Reynolds Pictures [1959] 79′
country: United States
director: EDWARD D. WOOD JR.
cast: GREGORY WALCOTT, MONA MCKINNON,
cast: DUKE MOORE, TOR JOHNSON, VAMPIRA,
cast: TOM KEENE, CARL ANTHONY, PAUL MARCO
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The narrative of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE should already be familiar to those reading this page, and I’ll not waste time reprising it at length. The premise involves visitors from another world invading our own through the revivification of the recently departed so as to prevent our primitive species from developing a Universe-destroying weapon known as ‘solarbanite’ [or 'solaranite', depending on who's speaking]. Thrown into the mix are a handful of civilians [an airplane pilot, his wife, a police lieutenant, and several officers] and military men, whose frequent encounters with the alien invaders provide the bulk of the film’s dramatic substance. Bookends by The Amazing Criswell lend it a bit of nonsensical doom-and-gloom.
Thanks largely to brothers Michael and Harry Medved, co-authors of the 1980 film criticism effort ‘The Golden Turkey Awards’, PLAN 9′s reputation precedes it, with many many rallying behind that book’s declaration of it as the worst movie ever made. The 1980′s saw a resurgence in the PLAN 9′s popularity – spurred on by home video releases and references in the likes of IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD, the film became a bona fide cult sensation.
PLAN 9 is, of course, not the worst movie ever made and I could rattle off scads of less accomplished efforts for doubters of that simple fact to subject themselves to. That’s not to say that PLAN 9 is not bad, and there is no shortage of on-screen evidence to support that conclusion. As has been reported so frequently elsewhere, the film is chock full of wobbling tombstones, visible strings, stilted performances, and confused continuity.
It also happens to be an evenly paced and easy to appreciate bit of z-grade science fiction hokum – a sort of bad movie-lite for those not wishing to torment themselves unnecessarily with certified neuron-destroyers like MONSTER A-GO-GO. There’s much to look forward to if you’ve never had a chance to see PLAN 9, and at least as much that’s worth re-visiting for those who have.
The screenplay upon which PLAN 9 is based is an absurd mish-mash of gung-ho McCarthy-era militarism and downright THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL-ian pacifism. It also takes care to capitalize on the flying saucer craze of the late forties and early fifties and even revels in a bit of Gothic horror. It was certainly fantastic, grand of scope, and even unbelievable, but no story could survive Wood’s insatiable urge to leave no genre stone unturned and still remain coherent – for that, cinema fans everywhere should be thankful. We can do little but look on in disbelief when a police lieutenant espouses a wealth of knowledge on flying saucers, while seeming to have forgotten the grave site of his friend, buried just hours before.
The production of PLAN 9 was, in a word, paltry – though none of Wood’s other films can match it. Other regulars of the B-programmer market, like the Milner brothers [FROM HELL IT CAME, PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES], tended to focus their limited funds on a few special effects jolts surrounded by cancerous masses of exposition. In true Wood-ian form, PLAN 9 stretches its allotted $60,000 to the max, offering audiences an effects-intensive spectacle complete with flying saucer fleets, orbiting space stations, and zombies – that it’s entirely unconvincing seems irrelevant. An airplane cockpit comprised entirely of a few pieces of cardboard, a shower curtain, and a garden variety thermometer seems alternately ludicrous and inspired, with the actors having no choice but to play it straight either way.
And then there is the cemetery where so much of the action takes place. Dressed with a buckling carpet for ground cover, a few bare limbs to hide the black matte backdrop, and a collection of wobbling tombstones and forced into an eternal night by its extreme lack of physical depth, the set never looks much better than what might be found in a middle school stage play. But, somehow, it seems to fit right into PLAN 9′s warped sense of reality. By the time Tor Johnson erupts from his grave [the most memorable shot of the film in my opinion] it almost seems to work. Almost.
To their credit, the entire cast – from the accomplished Gregory Walcott to chiropractor Tom Mason – play their parts with the utmost integrity, spouting Wood’s always ridiculous and frequently asinine dialogue as though it were as important as he seemed to believe it was. Most of them do a commendable job under the circumstances – those who don’t are rarely around for long enough to notice. It’s this juxtaposition of deadly serious performances and barren production values that lends PLAN 9 so much of its magic, and elevates it from the depths of FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE to the lowest tiers of film. It’s also an element missing from spoof productions like LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA, and that keeps them from reaching their full potential even when other essential schlock elements are in place.
Edward D. Wood Jr. would never produce another film like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE – an effort too big of ambition and too little of budget to be repeated [though a remake unfortunately appears in the works]. This may be bad, but it’s easily the most overtly entertaining of Wood’s productions – prequel BRIDE OF THE MONSTER and sequel NIGHT OF THE GHOULS [both connected to PLAN 9 by odious comic relief character Kelton] really can’t compare, though BRIDE comes close. Only the the inclusion of Bela Lugosi’s final performance [originally intended for an unmade Wood feature entitled RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE] seems in bad taste, smelling at least as much of greed as of adoration.
PLAN 9 appears to be in the public domain here in the United States and, as such, there are a variety of means by which to see it – from a download from Archive.org to VHS and DVD releases. Of the multitude of the latter, either the Image Entertainment disc from 2000 or the slightly more expensive Legend Films release from 2006 are the best. Image quality is comparable, with the latter showing better contrast and less damage – level of detail seems consistent between the two. The inclusion of the respectful retrospective FLYING SAUCERS OVER HOLLYWOOD – running just under 2 hours – may be enough to shift fans in the Image disc’s favor, though both are more than acceptable. For those who are wondering, the screen captures for this review are taken from the Image Entertainment release.
If you’re a fan of cult cinema, science fiction, or bad movies, then you’ve undoubtedly already seen this. If you are and you haven’t then you owe it to yourself to do so . . . now. The rest of your life can wait. Far from the worst cinema has to offer, PLAN 9 instead occupies a special niche alongside the very best in terrible films – it could well be the epitome of the tired ‘so bad it’s good’ cliche. I can’t help but recommend.
