Ed Wood

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edward Davies "Ed" Wood Jr. (Born October 10, 1924 in Poughkeepsie , New York , † December 10, 1978 in Hollywood , California ) was an American film director , actor , producer , screenwriter and writer . His trash films - especially Plan 9 from space - enjoy cult status.

Life

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Ed Wood, like many, dreamed of a great career in Hollywood, but at all times he lacked financial resources and - in the opinion of many - above all talent. In addition, his films were intended as " B-films " for double screenings, but the big Hollywood studios usually produced their own B-films, so it was extremely difficult to get a film rental for them at all. When his films with Bela Lugosi were often shown on television late at night, he had no financial gain because the rights had long been sold.

However, Ed Wood repeatedly managed to win sponsors and producers for his sometimes hair-raising film productions. Confessing trash film producers got involved with him, and he even managed to get funding from a Baptist church and a meat wholesaler.

Ed Wood loved wearing women's clothes, preferred angora underwear, and reportedly worked in those clothes too, which was unusual in the early 1950s. He also claimed of himself that he always wore bras and lace panties under his uniform during World War II . Since he was both the main actor and director in Glen or Glenda and kept the women's clothes necessary in the film, the rumor arose that he always wore women's clothes as a director.

The selection of his actors was partly responsible for his image. On the one hand he was able to win Bela Lugosi, the once famous, now drug addict Dracula actor from 1931, on the other hand his girlfriend Dolores Fuller , the TV horror announcer Vampira ( Maila Nurmi ), the TV clairvoyant Criswell , his chiropractor, the son of a financier and a hunted catcher , Tor Johnson , whom he hired for the first time for The Vengeance of the Strangler and kept him afterwards.

The films Ed Woods had to be made within a very short time for financial reasons; Sometimes the studio was only rented for four days (e.g. at Glen or Glenda ) and was therefore characterized by the fact that he hardly had his actors rehearsed, but mostly sent them directly in front of the camera, which sometimes resulted in confused and even crazy scenes led. Wood made little use of editing and rarely repeated recordings when they failed. That is why you will always find noticeable film errors in Woods films, such as wobbling walls or jump cuts . It was the same with the special effects of his films: Above all, they had to be simple and as inexpensive as possible. Furthermore, he often refrained from hiding the special effects. In the film Die Rache des Würgers , he had Bela Lugosi, who had mutated into a “giant”, simply replaced in fight scenes with a double wearing high heels. In Plan 9 from outer space , he rejected all the make-up artist's suggestions for the aliens and annoyed him so much that he did not want to be named in the credits.

With his film Plan 9 from space , he produced the work through which he achieved posthumous cult status - especially because the authors Harry and Michael Medved declared it the “worst film of all time”. Unfortunately for Woods, Bela Lugosi died after Wood had shot some scenes with him in 1956. However, that didn't stop Wood from finishing the film in 1958, because he simply changed the script and replaced Lugosi with a man who had to keep a cape in front of his face because of the lack of resemblance to Lugosi. So he could use old film material as well as his own private footage of Lugosi and cut them into the film. In 1957 he made the short film Final Curtain , which was planned as a pilot for Portrait in Terror . This series was never started, and so Final Curtain remained as the sole short film. Final Curtain has long been considered a lost film and only celebrated its grand premiere in January 2012.

Ed Wood took his work very seriously, saw himself as a misunderstood artist and tried to emulate his avowed role model Orson Welles . From the 1960s onwards, Wood could hardly find any sponsors for his projects and was therefore mainly occupied with the production of pornographic films . He also wrote numerous novels and short stories, often revisiting the themes of his films.

Wood was considered an alcoholic and died at the age of 54 of a heart attack in the apartment of a mutual friend in Hollywood, a few days after he and his wife lost their apartment.

In 1998 the film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died was made based on one of his scripts .

useful information

Filmography

  • 1951: The Sun Was Setting (TV movie)
  • 1953: Trick Shooting with Kenne Duncan
  • 1953: Glen or Glenda
  • 1953: Crossroad Avenger: The Adventures of the Tucson Kid (TV movie)
  • 1953: Boots
  • 1954: Jail Bait
  • 1955: Bride of the Monster ( Bride of the Monster )
  • 1957: Final Curtain
  • 1957: The Night the Banshee Cried
  • 1959: Plan 9 from Outer Space ( Plan 9 from Outer Space )
  • 1959: Night of the Ghouls
  • 1961: The Sinister Urge
  • 1965: Orgy of the Dead
  • 1970: Excited
  • 1970: Take It Out In Trade
  • 1971: The Only House
  • 1971: Necromania
  • 1998: I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (script only)

The film Ed Wood

There is a film of the same name about Ed Wood and his life ( Ed Wood , 1994) by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp in the leading role as Ed Wood and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi . Moreover acted Sarah Jessica Parker , Patricia Arquette , Jeffrey Jones , Bill Murray and Vincent D'Onofrio as Orson Welles , with which Wood compared again and again.

Landau received an Oscar for best supporting actor, and the make-up was also awarded. In addition to a Golden Globe for Landau, the film won nominations in the “Best Comedy / Musical” category and Johnny Depp as the lead actor in a comedy / musical.

In 1995 , Brett Thompson presented a detailed film documentation with many eyewitness interviews under the title Die seltsame Welt des Ed Wood ( The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jnr. ).

literature

  • Daniel Kulle: Ed Wood. Trash & Irony (Deep Focus 14) . Bertz + Fischer, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-86505-315-2 .
  • Rudolph Gray : Ed Wood. The biography of the extraordinary Hollywood director . Heyne, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-08955-3 (OT: Nightmare of Ecstasy. The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, jr. ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Rudolph Gray : Ed Wood. The biography of the extraordinary Hollywood director . Heyne, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-08955-3 (OT: Nightmare of Ecstasy. The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, jr. ).
  2. ↑ Cult Movie Mania's Screaming Cinema Series Presents Ed Wood's Final Curtain , accessed April 15, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Wood, Ed
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wood, Edward Davies Jr. (Full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film director
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Poughkeepsie , New York (State)
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 1978
Place of death Hollywood , California