Ed Wood Wednesdays, week 134: 'Plan 9 from Outer Space: The Original Uncensored and Uncut Screenplay' (1990)

This quaint and curious volume was published in 1990, two years before Nightmare of Ecstasy.

When I reviewed Joe Robertson's hodgepodge sex documentary Love Making U.S.A. (1971) last year, I described it as "an itch begging to be scratched." In other words, I'd known about this rather obscure movie for years, and I ignored it until I just couldn't ignore it any longer. My curiosity as an Ed Wood fan got the better of me. I had to know what this thing was like, so I finally downloaded it (legally) and watched it. Ultimately, I was glad I did. Lovemaking is far from a masterpiece, and its Wood content is minimal (just a few fleeting seconds of borrowed footage), but the film is an intriguing souvenir of its era.

Well, this week, I'm scratching another itch. I'm not exactly sure where or when I first learned of a 1990 book from Malibu Graphics called Plan 9 from Outer Space: The Original Uncensored and Uncut Screenplay, but I've known of it for a while now. I briefly discussed it in 2020 while reviewing another version of the Plan 9 script. Here's what I said at the time:

Supposedly, though, this volume merely contains a transcript of the film, prepared well after the movie's original release. I've never bothered with it, since there's a fairly decent Plan 9 transcript available online. For free, I might add.

Was I content to leave it there? Obviously not. "Supposedly" just isn't good enough for a true Ed Wood acolyte. I had to buy a copy of this thing and see it for myself, just so I could be completely confident what it contained.

The book that finally arrived from an Amazon seller was a surprise to me in many ways. For one thing, it was much smaller and skinnier than I had expected. I thought this would be one of those chunky, clunky 8.5 x 11 paperbacks that was mostly stills or screengrabs from the movie. Wrong. Instead, it's a slim, modest 6.5 x 10 volume—much closer in size and heft to a comic book. In fact, Malibu Graphics was a relatively-short lived (1986-1994) comics publisher best known for Men in Black. Around the time of this Plan 9 screenplay book, Malibu also published a Plan 9 graphic novel by John Wooley.

The screenplay book is about 100 pages long, and nearly all of that is text. Oh, there are a few pictures along the way—the same Plan 9 publicity stills that Ed Wood fans have seen many times before—but this is not by any means a scene-by-scene graphic representation of the movie. Content-wise, this book is what it claims to be on the front cover: Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s circa 1957 screenplay for Plan 9 from Outer Space. It is not a transcript of the finished film. Not even close. In fact, it is extremely similar to that typewritten script I reviewed back in 2020, though with a few significant differences along the way.

When I reviewed the typewritten Plan 9 script two years ago, I wrote these prophetic words in the final paragraph: 

Look, there's no way to detail every single minute change between the screenplay and the released version of the movie without this article being crushingly long and boring.

Well, you know what? Let's be crushingly long and boring today! I'm going to make a point-by-point comparison between the Malibu Graphics screenplay book and the finished film of Plan 9 from Outer Space. Occasionally, when necessary, I will reference the typewritten script as well. For our purposes, the Malibu Graphics screenplay book will simply be called "the book" or "the script." When I specifically want to mention the typed script, I will say so.

• The book does not contain Criswell's opening monologue, since it apparently wasn't part of Ed Wood's screenplay. It does include a transcription, though. The typewritten script does the same thing.

• There is no Criswell narration during the opening funeral scene for Bela Lugosi's wife.

• In the book and the typewritten script, the gravediggers are killed right after the funeral. The finished movie cuts to the scene of Danny and Jeff on the plane and then back to the death of the gravediggers. It seems like Ed Wood made this change during editing.

• The book is missing some dialogue between Danny and Jeff at the beginning of their first scene in the cockpit, including Danny's entire conversation with Mac. In fact, the book does not include Mac at all in this scene. The typewritten script includes this material.

• The scene where Lugosi mourns his wife and then dies is missing the Criswell narration. The typed script has it.

• When the cops first arrive at the cemetery, Patrolman Larry has some extra dialogue. Referring to the morgue wagon: "It was on another call." Referring to the dead bodies: "Looks like they've been here a coupla days."

• DELETED SCENE: Jeff drives by the cemetery and stops his car to watch what the police are doing. Then he drives off. In the completed movie, this moment is described in dialogue ("I stopped but I didn't see anything.") so maybe Ed felt he didn't need it.

• ADDED SCENE: When Jeff is describing the UFO sighting to Paula in the finished film, he goes off on a little rant: "Oh, it burns me up! These things have been seen for years!" Neither the book nor the typed script has this.

• DELETED SCENE: While Lt. Harper and Patrolman Larry investigate Inspector Clay's death, the screenplay cuts away to an extra dialogue sequence with Danny, Jeff, and Paula (scenes 78-80) then back to the cops. The finished movie does away with this altogether.

• When Reverend Lynn Lemon delivers Clay's eulogy, the script has him say that Clay was "killed while accomplishing his duties." The movie omits this detail.

• The montage of people spotting the flying saucers lacks Criswell's narration. The script has some extra sequences, including footage of the Pantages theater, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. Ed was going to have a young couple "petting" on the lawn of the Washington Monument, only to be terrified by the sight of the saucers.

• During the scene between the Army Colonel and the Army Captain, the book is missing a big chunk of dialogue. (Starting with "Quite a sight, wasn't it, sir?") The typed script has it.

• But the book has some exclusive dialogue between the Colonel and the Captain, including this wise observation from the latter: "The newer these shells—the less smoke, but the more that smoke stinks." This is a classic Wood-ism, and I'm sorry it did not make the finished picture.

• The book omits the brief scene between the Ruler and his Aide. ("Your space commander has returned from Earth.") The typed script has it.

• In the book, Paula tells Jeff she's going to keep his "pajamas" beside her. In the typed script and the movie, it's his pillow. This might simply be a transcription error.

• The book omits Jeff's line about Paula keeping the yard lights on. The typed script has it.

• The book has a brief deleted scene of Jeff driving along a country road.

• The book gives Edith, the fight attendant, some extra dialogue. She says she served hot chocolate to the passengers but saved the coffee for Danny and Jeff.

• In the book, Edith has a different reaction to Danny's infamous "Albuquerque ball" line: "That, Danny Boy, was pre-designed by somebody bigger than you and I." In the movie, she says: "I can't resist your charm, Danny Boy."

• The movie depicts the entire telephone conversation between Paula and Mac. The book just has her say, "Hello...." The typed script is the same way.

• When Paula runs away from Bela Lugosi, the script describes "her sheer negligee flying behind her like giant white bat wings." I just wanted you to know that, so you can think about it the next time you watch the movie.

• In the entire sequence of Paula running away through the cemetery, the Vampira character is much more prominent in the finished film than she is in the book.

• In the book, the farmer who stops to help Paula drives "an old truck." In the movie, he drives a 1947 Buick convertible. 

• The book is missing a notorious scene between Conrad Brooks and Paul Marco: "It's tough to find something when you don't know what you're looking for." The typed script has it.

• The typed script refers to the farmer character as "Farmer Collier." The book says "Farmer Caller."

• The book has a few extra lines after Patrolman Larry's line, "That proves it!" In the book, Kelton asks, "Proves what?" Larry says, "Why I'm still a uniformed cop." Kelton says, "You talk crazy!" Larry responds, "When you don't know what we're talking about, I guess it would sound crazy." 

• Lt. Harper has an extra line when debating whether to investigate the opened grave: "Go ahead, Kelton, see if my hunch is right. We'll waive regulations this time."

• In the script, Lyle Talbot's character would have referred to Tom Keene's character as "Colonel Rance." It's "Colonel Tom Edwards" in the finished film.

• Lyle also says in the script that "storms in outer space often interfere with transmitting." In the movie, "storms" is replaced with "atmospheric conditions."

• In the finished movie, when the zombie Inspector Clay attacks Eros, Tanna says, "I can't get it! it's jammed!" This is missing from the script.

• When the Ruler gives Eros new instructions, he has a whole speech: "Eros, the earth people are getting closer to that which we fear." The book omits this. The typed script has it.

• In the book, when the Dracula character approaches the Trents on their patio, Paula instantly identifies him: "It's the one... the other night..." The finished film omits this.

• In the movie, Jeff says he spent four years in "the Marine Corps." In the script, it's "the Marine Air Corps."

• The script describes a shot where we're looking up at Jeff, Harper, and the Colonel from the POV of a grave. The movie skips this, likely because Ed Wood had no way of filming it in the tiny confines of Quality Studios.

• Eros has an extra line in the book as he monitors the actions of the earth people from his ship: "See? already they are leaving the grave—heading this way. Let us look to those left at the vehicle."

• But the movie gives Eros an extra line: "I'll turn on the Dictial Robtrary so we may converse with them."

• A moment later, the movie gives Eros another added line: "A moment or two more and you will be the first earth people ever to enter a celestial ship." Neither the book nor the typed script has this.

• In the movie, Eros instructs Tanna: "You can open the outer hatch now." In the script, it's just: "You can let them in now."

• DELETED SCENE: As Harper, the Colonel, and Jeff are debating whether or not to enter the spaceship, the script has some extra dialogue. Jeff asks, "If something should go wrong, what would happen to Paula?" The Colonel responds: "I'm married, too, Mr. Trent. Maybe if you had heard the recordings I did, maybe then you'd see better what we're faced with. Not only your wife or my wife, but a whole world of wives."

• In the movie, the Colonel says to Eros: "You speak of Solaronite, but just what is it?" In the script, the Colonel says instead: "The young man asked you a question several minutes ago. It hasn't been answered to our satisfaction."

• When Eros points out that Clay still has Paula in his arms, the script gives him an extra line: "The electrode current which controls him has been turned off." The movie omits this.

• The script has some extra dialogue between Patrolman Larry and Kelton after Larry knocks out the zombie Inspector Clay. Larry says, "Thought you said nothing would put him down?" Kelton responds, "Nothing is surprising me anymore."

• A moment later, in the book, Kelton has an extra line about the unconscious Clay: "I don't like being this close to him."

• The final fight between the aliens and humans is rather different. In the script, the ship catches fire right away while Eros and Jeff are fighting. Tanna has an extra line in the movie: "Hold onto him, Eros. I'll have the ship in the air in a minute." In the script, Tanna has no lines during the fight scene.

• In the movie, the Colonel tells Jeff, "Get out of here, Jeff. The ship's on fire!" In the script, it's: "This thing is taking off!"

• In the movie, after Jeff has left the ship, Tanna has more lines (seemingly improvised by Joanna Lee): "Eros! wake up!" Etc., etc. None of this is in the script. The script makes no mention of Tanna panicking in her last moments or trying to revive the unconscious Eros.

• The script says that the ship "goes off into outer space, a flaming ball of fire." In the movie, it simply explodes over Los Angeles.

• Criswell's epilogue is not part of the screenplay. The typed script at least includes a transcript. The book skips it entirely.

So there you have it, folks. Those are the major differences between The Original Uncut and Uncensored Screenplay and the actual released film. Notice that I said major differences. There are plenty of minor differences throughout the entire script, more than I care to list.

If you actually track down a copy of this book from Malibu Graphics and read along while watching the movie, you'll notice that the actors frequently talk around the script. Basically, they'll convey the same meaning as what's on the page, but they'll customize it a bit to suit their own speech patterns. This is not unique to Ed Wood by any means! Get yourself a copy of the published Pulp Fiction (1994) screenplay and compare it to the actual movie. You'll find that Tarantino's actors, especially John Travolta, did the same thing. Quentin Tarantino is considered one of the greatest directors of all time, while Ed Wood is considered one of the worst, and yet they both gave their actors some leeway when it came to dialogue.

So is the Malibu Graphics book worth tracking down? Well, if you're an Ed Wood completist, sure. Most of what you're going to get from this book, though, is already included in the typewritten Plan 9 script that has circulated freely on the internet. Besides the screenplay itself, the book contains two brief, mildly interesting forewords: one by editor Tom Mason (no, not the Tom Mason who doubled for Bela Lugosi) and one by the aforementioned John Wooley, best known as a Fangoria contributor. Tacked onto the end of the book are two brief, mildly interesting appendices by Kregg Sanders: an Ed Wood filmography and a guide to the main actors in Plan 9. I'm sure these were fascinating back in 1990, before Rudolph Grey's Nightmare of Ecstasy had even been published, but they're out of date now.

Really, the best reason to track down this book is to have a nice, neat copy of the Plan 9 from Outer Space script. The cover declares this the "FIRST AUTHORIZED EDITION." According to reader Angel Scott, it was film distributor Wade Williams who authorized it. She informs me:

I have the answer [...] straight from Wooley's mouth. So when Wade Williams was on his "I own the rights to x, y, z films of Ed Wood," he partnered with Wooley to publish what he claimed was an original manuscript, something before shooting but not necessarily one used and likely changed during shooting. Like an earlier version.

As to how this book was compiled, Mason does not specify in his introduction. I'm guessing he got his hands on a document very similar to the typewritten script I reviewed in 2020, maybe even the same exact document. Mason refers to handwritten notes in the margins, which he assumes Ed Wood made. As for the gaps in the book, like that missing conversation between Danny and Jeff, I'm going to chalk it up to a transcription error. Or maybe his copy of the script was missing that page.

Overall, I'm glad I found Plan 9 from Outer Space: The Original Uncensored and Uncut Screenplay. More than anything, it gave me some insight into how Ed Wood structured his finished film, how he shifted some scenes around for pacing or simply to break up the monotony. Maybe someday, I'll have to review that graphic novel, too. Another itch in need of scratching.