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Ed Wood - Final Curtain Makes It To The Big Screen

Author	Comment
Crow T Robot		#21	[-]
Jun 3 12 2:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Watching Final Curtain reminds me of an old Monty Python routine. Creepy music, a normal everyday guy walking around and...DAH...DAH...DAH! Nothing happens!
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doctor kiss		#22	[-]
Jun 3 12 8:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The main body of this copy of FINAL CURTAIN looks identical to the print I watched in California nine years ago, but the credits are different and contain the only real surprise here: because they bear the MPAA approved code #18823, indicating that although this was conceived as a television pilot, someone may have been contemplating a theatrical release and had submitted it for MPAA approval in late 1957 (around the same time as Corman's THE SAGA OF THE VIKING WOMEN, which ended up with MPAA approved code #18826).
Dr Acula		#23	[-]
Jun 4 12 11:17 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Amazing - thanks for the linkage! I think there are indeed shots of "The Vampire" from Final Curtain in Night of the Ghouls...
kcor.tylerandjacksmo...		#24	[-]
Jun 5 12 6:18 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Watched The Final Curtain via link supplied, I am currently making a digital typescript of a handwritten journal written by an older local person--just an ordinary person with no special writing/speaking abilities--and was struck by the similarity to the narration (and, in memory, the narration of Plan 9) the journal I'm working with has. The next sentence I will type goes "We really loved that teacher that did so much for us kids." Other part with even more philosophical messages come even closer in similarity. There is a ring that "un-schooled" or maybe I mean tin-ear writing has which is difficult to duplicate unless you are also un-schooled or tin-eared. It's easier to take in short doses. Cutting away to a water cooler helps.
ghoulkid		#25	[-]
Jun 5 12 4:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Final Curtain,to me,was typical Ed Wood. A unique,ambitious but misguided attempt at horror. He was trying to build terror gradually through the use of dialogue,via the narration. He was trying to suggest horror,rather than show it. Something that was done much better in the original Haunting ('63). Problem here was the overblown dialogue,certainly made worse by Dudley Manlove's delivery. It seemed to me that Dudley managed to scare himself in the process. While watching it,I was thoroughly bored. But after it was over,I began to laugh,cause on the whole it really didn't make much sense. Typical Ed Wood. It also reminded me of these paranormal reality shows we have today. The people are getting scared over something we can't see. I really don't see much of a connection with Night Of The Ghouls,as stated in previous posts. The Sun Was Setting,as a short subject was actually fairly decent. A bit depressing,but not bad. If I didn't know he directed it,I would of thought anyone directed it.
flashback		#26	[-]
Jun 5 12 4:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	he was credited as the director of the sun was setting. as far as final curtain goes.the camera work was better then most 50`s tv.with someone else writing a good story to go with it the camera work and direction could have made an effective horror tv show.as it is it fizzled out. i am willing to watch it a few more times because i thought the theater in it was cool.i like old theaterrs. Last Edited By: flashback Jun 5 12 9:13 PM. Edited 1 times.
doctor kiss		#27	[-]
Jun 5 12 6:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	ghoulkid wrote: The Final Curtain,to me,was typical Ed Wood. I really don't see much of a connection with Night Of The Ghouls,as stated in previous posts. Just under one-fifth of the footage from FINAL CURTAIN is recycled in NIGHT OF THE GHOULS. When Duke Moore explores Dr. Acula's mansion (supposedly one and the same as Dr. Vornoff's house from BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, as the narration reminds us!) from 41:20 to 43:12, it's the 'staircase sequence' from FINAL CURTAIN with reworked narration which even mentions how well-suited the various rooms would be for a theatre group. And the 'vampire encounter' is present in its entirety from 45:35 to 47:55, with the (tiny, upper storey) room now presented as occupying the site of Dr. Vornoff's (pretty expansive, ground floor) old laboratory! FINAL CURTAIN is the reason that Duke Moore wears full evening dress throughout NIGHT OF THE GHOULS, in order for the footage to match; his character explains he'd been on his way to the theatre with his wife when he was called in on the Acula case. And, at the very beginning of NIGHT OF THE GHOULS, Criswell's spoken preamble includes verbatim the 'monsters to be pitied, monsters to be despised' lines from the text-crawl which opens FINAL CURTAIN, originally intended as a generic text-crawl for every episode of Ed's proposed Portraits of Terror tv series. Ed recycled this text passage once more in ORGY OF THE DEAD, again intoned by Criswell.
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rvoyttbots		#28	[-]
Jun 5 12 10:12 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Fell asleep watching this. Guess I`ll have to give it another try.
Crow T Robot		#29	[-]
Jun 5 12 10:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It looks great - spooky and and atmospheric. The narration is corny; the acting hammy. it takes the guy a half hour to walk through a movie theater and up a flight of stairs. Then he sees a coffin and crawls in (off screen). Wow! Really scary. NOT! I want to see episode 2, when he wakes up, realizes he didn't die, and then has to go back down stairs and through the theater and out the door - they can call it The Walk Of Shame.
kcor.tylerandjacksmo...		#30	[-]
Jun 6 12 6:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	When I can spare 20 minutes I aim to watch Final Curtain with no audio.
Ted Newsom		#31	[-]
Jun 6 12 8:49 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's just as well Lugosi passed away when he did. But heck, he might have actually made it watchable.
kcor.tylerandjacksmo...		#32	[-]
Jun 6 12 10:07 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Lugosi was always a great eyebrow actor.
ghoulkid		#33	[-]
Jun 7 12 1:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Maybe I give Ed more credit than he deserves,but he always seemed (to me) to have a unique spin on movies. I'm not talking about his ineptitude as much (though it is a factor) but he came up with some interesting concepts for movies that i always found intriguing. He was a good idea man,but his craftsmanship left a lot to be desired. I'd like to think that,under seasoned hands,his ideas could of been made into classic movies. Plan 9 especially. He would of made a great producer,given the right resources. Final Curtain was a good idea IMO. The problem was is that Ed directed it. It would of been interesting to see how Bela would of handled the material. It may have still have been corny,but it would of been Bela doing it. The mind boggles at the idea. I've always did like Ed's cinematography,minus the occasional boom mike error. It's been a while since i've watched Night Of The Ghouls. Pretty soon,I'll give it a look to see these similarities.
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Ed Wood - Final Curtain Makes It To The Big Screen