Editing Glen or Glenda (section)

==Production==
Shot in four days, the film was loosely inspired by the [[sex reassignment surgery]] of [[Christine Jorgensen]], which made national headlines in the U.S. in 1952. [[George Weiss (producer)|George Weiss]], a [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] producer of low-budget films, commissioned a movie to exploit the case. Originally Weiss made Jorgensen several offers to appear in the film, but these were turned down.<ref name="rhodes">
{{cite book | last = Rhodes | first = Gary D. | title = Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers | year = 1997 | publisher = McFarland| pages=142 | isbn = 0-7864-0257-1 }}</ref> Wood convinced Weiss that his own transvestism made him the perfect director despite his modest resume. Wood was given the job, but instead made a movie about transvestism. Nonetheless, posters for the film still claimed it was based on Jorgensen's case.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wrongsideoftheart.com/wp-content/gallery/posters-g/glen_or_glenda_poster_03.jpg|title="I Led 2 Lives" Based on the Lives of Christine Jorgensen|access-date=2017-08-10|archive-date=2021-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708095308/http://wrongsideoftheart.com/wp-content/gallery/posters-g/glen_or_glenda_poster_03.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref>

Wood persuaded Lugosi, at the time poor and [[drug addiction|drug-addicted]], to appear in the movie. Lugosi's scenes were shot at the Jack Miles Studios in [[Los Angeles]]. He was reportedly paid $5000 for the role, although some stories state the actual amount was only $1000.<ref name="rhodes"/> Lugosi is credited as "The Scientist", a character whose purpose is unclear. He acts as a sort of narrator but gives no narration relevant to the plot; that job is reserved for the film's primary narrator, [[Timothy Farrell]].<ref name="Peary"/>

This was the only film Wood directed but did not also produce. Wood played the eponymous character, but under the [[pseudonym]] "Daniel Davis".<ref name="Peary">{{cite book | title = Cult Movies 3 | first = Danny | last = Peary | year = 1988 | publisher = Simon & Schuster Inc. | location = New York | pages = 97–101 | isbn = 0-671-64810-1}}</ref> His then-girlfriend, [[Dolores Fuller]], played Glen's girlfriend/fiancée Barbara. Wood later returned to ''Glen or Glenda'' in his [[pulp novel]] ''Killer in Drag'' (1963). The plot features a transvestite called Glen whose alter-ego is called Glenda. He is executed in the sequel ''Death of a Transvestite'' (1967) after a struggle for the right to go to the [[electric chair]] dressed as Glenda.

The erotic-themed striptease/bondage vignettes were not created by Wood. They were reportedly added by producer [[George Weiss (producer)|George Weiss]]. He needed extra scenes to add to what he felt was an overly-short film.<ref name="Craig">Craig (2009), p. 30-68</ref> While not organic parts of the narrative, they seem to tell their own tales of gender dynamics and so fit in with the general themes of the film.<ref name="Craig"/> The [[whip]]ping scene suggests a [[Master/slave (BDSM)|master/slave]] relationship. That the man is [[Top (BDSM)|dominant]] and the woman [[Bottom (BDSM)|submissive]], seems to reflect [[Chauvinism|male chauvinism]].<ref name="Craig"/> The flirtatious and striptease-themed vignettes were typical of 1950s [[exploitation film]]s, as was the rape scene.<ref name="Craig"/> Wood's original director's cut of the film without those added scenes runs 65 minutes. The producer's cut of film with the added scenes runs 71 minutes.

The film has [[deleted scene]]s. In the theatrical trailer, included in [[laserdisc]] and [[DVD]] editions, the scene in which Fuller hands over her [[Angora wool|angora]] sweater, is a different take than the one in the release version — in the trailer, she tosses it to Wood in a huff, while the release version shows her handing it over more acceptingly. There is also a shot of Wood in [[Drag (clothing)|drag]], mouthing the word "Cut!"<ref>[https://archive.org/details/sinema-trailer_glen-or-glenda Trailer on Internet Archive]</ref>

The second part of the film, titled ''Alan or Anne'', is much shorter, told largely through [[stock footage]], and was made to meet the distributor's demand for a [[Sex reassignment surgery|sex change]] film. Alan is a [[Intersex|pseudo-hermaphrodite]] who fights in [[World War II]] wearing women's underwear. After returning, Alan undergoes surgery to become a woman.