Grave Robbers From Outer Space!

Edward D. Wood Jr. is arguably responsible for the most famous flying saucer movie ever made. That movie is Plan 9 from Outer Space (originally titled Grave Robbers from Outer Space -- a more accurate title). The movie was once deemed the worst ever made, but of course that was not true then and is certainly not true now.  Plan 9 from Outer Space is not even the worst movie that Ed Wood ever made. (Night of the Ghouls - the sequel of sorts is way worse for instance.) The movie is filled with outlandish acting, amateurish set design, wooden dialogue, and a plot that makes little sense most of the time. But despite all of that, the movie has a great charm. 

(Possible inspiration for Plan 9 from Outer Space?)

For the very few who might not know, the saga begins with Bela Lugosi. Bela was down on his luck at the back end of a career which began with much promise but had fizzled. Bela was a drug addict and Ed Wood became his friend and dreamed of creating a movie starring the veteran actor. He succeeded with the movie Bride of the Monster which starred Bela alongside Tor Johnson as a mute named "Lobo". Wood had used Bela in his autobiographical movie Glen or Glenda also, but his role was more symbolic. By the time of Plan 9, Bela Lugosi had passed away. But Wood had footage of the old star and used this stuff as a jumping off point for a movie about grave robbers from space using dead bodies to presumably conquer mankind. The movie was a weird blend of science fiction and horror, and as we all know epic unintentional comedy. 

Wood tries to make hay on the flying saucer craze of the 50's as well, using model kits to populate his cinematic skies with attacking spacecraft. He also cast Vampira, a well-known movie host who had just been let go from that position. She never spoke but her singular look is one of the best things about Plan 9. Tor Johnson is back as a police officer and even gets to talk a little bit (his only lines in any Ed Wood movie he was in) before he killed and turned into a very threatening yet cuddly zombie. Our doughty hero is Geoffrey Walcott, an actor who would go on to have an actual mainstream career in spite of Plan 9. Sprinkle in small parts for veteran actors like Lyle Talbot and Tom Keene among a gaggle of relative amateurs and in Wood's mind you had the makings of a classic. 

(What a pair!)

Watching the movie again (I've seen it countless times) I was once again delighted by the humor which leaps from the screen. Cops slinging guns around with aplomb, prissy aliens getting in a snit, and he-man heroes trying to save both the girl and humanity are all part of a pageant which entertains relentlessly. Ed Wood might have made some bad movies (and he did) but he was diligent and sincere, so one is forced to take him at his word. Watch Plan 9 form Outer Space with the same seriousness Wood brought to it and it won't get better, but it will impress. 

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The Unearthly!

I'll admit I picked this movie up for two reasons -- John Carradine and Tor Johnson. In fact it's the fact that Tor plays "Lobo", the same character he presumably played in the Ed Wood movies that first made me notice this movie at all. I just for my own amusement presume that this is the first Lobo movie and after this he hooks up with Bela as his lab assistant and whipping boy in those Wood epics.

So how does this rank in the "Lobo Trilogy"? It's pretty tepid. John Carradine is in fine form in this one, and the other actors are fine. The ladies are pretty and heroes are intrepid enough. The pieces are all here, but this thing rarely gets up and runs, preferring to amble or simply sit and chat at the clock ticks by.

Too little actually happens in this movie. A beautiful young woman played by Alison Hayes needs psychological help but her doctor betrays her and turns her unknowing over to a mad scientist played by Carradine who with his assistant Lobo and some love-struck nurse are kidnapping and murdering people to get glands that will presumably give people eternal life. In this cause the scientist has a lab full of his creations, mistakes during his research. The pitiful part is that we don't get to see this gang of freaks until the very very end of the movie. Most of the time on screen is taken up by an undercover cop played by Myron Healey running around gathering evidence I presume though he seems to know pretty much the whole scam from the get-go. There are zombie wannabes in this one, and some ersatz gravedigging, but by and large this is a rather dull little flick.

It's not a hopeless cause, but it's not got the idiotic charm of a Wood movie nor the sleek polish of a classic horror film. It's a bland in-betweener.

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Tor Love Betty!

This is one strange comic, but given its stars that's appropriate. In a clear attempt to mine the retro-fame of horror movie "star" Tor Johnson and nudie "star" Bettie Page (eventhough the comic spells it "Betty"), this comic combines the 50's icons into a single comic. It's made up of several stories featuring the two and some pin-ups and whatnot. The stories essentially have Betty lounging and bathing in all manner of undress while being pursued by rabid fans while Tor who loves her from afar functions as her handyman and white knight. It's fun.

There were apparently supposed to be more than one issue of this Fantagraphics comic. Here's a link to Terry Beatty's blog where he's posted a story intended for the comic. It gives you a great sense of what they wanted to acoomplish with this.

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