OK, I admit it...I do have most of the Ed Wood Collection on DVD and old video; Plan Nine...Glen or Glenda...Jailbait...RoMan...Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls, Revenge of the Virgins,Orgy of the Dead and One Million AC/DC! In fact, years ago was inspired to create a stop action sci fi film, ala Wood using my collection of hula bobbleheads and model of alien craft from War of the Worlds I have sitting on my writing desk along with my hula wigglers..every now and then I peek up their skirts to what's hidden under the grass!
Ed was born in 1924, or arrived on our planet, either way with one mission in life. To create some of the biggest box office bombs, and some of the most memorable cult classics of all time featuring a cast of characters that could be found in a Bukowski bar room scene from fading midnight madness movie vixen, Vampira to the overweight Swedish wrestler, Tor Johnson, and "I've had better days" drug addicted Bela Lugosi. Not to mention a cadre of other not so notable drug addicts and transvestites.
Ed's first film was Glen or Glenda, a not so thinly veiled semi-autobio of his one sexual yin-yang...dressing in womens clothing. Fagman from Outer Spaced! Not really, Ed was a WWII paratrooper who saw lots of "manly" action jumping into battle fully armed and loaded, and wearing womens panties! Stock footage.
Next was "Ro-man" (Friends, Ro-mans and countrymen..lend me your brassiers!) Not exactly War of the Worlds as the aliens here had possession of bizarre bubble blowing machines! (Later..think Killer Klowns from Outer Space with cotton candy guns!) The real star of the flick was an actor in a bad gorilla suit wearing a space helmet..All Hail RO-MAN!
Then along came the classic...the film that is the yard stick for all things Wood....Plan 9 From Outer Space! It was originally titled "Grave Robbers from Space" but Ed had financial backing from a religious organization who thought they would be investing in a film with a "message". In the end..the lord works in mysterious ways..as did Ed Wood. Plan 9 was simple really...aliens from a ship above the planet earth could simply raise the dead as zombies and let them take over the earth...what wine goes with human flesh? A chardonney me thinks. Add Bela Lugosi as Ghoul Man and a voluptuous heavy breasted breath taking vampire babe with bloodsucking tendencies and an overweight Tor Johnson as police detective zombie and you have...Ed Wood as High Camp!
Lugosi it turns out was not a vampire in real life and died before filming ended, so a stand in was hired, a chiropractor who donned the cape and kept his face covered so as not to spoil the Bela bella donna performance and to maintain continuity of filming. Plan 9 was released in 1958 and 20 years later..Ed Wood died in 1978, broke and penniless, as a result of years of alcohol abuse. Unfortunately he did not rise again from the dead. Would've made a hell of an ending, eh?
Today there are Ed Wood Film Festivals world wide and even, ready? The Church of Ed Wood! Every now and then on late night television or during sci fi marathons somewhere at the midnight movies in some dark dank theater...someone will be exposed to Plan 9 from Outer Space..somewhere in the cosmos and it will leave a lasting image of a gorilla in a space helmet wearing garters and a fabulous angora sweater...and there will be Ed Wood in full drag..laughing his head off...after all this was his plan..his Plan 9 all along!