La Fiancée du monstre

Bride of the Monster (1955)

*** (out of 4)

Cult classic from Edward D. Wood, Jr. about a mad scientist (Bela Lugosi), his over-sized assisstant (Tor Johnson) and their pet rubber octopuss. Only God really knows how many of these "Z" grade films I've seen over the years but there's no doubt in my mind that Wood's movies are the "best" of the bunch. The worst thing that could happen while watching this stuff is that you get bored but with Wood, and especially this film, boredom isn't a possibility since there's countless insane moments happening throughout the 69-minute running time. The film moves by very quickly and while I do enjoy the movie because it's bad, I will go out on the limb and say Lugosi gives his best performance in his later day roles.

Having enjoyed Plan 9 many times and Glen or Glenda once, I really expected this to be a serious turkey...and it wasn't! It's not overly good, but (since it came before Plan 9) I had ASSUMED Ed Wood had used this as a movie making dress rehearsal. Wrong! Lugosi is great! Tor Johnson is certainly more believable here than in Plan 9.

It's a dumb movie with a dumb monster and dumb effects, but it works...almost. It's a fun watch: grab some popcorn and your buddies, set the bar low, and enjoy. Lugosi's performance makes me wonder what Plan 9 would have been like had he lived beyond 3 days into Plan 9's filming.

I really don't think this deserves the "honor" of being in the Bottom 100 of all times. I've seen much worse films without nearly the notoriety. In "Bride of the Monster," Edward Wood shows himself to be a typically competent director doing a typical low-rent horror film. There are no mistakes in continuity, the lighting is adequate, the performances are pretty good…how "Plan 9" came from the same director is beyond me. I *am* put off by the DVD, though. For a premium price, you get the film, the trailer, and chapter stops—that's all, folks. If this is supposed to be a camp classic, I could at least hope for some interviews, outtakes, and other amusements. The transfer isn't bad, with few scratches or specks that I noticed and a faithful rendering of the black-and-white movies of that era.

Okay...lets be honest. This film was just what is was expected to be: a poorly made film with little to no budget, terrible acting overall, a script that borders on insanity, and special effects that children in a school play could be proud of. Yet, the film has a certain charm to it and is a vehicle in which to see both Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson madly overact and interact. Bela whipping Johnson and then getting into a wrestling match is definitely a high point. The rest of the cast strive to be mediocre...and fail...with the exception of character actor Harvey Dunn. Dunn plays the police chief and is humorous both intentionally and unintentionally. Watch his scenes and see him play with his parakeet in his office. It defies logic, time, and space...and is funny. Not Ed Woods best or worse...and a film that really has been given a boost by Tim Burton's Ed Wood. A fun picture to sit through with a group.

AS others have commented on, BOTM is indeed a competent B-movie. After

seeing it on public domain video I was glad to buy the Image DVD which has

very good image quality. You can see the movie the way Ed Wood intended it.

The lighting is competent; the camera work is competent.

But what elevates BOTM to film nirvana is Bela Lugosi's performance as Dr. Eric Vornoff (sp?). To those who say that Ed Wood exploited Bela (including Bela Jr), I say, at least he didn't put Bela in white plastic go-go boots and give him no dialogue, like the director of The Black Sleep did.

Without exception Bela's performances are hypnotic. His strange intonation, his deliberate facial gesture, his gravitas -- he is always the magnetic center of his films. And BOTM gives a summary of his career -- the Dracula hands, the White Zombie hands -- and the pathos of his "I have no home" speech -- give his

performance a dimension most of his roles (though check out "Invisible Ghost" for another excellent role) lacked.

"Nuff said. I enjoy the delirium of Glen or Glenda? and Plan 9, but Bride of the Monster is Bela's show ALL THE WAY.