Night of the Ghouls
Encyclopedia
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 negative
s, 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
.
) 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
.
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.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Ed Wood. It is a sequel of sorts to the 1955 film Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 sci-fi horror film starring Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy and Loretta King Hadler. It was produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr....
. The film was not publicly exhibited until 1987, as Wood could not afford to pay the lab fees to process the negative
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
s, so they were held at a post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
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
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
.
Plot
The plot revolves around a confidence trickster, Dr. Acula (played by Kenne DuncanKenne Duncan
Kenne Duncan , born Kenneth Duncan MacLachlan, was a well-known B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but he also did occasional forays into horror, crime drama, and science fiction...
) 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
The Amazing Criswell
Jeron Criswell King , born Jeron Criswell Konig, and known by his stage-name The Amazing Criswell , was an American psychic known for wildly inaccurate predictions...
, who also narrated Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
.
Cast
- Kenne DuncanKenne DuncanKenne Duncan , born Kenneth Duncan MacLachlan, was a well-known B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but he also did occasional forays into horror, crime drama, and science fiction...
as Dr.Karl Acula - Duke MooreDuke MooreDuke Moore, , is an American actor who has the distinction of spending his entire on-screen career in productions by Ed Wood.Between 1953 and 1970, Moore appeared in the following for Wood:...
as Lt. Dan Bradford (as 'Duke' Moore) - Tor JohnsonTor JohnsonTor Johansson , better known by the stage name Tor Johnson, was a Swedish professional wrestler and actor....
as Lobo - Valda HansenValda HansenValda Hansen was an American actress, known for her performances in a number of B-movies in the 1950s and -70s....
as Sheila, the White Ghost - Johnny CarpenterJohnny CarpenterJohnny Carpenter was an American film actor, screenwriter and producer. He was known mostly for his work in Westerns and for his association with filmmaker Edward D. Wood Jr....
as Capt. Robbins (as John Carpenter) - Paul MarcoPaul MarcoPaul Marco was an American actor who often appeared in movies made by Ed Wood, including the "Kelton Trilogy" of Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls and Plan 9 from Outer Space, in which he played a bumbling, fearful policeman named Kelton.-Career:Born in Los Angeles, Marco started taking...
as Patrolman Kelton - Don Nagel as Sgt. Crandall
- Bud OsborneBud OsborneBud Osborne was an American film actor. He appeared in over 600 films and television programs between 1912 and 1963.Osborne was born in Knox County, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack...
as Mr. Darmoor - Jeannie Stevens as The Black Ghost/Mannequin
- Harvey B. DunnHarvey B. DunnHarvey B. Dunn was an American television and film actor. Dunn was best known for his appearances in several 1950s B movies including three Ed Wood films, Bride of the Monster , Night of the Ghouls , and The Sinister Urge .-Filmography:-External links:...
as Henry - Margaret Mason as Martha
Production
This film is the second part of what Wood aficionados refer to as "The Kelton Trilogy", a trio of films featuring Paul MarcoPaul Marco
Paul Marco was an American actor who often appeared in movies made by Ed Wood, including the "Kelton Trilogy" of Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls and Plan 9 from Outer Space, in which he played a bumbling, fearful policeman named Kelton.-Career:Born in Los Angeles, Marco started taking...
as "Officer Kelton", a whining, reluctant policeman. The other two films are Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 sci-fi horror film starring Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy and Loretta King Hadler. It was produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr....
and Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
. Although claimed to be a follow up to Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 sci-fi horror film starring Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy and Loretta King Hadler. It was produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr....
, Night of the Ghouls featured only two characters from that film (Kelton and Lobo), and, in a retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
, 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
Tom Mason
Thomas Robert "Tom" Mason was a chiropractor who lived in Los Angeles in the 1950s.-Biography:He is best known as the stand-in for the then recently deceased Bela Lugosi in Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s infamous movie Plan 9 From Outer Space. Dr. Mason Thomas Robert "Tom" Mason (April 29, 1920 –...
appeared in this film, credited as "Thomas R. Mason". Mason was the man Wood used to replace Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
in Plan 9 From Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
; this was his only other feature film appearance. Kenne Duncan
Kenne Duncan
Kenne Duncan , born Kenneth Duncan MacLachlan, was a well-known B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but he also did occasional forays into horror, crime drama, and science fiction...
had previously worked for Wood in a TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
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
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
. "Dr. Acula" has been a frequently used pseudonym of Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest J Ackerman was an American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction fan...
since the 1940s.