Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space: The Worst Movie Ever?

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

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The Worst Film of All Time by The Worst Director of All Time. So claimed the 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards by Michael and Harry Medved regarding the film Plan 9 from Outer Space and director Edward Wood Jr AKA Ed Wood.

But this very title is one of the reasons behind the revival of the film and of Ed Wood. The film has issues with continuity, set design, dialogue and a coherent ‘Plan 9’ but something about the film appeals to a subset of film lovers. Perhaps it’s the flashes of style, the joy in its failings or perhaps it’s a recognition of something beyond the traditional and often formulaic nature of mainstream narrative filmmaking. Today I speak with two wonderful film academics and fans of the film.

The Experts

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema.

Rodney F Hill is a Professor of Film at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University and has written extensively about film.

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:28 Ed Wood: Hollywood, Kubrick and Corman

05:04 Glen or Glenda, the production code and censorship

12:39 Plan 9 and the Baptist Church

14:33 Bela Lugosi and the rest of Ed Wood’s crew

20:35 The Amazing Criswell

23:23 Plan 9: An unconventional classic

25:50 Why my guests love the film

34:04 Bad science

35:46 The more traditional aspects Plan 9

37:22 The Worst Film of All Time and The Worst Director of All Time

39:57 Ed Wood the outsider and the Church of Ed Wood

43:14 Comparison to mainstream films

45:21 The Legacy

48:08 Recommendations

50:37 Save the Prince Charles Cinema

NEXT EPISODE!

The next episode we will be discussing The Blob (1958) which is available to rent and buy online in many places. You can also watch the film on the Just Watch website which was quite unexpected! (And remember folks, Steve McQueen is supposed to be 17 years old in this film!)

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Chapters

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Ed Wood: Hollywood, Kubrick and Corman (00:01:28)

3. Glen or Glenda, the production code and censorship (00:05:04)

4. Plan 9 and the Baptist Church (00:12:39)

5. Bela Lugosi and the rest of Ed Wood’s crew (00:14:33)

6. The Amazing Criswell (00:20:35)

7. Plan 9: An unconventional classic (00:23:23)

8. Why my guests love the film (00:25:50)

9. Bad science (00:34:04)

10. The more traditional aspects Plan 9 (00:35:46)

11. The Worst Film of All Time and The Worst Director of All Time (00:37:22)

12. Ed Wood the outsider and the Church of Ed Wood (00:39:57)

13. Comparison to mainstream films (00:43:14)

14. The Legacy (00:45:21)

15. Recommendations (00:48:08)

16. Save the Prince Charles Cinema (00:50:37)