Night of the Ghouls
| Night of the Ghouls | |
|---|---|
 Image DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Ed Wood |
| Produced by | Ed Wood |
| Written by | Ed Wood |
| Starring | Kenne Duncan Duke Moore Tor Johnson |
| Cinematography | William C. Thompson |
| Editing by | Ed Wood |
| Running time | 69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Night of the Ghouls is a 1959 horror film written and directed by Ed Wood. It is a sequel of sorts to the 1955 film Bride of the Monster. The film was not publicly exhibited until 1987, as Wood could not afford to pay the lab fees to process the negatives, so they were held at a post-production house for 23 years.
In 1983, millionaire Wade Williams was informed about the film by Wood's widow, Kathy, and paid the outstanding lab fees, in addition to giving it a new title, as Wood had called it Revenge of the Dead. The film received limited theatrical play, and was simultaneously released on home video.
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[edit] Plot
The plot revolves around a confidence trickster, Dr. Acula (played by Kenne Duncan) who pretends to be able to contact the dead, and charges people large amounts of money to speak to their relatives. The ending involves Acula inadvertently summoning a group of real ghosts, and being imprisoned for all eternity.
The movie also features a prologue and a brief acting role by Criswell, who also narrated Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space.
[edit] Cast
- Kenne Duncan as Dr. Karl Acula
- Duke Moore as Lt. Dan Bradford (as 'Duke' Moore)
- Tor Johnson as Lobo
- Valda Hansen as Sheila, the White Ghost
- Johnny Carpenter as Capt. Robbins (as John Carpenter)
- Paul Marco as Patrolman Kelton
- Don Nagel as Sgt. Crandall
- Bud Osborne as Mr. Darmoor
- Jeannie Stevens as The Black Ghost/Mannequin
- Harvey B. Dunn as Henry
- Margaret Mason as Martha
- Ed Wood as Police Station Wanted Poster
[edit] Production
This film is the third 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. The other two films are Bride of the Monster and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Although claimed to be a follow up to Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls featured only two characters from that film (Kelton and Lobo), and, in a retcon, it is claimed that Lt. Bradford had worked on the earlier case when he in fact appeared nowhere in Bride. His exploration of Dr. Acula's house was borrowed from Wood's short film Final Curtain and given a voice-over to integrate it into the current story. As a result, there was no room for Harvey B. Dunn, who played Captain Tom Robbins in Bride, to reprise his earlier role. Instead, he was given a small supporting role as a frightened motorist who encounters one of the "ghouls".
Unlike a number of his pictures, Wood does not star in Night of the Ghouls, but towards the beginning of the film, in the police station, a picture of Wood is visible on the wall.
Wood turned to his stock cast for the picture. Tom Mason appeared in this film, credited as "Thomas R. Mason". Mason was the man Wood used to replace Bela Lugosi in Plan 9 From Outer Space; this was his only other feature film appearance. Kenne Duncan had previously worked for Wood in a TV on trick shooting and in Wood's 1953 TV pilot Crossroad Avenger.
The character of Dr. Acula also appeared in an unrealized Ed Wood film project of the same name. The role was originally intended for Bela Lugosi. "Dr. Acula" has been a frequently used pseudonym of Forrest J Ackerman since the 1940s.
[edit] Bibliography
- The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1996), documentary film directed by Brett Thompson
- Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstacy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992) ISBN 978-0922915248
- Will Sloan, "Can Your Heart Stand the Shocking Facts About Kelton the Cop A/K/A Paul Marco?" Filmfax (April 2005), p. 88-89
