Ed Wood Wednesdays, week 286: Searching for details in 'Glen or Glenda' (1953)

The paintings of Frank Moss Bennett play an important role in Glen or Glenda.

Something strange happens to me when I watch the same movie too many times. Eventually, the plot, dialogue, and characters become second-nature, and I start noticing all the other stuff in the movie—the props, sets, costumes, etc. A similar thing happened when I screened all 255 episodes of Happy Days (1974-1984) for my podcast. Over the course of watching 11 seasons, I started caring less and less about the characters and their problems and began to focus my attention on what was happening in the margins of the show. (Wasn't that figurine on the other side of the living room last week? What happened to the recliner? Which magazine is that on the coffee table?)

And so, this week, I've decided to go rooting through Ed Wood's debut feature, Glen or Glenda (1953), in search of minutiae. I've certainly watched this movie enough times to start noticing all these little incidental details. But my interest in these things is not merely trivia for the sake of trivia. I've said that each movie—no matter how fantastic the plot or outrageous the characters—is a documentary of its own time and its own making. When I identify a prop or background detail in one of Ed Wood's movies, I get a clearer vision of the (now mostly vanished) world the Eddie and his actors and crew members inhabited.

So let's get started, eh?

TWO HARDWORKING PAINTINGS

These two paintings appear multiple times in Glen or Glenda.

I was especially eager to identify two paintings that pop up in various locations throughout Glen or Glenda, most prominently in the office of Dr. Alton (Timothy Farrell), plus the home of the "modern man" character (Henry Bederski) and even in the strange, distorted living room of the nightmare sequence. These same paintings also appear in Ed Wood's second feature film, Jail Bait (1954). You may recall that Dr. Alton's office from Glenda was repurposed as the office of Dr. Gregor (Herbert Rawlinson) in Jail Bait, so these two framed prints were presumably just lying around the studio for anyone to use. For all I know, they may be in other 1950s B-movies by other directors. Eddie certainly got a lot of use out of them.

But what exactly are these curious works of art? On closer inspection, they're prints of two paintings by British portraitist Frank Moss Bennett (1874-1952). Specifically, they are The Three Sportsmen and The Three Philosophers, both dating to 1929. These prints were commonly sold as a pair, so I assume that Bennett released them as a matching set. The two images are quite similar and may even depict the same three 18th century gentlemen. What distinguishes them as "sportsmen" in the first image are the dead birds hanging on the wall behind them. As a painter, Bennett was noted for his historical accuracy and attention to detail. These traits are in evidence in both of these paintings.

The Three Sportsmen and The Three Philosophers.

ALAN/ANN'S READING MATERIAL

"Tommy" Haynes enjoys a good book.

The characters in Glen or Glenda do a fair amount of reading. Many of them are seen reading the same copy of The Daily Chronicle with that blaring headline, WORLD SHOCKED BY SEX CHANGE. Furthermore, while dressed as his Glenda character, Glen (Ed Wood) is seen reading from some kind of glossy magazine. All I can make out is the headline "Thar's Gold in Them Thar Hills" accompanied by a photo of a singing cowboy with an acoustic guitar serenading a smiling young lady. What this publication could possibly be, I have no idea. But I'm more concerned with some reading material in the film's second case study.

Praise for McCall.

The first time we see Alan/Ann ("Tommy" Haynes), she is sitting comfortably in an armchair—the same chair we saw Conrad Brooks using earlier in the film. She is reading a novel called The Evening Wolves. This book cover wasn't always legible in early VHS and DVD editions of Glen or Glenda, but newer, clearer prints of the film have brought this detail into sharp focus. And what exactly is The Evening Wolves? Confusingly, that same title has been used by multiple writers over the years, including Joan Chase and Gregory Ashe, but the book we're looking for is a 1949 novel by Marie McCall (1909-1986). It is long out of print, and Ms. McCall herself is almost entirely forgotten, but I was able to borrow a copy from my local library.

The title of The Evening Wolves comes from a couple of books of the Bible. There are references to "evening wolves" (a metaphor for the doubts and fears that plague us when we are vulnerable) in Habakkuk 1:8 and Zephaniah 3:3. Set in the year 1688, McCall's novel is inspired by the Salem witch trials and tells the story of a young Boston clergyman named Jonathan Grigg, who falls under the sway of a beautiful woman named Ann Walton. Jonathan marries Ann, but the couple is plagued by gossip and jealousy, and it all leads to Ann being accused of witchcraft.

Reviewing the novel in the July 3, 1949 edition of the Syracuse Herald-Journal, critic E.S. Turner writes:

Marie McCall, who has done a lot of writing and editing, puts into her first novel a credible and creditable reconstruction of New England's early days of wrath and intolerance. She avoids, even by inference, any reflection of the past upon today; but her book can be a stern admonition in a new era when authority again is harassing the hopes and beliefs of millions who would think and act for themselves. 

How or why McCall's novel ended up in an Ed Wood movie remains a mystery. Is there some significance to Ed using The Evening Wolves in Glen or Glenda, perhaps likening the misunderstood characters in this film to the persecuted "witches" of a previous age? Or was this book just a handy prop that happened to be in the studio the day this scene was filmed?

WINDOW SHOPPING WITH GLENDA

Let's go shopping with Ed Wood. Note the ad for the slogan contest.

Some of the most iconic scenes in Glen or Glenda have Ed Wood in full drag doing some wistful window shopping. As we already know from the case of Patrick/Patricia at the beginning of the movie, it is very risky for a man to be seen in public wearing women's clothing. But for Glen, the compulsion is simply too strong to be denied. As the narrating Dr. Alton puts it, "He dares to enter the street, dressed in the clothes he so much desires to wear."

But what clothes are those, specifically? Well, Glen memorably stops in front of a clothing store and peers into the window. From the signage, we can determine that the store is a Grayson's. This was a California-based retail chain that specialized in women's clothing. It was founded in 1940 and expanded rapidly, eventually becoming America's 17th largest retailer. But the company's fortunes shifted, and the chain filed for bankruptcy in 1962. Glen or Glenda was made at a time when the company was still at its peak.

This ad from 1953 even mentions the $50,000 Seven Test slogan contest.

The particular Grayson's seen in Glen or Glenda seems to be really pushing a product line called Seven Test. In several shots, you even see ads for the store's "Giant $50,000 Seven Test Slogan Contest." While the history of Grayson's has only been sketchily recorded, the history of Seven Test has not been recorded whatsoever. It has left almost no mark on the world. It existed, then it didn't.

From the vintage ads I have been able to find, Seven Test was a manufacturer of women's hosiery and possibly lingerie. One of its specialties was scented nylons! The company's name seems to refer to the rigorous testing procedures their products must undergo before being sold to the public. The Grayson's ad seen above comes from the February 5, 1953 edition of the Los Angeles Mirror. It specifically mentions the slogan contest, so that may give us some idea of when the window shopping scenes from Glenda were filmed.

(left) A Glen or Glenda screenshot; (right) a Los Angeles Mirror ad from 1951.

Other real-world businesses glimpsed during the "window shopping" scene in Glen or Glenda: Sears, Sinclair Paints, Barnes Liquor Store, Crossroads, Bungalow Donut Shop (which hadn't yet opened), and La Monica Beauty Shoppe. There's also a sign that reads: "Playing Nitely Cloe Kirk." Ms. Kirk was a pianist who performed regularly at a venue called Bailey's Cafe on Melrose Ave. in the early 1950s.

DR. ALTON'S QUAINT MEDICAL CHARTS

Some vintage medical charts are seen behind Timothy Farrell and "Tommy" Haynes.

We've already talked about the paintings that Dr. Alton has used to decorate his office, but we shouldn't forget that he is a board-certified man of medicine. As you'd expect, he has some of those pull-down medical charts in his office, the kind your biology teacher might have had in high school. When necessary, he can gesture vaguely toward these charts to demonstrate that he has some understanding of human anatomy.

The first of these visual aids is the Chart of Osteology (1920) by Dr. Gustave H. Michel, a physician and anatomist known for his detailed educational medical charts. This particular poster labels the various parts of the human skeleton. Michel had quite an interesting life. In the 1880s, he served in the French Foreign Legion in Africa. This experience inspired him to create a type of embalming fluid that could withstand the heat of the desert. Later, he relocated to Cleveland, Ohio and founded a company that produced medical charts like the one we see in Glen or Glenda. The Chart of Osteology is one of his most famous creations.

The second chart is The Endocrine Glands (1945), a product of educational publisher Rudolf Schick (not to be confused with the 19th-century German artist of the same name). Since it offers a depiction of a female torso, could this have been Ed Wood's way of sneaking some clandestine nudity into his movie? Just a thought.

Presented below are full-color versions of these vintage medical charts. They give you a better idea of what Dr. Alton's office might have looked like in person.

(left) Chart of Osteology; (right) The Endocrine Glands.

POSADA'S CURIOS (AND SPARKLETTS)

This portion of Glen or Glenda is brought to you by Posada's Curios.

There is a very distinctive advertising calendar that we see at least twice in Glen or Glenda. About six minutes into the movie, we see it hanging on the wall of Patrick/Patricia's apartment. It can be viewed in the upper left corner of the frame as the jumpsuit-wearing superintendent (George E. Weiss) stands guard over the body, nervously wringing his hands before Inspector Warren (Lyle Talbot) arrives, along with various medical personnel, policemen, and reporters. Twenty minutes into the movie, it can be seen on the wall near the water cooler when Glen's sister Sheila (Evelyn Wood) talks to her unnamed, blonde coworker. 

Sheila's friend enjoys some sanitary water, thanks to Sparkletts.

During the water cooler scene, we get a closer look at the calendar, but I can only make out one additional word: "Mexican." On the bright side, we do get a closer look at the cup dispenser next to the blonde coworker's head, and it confirms that this vintage water dispenser is from Sparkletts, an L.A.-based bottled water company that is still in business today. Believe it or not, there is even a fan community dedicated to vintage water dispensers. 

As for Posada's Curios, Shawn Langrick contacted me to say he'd dug up some information on the store. It was located in Juarez, Mexico on the Texas border near El Paso. Shawn said he'd found references to it in 1958-59 in Spanish-language newspapers. He also sent me an excerpt from an article from the May 10, 1977 edition of The El Paso Times that mentions the business. At that time, the owner was heavily involved in local politics and was gearing up for a mayoral election.

Podada's Curios makes the news!

Thank you, Shawn, for that update. 

And there you have it. That was my deep dive into the background details of Ed Wood's Glen or Glenda. There's more of this material to discover in the film, so I may do another article like this someday. In the meantime, I hope that this one has shed a little light on what Eddie's world was like in the Los Angeles of 1953. It was a different world, to be sure, but one that's not really so long ago and not really so far away.