Spotlight on Edward Davis Wood, Jr. (1924-1978)

Ed Wood was an American director of B-movie films that pushed the limits of creativity for low-budget filmmaking. His notable works, usually labeled infamous for their quality, featured pulp-fiction (no, not that one) crime scenarios, SF horror storylines, and racy, controversial subject matter and depictions of gender, identity, and sex. Similar to some of the shocking subject matter of his films, many people reacted negatively to Wood dressing in drag and taking on the name of Shirley, a persona he would unapologetically present as while directing but whose presence caused rifts in his marriages over time. Wood often worked with Dracula (1931) star Bela Lugosi (1882-1956) toward the end of his film career and life; the friendship and working relationship between the two remains a site of controversy regarding Lugosi’s health and state of mind while working with the director. Wood’s heyday took a sharp turn in the late 60s when he transitioned into writing and directing soft-and-hardcore adult cinema and he never returned to making the B-movies of his earlier career. The legacy of Ed Wood lives on through reference and inspiration in the documentary It Came From Hollywood (1982), the biopic Ed Wood (1994) in which Johnny Depp portrays the director, and in contemporary filmmakers like John Waters whose own productions approach the same cult classic status and reverence as Wood’s early films. His representative works include: Glen or Glenda (1953), Jail Bait (1954), and Bride of the Monster (1955).dsdf

Let’s take a look at Wood’s 1957 SF horror film, Plan 9 from Outer Space (full film accessible via TAMU Kanopy https://www.kanopy.com/en/texasam/video/5916312).

Study Questions

To further a more in-depth understanding and analysis of the film, consider these inquiries: