The Haunted World Of Edward D. Wood, Jr.
This is an incredibly excellent documentary. At times it's hilarious. At times it's very sad. At times it's very moving. What a story.
Many of Ed Wood's stock players are on hand to give their viewpoints on the man. Some think he was a talentless bottom feeder, and some think he was a gifted genius, not unlike the two conclusions you can come to when viewing his movies.
Although it is fascinating to get everybody's input on this mythical man, Maila Nurmi's (Vampira) input deserves special mention. This woman is incredibly obnoxious and condescending toward Ed Wood, yet has no problem taking people's money and appearing in documentaries like this. And she goes out of her way to hype how her short-lived Vampira character made her an international sensation. Sheeeesh. This woman is amazing. In one sequence, she talks about a love affair with H. G. Wells, but says she won't go into how he gave her the clap. This woman is both disgusting and funny at the same time.
It is very funny to hear the thoughts of some of the more normal actors that appeared in his movies. They say it was like being dropped into a carnival, with all of the weird characters and freaks everywhere. And while the Tors and the Criswells and Keltens all seemed to understand what was going on, the "normal" people where completely puzzled by it all. They didn't understand the dialog, the scripts, the plot, or anything.
One of the normal actors tells a story of how it was delegated that he take a drunken Wood home. But once Ed was in the car, he couldn't wake him up, so he left him in the car outside of his place and went to bed. At 2 in the morning, Ed pounds on the door and asks to be driven home. But it's late, so he gives up he and his wife's bedroom to Ed. In the morning, Ed comes through the bedroom door in his wife's lingerie. When the guy is telling this story, he is still tongue-tied and flustered by this outrageous behavior. It is quite funny.
It would take a full day to present the whole Ed Wood story, but these two hours are filled with valuable information that continues to fill in some of the blanks and presents the many sides of the man they call Ed Wood. Highly recommended. I'll give it a 5.