Ed Wood could get a film made, but struggled to make its threats convincing. We find his earnestness worth the occasional patient evening, provided curiosity can survive the stiff speeches and conspicuous shortcuts.
Fi1m perspective
In Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), the furniture changes between shots while the dialogue insists on the gravity of an alien invasion. Wood produces, writes, directs and edits, so there is little point trying to separate his ingenuity from his mistakes. He gets the saucers and the returning dead into the same film, then leaves his actors struggling through speeches when a simple threat would do. We laughed at the mismatch between the solemn delivery and the crude effects, but the talk wore us down. For the curious, it is still worth an evening.
His first feature, Glen or Glenda (1953), was a semi-autobiographical treatment of cross-dressing, a more personal starting point than the horror films might suggest. With Bride of the Monster (1955), which he wrote, directed and produced, he was working in horror with Bela Lugosi in the cast. Writing Orgy of the Dead (1965) belonged to the later shift into sexploitation. The changes of subject should discourage us from treating everything he made as another version of Plan 9 from Outer Space. What connects the work is his determination to get films finished, even when the means of doing so were plainly inadequate.
In Plan 9 from Outer Space, that determination helps and hurts. Wood's use of stock footage promises an invasion larger than the surrounding scenes can sustain, and his editing repeatedly interrupts our sense of where people are. There is energy in the assembly, but having to inspect a mismatch takes attention away from the danger. Gregory Walcott, playing Jeff Trent, gives the film something steadier by treating the situation seriously. His straight performance makes the accidental comedy work without asking us to despise the people making it.
Wood deserves credit for the resourcefulness needed to complete his films. We do not need to pretend that every shortcut works, or that awkward dialogue becomes enjoyable just because its author believes in it. In Plan 9 from Outer Space, the enthusiasm remains evident even when the pacing tests our patience. Try it for its earnest attempt to frighten, but do not expect every mistake to be entertaining.
Biography
Edward D. Wood Jr., also known as Ed Wood, was an American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, director and editor. He was born on 10 October 1924 in Poughkeepsie, New York, and died on 10 December 1978 in Los Angeles, California.
Wood is known for a series of low-budget genre films made in the 1950s. These include Glen or Glenda (1953), which he directed, wrote and starred in; Bride of the Monster (1955), which he directed and wrote; and Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), on which he served as director, screenwriter, producer and editor.
After the death of actor Béla Lugosi, Wood's career declined. He later made pornographic films and wrote pulp novels. He received posthumous attention when awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time in 1980. A 1992 biography and the 1994 Tim Burton film Ed Wood contributed to renewed interest in his work.
