Glen Or Glenda (1953)

Glen Or Glenda (1953) a.k.a. I Changed My Sex a.k.a. I Led Two Lives

Written & directed by Ed D. Wood Jr.

Before I start the review, I have a confession of sorts.  I am a big fan of personal autobiographical / semi-autobiographical films such as Glitter, one of my all time favorite films, co written, produced, and starring, one of my all time favorites, the ultra talented and ultra sexy Mariah Carey, the Richard Pryor tragi-comedy Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling, Asia (daughter of the great auteur Dario ) Argento's Scarlet Diva, and this film.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                            Glen Or Glenda is a 1953 film written and directed by the late, great Ed Wood ( Plan 9 From Outer Space, Bride Of The Monster, Necromania ).

After discovering a trans woman referred to as Patrick / Patricia, who committed suicide, Inspector Warren ( Lyle Talbot ) decides to consult Dr. Alton ( Timothy Farrell ), who tells him the stories of two of his clients: a young man named Glen ( Ed Wood acting under the pseudonym of Daniel Davis ), a cross dresser, and Anne / Allen, an intersex person ( in the film the antiquated term pseudo hermaphordite is used ).

The first story follows Glen, who is engaged to his true love Barbara ( Dolores Fuller, Wood's longtime real life girlfriend ), as he struggles with the decision to tell her about his secret self, Glenda.  He fears losing her, if she finds out about his fondness for make up and women's attire.  Walking the street, Glen reflects on his adolescence, and his relationship with Barbara. Various flashbacks reveal his own family's response towards his predilection for what society deems "feminine".  After confiding in his friend Johnny ( Charles Crafts ), and doing some soul searching, which culminates in an amazing nighmarish dream sequence, Glen comes to his decision.

The subject of the second story is Allen / Anne, who was born intersex ( as stated above ), and decides to have sex reassignment surgery.  Through a series of vignettes, we find out about their life growing up self identifying as female, and their entrance into the military.  After being wounded in combat, and being honorably discharged, Allen / Anne learns of srs surgery, while recuperating in an army hospital.

Throughout the film, Bela Lugosi, plays a enigmatic character ( more on this later), who oversees the playing out of events.  Will Glen be able to face Barbara, and tell her about the secret part of his life?  Will Allen / Anne find happiness, once the operation is complete?

 

This film was written and directed by the late, great Edward D. Wood Jr., commonly referred to as just Ed Wood.  He also acts in the role of Glen / Glenda, under the pseudonym Daniel Davis.
He wrote and directed many excellent films such as Jailbait (1954), Bride Of The Monster (1955), Necromania (1971), The Sinister Urge (1960), and his most well known film, Plan 9 From Outer Space 1959).  In addition to that, he wrote  the screenplays for the films Orgy Of The Dead (1965), The Violent Years ( 1956), and Bride Of The Beast (1958), among many others.  From 1963 until 1978 ( the year of his death ), Wood also wrote many novels, short stories, and articles.  With novels like the amazing Killer In Drag, and it's sequel Death Of A Transvestite, he explored many of the same themes that he did in Glen or Glenda.  Playing the role of Glen / Glenda's girlfriend / fiancee is Dolores Fuller, Wood's real life girlfriend, and who, in real life he wanted to marry.  Fuller would appear in two additional Ed Wood films: Jailbait (1954) and Bride Of The Monster (1955).  She also appeared in the microbudget films, The Ironbound Vampire (1997), Dimension In Fear (1998), and The Corpse Grinders 2 (2000). In the role of Inspector Warren is Lyle Talbot, who appeared both in this film and Jailbait (1954), went onto a long career in acting, especially in television.  Actor Timothy Ferrell, who played the role of Dr. Alton went on to appear in two more Wood pictures, Jailbait (1954) and The Violent Years (1956), and in Robert C. Dertano's Gun Girls (1957). He also appeared In The Devil's Sleep (1949) and Test Tube Babies (1948).

Magnificent actor Bela Lugosi, in the role of the cryptic overseer, is best known to mainstream audiences in the title role of Dracula (1931), and also appeared in many excellent films like The Wolfman (1941), The Black Cat (1934), Ape Man (1943), and The Return Of The Vampire (1943).
The producer, George Weiss, is responsible for a slew of fascinating films like the aforementioned The Devil's Sleep (1949), Test Tube babies(1948), as well as, the roughie sexploitation Olga series, which includeOlga's house Of Shame (1964), White Slaves Of Chinatown (1964), Olga's Girls (1964), Mme. Olga's massage parlor, and Olga's Dance Hall girls 91969).  Weiss  wanted to make a film about the then recent national headline of the sex reassignment surgery of Christine Jorgensen.  Ed Wood was hired to write and direct it.  The young filmmaker, Wood took the concept, and turned into his most personal film.

In my opinion, Glen Or Glenda is an amazing masterpiece.  It is essentially a surrealist, expressionistic, film noir, avant garde, art house, semi-autobiographical docu drama with it's themes of existentialism, questioning the social constructs of gender, repression / guilt, individualism versus collectivism, and the conscious / unconscious mind.  The film is literally a peek into the psyche of Ed Wood, with characters that act as sort of archetypes, embedded deep in his own mind.  The character of Glen is the most autobiographical, very closely mirroring his own life with the love interest being played by his then real life love, Dolores Fuller, and also his penchant for dressing up to become Glenda ( Wood's real life female self was named Shirley ).  The character of Patrick / Patricia represents that part of Wood's that needs to become Glenda / Shirley at any cost.  Sadly, like this character in the film, Wood would struggle with being a trans person, and ultimately, killed himself, not through suicide, but slowly  via excessive drinking.  While the Allen / Anne  character, who like Wood himself, joined the military and secretly wore "feminine" attire during his service career.  I also believe that Allen / Anne is representative of that part of Wood that did want to really transition from a man to a woman.  Having seen the man's films, reading his novels, and researching his life, I am of the opinion, however controversial to some, that Ed Wood was transgender.  The mysterious character Lugosi played, which can be interpreted as nature, or god ( for those who are religious inclined ) is representative of Wood's / Glen's unconscious mind, the repository where he stored / repressed all the things he knows to be true about himself.  This is made explicit in many scenes throughout the picture.  Two such scenes are, when Glen enters the room of Lugosi's character, who waves his hand causing Glen to disappear, symbolizing Glen's old self evaporating, and the new Glen facing the truth about telling his future bride his secret.  The second sequence, which is very similar, shows Allen / Anne entering Lugosi's lair, disappearing in male form with the wave of Bela's hand, and reappearing in their true female form.

Another scene that exemplifies the themes of existentialism, social constructs of gender, repression / guilt, and specifically the unconscious mind is the excellent dream sequence, with surrealism that rivals anything done by Salvador Dali, Luis  Bunuel, or Man Ray ( all of which I am a big fan of ). This section of the film, is rife with psychological symbolism, as much of the film is ( I could write a whole post on this part of the film alone).  This is the ultimate battle of Glen in his unconscious mind, between the self he represents to the world, and his hidden / secret self.

 

 The portions of the dream sequence with Glen and Barbara illustrate his frustrations, anxieties, and fears of losing the woman he loves, if he fully accepts his secret self.  The devil represents Glen's father, both roles portrayed, intentionally, by actor Captain DeZita, who vehemently disapproved of Glen's desire to wear women's clothing. While the mocking people are symbolic of  the judgement of society as a whole, pushing him down and repressing him.  The collective trying to crush the individual.  Like I stated earlier, I could write an entire blog post on this sequence alone.

Glen Or Glenda is filled with great lighting and amazing shot compositions.  Shadows etched across walls, close ups of people's eyes and ears, oblique camera angles.  Shots of Glen / Glenda walking down a dark, shadowy, lonely street are very effective, while the noirish lighting at the scene of Patrick / Patricia's suicide add to the bleak hopeless feeling of a life tragically ended.  The dream sequence is filled with dutch angles, chiaroscuro lighting, off kilter set pieces, and fog.

Unfortunately, the wide available DVD of this classic is edited.  I own the original uncut VHS, and transferred it to DVD-R.  That is the copy i used for this write up.  Although it isn't popular opinion, I consider Glen or Glenda to be a masterpiece.  It is my favorite of Edward D. Wood Jr.'s films.  A very personal avant garde film made all the more poignant by the ending ( spoiler alert ), that seems to be a bit of wish fulfillment on Wood's part, where Barbara excepts him, despite his long kept secret, and they live happily ever after.  Sadly, in real life it was not to be. That's just my opinion. Your's may differ.