Review of Glen or Glenda (1953) by Devon B — 28 Mar 2012

Looking to capitalize on the Christine Jorgensen case, a film distributer hired Ed Wood to make a low budget exploitative film about transsexualism (in five days, no less). Wood used his own proclivities towards transvesticism as one of the reasons he was so qualified to direct the film.

He also had a genuine "star" to put into the film as he was friends with legendary actor Bela Lugosi. Wood was reputed to be a fan of Orson Welles, and claimed to be the only other filmmaker of his era who was a writer, actor and director of his own films.

But while Woods may have appreciated the artistic flair of Welles, he possessed none of the ability to translate artistry to film. Indeed, Glen or Glenda is confusingly bizarre, with Lugosi playing some sort of mad scientist who recites vague prose while stock footage is super-imposed over his face.

Regardless of Bela Lugosi's part in the film, the story revolves around Glen, a transvestite who must tell his fiance the truth about his secret fetish. There is a dream sequence with some S&M stuff involved, and then some more stock footage is added and Lugosi recites some more unrelated verse.

There is a staggering ineptitude to the filmmaking that tries to do too much with too little. Although the film barely passes the hour mark, it feels heavily padded with unnecessary and gratuitous scenes that show a distinct lack of editing.

But if you are watching Glen or Glenda, then you most likely know who Ed Wood is and how bad his films are reputed to be. So it should come as no surprise to you that this film is a trainwreck. What is surprising is just how fascinating this trainwreck is, and how much fun it is.

Wood, for all his faults, injected a sense of wonder into all his projects, and while Glen or Glenda is helplessly, hopelessly ludicrous, it is also, like many of Wood's other films, quite a bit of fun.