GLEN OR GLENDA?
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| Not Rated
| | Copyright 1953 Screen Classics
| | Reviewed by Astrid Jakobs
on 27 August 2008
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- Glen/Glenda - Ed Wood! He's a seemingly normal man who is about to be wed to beautiful -Barbara. The thing is, Glen likes to dress in woman's clothing. He has an alter ego named Glenda. It's a secret he is too afraid to reveal to Barbara. The stress of it all causes some mental problems and hallucinations throughout the movie.
- Scientist - Bela Lugosi! I'm not quite sure what his role is in this movie. Most of the time he just sits in a chair reciting weird nursery rhymes and spying on different people. Maybe he's supposed to be God?
- Barbara - Glen's beautiful fiance. She's very caring and understanding.
- Inspector Warren - Just a generic inspector of sorts. He's older and a bit old-fashioned. The investigation of a transvestite's suicide causes him to be so disturbed, he goes to a Dr. Alton to learn about that "affliction" fully.
- Dr. Alton - A liberal doctor who seems to specialize in transvestitism and sex changes.
- Alan/Ann - A pseduhermaphrodite. He's so uncomfortable being a man that when he finds out that he has female genitalia hidden away in his body, he opts for a sex change.
- Satan - Basically he only appears in Glen's hallucinations. He just dances around, freaking Ed out.
- Patrick/Patricia - A suicide victim. After being arrested for the 4th time for wearing woman's clothing out in public, he decides life just isn't worth it if he can't wear what he wants.
- Random women - Appear in Glen's hallucinations. They take part in some light S&M and dance sexily. I'm not really sure what the point of them appearing is at all.
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The story begins with Bela Lugosi who imparts some words of wisdom. Throughout the movie, Lugosi will pop up here and there saying this and that. None of it pertains to the story, but hey, whatever works, right?
A transvestite just can't catch a break! Inspector Warren is called to investigate a suicide of a transvestite who, after being arrested 4 times, packs it in. Although Inspector Warren finds this sort of behaviour incomprehensible, he'd like to learn more about it. He heads off to Dr. Alton who specializes in that sort of thing. Dr. Alton beings that tale of Glen or Glenda, a poor man who just wanted to wear a pink angora sweater.
Glen is about marry Barbara. At the dinner table, she casually mentions that his fingernails are getting almost as long as hers. This causes Glen to break out in cold sweat. Glen always seems to act like a flake. No wonder Barbara suspects something. All the time, he's either wound up tighter than a clock or staring off moodily into space.
Of course, his secret is that he likes wearing woman's clothing. The movie makes sure to stress the point that Glen is NOT a homosexual. He spends his days pretending to be a woman in public so that he won't get arrested. He spends his nights with Barbara being regular Glen who is probably developing an ulcer.
His predicament is weighing heavy on him causing his mind to start cracking under the pressure. He goes to his friend Johnny for advice. Johnny advises him to tell Barbara immeadiately otherwise what happened to him could happen to Glen. Johnny was chilling at home in his silky dressing gown, when his wife happened to come home early from work. Oh man! You should've seen the look on her face! It was priceless! Needless to say, their marriage ends in divorce. Instead of calming Glen, it only adds to his worries.
One day, the pressure finally gets to him. He loses it completely. A weird daydream/hallucination ensues in which Glen is being wed to Barbara with Satan acting as the best man. Cut to a man whipping a woman with a belt. Cut to a chubby girl dancing provocatively. Cut to some mild S&M and bondage. Cut to a rape scence. Finally, cut to everybody laughing at Glen. This was seriously one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. There was no explanation as to why there was so much sexual violence going on.
Finally, Glen tells Barbara his horrible secret. She's understanding and even gives him her pink angora sweater! Wow! What a happy ending! Oh wait...we're not done yet.
Now the story of Alan/Ann. Alan was a man who was also a transvestite. He enjoyed doing "woman's work" and had, according to Dr. Alton, "girlish hips". After serving his country in World War II, he goes to see Dr. Alton for therapy. It turns out Alan is a pseudohermaphrodite. His male genitalia are all formed and showing, but inside him, there is female genitalia. Alan begins the painful process of being Ann. Um...lady still looks like a dude.
Glen and Barbara go back to Dr. Alton for counselling where it is revealed that due to Glen's unhappy childhood, Glenda was formed to act as his mother and sister. If Barbara can take on all the personality traits of both of them and still be Barbara, Glenda will eventually leave. That seems a lot to ask, but I have a feeling that Barbara is probably desperate to get rid of Glenda. I just hope Glen doesn't bring Glenda into the bedroom with him.
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| Things I Learned From This Movie: | |
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- Transvestitism causes mental disorders.
- You can't be a real transvestite until you have a female alter ego.
- God resides in a chamber filled with skulls and skeletons. In his spare time, he practices chemistry.
- Ed Wood had a thing against the word "transvestite".
- If you admire silk too long, you're a weirdo.
- A sex change operation can be performed on the side of the body.
- Hats cause baldness.
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- 1 min - Disclaimer!
- 12 mins - What a babe! Wait a minute...there's something not right here.
- 13 mins - Strange...that article doesn't mention anything about the headline.
- 20 mins - You are so busted!
- 35 mins - What the hell are you going on about, Bela?
- 36 mins - Fantasy sequence that lasts almost 15 minutes. Satan, chubby girls, bondage, Bela Lugosi. This is starting to get weird.
- 55 mins - World War II stock footage!
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- Dr. Alton: "Give this man satin undies, a dress, a sweater, and a skirt, or even the lounging outfit he has on, and he's the happiest individual in the world."
- Steel Worker: "Do you realize what would happen if every man in the country that wanted to wear women's clothes, or felt like a woman, when to their doctors and wanted a sex change?"
- Scientist: "Beware! Beware of the big green dragon that sits on your doorstep. He eats little boys...puppy dog tails, and BIG FAT SNAILS...beware...take care...beware!"
- Dr. Alton: "But in time, Alan is Ann - a very happy, lovely young lady that modern medicine and science has created almost a as Frankenstein monster."
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| | Audio clips in wav format | SOUNDS | Starving actors speak out | |
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| File | Dialog |  | glenorglenda1.wav
| Dr. Alton: "Let's get our stories straight. You're referring to the suicide of the transvestite?"
Insp. Warren: "If that's the word you men of medical science use for a man who wears woman's clothing, yes."
Dr. Alton: "Yes, in cold technical language, that's the word."
| | glenorglenda2.wav
| Glen's Dad: "You want to borrow your sister's dress? What for?"
Glen: "I want to wear it to the Halloween party."
Glen's Dad: "There are names for boys who go around wearing girl's clothes!"
Glen's Mom: "Oh, don't be silly, darling. You go ahead and wear your sister's dress, Glen. You always did look much better as a girl than you did as a man."
| | glenorglenda3.wav
| Dr. Alton: "After school, Alan would go home to find the mother who had always wanted a girl, and the father who didn't care one way or the other. He enjoyed doing the woman's work around the house. Alan was becoming a woman, and didn't realize it. A woman in mind only, but the mind rules."
| | glenorglenda4.wav
| Barbara: "Supposing Glen never gets over wearing girl's clothing?"
Dr. Alton: "Would it matter to you much?"
Barbara: "I love Glen. I'll do everything I can to make him happy."
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| | Click for a larger image | IMAGES | Scenes from the movie | |
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| | Watch a scene | VIDEO | MPEG video files | |
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| | Leave a comment | EXTRAS | Buy the movie | |
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