Plan 9 From Outer Space is widely noted for having a plethora of obvious goofs.[2][3] Due to the low budget, most of the film sequences were shot in one take, without editing, causing most of the mistakes to happen. Most notably in the first scenes, string is clearly visible from the top of the wobbly saucer to the top of the screen. These same flying saucers cast shadows over the "space" backdrop.[2][3] Criswell's opening narration redundantly informs the viewer how "future events such as these will affect you in the future." Immediately afterwards, he states that the story has already "happened on that fateful day."[2][3]
"Night" and "day" shots are interspersed constantly within the same scene (for example, the old man's corpse chases Paula Trent through the cemetery, with the scene switching between night and day nine times). Night scenes can be simulated by darkening the prints of day scenes, but Wood's budget was insufficient to cover that expense. One porthole on the alien spaceship shows a cloudy day (shown during a scene set at night), while the others show only blackness.[2][3]
Mason's attempts to hide the fact that he is not Lugosi are unsuccessful.[2][3] As an early version of Leonard Maltin's movie guidebook put it, "Lugosi died during production, and it shows." In one scene, as his character is being riddled with bullets, Mason's Dracula cape unintentionally starts to slip off his shoulders and he quickly pulls it back into place.[2][3]
A visible shadow of the boom mic in a cockpit scene.
During a scene in an airplane cockpit, a flash of light from a flying saucer reveals the shadow of the boom mic. Also in this scene, the actress playing the flight attendant bumps into the curtain several times while waiting for her cue, and the two pilots "fly" their plane without touching the indescribable objects placed where control yokes would be. One pilot actually holds up his script and reads from it. [2][3]
In the numerous graveyard scenes, as characters brush against tombstones, the stones wobble and, in one case, fall over (e.g., the cross at the right side of the screen in an early scene).[2][3] In the scene where Inspector Daniel Clay's body rises out of the ground, the "grave" and headstone are clearly out of proportion to all the leaves on the ground.[2][3] When Tor Johnson drops the girl in the cemetery, a pillow is clearly visible beneath her.[2][3]
During the U.S. Army attack on the UFOs, the rockets used are actually ground-to-ground mortar type rockets that practically cannot even fly at a required altitude to harm aircraft. Also the majority of the weapons used in the scene were never actually used in combat.[2][3] In the same scene, Col. Tom Edwards clearly casts a shadow on the "horizon" behind him. The Colonel is also missing most of his rank identification items, while the Captain beside him doesn't have any at all.[2][3] In scenes set in the Pentagon, there is a map of the United States on the wall. The map is from the Santa Fe Railway. The railroad's logo is visible in some shots, but was covered with black tape in others.
[edit] Documenting the film
The movie is the subject of a documentary entitled Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion, which is notable for being 30 minutes longer than the movie itself. The documentary is included on Image Entertainment's DVD edition of Plan 9. The documentary visits many locations related to the film, including the building with Ed Wood's former office at 4477 Hollywood Boulevard and what was left of the small sound stage used for the film's interiors which is down a small alley next to the Harvey Apartments at 5640 Santa Monica Boulevard.
Rudolph Grey's book Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr. contains anecdotes regarding the making of this film. Grey notes that p
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