Ed Wood Jr. (13 Oct. 1989)

Stars:

Jonathan Ross, Dolores Fuller, Rudolph Grey

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Jonathan Ross	...	Himself - Host
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dolores Fuller	...	Herself
Rudolph Grey	...	Himself
Paul Marco	...	Himself
Norma McCarty	...	Herself
Harry Medved	...	Himself
Vampira	...	Herself (as Maila Nurmi)

Storyline

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Release Date:

13 October 1989 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel X

User Reviews

"We are all interested in the future for that is where you & I are going to spend the rest of our lives." Affectionate look at the life & career of Edward D. Wood Jr.

The Incredibly Strange Film Show: Ed Wood, or 'The Son of The Incredibly Strange...' as it's on screen title says, is a 40 odd minute documentary focusing on the life, the career & the death of the infamous Edward D. Wood Jr..

Originally aired here in the UK during 1989 this was episode 1 from season 2 of the short lived TV series The Incredibly Strange Film Show that looked at a variety of oddball filmmakers. This particular episode focuses on the so-called worst director of all time Ed Wood, to be honest I can't see why he merits so much attention or notoriety as his films are simply terrible & being branded as the worst director of all time is nothing to be proud of but each to their own I suppose. As well looking at his films including Glen or Glenda (1953), The Bride of the Monster (1955) & Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) it delves into his personal life revealing he was a transvestite & that he died on his own, homeless & penniless in Hollywood. There are filmed interviews with his ex-wife who says he never saw a penny from any of his films, Vampira who appeared in Plan 9, Paul Marco who also appeared in several of his films & leading lady from Night of the Ghouls (1959) Valda Hansen which are both affectionate, candid & sometimes sad like Marco's recollections of Bela Lugosi injecting himself with drugs to satisfy his addiction. Overall this is a good solid informative, entertaining & heartfelt documentary that is a must for Ed Wood fans.

Shot in Hollywood this, like other Incredibly Strange Film Show episodes, visits some relevant locations & interviews quite a few people who are no longer with us so this documentary couldn't be made today. In fact unlike the rest of the episodes in The Incredibly Strange Film Show's two season stint this is the only one where the main focus of the documentary was dead at the time it was made & could therefore be considered a retrospective piece. There is one hilarious anecdote when someone says that the flying saucers from Plan 9 look like metal pie dishes but has subsequently discovered that the films budget didn't stretch to metal pie dishes & they were actually two paper plates stuck together! There is also some awful looking footage from the Plan 9 From Outer Space musical which looks absolutely terrible.

This is another great show from this great series & series producer & host Jonathan Ross clearly loves the genre, if your a fan of strange films & exploitation cinema then this is a must. It's also a must for Ed Wood fans, if such things exist.

This is a notoriously hard series to track down, only illegal bootleg DVD-R's & domestic off-air recordings made at the time it was originally broadcast are currently available which is a shame.