1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: a show that proves there's more than one way to 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: make history. I'm Gay, Bluesier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: taking a closer look at the cheesy B movie The 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: taught the world the simple pleasure of enjoying something. Ironically, 7 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: the day was July nineteen fifty nine. Ed Woods can't 8 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: be called Classic. Plan nine from Outer Space premiered in theaters. 9 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: Widely considered the worst movie ever made, this mash up 10 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: of science fiction and horror was produced independently on a 11 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: nearly non existent budget, and features some of the shoddiest 12 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: special effects and dialogue to ever grace the silver screen. 13 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: The man behind the movie was American filmmaker and pulp 14 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: novelist ed Wood, who produced, wrote, directed, and edited the 15 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: film all on his own. His passion for Plan nine, 16 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: which he once described as his pride and joy, is 17 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: one of the main reasons why many fans find the 18 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: flawed films so endearing even all these decades later. The 19 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: movie's storyline, such as it is, follows a group of 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: alien invaders who attempt to conquer Earth by enacting the 21 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: titular Plan nine. The details of the first eight plans 22 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: are never revealed, but Plan nine involves resurrecting the corpses 23 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: of recently deceased humans in southern California. One of the 24 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: more interesting aspects of the movie is the alien's motivation. 25 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: Guided by their knowledge of the future, they seek to 26 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: prevent humanity from creating a doomsday weapon that would one 27 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: day threaten the entire universe. Their hope is that the 28 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: chaos us caused by the Walking Dead will make the 29 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: people of Earth more receptive to their warning. If not, 30 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 1: then there zombie army can simply wipe out humanity before 31 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,679 Speaker 1: it has a chance to build the weapon. It's unclear 32 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: why the aliens think that is their best way forward, 33 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: and it really makes you wonder what's in those other 34 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:24,119 Speaker 1: eight plans. The film's outlandish plot was referenced even more 35 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:29,519 Speaker 1: directly by its original title Grave Robbers from Outer Space. However, 36 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: Edwood was forced to change this title in order to 37 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: secure the movies funding. That's because, in a bizarre twist, 38 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: most of the budget, which was a mere sixty thou dollars, 39 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: was provided by the Baptist Church of Beverly Hills, it 40 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: was part of a misguided effort to break into the 41 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: movie business. One of the church's leaders, j. Edward Reynolds, 42 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: had his heart set on making a big budget movie 43 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: about the life of Billy Sunday, a professional baseball player 44 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: who left the game become a traveling evangelist. Reynolds happened 45 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: to be the landlord of ed Wood, and one day 46 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: he told his director Tenant all about his own Hollywood dream. 47 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: Reynolds had a problem, though his church didn't have enough 48 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: money to cover the production costs of the quality film 49 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: he envisioned. Sensing an opportunity, ed Would offered a solution. 50 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: If Reynolds and his church put up the money for 51 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: his latest low budget genre film, one of several the 52 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: director had made by that point, then the church could 53 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: keep the profits to finance their biopic. Reynolds agreed, but 54 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: only on a few conditions. First, he and the church 55 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: insisted on the right to veto any subject matter they 56 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: considered immoral or blasphemous. That stipulation ultimately led to the 57 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: movie's title change, as the church deemed grave robbery to 58 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: be sacrilegious would obliged. However, the offending phrase and concept 59 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: were still used in the final film. The Church's other 60 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: requirement was that Would and his crew get baptized, which 61 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: they did at a swimming pool in Beverly Hills. In 62 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: the end, there was very little profit to speak of 63 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: from Plan nine, and the Church's Billy Sunday movie never happened. 64 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: One of Plan nine's greatest claims to fame is that 65 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: it features the final on screen performance of Bella Lugosi, 66 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: the Hungarian actor and horror icon best known for his 67 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: role as Count Dracula in the film. Ed Wood was 68 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: a lifelong fan of Legosi's work and became a close 69 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: friend of the actor during the later years of his life. 70 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,239 Speaker 1: Well after the studios had written off the aging star, 71 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: Would helped his friends stage a comeback by casting him 72 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: in several offbeat films, including other cult classics like Glenn 73 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: or Glenda in ninety three and Bride of the Monster 74 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: in ninety five. Lgosi's screen time and Plan nine amounts 75 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: to just a few minutes and consists of scenes that 76 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,239 Speaker 1: were reportedly shot for a different unproduced film called Tomb 77 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 1: of the Vampire. The actor passed away in August of 78 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty six before filming could be completed, but ed 79 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: Wood was nothing if not resourceful. He took the brief 80 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: scenes he'd already shot with Legosi and his old Dracula 81 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: costume and incorporated them into what eventually became Plan nine. 82 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 1: That means, if you're keeping track, the movie not only 83 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: features aliens and zombies, but vampires as well, a real 84 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: triple threat. Although Plan nine from Outer Space wouldn't hit 85 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: theaters until nineteen fifty nine, production actually began shortly after 86 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 1: Legosi's death three years earlier. There were still several scenes 87 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: left to shoot that featured Legosi's character, so Wood had 88 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,840 Speaker 1: to recruit a stand in to finish filming instead of 89 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: hiring a trained actor, though Wood went a much cheaper 90 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,799 Speaker 1: and stranger route by casting his wife's hiropractor, Tom Mason. 91 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: Mason wasn't a perfect match for Legosi. In fact, he 92 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: was quite a bit taller and looked nothing like him, 93 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: but would got around those problems by having Mason hunch 94 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: over and hide most of his face behind a cape. 95 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: Wood's other casting choices raised concerns as well. One of 96 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 1: the film's stars, Mollia Nermi, was known for her TV 97 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: role as Vampira, the alluring undead host of a weekly 98 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: horror movie showcase on a local channel in l A 99 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: would asked Nermie to play a similar role in Plan nine, 100 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: but once she saw the script, she reportedly hated the 101 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: dialogue so much that she refused to speak a word 102 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: of it. Normally, that might mean a rewrite was in order, 103 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,719 Speaker 1: but since this wasn't ed Wood production, they just gave 104 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: her lines to a different character and let her stay 105 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: completely silent for the whole run time. It was a 106 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: baffling choice, especially since it meant giving most of the 107 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 1: dialogue to Tour Johnson, a Swedish p fessional wrestler who's 108 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: broken English and heavy accent made him nearly impossible to understand. 109 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: It wasn't just the casting, though, a general air of 110 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: clumsiness pervades the entire picture, from the noticeably cheap sets 111 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: with their plywood tombstones and toy UFOs hung from string, 112 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: to the awkward inclusion of stock footage from the Korean 113 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: War to depict a battle scene set in California. And 114 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: then there's the movie script, full of rambling, incoherent exposition 115 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: and hair brained lines like future events such as these 116 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: will affect you in the future, and all you of 117 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:42,239 Speaker 1: Earth are idiots. It's no surprise then, that Plan nine 118 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: from Outer Space didn't make much of a splash when 119 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: it premiered in nine. It was universally derided by the 120 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: few critics who bothered to see it, and it made 121 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: barely any money at the box office. Less than two 122 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: years after its brief theatrical run, the film was sold 123 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: to television and began a ring on the same kind 124 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: of late night movie shows as the one hosted by Vampira. 125 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: Of course, many fans would argue that the movies overt 126 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: flaws are exactly wouldn't make it so entertaining. After all, 127 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: it's not a bad movie in the sense that it's boring. 128 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: In fact, it's brimming with wild ideas and oddball characters. 129 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: The cast and crew may have lacked talent, but they 130 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: put so much passion and personality into the movie that 131 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: it wound up being fun to watch anyway. In that sense, 132 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: ed Wood could be described as the father of so 133 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 1: bad It's good cinema, the kind of movies that are 134 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: celebrated for their shortcomings. Sadly, the director didn't live to 135 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: see that celebration. His filmography remained relatively obscure and unknown 136 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,079 Speaker 1: up to the time of his death in ninety eight. 137 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: It wasn't until two years later in eighty that film 138 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: critics Michael and Harry Medved gave the movie a second 139 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: life by declaring it the word first movie ever made. 140 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,600 Speaker 1: From then on, Plan nine has been embraced by film 141 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: fans around the world, hailed as the true work of 142 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: anti genius that it is. The movie's enduring charm does 143 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: make you wonder if it really deserves the ignoble title 144 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: that made it famous, Because if a bad movie can 145 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,559 Speaker 1: be just as entertaining as a good one, then maybe 146 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:26,839 Speaker 1: it's not so bad after all. The only way to 147 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: know for certain is to see it for yourself. I'm 148 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: Gabelusier and hopefully you now know a little more about 149 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can learn even 150 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 151 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d I HC Show, and if you 152 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: have any comments or suggestions, you can always send them 153 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: my way at this day at iHeart media dot com. 154 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks 155 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 156 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: soon for another day in History class. M