For generations, Ed Wood has been known as “the worst director of all time.” This sympathetic critical study repositions the director of Plan 9 from Outer Space as a maverick independent whose work challenges the boundary between “bad” and “good.” When Edward D. Wood, Jr. died in 1978 at fifty-four, just days after being evicted from his home, he was largely forgotten. Two years later, he was named “Worst Director of All Time”—a title that cemented his cult status. By the time a youthful Johnny Depp starred in an eponymous movie about the filmmaker in 1994, Wood’s low-budget films including Plan 9 from Outer Space, Glen or Glenda, and Bride of the Monster, had become beloved “so bad they’re good” classics. Since then, rediscovered works and shifting cultural attitudes have led new audiences to embrace his eccentric style and ahead-of-his-time takes on gender and genre. Ed Wood: Made in Hollywood USA is a critical reappraisal that takes Wood seriously, positioning him as a true