for Ed Wood fans

[Guest]

Long-Lost Final Film by Ed Wood Rediscovered - REUTERS, October 27, 2004

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Considered the worst film maker of all time, Ed Wood won a cult following after his death and now fans can see his long-lost last film "Necromania,'' a work some say shows he was so bad that he was brilliant. But it's not for the faint-hearted. The 1971 movie is a porn film documenting the sexual enlightenment of a young couple at the hands of a coven of witches.

The much maligned creator of enduring cult classics such as "Bride of the Monster,'' Wood was himself the subject of Tim Burton's 1994 biopic, the lead role played by Johnny Depp. That film shows the making of Wood's most famous film -- "Plan 9 From Outer Space'' from 1956 -- in which actors screw up their lines and "special effects'' include pie tins for flying saucers.

"Necromania'' -- the last film Wood directed -- was filmed over two or three days with a budget of no more than $7,000 and the only copies went missing soon after it was made. The movie tells the story of Danny and Shirley, a young couple who visit the mysterious Madame Heles for help with their flagging sex life. The lessons they are taught involve skulls, spells and sex in a coffin.

Rudolph Grey, author of a biography of the director, and a fellow Ed Wood enthusiast, movie distributor Alexander Kogan, unearthed "Necromania'' in a warehouse in Los Angeles after more than 15 years of detective work. A year ago they contacted the editors of a pornography Web site called Fleshbot, which this week will start selling the DVD by mail order for $19.99.

"I knew of its existence since about 1982 and it intrigued me because it was supposedly one of the last feature movies that Ed Wood did, so naturally I wanted to see it,'' said Grey. At one point Grey and Kogan were frustrated to be told the only person who might know the film's whereabouts was in jail -- as a result of a porn bust in Florida. They waited until he got out and resumed the search, striking gold in 2001.

PURE GENIUS?
"This is something more than just porn,'' said Fredrik Carlstrom, executive producer of the DVD featuring two versions of the film, one soft core, the other more explicit. "This is an old film. It's in the '70s, they're hairy, they don't look the way we are used to now,'' Carlstrom said. "It has a story, it has ambition ... It's like all his films, like anything that's so bad it becomes good. Or maybe it's pure genius. That's the appeal of Ed Wood.''

Struggling to find backers for more mainstream work, Wood turned to smut in the 1960s, making a string of films and "loops'' -- short porn flicks shown in coin-operated booths -- up until his death in 1978. Grey, author of the biography "Nightmare of Ecstasy,'' said those who dismiss him as naive and talentless are plain wrong. "These movies seem to exist in another plain of existence where nobody pays any attention to them whatsoever, and that must have been frustrating to Ed Wood,'' Grey said.

He says "Necromania'' displays Wood's wit and style and he points to a scene where the main character Danny is struggling to untangle a pair of red pajama bottoms to put them on. "The guy's fumbling for about 15 seconds and he's starting to laugh -- the actor, he can't get the pajama bottoms on and he's laughing,'' Grey says. "He could have cut that out but Ed Wood left that in intentionally. He was having some fun.''

 

[Boota]

I love Ed Wood's horrible movies! Orgy of the Dead is one of my all-time favorites.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

Damn Miss P., I saw this earlier and was gonna post it tonight but you beat me to it.

My brother is a bit of a Ed Wood afficianado and has made me sit thru several of the. They are so terrible they really are on a whole different playing field. From the dime store special efects to the bad actors flubbing lines, bumping into scenery....

It's really something that everyone should experience at least once.

 

[davidwatts]

In addition to the movie Ed Wood finally coming out on DVD last week, there has also been an Ed Wood DVD Box Set just released. Six DVD's for less than thirty five dollars is a steal. Includes Plan 9, Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, Jail Bait, Night of the Ghouls and a documentary called The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr., and the Plan 9 DVD has another documentary as well.

I think that he has a lot of competition for the worst director title, however. Ever watch movies by Larry Buchanan or Ray Dennis Steckler? That's entertainment! I'd rather watch any of those above turkeys than sit through the remake of Planet of the Apes again, or Streisand's A Star Is Born for that matter.

 

[Guest]

I'd rather watch any of those above turkeys than sit through the remake of Planet of the Apes again, or Streisand's A Star Is Born for that matter.

I'm with you Mr. Watts (never 'got' Barbra). Don't know Buchanan or Steckler.

best, Perdita

 

[davidwatts]

Ray Dennis Steckler's most infamous work is 'The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and became Mixed Up Zombies' while Larry Buchanan was responsible for 'Mars Needs Women' and 'Attack of the Eye Creatures'. 'Eye Creatures' takes place over the course of twelve hours but in each scene the outside lighting constantly changes from pitch black to bright sunlight to in between. As with most low budget movies, it's the continuity or lack thereof that seems to be the tough part.

Thanks for the Ed Wood film news, perdita.

 

[Guest]

Mr. Watts, I thought I'd tell you here that I've enjoyed two of your stories. You have a very honest and refreshing style of writing, makes me feel 'at home' and comfortable with your characters (Rose and Nancy P.) and their settings. I rarely drink beer but I wanted one as I read Rose's tale. I'll read more of you later. Glad you found this thread and I found your stories.

regards, Perdita

 

[sincerely_helene]

Never heard of Ed Wood, but the numerous descriptions indicate he might be one I would enjoy.

 

[davidwatts]

I'm blushing and flustered perdita, as I consider my writing makes me Literotica's version of Ed Wood. I only wander in these parts occassionally, sort of like hanging around the adult's table during the holidays and hoping I don't get caught. Any praise from one such as the author of one of my favorites, Drunk on Wednesdays (knew your name rang a bell so had to go back and check), I accept gratefully before slithering away into the night. Thanks.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Ray Dennis Steckler's most infamous work is 'The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and became Mixed Up Zombies' while Larry Buchanan was responsible for 'Mars Needs Women' and 'Attack of the Eye Creatures'. 'Eye Creatures' takes place over the course of twelve hours but in each scene the outside lighting constantly changes from pitch black to bright sunlight to in between. As with most low budget movies, it's the continuity or lack thereof that seems to be the tough part.

Thanks for the Ed Wood film news, perdita.

I'm a huge fan of Bad movies and Bad Art in general, and I've got most of Ed's stuff. Yes, Ray Dennis Steckler is up there (or down there) too, and so is Phil Tucker for his "Robot Monster" featuring an outer space robot who's some guy in a gorilla suit wearing a diving helmet, and
"Vic Savage" for his remarkable "The Creeping Terror", my own personal candidate for the worst monster movie of all time.

I actually saw "Plan 9" in a theater when I was like 10 or 11 or so, and even then I was just stunned by its badness. The thing about Wood, though, as in so much Bad Art, was that his love for his craft totally eclipsed his lack of talent, and you have to love him for that.

And doesn't everyone who engages in something creative sometimes wonder if they might not be an Ed Wood Jr. too, turning out stuff that might be laughable? You put your heart into your work, and the biggest fear is that you're making a fool of yourself.

Ed Wood taught me that if you really love what you do, then you don't have to worry about that: that even hacks can bring some joy to our lives.

---dr.M.

 

[davidwatts]

Ah yes my good doctor, The Creeping Terror. That was the one that had no dialogue through most of the film I believe, just a narrator describing what people where actually saying while their lips were moving. In between people would try and climb into the creeping terror carpet remnant of sorts.

Robot Monster must also be seen to be believed, with Ro-Man and the Lawrence Welk bubble machine. I just got this DVD at Borders for about six dollars, but unfortunately it is not available in 3-D, which must have been quite a sight indeed.

I salute your taste in bad cinema, which I've found is far more enjoyable to watch than most of the stuff Hollywood churns out

Better to risk being chuckled at than ignored. Criswell predicts your conclusion is the correct one.

 

[Guest]

Mab. and Watts, I so appreciate your posts. I have my own substantial collection of 'bad' horror and scifi flicks and thoroughly enjoy them. What I got from the film "Ed Wood" was just what Mab. speaks of re. joy in one's work. His admiration for Bela Lugosi was extremely moving too.

Watts: you are not the Ed Wood of Lit., my compliments were sincere. Your style is yours and very appealing to this reader.

Perdita

 

[Guest]

p.s.

SPEAKING OF DVDS: MARTIN LANDAU - John Clark, SF Chron, October 31, 2004

Ed Wood was possibly the worst movie director in history, a judgment based on such bizarre B classics as "Glen or Glenda," about the coming out of a transsexual, and "Plan 9 From Outer Space," about aliens who resurrect corpses as proxies in a fight against the human race. These movies are really beyond bad, but their badness comes from someplace both naive and deeply strange -- which made Wood the perfect subject for a Tim Burton movie, the 1994 "Ed Wood." As played by Johnny Depp, Wood is charmingly deluded about his directing skills and tremendously attractive -- and hilarious -- in drag. Surrounding him are similarly amusing marginal individuals, including Criswell (Jeffrey Jones), a charlatan psychic; Bunny Breckinridge (Bill Murray), an aspiring transsexual; Vampira (Lisa Marie), a Morticia Adams look- alike; and Tor (George "The Animal" Steele), a huge, bald wrestler. The most prominent member of Wood's eccentric circle was Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), who at the time they met was a washed-up morphine addict. The DVD was released Oct. 19.

We spoke with Landau, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Lugosi. He got his start as a newspaper cartoonist in his native New York, then switched to acting, working in the New York theater during the '50s and also in early television. His first memorable onscreen role was the blue-eyed villain Leonard in Hitchcock's "North by Northwest." Later he was the man of many faces in TV's "Mission Impossible" before his career flatlined in the '70s and '80s. It began to show signs of life again with "Tucker: The Man and His Dreams" (1988) and "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989).

Q: How much did you know about Lugosi?

A: I did a lot of research. I watched a lot of his movies, and I really became a fan. He wound up playing this Transylvanian vampire (on Broadway) in 1927, which caused a huge sensation in New York. Women were fainting. It was romantic. He always thought of himself as a romantic actor. He wasn't supposed to do the movie. Lon Chaney was set to do it, and then he died, so they said, "Let's get the guy who did it in New York. He knows the words." That was 1931. He wanted to play romantic leads after that, but he couldn't.

Q: Was there really a disconnection -- which is a lot of the film's humor -- between his courtliness and the profanity that came out of his mouth?

A: Initially Bela Lugosi Jr., who is an attorney in Los Angeles, had read the script prior to production and was horrified. "My father didn't use language like that. He didn't have little dogs. He had big dogs." So when the film came out he was dead set against it. Then he saw it about a year after its release and sent me a note inviting me to a club and apologized. He said I had dignified his father and that it really was an homage. I said I wanted it to be a love letter. Tim is the only person in the world who could have made this movie. And there was also a parallel. Tim had a great affection for Vincent Price. The relationship between Ed Wood and Lugosi drew a parallel. I think that was one of the things that attracted Tim to it. These two people who were from different generations and different predilections suddenly needed each other. It's almost a male love story.

Q: Speaking of parallels, you had a period in your career where you were doing work that you didn't want to be doing.

A: That's one of the reasons that Tim cast me. He knew I'd worked with Hitchcock and George Stevens and Cary Grant and Richard Burton. And he also knew I worked on films that should be turned into guitar picks, really (made by) directors who were not unlike Ed Wood. He understood that I understood that, though in my career the dull spots weren't at the end, fortunately. But I understood a man who came with hope and promise and dreams and got waylaid and became addicted to drugs and alcohol and declined. The only one who would hire Lugosi at the end was Ed Wood. Paid him a thousand dollars, which was a fraction of what he had made before. I actually visited the homes he lived in. He wound up in a tiny little flat off of Hollywood Boulevard, within walking distance of a liquor store. Tragic, really.

Q: Was your daughter in the film?

A: My daughter Juliet played the brunette. She's very talented. She's a member of the Actors Studio and has done a lot of theater. Tim cast her in it from a reading she gave.

Q: He cast the movie in the same way Ed Wood might have, casting people he knew. Burton cast his girlfriend at the time.

A: His girlfriend Lisa Marie was in everything he did for a long time, until they broke up. Tim liked working with Johnny Depp. Johnny was wonderful. I always say this is a male love story, and it takes two to tango.

Q: And he looks great in drag.

A: I know.

photo

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thanx for the heads-up, Perdita.

I have "Ed Wood," cassette though. But the movie is excellent, and it is one of thsoe films that, once you've seen it, you can't imagine anyone but Burton being behind it.

Can't seem to come across any of those films locally, and I did look extensively for "Plan 9 from Outer Space."

*sigh*

Oh, well.

Thanx for the info.

Q_C

 

[maggot420]

I love Ed Wood. He proved to me that it doesn't matter what anyone thinks is the right way to do something or what anyone thinks is good or bad or terrible even, as long as you enjoy what you're doing.
And I've been writing absolute crap ever since.

Wasn't Martin Landau on Space 1999?