Bride of the Monster
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| Bride of the Monster | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Edward D. Wood, Jr. |
| Produced by | Donald E. McCoy Tony McCoy Edward D. Wood, Jr. |
| Written by | Edward D. Wood, Jr. Alex Gordon |
| Starring | Tony McCoy Béla Lugosi Loretta King Tor Johnson |
| Music by | Frank Worth |
| Cinematography | Ted Allan William C. Thompson |
| Editing by | Warren Adams |
| Distributed by | Banner Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  May 11, 1956 |
| Running time | 68 min. |
| Country | U.S. |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Night of the Ghouls |
Bride of the Monster (originally known as Bride of the Atom) is a 1955 horror/science-fiction film starring Béla Lugosi in a traditional mad scientist role. It was produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr.. A sequel, entitled Night of the Ghouls, was made in 1959, but went unreleased for decades.[1]
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[edit] Plot
Lugosi's character, Dr. Eric Vornoff, is experimenting with nuclear power in a primitive laboratory in his mansion with the help of his assistant, Lobo (Tor Johnson) . His goal is to create an army of mutated supermen to do his bidding. Newspaper reporter Janet Lawton (a role originally intended for Dolores Fuller but given to Loretta King Hadler)[2] starts investigating, as do the local police. Meanwhile, an Eastern-bloc agent or spy named Professor Strowksi (George Becwar) appears and tries to persuade Dr. Vornoff to return to their homeland. In the end, Lobo betrays Vornoff and Vornoff becomes a monster and is then blown up in an atomic explosion.
[edit] Myths about the film
In the biopic Ed Wood, Wood is accused of stealing the mechanical octopus (originally used for the John Wayne film Wake of the Red Witch) from the Republic Studios' backlot. Other stories circulated insist Wood legitimately rented the octopus, along with some cars. Regardless, its inner mechanism was missing.[citation needed] To remedy this, whenever someone was caught by the octupus, they simply flailed around a lot (something that was painfully obvious). The filming of these scenes, as well as the production of the film in general, were played to comic effect in Ed Wood, directed by Tim Burton. Lugosi's monologue to Professor Strowksi is featured twice in the movie.
The book The Golden Turkey Awards claims that Lugosi's character declares his manservant Lobo (Tor Johnson) "as harmless as kitchen" (sic). This allegedly misspoken line is cited as evidence of either Lugosi's failing health/mental faculties, or as further evidence of Wood's incompetence as a director.[3] However, a viewing of the film itself reveals that Lugosi said this line correctly, the exact words being, "Don't be afraid of Lobo; he's as gentle as a kitten."
Rudolph Grey's book Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr. contains anecdotes regarding the making of this film.[2] Grey notes that participants in the original events sometimes contradict one another, but he relates each person's information for posterity. He also includes Ed Wood's claim that one of his films made a profit and surmises that it was most likely Bride of the Monster, but, in a situation similar to the play in Mel Brooks' The Producers, he oversold the film and couldn't reimburse the backers.
[edit] Production
This film is part of what Wood aficionados refer to as "The Kelton Trilogy", a trio of films featuring Paul Marco as "Officer Kelton", a whining, reluctant policeman.[citation needed] The other two films are Plan 9 from Outer Space and Night of the Ghouls. The character of Lobo also appeared again in Bride's sequel, Night of the Ghouls.[4]
As mentioned in an episode of the 1986 syndicated series, the Canned Film Festival, Bride of the Monster was Bela Lugosi's last speaking role in a feature film. His last appearance in a film was Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space.
The television program Mystery Science Theater 3000 featured Bride of the Monster in episode 423.
In 2008, a colorized version was released by Legend Films.[5] This version is also available from Amazon Video on Demand.[6]
[edit] References
- Sloan, Will (April 2005). "Can Your Heart Stand the Shocking Facts About Kelton the Cop A/K/A Paul Marco?". Filmfax (106): 88–89.
- ^ ""Night of the Ghouls - Trivia"". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156843/trivia. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ a b Grey, Rudolph (1992). Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr.. Los Angeles: Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-04-0.
- ^ Medved, Harry; Michael Medved (1980). The Golden Turkey Awards: Nominees and Winners, the Worst Achievements in Hollywood History. New York: Putnam. pp. 178. ISBN 0-399-50463-X.
- ^ ""Night of the Ghouls"". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156843/. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
- ^ "ASIN: B001BSBBKI". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BSBBKI. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^ "ASIN: B001LNV63U". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001LNV63U/. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
