Glen or Glenda? (1953)

Featured Audience Ratings

• First L

  
  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… More
  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.

• Randy T

  
  Bizarre offering from Ed Wood that belongs in the Bad Movie Hall of Fame. Another unintentionally funny film from arguably the worst director of all time. Best if viewed with Crow and Tom Servo (MST3000).

• AJ V

  
  This movie is completely annoying, you understand what Wood is getting at just by watch the beginning of it, which is what I did. After that it's repetitive and annoying. I don't recommend this to anyone but fans of Wood.

• Phil H

  
  This starts off really well with Bela in his armchair and spouting much creepy dialog hehe the puppet master overlooking his minions or maybe a God overlooking his creations?? could be either but its quite a nice idea and Wood does actually make it look good and original with the… More
  This starts off really well with Bela in his armchair and spouting much creepy dialog hehe the puppet master overlooking his minions or maybe a God overlooking his creations?? could be either but its quite a nice idea and Wood does actually make it look good and original with the split screen of Bela and crowds beneath him, its just a shame the film is about transvestites and goes abit weird near the end. And boy does it get abit odd near the end with women tying each other up and a devil character running around!! bizarre!! The best bits are Bela for sure which would of made a decent horror flick and I liked the puppet master idea but you gotta give Wood credit for daring to make a film about men dressing as women especially in the 50's AND especially as he is the starring role too haha Underrated for sure and a brave attempt at a kind of biopic with plenty of heart and honesty.

• Pierluigi P

  
  Ed Wood's opera prima is way ahead of its time. A sensationalist take on the controversial matter of transvestism and sex change, but that doesn't keep it from being absolutely nuts and hilarious, almost surreal. Wood could have been a pitiful and mildly mentally impaired… More
  Ed Wood's opera prima is way ahead of its time. A sensationalist take on the controversial matter of transvestism and sex change, but that doesn't keep it from being absolutely nuts and hilarious, almost surreal. Wood could have been a pitiful and mildly mentally impaired man, but he was definitely an auteur who envisioned and created and specific kind of work. Though poor, the results always leave you wandering whether he was insane or he was just a genius pulling off a big, elaborate joke. On the other hand, Bela Lugosi, the man who once was a mega star, was here in the rock bottom. But strangely, he sort of raises the film's quality (not to say hilarity) thanks to his larger than life way of reciting Wood's dreadfully convoluted and idiotic writing. He makes a Greek tragedy out of every sentence. Edward D. Wood Jr. was like a child working with crayons, and I guess that's why one has to feel some affection for him and his equally weird troupe of underachievers. I was certainly mesmerized with this, especially the dream sequence, one of the most raving mad scenes I've ever witnessed

• Chris W

  
  Part docudrama, part art house film, all idiosyncratic/eccentric in the extreme. Yes, this is a bad film, not the worst of all time (any more), but still quite bad, mainly due to the incoherent nature of the story and the poor execution/inmeptitude of those involved with its creation.… More
  Part docudrama, part art house film, all idiosyncratic/eccentric in the extreme. Yes, this is a bad film, not the worst of all time (any more), but still quite bad, mainly due to the incoherent nature of the story and the poor execution/inmeptitude of those involved with its creation. There are some standout moments though, especially those involving Bela Lugosi's nonsensical ramblings.

• Cindy I

  
  How many times can you squeeze the word "transvestite" into a conversation? I'll bet it's not as many times as in this unintentionally hilarious film by everybody's favorite hack director Ed Wood.

• Lafe F

  
  It's flatly and awkwardly told, but has some amusing moments.

• Michael G

  
  This has got to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. But the combination of nonsense, bad acting and total foolishness offeres up a real gem.

• Eric B

  
  The first half isn't *that* bad beyond Bela Lugosi's demented narration but, once the story introduces the erratic dream sequences, the film becomes laughably incoherent and ill-structured. The people who like to call "Plan 9 from Outer Space" the worst film ever… More
  The first half isn't *that* bad beyond Bela Lugosi's demented narration but, once the story introduces the erratic dream sequences, the film becomes laughably incoherent and ill-structured. The people who like to call "Plan 9 from Outer Space" the worst film ever probably haven't seen this bewildering mess.

• Stefan P

  
  It had some funny moments, but if you compare with "Plan 9 from outer space" and "Bride of the monster" this one has the lowest entertainment level.

• Anthony V

  
  Would give it no stars if I could.

• Christopher B

  
  Sure Wood is a terrible filmmaker, but he certainly makes some of the most sincere and likable films I've ever seen. Bizarre and hilarious with scenes that will have you howling with disbelief.

• Leo L

  
  Hilarious!

• Wu C

  
  Strange and surreal film. Only worth watching if you are a serious film historian or if you love Tim Burton's 'Ed Wood' as much as I do.

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