Ed Wood anthology covers nearly all the topics of sex, whether you want it or not

 

Review by Doug Gibson

I am a huge Ed Wood fan going on way past 40 years now; ever since the only Wood canon I knew was "Glen Or Glenda" to "Plan 9 From Outer Space," ... and that lost "Night of the Ghouls"/"Revenge of the Dead." (which was soon found). 

But Ed was far more of a writer than a director. His "mainstream" directing career kind of ended with the (wink) semi-adult film, "The Sinister Urge." Then it was a long stint of virtually all adult cinema, soft and hard, for Ed the director.

But he never stopped writing. Dozens of novels and books, hundreds of short stories, lots of "educational" sex books, flotsam and jetsam such as text titles for silent adult shorts, scripts for (usually) soft and hard adult fare. You are noticing a trend here, right?

Wood was a severe alcoholic, who eventually died prematurely from his addiction. The last few years of his life, he was unable to keep a steady job. I recently saw a photo of Ed during those years (early to mid 1970s) in a biography of the late filmmaker Stephen Apostolf, who may have been the last boss to cut Ed a paycheck. Ed's at a party and he looks very drunk and very unhealthy. He looks like someone long used to being looked down upon and ignored. It breaks my heart. I actually had tears looking that photo. The reason? I admire Ed Wood's vivid imagination and prolific writing. I still consider him a pulp Elmore Leonard, writing only a first draft with no real editor. 

I get it. You think I'm nuts. But the first major woman in his life, Dolores Fuller, accurately described him as an "American original." And his now-deceased widow, Kathy, never left the old drunk. Bob Blackburn, who lives in Los Angeles, befriended Kathy Wood in the last era of her life. They developed trust and Blackburn has spent an incredible amount of time finding Ed's shorts stories and non-fiction writings, most published in sleazy, over-priced adult books and magazines, the kind that sprung up after the courts OK'd that stuff.

Bob has helped compile and get published two massive, indispensible collections of Ed's short stories, "Blood Splatters Quickly," from ORBooks, and "Angora Fever: The Collected Stories of Ed Wood."  You can get get the latter from BearManor Media. Some of Ed's novels are still floating around in reprints, which came out mostly in the '90s when Tim Burton's "Ed Wood," that lovely overidealized paean to Ed's early years, was released.

OK, I am finally getting to this review. "When the Topic is Sex, by Ed. Wood Jr." was recently released, also by BearManor Media. (Amazon link here). The "essays" inside are the adult magazine filler material that occupied a few pages in the magazines published by Bernie Bloom's Pendulum Publisher's business. Ed worked there in the '70s until alcoholism made him expendable. He was valued there for his versatility and speed in crafting coherent works (usually) that showed his lifelong wordsmith talents. If you want to read a fascinating account of a youngster at Pendulum working with a talented has-been on the way down (Ed) read Leo Eaton's account here. I think I read it first in another BearManor book on Ed's lost scripts. Pendulum was a sweatshop for wordsmiths. It was a starting point for young writers like Eaton, but a literal end of the road for Ed.

Publisher/writer/poet Bill Shute provides an introduction to "When the Topic is Sex." He notes that Wood was a known and trusted quality in the industry. He could take a subject, prurient or not, and fit in the details. There are more than 80, I imagine, "non-fiction" musings on a wide variety of starter topics (I'll let the reader peruse them). Themes include the evolution of sexual mores in film, contemporary society, education, prostitution, wife swapping, pornography, the various different genres of the sex worker industry, S&M, sweaters, social diseases, sexual dictionaries, fur fetishes. Topics include the possibility of a "sex tax" to balance budgets, the lure of Greenwich Village ... I could go on endlessly listing the topics Ed muses about. Much of it is offensive and misogynistic. It's time capsule mores.

The stories are often sexually graphic but not so much erotic. There's one about a housewife turned leader of a sexual coven of witches. Ed includes himself in the story, but it's of course made up. A lot of the stories involve interviews with students, prostitutes, secretaries, etc. I think Ed was being tongue-in-cheek with these "on-th-street" accounts because as blogger Joe Blevins has already pointed out, these subjects talk like Ed Wood writes! One fun aspect of the essays is the irony of a bloated, alcoholic man around 50 writing "authoritatively" about the sexual hijinks of college students and "still-Mad Menish" office and nightclub/bars environments. Ed likely had a firm grasp on the sexual fantasies of Pendelum's clientile. I imagine his tongue was in his cheek a lot when he was crafting these pieces.

I'm not going to say much about the essays. Frankly, they can be a slog if taken in large doses. Don't read too many in one setting. One or two a day is enough. You can then appreciate Ed's unique writing style. As Shute notes in his introduction, Ed's style always shows up in his art. In these essays his prose takes the form of a pleasant, slightly know-it-all educator letting us know about these "trends in sex." Or if it's a more spicy topic, or perhaps Ed was intoxicated when he wrote the story, the narrator shifts in personality to a more " hmm, take a good hard look at this sexual deviancy ..." I sometimes imagine this Ed Wood would have made a brisk living selling spicy post cards on the streets of Paris 120 years ago. 

One essay I enjoyed in "When the Topic is Sex" is "Sex is Not a Hazard." It's very graphic at times but it also has a sweet undertone to it. Its Ed telling us that sexual compability is an important component of a sexual relationship and couples should explore, and not run away from, what makes both partners happy. I also enjoy the"news of the weird" type compilations of truly bizarre happenings. Since I see these types of columns even today in alternative weeklies, I don't think Ed was telling tall tales in these pieces. The "Mondo" exploitative documentary film from the 60s and 70s was still around when Ed wrote these. I wonder if he saw those films. 

Frankly, I worry talking about these essays might spur Big Brother social media tech discipline on me. ... Despite the made up interviews, Ed does his research when it's needed. I Googled a lot of his sources on topics, and they checked out. Example: when he writes about a sex tax, he cites an obscure New Orleans educator from long ago. Turns out the fellow existed.

Pendulum had archives for research, and an unpublished sex study by a guy named Dr. TK Peters. (He really existed.) But I can still imagine, Ed, in his windowless Pendulum cubicle, thumbing through the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature booklets, taking notes, looking for sources. Heck, I did that a lot of that in the pre-Internet days.

I want to add that the aforementioned blogger Joe Blevins runs the absolutely essential Ed Wood Wednesdays Dead2Rights blog. It's here. Joe provides in-depth recaps of every essay in this book. He also, to the best of his knowledge, tells readers when published and in what publication. Over the course of almost two months, I read every essay in "When the Topic is Sex." The recaps Joe provides really helps in digesting them. (The recaps are also available at Bob Blackburn's Ed Wood Jr. Facebook page.)

To sum up, the book is a history lesson. Besides providing another peek into Ed's life, and his surroundings -- the desperate years -- it's a history lesson into the genre and culture of the working world Ed and others experienced 50 years ago. 

Dad Made Dirty Movies a fun read on the life of cult films director Stephen C. Apostolof

 Review by Doug Gibson

There's a lengthy passage in the biography, "Dad Made Dirty Movies: The Erotic World of Stephen C. Apostolof," McFarland, 2020, in which our subject Apostolof is in dire straights. It's 1978 and his film, "Hot Ice," is a flop. "Hot Ice" is -- by design -- not a soft-core porn film. It's an attempt to make a light-hearted R-rated diamond heist spoof.

 

More on "Hot Ice" later, but the problem is that Apostolof is finding out there's no interest from distributors in a "mainstream" Apostolof film. His mostly successful track record of making a soft-core porn film, earning lots of money, and sinking profits into the next similar film is now stalled. The low-budget producer/director and sometimes distributor is hurting financially. Apostolof haunts a distributor he's worked with before, literally begging them to take on "'Hot Ice." 

The distributor won't budge. But in an interesting twist, a member of that company asks Apostolof if he could meet filmmaker Ed Wood, who has worked on several Apostolof films. Wood is slowly dying from the effects of long-term alcoholism, and Apostolof knows he's not capable of even a lunch. But, promoter to the end, he dangles -- perhaps in hopeful jest -- a lunch with Wood if his film is picked up.

The film is not picked up. There's no luncheon with Ed Wood. Frankly, the interested employee was teased by his colleagues for even having an interest in Wood's films. Apostolof would never make another film. He did envision more and in vain tried to get them off the ground, including a planned sequel to his most-popular film, "Orgy of the Dead."

It is kind of ironic, or at least interesting that the death of Ed Wood in late 1978 coincides with the professional filmmaking death of Stephen C. Apostolof. The Bulgarian-born filmmaker was the real last link Wood had to the film industry. As "Dad Made Dirty Movies" authors Jordan Todorov and Joe Blevins note, Wood likely saw in Apostolof a last link to the "legitimate" film industry, meaning anything other than the hard-core porn film/writing business.

 

"Dad Made Dirty Movies" is a great (cult) filmmakers biography, the best I have read since Rudolph Grey's Wood oral bio, "Nightmare of Ecstasy" -- which Apostolof contributed to -- and Jimmy McDonough's bio of Andy Milligan, "The Ghastly One. ... " 

A 2011 film documentary of the same name, directed by Todorov, preceded the book.

Apostolof had such an interesting life. Born in Bulgaria, he became a lifelong fierce anti-communist and was imprisoned as a teen by the communist regime. He eventually escaped the country, fleeing to Istanbul, where he slept for a while on the beach and later toiled as a piano player in a cabaret/bordello.

He tried to join the U.S. Army, but not being a citizen ended that dream. He almost joined the French Foreign Legion, but changed his mind. The young Apostolof, not yet 21, ended up in Paris in 1948. He lived a bohemian lifestyle and was active in the large circle of Bulgarian emigrants there, which included anti-communist activism. In 1950 he emigrated to Canada, and settled in Toronto, where he met his first wife, Joan Mary Higgins. After their wedding, the pair moved to Los Angeles, Calif.

Apostolof frequently switched jobs, with an eye to making it in the movies. He got an opportunity when he produced the very low-budget, "Journey To Freedom," 1957. It's based very loosely on Apostolof's escape from communism, with communist agents chasing the protagonist as far as America. In the cast is cult actor/wrestler Tor Johnson. It's available for free with Amazon Prime. I have watched it. It's passable low-budget second-half-of-the-bill fare. Apostolof is seen in a cameo. The young producer erred in not nailing down a distributor, but eventually Republic, where Apostolof found a job, picked it up. When all was finished Apostolof got some money back, $7,150, but not enough to avoid bankruptcy.

 

For several years he worked at various jobs, including at IBM, trying to keep bills paid for the family. His marriage with Joan ended in late 1963. By the middle of the decade, Apostolof met a man named Ed Wood. With an eye on entering the still new, "nudie pictures" genre, he bought a screenplay from Wood for $400 and helmed "Orgy of the Dead."

Like so many others, Ed Wood's presence and influence paved Apostolof's cult status today. The graveyard setting mixed with stilted nudie cuties dancing, the booming voice of Criswell as Emperor of the Dead, along with a Vampira clone. A cheap mummy and werewolf prancing around, all terrorizing an innocent couple; a script with Woodian dialogue. The film is premium cult unique. It recently received an upper-crust Blu Ray release, with extras and film commentaries.

Apostolof settled into the soft-core porn film world easily. Without Wood, he made several films, often aping salacious current interests, such as "Suburbia Confidential" and "College Confidential."  "Lady Godiva Rides" sounds more intriguing. 

The choicest parts of the biography start with "Orgy of the Dead" and end with the ill-fated "Hot Ice." It's fascinating to get this glimpse into the professional and family life of a "dirty movies" filmmaker. Although there's a lot of input from Apostolof's children, and his last wife, Shelley, there's no rose-colored glasses.

 

It's sometimes gritty truth. We meet a father who loves his children, and his faith, but is not above extramarital dalliances in his first marriage, and making the grimy, misogynistic soft porn of the late 60s to mid 70s. We see a family patriarch who can make money off the movies but is lax on providing long-term security. 

And Apostolof, like many of his colleagues, was not above stretching, or completely changing, the truth. After all, the man sold sizzle more than steak. One anecdote of Apostolof's that is likely stretching the truth is his oft-reported claim that at his first meeting with Ed Wood -- at the Brown Derby restaurant -- Wood arrived in drag. Grey, for example, considers it a tall tale.

And, there's a lot of Ed Wood in the book; and that's great. He helped, usually as a writer and/or assistant director, in Apostolof's 1970s films. He even acted in one, "Fugitive Girls," playing three roles! "Fugitive Girls" may be Apostolof's best film. It has a basic story, women escaping a prison, and follows through the plot without the constant sexual intercourse interludes of other Apostolof efforts. With a larger budget and better filming locations, it might have been a decent second bill for American International Pictures. Wood does well playing the sheriff and an old mechanic named Pops.

The "Hot Ice" misfire, as the authors relate, happened due to fears that low-budget soft-core popularity was near the end. The previous middle-aged dysfunctional male fantasy sex films repulsed Apostolof's wife. Apostolof badly wanted to break into mainstream films. He would not do hard-core films. In fact, he used Stephen C. Apostolof in the credits. In his skin films he was always AC Stephen.

I have watched "Hot Ice" and it's just too low-budget across the board to have been a successful endeavor. The leads are actually pretty good and seem to be loose and enjoying themselves. But the script drags too much in the first half. Stock shots of skiing -- from previous Apostolof films -- with drab music seem a bit like home movies.

The book has enough about Ed Wood to be the genesis for a conventional biography of the man. It's fun to read of Wood being handed a $500 check for doing a "novelization" of "Orgy of the Dead." He then does a happy dance in the publisher's office. There is Apostolof's anger learning Wood swiped publicity pictures of "Orgy of the Dead." There's photos of a puffy Wood -- looking quite drunk and sadly very unimportant -- at the seventh anniversary celebration of Apostolof's film company. And there's an anecdote of Wood showing up too drunk to play a role in "Hot Ice," and later sobbing apologies to Apostolof about his drinking problem. 

 

I also enjoyed reading about Apostolof's brief attempt to run a movie theater and show his films. He hoped to avoid losing money to distributors. Despite Criswell's "prediction" that the theater would be a great success, it failed.

From reading the book, I'm sure Apostolof cared about Ed Wood and considered him a close friend. Wood's widow Kathy resented Apostolof, yet had appreciated the work he gave her husband. She may have kept details of Wood's funeral from Apostolof.  It's likely Wood worked very cheaply given his well-known alcoholism.

Ed Wood and Apostolof were alike in conventional ways; strong anti-communists, and conventionally conservative males with a dated, "Mad Men" perspective on sexual issues. The authors note that Apostolof's sexual stars were not very young adults, but more seasoned adults, who preferred dark bars and intimacy in drab hotel rooms.

While it grated on Apostolof that his late-in-life fame was largely Wood-related, the now-impoverished man, living on Social Security and forced to accede to his working wife's living decisions, was pleased at the recognition he received. It took him to film festivals in Japan, England, France and provided some income, as well as hope that he might make a sequel to "Orgy of the Dead," the Wood-related film that garnered most attention. He also entered a lifetime friendship, and regular phone calls, from "Nightmare of Ecstasy" author Grey. Apostolof lived a long life, dying in 2005 at 77 after a major stroke. He lived his last years with Shelley in Mesa, Ariz.

The constant theme in any biography or recap of a Wood associate's life is the paradox that Wood was considered a down-and-outer. Yet, Apostolof, Gregory Walcott, Tor Johnson, Vampira, and others owe 90 percent of their acclaim to the once-condescended-to Ed Wood.

Yet, if Wood had never met and worked with Stephen C. Apostolof, this wonderful book would probably not exist. So, in the end, it's a plus for all, including the reader. The book can be purchased via Amazon here.

Criswell the mystic local advice columnist, 1949-1951

Dead2Rights Ed Wood Wednesdays, that wonderful blog from Joe Blevins that provides in-depth analysis on all things Ed Wood, has a detailed, informative blog post on Criswell, predictor of the future, star of two Wood films and occasional Johnny Carson TV guest.

The blog post notes accurately that Criswell's sojourn with a measure of fame began around 1953. However, I am from Long Beach, Calif., and very long ago my now-deceased mother, while enduring a Plan 9 From Outer Space viewing with me, remarked, "I know that Criswell guy; he used to write a column in the (Long Beach) Press-Telegram. I saw it when I was barely a teen."

I often wondered about that, and recently I have become captive to the addiction of searching old newspaper clips. So, having signed up for Newspaper Archives, I searched for Press Telegram clips of that era. And lo and behold, Mom was right.

In his pre-salad days, Criswell penned a local column for the Press-Telegram. Here is a JPG of his column on Dec. 24, 1949. There he is in the upper left (smaller picture)

I am aware it is unreadable, and I hope to correct that soon. The thing is, unlike Newspapers.com, Newspaper Archive is more expensive, and very cumbersome to use, at least for this novice. I hope to post the column in readable clips soon. I just gotta learn. Newspaper Archive also does not automatically convert to JPG. Clicking on the JPG helps with reading, particularly the second column clip, below.

I have transcribed a small part of the article. Here is the Editor's Note: (not in caps)

EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS NEW PRESS-TELEGRAM FEATURE FROM J.K. CRISWELL HAS DRAWN SUCH A RESPONSE FROM READERS THAT SPACE THIS WEEK LIMITS PUBLICATION OF ALL THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. THE OTHERS WILL BE USED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

And here are a couple of questions, and answers from Criswell:

Q. Will this marriage last? Will my husband go into business for himself? Will I get that job that I have been after? A. Reader.

A. Both you and your husband have a definite mind of your own, and it is this creative quality in both of you that is causing the friction. I do not sense a break up of the marriage at the present time. Your husband will go into business for himself late in 1950. You will get that job only there will be a delay. You will always manage to come out rather nicely.

Here is another Q and A:

Q. My husband drinks too much and spends almost all he earns. Will he ever change or do you advise a separation? Should I seek employment? Will I be able to contact my son soon? Mrs. N. V. E.

A. Your husband will never change to any great extent and you must expect his periodic lapses from time to time. Later, you will change residences. You will work at a job you like during this coming year. You will hear from your son very soon.

Above is another JPG, of Criswell's Long Beach Press-Telegram column for Feb. 18, 1950. You'll note this is a Criswell Predicts now over the headline, which reads, Columnist Answers Readers' Questions. I do have this clipped to show only the column in its three columns. He has a longer introduction which notes his "record of predictions ... has been considered outstanding."

Here's is a couple of Q and As for our readers' enjoyment:

Q. What happened to my husband, Joe? Mr. J. L. C. 

A. I sense that Joe is out of your life.

Another one:

Q. Several years ago I married my boss, taking him from his wife. Now problem is to keep him as this new secretary of his is trying the same thing that I did. I have a lovely home and an easy time of it and don't want to give it up. What should I do? I married him to get out of secretarial work and now this immoral girl wants to do the same. Mrs. H. L. S.

A. The best thing for you to do at the present time is to suggest that you come back into his office as his secretary. You will be safe this time. See that the next secretary he hires is a man. He has wanted to take that trip to Europe and whether you like that a boat ride or not take that trip.

(I like the last sentence of Criswell's response because it seems him adding a prediction to his answer, unless it's a typo and should have been part of another answer).

At the top of this page is an old clip of from I think the Long Beach Independent, Sept. 26, 1950. This is for a Criswell personal appearance. Of the two clips below, one is an ad for a personal appearance, in the LB Independent for March 31, 1950. Note that Criswell did his show in between, or before movies playing at the theaters. That's a blast from a long-gone era.

The other is a what's-on-radio grid listing from May 30, 1950, same newspaper, and it's fascinating because it notes that Criswell, at that time, had a daily 15-minute radio program on KGER 1390.

(Thanks to my friend, David Grudt, for compiling these clips via Newspapers.com). I hope readers enjoy this looks at the work of folks around the Ed Wood circle. I love doing it.

Angora Fever showcases Ed Wood's short stories

Review by Doug Gibson

“Angora Fever,” a collection of several dozen pulp short stories from cult film director Ed Wood, is manna if you’re a fan of Wood or the hastily written, top-heavy with sex and action stories found in the “adult” magazines of a few generations ago. Buy it from the publisher or via Amazon here.

Let’s give three cheers, and a lot of gratitude, to editor Bob Blackburn for working so hard to locate Wood’s short stories. Blackburn provides a preface detailing his friendship with Wood's widow, Kathy, and after her death his efforts to restore  much of Wood's professional work.

These stories were primarily written for Wood employer Bernie Bloom’s porn magazines; grimy, second-tier skin mags. The short stories were, to be frank, filler for the porn photo layouts; less consequential to the bottom line than cartoon shorts were to the features, b-movies, newsreels and comedy shorts of the 30s and 40s.

(Quick digression: If you want to read more about Wood's time he was penning these mostly porn tales, check out "Ed Wood and the Lost Lugosi Screenplays," from BearManor Media. It includes a preface from a writer named Leo Eaton, recalling the long ago time he worked with Wood for Bloom's business, called Pendulum Publishing.)

But nevertheless, Wood churned hundreds of these out. And while they fit the definition of pulp; written with a barely one draft, tailored to the literary “raincoat” crowd, by a writer fueled by booze, cigarettes, and Kool Aid, they are the work of a very talented wordsmith.

It’s both heartbreaking, and inspiring, to think of Wood churning so many tales out during his several-years tenure with Bloom. It’s tragic that he eventually drank himself out of a job he desperately needed. At the same time, the scenario of a tragic, aging drunk, with occasional shakes, trudging into an office with booze concealed and easily outpacing the younger staff is an endearing, dark Runyonesque tale.

Like any writer with a cult following, Wood is unique. His stories are thrillers more than horror, with a lot of crime, sex and violence. One of Wood’s signature tools is to have a “twist ending.” One of the best examples of this is in “The Hazards of the Game,” where two Wood stock characters, the hit man and the sexy woman, in this case an underwear model, spend a leisurely evening making love. There’s a lot of dialogue in the story. The characters talk of sex; the woman wistfully talks of what it would be like to be a family. The man talks of his role in life and never questioning what has employers tell him to do.

I like the story because it features Wood’s first-draft-only style with excessive dialogue that is half melodrama and analysis. Wood does dialogue well. Not as good as Charles Bukowski, another writer who delved into porn; unlike Wood, it was more for pin money with Bukowski. Wood doesn’t have Bukowski’s short burst of sentences, and humor. But Wood can move a story along chiefly with dialogue -- no easy task. And the tale features that pulpy twist ending.

Another example of Wood’s writing is the type of story with heavy narration, a sort of fussy narrator, full of observations about both the character and life. Wood wrote a great novel, “Hollywood Rat Race,” using this style. One of the stories in "Angora Fever," titled, I kid you not, “Captain Fellatio Hornblower,” is heavy on this type of narration. It’s about a successful, gay attorney, who specializes in defending homosexuals. It’s an easier, breezy, tongue-in-cheek read.

As mentioned, these are action stories, heavy on stereotypes and cliches. It's doubtful Wood had time, or inclination, to do much research. But they are still morbidly interesting, the reader assuming a voyeur's role into a sordid scene. One story in Angora Fever, “Where Did Charlie Get Off the Train?,” seems more personal. It’s about the suicide of a failing -- financially at least -- filmmaker. In “Nightmare of Ecstasy,” Rudolph Grey’s oral history of Wood’s life, there’s no shortage of Wood’s disappointment in the movie industry recollected.

“Angora Fever” is a second recent collection of Wood short story fiction gathered by Blackburn. “Blood Splatters Quickly” came out a few years ago, with 32 stories. Yes, I’ve read it. Also, more than a decade ago, I read and reviewed a small collection of Wood’s fiction, titled "Muddled Mind …”. It was all that was out there at the time.

(I digress again to tell readers that if they want detailed analysis of all of Wood’s short stories, “Angora Fever” and more, check out blogger Joe Blevins’ website, Dead 2 Rights … Ed Wood Wednesdays. It’s an incredible work of research. Also, Blackburn’s Facebook page, Ed Wood Jr., provides a lot of information and interaction.)

Despite’s Wood’s talent as a story craftsman, it must be acknowledged that a significant chunk of the stories gathered, while colorful reads, are too pulpy, constructed too much like derivative porn, too hastily conceived, more sizzle than steak. This is likely due to the deadlines, the wham-bam thank you-ma’am plots and perhaps, even, that Wood may have been too pickled when he wrote them.

One of the better of these quickies is “Blood Drains Quickly,” a tale of a psychopathic killer who makes the mistake of letting a victim live, and suffers for that oversight dreadfully. It has a nasty, sociopath narrator telling the tale. Honestly, the narration reminds me of an old Stephen King short story, I’ve forgotten the title, in which a nasty, sociopath doctor marooned on an island, I think, cuts off parts of his body to stave off starvation and survive.

“To Kill a Saturday Night,” a tale contained in “Blood Splatters Quickly,” is good enough to be included in The New Yorker magazine. It has a rough, but definite pathos environment, with two derelicts spouting off about a murder they might be planning. It was also gathered in “Muddled Mind” and I wrote this about it in my review (here). An excerpt of my review: “The tale of a pair of bloviating farm workers contemplating casual murder on their day off will remind readers of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.”

“Angora Fever” has a story almost as good. It’s called “Mice on a Cold Cellar Floor,” and details the presumably doomed life of a pair of teenage lovers only able to be together amidst a filthy environment. The boy is a harsh, criminal, misogynist. The girl too young and far too trusting. But their frustration and angst really gets through to the reader. It jarred my heart to hear the lovers casually discuss a future that includes a suicide pact.

“Angora Fever” is a history lesson of the pulp short story genre. Wood was a good writer. Not every story clicks but readers should read these tales with perhaps more patience than Wood exerted writing them.