Maila Nurmi

Acting

Maila Nurmi

Born 1922-12-11 · Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA

Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008), known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was an American actress best known for creating the camp 1950s character Vampira. She was of Finnish descent.

Acting credits

Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The 'Plan 9' Companion poster
7.2

A documentary detailing the making of the cult favorite "Plan 9 from Outer Space," featuring interviews with cast members and prominent filmmakers about the film, its lasting legacy, and its creator, Edward D. Wood Jr.

Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The 'Plan 9' Companion

1992

Romance on the High Seas poster
6.7

Georgia Garrett is sent by jealous wife Elvira Kent on an ocean cruise to masquerade as herself while she secretly stays home to catch her husband cheating. Meanwhile equally suspicious husband Michael Kent has sent a private eye on the same cruise to catch his wife cheating. Love and confusion ensues along with plenty of musical numbers.

Romance on the High Seas

1948

Way of Tomorrow: The Evolution of Science Fiction Movies poster
2.0

Documentary on the History of Science Fiction Movies from The Day the Earth Stood Still onward.

Way of Tomorrow: The Evolution of Science Fiction Movies

2022

Plan 9 from Outer Space poster
4.2

In California, an old man grieves the loss of his wife, and dies the day after she is buried. However, the space soldier Eros and his mate Tanna use an electric device to resurrect them both, alongside the strong Inspector Clay, who was murdered by the alien-controlled dead couple. When the populations of Hollywood and Washington D.C. see flying saucers on the sky, a colonel, a police lieutenant, a commercial pilot, his wife, and a policeman try to stop the aliens.

Plan 9 from Outer Space

1957

I Woke Up Early the Day I Died poster
4.8

A mental patient escapes from the looney bin in drag, robs a bank, and goes on the lam!

I Woke Up Early the Day I Died

1998

The Magic Sword poster
4.3

The son of a sorceress, armed with weapons, armour and six magically summoned knights, goes on a quest to save a princess from a vengeful wizard.

The Magic Sword

1962

The Many Faces of Dracula poster
3.5

Hosted by Christopher Lee, this documentary examines the different actors who have portrayed Dracula over the years.

The Many Faces of Dracula

2000

Sex Kittens Go to College poster
3.3

Collins College needs a new department head for their science department, so Doctors Carter and Zorch consult Thinko, the campus computer, and come up with Dr. Mathilda West, who has degrees in lots of things, but turns out to be disruptively attractive as well.

Sex Kittens Go to College

1960

The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr. poster
7.8

Often called the worst director in the history of cinema, Ed Wood is nevertheless a beloved figure among cult-film aficionados for his oddball productions. This documentary takes a look back at Wood's unique career at the margins of 1950s Hollywood, speaking to those who loved him and hated him. Bela Lugosi Jr. discusses his father's work in the abysmal "Plan 9 From Outer Space," while a Baptist reverend recalls how he was tricked into financing the film.

The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr.

1996

Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook poster
9.5

A history of the famous vampire of books and movies, using film clips, previews and other methods.

Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook

1991

American Scary poster
7.5

A fond remembrance of and tribute to the uniquely American institution of the horror movie host.

American Scary

2006

The Beat Generation poster
5.1

A group of beatniks unwittingly harbor a serial rapist. A cop goes after him after his wife is attacked.

The Beat Generation

1959

The Big Operator poster
6.0

A power-mad union boss resorts to murder to eliminate witnesses scheduled to testify against him.

The Big Operator

1959

James Dean: The First American Teenager poster
7.5

Stacy Keach narrates this documentary that chronicles the abbreviated life and career of iconic brooding bad boy James Dean, from his obscure early days working in television to his rise to stardom in films such as Rebel Without a Cause. Clips from Dean's movies are intermingled with candid interviews with the star's friends and Hollywood colleagues, including Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dennis Hopper.

James Dean: The First American Teenager

1975

Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies poster
6.9

Hollywood is a town of tinsel and glamour; but there is another Hollywood, a place where maverick independent exploitation filmmakers went toe to toe with the big guys and came out on top.

Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies

2001

No artwork available
NR

A psychoanalyst treats a noted atomic physicist who believes that he lives on Earth as a scientist in a government research laboratory, and on another planet where he is the dominant authority and has powers of telepathy and teleportation.

The Jet-Propelled Couch

1957

Vampira: The Movie poster
8.0

The story of Maila "Vampira" Nurmi, living on the very edge of show business, and her rise to celluloid cultdom 50 years later. Her big break came in 1954 when she played the "glamour ghoul" Vampira, emerging from the mist to greet viewers of obscure horror movies on the new medium— television. Her newfound fame led to friendships with Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Anthony Perkins. But Vampira's show was abruptly cancelled. Nurmi appeared as Vampira again in the 1959 low-budget horror / sci-fi film, Plan 9 from Outer Space, directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. and often dubbed "the worst film of all time." But you can't keep a good vampire down, and Nurmi's character rose from the dead again in 1993's Ed Wood, directed by Tim Burton.

Vampira: The Movie

2006

I Passed for White poster
7.0

A young woman falls in love and marries, but withholds from her husband information about her family.

I Passed for White

1960

Vampira: About Sex, Death and Taxes poster
7.5

Interviews with Maila Nurmi, who famously played the horror hostess Vampira

Vampira: About Sex, Death and Taxes

1995

Vampira and Me poster
7.4

Though most people knew her as Vampira, a late-night, creature-feature host in Los Angeles, Maila Nurmi was so much more. From her relationships with James Dean and other Hollywood luminaries to her significant contributions to the eventual Goth craze, Nurmi was a multifaceted woman, with more than a few amazing stories to share. Having befriended Nurmi while she was still alive, Greene finds himself perfectly situated to give us the complete story on this fascinating individual, blending extensive interviews with remarkable found footage of Nurmi's long and varied career. Whether being groomed by a major Hollywood director or making a surprising foray into music, Nurmi proves herself to be so much more than a scream queen. Still, when it comes to snappy one-liners cracked at the stroke of midnight, it's certainly safe to say that no one did it better than Vampira.

Vampira and Me

2013

Vampires: Thirst for the Truth poster
10.0

A documentary that explores man's enduring fascination with the vampire legend by examining historical accounts, literary works, and as they are portrayed in film and television.

Vampires: Thirst for the Truth

1996

Population: 1 poster
5.4

A defense contractor who somehow becomes the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust. In his solitude, he traces the history of U.S. civilization in the 20th century through musical numbers.

Population: 1

1986

Monsterama: A Tribute to Horror Hosts poster
7.0

Monsterama: A Tribute to Horror Hosts was a documentary focused on horror hosts; screened on the horror channel Monsters HD in 2004.

Monsterama: A Tribute to Horror Hosts

2004

No artwork available
NR

Horror short.

Bungalow Invader

1981