Editing Ed Wood (section)

==Career==
{{main|Ed Wood filmography}}

===Directing and screenwriting===
In 1947, Wood moved to Hollywood, California, where he wrote scripts and directed television pilots, commercials<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.edwoodonline.com/thehunt/COMMERCIALS.html | title=Commercials (1940s – 50s) – the Hunt for Edward D. Wood, Jr }}</ref> and several forgotten micro-budget westerns, most of which failed to sell. Wood biographer Rudolph Grey states that Ed Wood made approximately 125 commercials for Story-Ad films and approximately 30 commercials for Play-Ad Films, in addition to a few commercials for "Pie-Quick".

In 1948, Wood wrote, produced, directed, and starred in ''The Casual Company'', a play derived from his own unpublished novel which was based on his service in the [[United States Marine Corps]]. It opened at the Village Playhouse to negative reviews on October 25.{{sfn|Grey|1994|pp=23–24}} That same year, he wrote and directed a low-budget western called ''[[Crossroads of Laredo]]'' with the aid of a young producer he met named Crawford John Thomas. The film was shot silent and was not completed during Wood's lifetime.

In 1949, Wood and Thomas acted together in a play called ''The Blackguard Returns'' at the Gateway Theatre (Wood played the Sheriff and Thomas was the villain). Wood joined the [[Screen Actors Guild]] in 1951, and worked very briefly as a stuntman among other things.<ref>Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 171. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref> When writing, Wood used a number of different pen names, including Ann Gora (in reference to [[Angora wool|Angora]], his favorite textile) and Akdov Telmig (the backwards spelling of his favorite drink, the [[Gimlet (cocktail)|vodka gimlet]]).<ref name="mentalfloss"/>

In 1952, Wood was introduced to actor [[Bela Lugosi]] by friend and fellow writer-producer [[Alex Gordon (writer-producer)|Alex Gordon]] (Wood's roommate at the time who was later involved in creating [[American International Pictures]]). Lugosi's son, [[Bela G. Lugosi|Bela George Lugosi Jr.]], has been among those who felt Wood exploited the senior Lugosi's stardom, taking advantage of the fading actor when he could not afford to refuse any work.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Thompson, Brett|year=1996 |title=The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr. |medium=Documentary|publisher=Wood-Thomas Pictures}}</ref> However, most documents and interviews with other Wood associates in ''Nightmare of Ecstasy'' suggest that Wood and Lugosi were genuine friends and that Wood helped Lugosi through the worst days of his [[clinical depression]] and [[Substance dependence|drug addiction]]. Lugosi had become dependent on [[morphine]] as a way of controlling his debilitating [[sciatica]] over the years, and was in a poor mental state caused by his recent divorce.<ref name="mentalfloss">{{Cite web|first=Colin|last=Patrick|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/26050/10-absurd-facts-about-worst-director-all-time|title=10 Absurd Facts About the Worst Director of All Time|date=October 11, 2010|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref>

====''Glen or Glenda''====
[[File:Glen or Glenda (1953) by Ed Wood.webm|left|thumb|''Glen or Glenda'' (1953) by Ed Wood]]
In 1953, Wood wrote and directed the semi-documentary film ''[[Glen or Glenda]]'' (originally titled ''I Changed My Sex!'') with producer [[George Weiss (producer)|George Weiss]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Rhodes | first = Gary D. | title = Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers | year = 1997 | publisher = [[McFarland (publisher)|McFarland]]| location = Jefferson, North Carolina| isbn = 0-7864-0257-1|pages=141–142 }}</ref> The film starred Wood (under the alias "Daniel Davis") as a [[transvestite]], his girlfriend [[Dolores Fuller]], [[Timothy Farrell]], [[Lyle Talbot]], [[Conrad Brooks]] and Bela Lugosi as the narrator/scientist. Fuller was shocked when she learned soon afterward that Wood actually was a cross-dresser.{{sfn|Benshoff|1997|pp=160–1}}

In 1953, Wood wrote and directed a stage show for Lugosi called ''The Bela Lugosi Review'' (a take-off on ''Dracula'') that was put on at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas. When Lugosi appeared on the TV show ''You Asked For It'' that same year, he announced that Ed Wood was producing a ''Dr. Acula'' TV show for him, but it never materialized. Wood acted as Lugosi's dialogue coach when he guest-starred on ''The Red Skelton Show'' in 1954, alongside [[Lon Chaney Jr]]. and Vampira (aka [[Maila Nurmi]]).<ref>Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 172. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>

====''Jail Bait''====
Wood co-produced and directed a crime film, ''[[Jail Bait (1954 film)|Jail Bait]]'' (1954, originally titled ''The Hidden Face''), along with his co-writer/roommate Alex Gordon, which starred Herbert Rawlinson (as the plastic surgeon), [[Lyle Talbot]], [[Dolores Fuller]], [[Timothy Farrell]], [[Theodora Thurman]] and [[Steve Reeves]] (in one of his first acting jobs).<ref>{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Newman|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/05/04/muscleman-steve-reeves-dies/4b280cbb-72ea-463b-a06b-ab6a503ea89a/|title=Muscleman Steve Reeves Dies|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|publisher=[[Washington Post Company]]|location=Washington, DC|date=May 4, 2000|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> Bela Lugosi was supposed to play the lead role of the plastic surgeon, but was busy with another project when filming started and had to bow out. His replacement, Herbert Rawlinson, died the day after he filmed his scenes. Distributor [[Ron Ormond]] changed the title from ''The Hidden Face'' to ''Jail Bait'' just before releasing it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers|publisher=McFarland|last=Rhodes|first=Gary Don|year=2015|page=225|isbn=978-0-7864-2765-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eomACgAAQBAJ&pg=PA225}}</ref>

====''Bride of the Monster''====
Wood produced and directed the horror film ''[[Bride of the Monster]]'' (1955, originally titled ''Bride of the Atom'' or ''The Monster of the Marshes''), based on an original story idea by Alex Gordon which he had originally called ''The Atomic Monster''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autry.com/clubhouse/alex/remembrance.html |title=Alex Gordon |publisher=Autry.com |access-date=November 9, 2013}}</ref> It starred Bela Lugosi as the mad scientist, Swedish wrestler [[Tor Johnson]] as mute manservant "Lobo", [[Paul Marco]], [[Billy Benedict]] ("Whitey" of ''The Bowery Boys''), Harvey B. Dunn and [[Loretta King]]. Soon after the film was completed, Bela Lugosi committed himself to the Norwalk State Hospital for three months, to be treated for drug addiction. The film premiered on May 11, 1955, at the Paramount theater in Hollywood while Lugosi was institutionalized, but a special screening was arranged for him upon his release, pleasing him greatly.

====''The Violent Years''====
{{Main|The Violent Years}}
In 1956, Wood wrote the screenplay (uncredited) for the film ''[[The Violent Years]]'' (originally titled ''Teenage Girl Gang''), which was directed by William M. Morgan, starring ''[[Playboy]]'' model [[Jean Moorhead]], Timothy Farrell, and serial star [[I. Stanford Jolley]] (as a judge).<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Violent Years|url=https://www.americangenrefilm.com/theatrical-film-catalog/the-violent-years/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=publicdomainmovie.net}}</ref>

Wood began filming a juvenile delinquency film called ''Rock and Roll Hell'' (a.k.a. ''Hellborn'') in 1956, but producer George Weiss pulled the plug on the project after only ten minutes of footage had been completed. Wood's friend Conrad Brooks purchased the footage from Weiss, and some scenes were later incorporated as stock footage into Wood's later ''Night of the Ghouls'' (1959). (The entire ten minutes of footage was later released complete on VHS in 1993, as ''Hellborn''.)

====''Plan 9 from Outer Space''====
{{Main|Plan 9 from Outer Space}}
[[File:Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959).webm|thumb|thumbtime=103|upright=1.5|{{center|''Plan 9 from Outer Space'', full film; runtime 01:19:03}}]]
In late 1956, Wood co-produced, wrote, and directed his science fiction opus ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]'' (his screenplay was originally titled ''Grave Robbers from Outer Space''), which featured Bela Lugosi in a small role. (Although Lugosi died in August 1956 before production began, Wood used footage he had shot of Lugosi in 1955–1956.) The film also starred Tor Johnson, Vampira ([[Maila Nurmi]]), [[Tom Mason (actor, born 1920)|Tom Mason]] (who doubled for Lugosi in some scenes), and [[the Amazing Criswell]] as the film's narrator. ''Plan 9'' premiered on March 15, 1957, at the Carlton Theatre in Hollywood, and later went into general release in July 1958 (retitled ''Plan Nine from Outer Space'') in Texas and a number of other Southern states.<ref>"James Theatre, Starts Today/Liane Jungle Goddess/Plan Nine from Outer Space". Daily Press. July 3, 1958. p. 8.</ref> It was finally sold to [[Late night television in the United States|late night television]] in 1961, thereby finding its audience over the years. It became Wood's best-known film and found a [[cult following]] in 1980 when [[Michael Medved]] declared this film "[[List of films considered the worst|the worst film ever made]]" in his book ''[[The Golden Turkey Awards]]''.<ref name=":0" />

====''Final Curtain''====
In 1957, Wood wrote and directed a pilot for a suspense-horror TV series called ''Portraits in Terror'' that ultimately failed to sell. The pilot, entitled ''[[Final Curtain (film)|Final Curtain]]'', sees an old and world-weary actor wandering in an empty theatre, imagining ghosts and a living mannequin haunting the backstage area, until he realizes that he himself is dead. The episode has no dialogue, and Dudley Manlove narrates the thoughts of Duke Moore as the actor. Lugosi would have starred in this short film had he lived. Parts of the unsold pilot were later recycled for use in Wood's ''[[Night of the Ghouls]]'' (1959). The episode was thought to be lost until a complete print was located {{circa|2010}}. It was remastered and given its first ever cinema showing in a theater in February 2012. Today it is widely available online and on DVD.

====''Night of the Ghouls''====
In 1958, Wood wrote, produced, and directed ''[[Night of the Ghouls]]'' (originally titled ''Revenge of the Dead''), starring Kenne Duncan, Tor Johnson (reprising his role as "Lobo" from ''Bride of the Monster''), Criswell, Duke Moore, and Valda Hansen.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Night of the Ghouls (1959)|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74cdb8c5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026110255/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74cdb8c5|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 26, 2020|website=BFI|language=en|access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref> The film premiered at the Vista Theatre in Hollywood on a double bill with the Lana Turner movie ''[[Imitation of Life (1959 film)|Imitation of Life]]'' on March 17, 1959, and then promptly vanished from circulation.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 206">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 206. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref> For many years, it was thought to be a [[lost film]], but distribution of the film was held up for 25 years because Wood had not paid the lab bill. Video producer Wade Williams paid the bill and released the film on videocassette in 1984, copyrighting the film in his own name.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 206"/>

In 1958, Wood also wrote the screenplay for ''[[The Bride and the Beast]]'' (1958), which was directed by Adrian Weiss. Wood's screenplay was based on Weiss' plot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52489-THE-BRIDE-AND-THE-BEAST?sid=1c731728-c817-47fe-a584-04449ed92594&sr=3.9257162&cp=1&pos=0|title=AFI&#124;Catalog}}</ref>

Wood also wrote the screenplay (as "Peter LaRoche") for a 1959 "nudie cutie" film called ''[[Revenge of the Virgins]]'', which was directed by Peter Perry Jr.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992) ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>

====''The Sinister Urge''====
Wood wrote and directed the exploitation film ''[[The Sinister Urge (film)|The Sinister Urge]]'' (1960),<ref name=":0">Craig, Rob (2009), "The Sinister Urge (1960)", Ed Wood, Mad Genius: A Critical Study of the Films, McFarland & Company, {{ISBN|978-0786454235}}</ref> starring Kenne Duncan, Duke Moore, Dino Fantini, Harvey B. Dunn and Carl Anthony. Filmed in just five days, this is the last mainstream film Wood directed, although it has [[exploitation film|exploitation]] elements. The film contains an "eerily prescient"{{sfn|Craig|2009|p=208}} scene, in which Carl Anthony's character states, "I look at this slush, and I try to remember, at one time, I made good movies". The scenes of the teenagers at the pizzeria had been previously shot in 1956 for Wood's unfinished juvenile delinquency film, ''Rock and Roll Hell'' (a.k.a. ''Hellborn'').

Also in 1960, Wood wrote the screenplay for ''The Peeper'', which he intended as a direct sequel to his 1960 film ''The Sinister Urge'', but it was never produced.

Wood also contributed to the plot of Jane Mann's 1961 screenplay ''[[Anatomy of a Psycho]]''. The film was directed by Mann's husband [[Boris Petroff]].<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992"/>

In 1963, Wood wrote the screenplay for ''Shotgun Wedding'' (an exploitation film directed by Boris Petroff about hillbillies marrying child brides in the Ozarks). Wood wrote the screenplay from a story idea by Jane Mann. Wood's friend, cameraman William C. Thompson, died around this time.

====''Orgy of the Dead''====
Wood's 1965 transitional film ''[[Orgy of the Dead]]'' (originally titled ''Nudie Ghoulies'') combined the horror and sexploitation genres. Wood handled various production details while [[Stephen C. Apostolof]] directed under the pseudonym A. C. Stephen. The film begins with a recreation of the opening scene from ''Night of the Ghouls''. Criswell, wearing one of Lugosi's old capes, rises from his coffin to deliver an introduction taken almost word-for-word from the previous film. Set in a misty graveyard, the Lord of the Dead (Criswell) and his sexy consort, the Black Ghoul (a Vampira look-alike), preside over a series of macabre performances by topless dancers from beyond the grave (recruited by Wood from local strip clubs). Together, Wood and Apostolof went on to make a string of sexploitation films up to 1977. Wood co-wrote the screenplays with Apostolof and occasionally even acted in some of the films.

In 1969, Wood appeared in ''The Photographer'' (a.k.a. ''Love Feast'' or ''Pretty Models All in a Row''), the first of two films produced by a Marine buddy, Joseph F. Robertson, with Wood portraying a photographer using his position to engage in sexual antics with his models.

Wood had a smaller role in Robertson's second film, ''Mrs. Stone's Thing'' (1970), as a transvestite who spends his time at a party trying on lingerie in a bedroom.

In 1969, Wood adapted his own novel ''Mama's Diary'' written under the pseudonym Dick Trent into ''Operation Red Light'' for Jacques Descent Production. Over half the footage was destroyed in a film-processing accident and the film is considered lost.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://d2rights.blogspot.com/2015/11/ed-wood-wednesdays-greg-dziawer-on.html | title=Dead 2 Rights: Ed Wood Wednesdays: Greg Dziawer on 'Operation Redlight' (1969) | date=November 11, 2015 }}</ref>

''[[Venus Flytrap (film)|Venus Flytrap]]'' (1970) aka ''The Revenge of Dr. X'', a US/Japanese co-production, was based on an unproduced Ed Wood screenplay from the 1950s.{{sfn|Weldon|1996|p=464}} The film was produced and directed by Sci-Fi pulp writer Norman Earl Thomson. The film involves a mad scientist who uses lightning to transform plants into man-eating monsters. Wood did not participate in the actual making of the movie.

====''Take It Out in Trade''====
In 1970, Wood wrote and directed his own pornographic film, ''[[Take It Out in Trade]]'', starring Duke Moore and Nona Carver. Wood played a transvestite named Alecia in the film.

In 1970, Wood produced a 45 rpm record which featured Tor Johnson on one side, reading ''The Day The Mummy Returned'', and Criswell reading ''The Final Curtain'' on the other. It has never been determined whether or not the record was actually released, but many of them were definitely produced.<ref>Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 173. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>

====''Necromania''====
In 1971, Wood produced, wrote and directed ''[[Necromania]]'' (subtitled ''A Tale of Weird Love'') under the pseudonym "Don Miller". The film was an early entry to the new subgenre of hardcore pornographic films. Thought lost for years, it resurfaced in edited form on Mike Vraney's [[Something Weird Video|Something Weird]] imprint in the late 1980s and was re-released later on DVD by Fleshbot Films in 2005. In the Rudolph Grey biography ''Nightmare of Ecstasy'', [[Maila Nurmi]] ("Vampira") said she declined Wood's offer to do a nude scene sitting in a coffin for ''Necromania'', claiming she was recovering from a stroke at the time.{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=135}}

From 1971 to 1972, Wood directed an unknown number of short X-rated films produced by the Swedish Erotica film company. These were short 12-minute loops that were silent films with subtitles. Wood was paid $100 for every ten loops he subtitled.

Wood's friends Kenne Duncan and Tor Johnson both passed away during this period. (Wood was named executor of Kenne Duncan's estate, and following Duncan's death, Wood held a small memorial funeral for him with his wife and some friends in his backyard around the swimming pool where they eulogized the departed Western film star.) Wood's friend Duke Moore died in 1976.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 115">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 115. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>
 
Throughout the 1970s, Wood worked with his friend Stephen C. Apostolof, usually co-writing scripts with him, but also serving as an assistant director and an associate producer. (Together they had made Wood's ''[[Orgy of the Dead]]'' back in 1965.) Wood's last known on-screen appearance (a dual role) was in Apostolof's 1974 film ''Fugitive Girls'' (a.k.a. ''Five Loose Women''), in which he played both a gas station attendant called "Pops" and a sheriff on the fugitive women's trail. In 1974, Wood was allegedly on the set of an ultra-low budget film called ''[[Meatcleaver Massacre]]'' (1977) and is said to have co-directed at least one scene in the film (uncredited), but his involvement is dubious.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQVBCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22james+bryan%22+%22meatcleaver+massacre%22+ed+wood&pg=PT99 | title=Trash Cinema: A Celebration of Overlooked Masterpieces | last1=Rausch | first1=Andrew J. | date=May 30, 2015 }}</ref><ref>Stine, Scott Aaron (2015). The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-49140-7.</ref>

At the time of his death, Wood was working on a biographical screenplay based on the last years of actor [[Bela Lugosi]] to be called ''Lugosi Post Mortem'', which was supposed to star actor Peter Coe as Lugosi and Karl Johnson as his father [[Tor Johnson]]. The nearly completed script was left behind the last time Wood was evicted and is presumed to have been discarded in the trash. Wood was also working on a screenplay for a film called ''Venus De Milo'', a mystery that would explain the famous statue's missing arms.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 220">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 220. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>

Technically, Wood's last acting job was in the 1978 Stephen Apostolof film ''Hot Ice''. Ed Wood played a janitor in the film, but his scene was cut out at the last minute due to his drunkenness on the set. Wood died soon after this film was made in 1978, at age 54. Apostolof himself stopped making films as well at this time.

===Books and novels===
{{main|Ed Wood bibliography}}
Beginning in 1963 up until his death, Wood wrote at least 80 lurid crime and sex novels in addition to hundreds of short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines and daily newspapers.

His novels include ''Black Lace Drag'' (1963) (reissued in 1965 as ''Killer in Drag''), ''Orgy of the Dead'' (1965), ''Parisian Passions'' (1966), ''Watts the Difference'' (1966), ''Side-Show Siren'' (1966), ''Drag Trade'' (1967), ''Watts After'' (1967), ''Devil Girls'' (1967), ''It Takes One to Know One'' (1967), ''Death of a Transvestite'' (1967), ''Suburbia Confidential'' (1967), ''Night Time Lez'' (1968), ''The Perverts'' (1968), ''Bye Bye Broadie'' (1968), ''Raped in the Grass'' (1968), ''Sex, Shrouds and Caskets'' (1968), ''Love of the Dead'' (1968), ''The Sexecutives'' (1968), ''Young, Black and Gay'' (1968), ''Hell Chicks'' (1968), ''The Gay Underworld'' (1968), ''Carnival Piece'' (1969), ''Toni, Black Tigress'' (1969), ''Mama's Diary'' (1969), ''To Make a Homo'' (1969), ''Mary-Go-Round'' (1969), ''The Sexual Woman'' (1971), ''The Only House'' (1972), ''A Study of Fetishes and Fantasies'' (1973), ''Tales for a Sexy Night Part 1 and 2'' (1973), ''Sex Star'' (1973), ''Death of a Transvestite Hooker'' (1974). ''Forced Entry'' (1974), and ''TV Lust'' (1977).<ref>Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 175 – 194. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>

In 1965, Wood wrote the quasi-[[memoir]] ''[[Hollywood Rat Race]]'', which was only published years later in 1998. In it, Wood advises new writers to "just keep on writing. Even if your story gets worse, you'll get better", and also recounts tales of dubious authenticity, such as how he and Bela Lugosi entered the world of nightclub [[cabaret]].

Thirty-two short stories known to be written by Wood (he sometimes wrote under pseudonyms such as "Ann Gora" and "Dr. T.K. Peters") are collected in an anthology ''Blood Splatters Quickly'', published by OR Books in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/blood-splatters-quickly/|title = Blood Splatters Quickly}}</ref>

===Unrealized projects===
* '''''Dr. Acula''''' – Wood was supposed to write and direct this proposed 1953 TV series in which [[Bela Lugosi]] was supposed to play a mysterious investigator of the supernatural, to be produced by Ted Allan. (Lugosi mentioned it when he appeared that year on ''[[You Asked for It]]''.)<ref>Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). p. 215. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>
* '''''Sequel to ''Mother Riley Meets the Vampire''' – Lugosi was offered the lead role in a proposed 1953 sequel to the Mother Riley comedy film he made in England in 1951, provided he travel back to England to appear in it. This sequel was never made however as Lugosi was too ill at the time to travel. In 1953, Ed Wood's friend producer Alex Gordon proposed creating an extended version of the 1951 film to be called ''King Robot'' which would incorporate newly filmed footage of Lugosi. The project was abandoned since by that time, Lugosi appeared too ill to match the earlier footage.<ref>Lugosi: His Life on Film, Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers by Gary D. Rhodes (2006) McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0786427659</ref>
* '''''The Six Arms of Siva''''' – This was a 1953 adventure novel written by Walter C. Brown which Wood and Lugosi were considering buying the film rights to, but the deal fell through.<ref>Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers, ISBN 0-9773798-1-7</ref>
* '''''3-D Remake of ''Dracula'' (1931)''''' – Ed Wood and teenage Lugosi fan Richard Sheffield petitioned Universal Studios in 1953 to make a Color/ 3-D remake of the 1931 classic ''Dracula'', starring Lugosi in the lead. Although they gathered hundreds of signatures, nothing came of their efforts.
* '''''The Vampire's Tomb''''' – This was a planned July, 1954 horror film starring Bela Lugosi as the "Dr. Acula" character again. The cast would also have included Loretta King, Bobby Jordan (of ''The Bowery Boys''), [[Dolores Fuller]], Lyle Talbot, Duke Moore, Tom Keene and a Vampira-lookalike named "Devila". Wood's plot was very similar to that of [[Tod Browning]]'s ''London After Midnight'', only with a female vampire.<ref>Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. pg. 176. ISBN 0-9773798-1-7</ref> Wood shelved this project and filmed ''Bride of the Monster'' instead. Wood however did film some test footage of Lugosi wearing his Dracula cape in a local graveyard for this project which became part of the stock footage which was later incorporated into Wood's 1957 ''Plan 9 From Outer Space'' film.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 216">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 216. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>
* '''''The Bowery Boys Meet The Monsters''''' – Lugosi was initially considered for the role of the mad scientist in this 1954 horror-comedy, but he was replaced in the cast by John Dehner at the last minute.
* '''''Bela Lugosi Comics''''' – In March 1954, Wood tried to interest a number of comic book publishers in a monthly Bela Lugosi title, to no avail. Among the companies he contacted were DC Comics, Dell, Fiction House, Ziff-Davis, Quality and Toby Press.
* '''''Doctor Voodoo''''' (a.k.a. ''Voodoo Doctor'') – A projected 1954 horror film (similar in plot to the 1934 Universal film ''The Black Cat'') that was supposed to have starred both [[Bela Lugosi]] and [[Boris Karloff]], but Allied Artists rejected the script. It is said Karloff really wanted no part of the project anyway.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 216"/>
* '''''The Terror''''' Radio Program – Wood wrote a list of story ideas for this proposed 1954 15-minute radio program which was supposed to star Bela Lugosi, but it never materialized.
* '''''The Ghoul Goes West''''' (or ''The Phantom Ghoul'') – Wood worked on this script for two years, and had planned to produce it in Color/ Widescreen (and possibly 3-D). It was a proposed 1955 Western/Horror film that would have starred [[Gene Autry]], Bela Lugosi, [[Tor Johnson]], [[Lon Chaney Jr.]] and [[John Carradine]], with Harold Daniels slated to direct. The plot was very similar to that of ''Bride of the Monster'', only in a Western setting. Gene Autry dropped out, and Wood tried to replace him with either Bob Steele or [[Ken Maynard]], to no avail. Lugosi was reading the script the whole time he was confined to the Norwalk State Hospital in 1955, where he was being treated for drug addiction. Coincidentally, Lugosi, Chaney, Tor Johnson and Carradine all appeared together the following year in ''The Black Sleep'' (a project that did not involve Ed Wood).<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 216"/>
* '''''Repeat Performance''''' – This was a 1956 movie script that was written by Richard Sheffield, a Hollywood teenager who was a close personal friend of Bela Lugosi. He sold the script to Ed Wood for $1.00, but the film was never made since Wood was unable to interest financiers. The plot involved a "poor, retired actor of horror films" who is cast aside and rejected by the four film producers he once worked for, and he winds up murdering all four of them "in a gruesome manner similar to the way he was killed in many of his horror films". This may have been Wood's inspiration for his 1958 proposal to Sam Arkoff, which Wood claimed was stolen from him and later became AIP's ''How To Make A Monster''. (see below under 1958).<ref>Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers, pg. 209, ISBN 0-9773798-1-7</ref>
* '''''Rock and Rock Hell''''' (or ''Hellborn'') – Wood's version of ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'', it was supposed to have starred [[Conrad Brooks]], Duke Moore, Tom Mason and Wood himself, to be produced by George Weiss. It began shooting in June 1956, but Weiss decided to abandon the project and sold the ten minutes of footage they shot to [[Conrad Brooks]]. Footage from this film was later incorporated into Wood's 1959 ''Night of the Ghouls''.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 216"/>
* '''''The Dead Never Die''''' – Criswell and Paul Marco came up with the story for this 1957 project, which Wood was slated to direct. It would've starred Criswell, Paul Marco, Bunny Breckinridge and Vampira (''Maila Nurmi''), but it never got off the ground.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 216"/>
* '''''How To Make a Monster''''' – Wood's widow Kathy claimed in a 1992 interview that her husband always felt that the idea for ''[[How to Make a Monster (1958 film)]]'' was stolen from him by AIP producer [[Sam Arkoff]]. She said, "Eddie condemned Arkoff, he really hated him. Eddie gave (AIP) a script for approval, and they changed the characters a little bit around. Eddie had written it for Lugosi (circa 1956). It was about this old horror actor who couldn't get work anymore, so he took his vengeance out on the studio. They changed it to a make-up man who takes revenge on a studio." Arkoff always denied Wood's claim was true, stating [[Herman Cohen]] originated the entire project.<ref>Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 62. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>
* '''''Ghouls of the Moon''''' – Another attempt to build a horror film around a reel of unused silent footage that had been taken of Lugosi before he died in 1956, but nothing came of it since by 1958, Wood discovered the film in the can had degraded into an unusable sludge due to bad storage conditions.
* '''''Masquerade into Eternity''''' – A 1959 Cold War political drama that Wood was supposed to write and direct, about a troupe of actors who get stranded in post-Revolution Cuba; it was to be produced by Ben Frommer, who was slated to play a Communist Colonel, but the project fell through.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 217"/>
* '''''The Peeper''''' (1960) Wood wrote the screenplay for The Peeper, intending it to be a direct sequel to his 1960 film ''[[The Sinister Urge (film)]]'', but it was never produced.
* '''''House of Horrors''''' – Kenne Duncan and Tor Johnson were supposed to star in this 1960 film, which never materialized. Kenne Duncan was to play a mad artist who paints pictures of kidnapped women he confines in a dungeon, while Tor played a Lobo-like henchman.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 217">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 217. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>
* '''''Portraits in Terror''''' – A 1960 made-for-TV trilogy consisting of three episodes; it was to include ''The Final Curtain'', ''The Night the Banshee Cried'' and ''Into My Grave'' (all written and directed by Wood), but the project fell through.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 217"/>
* '''''Attack of the Giant Salami''''' – A proposed 1964 horror film spoof that would've starred [[Boris Karloff]], [[Joe E. Brown]] and Valda Hansen. Wood was inspired by the 1963 Brown/Karloff collaboration ''[[The Comedy of Terrors]]''. The film was never made, probably due to Karloff's disinterest.
* '''''Tangier''''' – A 1966 proposed action-adventure TV series that was supposed to be produced by Wood's friend Stephen Apostoloff. Wood wrote a sample screenplay for the series which was never produced.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 217"/>
* '''''69 Rue Pigalle''''' – In 1966, Stephen Apostoloff was set to produce and direct a film called ''69 Rue Pigalle'', based on Ed Wood's novel ''Parisian Passions'', but the financing never materialized. The plot was supposed to be about a transvestite who solves a series of murders in Paris, and [[Lon Chaney Jr.]] was supposed to have been in the cast.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 218">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 218. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>
* '''''The Enchanted Isle''''' – An unfilmed 1966 Ed Wood screenplay for a film that was supposed to feature [[Lon Chaney Jr.]], [[Dana Andrews]] and [[John Ireland]], about a Mafia princess stranded on a South Sea island and a mystery involving black pearls. (Wood originally wrote the screenplay back in 1954 and had tried at that time to interest producer Ron Ormond in the project, unsuccessfully.)<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 217"/>
* '''''Devil Girls''''' – An unrealized 1967 Crime Drama about a drug-smuggling teenage girl gang who hang out at a seedy hamburger joint. Tor Johnson was to have played the brutish "Chief", a goon who works for a retired race car driver named "Jockey". It was based on Wood's eponymous novel.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 218"/>
* '''''The Life of Mickey Cohen''''' – A 1967 proposed Crime Drama Wood was working on, in which Paul Marco was supposed to play the infamous gangster (a full decade after Marco appeared in ''Plan 9 From Outer Space'').<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 218"/> (At this point, Wood's career became primarily focused on the pornographic industry.)
* '''''The Day the Mummies Danced''''' – A 1976 unproduced Ed Wood script that was supposed to be Wood's long-awaited return to directing horror films; it was set to star [[John Agar]] (a long-time drinking buddy of Wood's), [[Aldo Ray]] and Dudley Manlove (who was also supposed to produce the film). The filming was set to take place in Guanajuato, Mexico at the famous Mexican mummies exhibit there, but it never happened.<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 218"/>

Wood's list of unrealized film projects also included scripts called ''Piranhas'' (1957), ''Trial by Terror'' (1958), ''The Peeper'' (a proposed 1960 sequel to ''The Sinister Urge''), ''Silent Night'' (1961), ''Joaquin Murieta'' (a 1965 biopic about the infamous bandit of the Old West), ''Mice on a Cold Cellar Floor'' (1973), ''Epitaph for the Town Drunk'' (1973), ''To Kill a Saturday Night'' (1973, which was set to star [[John Carradine]]), ''The Teachers'' (1973), ''The Basketballers'' (1973), ''The Airline Hostesses'' (1973), ''I Awoke Early the Day I Died'' (1974, a rewrite of Wood's 1961 ''Silent Night''), ''Heads, No Tails'' (1974, a take-off on [[Sweeney Todd]]), and ''Shoot Seven'' (1977, Wood's proposed musical based on the [[St. Valentine's Day Massacre]]).<ref name="Rudolph Grey 1992 pg. 57">Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 57. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.</ref>