Come on in, put on your angora sweater, and look around. I have built this for Ed. I hope you all like it. If not, it must be your stupid, stupid minds!
This is a shot from the book Nightmare of Ecstasy of Bela Lugosi's funeral. Ed is in the upper right.
Thanks to M. Hannah, this is a frame from the opening of Ed's most well known film. And the poster from Bride of the Monster.
I have a real, professional horoscope reading on our friend, Eddie! You can click here to take a look.
Hey! Look at this! Here is a picture of Criswell's grave! Thanks Colin!
Here is a brief remembrance of Criswell from Vern Koenig. He knew Criswell through his father who worked with him. Thanks Vern!
Vampira passed away. Here is a link to her story on Wikipedia..
Big news fans! A new colorized version of Plan 9 is being releansed. Come on!!! You know Ed would have loved having it in color. Here is what the producer has to say about it:
The much anticipated pre-release of Ed Wood’s “Plan 9 From Outer Space” in color for the first time is now available now. Legend Films has given this film the most extensive restoration to date, plus they have added tons of rare and hilarious bonus features including an audio commentary from Mike Nelson of “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” Special bonus features include never-before-seen Ed Wood home movies, bizarre Ed Wood commercials and the astonishing Plans 1-8. Plus, this limited edition pre-release DVD is individually autographed by Mike Nelson. As an extra bonus, we’ve included a nifty limited edition alien air freshener, “Alien Fresh.”
Order now! There are limited quantities of this
exclusive
DVD. The Legend
Films’ exclusive pre-release DVD is only available on their website.
Orders
will begin shipping on December 15, 2005. Go to www.legendfilms.net and order
your copy
today!
Price: $19.95
Synopsis:
Ed Wood’s cult classic has been hailed as the worst film of all time, but it’s one of the most hilariously entertaining movies you’ll ever see. Aliens from outer space reanimate Earth’s dead in an attempt to save the human race. Will their 9th plan work? With string-powered flying saucers, laughable dialogue, shrewd alien logic, and “priceless” special effects, they can’t go wrong. Or can they? (Hint: They do.) Plan 9 is a movie so beautifully bad, it’s great.
Special Features:
Well, it seems like there is a veritable flood of Ed
Wood related news
all of a sudden. First we have the release of the movie "Ed Wood"
on dvd. Good , good. But now we have some earth shattering
news. We are all now able to get the XXX version of
Necromania!!!
This is big. Thanks to Rudolph Grey who found a copy of it and
Fleshbot
(internet site covering the skin industry) who is releasing it we can
finally
see a bit more of Ed's work. Check out this article from none
other
than The
New
Yorker!!!
UPDATE: From the director of Brain Robbers from Outer Space,
Garland
Hewlett...
"I wrote the script and produced & directed it. I started the
script
in 1993 after meeting my friend Conrad Brooks. We began shooting in the
summer of 1994. Conrad shot with us for a week in Brandon and Tampa
that
August and returned in August of '95 to finish his scenes. I continued
to shoot off and on until the principal photography was finished in
2001.
Currently I am raising the money for the digital editing equipment to
reduce
my 30 hours of raw footage down to a managable 90 minutes. I hope begin
the actual editing this year, early 2003 at the absolute latest.
Originally
I was supposed to have gotten the equipment to begin editing in
April
of this year, but a car accident derailed our finances temporarily.
Yes,
this is a nickel and dime production!!!
Yes, Conrad is the only original cast member from Ed's PLAN NINE, but
there are a number of other interesting people who will appear in the
finished
product, including Dave "The Rock" Nelson (CONRAD BROOKS VS THE
WEREWOLF)
and Grady "Lobster Boy" Stilles, III. Grady was the son of the infamous
carnival freak Lobster Boy who was the subject of an E-HOLLYWOOD TRUE
STORY
and and A&E episode of CITY CONFIDENTIAL. By the way, Grady also
stars
as "Gore" in Conrad Brook's recently released video JAN GEL:
RETURN
OF THE BEAST. I shot much of JAN GEL for Conrad and also appear as
"Captain
Garland" (go to http:www.crazedfanboy.com/nolansnewsstand02/laflapcr101.html
for a review of this video). Also featured in BRAIN ROBBERS is cult
movie
actor Joel D. Wynkoop (CREEP, DIRTY COP, SCREAMING FOR SANITY, FALL OF
AN ACTOR, ROT), Lara Stewart (SCREAMING FOR SANITY, FALL OF AN ACTOR)
and
Joseph Miller (THE CREEPING UNKNOWN, EDWARD SCISSORHANDs, JAN GEL:
RETURN
OF THE BEAST). Make up effects are by Marcus Koch who directed the punk
horror video ROT. The theme song is by the punk group Boney Fiend and
appears
on one of their CD's and the rest of the sountrack music is by
the
dark ambient group Yen Pox (BLOOD MUSIC). There will also be a brief
sampled
video appearance of Dr. Timothy Leary courtesy of his personal
videographer
from their video HOW TO OPERATE YOUR BRAIN with my additional thanx to
his stepson Zack Leary."
(5/30/02)
Here is a link to a new group site about Criswell:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/criswellpredicts/
Thanks Lee
The sequel to Plan 9 has been filmed and is due out this year.
Conrad Brooks is the only person from the original film that is
involved
in the effort. The movie was filmed in Tampa, Florida on an even
smaller
budget than the original! They're calling it Brain Robbers From
Outer
Space. Here is the poster!
Charles W. Henson sent in this nice bio of Conrad Brooks. Thanks Charles!
10-27-97
Just thought you might like to know that this site was mentioned in Mac World Online in the "Rumors" column. See if you can find the reference in the article!
"Cinequanon Pictures International Inc. is a film distribution company currently responsible for representing Edward D. Wood Jr.'s last script "I Woke Up Early The Day I Died", a personal favorite of his. The film is currently in pre-production and has aroused a lot of interest from Hollywood, including Billy Zane who is set to take the starring role. As we feel this film is in essence an homage to Ed Wood, we thought it would be a great idea for Ed Wood fans all over the world to have access to the developments of this movie."
Above is a message from Joseph Ammendolia at Cinequanon Pictures International, Inc. You will find "I Woke Up Early the Day I Died" in the coming soon section.
I have just heard that there are a number of "name" stars signed on to this project. Look for more on it soon. (L.F.)
"The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr." is had its midwest premier at the 11th Annual 24 Hour Ohio Science Fiction Marathon. Read about it here.
John ``Bunny'' Breckinridge died Tuesday, November 5th, 1996. He was 94. You can read his obituary from the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Quality Paperback Book Club has published new editions of Ed's novels, Death of a Transvestite," and "Devil Girls." Their phone number is: 1-800-348-7128.
In the biggest Ed Wood news of the past year, the film, "The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr." has been released by Wood-Thomas pictures. It has been making the rounds of the film festivals and includes a finished version of "Crossroad Avenger." Look for it on video if it does not get picked up by a distributor soon.
10-15-95
Johnny Depp, who played Ed Wood in the Touchstone film of the same name, just bought Bela Lugosi's former home from divorce attorney, Marvin Mitchelson. That house is known as "The Castle." Depp payed $2.3 million for it.
Other, brief filmography entries (movies not directed by Ed Wood but in which he acted, wrote, or produced) come to us from our Swedish friends, Stefan NylÈn and Måns? Måns is a very serious fan of Eddie's and has written a 400 page manuscript about him. Thank you Stefan and Måns! They also want to mention that Sweden has its own "bad" director, Jan Olof Rydqvist.
The information on purchasing video tapes of the movies was provided
by Richard Velez.
Video Tape Sources:
Rhino Records and Video, (800)432-0020,
Sinister Cinema,
(503)773-6860
Admit One, (416)463-5714
Movies Unlimited,
(800)523-0823, (215)722-8298
Something Weird Video in
Seattle now has a web site.
Essential Media sells
copies
of "Necromania" and "Nightmare of Ecstasy"
1948
1951
1952
1953
This is, in my opinion, Ed Wood's most amazing movie. If you have only seen "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and were not overly impressed, please find a copy of "Glen or Glenda." Scenes from it a recreated faithfully in the Tim Burton film but you really should see the whole thing. It amazes me that the message of the movie, which is to love and accept people who are different from you (sexually different) is nearly 40 years ahead of its time. And, on top of that, it has dialog, spoken brilliantly by Bela Lugosi, that has never been equaled on screen. You will want to rush out and buy angora sweaters.
Glen or Glenda is available from:
Rhino $9.99 R3 2209
Note: I recommend that you avoid the Bizarre Video edition of the
video
of "Glen or Glenda." It is too dark to see and my copy ended about 5
minutes
into the "2nd" case study.
1953
This was a television pilot.
1953
1954
This is Ed Wood's film noir. It is very noir and pretty darned boring too. When the film was first released a vaudeville blackface show replaced a strip act. (Ed was always looking to put his striptease artist friends in his films.) The original strip sequence was put back into the movie for the video release.
Jail Bait is available from:
Rhino $9.99 R3 2178
1955
Bride of the Monster is available from:
Admit 1 AF109V $14.99
M. Unl. 104006V $19.99
Sinister S038V $16.95
PLAN 10 is a new source for lobby
cards for BRIDE OF THE MONSTER.
A site that ranks BRIDE OF THE MONSTER as the best(?) sleazo(?) movie of all time is "Madame Falbeaux's Cinema Mystique". It is an interesting and fun site.
1956
This is a story of "girls gone wrong" which was a popular exploitation theme in the 1950's and later.
Charles Beesley writing in The Pyschotronic Encyclopedia of Film (by Michael Weldon, Ballantine Books, 1983) says that the key phrase in the movie is, "So what."
There is a 1950's rape scene in this movie. The twist is that the girl gang rapes the innocent boy! Ed didn't direct this one so the film looks okay. Especially memorable is the leader of the gang unbuttoning her June Cleaver shirtwaist dress as she prepares to molest the victim.
The Violent Years is available from:
Rhino R3-2404 $9.99 (Teenage Theater Series) *
M. Unl. 155045V $14.99
Admit 1 AF131V $14.99
1956
What else is there to say about this movie? If you have never watched it, try to look at the whole thing. It is a testament to low budgets and Ed Wood's vision of what made a movie work.
One of my favorite things about Plan 9 is the appearance of Bunny Breckenridge. Bunny was a drag queen who performed in stage revues in Paris. I think that Ed Wood hoped that Bunny would get the sex change operation that he was always planning and Ed could finally make the sex change movie that he had wanted Glen or Glenda to be. I must say that as wonderful as Martin Landau was in the Tim Burton movie, Bill Murray as Bunny was my favorite character. I am sure that the real Bunny was even more outrageous.
Criswell was a regular in the Wood entourage. Here is a nice addition by way of a fan who found the accompanying image and material in Criswell Predicts!.
"The illustration by Lewis Schilling, Jr. depicts the Lady of Light,
the complex messiah that Criswell predicted (in 1968) would transform
Asia
and eventually introduce a new matriarchy throughout the world.
'Men will be placed in slavery and bondage and she will elevate woman
to the highest position ever known. ...Men will be mere puppets to the
female members of their families,' he wrote.
Despite this, Criswell predicted 'Everyone will be treated kindly,
equally and with interest and respect.' "
Plan 9 from Outer Space is available from
Rhino $9.99 R2 2173*
1957
Rudolph Grey, in "Nightmare of Ecstasy," says that this pilot horror film was one of Ed Wood's favorites.
1957
1958
The lead in this movie, Charlotte Austin, realizes, on her wedding night, that she was the queen of the gorillas in a previous life. Isn't that a great plot line? I am sure that Ed Wood read the story and really ran with it. Gorillas and sex in one story!
1958
This is sort of a sequel to Plan 9. (Leonard Maltin and others say that this is the sequel to the Bride of the Monster. I am not really sure about that. You can judge for yourself.) Criswell has another wonderful speech (although maybe not as go od as the one in Plan 9) and gets to play against a phony medium (Criswell is authentic).
Night of the Ghouls is available from:
Rhino R3-1965 $9.99 (Elvira Series)
Sinister H105V $16.95
M. Unl. 688315V $14.99
1960
This is an exploitation film that purports to warn against pornography and sneaks in a little nudity along the way.
The Sinister Urge is available from:
Admit 1 AF130V $14.99
Sinister X070V $16.95
1961
1963
1965
A young, middle class couple gets lost and winds up at judgment day. Here, with Criswell presiding, a whole bunch of strippers do their acts one after another. I got tired of the dancing and fast forwarded to the wonderful dialog between the nudie acts. A werewolf and mummy show up too. This is amazing.
Orgy of the Dead is available from:
Rhino $9.99 R3 5901*
1969
1970
Cast: Donna Stanley, Michael Donovan O'Donnell, Duke Moore, Ed Wood, Nona Carver, Casey Lorrain, Linda Colpin, Monica Gayle, Emily Gray, Donna Young, Lynn Harris, Andrea Rabins, James Kitchens, Hugh Talbert, Judith Koch Phyllis Stengel, Elaine Jarrett, Linda Spheres, Lou Ojena, Jack Harding, Herb Webber.
This film is not easy to find. Something Weird Video in Seattle,
((206)361
3759), distributes a reel of out takes from "Take it Out in Trade," but
not the actual movie. It is another nudie movie but is very different
from
"Orgy." Ed had been out of directing for ten years when he did this
one.
I have not seen it but Rudolph Grey reports that it has "psychedelic
touches."
(I am looking for this one and if anyone has it please let me know the
source. L.F.)
1971
This is your basic soft core porn film but in the Ed Wood style. There is a sorceress in a spooky house giving out love potions to turn couples on. The movie originally had a few minutes of hard core (real) sex but those were cut and no one knows where t hey are today. The movie made for about $7,000.00 and was filmed in a weekend by Ed in a pink baby doll outfit.
"Necromania" is available from Something Weird Video in Seattle (206)361 3759.
1972
1974
1976
1977
Some of the information on purchasing video tapes of the movies was
provided by Richard Velez.
Video Tape Sources:
Rhino Records and Video, (800)432-0020,
Sinister Cinema,
(503)773-6860
Admit One, (416)463-5714
Movies Unlimited,
(800)523-0823, (215)722-8298
Here's a link to a page for Scorched Earth
Productions which sells copies of a number of Ed Wood's movies.
They
sell a lot of other stuff too.
Something Weird Video in
Seattle now has a web site.
Essential Media sells copies of "Necromania" and "Nightmare of Ecstasy"
Video Jones sells some
Woodian
titles.
"I Woke Up Early the Day I Died" is in movie limbo as of this writing. I don't know the whole score but can you say distribution woes?
New Orleans Worst
Film Festival is sponsoring their 10th annual bad
movie festival at Ben Franklin High School in New Orleans on June 10,
2000.
Follow their link. NOW!!!
This
fine organization named this page its site of the day!
On an unrelated note, I will add a shameless plug. (It is not endorsed by the estate of Ed Wood!) If you are interested in New Orleans and things Cajun, check out a site I designed. It is LOUISIANA LIMITED EDITIONS.
