freakboy on film: PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1957)

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You are interested in the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable. That is why you are here.  I know that’s why I joined The Sixth So Bad It’s Good Blogathon, hosted by Rebecca of Taking Up Room!  I love hearing about unexplainable films, while also sharing my love of these gems with others.  In past bad/good blogathons, I have sliced through the destruction of the American male and then invited you to risk your life at a cheerleading camp.  Now, in an either brilliant or terrible decision, I must ask you one question.  Can your heart stand the shocking facts as I blog about Ed Wood’s PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE?! 

It all started when I was a young freakboy of around 9 or 10 watching IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD (1982) on HBO.  This film is a compilation of clips and trailers from some of the most unusual films to come out of Hollywood.  To top it off, the whole thing was hosted by Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Candy, and Cheech & Chong, all of whom were known to the young freakboy.  This was my introduction to such cult films as ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES and THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES.  I was also introduced to the mind of Edward D. Wood, Jr. and I eagerly desired to know more.

I need more Wood!

A few years later, I finally saw my first Ed Wood film and it was PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.  It is allegedly the worst movie of all time, but anyone who says that hasn’t seen A QUIET PLACE or THE NOTEBOOK.  Maybe I was young and naive or maybe I’ve always been drawn to the misunderstood fringes, but I saw beyond the cheap sets, the questionable acting and choppy story.  I embraced the brilliantly crazy dialogue, the criticism of the U.S. government for covering up UFO’s and for pointing out how mankind is a savage, war-hungry race! 

Tan a & Eros model the latest in smug space attire!

The story revolves around an airplane pilot, his wife and some police officers investigating strange goings-on in the sky and in a nearby cemetery.  Seems like extremely arrogant extraterrestrials are raising the dead so the government is forced to acknowledge that flying saucers exist.  If Plan 9 is successful, then maybe, just maybe, the government will heed the extraterrestrial’s warning of universal destruction thanks to the super weapon Solaranite!  According to Eros, the most arrogant of the arrogant extraterrestrials, mankind is on the verge of creating the Solaranite bomb, which ignites and explodes particles of sunlight and everything that the sunlight touches.  I’m not going to spoil the ending, but maybe if Eros wants to succeed, he should stop calling the human race stupid, no matter how true it is. 

Eros is right if this image makes you faint!

What really makes PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE special are the personalities involved.  Bela Lugosi, who appears in random silent footage Ed Wood shot separately, has no lines, but, as the old man/ghoul, we get to see him in his Dracula cape one last time.  These posthumously used scenes, and the painfully obvious Lugosi non-lookalike stand-in moments, are far more interesting than the film DRACULA (1931).  Then there is 1950’s California TV personality Vampira (Maila Nurmil).  As the old man’s dead wife turned ghoul, she tragically has no lines either.  Vampira just roams around the cemetery set like a zombie, but she has more screen presence than a lot of the actors.  (I’m looking at you, Gregory Walcott as the airplane pilot.)  Unlike Lugosi and Vampira, wrestler Tor Johnson has a few clumsily spoken lines before Inspector Daniel Clay becomes a ghoul and the movie is better for it!  Dudley Manlove (which would make a great nerdy queer porn star name) as super arrogant Eros and Joanna Lee as Tanna appear quite comfortable in front of the camera or maybe they just loved their groovy extraterrestrial uniforms.  John “Bunny” Breckinridge acts with unparalleled boredom as the extraterrestrial ruler, which is disappointing because “Bunny” led a shockingly fascinating offscreen life.  (read NIGHTMARE OF ECSTASY by Rudolph Grey for more)  Oh, and I must not forget actor Paul Marco.  He adds some intentional comic relief as Patrolman Kelton, a character who appears in other Wood films. 

Criswell predicts you will love this film!

Last, but not least, there is Criswell.  This famous or infamous for his time psychic supplies an intro, an outro and occasional narration with a memorable flair.  He speaks Ed Wood’s dialogue with a mixture of sincerity and a knowing wink at the absurdity of it all.  He also deftly prepares and baffles the viewer right from the start.  Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.  In my opinion, without Criswell, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE would not be nearly as entertaining. 

What am I, chopped liver?

Of course, there would be no PLAN 9 without Edward D. Wood, Jr.  His off-kilter writing and one-take directing are on full display.  I know Tim Burton’s ED WOOD bio-pic plays fast and loose with facts, but I sincerely hope two things.  First, I hope Ed donned drag while directing this film.  Second, I hope he really saw PLAN 9 as the one he would be remembered for, because it is his masterpiece!  (Yes, GLEN OR GLENDA is my favorite Wood film, but both can be true) 

Never fear, Bunny is here…to question my logic!

In conclusion…
While definitely not the worst movie of all time, I know PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is technically not a good film.  However, this bewildering spectacle is a lot of fun and hides some truths within the craziness.  I mean, it has taken decades for the U.S. government to admit there is something in the skies, but continues to be vague about exactly what that something actually is.  Not to mention, the human race  generally seems to have increased in violent tendencies since this film was made.  So, maybe, in Ed Wood’s own misguided, delusions of grandeur way, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE was ahead of its time.  As Criswell predicted in the intro, Future events such as these will affect you in the future. 

Beware!  Take care!

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  my video love letter to Ed Wood and David Lynch that’s based on true events from 2020!  🛸