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Plan 9 is really not the worst movie of all time, because it is so unintentionally hilarious. The cheesy special effects, inappropriate use of stock film footage, obvious breaks in continuity and outrageously bad dialogue combine to make this movie a lot of fun if viewed with the right people.  As far as Ed Wood movies go, this one is actually quite watchable, without the torturous inane monologes a la Glen or Glenda.  I highly recommend watching this movie for a good laugh.

Well first of all this truly is the WORST movie in the galaxy! It's effects (If they intended on having any) are just the result of pointless nano-seconds of usless work.
I mean look at it! The space ships are hub caps! You can see the little strings that hold it up! The plot stinks (Give me a break!A bomb that destroys the univers?) and to make it worse one of the actors actually shriveled up and DIED in the middle of the making! The only thing good about this movie is to laugh endless hours at it!

For those who wondered just who the hell the narrator for Plan 9 is, his name is Criswell, a "psychic" at the time, taken about as seriously as we do with Jean Dixon today.

You didn't mention the scene onboard an aircraft when the pilot spots the wobbling flying saucer.  The cockpit of the plane is separated from the main cabin by a bathroom shower curtain and there is a wall clock plugged into a circuit on the cockpit wall.  I've never seen a plane with electrical wall outlets before.

   The first time I watched this movie i was three....... AND I LAUGHED AT IT!!!! And im still laughing at it! I watch it frequently and always find more things wrong with it. My favorite part is when Eros calls everyone of earth idiots. After all, we will destroy the universe with a bomb that destroys sunlight!!!

It's especially good to dovetail this movie with "Ed Wood",because with this movie you don't miss the wobbly gravestone in the cemetary. Priceless nugget of joy right there. And this movie makes you proud to be an American. I bet if Plan 9 from Outer Space took place elsewhere,the actors would be rallying to the cause of the aliens to stop the solenoid bomb. Not in the good old US of A. Some extra-terrestrial freak starts animating your dead and telling you that your race is violent,why then there is when you give them a good ol kick in the buttski. That'll teach Eros to call us dumb violent thugs.

In my opinion, as with other people. the Citizen Kane of horrible horror films. What person in their right mind, would not enjoy a movie with flying saucers made from car hubcaps, cardboard cemeteries, and dialogue as bad as the acting.A fun way to enjoy a Saturday late nite movie time.

We are so spoiled. So PLAN 9 uses shower curtains in plane cockpits. I think it is amazing that no controls are visible! What are they holding on to?
Tor Johnson's acting is right up there with any good sit com. This guy could have been a governor if he was born a little later. The special effects came from Industrial Strength Schmuck, Inc. where no expense is spared. Jerry Lewis is very popular in France but did you know PLAN 9 is popular in the Azores, Armenia, Spitzbergen, and Arkansas? I love to try to keep count on how many times that cop car comes up that same road. And Eros! What an actor. The way he says the word STEWWPID. I love it, I tell ya, I love it!

Thank you! I have loved awful films for EVER; this is the worst in the world and it's WONDERFUL. I am very glad others appreciate its awfulness too. Each time I see it I ask "What? How? What?!" then stop looking for a plot and laugh myself stupid.  Truly even worse than The Amazing Colossal Man.  In fact, if you give a group of twelve year olds a video camera they would come up with something VERY similar (sadly, I know this from experience). Ed Wood should be Canonised!

It's very  unsettling when you see bela lugosi's wife's chiropractor running towards the camera in the night, then seeing a car drive by in the day, then seeing Bela Lugosi standing in the middle of a field... And that Clip of him standing in the middle of the field was used over ten times.. at least...  This is a funny movie.  It's insane.

Delightfully bad!  I love the quote from the
commander about the aliens attacking a town -
"...a town of people.  People who died."  How
about his allegation that the government has
been covering up the existence of aliens?
Just what this movie needs -- a conspiracy
theory!

My other favorite line occurs after the
resurrected Inspector Clay monentarily gets
loose inside the alien ship.  After he is
subdued, one of the aliens declares
"That was too close!"

I would have not believed my eyes if I haven't previously seen Tim Burton's 'Ed Wood'.

Eddie used to take any person and any device at hand to 'enhance' his movie experience. Unused footage, known people, girlfriends, losers, electronic artifacts, he had no 'lower limits' to quality, alas.

The detail that made me laugh louder was the wooden tables in the inside of the alien spaceship... among all the stupid "special fx" commented in the main review.

Poor Eddie... sometimes I feel some sympathy for him, in fact, I thank him because he warned us, the moviemaking beginners, so we'll try not to commit those unforgivable, unspeakable... 'mistakes'?

Dont tell me Ed Wood didnt plan this movie (no pun intended) with all its mistakes,bad script, and acting as is. The only thing hot looking about this movie is Vampira and that alien babe Tanna-and thats only after drinking 6 shots of Tiquila. Maybe Ed never thought there was anything wrong in making the movie-he must have had 10 shots of tiquila a day making this! Cardboard tombstones, auto hubcaps for flying saucers,three different police cars in same scene. compared to this movie, all of Ronald Regans movies were oscar winners (and that chimp Bonzo too!). It should have been build as the comedy of the year movie. But anyway, I purchased the movie on video. Who knows maybe it will be a collector's item in 100 years, then my grandchildren can gape at it.  

It's a bad movie. There's no way of disputing that. But very seldom has a bad movie been this much fun. Horror film king Bela Lugosi died twelve minutes into the film, and was replaced by a stand-in who covered most of his face with a cape. Naturally, it's all too-obvious that this isn't Lugosi, but at least they tried. This is probably Ed Wood's best film. That's faint praise, but the movie is a classic in its own right.

What's amazing is how well this thing holds up to repeated viewings.  You are left with the same sense of drop-jawed amazement at Deloris Fuller's reading of the line:  "They're out there and you're here, but I'M in here . . .".  It makes as little sense now as it did 29 years ago.  Really, each time you see it, you can find new things to be amazed at--you couldn't INTENTIONALLY make something like this, or like ROBOT MONSTER, or THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN, which I consider creative equals to Plan 9.  Keep the rewind button handy, especially if you haven't seen it before, as you will want to re-savor certain delights.  Don't just dwell on the errors that others have already told you about:  Cardboard gravestones, etc.  Find your own!!  Also, the writer here who mentions Vampira, ie. The Elvira wannabe--it's really the other way around:  Vampira actually took Elvira to court once for copyright infringement.  Also, Vampira was James Dean's girlfriend at one time, so she has way more coolness points than Elvira.

I first saw this flick when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old.  Now kids of this age are usually too unsophisicated to know good film from bad film.  However, "Plan 9 From Outerspace" is so horrible that even at such a tender age I realized this movie was a complete stinkeroo. Yet, when I saw it later on one of those late night horror shows hosted by some broad with magnificent cleavage, I howled with laughter.  This movie is so bad, that it is entertaining in the nth degree.  Thus, even the worst of films can be redeemed by their very badness.  

Had a bout of insomnia and clicked on the tube. Nothing much else on except CHIPS,News,infomercials selling exercise equipment and some home shopping channels. It was about 10 minutes into Plan 9. So I stuck with Plan 9. In all my years I had never seen it that I can recall. But it was absolutely fabulous!! Love Bela. (Sort of reminiscent of "The Day The Earth Stood Still".)
It was sad to learn that Bela had passed away before completing the film. I know It would not have been his proudest moment but in his prime he was a wonderful part of movie history. And I have always liked Greg Walcott. Always thought he might have made it big if he had been in the right place at the right time.
By the halfway mark my sleeping pill was kicking in so I stumbled off to bed. But I will make it a point to catch it again and watch the entire film.
And I'm glad to have found this website.

This movie is completely and totally insane. I loved it! This movie is so dumb that it actually becomes amuzing, and then really funny. Even in my wildest dreams I could not make a worse movie; I used to make super 8 movies with Lego that are beautifull compared to this. Can you really  expect anything but complete and utter nonsense from a movie called 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'? What the hell was he thinking when he made this "movie" ?- and I use the term movie loosely. I've never seen a movie that has EVERY mistake you could possibly make in a movie as if it was meant to be...amazing...Ed you are my hero!.....

Plan 9 is the one of the funnest movies I've ever seen.  How can you beat lines like, "Inspector Clay's dead.  Murdered, and someone's responsible?"  In addition, everytime I've watched it, I've seen something new and hilarious...  If you're only going to own one really bad B-grade movie, this is it!

Everyone keeps calling Plan 9 'bad' but in the eighties bad ment good and in 2001 who knows what it means.  Modern huge budget hollywood rubbish is nothing on this.  You really get the personality of Ed Wood coming through, possibly because he wrote, produced, directed and edited this film. If someone else had editted it, would it exist today?  Did he really think we wouldn't notice the terrible story, acting and incontinuity.  Its night time as the police get into their car, its day when theyre driving down the road, then "minutes later" its night time again.  I love the way he tries to fit an awkward sort of moral message into every scene in the script - shame it never makes any sense.  Gasp at the horrific (off-screen) car crash that kills Bela (screech of tires, high pitched scream), be shocked by the terror of Vampira's monster as she raises her arms, look quizzical as Tor bumbles through his speaking part, wince as the hero guy and the alien have a punch-up.  Just watch it.  Still not as good as Ed Woods 'Bride of the Monster/Atom, whatever...', one of Bela's stoopidest roles.  Both display Ed Woods amazing regurgitation of sad tired old cliches, poorly edited stock footage, and simple naiveity.

Vampiria actually had her lower ribs removed so she could be thinner ( i think her acting talent was also removed). This movie just makes my day. One of my daydreams is to see plan 9 and robot monster as a double bill at a drive-in movie somewhere. the thrills! the chills! and god I just love the announcer's hair too ...geez !! it makes a girl's heart just flutter lol . One of the few movies on this list that I can watch sober (well mostly)

Edd Wood could do less with nothing than anybody. This is a good 'bad' movie. You see a bad 'bad' movie is quickly forgotten, however a good 'bad' movie is not only remembered, but shared. How many of us bought the video and shared it with others saying, "you gotta see this !" I know I did.

     The first time I saw this movie was right after I had a molar tooth removed at the dentist. my mouth felt like a napalm strike took place in there because the pain killers didn't work, a meter of gauze was shoved up my mouth and there was enough blood lost to fund a red cross drive. I was laughing hysterically within the opening scene of this movie. They don't make flicks like these anymore.

"Visits?  Why, that would indicate VISITORS!"

I then realised that there was no God...

This is one of the deepest and most meaningful movies I've ever seen.  Its antiwar message was ahead of its time, its special effects are creative, its acting is inspiring. Bela Lugosi gives the performance of his life, and Dudley Manlove is clearly serious about tackling such an important role as Eros. I urge you to see this film, you will never forget it.

What can I say about this film that hasn't been said already before? I know! Here's MY favorite line: it's the scene where the general has his tanks shoot at the flying saucers. The narrator tells us,"The general makes the most important decision of his life-he gives the order to open fire." Without question the movie that defined "So bad, it's good." This one is a must-see every bit as much as the first STAR WARS flick, although for entierly different reasons.

This movie deserves so much more than people give it. First of all, YOU CAN'T SEE THE STRINGS!! I must have seen this movie about 7 times now, and there are NO strings. Now, there are shadows on the background from the space ships passing by, but NO strings. Another thing is that Ed Wood was really a terrific writer, but a terrible director. In the movie "ED Wood" by Tim Burton, Ed says that all he wants to do is tell stories. Stories that he finds interesting. And they really are interesting stories. I don't know how many movies he made during his life time, but I know of three, and they all tell really interesting stories. Glen or Glenda is about his transexualism. Bride of the Monster tells of a man outcasted from his country and now wants revenge by creating atomic supermen. Plan 9 From Outer Space talks about man's ignorance for destruction
and how aliens must stop man from destroying everything. These are great ideas, unfortunately, Ed Wood Jr. did direct it. He really should have just stuck to writing, and let someone else take over the fine details. My guess of why Ed's movies were so bad was that he worked too fast, and didn't stop and take time to work out the little things that create inconsistencies. Inconsistencies like a shallow lake for a giant octopus (Bride of the Monster). The death of Bela Lugosi in the real world, and then Ed trying to cast a new person to play his dead double (obviously Plan 9). Ed wasn't a bad guy, just a bad director. A good writer, but bad director, so don't judge Mr. Edward D. Wood Jr. harshly.

Gregory Walcot(trent)is my 2nd cousin. He told me a few years ago that he tried to distance himself from this film. After he made it he did not work in Hollywood for several years. What some of you may not know the funding for this film came from a deeply religous man that wanted to make religous films. Ed Wood got him to fund Plan 9 as a way of making lots of $ that could then be used to make the religous movies. Greg was a aspring actor that attended the same church and agreed to do the film as a favor. He said the second we walked on the set, he knew he had made a mistake. He also had a small part in Ed Wood, so he was the only actor in both films. I think he may be the only survivor today.

I must say that this was the most horrid movie I have ever watched....  And let me just say for the record that I loved every minute of it....  Where are all the crappy movies these days that were so good?

I was taking a film-making class thingy during the summer, and the last day, our teacher showed this to us.  He pointed out all the mistakes, and other things.  It was so funny! And when it first showed the outside of the airplane, it was just a model that was sitting there.. Even the background wasn't moving or anything.. and inside, the 2 pilots aren't controlling the plane!! One is just sitting there, with his hands on his lap, and the other guy is holding something.. And the boss alien dude knew NONE of his lines.  You can see his eyes moving sideways, just like he's reading..!  And he was reading from a supposed document, but it was the actual script.  They found his shirt in that building where they filmed it.  It has an axe on it and it's shiny..

One of the few movies ever made that actually lives up to its legend. Absolutely AWFUL! It should never be compared to A-list movies, or even studio made Bs...this baby was an independent, shot on the fringe, "I know a guy who's got a car...", chasing the Hollywood Dream movie. A lot of "fringe" movies are famous for the envelopes they push, the chances they take, the barriers they breech, the taboos they break...this thing just plain sits in the dark and sucks. Knowing the history behind this film and the story of Ed Wood himself just adds to the fun. If you've never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and do some research on Ed and Company first...you'll be glad you did. Only in America can something like this happen and everyone envolved gets away with it, and even becomes famous for it. It's a shame Ed never made any money from it. If he were alive today and still had the rights he'd be a multi-millionare several times over. I can see theme parks sprouting up with Tor Johnson lookalikes wandering around grabbing little kids by the throat. Wanna be actor-college students running around spouting lines like..."They look like...like...like...why, they're flying saucers up there in the graveyard...would you like a gin on the rocks?"  Bela Lugosi would be spinning in his grave, if he's still in there. The chiropractor's spinning in his too, at least he can untie his own spine afterwards. This is a must see to believe movie experiance. It reaffirms everyones belief that if they could do it that bad, I know I could do it better...somebody get a camera...the American-Hollywood Dream still lives!

I recently bought this on DVD since I have heard so much about it and it being called the worst film ever. It is funny and does not deserve the title Worst film ever. If I could show you  a movie called "FABULOUS" made by a local college kid that plays on cable access all the time. You'd think plan 9 was a masterpeice. It's good cheesy fun and I love that quote "I have go get flashlight from patrol car"

This horrible movie kept me rolling on the floor it was just so pathetic. Whether it's the cop tripping when him and his posse go to see whats up or the highway poorly concealed behind the cemetary, this B-Movie is a must see for everyone!

I saw Plan 9 last night (Halloween) at The Grand Warner Theater in San Pedro.  It was a laugh riot.  And the best part of all was that Gregory Walcot, who played Trent, spoke to the audience before they ran the movie.  It was so fun to hear him talk about his astonishment at the script and rediculous bad EVERYTHING that movie had.  What a great treat.  Everyone should be so lucky to see Plan 9 and hear one of the stars discuss it before hand.

I saw this movie last night on German TV. It was the first time  (2003) on German TV. This piece is awesome. I love the special effects!!

I think that Ed Wood's personality and outlook on life was probably demonstrated accurately in the scene in the movie "Ed Wood" when he wanted to drive his convertible with the top down to Las Vegas with his girlfriend to get married...and it was raining.  The girlfiend said something like "Don't you think we should put the top up?" and Ed replied "No, it could stop raining by the time we get to the corner."  He would have loved the fact that we are still talking about his movies....no matter what our opinions of them might be.

I saw the movie a few months ago and I must say - it's really the worst movie I have ever seen.
I don't know wheather someopne already mentioned it (i didn't read all the comments) but if you look carefully at the flying saucers, you an see the ropes, whith which they're fixed at the ceiling... it's really funny.

I've loved this film for years! I always crack up at the geeky looking guy who looks out of the car and points at the flying saucers! Why didn't Criswell or one of the aliens say (imagine this in Criswell's or Dudley Manlove's most pompous tones) "Sometimes, the old man seems to be strangely rejuvenated!" Ooops, but that might have made the film seem more coherent! Just bought a DVD of "Plan Nine" from PIP (can't remember the company's full name. It looks and sounds great, interesting interviews, too.)
 BTW, Tor Johnson gets a few minutes of uncredited screen time in "The Redhead and the Reformer", a Dick Powell & June Allyson film.

I just bought the movie yesterday on DVD. I saw it a few years back. it may be one of the worst movies ever made, but it is so hilarious, i like it. one of the best scenes is where you see people coming out of that refridgerator box mausoleum. If you like either 50s B-Movies, or a good laugh, I would recomend this movie.

Plan 9 has been my favorite bad movie for years. I think it's a testament to Ed Wood and his friends, that they didn't let the lack of money, artistic coherency or a real plot stand in their way. They made what they believed in.

Unlike "Gigli," which has no excuse for its existence, Plan 9 and the other Ed Woods gems will always be a monument to following your dreams.

The more I see Ed Wood movies, the more they seem like brilliant parody.  More than may be apparent on the surface, I  believe he knew what he was doing.

One thing that I find truly amazing is that Ed Wood made such an enjoyable movie for so little money.  If given the budget of, say, "Brotherhood of the Wolf" (my nominee as the all time worst,) just think what Ed might have done.  I believe that the ultimate sin of a movie is for it to be boring.  Plan 9 is anything but.

A video rental store (a major chain) finally got the movie on stock, after I repeatedly requested it.  This weekend was the first I've seen it since 1973 when in Orlando, FL a TV stationed advertised a month in advance it was to show the worst movie ever made.  The kids at my junior high (middle school to people today) were estatic!  I laughed my head off.  The viewers response was so popular, the TV station felt obligated to show it again.  Truly the worst movie I've ever seen.  As I told "the guys" at my unit (1-7 CAV)  "Hey, ya gotta see this one.  It truly is worth your waste of time." Thanks for the sight!

It is said to be the worse movie ever made and sometimes you got to agree a shower curtain in a airliner a car hubcar with a very visible wire holding it up a zombie that walks around with its cape pulled up over its eyes tor johnson and the lady who walks around with her hands held out front and the use of the word THERE  used four times in one scene and the sassy alien calling earth people stupid he did deserve a punch in the kisser

I've had some fun times in my life, but very few compare to the night when I went to see this stinkbomb at the $.50 movies at the Univ of Michigan.  In the same way that "Rocky Horror Picture Show" isn't quite the same without audience participation, watching "Plan 9" with that group that evening was one of the funniest couple hours I've ever spent.  Get your film club together and have a showing...and don't forget the popcorn.

Some of the funniest bits are when:
1. They need a translater to unscramble the alien's messages but they speak perfect English inside the spaceship.
2. The paper UFO on a bit of wire. You can actually see the wire if you look very closely.
3. The herrondous (I can't spell) fight scenes where they punch someone and it doesn't come within an inch of connecting.
4. Inside the cockpits of the airplane and the UFO it looks like something a five-year old glued together.

Such a classic film with really horrible acting. Love it and have it on DVD

Paula-"Saucers? You mean the kind form up there?"
Me, while watching the movie-"Ya, the ones in the attic."

Plan 9 truly is so bad its good. An unconvincing double for the great Bela Lugosi sets the scene for the entire movie. To clear up a minor point: the flying saucers were NOT hubcaps and pie-pans, they were actually children's plastic models bought from the local discount store.

Also, this is not the worst movie ever made. That title is exclusive to "Manos" the Hands of Fate. It is fair to say, however, that this is the worst movie to come out of Hollywood.

Plan 9 From Outer Space-It's Craptastic!

    Without question the greatest movie of all time!! Anyone who disagrees deserves to be zapped with the solanite, I mean, the solarbanite, er, solarnite....you know what I mean!!!!

Dear God!!!!!!!!!!
I am STILL laughing and I first saw it 15 years ago.

I have watched this great work many times, and I never tire of the scene where the group is blown to the ground and the two guys holding the stretcher throw the casualty away before diving in the other direction. You will also notice that a mark on the door in the sherrifs office is also on the door in the house. Truly the greatest movie of all time !!!!

Quite a funny movie.  One of the funniest parts is when the flaming spaceship takes off.  You can see the wires, and the coloumn of flame has the proportions of that that would come from a match.  And, also, don't you think they would have figured out how to fireproof a ship? Honestly...

This is an example of how misunderstood Edward D. Wood Jr. was.  I'm not saying he was great.  Nor was he good.  But he wasn't consistently awful.  Hear me out.

If you watch "Bride of the Monster," you can see that he was closer to making a good film there than he was with Plan 9.  If you ignore the stunt double doing the entire ending sequence, the tacked on ending- a la The Jungle- and the randomly pointless things- like the policeman having a tiny bird- it's only a ways off from being passable science fiction for it's day.

Then you match it up to "Plan 9."  Bela's stunt double is less of a stupid thing than the guy pretending to be him as Dracula...I mean, the old man...whatever.  But the biggest thing to note is the amount of dialogue given to Tor Johnson...

Bride of the Monster- grunting
Plan 9- Lots of talking in one scene and THEN only grunting.

Unless that whole part in "Ed Wood" where Tor's wife complains to Ed about using him is true, this act is inexcusably terrible.

Ed Wood wasn't the worst filmmaker ever.  He had moments of nearly being passable.

Besides, no matter you can say, this movie is freaking hilarious.  Props to you.

Plan 9 from Outer Space is actually one of the funniest movies ever.  Only because of the countless errors: wobbly UFOs, tombstones that move whenever someone brushes their foot against them, etc.  The cheesy special effects:  it's all priceless!  I bought the Ed Wood box set so I can watch the "worst film ever" over and over again.  Love it!

Well, it's so bad, I copied it to my hard drive. If it's genre were changed from "Horror" to "Comedy," I think that it would gross a bit more.

Plan 9 from outer space is my favourite of all time... no jokes...

This movie is better than any top budget film and it didn't cost him hardly anything.

I have seen this movie at least 45 times and if that makes me sad... i don't care!

Continued...

I was cut a little short earlier!  

This film is so childlike, that it relaxes me, and helps me fall asleep... it frees up my thought process and allows me to fall subconcious, therefore falling fast asleep! (after the film has finished of course!)

I have shown this film to so many of my friends, but they can't see the appeal!  Little bit put however when I realised that Ed Wood was a transvestite peaodophile, but the film is still good all the same!

I am standing here at work, with my colleague, who has seen it, and quite likes it... Sharday Langdon if anyone is reading this... she is quite the fanatic!

I can't wait to go home and watch it for the 46th time.

This may sound like a joke, this whole post... but I am serious, I do like this film!

Thanks for reading.

Joe Lewis.

P.S Have you ever been to Hollywood?

I downloaded this. No it's NOT illegal, the copyright has expired (copyrights last 50 years) and you can find this, and other 50s greats on a site called public domain. I saw this the first time when I was little, but didn't manage to follow it very well. I've had the chance to see this again and...a classic! The pilot that over-acts the loss of control on the plane, the silly ufos, the narrator at the start\\end (aaarh!), the bad acting and the laughable sets make this film a must. The funniest thing is that not only the aliens CAN speack english...the can do so with an appalling american accent! Ha!

Greg Walcott is my second cousin. His mother and my grandmother were first cousins. His real name is Bernerd Mattox. My father used to call him Barnyard Mattox. He is a great guy who has been in over 100 films and 300 tv shows.

As a character actor he was usually cast as a Drill Instructor (Battle Cry, The Outsider) Police Officer (Sugerland Express, Norma Rae, Any which way but loose) Homicidal Maniac, (Prime Cut).

He is probably best known for his work in Clint Eastwoods troop in the 70's.

Little know fact, he had a bit part in Ed Wood with Johnny Depp and Martin Laudau. I will be seeing him next month so if you have any questions you would like answered let me know.

The best "worse" film ever made should be a part of every movie lovers collection. The Collector's Edition of this timeless film with it's Special Features is worth having.

What makes this film great is not just the fact it is so bad, although this would be enough.
The real reason is that it was intended to be a very serious film.

Each time I see this I just love it more.

This is the best movie of all time. YAY! I <3 you Ed Wood

Man do I wanna see this movie! It looks hilarious and terrible! So I've heard from another person as well as this review. I'll bet this got 5 monster drops for being so stupid!

Has anyone seen the colorized version?

Just a trivia note. The space ships were the first sci-fi plastic model kit, 1953 by Lindberg. A ten part kit, including the two piece base; they only used three of the pieces! The kit has been reissued several times and is still available by Glencoe Models. it's only abour six inches across.

Something else learned: "sunlight is made of many atoms" -Eros

I want to write a hymn to this movie.

The thing about this movie is that it's like an onion – an onion of bad.  You notice the bad on the surface, but every time you peel off a layer, you find another layer of bad underneath.  This bad goes all the way to the core.  In the words of a famous poet, this movie is bad to the bone.

Or, if you prefer, consider this.  Accept for a moment Plato's notion of a metaphysical world of archetypes: pure forms, of which the objects of the material world are mere shadows. In this metaphysical realm there exists an archetype of the Bad Movie, which is so bad that it's almost as bad as Plan 9 from Outer Space, only worse.  The Bad Movie contains all of those elements, both concrete and ephemeral, that make up a bad movie; and all the bad movies found in the material world are mere reflected forms this archetype.  Well, if that's the case, then Ed Wood must have been possessed by some sort of ancient Greek extas while making this film, a grandiose mystical state that enabled him in his director's vision to create a movie so bad that it stands still today as an archetypal monument: the closest a mere mortal has ever come to representing the Bad Movie archetype in the World of Forms.  In fact, my friends, I put it to you, that this movie's badness actually constitutes PROOF that Plato was right, and that ARCHETYPES DO EXIST! 

For how else are we to explain the badness of this film?



But anyway, about that onion...first you notice all the general stuff, like the not-acting (well, we can't really call that acting, can we?), the sets, the incoherent plot, etc.  That's one level of bad.  But for me, that level of bad was only of interest for the first few viewings. 

After that I began to go deeper into the bad, and there I discovered a second onion peel of bad, namely, THE MUSIC.  My God, man, that music is bad.  It is soooo bad.  Few people comment on the soundtrack to this film, but it has to rank as one of the all time worst film themes in recorded history.  I must confess I viewed the film a few more times just to listen to the awful cacophony of noise.


Then, the next peel, the editing.  Like when Paula is threatened by the Undead. 

Shot of Paula running through a field, OUTDOORS. 

Shot of Vampira standing in the dark, INDOORS. 

Shot of the chiropractor with a cape over his face, INDOORS. 

Shot of Paula again, fainting by the side of road, OUTDOORS.  It is evening.  The audience is probably supposed to believe that these undead are right on her heels, but we are instead merely disoriented.  Up drives a fat little man with pants pulled up to his armpits and hops of out his car.  ”Mrs. Clay, Mrs. Clay” he yells, distressed.  He looks up, left. 

Shot of Vampira, standing in the dark, INDOORS. 

Shot of the little fat guy, OUTDOORS.  He looks right. 

Shot of the chiropractor with a cape over his face, INDOORS.

STOP THIS s**t!  The audience thinks.  WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

And so on, and so on, and on, and on, and on.  Editing so bad it is utterly beyond belief. 


Then, in addition to the plot incoherent, there is also the dialog incoherent.  Such as when the Army's “Head of Saucer Operations” is quizzed by his superior, “Do you believe in saucers?” (Yes! With Milk!), and is warned  he will be court martialled  if he answers yes, despite the fact that his friggin job is hunting down saucers.  WTF? 

But this only the third level of bad, because beneath this level is a fourth level having to do with the actual writing itself.  Plan 9 is written as if by someone who speaks English as a second language.  Or rather, it is written as if it was originally written in English, then translated into Japanese or Swahili or something, and then “back-translated” into English again on the cheap by, say, a Norwegian college student.  The sentences that make up the dialog are themselves often grammatically incoherent.  My favorite comes at the end of the film, when Criskin intones,  approximately, “One night someone may pass you in the dark, and you will never know, for they will be from OUTER SPACE!”  This sentence simply makes no sense.  Will I not know that they have passed me, because they are from outer space?  Why would the fact that they are from outer space make it impossible for me to detect that they have passed me?  Does being from outer space make them invisible?  Or does he mean that I will never know that they are from outer space, because it's dark when they pass me?  If so, shouldn't he have said, “One night someone from outer space may pass you, and you will never know, for it will be DARK!”  Is he talking about me driving on the freeway?  What if I'm sitting on my wicker porch chair?

And so on.

The film if is chock-a-block full of this stuff.  You can spend literally hours just marveling at it.

This is where I'm at in the onion at this point.  Someday I'm sure I'll pull back this peel and find yet another layer of bad beneath it.  Because, my friends, the bad in this movie goes all the way down to the bottom.


And there is no bottom.

How did Kelton not notice Tor Johnson trying to sneak up on him? He is such an incomptent idiot. Poor Kelton. How he survived three movies I'll never know. Ah, Paul Marco, you were special.

(More)Stuff To Watch For:
Vampira FLINCHES when she is shot at!  :bouncegiggle:

This movie was the one that convinced me that I like bad movies better than good ones.

Good movies are always the same....the hero wins in the end.

Bad movies have so much to give on so many levels.  They can't all be this one or King Kong v. Godzilla but after a while you don't even need two robots and a guy ranking on them to make them funny.

And Andrew's reviews are priceless.

And i thought only Ogres had layers.
Nice call, Mr. Svinlesha. I never notices the soundtrack before...unless my subconscience did, and that explains the drooling problim....

Oh, how i love it when the cop says. "Well, one thing s for sure...inspector Clay is dead...murdered...and somebody is responsable." Well, no duh, sherlock! Thats kinda what the word murder Implys!
All hail Plan 9!

Yeah, that's a great example of what I mean.  This movie contains so much bad that the bad virtually explodes from every frame.  A mere mortal simply cannot absorb all the bad at one sitting.  First you have the kind of stupid, or inane, dialog, like your example here; and then you have the incoherent stuff, like the Jeff complaining about being "muzzled by big Army Brass!" and so on. 

You can spend literally hours just analyzing the badness of the script.  And the bad script is only one tiny part of the overall badness of this movie.

Its an archetype, I tell ya.

Were did the aliens costumes come from? The Rulers is definately from so midieaval flick but what about Eros and Tanna's? My wife and I thinking about making a set of hall costumes to math Eros and Tanna's but I would love to find a base pattern to bootstrap into shirts like theirs. Any suggestions?

I would bet that someone made them for the film.  The belts definitely appear to be some sort of Christmas thing, as Eros' has bells and stuff on it that makes me think it was intended for some sort of Christmas costume.

I've always loved horror or sci-fi movies from the 50's to the 70's,but Plan 9 is in the Top 10 of my favorites.I don't know what it is because it's so bad and maybe that's its appeal.I don't think we need to analyze why we like something so horrible,but movies like this is entertaining.I don't mind the mistakes or the bad acting or the terrible script.It's all out there in full view for all to see! If you want to get the special editon of this movie,I suggest you get it with the Mike Nelson(MST3K)commentary.Funny stuff! It also has trivia about the movie at the bottom while you watch and Plans 1-8,which aren't real,of course....I'm proud to have one of the worst movies of all time in my collection. :hot:

You can get the black and white version and the color version with the Mike Nelson(MST3K)commentary at Amazon..

And, i do reccomend that one.

Well I finally did it- I busted my 'Plan 9' cherry! Yup, rented & watched it for the first time last week. Guess I'm a real BMF now! (BMF= Bad Movie Fan.. what did you think I meant?) Have to say, I was a little disappointed after the 1st viewing tho- maybe it was all the build-up from all I've read about it, maybe it was because I watched it alone & sober, but it just didn't seem like all that. I put it aside for a couple of days, and then before I went to return it, I decided to go back and watch Eros' "All you of Earth are idiots!" speech again.. starting skipping thru the flick.. then rewinding.. skipping ahead again..then rewinding even more.. and before I knew it I'd watched the entire thing all the way thru, and it was a lot funnier this time! I don't know what it is about this movie, but it grows on you. (like toe fungus!) Now I regret returning it because I have the urge to watch it again already. I have to check it out again, or maybe even buy it.

Something I learned from this movie: Sunlight had a strange effect on '50's police cars- in bright light they looked like 1957 Fords, but when the sun went down they turned into 1955's.. and then back into 1957's when the sun returned. This held true no matter how many times the sun rose and set in a given day.

Best dialogue: there's so much to choose from, but here's one nobody's mentioned yet- the part where they tell the woman to wait in the car while they go check out the spaceship, and she doesn't want to stay there, but then she says "Oh well, I'm just a woman, so I guess I'd better do as you say!"  :bouncegiggle: Now there was a well-trained woman of the 50's!  :wink:

Watching Plan 9 is an extremely odd experience.

For all it's flaws, I gotta somewhat appreciate it, because at least Ed believed in his cause, despite not actually having any forseeable talent.  At least he accomplished his goals and got the movies made. 

I am so glad I found this website because I was begining to think I was the only person on earth who had heard of (and is a huge fan of) Ed Wood! Plan 9 is so great. My favourite bit is Criswell's introduction, it makes me laugh so much. It's not fair when people just make fun of Plan 9 because although it is funny it's also good because it shows that Ed never gave up and didn't let visible wires and bad lines ruin his movie.

I actually watched the whole thing yesterday. For some reason they were showing it on TCM.  I'll have to admit that I don't think it's the worst I've ever seen, but it's probably just as bad some of the other crap I've sat through.

If this movie was intentionally this bad, it would be a work of the utmost genius & Ed Wood would go down in history as a director of wit and perspicacity. I have few movies in my collection that are funnier than this one.

Sadly, he didn't mean it.........

(or perhaps he did & he's even more clever than we realise!)

 :question:

  I heard him descried once as "a genuis with no talent."

with more mone,he could have been the next(at the time)roger corman,imho!

oops,that should say money..

This is the single best B-movie on the planet that I have seen insofar. :cheers:

generally acknowlaged as the worse movie ever made along with the more recent ISHTAR i mean the show curtian on the airliner and the wacko who uses a gun to scratch his shoulder and streighten his hat and the word THERE being used four times in one sceine and how about the replacment for BELLA LAGOSSI walking around with his cape over his eyes and TOR JOHNSON AND THE LADY WALKING AROUND WITH HER ARMS STUCK OUT AND THOSE ALEINS SO IMPUTENT SO ARRAGANT SO DUMB

HOY!
Is it just me or is there a bit of a SNAFU with elderly, shaky Bela Lugosi being married to young, wasp-waisted proto-dominatrix Vampira? Shouldn't she have been an elderly granny lady, walking a la "Night of the Living Dead?" Now, THAT might have been a bit scary, but pretending that Kinky-sex-dream Girl is really Undead Mrs. Lugosi? No, that's not scary, that's HILARIOUS! :teddyr:

Sure, you laugh now, but what happens when scientists at Texas A&M or Sam Houston State Teacher's College finally crack the milorganite code and discover how to explode sunlight? Then it won't be so funny, will it? Why, lots of visionaries are objects of derision in their own time, only to be redeemed when science catches up to their brilliance. Ed Wood was such a man.

On top of that, any firearms aficionado will tell you that revolvers have hundreds of uses besides just shooting bullets: pointers, scratchers, hammers, you name it.

This is a highly entertaining movie for a rainy day. The effects are God-awful, the acting is bizarre at best, and the plot... well.. words fail me.
(Hehehehehhe... "Stupid mimes!")

I think i nearly like pretty much anything that Ed Wood made, & this one has to be the best of the lot.
However, try watching MESA OF LOST WOMEN ( not Ed Wood???) & JAIL BAIT back to back.
That repetitive guitar in both films is exactly the same piece of music & will drive you round the twist!!!!!!.
It's like being permanently attacked by wasps!!!!!
It just won't leave you alone!.
But Ed Wood is a hero that's for sure.
Pure entertainment.

And yet...they want to re-make this classic...
Doing that is like giving King Kong the keys to the banana plantation. Not a good idea.

Plan 9 is so bad it is good!

Tor Johnson was great playing the role he always plays; the lumbering monster!

They're saying Solanite, not Solaramite. I love this movie! It's a B-movie classic. I think The Creeping Terror comes as a close second for worse movie of all time. :teddyr:

One of the funniest things about this movie is that the alien eros is played by "Dudley Manlove."

YES, dammit, that's his name and I'm not making it up! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Manlove

The thing is that when you combine the name "Dudley manlove" with the character name "Eros" you...


Never mind.

this movie is great, and in my opinion definantly not the worst movie ever mad, the forbidden zone was way worse then this, because atleast this movie is so cheesy and stupid its funny and entertaining, the forbidden zone however made no sence and because of this it was a pain to whatch.

It was once considered the worst movie of all time...but now it's a cult classic. There so much funny things about this movie to list. Put this movie in your collection.

I honestly believe that I'll enjoy Ed Wood's version of this more then the remake

hell, the remake won't have tombstones falling randomly in a graveyard  :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:

My thoughts exactly. This is a classic slice of American cheese,served to perfection. :thumbup:

I just couldn't believe that Plan 9 From Outer Space was Ed Wood's most critically acclaimed worst movie.

However; Glen Or Glenda?, and Plan 9 didn't get a MST3K episode, but strangely enough; Bride Of The Monster did. /:-|

PS: I was born in 1996, so I was almost three years old when this review was first released. I can't believe the website has been going strongly for all of these years! :)

I particularly enjoyed this film. Altho, any gem with Tor Johnson in it is bound to be someone hilarious. Plan 9 is up there in regards to "Worst film ever" but I am pretty sure there are worse out there, a la "Manos, Hands of Fate."

A classic movie that I view at least once a year. This is movie is a testament to the fact that a film is made to be enjoyed, and boy do I enjoy this one. My wife, not so much. My kids? We're getting there. There's the small things in this disaster that must be enjoyed. To sit and watch it as if you are expecting to see something good is just going to deliver disappointment. It's seemingly impossible foolishness is what makes it work so well for me.

Two moments that don't get mentioned too often that always make me laugh:
1. When the saucer flies over the graveyard during the police investigation; the two guys from the coroner's office literally heave the corpse off the stretcher as if they are trying to see how far a gravediggers carcass can fly. Such dramatic flare from these unknown extras!

2. When the rather hefty gentleman picks up Mrs. Trent in the field and puts her in his unreliable car. I mean, was there not a better angle to film this at? Every time I watch this part I keep expecting his pants to split. I mean seriously, that is one massive arse. Talk about having your 'tight pants on'.

 :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:

I like the part where the ufo's are described as "cigar shaped". Another WTF moment from a total WTF movie.

Ya have to give Ed Wood credit, he made the most of no talent, no backing, no studio, no union, no money, no nothing.  That he could even get a full length feature made, no matter how bad, was pretty impressive. 

I love this movie. I am a Vampria fan. Thanx for posting. Did you know that there is a book out there? Plan 9: Grave Robbers from Outer Space....Its like a book and script combined. The beginning is a little different, but it reads exactly as the movie.

And his films are still more entertaining than anything Jerry Warren ever turned out.. :smile:

     If you loved PLAN 9, you must see this....

NIGHT OF THE GHOULS (1958)

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r63aZqVS1E#)

     This flick went unseen for around thirty years because of a lab bill Wood never paid; fans who'd heard of it from FAMOUS MONSTERS and other sources ponied up the seven hundred-some bucks, and here 'tis.