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 | 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	...	Patrolman Jamie
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:

This film was shot in late 1956. It took almost three years to find a distributor who would handle it.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Three flying saucers and one mother ship are shown, yet the humans win the battle after destroying only one saucer because the Ruler recalled the other ships.

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:

Referenced in The Naked Monster (2005)

Soundtrack:

Dry Throat

What A Hoot!

When I need an amusing diversion, nothing helps quite like watching one of those dreadful 50's sci-fi flicks: "Teenagers From Outer Space", "The Brain From Planet Arous", or my personal favorite: "The Giant Claw". Ed Wood's infamous "Plan 9 ..." is a good choice too. Criswell, in his sing-song voice, cracks me up every time I hear him intone: "Future events such as these will affect you in the future."

I can forgive "Plan 9..." for some of its, let us say ... "imperfections": anthropomorphic aliens who speak English; women aliens who wear lipstick; the hammy, sophomoric acting; the dime store special effects ... But there's really no excuse for a mickey mouse script. You get the feeling that the film was put together by a quarrelsome committee of third graders, and aimed at an audience of chimpanzees.

Criswell drones on: " ... the secret testimony of the miserable souls who survived ...". And later, a VO intones: "The ever beautiful flower she had planted with her own hands became nothing more than the lost roses of her cheeks." Evidently, Wood saw no need to hire a script editor.

And yet, specifically because of its technical crudeness, "Plan 9 ..." is fun to watch. We may not want to admit it, but the film gives us viewers a chance to feel superior to Ed Wood; we get to conjecture that even we could make a film that has more credibility than ... that.