Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Whenever the term "Grade Z" film is mentioned, the director most closely associated with this type of ultra-low budget picture, which is extremely bad in virtually every aspect, is Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1922-1978). Nobody is sure how he entered the film business, but during the fifties and early sixties, Wood wrote and directed a canon of film infamy. A reviewer once described these feature-length movies as "the six worst films ever made." It's as if someone handed him a movie camera, a budget, and let him go from there.

Wood made his feature film debut (he had made two short films before this) with the 1953 picture, "Glen Or Glenda?" It was obviously intended to be a sympathetic look at men (like Wood himself) who are different from others. Portions of this film are based on the story of Christine Jorgensen, who, in 1952, announced that she had changed her sex. At several places, Wood shows us a newspaper headline, "WORLD SHOCKED BY SEX CHANGE."

Wood, who appears in this film as Glen (and Glenda), shares one of his secrets with us - he's a transvestite who has told few people of his desire to wear women's clothes. Yet, Glen is about to marry Barbara (Dolores Fuller). Glen knows he must reveal this side of himself to Barbara, for she's noticed some strange behavior. For example, she comments that his fingernails are longer than hers. She also noticed his unusual desire to touch her angora sweater. Little does she know his desire to wear it.

Glen is also aware to be careful with his open exhibitions of transvestism, for, at the time, it was a crime punishable by imprisonment. In fact, another transvestite, already a four-time loser in the courts, has committed suicide rather than face more jail time. The lead police investigator, Inspector Warren (Lyle Talbot), seeks answers to the suicide's way of living from Dr. Alton (Timothy Farrell), a psychologist whose expertise lies in the field of sexuality. The doctor explains himself "in cold, technical language" as he tells the tale of Glen and Glenda (who's a patient of Alton), as well as the tale of Alan ("Tommy" Haynes), who had surgery which made him Ann, as well as the subject of the newspaper headline in this movie.

Bela Lugosi has a role that isn't clearly defined, but we see him in several scenes, narrating from a house that receives a daily dosage of lightning strikes. We also get shots of him performing experiments of an unspecified nature.His lines include gems like "Puppy dog tails and big fat snails" and "Bevare of the big green dragon that sits at your doorstep. He eats little boys."

These words serve as a warning for anyone who might believe they're in for an educated view of transvestites and the transgendered. For sure, Wood is earnest in his quest for us to view "Glen Or Glenda?" with sympathy. However, Wood is so earnest and direct with his approach, I wound up laughing rather than taking him seriously. Time after time, Wood shows us his penchant for stating the obvious. We hear an argument by Glen's parents over whether he should dress as a woman for a Halloween party. His father, who's against it, eventually relents. Of course, Glen wears the dress privately after the party. Dr. Alton, who also narrates in parts, says, "And then, one day, it wasn't Halloween."

Wood reinforces negative stereotypes and adds bad performances to this mix. Instead of trying to convince us to tolerate Glen's behavior, Wood portrays his behavior as evil, even giving us shots of Satan smiling gleefully as Glen ponders his dilemma of revealing himself to Barbara. No actor emerges unscathed. Talbot and Farrell don't look ridiculous, but they don't really look as if they're trying to do anything other than deliver their lines. Lugosi rants, raves, and looks evil, and the rest of the cast looks as naturally as they can while fully cognizant that the camera is capturing their lack of skill. Some actors with off-camera lines don't even sound convincing in their roles. For example, we hear an actress sounding like she's at least 50 years too young to play an old lady telling us, "If the Creator had meant us to fly, He'd have given us wings." To add an extra level of hilarity, Wood gives us stock footage of a bomber on a sortie while she's speaking.

"Glen Or Glenda?" is a mess on every level. Yet, Lugosi, Talbot, Farrell, and Fuller would become regular players in the films of Ed Wood. Hollywood kept giving him chances to apply, and improve upon, his skill. Wood, somehow, never understood what it took to be a good writer or director. He just kept going, totally lacking in subtlety, creating scenario after scenario where we laugh at him instead of with him. I first wrote about Wood when I was in college, when a new generation of film fan was rediscovering an era of film that was fascinating because it was so bad. My film professor, who himself made short documentaries, wrote the comment, "Personally, I wouldn't rush out to see these films." Wood will always be for the type of serious film buff who doesn't necessarily need a serious work of art to be delighted. All we need to do is turn on the TV, pop in a tape or disc, and press "play." "Glen Or Glenda?" will speak as many volumes as the great films of master filmmakers.

Recommended: No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age