Night of the Ghouls (1959)

Director:

Edward D. Wood Jr.

Writer:

Edward D. Wood Jr. (written by)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Phony spiritualist raises the dead.

Plot Keywords:

Cult Favorite | Sequel | Based On Novel

Cast

Kenne Duncan	...	Dr. Acula
Duke Moore	...	Police Lieutenant Daniel Bradford (as 'Duke' Moore)
Tor Johnson	...	Lobo
Valda Hansen	...	The White Ghost
Johnny Carpenter	...	Police Captain Robbins (as John Carpenter)
Paul Marco	...	Patrolman Kelton
Don Nagel	...	Crandel
Bud Osborne	...	Darmoor
Jeannie Stevens	...	The Black Ghost
Harvey B. Dunn	...	Henry
Margaret Mason	...	Martha
Clay Stone	...	Young Man
Marcelle Hemphill	...	Mrs. Wingate Yates Foster
Tom Mason	...	Foster Ghost
James La Maida	...	Hall

Also Known As:

Dr. Acula (USA) (original script title)
Revenge of the Dead

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:T | USA:Approved (Certificate # 19275) | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | Italy:T | Finland:K-18 (2004)

Trivia:

When Wade Williams acquired the rights to Edward D. Wood Jr.'s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) in 1982, Wood's widow, Kathy, told him of this never-released film that was being held by a post-production house because the lab fees hadn't been paid. Williams paid the fees and acquired this film as well.

Quotes:

Leader of the Dead: Good evening, Dr. Acula. We have been expecting you.
Karl: Who are you?
Leader of the Dead: You ask who we are, yet it was you who called for our return.
Karl: This is impossible! I hired actors to play the dead. You're not my actors!
Leader of the Dead: Your powers were even stronger than you yourself realized. You have brought us back from the grave. Once every 13 years, when called by a strong medium such as you, we are given a brief 12 hours of freedom from our deep pit of darkness. Those few hours are almost gone. We must return to the grave. You will accompany us there.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: Night of the Ghouls" (1996)

'Night Of The Ghouls' is a lesser Wood movie. It's fun but pretty forgettable.

The story goes that 'Night Of The Ghouls' sat in the can for over twenty years because Ed Wood couldn't afford to have it developed. I've sometimes seen it passed off as a sequel to 'Plan 9 From Outer Space', but it's actually a sequel to 'Bride Of The Monster'. The links are slim but the mad scientist played by Bela Lugosi is mentioned once or twice, and his assistant Lobo (Tor Johnson) appears in horribly disfigured form. As well as Johnson a few Wood regulars are involved, notably Criswell and Paul Marco. Criswell is a hoot as always but Marco is tiresome. He's the comic relief but I can't stand his character who is always whining and screwing up. Duke Moore from 'Plan 9' plays the main cop and Kenne Duncan, who trash hounds might remember from 'The Astounding She-Monster', plays "Dr. Acula", a crook posing as a spiritualist. 'Night Of The Ghouls' is a lesser Wood movie. It's neither as crazy as 'Glen Or Glenda' or as effective as 'Bride Of The Monster', and frankly I miss Lugosi. So don't get your hopes up, it's fun but pretty forgettable.