-1978), more usually referred to as Ed Wood. Often regarded as the worst film director ever, certainly in popular lore. In fact, I’d disagree with that- he was an auteur, not merely a director, since he usually wrote, produced and edited his own movies as well as directing them. This was at least in part owing to having no money to hire other people to do those jobs.
For clarity, we are not referring to Tim Burton’s 1994 movie “Ed Wood” but the man himself. Wonderful though that film is, it isn’t terribly accurate but I’m not planning on pointing out the many ways in which it isn’t true to the facts. Well, maybe sometimes.
This isn’t intended to be a biography, but a look at the man’s oeuvre- and yes, he has one. I’d like us to look at
GLEN OR GLENDA (1953)
BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (1955)
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1957)
NIGHT OF THE GHOULS (1958, not released until 1984- explanation later)
(Take those dates as only a guide.) Other Ed Wood films include
JAIL BAIT (1954)
THE VIOLENT YEARS (1956) Ed wrote but didn’t direct.
THE BRIDE AND THE BEAST (1958) As above
THE SINISTER URGE (1960)
These I don’t propose to discuss, although please feel free if others want to. I’m also not proposing to discuss his porno films, perhaps to the disappointment of certain members (you know who you are) but these include
ORGY OF THE DEAD (1965)
TAKE IT OUT IN TRADE (1970)
NECROMANIA (1971)
and possibly others, but I know next to nothing about them. No, I’m not a prude, but these aren’t what I’m here for.
I should also mention that many of the above have alternative titles, but to avoid confusion I’m sticking with the titles listed.
So, we start with GLEN OR GLENDA. Over to you, guys…..
Comments
This film is also known as "I Changed My Sex", among possibly other titles. Ed starred in the movie himself, which he didn't usually do, under the name of "Daniel Davis"- Davis was his middle name, I don't know where he got the "Daniel" from- as, obviously, Glen... and Glenda. Also in the film is his then girlfriend Dolores Fuller and none other than Bela Lugosi, who would work with Ed again later. Hollywood had finished with Lugosi, and he was in need of the money which Ed paid him. The two became friends.
As was his habit, Ed used large amounts of stock footage but perhaps this time more than any other. The film had a limited release then re-releases under other titles, and made next to no money.
A re-release (again) in the early 80s featured extra footage, previously unseen. It was restored and colourized in 2009 for DVD release.
This film is widely regarded as the most autobiographical of Ed's movies. "Glen" had much in common with Ed himself which isn't too surprising since he wrote the script.
Quite frankly, I found the film almost impossible to sit through since it lacks the elements usually found entertaining in "Bride", "Plan 9" or "Ghouls". It is a bad movie- not so bad it's good, like those three. The only reason to watch it is to see Lugosi. Some of it is almost competently done, to damn with faint praise.
I’m going to enjoy this thread! Unfortunately I cannot add anything on Glen or Glenda as I haven’t seen it apart from a few clips on those worst films ever made programmes. There was a seqeunce in the very good Ed Wood film about the making of the movie.
I'll give it a little while to see if anyone has something to say about it, before moving on to the next one.
Yes, the Tim Burton movie covers this one hilariously. Johnny Depp and Martin Landau both are superb, and the script is full of memorable lines. The "Karloff? Sidekick?" scene, for one. 😂😂😂😂
The topic of the movie has a lot of shock value even today. Low-budget movies like "Glen or Glenda" often tried to use shock value to sell tickets. But in this case it looks like Ed Wood wasn't just after shocking the public. The topic was really close to his heart.
Now we reach a more typical Ed Wood film….
“Bride Of The Monster” (aka “Bride Of The Atom”) stars Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist!
Tor Johnson as his hulking, silent (well, almost) henchman!
And a rubber octopus!
Made in 1955 ('ish- accounts vary) on a budget of approximately $2.49, the local police are dealing fairly ineptly with a series of disappearances happening near a spooky old house. It takes a while (I think it’s 12 disappearances) but eventually suspicion forms around the scientist who owns the house and his huge silent assistant. The plot is creaky, but no worse than some Lugosi had starred in during the 1930s and 40s.
The dialogue stinks, on the whole, but there are one or two atmospheric speeches delivered well by Lugosi. This is probably the best-
(67) Bela Lugosi in Home, I have no home.avi - YouTube
The story goes that Ed wanted to have cue cards set up for Bela to read, but the ageing star- even now, still proud of his stage background- refused them and did the speech, part of which he had written himself, purely from memory.
For comparison, here's Martin Landau in his Oscar-winning role as Lugosi in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood"-
(67) Ed Wood No Home Scene - YouTube
Much more interesting than the film itself are the stories behind it. One Loretta King promised Ed some money to shoot the movie (stories differ as to how much she offered, how much she actually had, and whether she deliberately deceived Ed or he just misunderstood her) so Ed started shooting and gave her the female lead, much to the anger of his girlfriend Dolores Fuller who had been promised the part and who wouldn’t be Ed’s girlfriend for much longer. This may have been the final straw in their relationship- she had tolerated his wearing her clothes and his drinking, but she had had enough (as usual, stories differ as to exactly when she left him) and went off to write songs for Elvis. No, really. Here’s one which was a hit-
https://youtu.be/ZjJgLoihG3c
When Loretta’s money quickly ran out, Ed tried various backers and ended up with a meatpacker millionaire named Donald McCoy, who insisted on his son Tony being given the lead. He plays a police officer and isn’t as terrible as some, er, most of the others (hello, Loretta King). He also insisted on an atomic explosion at the end. This made no sense, but that of course didn’t prevent Ed from doing exactly that.
The sets are awful and very wobbly- they don’t need a man Tor Johnson’s size thumping into them to wobble. There is a lot of stock footage which matches with the main body of the film in no way whatsoever.
And of course, there’s a rubber octopus. Sadly contrary to myth (and to Tim Burton’s film), Bela himself apparently did not get into a shallow pool of water, fortified by some handy alcohol, to pretend to fight with the octopus. That would be a stuntman- the well over 70 Bela just did the close-ups.
Ok, enough from me, at least for the moment. Any thoughts?
What shines through in this movie is the passion that Ed Wood has, he puts everything into it as writer, producer and director. Ok, he’s not very good at any of it but he does draw a decent performance from Lugosi, in his final speaking part in a movie. It’s clear that Lugosi is giving it everything he has, maybe he could sense his impending death and wanted to go out with a bang. Other than Lugosi the only decent performance is a short stint from Bowery Boy, William Benedict, as a newspaper vendor. The octopus is generally believed to be the one used in John Wayne’s The Wake Of The Red Witch, and there are conflicting stories of whether it was genuinely hired from the studio or stolen in a raid on the props department as depicted in the movie Ed Wood.
All in all this is probably Wood’s best film, but obviously not as famous as Plan 9.
Yes, agreed that this is probably his best film technically, though "Plan 9" is more fun.
This was Lugosi's last speaking part, as you say. He would later appear in "The Black Sleep" with other old horror actors Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine, and Basil Rathbone although only Rathbone in the lead part got much to say- poor Bela was a mute butler.
After “Bride”, Ed was intending to shoot “The Ghoul Goes West”, starring Bela Lugosi. After only a few silent minutes of Lugosi at a funeral then posing round a graveyard in his Dracula gear
plus some shots of him at Tor Johnson’s house
poor Bela passed away at the age of 73. He was buried at his own or his family’s request (accounts differ) in his Dracula cape- or one of them, anyway, since he’d been playing the part on stage and film for some 30 years by this point and worn out a few capes. There is no truth to the rumour that at the funeral Peter Lorre whispered to Boris Karloff “Should we stake him, just to be sure?” since neither were present.
Also there’s no truth to the only mourners being Ed Wood and his circle, as seen in the Tim Burton film “Ed Wood”.
Ed was left with a very few silent shots of Bela and no film. This of course didn’t stop him from making a film anyway….
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE
This film had a very small budget courtesy of local Baptist ministers. The biggest star had died before production; a TV horror hostess only agreed to take part if she had no lines; the sets varied from unconvincing to worthy of a primary school play; some of the cast were downright amateurs; the special effects were laughable.
A director with talent and determination could have made something out of such limitations (eg "Targets" a 1968 film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Boris Karloff), but Ed Wood only had determination.
The Cast:
As stated, Bela Lugosi had died before this film had begun. Ed used a double, and I use the word loosely, to complete his scenes. This was a man called Tom Mason, who was a chiropractor many years younger and a lot taller than Bela. Ed instructed him to keep his cape over his face in all his scenes.
The result was…. unconvincing.
Vampira was a TV hostess of horror films, who had had some very small parts in movies. When her show was cancelled (it was revived many years later) she was ….perhaps “happy” is too strong a word… to take Ed’s offer provided she didn’t have to speak any lines. This is her story; it’s possible that since she was playing a zombie-like character she didn’t have any lines in the first place.
Tor Johnson was a huge wrestler who had begun acting in small parts as a tough guy, wrestler, etc, many years before meeting Ed Wood. His strong Swedish accent made him a poor choice to speak lines, but of course Ed didn’t worry about that.
Criswell was a… clairvoyant? Fortune teller? His many wildly inaccurate prophecies had brought him fame on radio and TV.
Paul Marco plays Officer Kelton, as he had done in “Bride Of The Monster” and would again in “Night Of The Ghouls”.
Ed himself has a cameo as a man who, on seeing the flying saucers, drops his bottle of booze.
The Plot:
Briefly- aliens resurrect the dead (well, 3 of them, anyway) as part of their Plan 9. We’re never told what Plans 1-8 were. They intend to stop humans from making a “Solarnite” bomb.
Sometimes they want to make contact, sometimes they want to avoid it.
Strange events at a graveyard bring in the local police. A pilot who saw a flying saucer (not just any flying saucer, a cigar-shaped one) is also involved.
There’s more, but it’s as pointless as trying to summarize the 1967 “Casino Royale”.
The Sets and “Special” Effects:
Oh boy, where to begin? The plane cockpit seen early in the film.
The gravestones that wobble and fall over.
The flying saucers. On fishing lines.
The crypt with an unfeasible number of people inside.
The large amount of stock footage, matching poorly with the rest of the film.
The shadow of the boom mike in the cockpit scene. This wasn’t entirely Ed’s fault- he had shot the scene anticipating a different screen ratio.
The Acting:
The best acting in the film comes from Bela Lugosi. And he’s dead.
Tor Johnson is almost unintelligible as Inspector Clay. Fortunately he doesn’t have too many lines before he dies and is resurrected.
Duke Moore is the cop who scratches his head with his presumably loaded revolver. And points it to give orders. Straight at people. He’ll be back in “Night Of The Ghouls”, as a different police officer (though it might as well have been the same one).
Dudley Manlove plays Eros, an alien, ridiculously. “You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!” Although to be fair Ed’s script doesn’t help him much.
Mona McKinnon is very wooden in the main female part. Gregory Walcott is a bit better as her husband, the pilot.
John Breckinridge (known as “Bunny”) as the Ruler is fey and uninterested, reading his lines from papers and convenient gadgets. Bill Murray is wonderful as him in “Ed Wood”.
Criswell’s narration is mannered and off-putting.
The Direction
Ed doesn’t bother too much about matching up day and night shots. Or fitting stock footage in with the rest of his film. Or changing angles, shots, etc- once he’s got the camera set for a scene, it almost always stays there without cutaways to, eg, close ups. Or pacing. Or… you get the idea.
So, is it the worst film ever as it has the reputation of being? No, of course not- it isn't even the worst Ed Wood film ever. But enough from me, anyone like to chip in?
Edit- in picking the above photos, I had to be careful not to pick scenes and actors from Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" since that film reproduced "Plan 9" meticulously. I'm not sure if one or two may have crept in, nonetheless!
After Bride Of The Monster, Plan 9 cements Ed Wood’s credentials as being inept in all forms of film-making. But, once again, I see a passion and drive in his attempt to produce a watchable film, which unfortunately fails miserably. As @Barbel says, it’s certainly is not the worst film ever made, but it is the standard bearer of which all “worst films ever made” are judged against. Gregory Walcott as Trent is the best of the actors, he already had a dozen or so credits behind him, and he would go on to have a handful of roles in Clint Eastwood films. The Criswell narration is exceptionally cheesy, not helped by the continual expression “my friends” being used. As Barbel says, Bill Murray is excellent in the role in the Tim Burton movie, but if he had still been alive, I think the role would have been even more suited to Jack Cassidy.
Of all the sets used, the one that always makes me laugh out loud is the cockpit with the curtained doorway 😂
Great thread, Barbel.
Thanks, CHB. Jack Cassidy - yes, you're right, he would have been perfect. Never thought of him, since he had died- but a little thing like that didn't stop Ed....
I am enjoying this thread immensely. I have never seen an Ed Wood movie, although the Tim Burton film ranks IMO as one of the best of its decade. I am not sure if this thread enthuses me or puts me off 😁
I'd suggest watching "Ed Wood" one more time then watching either "Bride" or "Plan 9" while it's fresh in your mind for maximum enjoyment. 🙂
I would also say that it’s a good idea for anyone who is not familiar with Ed Wood to see the Tim Burton movie before actually moving onto the original films themselves. If anyone gets hooked on the Ed Wood films there are hundreds of others made by equally inept filmmakers which are a joy to watch. Give me Invasion Of The Saucer Men over pretentious claptrap like There Will Be Blood, anytime 😁
CHB wrote " the one that always makes me laugh out loud is the cockpit with the curtained doorway "
Clearly, you've never flown on a Shorts SC.7 Skyvan
It had a curtain to stop any Hijacker getting to the cockpit 😁 I few a couple of times from Belfast to Blackpool
(That's the kind of international Jetsetter I am)
I remember watching Plan 9 when Channel 4 had a season on " The worst of Hollywood" I agree it's not the worst
Movie ever made, as Steven Segal specialises in making total crap films
One of Ed’s least known non-porn films is “Night Of The Ghouls”. This forms, arguably, the third part of a trilogy with “Bride Of The Monster” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space”- we’ll get on to why under “Continuity”.
Although shot not long after “Plan 9” (around 1959) it wasn’t released for many, many years simply because Ed was (surprise, surprise) unable to pay the lab fees. It sat until 1984 when someone paid the fees and released it on home video.
Plot:
Fake medium Dr Acula (yes, you read that right) takes money from rich gullible subjects and gives them a view of their deceased beloveds (actually lookalikes) and some truly unbelievable “ghosts”. In his service is Tor Johnson’s Lobo who survived the explosion at the end of “Bride”, although heavily scarred.
The local police (including Duke Moore, who had been in “Plan 9” but is playing a different character here for no discernible reason) are alerted by deaths near the apparently unharmed house we saw blow up at the end of “Bride”. Moore is assisted by Paul Marco’s Officer Kelton, who had been in “Bride” and “Plan 9”.
The seances held by Dr Acula are absolutely priceless in their hilarity.
The film is introduced and narrated, as with “Plan 9”, by Criswell who turns up in an actual part at the end which I won’t spoil.
Cast:
Dr Acula was clearly written and intended for Bela Lugosi but is played by one Kenne Duncan who would also work with Wood on other projects. He isn’t terrible, but not a patch on how Bela would have handled the part.
Lt Bradford is played by Duke Moore, who had played the similar part of Lt Harper in “Plan 9”.
Lobo is, of course, played by Tor Johnson who had played him in “Bride”.
Officer Kelton is played for the third time by Paul Marco.
Tom Mason, who (ahem) doubled for Bela Lugosi in “Plan 9” turns up again, this time showing his face.
There are also a Black Ghost and a White Ghost. I wonder if the White Ghost is Ed himself?
Criswell introduces the story from his coffin, as he did in “Plan 9”, narrates, and joins in the action at the end.
Sets, etc:
Well, we’re all used to how Ed handles sets and “special” effects by this time but the shots of the “ghosts” during the “séance” truly top everything he’s done before. I can’t find the words, just have a look.
(Under the sheet is, of course, Ed himself.)
Continuity:
Continuity, you say? In an Ed Wood movie? Yes, seriously. Does he handle it well? What do you think?
Tor Johnson returns as Lobo, whom he had played in “Bride”, but this time he’s horribly scarred. Well, I suppose being at the centre of an atomic blast will do that.
The police mention that this is the same house we saw in “Bride”- you know, the one that blew up. Except no it isn’t, it’s quite different.
The police officer played by Duke Moore is put on the case because he was on the “Bride” case. Which he wasn’t. His actor was in “Plan 9”, though.
As stated earlier, Paul Marco plays Officer Kelton as he had done in “Bride” and “Plan 9”. He complains that he always gets landed with spooks, aliens, etc.
Direction:
Our man has learned a bit from his previous efforts and this is more competently handled than its predecessors. Less stock footage, too. This, however, reveals a previously unsuspected side effect- it’s dull, apart from the seances. You thought it was difficult to hold interest through “Bride”? Try this one when you can’t sleep.
No, I’ve never flown in one of those, TP, and I don’t think I ever will 😂
Not a lot I can add to this, there is a Eric Morecambe sketch where he’s dressed as a ghost (with his specs on the outside of the sheet) which is more convincing than the ones in this movie (I’ve searched for a picture but I can’t find one). Wood wanted to further edit the movie, including inserting some archive Lugosi footage, but as Barbel says, because of unpaid lab fees he wasn’t able to do it. This wasn’t his finest hour, but even if you just view the seance scenes, it’s worthwhile.
Found a picture…
😁😁😁
Yes, Eric is more convincing!
The sound effects which go along with Ed's ghosts are also terrible, if memory serves we hear a slide whistle among others.
I don’t remember that, maybe John Barry was a fan? 😆
I haven't seen Ed Wood's movies in years. How would you rate the editing of his movies compared to the editing of QoS?
QoS was edited? I thought the director just tossed strips of film into the air then glued them together in the order they landed.
Didn't they say in the DVD commentary that a blender was used? 🤔
As stated earlier, this isn’t meant to be a review of all Ed Wood’s films. Some quick looks-
Jail Bait (1954) Ed does film noir. Badly, of course. Some faces who would appear later; some inept film making; little of the entertainment value of his later works.
The Violent Years (1956) An uncredited Ed worked on the screenplay of this morality tale of a bunch of teenage girls who become juvenile delinquents, as the jargon of the time had it.
The Bride And The Beast (1958) Perhaps the most Ed-like of those films which he wrote but didn’t direct. A new bride, of a big game hunter, begins to feel strange urges after she is almost raped by the pet gorilla he hadn't told her about.
The Sinister Urge (1960) Actresses in a porn movie keep getting killed. This is where Ed’s films start to move into porn themselves.
From here on in, it’s pretty much porn (or “exploitation” as they were then known) all the way.
Jail Bait was probably Wood’s best script, but that’s not really much praise! It also introduced Steve Reeves in his first major role before starring in a bunch of Italian sword and sandal movies.
The Bride And The Beast is pure Ed Wood at his scriptwriting best (worst?) as a new bride reveals that she used to be a gorilla in a former life. She ends up going into the jungle with a male ape, with her new husband looking on forlornly. Supposedly directed by Adrian Weiss, but I often wonder if Ed helped out with direction because his fingerprints are all over it, but I guess not as there is nothing I can find to indicate this, maybe Weiss took inspiration from Ed’s previous work 😂
I haven’t seen any of Ed’s other works. He did write a lot of pulp paperbacks and one or two probably passed through my hands at one stage or another but when I was actively seeking them after Ed became “famous” in the 80’s with exposure on the worst ever movies television programmes, I could never obtain any.
I wonder if he picked those titles or the publisher did? The last sounds very Ed
Probably a bit of both, title wise. I should have mentioned that many of his books were published under pseudonyms.
"Orgy of the Dead" does have homages to Shirley Easton's golden girl in Goldfinger. Otherwise it's just a waste of tiime. 90 minutes of topless women go-go dancing, cultural misappropriation, bad Halloween masks, and Criswell. It's too boring to even be laughable.
Thanks W_D, you've saved me from watching that someday!
I think I’m going to have to give a chance 😆