Glen or Glenda (1953)

A psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).

Director:

Edward D. Wood Jr.

Writers:

Edward D. Wood Jr., Edward D. Wood Jr. (original story)

Stars:

Edward D. Wood Jr., Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot

Cast

Complete credited 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)
Charlie Crafts	...	Johnny (as Charles Crafts)
Conrad Brooks	...	Banker / Reporter / Pickup Artist / Bearded Drag (as Connie Brooks)

Storyline

"Glen or Glenda" tells two stories. One is about Glen, who secretly dresses as a woman but is afraid to tell his fiancée Barbara. The other is about Alan, a pseudohermaphrodite who undergoes a painful operation to become a woman. Both stories are told by Dr. Alton, who also delivers an earnest lecture on tolerance and understanding. A second narrator, The Scientist, delivers commentary which contains more philosophical pronouncements than facts. The film also has flashbacks-within-flashbacks and a strange dream sequence; Inspector Warren's investigation of a transvestite's suicide leads him to learn more about men in women's clothes; Johnny's wife leaves him when she discovers what he wears while she's away; Barbara is oblivious to her fiancé Glen's desire to wear her angora sweater; Satan invades Glen's nightmare; and The Scientist only offers cryptic advice like "Beware of the big green dragon that sits on your doorstep."

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Plot Keywords:

character names as title | forenames as title | worst movie | trash movie | trash | 

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Taglines:

He Loved Women So Much, He Dared To Dress Like One!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Glen or Glenda?

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$10,158

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,158

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Classics (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min 74 min (1982 re-issue) 68 min (DVD) 61 min (cut) 71 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Did not get a New York City playdate until 1963.

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Goofs

In the very first scene with Bela Lugosi, the cameraman's shadow is visible when the camera zooms out.

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Quotes

Narrator: Then there was the time Barbara was wearing the sweater Glen had always wanted to feel on his own body.

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Crazy Credits

Card at beginning: In the making of this film, which deals with a strange and curious subject, no punches have been pulled-- no easy way out has been taken. Many of the smaller parts are portrayed by persons who actually are, in real life, the character they portray on the screen. This is a picture of stark realism-- taking no sides -- but giving you the facts -- ALL the facts -- as they are today... YOU ARE SOCIETY -- JUDGE YE NOT...

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Alternate Versions

The versions titled "I Led Two Lives", "I Changed My Sex", and "He or She?" and some VHS releases, include 6 minutes additional footage ordered by the Producer, and directed by W. Merle Connell, that had been considered too daring at the time of the initial production.

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Connections

Referenced in What's Up Doc?: Episode #2.22 (1994)

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Soundtracks

Czardas
(uncredited)
Music by Vittorio Monti
[plays during the bondage portion of the dream sequence]

User Reviews

So bad it's... what?

If you haven't seen any of Ed Wood's other movies, this one is a completely bewildering experience. If you have seen any of Ed Wood's movies, this is still completely bewildering. Wood saw newsreels about Christine Jorgenson (the subject of the first sex-change operation), realized that he had a few things in common with Jorgenson, and made this... um... documentary about it. Lugosi plays, as always, a mad scientist, whose storyline barely ties in with the rest of the movie. Wood himself pseudonymously plays Glen, who enjoys dressing up in angora sweaters. Two policemen investigate Glen's apparent suicide, and... well, the plot sort of lost me between Lugosi's bizarre rants, the stock footage of buffalo herds and the elementary-school-filmstrip-quality acting. It really doesn't make any sense, but it is entertaining by virtue of its profound awfulness.