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Post by dem bones on Jan 28, 2009 12:26:46 GMT
We probably burnt ourselves out with this on the Taschen! thread, but will re-post it here and see what, if anything, happens ... Rudolph Grey - Nightmare Of Ecstasy: The Life And Art Of Edward D. Wood, jr. (Faber & Faber, 1992, 1994) The Blurb: This is the story of film-maker Edward D. Wood, jr., who was dubbed 'the worst director of all time' for his low-budget cult features. This is a tale told by those who lived and worked with him - a motley collection of dead-beats and losers whose lives were spent on the fringes of Hollywood. The book traces Wood's life from the glory days of Glen Or Glenda?, Bride Of The Monster and Plan 9 From Outer Space to his eventual decline, wracked by alcoholism and reduced to writing and directing porn, and in the process the book evokes a fallen, nightmarish world in which there is no-one to shed any life or hope.
Yet, for all that, Wood emerges from the swamp of pop-culture's lowest depths as a true visionary. These eyewitness accounts of his life and times are both pathetic and endearing, and the book itself is a perfect compliment to Tim Burton's celebratory film, Ed Wood. The story is told entirely in interviews with Wood and surviving members of his entourage which at various times included the drug addicted Bela Lugosi, Swedish wrestler turned celluloid monster Tor Johnson, black-listed horror hostess Maila 'Vampira' Nurmi, Dudley Manlove, Criswell the Psychic, Dolores Fuller and a variety of colourful characters. Much of it is laugh-out-loud funny, and you get the impression that everybody had a great time working on the films but there's plenty abject misery to balance this out and the chapters detailing Ed's booze-fueled decline are often just plain unbearable. Thanks, Franklin!
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Post by David A. Riley on Jan 28, 2009 13:11:30 GMT
I hope it's not burnt out!
I'm still in the early parts of the book and things are still looking potentially rosey. Nice to see some of the events portrayed in the Tim Burton film reflected here, though with some differences, as you would expect, though I think Burton did get the mood and atmosphere of the world within which Wood lived spot on, at least in those early days. Looking forward to reaching darker waters later on when the book delves well beyond the reaches of Burton's film.
The irony that struck me, even at this stage, was reading about how in the 50s American TV began regularly showing some of Ed Wood's movies, particularly Plan 9 and Glen or Glenda. I don't suppose the poor bugger ever got anything in the form of royalties for them since he was virtually destitute when he died.
Some interesting insights into the characters of other, more successful and certainly more unscrupulous filmakers like Samuel Z. Arkoff, who may have robbed him of some scripts.
David
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Post by pulphack on Jan 28, 2009 15:34:11 GMT
It says a lot about the way independent producers worked in the USA back then that Wood saw nothing despite repeated TV play - the poor soul seemed to work for nothing other than a writer and/or director fee (I think there's reference to this in the book, if not I may have read it in an on-line interview with, I think, Herman Cohen referring to those days), and relinquished all rights just for the chance to actually make a film. His love affair with celluloid blinded him to all else. It was quite a common practise.
As for things being stolen - well, Mesa Of Lost Women has nowt to do with Ed, but is almost an archetype Ed movie in many ways. To the less than casual viewer, it seems that at least some theft went on there...
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Post by dem bones on Feb 3, 2011 6:50:15 GMT
Just been rereading this. It's a pity that, to the best of my knowledge, no publisher has yet been reckless enough to compile a volume of Ed Wood's horror stories. Rudolph Grey lists several likely candidates in his bibliography while a number of sites and blogs have run with his info to unearth yet more. Monster Sex Tales Vol 1. No. 1 (Gallery, Aug-Sept. 1972) - Castle Of Dracula
- Voyage Of Dracula
- Lust Of The Vampire
Horror Sex Tales Vol 1. No. 1 (Gallery, 1972) - Cease To Exist
- Bums Rush Terror
- The Witches Of Aman Ra
- Scream Your Bloody Head Off
- The Rue Morgue Revisited
- Hellfire
- Gore In The Alley
Wood apparently contributed Sci-Fi stories to another one off, the above named's sister publication Weird Sex Tales (Gallery, 1972) - Bony Fingers From The Grave (by 'Robert Lawrence') - Adventures in Horror, Vol 1 no 2 (December 1970)
- It Takes Two To Terror (by 'Obadiah Kemp') - Adventures in Horror, Vol 1 no 2 (December 1970). The same issue's The Blood-Drenched Corpse of the Priestess of Satan and Fangs Of The Fiend For The Girl Who Died Twice ('Obadiah Kemp' again) may also be Wood's.
- Whorehouse Horrors - Garter Vol 1. No. 1 (Gallery, 1974)
- Out Of The Fog - Two Plus Two Vol 3. No. 2 (Pendulum, 1971)
- Dracula Revisited - Wild Couples, March 1971
- That Damned Faceless Fog - Beavers, June 1972
- Exotic Loves of the Vampire (as by 'Ann Gora') - Ecstasy, Vol. 4 No. 2 1972
- Final Curtain - Belly Button Vol 2 No 2 (Gallery, 1971)
- In The Stony Lonesome - Sex Stars Vol. 2 No. 1 (Gallery, 1972)
Final Curtain and In The Stony Lonesome also appeared in the paperback Tales For A Sexy Night: Vol II (Gallery paperback, 1973). Rudolph Grey writes of the latter: "Hector, a sadistic bully who calls himself the Grim Reaper, forces young girls to succumb to his sexual demands in a graveyard atop the marble slab of Old Lady Kanthru, 'the rich old witch'." Final Curtain was among the trilogy of Wood's shorts he intended to film as Portrait In Terror along with The Night The Banshee Cried and a premature burial inspired story, Into My Grave. According to Grey, Ed Wood was a huge fan of pulp magazines and, while he doesn't really expand on this in any great depth, it's clear from this cruelly brief note to Robert A. W. Lowdnes, ( The Cauldron; Startling Mystery Stories #3, Winter 1966/ 67) that Ed certainly took a keen interest in the horror and SF genres. "In your #1 Startling Mystery Stories you state that The Off Season is Gerald W. Page's second story. You are mistaken. He had The Happy Man in Analogue March 1963 ..... Good luck with your magazine and other editing activities"
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jul 3, 2014 8:12:21 GMT
I watched Plan 9 From Outer Space again recently, and after listening to Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel, settled down to watch Glen Or Glenda for only the second time last night, the first being courtesy of Channel 4 (when they were good) many years ago. What a film! For all the tedious but vaguely interesting psychobabble between the policeman and the psychiatrist, you can't go wrong with Bela Lugosi ranting in a weird set, stock footage of lightning, aeroplanes, US marines and a bison stampede, all paling before the extended dream sequence in the middle, a lurid mixture of sleazy exploitation and German expressionism. And Ed Wood's a pretty good actor.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 19, 2014 5:46:07 GMT
A Halloween treat! Or Books are now accepting preorders for Blood Splatters Quickly: The Collected Stories of Edward D. Wood, jnr. (publication date, October 31st 2014) HERE. 30 stories exhumed from the likes of Horror Stories, Horror Sex Tales, Weird Sex Tales, Garter, Lez and Man To Man, including Dracula Revisited, Scream Your Bloody Head Off, The Night The Banshee Cried, The Gory Details, To Kill A Saturday Night, I, Warlock, Into My Grave, Missionary (Position) Impossible, and The Day The Mummy Returned. One minor criticism. Is it too late to rethink the cover design (or even have one)?
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Post by ohthehorror on Feb 5, 2015 17:23:39 GMT
A Halloween treat! Or Books are now accepting preorders for Blood Splatters Quickly: The Collected Stories of Edward D. Wood, jnr. (publication date, October 31st 2014) HERE. 30 stories exhumed from the likes of Horror Stories, Horror Sex Tales, Weird Sex Tales, Garter, Lez and Man To Man, including Dracula Revisited, Scream Your Bloody Head Off, The Night The Banshee Cried, The Gory Details, To Kill A Saturday Night, I, Warlock, Into My Grave, Missionary (Position) Impossible, and The Day The Mummy Returned. One minor criticism. Is it too late to rethink the cover design (or even have one)? I got the kindle version of this a few weeks back, starting reading it, then got side-tracked by the three other books I was already reading. Whenever this happens I'm never really sure if it really is just due to me taking on too much, or if it's just not very good. I think I'll hold off reading any more until I've finished the other three. It deserves it's chance. And yes, that cover really is a bit lacklustre isn't it.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 5, 2015 23:51:01 GMT
I got the kindle version of this a few weeks back, starting reading it, then got side-tracked by the three other books I was already reading. Whenever this happens I'm never really sure if it really is just due to me taking on too much, or if it's just not very good. I think I'll hold off reading any more until I've finished the other three. It deserves it's chance. And yes, that cover really is a bit lacklustre isn't it. I think attempting thirty of Ed Wood's *ahem* literary compositions in one or two sittings would prove too much for the worst of us! His short stories are possibly better appreciated if you limit yourself to one every now and again between books by other authors.
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Post by pulphack on Feb 18, 2015 17:35:37 GMT
Dug this out at the weekend and have been reading it again on and off. Ed is a tragi-comic figure, full of a self-confidence that probably held him back from developing technically, yet allowed his uniqueness to go unchecked. As David pointed out further up the page, there are a lot of people whose own words paint a less than flattering picture of themselves. I've just ordered the two Greg Kihn novels that feature an Ed/Arkoff hybrid (or so it seems from the blurbs - we'll see) and turned to this to put me in the mood... But reading about Bela's decline kind of knocks that on the head. Twenty years after first reading it, it still has an incredible impact.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 18, 2015 21:51:43 GMT
I've just ordered the two Greg Kihn novels that feature an Ed/Arkoff hybrid (or so it seems from the blurbs - we'll see) and turned to this to put me in the mood... But reading about Bela's decline kind of knocks that on the head. Twenty years after first reading it, it still has an incredible impact. I've read the first novel, Horror Show, and absolutely loved it (Ed's inspiration looms large). Would even go as far as to say that the Rudolph Grey and Greg Kihn books compliment one another, no matter that Kihn's is fiction. Horror Show captures something of Ed's pioneer spirit (and, I guess, that of his ridiculously, beautifully loyal entourage). I think you're in for a treat.
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Post by ripper on Jul 23, 2020 12:29:09 GMT
As yesterday--22 July--was the 61st anniversary of the release of Ed Wood's Plan Nine from Outer Space, I thought I would watch it again, and as 'bad' movies always need to be viewed as a double bill, I dug out my copy of Robot Monster and watched that as well.
Plan Nine from Outer Space (1959) I first saw Plan Nine when Channel 4 screened a season of 'bad' movies just before Christmas one year--1982 or 1983 I think. It was made for very little money, even by the standards of 1959, and that is apparent in the production values. From the dodgy flying saucer effects to wobbly tombstones and bare bones aircraft cockpit set, it's tiny budget is on display. The script is poor, with some classic lines of b-movie dialogue. Acting is overall below par, with performances too often wooden or over the top. Wood himself is not a good director. In fact, I can't think of anything in Plan Nine that is above average, or even touching average. So, you might think my opinion is that the movie is junk. Nope. For all its faults, Plan Nine is never boring. There's always something happening on screen to entertain the viewer. Wood might not have had much talent as a film-maker, but it is obvious that he loved making films and did the best he could with the very limited skills and resources at his disposal. He gave work to Bela Lugosi at a time when Hollywood didn't want to know. He had the talents of pioneer horror host Vampira--such a pity that she does not have a larger role, but I read that she didn't like the script and wanted a non-speaking role. Dudley Manlove is very entertaining to watch as the head of the aliens. Gregory Walcott had parts in a number of films and TV series. Ex-wrestler Tor Johnson is not too bad as Inspector Clay--he's not much of an actor but gives an entertaining performance. Critics may scoff and sneer at Plan Nine and other Wood movies, but he did what he loved to do, and I have no doubt that people will be watching Plan Nine in another 61 years time, and I don't think we can say the same for today's $100m so-called blockbusters.
Robot Monster (1953) Also screened by Channel 4, I think that is where I first saw Phil Tucker's Robot Monster. It is generally viewed as a 'bad' movie, comparable to Plan Nine. It does, however, appear to have a smaller budget than Plan Nine, with threadbare production values. The film was filmed in 3-D at the height of the craze, though I don't know if 3-D prints still exist. The film was made in Bronson Canyon, not too far from Los Angeles, a favourite location for low-budget SF films of the 1950s. Tucker filmed Robot Monster in just 4 days with a cast fewer in number than Plan Nine's. Some cast members such as George Nader and Selena Royle had careers in secondary feature films--Nader won a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer. However, it is George Barrows that usually gets the lion's share of attention as Ro-Man. Barrows starred in Robot Monster as a favour to Tucker. Barrows had a gorilla suit and with the addition of a ladies stocking and diving helmet Ro-Man was created--Tucker didn't have the money for a proper robot costume. Barrows had a long career, often featuring as a gorilla as late as 1978. It must have been sweltering in that suit and helmet in the heat of the Californian desert when filming Robot Monster. Barrows also played The Great Guidance, Ro-Man's superior, while waving apparently a violin bow. Popular radio actor John Brown provided the voices for Ro-Man and The Great Guidence, and it is the dialogue of those two that provides some truly classic moments. One aspect of the film that puts it above the usual B-movie fare is its music score, which was written by Elmer Bernstein. After making Robot Monster and being in dispute with its distributor, Tucker fell into depression and attempted suicide. Thankfully, he was found in time and went on to direct a number of other films. He went on to become a successful film editor, working on the 1976 version of King Kong appropriately enough. Robot Monster is by no means a 'good' film, but like Plan Nine it is never boring, and Tucker, like Ed Wood, made films from a genuine love for the medium. Like Plan Nine, I am sure Robot Monster will be watched for decades to come. It is a shame that Wood and Tucker could not have lived into the 1990s; both would have been in great demand on the B-movie festival circuit.
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Post by helrunar on Jul 23, 2020 15:02:39 GMT
It was those stupid Medved brothers who pushed the idea of Plan 9 as the "worst movie ever made." I don't think they understood much about film and its varieties and they certainly knew nothing about art. But they cleaned up trashing other people's work. The latter activity has been a thing since a certain point in the later 20th century.
Always a delight as is Robot Monster--both films make life bearable when one is in need of a warped switch of perspective and some good old fashioned laughs.
H.
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Post by andydecker on Jul 23, 2020 17:28:31 GMT
Plan 9 is far from "the worst movie ever made". I have a few movies on the shelves which are better contenders for that. From Andy Sidaris to Jess Franco, take your pick.
Still I am not a fan of Plan 9. It is so mind-numbingly stupid. The only really frightening thing is the idea that someone like Criswell could make a living doing his nonsense. Guess today he would be advisor to the government.
But it is Lugosi which is heartbreakingly sad. Didn't Wood recognize that he didn't do this former star a favor with this? For all his faults, Lugosi deserved better.
"Robot-Monster" I never saw. Only know the still with the monster and the girl, which has been published a lot.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 23, 2020 21:16:31 GMT
Critics may scoff and sneer at Plan Nine and other Wood movies, but he did what he loved to do, and I have no doubt that people will be watching Plan Nine in another 61 years time, and I don't think we can say the same for today's $100m so-called blockbusters. I appreciate how Tim Burton's Ed Wood highlights the man's love of filmmaking. Sure, the movie pokes fun at everyone involved, but affectionately.
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Post by ripper on Jul 24, 2020 10:51:25 GMT
Critics may scoff and sneer at Plan Nine and other Wood movies, but he did what he loved to do, and I have no doubt that people will be watching Plan Nine in another 61 years time, and I don't think we can say the same for today's $100m so-called blockbusters. I appreciate how Tim Burton's Ed Wood highlights the man's love of filmmaking. Sure, the movie pokes fun at everyone involved, but affectionately. Inspired by my viewing of Plan Nine, I also watched Flying Saucers Over Hollywood, a documentary on Wood, with an emphasis on Plan Nine. Someone in the documentary made the observation that Wood seemed to be in love with the process of making films, rather than the quality of what was created. I wouldn't go quite that far but understand what he meant. BTW Flying Saucers Over Hollywood is available on a popular website and is recommended--there are lots of interviews with cast members and those who knew Ed Wood.
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