Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

Director:

Edward D. Wood Jr.

Writer:

Edward D. Wood Jr. (written by)

Release Date:

2 June 1995 (Sweden)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Unspeakable Horrors From Outer Space Paralyze The Living And Resurrect The Dead!

Plot:

Aliens resurrect dead humans as zombies and vampires to stop human kind from creating the Solaranite (a sort of sun-driven bomb).

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Plan | Cemetery | Outer Space | Pilot

Cast

Gregory Walcott	...	Jeff Trent
Mona McKinnon	...	Paula Trent
Duke Moore	...	Lieutenant Harper
Tom Keene	...	Colonel Edwards
Carl Anthony	...	Patrolman Larry
Paul Marco	...	Patrolman Kelton
Tor Johnson	...	Inspector Clay
Dudley Manlove	...	Eros
Joanna Lee	...	Tanna
John Breckinridge	...	Ruler
Lyle Talbot	...	General
David De Mering	...	Danny
Norma McCarty	...	Edith
Bill Ash	...	Captain
Lynn Lemon	...	Reverend (as Reverend Lynn Lemon)
Ben Frommer	...	Man
Gloria Dea	...	Girl
Conrad Brooks	...	Policeman
Vampira	...	Vampire Girl
Bela Lugosi	...	Ghoul Man
Criswell	...	Himself / Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Donald A. Davis	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Johnny Duncan	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Karl Johnson	...	Farmer Calder (uncredited)
Tom Mason	...	Ghoul Man with Cape Over Face (uncredited)
J. Edward Reynolds	...	Gravedigger (uncredited)
Clay Stone	...	Mourner Reading Bible in Opening Scene (uncredited)
Hugh Thomas Jr.	...	Gravedigger (uncredited)
Edward D. Wood Jr.	...	Man Holding Newspaper (uncredited)

Directed by
Edward D. Wood Jr.

Writing credits
Edward D. Wood Jr.		(written by)

Produced by
Charles Burg	....	associate producer
J. Edward Reynolds	....	executive producer
Hugh Thomas Jr.	....	associate producer
Edward D. Wood Jr.	....	producer

Cinematography by
William C. Thompson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Edward D. Wood Jr.

Makeup Department
Tom Bartholemew	....	makeup artist
Harry Thomas	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Vampira	....	Vampira makeup (uncredited)

Production Management
Kirk Kirkham	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Willard Kirkham	....	assistant director

Art Department
Tom Kemp	....	set constructor
Tony Portoghese	....	property master
Harry Reif	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Dale Knight	....	sound
Sam Kopetzky	....	sound mixer: pickups (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Charles Duncan	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Art Mankin	....	grip (as Art Manikin)
Larry Smith	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Richard Chaney	....	wardrobe (as Dick Chaney)

Music Department
Gordon Zahler	....	music supervisor
Emil Ascher	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Karl Johnson	....	picture vehicles (uncredited)

Other crew
Donald A. Davis	....	production assistant
Diana N. Loomis	....	script supervisor
Jim Woods	....	electrical effects

Production Companies

• Reynolds Pictures

Distributors

• Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• International Film Distributors (1959) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Grand National Pictures (1960) (UK) (theatrical)
• Wade Williams Productions (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Palace Video (1982) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1982) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Lumivision (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Rhino Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Rhino Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Englewood Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Ventura Distribution (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Rhino Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• MPIC Video (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Clint Hickman Productions (2006-2007) (worldwide) (all media) (3D version)
• Genius Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Chapel Distribution (2006) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Salzgeber & Company Medien (1995) (Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Admit One Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Deimos Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• L'Atelier 13 (2009) (Spain) (DVD)
• Legend Films (2006) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Legend Films (2008) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Lumière (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Manga Films (????) (Spain) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS) (????) (as Nostalgia Merchant)
• Prime Time Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD) (as Enjoy Movies)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Clint Hickman Productions  3D process
• Legend Films  colorization
• Legend Films  restoration

Also Known As:

Grave Robbers from Outer Space (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18451) | Australia:PG | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | Spain:T | Italy:T | West Germany:16 | Argentina:13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Quality Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Reynolds Pictures

Trivia:

Bela Lugosi appears in footage shot just before his death, but with no script in mind. Edward D. Wood Jr. wrote the script to accommodate all the footage shot in a cemetery and outside Tor Johnson's house in the new production. Lugosi was doubled by Tom Mason, Wood's wife's chiropractor, who was significantly taller than Lugosi, and played the part with a cape covering his face.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The inside door of the small saucer is the same as the outside door (there is the same ladder on the left hand side of the hatch). Obviously the exterior walls of the saucer were inverted to provide the interior set. The hatch itself is the same as the hatch on the airplane cockpit, and in the interplanetary headquarters.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Criswell: Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown... the mysterious...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Night of the Creeps (1986)

Soundtrack:

Lynch Fever

A classic of the bad sci-fi genre

This is one of the best of the worst films of all time. When viewed with the right mindset it never fails to entertain. Poor production values, terrible acting, worse directing, and dialog that has to be heard to be believed, combine to create a cinematic gem.

When speaking of bad movies, it is important to understand what is meant by "bad". There is good bad, and there is bad bad. Bad bad is a movie that combines all the elements listed above--bad acting, bad directing, etc.--to produce something that bores. Good bad combines the same elements in such a way that a highly entertaining movie is made, although not in the way the movie makers hope.

"Plan 9" is not just good bad, it is brilliant bad. It is unintentionally hilarious, and that's as funny as it gets. This is a movie that has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Everything about it is bad. When George Romero made "Night of the Living Dead" he did it on the cheap, but still produced a film that was intense, scary, and had a point. "Plan 9" is nothing but bad, albeit in a wonderful way.

As an example of bad production values, there is a scene where a police car is speeding away from headquarters. As the action begins it is broad daylight. The next scene is the car racing across the city. Now, however, it is night! Next is the car arriving at its destination, a cemetery, and again it is daylight. That is either one huge city, or somebody on the Plan 9 crew was asleep at the switch.

"Plan 9" is so full of great badness that to detail all the goofs, flubs, and cheesiness would require remaking the entire movie. The cemetery is a weed-infested lot; an airline cockpit set is a shower curtain, some plywood and a couple chairs; a cop scratches his head with the business end of a gun barrel; the outside of the space ship has a ladder that goes nowhere; the plan itself, that is, plan number 9, makes no sense at all. And on and on and on...

If you love movies, and want to consider yourself conversant in all genres of film, seeing at least one bad sci-fi movie is a must. "Plan 9" is the Hamlet of that genre. See it with a couple people who get it, and have a great time.