13 Nights of Shocktober: Ed Wood

by A.J. 

Happy Halloween! The countdown is over and Halloween is finally upon us. Tonight, hopefully, you'll be relaxing, eating some candy, and watching a scary, or not-so-scary, movie. There are a lot of options for tonight and I hope I've been of some help. Here is my final recommendation to help bring an end to Shocktober:

Night 13: Happy, Happy Halloween! “Can your heart stand the shocking facts of the true story of Edward D. Wood Jr.?”

Ed Wood 

I must confess I don’t know much about the real person of Ed Wood, so I don’t know how much of the movie or the characters is accurate or how much is embellishment. I don’t care. I love this movie, I love this Ed Wood. If you ever ask me if I want to watch Ed Wood, no matter what time of year it is, I will always say “yes,” even if I’ve just watched it. Ed Wood is one of my two favorite Tim Burton movies (the other is Big Fish) and I think it might be his best film. Ed Wood is a loving, nostalgic tribute not just to the worst director ever and his movies, but also to movies in general, movie lovers, and misfits.  

Ed Wood is filmed in black and white in way that evokes the films of the 1950’s without calling attention to its own style. The movie begins with a push-in on an old spooky house in a thunderstorm with theremin music, just like an old spooky movie. Criswell emerges from a coffin to introduce the legend of Edward D. Wood, Jr. The enthusiasm and joy that Johnny Depp exudes in playing Ed Wood also fills every scene of the movie. During the opening titles sequence the camera flies over miniatures and cheap special effects like flying saucers and an octopus, props that would be used in Wood’s movies.

Wood sees the positive in everything. He finds the one unintentionally good line in a very bad review (the costumes looked real) of a bad low budget play Wood and his troupe just performed. He tells a producer that he just put on play that that was praised for its realism. He says “perfect” after every take when he’s shooting a movie, and there’s usually only one take. He doesn’t have the money or the time for multiple takes, but also he really does see every take as perfect. A telephone conversation with a producer that has just seen Glen or Glenda? (Wood’s film about a transvestite, played by himself) ends with Wood saying, “Worst film you ever saw? Well, my next one will be better.” He’s even pretty positive about being a transvestite in 1950’s America.

Wood works with the same group of friends and collaborators on his films and even picks up a few new additions. They are a lovable band of misfits. Bill Murray is great as Bunny Breckinridge; he manages to be both subdued and flamboyant as the very “out" character who wants to be a woman. Jeffery Jones plays Criswell, a TV psychic that makes outlandish predictions. “Ed, this isn’t the real world. You’ve surrounded yourself with a bunch of weirdos,” says Wood’s long suffering girlfriend, Dolores, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. She’s supportive, but she can only take so much; she’s not a misfit like Wood and his gang. She eventually leaves him, but Wood meets a wonderful match in Kathy, played by Patricia Arquette. Late in the film Kathy tells the newly unemployed TV host Vampira, who is embarrassed to be taking a part in Plan 9 from Outer Space, “Eddie’s the only fella in town who doesn’t pass judgement on people.” Wood replies, “That’s right, if I did, I wouldn’t have any friends." 

The standout of Wood’s gang of misfits is Bela Lugosi, played excellently by Martin Landau. He deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that year. Wood is so in awe of Lugosi that to him Lugosi is still a star even though he is washed up, his heyday having long since passed. Landau’s portrayal of Lugosi is very funny and very poignant. He’s not ready to stop making movies but the mainstream has forgotten about him. Even though everyone tells him Lugosi is washed up, to Wood sticks by his new friend, even after he finds out Lugosi is a morphine addict. Wood is Lugosi’s number one fan, and becomes his caretaker. There is something sad but endearing about someone looking after their broken down hero. Lugosi and Wood bond over nostalgia for old horror movies. Lugosi tells him, “They don’t want the classic horror films anymore. Today it’s all giant bugs… Who would believe such nonsense?” Wood feels the same, “The old ones were much spookier; they had castles and full moons.” It’s a great scene. Ed Wood was able to make Lugosi’s last days less somber and less tragic by giving him a chance to be in movies again, even if they were regarded as some of the worst movies ever made. Lugosi started his career starring in some of the best horror movies of the 30’s and finished his career by being in some of the worst movies of the 50’s, but they are movies people still remember and even enjoy, for one reason or another.

One of my favorite sub-genres is movies about making movies and Ed Wood is one of the best. It captures the joy of people doing something they really love. We see the making of Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, and Wood’s masterpiece, Plan 9 from Outer Space. My favorite scene in Ed Wood, and my favorite scene about filmmaking in any film happens during the filming of Bride of the Monster. Tor Johnson, playing a character called Lobo, bumps into a doorframe and shakes the entire set. The cameraman asks Wood if he wants to do another take. Wood says, “No, it’s fine, it’s real. You know, in actuality, Lobo would have to struggle with that problem every day.” He’s completely right. Wood did have some kind of talent, even if it was only at finding a way to make his next movie (like convincing all of his friends to be baptized as Baptists so his religious landlord would fund Plan 9 from Outer Space, and maybe forget about the overdue rent). When Wood is feeling distraught and frustrated about the shooting of Plan 9, he goes to a bar, and sees Orson Welles, played quite impressively by Vincent D’Onofrio, sitting alone in the corner booth. They share frustrations about interfering, demanding producers and actors. Wood is wearing an angora sweater for the entire scene. Welles tells him, “Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else’s dreams?” I don’t care if this moment really happened or not; it’s a great scene.  

I could go on praising Ed Wood; I’ve only used two-thirds of my notes. There’s a lot to love about this movie. It’s a celebration of movies and misfits. It successfully combines joy and melancholy in way I typically only see in Wes Anderson films. It captures the unrelenting love people can have movies. Edward D. Wood, Jr. just needed to make movies and tell stories, even if they were bad. I’ll never get tired of hearing Depp’s wonderful delivery of “I like to wear women’s clothing.” Johnny Depp gives one of his best performances, if not his very best, as Wood. He seems over the top, but he’s not. He’s capturing Wood’s unbridled enthusiasm, positivity, and love for movies. It’s contagious. It makes me smile. I wonder if there is or ever has been anyone, including myself, that loved movies as much as Ed Wood.