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Rewind: As schlock goes, he was the master
[Photo: Touchstone Pictures]
His trusty cameraman Bill (Norman Laden, left) by his side, cult director Ed Wood, played by Johnny Depp, right, films his dubious movie classic Plan 9 from Outer Space during Ed Wood, the 1994 Tim Burton film chronicling his career.
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By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 10, 2002
The films of Ed Wood may be terrible, but his work is unrivaled.
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Edward D. Wood Jr. is without a doubt the most famous bad movie director of all time. He could have claimed that dishonor on the merits (or lack thereof) of Plan 9 from Outer Space, as easy an answer to the question of the all-time worst film as Citizen Kane is to the best.
But Wood's contributions to cinematic ridicule and cult respect didn't start or end there. Wood didn't know how to make movies but genuinely loved them. He is still fondly recalled in tongue-in-cheek tributes such as Tim Burton's 1994 biography Ed Wood and this edition of Rewind. Today would be his 78th birthday, if he hadn't died penniless in 1978 of heart failure in Hollywood (he might have used the previous four words for an autobiography).
Here are some home video selections commemorating the man, the myth, the adorable hack, Ed Wood:
Glen or Glenda (1953) -- Wood was a transvestite in his spare time, claiming that he even wore women's underwear in World War II battles. This howler based on Christine Jorgensen's sex-change scandal was closer to his heart than any other movie on his resume. His idol, Bela Lugosi, plays God.
Jail Bait (1954) -- A criminal (Timothy Brady) lures a teenager (Clancy Malone) into robbery, then uses the boy's father, a plastic surgeon, to evade arrest. The suggestive title and tagline ("DANGER! These girls are hot!") have nothing to do with the movie.
Bride of the Monster (1956) -- Lugosi plays evil Dr. Varnoff, using atomic fusion to create an army of supermen for world conquest. The mad doctor meets his doom in the arms of a giant rubber octopus, if that tells you anything.
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1958) -- Ah, the bliss of witnessing cheapskate filmmaking at its most earnest. Wood used pie plates on strings to portray an alien invasion, plus a graveyard with papier mache tombstones and Tor Johnson's zombified bulk to create monumental schlock.
Night of the Ghouls (1959) -- The sequel to Bride of the Monster brings a phony psychic (Dr. Acula, get it?) to Varnoff's house for a seance. Trumpets fly and dead heads grumble. The movie wasn't released for 23 years until Wood paid the film lab processing fee.
Orgy of the Dead (1966) -- Wood wrote the screenplay for this soft-core horror flick, a campy jumble of mummies, werewolves, naked women and a lab skeleton on a string "dancing" with them.
Ed Wood: Look Back in Angora (1994) -- Ted Newsom's biographical documentary was released to capitalize on Burton's film. Clips from Woods movies that aren't available on home video are included, plus interviews with his collaborators. The title comes from the director's favorite choice of women's sweater.
Ed Wood (1994) -- Burton's film, however, is the most accessible means of discovering Wood's appeal. Johnny Depp is marvelous as Wood, a wild-eyed dreamer who genuinely believes he's creating cinematic history. Martin Landau is even better as Lugosi in his final, drug-addicted days, a role that earned an Oscar for best supporting actor, the only way such an award and Wood's name would ever be connected.
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