Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
Aliens resurrect the dead of a California cemetery to stop humanity from inventing a doomsday weapon. Paper-plate saucers wobble on strings, day flips to night between shots, and a chiropractor doubles for a long-dead Bela Lugosi by holding a cape over his face. Earnest, threadbare and weirdly unforgettable.
Routinely voted the worst film ever made, which is its own kind of achievement — nobody forgets it, and everybody finishes it.
Background
Ed Wood wrote and directed Plan 9 with a mixture of borrowed money and enthusiasm; it is often reported that part of the funding came from a church. Bela Lugosi had died in 1956, and Wood used footage he had shot of the actor for another project, then used a stand-in, who was a chiropractor, for the remaining scenes. Tor Johnson, Vampira (Maila Nurmi) and the TV host Criswell, who narrates, also appear.
What to watch for
It became famous when Michael Medved and Harry Medved’s book The Golden Turkey Awards named it the worst film ever made, and its reputation has only grown. But it is sincere, and its heart is in the right place. Watch for the cardboard sets, the changes from day to night between shots and the earnest speeches about humanity’s future. Tim Burton’s 1994 film Ed Wood is a warm tribute, and Martin Landau won an Oscar for playing Lugosi in it. Plan 9 is best enjoyed with friends.
