Main Cast: Criswell, Kenne Duncan, Duke Moore, Tor Johnson, Valda Hansen
Release Year: 1959
Country: US
Run Time: 69 minutes
Plot
Night of the Ghouls (which was also known as Revenge of the Dead) was Edward D. Wood Jr.'s first attempt at making a horror film without any contribution, either in a true performance or through the presence of archival footage, from Bela Lugosi, who had died three years earlier. The plot, which was as confusing as most of Wood's scripts, seems to make it a sequel to Bride of the Monster and, to a lesser degree, Plan 9 From Outer Space, incorporating events and characters from both, including Paul Marco's portrayal of the ubiquitous Officer Kelton. (Indeed, some Wood scholars have referred to the three movies as a group as "the Kelton trilogy," since he is the only character to turn up essentially the same in all three films.) Duke Moore, who portrayed the detective lieutenant in Plan 9 From Outer Space, is back in this film, and now he seems to be identified as a specialist in bizarre and unusual cases, making him sort of Ed Wood's distant precursor to The X Files' agent Fox Mulder and The Night Stalker's Carl Kolchak. This time there are strange goings-on, including disappearances and ghostly apparitions, at a mysterious house in a remote part of town. It turns out that this is the same house (rebuilt) and the same locale where Bela Lugosi's mad scientist was creating zombies in Bride of the Monster, and that Tor Johnson's Lobo is still there, somewhat the worse for wear. Instead of a mad scientist, however, the man behind the mayhem is a phony mystic named Dr. Acula, played by ex-cowboy actor Kenne Duncan. None of it makes too much sense, as though anyone needs to be told that, knowing that this was an Ed Wood movie, but parts of it are fun in that unique way that Wood's movies can be -- the strange word usages and dialogue patterns, as well as odd characterizations, mismatched shots, and incomprehensible plot elements all weave their eerie spell on the viewer willing to absorb them. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Paul Marco - Associate Producer, Anthony Cardoza - Associate Producer, Ronnie Ashcroft - First Assistant Director, Edward D. Wood, Jr. - Director, Gordon Zahler - Composer (Music Score), Gordon Zahler - Musical Direction/Supervision, Harry Thomas - Makeup, Glen R. Smith - Camera Operator, William C. Thompson - Cinematographer, Edward D. Wood, Jr. - Producer, Edward D. Wood, Jr. - Screenwriter
Night of the Ghouls is a 1959horror 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 negatives, 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.
The plot revolves around a confidence trickster, Dr. Acula (played by Kenne Duncan) 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.
This film is the second part of what Wood aficionados refer to as "The Kelton Trilogy", a trio of films featuring Paul Marco 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 pun-name of Forrest J. Ackerman since the 1940s.
References
Sloan, Will. (April 2005). "Can Your Heart Stand the Shocking Facts About Kelton the Cop A/K/A Paul Marco?" Filmfax, p. 88-89
