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Bela Lugosi, Edward D. Wood Jr., Dolores Fuller, Lyle Talbot, Tommy Haynes ... see more see more... , Timothy Farrell , Conrad Brooks , Connie Brooks , Charles Crafts , George Weiss , Donald Woods

In his heart-felt cinematic debut, Edward D. Wood, Jr. himself stars under the pseudonym Daniel Davis as a young man with a dilemma: should he tell his lovely young fiancee (played by real-life girlfr... read more read more...iend Dolores Fuller) about his burning desire to cross-dress? She has begun to notice articles of clothing missing from her closet; the suspense builds...what should he do? Bela Lugosi plays the omniscient narrator; note his conviction as he "pulls the strings." Amidst this unintentionally hilarious mish-mash of melodrama, social commentary and inexplicable stock footage, there is something for every taste: countless cross dressers, hallucinatory dream sequences, sex-change surgeries, spirited cat fights, borderline-pornographic simulated sex scenes, poetic monologues, a haunted house, and a stampede of wild buffalo. Released under various titles across the country -- I Lived Two Lives, I Changed My Sex -- this fiasco bombed across the board but managed to gain Wood enough notoriety in the "B"-movie world to launch a career that is today the stuff of legend. Hailed by most critics as the worst film of all time, Wood nearly matched his first effort with such atrocities as Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls, the infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space, and, perhaps the world's first topless horror film, Orgy of the Dead. Although few may count Wood among the best American cinema has to offer, Glen or Glenda certainly places him among its most memorable. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

Flixster Users

33% liked it

6,967 ratings

Critics

32% liked it

22 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 5 min.

Directed by: Edward D. Wood Jr.

Release Date: January 1, 1953

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DVD Release Date: February 15, 2000

Stats: 510 reviews

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Ed and Bela Dolores Fuller and Ed Wood Dolores Fuller and Ed Wood Edward D. Wood Jr. Dolores Fuller and Ed Wood
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Flixster Reviews (510)

  • bottcorecords1
    March 29, 2012
    bottcorecords1
    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 ... read morethe 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.
  • flixsterman
    January 1, 2011
    flixsterman
    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).
  • ajv2688
    November 7, 2010
    ajv2688
    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.
  • phubbs1
    July 21, 2010
    phubbs1
    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... read more 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.
  • pier007
    April 28, 2009
    pier007
    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, ... read morebut 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
  • cosmo313
    November 15, 2008
    cosmo313
    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 crea... read moretion. There are some standout moments though, especially those involving Bela Lugosi's nonsensical ramblings.
  • webalina
    August 25, 2007
    webalina
    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.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    August 11, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    It's flatly and awkwardly told, but has some amusing moments.
  • mjgildea
    November 15, 2006
    mjgildea
    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.
  • fb1142797643
    November 30, 2009
    fb1142797643
    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... read more seen this bewildering mess.

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Critic Reviews

Janet Maslin
December 6, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

It isn't quite a camp classic, although it's dreadful enough to have a certain comic appeal. ''Glen or Glenda'' is also a film of great conviction in its way, and that tends to interfere with the fun. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
April 24, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

not really a real movie

John A. Nesbit
March 9, 2007
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

as insanely bad as this movie is, it retains perverse pleasures that serve it well as a cult icon Full Review

August 29, 2006
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The passage of time has not transformed Glen or Glenda? into a good movie; it has, however, revealed it to be a braver film than anyone had ever imagined. Full Review

February 9, 2006
Time Out

This well-meaning disaster, rescued from the obscurity it surely craves, is without doubt a candidate for one of the worst films ever made. Full Review

March 15, 2005
Film4

Even in the camp cult genres this is still dreadful. Full Review

Kevin Carr
December 11, 2004
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

Funny to watch, but not as funny as you might remember.

Alex Sandell
August 12, 2003
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

Excellent movie to laugh at. Rent it and have a ball!

Ken Hanke
March 19, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

It baffles science and logic and rudimentary narrative skills, but it's fascinating.

Mike McGranaghan
September 9, 2002
Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat

An Ed Wood classic! Pull the string!

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