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Night of the Ghouls
Image DVD cover
Directed by	Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Produced by	Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Written by	Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Starring	Kenne Duncan Duke Moore Tor Johnson
Cinematography	William C. Thompson
Editing by	Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Release date(s)	1987 (filmed 1959)
Running time	69 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Bride of the Monster

Night of the Ghouls is a 1959 horror 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.

Plot summary

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.

The movie also features a prologue and a brief acting role by Criswell, who also narrated Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Cast

• Kenne Duncan – Dr.Karl Acula
• Duke Moore – Lt. Dan Bradford (as 'Duke' Moore)
• Tor Johnson – Lobo
• Valda Hansen – Sheila, the White Ghost
• Johnny Carpenter – Capt. Robbins (as John Carpenter)
• Paul Marco – Patrolman Kelton
• Don Nagel – Sgt. Crandall
• Bud Osborne – Mr. Darmoor
• Jeannie Stevens – The Black Ghost/Mannequin
• Harvey B. Dunn – Henry
• Margaret Mason – Martha

Production

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

External links

• Night of the Ghouls at the Internet Movie Database
• Night of the Ghouls at Allmovie