Glen or Glenda (1953)

User Rating:

3.6/10   

Director:

Edward D. Wood Jr.

Writer:

Edward D. Wood Jr. (story)

Release Date:

30 September 1995 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

"I Changed My Sex!"

Plot:

A psychiatrist tells two stories: one of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda), the other of a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).

Plot Keywords:

Transvestite | Scientist | Psychiatrist | Angora | Cross Dressing

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Scientist
Lyle Talbot	...	Inspector Warren
Timothy Farrell	...	Dr. Alton / Narrator
Dolores Fuller	...	Barbara
'Tommy' Haynes	...	Alan / Anne
Edward D. Wood Jr.	...	Glen / Glenda (as Daniel Davis)
Charles Crafts	...	Johnny
Conrad Brooks	...	Banker / Reporter / Pickup Artist / Bearded Drag (as Connie Brooks)

Also Known As:

Glen or Glenda: Confessions of Ed Wood
Glen or Glenda? (USA) (alternative spelling)
He or She
I Changed My Sex
I Led 2 Lives (UK)
Male or Female (USA) (poster title)
The Transvestite

Runtime:

65 min | 74 min (1982 re-issue) | 68 min (DVD version) | 61 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2004) | Spain:T | Australia:M | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (DVD rating) (2006) | UK:R (original rating) | USA:Not Rated | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Jack Miles Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Screen Classics (II)

Trivia:

The scene where a man wearing a fake beard ties up a girl on a sofa was shot separately, before the production of this film, and edited in to add 'spice'.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The headline on the newspaper at the beginning has clearly been taped on.

Quotes:

Inspector Warren: I'd like to hear the story to the fullest.
Dr. Alton: Only the infinity of the depths of a man's mind can really tell the story.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Ring of Terror (#3.6)" (1990)

Ed Wood's shining cinematic moment

Ed Wood. The so-called "worst director of all time". Sorry, there are plenty of other directors who could take that title because Ed Wood is not that bad of a director nor a bad person. Ed made movies to make movies, not to make a buck. And that's why his films are sort of poignant in their flaws.

"Glen or Glenda?" is a statement, not a film. It is a statement about transvestism, the truth behind it, and gives several (for the most part, factual) cases of transvestites and transsexuals. Wood is world-reknowned for being a transvestite with a fetish for angora sweaters. And here, he is brave enough to cast himself in an autobiographical role (Glen) and let the world know (yet, he hides under the pseudonym of Daniel Davis).

"Glen or Glenda?" is a bad movie lover's dream. Hilarious dialogue, no coherent plotline, and many memorable sequences of transvestites and their hardships. The narrator does a splendid job of camping things up while explaining how a transvestite is not a homosexual, how it is more healthy to wear womens' clothing, and the tragic results of misunderstood transvestites. Plus, you get Bela Lugosi as God (he's nice and campy), several out-of-place striptease and cheesecake scenes (pretty graphic for 1953), and Dolores Fuller (Wood's real-life girlfriend) as Glen's fiancee.

Too many people rated this movie with a 1. But "Glen or Glenda?" is not as bad as "Orgy of the Dead" or other later Ed Wood classics. In fact, "Glen or Glenda?" is arguably Wood's greatest achievement. Check it out, I strongly recommend it.