Editing Ed Wood (section)

===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In 1948, Wood wrote, produced, directed, and starred in ''The Casual Company'', a play derived from his own unpublished novel which was based on his service in the [[United States Marine Corps]].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.