Programmers: Eugene Grobbelaar and Adrian Maiolla
MC: Adrian Maiolla

MUFF is proud to present 8 films related to Plan 9 from Outer Space writer-director Edward D. Wood Junior, whose struggle as an independent filmmaker was documented in the Tim Burton film Ed Wood. For more information on Ed’s work, be sure to visit http://home.netcom.com/~hunt_for_ed_wood/MAIN.html. For exclusive Ed Wood merchandise, check out http://www.cafepress.com/hunt_for_ed. Special thanks to talented artist Philip R. Frey, who designed the brilliant Ed Wood caricature you see here.

 

DOUBLE FEATURE:

GLEN OR GLENDA (A.K.A. I CHANGED MY SEX)

Dir. Ed Wood | 1953 | USA
Glen or Glenda needs no introduction. Released under about 5 different titles, and described by critic Leonard Maltin as the worst film ever made, this was Ed Wood’s one from the heart. This unintentionally hilarious film, shot on a non-existent budget, stars an aging Bela Lugosi (of Dracula fame) as a god-like-figure telling the story of Glen – a transvestite who transforms into Glenda by wearing a wig and an angora sweater. Should Glen tell his wife about Glenda, or keep her in the closet? That is the question! This ahead-of-its-time pseudo-documentary stars Ed Wood (as Glen) opposite his then real-life girlfriend Dolores Fuller.
Friday 8 July 7pm | Glitch Bar

NECROMANIA – A TALE OF WEIRD LOVE!

Dir. Ed Wood | 1971 | USA
MUFF presents the Australian premiere of the newly discovered uncut version of this long-lost skin flick by Ed Wood. Necromania’s plot concerns a young couple (Ric Lutze and Rene Bond) who visit a necromancer in an attempt to cure a male impotency problem. When all else fails (including steamy sex set to surf guitar music), lovemaking in a coffin seems to do the trick just fine. (Now who needs Viagra?) Necromania is loaded with Wood’s usual ingredients: unintentionally hilarious acting, wholly original dialogue, and general erotic mayhem. Don’t miss this sexy spin on Wood’s unique cinematic “brilliance”, and be sure to stick around for our Ed Wood party after the screening!
Friday 8 July 9pm | Glitch Bar

Permission for the screening of Ed Wood’s NECROMANIA given by Films Around The World, Inc., New York City, on behalf of the copyright owners and Fleshbot Films.

 

 

DOUBLE FEATURE:

LOOK BACK IN ANGORA

Dir. Ted Newsom | 1994 | USA
This documentary was stylised to look like one of Ed Wood’s classic films. Footage and dialogue from Ed’s (strangely biographical) movies are used to tell this story of a soldier-turned-filmmaker who, like so many others, tried to make it in Hollywood. Wood released independently-funded black-and-white films in the 1940s and 1950s. After numerous unsuccessful attempts at success in the horror, science fiction, western and documentary genres, Ed was eventually “reduced” to writing pornographic novels for a living. In addition, Wood paid the bills (and fed his alcohol addiction) by making sexploitation films in the 1960s and 1970s. Until his death in 1978, Ed wrote, directed and/or starred in over 30 films. He also loved angora sweaters, and befriended Bela Lugosi. Friends, family and colleagues help to tell Wood’s sad but fascinating story in Look Back in Angora.
Saturday 9 July 7pm | Glitch Bar

PRETTY MODELS ALL IN A ROW
(A.K.A. THE LOVE FEAST)

Dir. Ed Wood | 1969 | USA
This one has to be seen to be believed! Ed Wood produced, wrote and directed this soft-core classic and even casted himself in the main role. Mr Murphy (Wood) is a sleazy photographer, with a serious drinking problem, who makes it with beautiful female models. His technique is simple: Invite the broads over for a photo shoot, then take advantage of them. But it’s not long until the ladies have had enough of Mr Murphy’s perverted antics. So they decide to teach him a lesson by dressing him in a baby doll outfit, while forcing him to submit to their kinky demands. Eventually, Mr Murphy realises that he has a thing for “bootlicking” after all! The rest of the film is dedicated to Mr Murphy drinking and pulling several (rather disturbing) funny faces. Beware!
Saturday 9 July 9pm | Glitch Bar

 

DOUBLE FEATURE:

THE CLASS REUNION

Dir. AC Stephen (Screenplay by Ed Wood) | 1972 | USA
Another AC Stephen-Ed Wood collaboration (there are many, including the infamous Orgy of the Dead), this one is actually a sequel to Class of ‘69. The Class Reunion has a plot involving (yes, you guessed it) ex-classmates watching 16mm films of themselves having a massive orgy in their high school days. Upon realising how well it worked the last time, the “class of 1969” decides to take a stroll down memory lane. The Class Reunion is best known for its inclusion of footage straight out of its prequel (nothing strange in the world of low budget filmmaking), and also its social commentary and general political awareness. Watch for a post-boob job Rene Bond, who can be seen in her natural glory in Necromania.
Friday 15 July 7pm | Glitch Bar

ONE MILLION AC/DC

Dir. Ed de Priest (Screenplay by Ed Wood) | 1969 | USA
A group of cave people are being harassed by a plastic dinosaur (which was probably intended to look like a real dinosaur or at least an impressive model of one). What are they to do? They decide to have lots of sex. And eat a lot of food. They keep doing this until they think of a plan to combat the T-Rex. And eventually they do! But there is a brilliant plot twist at the end. A giant ape decides to join the dinosaur in bothering the innocent human beings. But things change when a girl falls for the ape, and they decide to get a little fresh and fruity. Ed Wood scripted this one under his famous “Akdon Telmig” pseudonym – which is one letter short from spelling “Vodka Gimlet” in reverse. So prepare yourselves for a night of prehistoric madness!
Friday 15 July 9pm | Glitch Bar

 

 

DOUBLE FEATURE:

DROP OUT WIFE

Dir. AC Stephen (Screenplay by Ed Wood) | 1972 | USA
Low budget producer Stephen Apostolof (also known as AC Stephen) again hired Ed Wood to write him a screenplay. Drop out wife highlights both Wood’s use of nonsensical dialogue, and Apostolof’s obsession with the use of (very) bright colours. A colourful film in many ways, it tells the then-timely story of a woman caught between the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s, and life at home with her husband and child. She does eventually go with the latter option, but not until trying the swingers’ lifestyle first! And try it she does, with a little help from a slightly more “liberated” female friend (who is single and making the most of it!)
Saturday 16 July 7pm | Glitch Bar

THE SINISTER URGE

Dir. Ed Wood | 1961 | USA
Universally described as one of Ed Wood’s “best”, The Sinister Urge marks the end of his Plan 9 era. This black-and-white feature is a sequel-of-some-sort to his earlier masterpieces including Bride of The Monster and Night of the Ghouls. As much as the film belongs in this category, it was also an initiation for Ed into the exploitation genre. This ironic tale of a filmmaker who used to “…make good motion pictures…” but now makes “smut films” to pay the bills would become Wood’s own story in later years, when he wrote and directed several adult films – some of them screening at MUFF this year, of course. Some key moments of The Sinister Urge include a light bondage scene, a cameo appearance by Ed, and the misadventures of a maniacal serial killer.
Saturday 16 July 9pm | Glitch Bar