Glen or Glenda?

DVD Image Entertainment
1953, 68 minutes

review by Shade Rupe

This is one insane flick. Ed Wood was operation at such a different level than the rest of humanity it's astounding. His humility and self-esteem were organized into other compartments than most of earth's inhabitants. Although Plan 9 From Outer Space comes up most often as his crowning achievement, I'd have to select Glen or Glenda? as the crown prize.

First off in the inability to recognize true humility, Ed Wood himself stars as the title character, although the role is credited to a 'Daniel Davis.' I almost wanted to add the descriptive term 'confused' before 'title character' but Glen is just on top of everything in this flick. Wandering around the public avenues in his pink fuzzy angora sweater top and hideous ugly make-up job with nary a care, he evinces his total apathy to any comments from passersby. Stopping in a shop window and drooling over pretty dresses in this monstrous outfit are but one of the many tingles in this flick.

Although many sections of the film could be called highlights, Lugosi's scenes are radically insane and literal show-stoppers. How Mr. Wood pieced these random elements together to create a film is beyond fascination. Beyond surrealism. Mr. Wood's intent is so lost and muddled in his approach, it belies any current attempts at reasoning or speculation.

If anyone can help me discover the meaning of the phrase "Pull the string!" I will buy them dinner at the next Chiller show. What does this mean? What does Ed Wood want? We know he wants us to have mall-type sex-change shops, but this language, these gesticulations are so far out... does he want more than this even?

The film really takes off when the 'mondo' section begins and we travel the world in the hopes of further enlightenment of the predicaments of those who feel they should have been born of the opposite sex. Intercut with Lugosi's antics, shot of buffalo, African skull-mask-wearing dancers, and other, to us, ephemera, Wood's plate of hyperbole is entirely too full to broadcast his point. Maybe it's reaching us in some bizarre form of subliminal entry?

All in all, I don't think I've ever seen a film that had me turning my head like Nipper the RCA dog as frequently as this. I hesitate calling Glen or Glenda a masterwork, and with good reason, but there's *something* here, something undefinable, that requires a higher rating than a film of this sort would usually incur.

Image's DVD, part of the Wade Williams Collection, includes only a trailer. Sad, as I'm certain there is an entire history behind this film that would've merited at least a few pages of production or biography notes.

Official Website:

http://www.image-entertainment.com