Now we understand where David Lynch took inspiration for his films dreamlike and introspective. We now understand some of the characters of Stanley Kubrick, but we never thought that the two masters of the cinema were so liked to the legendary Ed Wood and his "Glen Or Glenda".
Fans of the two directors will be offended now. Quiet we are joking. Even if in fact this 1953 film is introspective, dreamy, incomprehensible and strange. The point is, that is so dazed for a number of circumstances, in Ed Wood style that made it so.

"Glen Or Glenda" now in the public domain is visible at the bottom of this post or can be downloaded from the internet archive and we strongly recommend to see it three times  to begin to understand something. And still not be enough.

The genesis of this  Ed Wood's movie is widely discussed in the famous film by Tim Burton and starts on a true story. In 1952 George William Jorgensen, Jr., became one of the first in the world, Christine Jorgensen, and the New York Daily News caught the the thing to publish his story on the front page. "Ex-GI Becomes blond beauty."

This true story attracted the attention of producer George Weiss who began to think of a film on the subject. Ed Wood became aware of the project and was able to convince the producer to be the best person, despite the little fame, to direct this movie, having regard to his ability to cross-dressing.
Only once got the job, Ed Wood, shifted the focus of the story from sex change to transvestism. As if that were not enough, the moral of "Glen Or Glenda" is tolerance,  right thing, but certainly strong in those days.

And here we are with the film that runs in front of our eyes. A series of stylistic choices pile up at random and to put it looks like a good "cut-up". Let's just say that it is.
We met a Bela Lugosi, drug addicted and out from the scene for a long, that introduces the story in a kind mad scientist's lab, then tossing it with a "Began and the life." Following explosion. Lugosi is great, but he really tell anything useful and above all the narrators are two other. Dr. Alton and Inspector Warren.
The suicide of Patrick/Patricia causes the cop to ask for advice to Dr. Alton, who tells him the story of Glen/Glenda.

Glen, Ed Wood himself, however, credited as Daniel Davis, loves dresses and loves to dress up. An autobiographical fact. He is tormented because he can't decide if he must or not tell the truth to his girlfriend Barbara, played by Dolores Fuller Wood's real girlfriend at the time..
The devil appeared to him in a dream and torments him. The people in the storm's worst nightmares. Bela Lugosi spoke again, for no apparent reason, with a herd of buffalo overlay and exclaimed several times, "Pull the string! Pull the string! A mistake is made. A story must be told! "And especially the beautiful phrase" Beware ... 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. "
And to this follows a tending to lesbian bondage scene with sexy women, whipping on a couch in a dark room. Everything pushes Glen/Glenda to make outing to his  girlfriend hyper progressive who accepts everything willingly. End of Part One. First part, we said, because there is also a second.

Here we talk about Alan, a former decorated soldier and hermaphrodite, that after the Second World War realizes that he is a mistake of nature and undergoes sex change operation. It 'pretty clear that this second story is stuck to the first.
In fact, when finished, the production judged "Glen Or Glenda" too short and added scenes and various pieces including the bondage scene. Bela Lugosi as the best storytellers closes the film. Although he still does not tell anything.

The film clearly doesn't met the approval of the producer, but was released the same because it had already been sold prior to implementation.
Dolores Fuller moves to record for being the only "victim" of the film, being unaware of the plot and the foibles of her boyfriend, discovered both watching the movie  finished. She dropped her boyfriend saying that she had never been so humiliated. Joking aside and utter failure of good Wood, "Glen Or Glenda" is a film definitely advanced for its time and while it has a way and a style all its own, Wood examines important issues of the psyche and human foibles, even criticizing society.
The rest is a classic "woodish" work bloopers in quantity, missing frame and minimal sets and reused. It 's wonderful.
To show it? They are found around different versions. On the original line, while the version of the DVD is appreciated for the Fuller a bit 'nervous in the final scene and a tasty Wood, who disguised cries on stage: "CUT".

Technical

Original title: Glen Or Glenda
Alternative titles: Louis Louise ou (Belgium and France), Yo Cambie me sexo (Argentina and Spain), Glen or Glenda (Venezuela), Glen or Glenda: Confessions of Ed Wood (undefined), Glen or Glenda? (USA) Glen ou Glenda (Portugal) Glen ou Glenda? (Brazil), Glen tai Glenda (Finland), He Or She, I Changed My Sex, The Transvestite (undefined) I Led 2 Lives (Great Britain)
Year: 1953
Country: USA
Director: Ed Wood Jr
Duration: 65 '
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell, Dolores Fuller, Ed Wood
Production Company: Screen Classics Inc.