Necromania (USA, 1971) 54 min color DIR-SCR-PROD: Edward D. Wood Jr., based on his novel The Only House. DOP: Ted Gorley, Hal Guthu. CAST: Maria Arnold, Rene Bond, Ric Lutze. (Fleshbot Films)
I have never reviewed a hardcore sex film in this publication, so I suppose it’s only fitting that the first triple-X feature in these pages is by, of all people, the late great Edward D. Wood, Jr. This was the final directorial effort of the legendary cross-dressing Grade-Z auteur. Although a softcore version of this sex picture (which has a pretence of an occult subplot) was discovered at a garage sale in 1992 (and has since been circulating in bootlegs), the hardcore version was only recently found in a California warehouse. It is pleasingly ironic that this long-lost chapter of Ed Wood’s career is being released at about the same time as the long-overdue DVD of Tim Burton’s 1994 biopic. Although that film ends with the fantasy notion of a grand premiere of Wood’s signature film Plan 9 from Outer Space, the rest of his life cries for a sequel. It is full of the sordidness that Hollywood bio pictures crave.
After his last “legit” movie (The Sinister Urge), Wood paid the bills by writing porn novels, or low-grade sex films (perhaps the most famous of this period is the nudie, Orgy of the Dead). This effort deals with the sexual hang-ups of Bob and Shirley (also the name of the couple in Orgy of the Dead), who hopefully can find a cure in the hands of witch Madame Heles. Well, no one ever watched a film like this to follow a plot, so the cast members (“who have chosen to remain anonymous”) go to bed with one another in various couplings until the, uh, “climax” of the film in which the unhappy couple and all of the randy witches hear the gong to summon Madame Heles, they see that Bob needs some more work done on him, he gets into her sarcophagus and that’s that.
Although it may not be as subversive as the cut and paste affair Plan 9 from Outer Space, there are fascinating Ed Wood bloopers like dialogue being heard when people have their mouths full (if you know what I mean). And only in Ed Wood’s world would there be two cinematographers, because one refused to shoot the hardcore scenes. How much historical value this has, who can say? But it is fascinating the efforts to preserve any foot of film made by this eccentric genius.
Originally published in Vol. #1, Issue #16.
Greg Woods
Greg Woods has been a film enthusiast since his teens, and began his writing "career" at the same time- prolific in capsule reviews of everything he had watched, first on index cards, then those hardcover dollar store black journals, then an old Mac IIsi. He founded The Eclectic Screening Room in 2001, as a portal to share his film love with the world, and find some like-minded enthusiasts along the way. In addition to having worked in the film industry for over two decades, he has been a co-programmer of films at Trash Palace, and a programmer/co-founder of the Toronto Film Noir Syndicate. He has also written for Broken Pencil, CU-Confidential, Micro-Film, and is currently working on his first novel. His secret desire is for someone to interview him for a podcast or a DVD extra.