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Glen/Glenda #1
Killer in Drag
Meet Ed Wood's alter ego Glen/Glenda, whose ravishing beauty and musical voice bewitch every male in sight. Impeccably attired in either gender, hired assassin Glen becomes Glenda when it's time to work. But big trouble starts when Glenda decides to give up the murder racket, take up with a sugar daddy, and finance a sex change operation.
164 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
3 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Ed Wood
70 books49 followersEdward Davis Wood, Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and editor (often performing many of these functions simultaneously). In the 1950s, Wood made a run of independently produced, extremely low-budget horror, science fiction, and cowboy films, now celebrated for their technical errors, unsophisticated special effects, idiosyncratic dialogue, eccentric casts, and outlandish plot elements, although his flair for showmanship gave his productions at least a modicum of commercial success.
Wood's popularity waned soon after his biggest "name" star, Béla Lugosi, died. He was able to salvage a saleable feature from Lugosi's last moments on film, but his career declined thereafter. Toward the end of his life, Wood made pornographic movies and wrote pulp crime, horror, and sex novels. His posthumous fame began two years after his death, when he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time.[1] The lack of conventional filmmaking ability in his work has earned Wood and his films a considerable cult following.
Following the publication of Rudolph Grey's biography Nightmare of Ecstasy, Wood's life and work have undergone a public rehabilitation, with new light shed on his evident zeal and honest love of movies and movie production, and Tim Burton's biopic, Ed Wood, earned two Academy Awards.
From the 1950s onward, Wood supplemented his directing and screenwriting income with hastily written pulp fiction, including innumerable pulp crime, horror, and sex novels and occasional non-fiction pieces. As he became increasingly unable to fund film projects, the novels seem to have become Wood's primary source of income.
Wood's novels frequently include transvestite or drag queen characters, or entire plots centering around transvestism (including his angora fetish), and tap into his love of crime fiction and the occult. Wood would often recycle plots of his films for novels, write novelizations of his own screenplays, or reuse elements from his novels in scripts. His first novel, Black Lace Drag was published in 1963 and reissued in 1965 as Killer in Drag. Among his other books are Orgy of The Dead (1965), Devil Girls (1967), Death of a Transvestite (1967), The Sexecutives (1968), and A Study of Fetishes and Fantasies (1973).
Descriptions of Wood's working methods in Nightmare of Ecstasy indicate he would work on a dozen projects at once, simultaneously watching television, eating, drinking, and carrying on conversations while typing. In his quasi-memoir, Hollywood Rat Race, Wood advises new writers to "just keep on writing. Even if your story gets worse, you'll get better."
As Wood's most famous films of the 1950s are not explicitly sexual or violent, the outré content of his novels may shock the unprepared reader. Wood's dark side emerges in such sexual shockers as Raped in the Grass or The Perverts and in short stories such as Toni: Black Tigress, which exploit hot-button topics like violence, rape, racial issues, juvenile delinquency, and drug culture.
Some of Wood's books remained unpublished during his lifetime. Hollywood Rat Race, for example, was written in 1965 and finally released in 1998. The nonfiction book is part primer for young actors and filmmakers, and part memoir. In Rat Race, Wood recounts tales of dubious authenticity, such as how he and Lugosi entered the world of nightclub cabaret.
Wood's popularity waned soon after his biggest "name" star, Béla Lugosi, died. He was able to salvage a saleable feature from Lugosi's last moments on film, but his career declined thereafter. Toward the end of his life, Wood made pornographic movies and wrote pulp crime, horror, and sex novels. His posthumous fame began two years after his death, when he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time.[1] The lack of conventional filmmaking ability in his work has earned Wood and his films a considerable cult following.
Following the publication of Rudolph Grey's biography Nightmare of Ecstasy, Wood's life and work have undergone a public rehabilitation, with new light shed on his evident zeal and honest love of movies and movie production, and Tim Burton's biopic, Ed Wood, earned two Academy Awards.
From the 1950s onward, Wood supplemented his directing and screenwriting income with hastily written pulp fiction, including innumerable pulp crime, horror, and sex novels and occasional non-fiction pieces. As he became increasingly unable to fund film projects, the novels seem to have become Wood's primary source of income.
Wood's novels frequently include transvestite or drag queen characters, or entire plots centering around transvestism (including his angora fetish), and tap into his love of crime fiction and the occult. Wood would often recycle plots of his films for novels, write novelizations of his own screenplays, or reuse elements from his novels in scripts. His first novel, Black Lace Drag was published in 1963 and reissued in 1965 as Killer in Drag. Among his other books are Orgy of The Dead (1965), Devil Girls (1967), Death of a Transvestite (1967), The Sexecutives (1968), and A Study of Fetishes and Fantasies (1973).
Descriptions of Wood's working methods in Nightmare of Ecstasy indicate he would work on a dozen projects at once, simultaneously watching television, eating, drinking, and carrying on conversations while typing. In his quasi-memoir, Hollywood Rat Race, Wood advises new writers to "just keep on writing. Even if your story gets worse, you'll get better."
As Wood's most famous films of the 1950s are not explicitly sexual or violent, the outré content of his novels may shock the unprepared reader. Wood's dark side emerges in such sexual shockers as Raped in the Grass or The Perverts and in short stories such as Toni: Black Tigress, which exploit hot-button topics like violence, rape, racial issues, juvenile delinquency, and drug culture.
Some of Wood's books remained unpublished during his lifetime. Hollywood Rat Race, for example, was written in 1965 and finally released in 1998. The nonfiction book is part primer for young actors and filmmakers, and part memoir. In Rat Race, Wood recounts tales of dubious authenticity, such as how he and Lugosi entered the world of nightclub cabaret.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 7, 2018
[2016 repost: I wrote this bizarre review in 2011, leading it off with two paragraphs that have nothing to do with the book. I was hell-bent, it seemed, to force this personal story into the review whether it fit or not. Oh well, that's OK. It's an Ed Wood book, and I think he would have understood...we all can go off the rails.]
When I was in kindergarten lo those many years ago I exhibited atrocious behavior at the Halloween party. I didn't like the hobo costume my parents had selected for me, and in rebellion I cried through the whole choral program rather than sing along with the rest of the kids. By the time the Christmas Party rolled around I had cleaned up my act, was entirely the little gentleman, and was thereupon awarded a Firestone Christmas songs LP (that's a vinyl record album to you youngsters) as "best behaved boy at the Christmas Party."
In the demented way my brain works--full of forced connections as it is--I began to think that Ed Wood had--with the writing of this pulp sleaze crime novel, Killer in Drag in 1963--improved his act greatly since penning and directing two of the worst films ever made, Glen or Glenda in 1953, and Plan 9 From Outer Space in 1959. If Plan 9... was like me at the Halloween Party, then Killer in Drag was ...well, you get the drift of my horrible forced metaphor. (I won't even go into the psychological implications of being forced to wear a costume that was "not me.")
Killer in Drag will never make it to any edition of the Modern Library top 100 list, make no mistake. It's poorly written in spots, and yet at no point would I confuse the prose in this book with anything in the stilted and embarrassing Plan 9.... It might even be argued that Wood is the Hemingway of sleaze. The first sentence of chapter 3 says simply: "It was cold." Fuckin' A. Yes, the book is rife with cliched dialogue and situations pilfered from numerous other crime novels, but what makes the book endearing and fun is the sub-cultural color and cast of underclass characters that Wood creates in telling his fast-moving, twisty tale.
The story's protagonist, Glen/Glenda, is based upon Ed Wood himself, and was the subject of his 1953 film Glen or Glenda, which is a piece of cinematic history that must be seen to be believed. Wood was a heterosexual cross-dresser who wore women's underwear under his male business clothes (and supposedly wore panties and bra under his marine uniform when storming the beaches of Guadalcanal), and he channels his fetish rather marvelously into the predilections of his novel's hero/heroine. Glen/Glenda is a mob assassin who gets warm feelings in the groin whenever donning his/her soft tight angora sweaters. By day our hero is Glen, a man, and by night is Glenda, a hired killer. Glenda's night world is one of violence and sexual fetishism, in which she is the object of lust from every manner of man, from the beat cop to the sexually frustrated barkeep.
Glenda has built up a nice stockpile of cash via her trade and is contemplating evading the tentacles of her mob clients and disappearing with it to a new life. But on the night she embarks on a routine killing of a Jewish storekeeper who won't pay his protection money something goes terribly wrong. During the course of Glen/Glenda's subsequent journey to evade both the feds and the mob, she encounters a rapist farmer, brutal podunk cops on the take, a pedophile carny who likes pre-teen boys and toenail chewing (other peoples'), a crooked carnival owner, a he-she carny, and a hooker with a heart of gold. Being a very convincing cross-dresser and makeup expert, Glen/Glenn finds the ability to make the old gender switcheroo to be very handy in a pinch.
The book is most lovingly written when Wood gushes over Glenda's wardrobe, what it looks like and how it feels to the wearer. Along with being a fetishized fashion parade, the book is an interesting examination of a person with two distinct identities, a person who considers his male and female sides as "partners" in crime.
After much mayhem, one worries if Wood's ending will be able to tie things together, and it does, beautifully. The ending, like the book itself, is pretty kick-ass, in fact.
Is it an abuse of Goodreads' rating system to give five stars to what is, at best, really just a three-star book? Probably, but who the fuck cares? This book was as fun as can be; pulp sleaze at its best. It makes me most anxious to read Wood's 1967 followup, the allegedly sleazier, Death of a Transvestite.
------
(Kr@Ky 2011, with amendments in 2016)
When I was in kindergarten lo those many years ago I exhibited atrocious behavior at the Halloween party. I didn't like the hobo costume my parents had selected for me, and in rebellion I cried through the whole choral program rather than sing along with the rest of the kids. By the time the Christmas Party rolled around I had cleaned up my act, was entirely the little gentleman, and was thereupon awarded a Firestone Christmas songs LP (that's a vinyl record album to you youngsters) as "best behaved boy at the Christmas Party."
In the demented way my brain works--full of forced connections as it is--I began to think that Ed Wood had--with the writing of this pulp sleaze crime novel, Killer in Drag in 1963--improved his act greatly since penning and directing two of the worst films ever made, Glen or Glenda in 1953, and Plan 9 From Outer Space in 1959. If Plan 9... was like me at the Halloween Party, then Killer in Drag was ...well, you get the drift of my horrible forced metaphor. (I won't even go into the psychological implications of being forced to wear a costume that was "not me.")
Killer in Drag will never make it to any edition of the Modern Library top 100 list, make no mistake. It's poorly written in spots, and yet at no point would I confuse the prose in this book with anything in the stilted and embarrassing Plan 9.... It might even be argued that Wood is the Hemingway of sleaze. The first sentence of chapter 3 says simply: "It was cold." Fuckin' A. Yes, the book is rife with cliched dialogue and situations pilfered from numerous other crime novels, but what makes the book endearing and fun is the sub-cultural color and cast of underclass characters that Wood creates in telling his fast-moving, twisty tale.
The story's protagonist, Glen/Glenda, is based upon Ed Wood himself, and was the subject of his 1953 film Glen or Glenda, which is a piece of cinematic history that must be seen to be believed. Wood was a heterosexual cross-dresser who wore women's underwear under his male business clothes (and supposedly wore panties and bra under his marine uniform when storming the beaches of Guadalcanal), and he channels his fetish rather marvelously into the predilections of his novel's hero/heroine. Glen/Glenda is a mob assassin who gets warm feelings in the groin whenever donning his/her soft tight angora sweaters. By day our hero is Glen, a man, and by night is Glenda, a hired killer. Glenda's night world is one of violence and sexual fetishism, in which she is the object of lust from every manner of man, from the beat cop to the sexually frustrated barkeep.
Glenda has built up a nice stockpile of cash via her trade and is contemplating evading the tentacles of her mob clients and disappearing with it to a new life. But on the night she embarks on a routine killing of a Jewish storekeeper who won't pay his protection money something goes terribly wrong. During the course of Glen/Glenda's subsequent journey to evade both the feds and the mob, she encounters a rapist farmer, brutal podunk cops on the take, a pedophile carny who likes pre-teen boys and toenail chewing (other peoples'), a crooked carnival owner, a he-she carny, and a hooker with a heart of gold. Being a very convincing cross-dresser and makeup expert, Glen/Glenn finds the ability to make the old gender switcheroo to be very handy in a pinch.
The book is most lovingly written when Wood gushes over Glenda's wardrobe, what it looks like and how it feels to the wearer. Along with being a fetishized fashion parade, the book is an interesting examination of a person with two distinct identities, a person who considers his male and female sides as "partners" in crime.
After much mayhem, one worries if Wood's ending will be able to tie things together, and it does, beautifully. The ending, like the book itself, is pretty kick-ass, in fact.
Is it an abuse of Goodreads' rating system to give five stars to what is, at best, really just a three-star book? Probably, but who the fuck cares? This book was as fun as can be; pulp sleaze at its best. It makes me most anxious to read Wood's 1967 followup, the allegedly sleazier, Death of a Transvestite.
------
(Kr@Ky 2011, with amendments in 2016)
March 28, 2022
Trashy fun. More please.
April 20, 2014
Reading Ed Wood is liberating on a number of levels, much like watching his films. Ed is nothing if not sincere, and he writes from life. His life, not yours or mine. It never seems to occur to him that his life is anything but acceptable and interesting, and if you don't agree, you probably won't "get" why people read him. Of course, he also deals with things like alien invasions and professional killers that he has no real-life experience of, and in the area of fantasy, he's purely a hack. But that sincerity keeps sneaking in again and again, and I just can't help smiling at his frequent improbabilities.
This book stars Ed's alter-ego of Glen and Glenda (the subject of his first film), but this time Glenda is a hit-man, er, woman. Glen is just a fairly normal guy with a healthy heterosexual libido and a fascination with angora, but every now and then the mob calls and tells him "we need Glenda." And Glen goes into the bathroom, and - voila! - out steps the beautiful and deadly Glenda. In this story, of course, Glen/Glenda get set up for a murder they actually didn't commit and have to use all their wits to dodge the cops and find the real killer. Certainly the plot's been done before, and with more subtlety, but watching how Ed handles it is a pleasure.
In terms of technical skill, Ed's writing is on about the same level as his filmmaking, and certain sections will make editors writhe in torment: "It was a great sigh of relief Glenda expounded as she parked Glen's cadillac in the parking lot. Exhaustedly from the terror she'd been through she leaned back against the soft cushion of the driver's seat. The release of tension encased her whole being. Little beads of sweat dotted her forehead. It glistened against her makeup." I see part of the liberation of reading Ed in letting go of that inner editor and enjoying the ride, but some won't be able to go there. You have been warned.
This book stars Ed's alter-ego of Glen and Glenda (the subject of his first film), but this time Glenda is a hit-man, er, woman. Glen is just a fairly normal guy with a healthy heterosexual libido and a fascination with angora, but every now and then the mob calls and tells him "we need Glenda." And Glen goes into the bathroom, and - voila! - out steps the beautiful and deadly Glenda. In this story, of course, Glen/Glenda get set up for a murder they actually didn't commit and have to use all their wits to dodge the cops and find the real killer. Certainly the plot's been done before, and with more subtlety, but watching how Ed handles it is a pleasure.
In terms of technical skill, Ed's writing is on about the same level as his filmmaking, and certain sections will make editors writhe in torment: "It was a great sigh of relief Glenda expounded as she parked Glen's cadillac in the parking lot. Exhaustedly from the terror she'd been through she leaned back against the soft cushion of the driver's seat. The release of tension encased her whole being. Little beads of sweat dotted her forehead. It glistened against her makeup." I see part of the liberation of reading Ed in letting go of that inner editor and enjoying the ride, but some won't be able to go there. You have been warned.
January 25, 2019
review of
Ed Wood, Jr.'s Killer in Drag
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - January 24, 2019
I've never really shared the tendency of people to love Ed Wood as 'the worst filmmaker in the world'. I've never found Plan 9 from Outer Space enjoyable even as camp. I liked Glen or Glenda partially because it's such an odd mixture of materials but the soundtrack, at least in the version I witnessed, is garbled to the point of being unintelligible in parts. I've witnessed Jail Bait but I don't even remember that one. Tim Burton's Ed Wood fueled my appreciation for him but I still never liked the movies much. I've even seen some of the soft porn. I can relate to the work as wacky low-budget stuff but, well, it's too bad he wasn't alive in the era of affordable video production, maybe he cd've pulled it off better now.
ANYWAY, I got a copy of Killer in Drag 1st, wondering if I might like his novels more, & then a copy of Death of a Transvestite. I started reading the latter 1st but when I realized that it was the sequel to the former I switched to that being 1st. I didn't have high expectations. As it turned out, I've found the novels to be much more competently created than the movies. Comparisons to Jim Thompson might be in order. Both of these novels turned into one movie made w/ a reasonable budget wd even stand a chance of being popular. I wdn't want to do it but I'm sure there're plenty out there who wd. What about Todd Haynes?
The thing is, this novel is GRIM. Almost unbearably so (for this reader). I've always had the impression that as a filmmaker Wood was probably fun to work w/. Wood's 'career' as a director started transforming from attempts at 'mainstream' work to more pornographic material in the 1960s. Killer in Drag was 1st published in 1965. It's easy to imagine it being written by a bitter alcoholic frustrated by his 'lack of success' in movies. The drag details are obviously autobiographical, esp the emphasis on hetero-drag.
"He picked up the gun affectionately and slipped it smoothly into the pocket of the garment he was wearing. That garment was a fluffy, floor length, pink marabou negligee. Calmly, then, he made his way to the bedroom.
"Mona, beautiful blonde Mona, sat on the edge of a rumpled king-sized bed waiting for him. She wore only a filmy nylon bed jacket which left nothing underneath to the imagination. Her eyes watched every move Glen made as he walked to a vanity table and removed his marabou negligee revealing beneath a pink satin, black lace trimmed nightgown." - p 8
People familiar w/ Wood know that he loved dressing in drag &, in particular, wearing angora sweaters. "In Wood's 1992 biography Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr., Wood's wife Kathy recalls that Wood told her that his mother dressed him in girls' clothing as a child. Kathy stated that Wood's transvestism was not a sexual inclination, but rather a neomaternal comfort derived mainly from angora fabric (angora is featured in many of Wood's films). Even in his later years, Wood was not shy about going out in public dressed in drag as Shirley, his female alter ego (who also appeared in many of his screenplays and stories)." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wood... ) I've dressed in drag but never w/ the intention of being seen as a woman. Check out "Gender Fuck Party (closet film)" (1980, Ricki DellAmerica - https://youtu.be/sXQ_CVS_5_8 ) in which I appear in a dress. My own feelings about so-called 'cross-dressing' is that people shd wear whatever clothes they want to regardless of what sex those clothes are ordinarily associated w/. Even in today's considerably more 'queer-friendly' world, a man in drag is not likely to be well-rc'vd in most places. In Wood's time, things were much more intolerant.
"In 1953 Wood wrote and directed the exploitation semi-documentary film Glen or Glenda (originally titled I Changed My Sex!) with producer George Weiss. The film starred Wood (under the alias "Daniel Davis"), his girlfriend Dolores Fuller, and Lugosi (in voiceover) as the god-like narrator. The film, loosely based on transgender woman Christine Jorgensen, was panned by critics (then and now), and considered one of Wood's worst films, though many others have praised its camp qualities. It is notable for its emphatic and groundbreaking portrayal of LGBT issues at a time when the media was very hostile to such ideas." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wood...
&, Lo & Behold!, Glen & Glenda are the names of the main character, a cross-dressing hit (wo)man.
""Open it—If you try for a gun I'll see you go out the hard way. Right in the belly where it'll hurt—where it'll take you a long time to die."" - p 21
That's at least the 2nd time recently that I've come across the notion of shooting people in the stomach to make them suffer horribly while dying slowly. Is that some sort of rc'vd wisdom in this culture?
Glenda wants to retire from the Syndicate, that's a no-no.
"The syndicate had a long arm, but after the operation which would make Glenda a real girl, she could well disappear forever from their grasp." - p 25
There's some confusion in the bk about wch way Glen/da's sexual preferences run but basically it's heterosexual. How this heterosexuality was to be experienced after having the penis removed is a bit unclear. Life is complicated.
In keeping w/ Wood's own cross-dressing preferences much of Killer in Drag & Death of a Transvestite centers around the clothes. "A matching black velvet belt with a rhinestone buckle embraced tightly to her twenty-two inch waist line". (p 26) Wch will kill Glen/da 1st?: a syndicate killer or complications from cinching in the waist too far?! Wood's characters are definitely concerned w/ being sexy women.
"The bellboys eyes lighted up suddenly. "Yeah," he replied dreamily. "It was summer—She was wearing pink slacks and a pink sweater. Not one of them fuzzy kind like she's got on now—but a tight one; showed just about everything she had. I'll never forget that sight if I live to be a thousand. Let me tell you. That set of titties she's got sure does stretch the wool—and the imagination—WHOW."" - p 28
In keeping w/ Glen/da's sexual ambiguity, even though Glen/da's lust for & sexual skill w/ women is emphasized, as a career move away from being a killer s/he goes to a rich gay man's place to sexually please him for the advancement connections that'll result.
"Glenda slid softly into the bed beside the old man. Immediately he was at Glenda. She felt his hot breath on her neck; her ears; her throat; her hair. He wiggled. He squirmed. Sweat poured from his sex hungry body. He moaned words of endearment. Words of love; of forever worship. His hand suddenly lashed out and tore the right shoulder strap from Glenda's nightie. Then the left tore the other strap. The foam rubber breasts that made many women green with jealousy, rolled from her flat chest to lose themselves in the fast becoming wrinkled sheets and blankets. Dalten Van Carter's tongue searched the small boyish nipples of her breasts as his feverish hands pushed away the pink mist." - pp 37-38
But then the party pooper came in.
"The little Negro boy who had helped him escape was also dead. Murdered! The only one. other than the murderer, who knew that Glenda had not killed Van Carter." - p 52
Of course, Glenda's fooling those heterosexual men does have a tendency to bring out the beast. But Glenda has a way of dealing w/ wd-be rapists.
"Glenda came out from behind the brush just enough for him to see the lovely body still partially hidden in the tight pink panties and brassiere. Her long auburn hair fell so wonderfully over her white shoulders. Charlie stared out of the car window. Glenda unsnapped the brassiere and turned her back at the same time. With her back to him she let the brassiere fall to the brush. She cupped her hands over her flat boyish nipples feigning full breasts, and turned to him again.
""You can come over now, honey . . ." she cooed." - p 63
Glen/da falls on hard times as s/he tries to evade the police & the syndicate. S/he's looked upon w/ suspicion in a small town along the way.
""What in the world is a 'Green River' law?"
""A kinda law that keeps them door to door sales guys off our backs. They hit this town like a swarm of locust a few years back. Made deals on a lot of things: magazines; pills; face soap that takes out wrinkles; miracle seeds; any kind of gimmick thing. Sure! Nobody sees them, the cash and most of all the folks never see what they bought. Course—Lots of them sales folks is honest hard working citizens. But because of the bad ones, everybody's gotta suffer."" - pp 76-77
Yes, the same person who wrote such monologues as "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" for Plan 9 from Outer Space wrote the above. Too bad Wood didn't start as a writer & then become a filmmaker.
"A Green River Ordinance is a common United States city ordinance prohibiting door-to-door solicitation. Under such an ordinance, it is illegal for any business to sell their items door-to-door without express prior permission from the household. Some versions prohibit all organizations, including non-profit charitable, political, and religious groups, from soliciting or canvassing any household that makes it clear, in writing, that it does not want such solicitations (generally with a "No Trespassing" or "No Solicitations" sign posted).
"The ordinance is named for the city of Green River, Wyoming, which in 1931 was the first city to enact it. The ordinance was unsuccessfully challenged on constitutional grounds by the Fuller Brush Company in 1932." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_R...
Our anti-hero decides to invest his killer money in buying a carnival, partially to comouflage himself from the local law. This turns out to be a bad idea. It's funny seeing the hardened killer in drag get bilked.
"That did it. Bill Greater burned. "Maybe you think you'd like to take over the whole show?"
""Maybe I would at that," Glen spit back quickly.
"Bill Greater's mind clicked fast. The whole shebang wasn't worth five thousand bucks. It had been a bad season all the way. The insurance company wouldn't renew his insurance on several of the rides because of their condition and he wasn't about to throw good money after bad by fixing them up." - p 89
Again, I emphasize that Wood wasn't anywhere near as inept a writer as he was a filmmaker. Consider this passage re Glen/da surveying his/her new domain.
"A Hindu spread out on nails. The Fire Eater; and an extra large poster of the Half-Man, Half-Woman, blow off attraction.
"Noises of every description resounded throughout the entire area and it was into this fantastic scene Glen walked from his new office.
"His eyes marveled at the speed and accuracy with which the work was accomplished. Each man knowing his job and doing it with the precision only experience could teach." - p 93
"Shirlee's voice became whiskey thick. "Meet old Doc Henry yet?"
"This time she waited for an answer. Glen slowly spoke. "No, I haven't."
""You will. But even as young as you are—you're too old for him. He likes young boys. Ten. Twelve. Thirteen. He's a son of a bitchin' bastard creep. You ain't gonna find anybody around here that likes that son of a bitchin' creep. It's his son of a bitchin' creep kind that makes a bad name for everybody who is a—little—different."" - pp 100-101
Glen goes home with a prostitute. He's more excited by her clothes than he is by her (but that changes).
"Glen nearly drooled at the red satin, knee length cocktail dress she had been wearing beneath the rain coat. Even her drop earrings, necklace and bracelet were of a red glass. She leaned over to open the bottle and pour the whiskey into both glasses.
""Bet you even wear red undies." Glen had a warm smile on his face." - p 121
One of the things that makes this bk so grim is that even the sympahetic characters undergo horrible experiences. I won't spoil that plot by specifiying. All in all, Wood's vision of humanity is pretty sad.
""Ah—too damned fat. Maybe if I shave." Pause. "What the hell can a shave do for a kisser like mine. Kisser? Huh! It ain't been even kissed in five years. That old battle ax of mine—Huh! Who needs that fat slob anyway." A vision of he and his wife in bed crossed his mind's eye and all he could think about were elephants." - p 162
In the long run, this is basically a variation on soft-porn exploitation or some such. As such, I can't really recommend it in the same breath as, say Ross MacDonald. Still, if you've ever watched Wood's movies & thought something like 'I could probably find this guy interesting if he weren't so inept' then you might want to try to read a novel. They're short & easy reads. I'd recommend reading Gypsy Rose Lee's mysteries 1st, though.
Ed Wood, Jr.'s Killer in Drag
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - January 24, 2019
I've never really shared the tendency of people to love Ed Wood as 'the worst filmmaker in the world'. I've never found Plan 9 from Outer Space enjoyable even as camp. I liked Glen or Glenda partially because it's such an odd mixture of materials but the soundtrack, at least in the version I witnessed, is garbled to the point of being unintelligible in parts. I've witnessed Jail Bait but I don't even remember that one. Tim Burton's Ed Wood fueled my appreciation for him but I still never liked the movies much. I've even seen some of the soft porn. I can relate to the work as wacky low-budget stuff but, well, it's too bad he wasn't alive in the era of affordable video production, maybe he cd've pulled it off better now.
ANYWAY, I got a copy of Killer in Drag 1st, wondering if I might like his novels more, & then a copy of Death of a Transvestite. I started reading the latter 1st but when I realized that it was the sequel to the former I switched to that being 1st. I didn't have high expectations. As it turned out, I've found the novels to be much more competently created than the movies. Comparisons to Jim Thompson might be in order. Both of these novels turned into one movie made w/ a reasonable budget wd even stand a chance of being popular. I wdn't want to do it but I'm sure there're plenty out there who wd. What about Todd Haynes?
The thing is, this novel is GRIM. Almost unbearably so (for this reader). I've always had the impression that as a filmmaker Wood was probably fun to work w/. Wood's 'career' as a director started transforming from attempts at 'mainstream' work to more pornographic material in the 1960s. Killer in Drag was 1st published in 1965. It's easy to imagine it being written by a bitter alcoholic frustrated by his 'lack of success' in movies. The drag details are obviously autobiographical, esp the emphasis on hetero-drag.
"He picked up the gun affectionately and slipped it smoothly into the pocket of the garment he was wearing. That garment was a fluffy, floor length, pink marabou negligee. Calmly, then, he made his way to the bedroom.
"Mona, beautiful blonde Mona, sat on the edge of a rumpled king-sized bed waiting for him. She wore only a filmy nylon bed jacket which left nothing underneath to the imagination. Her eyes watched every move Glen made as he walked to a vanity table and removed his marabou negligee revealing beneath a pink satin, black lace trimmed nightgown." - p 8
People familiar w/ Wood know that he loved dressing in drag &, in particular, wearing angora sweaters. "In Wood's 1992 biography Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr., Wood's wife Kathy recalls that Wood told her that his mother dressed him in girls' clothing as a child. Kathy stated that Wood's transvestism was not a sexual inclination, but rather a neomaternal comfort derived mainly from angora fabric (angora is featured in many of Wood's films). Even in his later years, Wood was not shy about going out in public dressed in drag as Shirley, his female alter ego (who also appeared in many of his screenplays and stories)." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wood... ) I've dressed in drag but never w/ the intention of being seen as a woman. Check out "Gender Fuck Party (closet film)" (1980, Ricki DellAmerica - https://youtu.be/sXQ_CVS_5_8 ) in which I appear in a dress. My own feelings about so-called 'cross-dressing' is that people shd wear whatever clothes they want to regardless of what sex those clothes are ordinarily associated w/. Even in today's considerably more 'queer-friendly' world, a man in drag is not likely to be well-rc'vd in most places. In Wood's time, things were much more intolerant.
"In 1953 Wood wrote and directed the exploitation semi-documentary film Glen or Glenda (originally titled I Changed My Sex!) with producer George Weiss. The film starred Wood (under the alias "Daniel Davis"), his girlfriend Dolores Fuller, and Lugosi (in voiceover) as the god-like narrator. The film, loosely based on transgender woman Christine Jorgensen, was panned by critics (then and now), and considered one of Wood's worst films, though many others have praised its camp qualities. It is notable for its emphatic and groundbreaking portrayal of LGBT issues at a time when the media was very hostile to such ideas." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wood...
&, Lo & Behold!, Glen & Glenda are the names of the main character, a cross-dressing hit (wo)man.
""Open it—If you try for a gun I'll see you go out the hard way. Right in the belly where it'll hurt—where it'll take you a long time to die."" - p 21
That's at least the 2nd time recently that I've come across the notion of shooting people in the stomach to make them suffer horribly while dying slowly. Is that some sort of rc'vd wisdom in this culture?
Glenda wants to retire from the Syndicate, that's a no-no.
"The syndicate had a long arm, but after the operation which would make Glenda a real girl, she could well disappear forever from their grasp." - p 25
There's some confusion in the bk about wch way Glen/da's sexual preferences run but basically it's heterosexual. How this heterosexuality was to be experienced after having the penis removed is a bit unclear. Life is complicated.
In keeping w/ Wood's own cross-dressing preferences much of Killer in Drag & Death of a Transvestite centers around the clothes. "A matching black velvet belt with a rhinestone buckle embraced tightly to her twenty-two inch waist line". (p 26) Wch will kill Glen/da 1st?: a syndicate killer or complications from cinching in the waist too far?! Wood's characters are definitely concerned w/ being sexy women.
"The bellboys eyes lighted up suddenly. "Yeah," he replied dreamily. "It was summer—She was wearing pink slacks and a pink sweater. Not one of them fuzzy kind like she's got on now—but a tight one; showed just about everything she had. I'll never forget that sight if I live to be a thousand. Let me tell you. That set of titties she's got sure does stretch the wool—and the imagination—WHOW."" - p 28
In keeping w/ Glen/da's sexual ambiguity, even though Glen/da's lust for & sexual skill w/ women is emphasized, as a career move away from being a killer s/he goes to a rich gay man's place to sexually please him for the advancement connections that'll result.
"Glenda slid softly into the bed beside the old man. Immediately he was at Glenda. She felt his hot breath on her neck; her ears; her throat; her hair. He wiggled. He squirmed. Sweat poured from his sex hungry body. He moaned words of endearment. Words of love; of forever worship. His hand suddenly lashed out and tore the right shoulder strap from Glenda's nightie. Then the left tore the other strap. The foam rubber breasts that made many women green with jealousy, rolled from her flat chest to lose themselves in the fast becoming wrinkled sheets and blankets. Dalten Van Carter's tongue searched the small boyish nipples of her breasts as his feverish hands pushed away the pink mist." - pp 37-38
But then the party pooper came in.
"The little Negro boy who had helped him escape was also dead. Murdered! The only one. other than the murderer, who knew that Glenda had not killed Van Carter." - p 52
Of course, Glenda's fooling those heterosexual men does have a tendency to bring out the beast. But Glenda has a way of dealing w/ wd-be rapists.
"Glenda came out from behind the brush just enough for him to see the lovely body still partially hidden in the tight pink panties and brassiere. Her long auburn hair fell so wonderfully over her white shoulders. Charlie stared out of the car window. Glenda unsnapped the brassiere and turned her back at the same time. With her back to him she let the brassiere fall to the brush. She cupped her hands over her flat boyish nipples feigning full breasts, and turned to him again.
""You can come over now, honey . . ." she cooed." - p 63
Glen/da falls on hard times as s/he tries to evade the police & the syndicate. S/he's looked upon w/ suspicion in a small town along the way.
""What in the world is a 'Green River' law?"
""A kinda law that keeps them door to door sales guys off our backs. They hit this town like a swarm of locust a few years back. Made deals on a lot of things: magazines; pills; face soap that takes out wrinkles; miracle seeds; any kind of gimmick thing. Sure! Nobody sees them, the cash and most of all the folks never see what they bought. Course—Lots of them sales folks is honest hard working citizens. But because of the bad ones, everybody's gotta suffer."" - pp 76-77
Yes, the same person who wrote such monologues as "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" for Plan 9 from Outer Space wrote the above. Too bad Wood didn't start as a writer & then become a filmmaker.
"A Green River Ordinance is a common United States city ordinance prohibiting door-to-door solicitation. Under such an ordinance, it is illegal for any business to sell their items door-to-door without express prior permission from the household. Some versions prohibit all organizations, including non-profit charitable, political, and religious groups, from soliciting or canvassing any household that makes it clear, in writing, that it does not want such solicitations (generally with a "No Trespassing" or "No Solicitations" sign posted).
"The ordinance is named for the city of Green River, Wyoming, which in 1931 was the first city to enact it. The ordinance was unsuccessfully challenged on constitutional grounds by the Fuller Brush Company in 1932." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_R...
Our anti-hero decides to invest his killer money in buying a carnival, partially to comouflage himself from the local law. This turns out to be a bad idea. It's funny seeing the hardened killer in drag get bilked.
"That did it. Bill Greater burned. "Maybe you think you'd like to take over the whole show?"
""Maybe I would at that," Glen spit back quickly.
"Bill Greater's mind clicked fast. The whole shebang wasn't worth five thousand bucks. It had been a bad season all the way. The insurance company wouldn't renew his insurance on several of the rides because of their condition and he wasn't about to throw good money after bad by fixing them up." - p 89
Again, I emphasize that Wood wasn't anywhere near as inept a writer as he was a filmmaker. Consider this passage re Glen/da surveying his/her new domain.
"A Hindu spread out on nails. The Fire Eater; and an extra large poster of the Half-Man, Half-Woman, blow off attraction.
"Noises of every description resounded throughout the entire area and it was into this fantastic scene Glen walked from his new office.
"His eyes marveled at the speed and accuracy with which the work was accomplished. Each man knowing his job and doing it with the precision only experience could teach." - p 93
"Shirlee's voice became whiskey thick. "Meet old Doc Henry yet?"
"This time she waited for an answer. Glen slowly spoke. "No, I haven't."
""You will. But even as young as you are—you're too old for him. He likes young boys. Ten. Twelve. Thirteen. He's a son of a bitchin' bastard creep. You ain't gonna find anybody around here that likes that son of a bitchin' creep. It's his son of a bitchin' creep kind that makes a bad name for everybody who is a—little—different."" - pp 100-101
Glen goes home with a prostitute. He's more excited by her clothes than he is by her (but that changes).
"Glen nearly drooled at the red satin, knee length cocktail dress she had been wearing beneath the rain coat. Even her drop earrings, necklace and bracelet were of a red glass. She leaned over to open the bottle and pour the whiskey into both glasses.
""Bet you even wear red undies." Glen had a warm smile on his face." - p 121
One of the things that makes this bk so grim is that even the sympahetic characters undergo horrible experiences. I won't spoil that plot by specifiying. All in all, Wood's vision of humanity is pretty sad.
""Ah—too damned fat. Maybe if I shave." Pause. "What the hell can a shave do for a kisser like mine. Kisser? Huh! It ain't been even kissed in five years. That old battle ax of mine—Huh! Who needs that fat slob anyway." A vision of he and his wife in bed crossed his mind's eye and all he could think about were elephants." - p 162
In the long run, this is basically a variation on soft-porn exploitation or some such. As such, I can't really recommend it in the same breath as, say Ross MacDonald. Still, if you've ever watched Wood's movies & thought something like 'I could probably find this guy interesting if he weren't so inept' then you might want to try to read a novel. They're short & easy reads. I'd recommend reading Gypsy Rose Lee's mysteries 1st, though.
March 10, 2022
Realmente un muy buen libro. Conviene que tenga aquella segunda parte, porque son 4 horas de lectura que se resumen con facilidad.
November 30, 2017
Of course Ed Wood Jr. would write a perfect noir mystery full of dames and carnies and booze! He's an obvious fan of the times and genre. And being Ed Wood, his story would be an opportunity to put his trans heart on his sleeve again and just write his passion. He likes women's clothing. This ends on a cliffhanger. Thankfully there is a part two!
October 3, 2022
I didn't give this five stars because it's great literature, because nobody would mistake it for that. I gave it five stars because I enjoyed it so much. If you have seen Ed Wood's movies, you will probably enjoy this as well. It has elements of a noirish melodrama: a killer on the run, crooked cops, a cheap carnival. The difference is that the killer in question is Glen...or Glenda. He/she has a dual identity and dresses in drag as much as possible, even when doing hits for the mob. But when a rich, elderly lover of his (hers?) is murdered, his ID is found on the scene and, even though he did not commit the murder, he knows he will get the blame, so he has to flee -- from the law and the mob. This is fast-paced story and it seems that at one point, Wood lost track of what he was doing, because he states, somewhere in the middle of the story, that it was the middle of winter, but then, a day or so later, it is summer. This is reminiscent of his most famous film, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, in which one scene might take place in daylight and the next at night, with no perceptible passage of time. But, despite all that, it is an enjoyable read, sort of a literary equivalent of a very cheap b-movie (like an Ed Wood movie, actually).
April 28, 2022
Given the infamous author of the book, and his films and reputation, my expectations were pretty low. So I was pleasantly surprised at how compelling the narrative really was.
Wood has a great talent for setting a mood. From early on, the story has a very seedy feeling to it. Along with that feeling is a little smirk, as though the lead character (and by extension, the reader) enjoys this kind of atmosphere, reveling in the sleaze of it all.
After the story takes a turn, the book feels different. It's not necessarily less enjoyable, just not as intriguing as the earlier part.
One puzzling thing is the back cover synopsis, which not only gives away the open ending but leads readers to believe they'll be reading a very different story. Maybe this is a carry-over from the original printing? Whatever the case is, it doesn't actually ruin the book, but it does have one looking at the remaining pages while reading and wondering.
While not categorically a "good book," this is an intriguing thriller that might be a look inside the head of an author playing with story elements he likes.
Wood has a great talent for setting a mood. From early on, the story has a very seedy feeling to it. Along with that feeling is a little smirk, as though the lead character (and by extension, the reader) enjoys this kind of atmosphere, reveling in the sleaze of it all.
After the story takes a turn, the book feels different. It's not necessarily less enjoyable, just not as intriguing as the earlier part.
One puzzling thing is the back cover synopsis, which not only gives away the open ending but leads readers to believe they'll be reading a very different story. Maybe this is a carry-over from the original printing? Whatever the case is, it doesn't actually ruin the book, but it does have one looking at the remaining pages while reading and wondering.
While not categorically a "good book," this is an intriguing thriller that might be a look inside the head of an author playing with story elements he likes.
February 12, 2024
I think this was more a 3.5 star kind of book but I couldn't do that... but isnt 4 stars. Let's see if that all comes out in the wash.
I had a great time reading this book. I would argue it was head and shoulders better than Ed's scripts. the story was fun and interesting; and the dialogue was a delight.
Sadly, the main character Glen/Glenda isnt believable sometimes. A hard-ass contract killing woman somehow screams and gasps at violence in later scenes seemed odd to me.
The final act (if you could call it that) ends as if the author realized he could only write 160 pages and needed to tie it up. I bet there could have been another 100 pages of the main character going about their business, and affecting change in this small town... all leading to a stronger battle in the end.
A fun, hard-boiled noir story with hints of Jim Thompson... tiny tiny hints mind you.
I got more Ed Wood Jr. stories to read, and I suspect I will have just as good of a time.
I had a great time reading this book. I would argue it was head and shoulders better than Ed's scripts. the story was fun and interesting; and the dialogue was a delight.
Sadly, the main character Glen/Glenda isnt believable sometimes. A hard-ass contract killing woman somehow screams and gasps at violence in later scenes seemed odd to me.
The final act (if you could call it that) ends as if the author realized he could only write 160 pages and needed to tie it up. I bet there could have been another 100 pages of the main character going about their business, and affecting change in this small town... all leading to a stronger battle in the end.
A fun, hard-boiled noir story with hints of Jim Thompson... tiny tiny hints mind you.
I got more Ed Wood Jr. stories to read, and I suspect I will have just as good of a time.
January 29, 2025
Viendo las pelis de Ed Wood siempre he pensado que su gran problema era que no tenía filtro con sus ideas, no sabía distinguir las buenas de las malas y simplemente las tiraba todas al puchero.
Ahora, leyendo sus relatos y novelas, me reafirmo. La trama es más simple que el asa de un cubo y parece más una sucesión de escenas que otra cosa; algunas de esas escenas son absurdas y, en general, todo es bastante estereotipado, pero hay ideas genuinamente buenas aquí y algunos momentos me han tenido en tensión como el mejor de los thrillers.
Me ha enganchado la historia, estoy deseando leer la secuela.
Ahora, leyendo sus relatos y novelas, me reafirmo. La trama es más simple que el asa de un cubo y parece más una sucesión de escenas que otra cosa; algunas de esas escenas son absurdas y, en general, todo es bastante estereotipado, pero hay ideas genuinamente buenas aquí y algunos momentos me han tenido en tensión como el mejor de los thrillers.
Me ha enganchado la historia, estoy deseando leer la secuela.
January 24, 2026
This was really entertaining, and Ed Wood was a good writer, despite his lack of talent in filmmaking. There are a few questionable plot and continuity decisions here and there, but this is not a so-bad-it’s-good book. It’s simply a fun, entertaining piece of pulp. The idea of a killer with both a male and female persona is actually quite unique, for the time and even now. While the story doesn’t explore every logical direction it could, it does most of what you expect and still delivers a few surprises.
I would reasonably give this a four, but I went with five because, in the context of what Wood achieved in a trashy market, it feels like the best version of what it’s trying to be.
I would reasonably give this a four, but I went with five because, in the context of what Wood achieved in a trashy market, it feels like the best version of what it’s trying to be.
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September 4, 2019
Ed Wood is probably my favourite director; so when I found this book at a local library, I was intrigued, and also somewhat surprised that a relatively mainstream institution would carry such a non-mainstream book. Although certainly not a book that most people would enjoy, the sheer trashiness of it gives it a certain appeal to people who are interested in vintage pulp fiction. The writing is about what you would expect from the author's other work, so don't expect brilliant prose, but it's definitely interesting.
August 17, 2020
Cons: This is the worst written book I've ever read by far.
Pros: As is the case with Ed Wood's movies, the concept in this book are interesting and insane enough to balance out any lack of technical prowess.
Pros: As is the case with Ed Wood's movies, the concept in this book are interesting and insane enough to balance out any lack of technical prowess.
November 24, 2018
Incredibly entertaining pulp fiction. Ed Wood can't write believable characters but he can write a story that functions with the same kind of weird wonder as his films.
December 27, 2020
Aquí les dejo mi opinión:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=807S-...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=807S-...
March 3, 2024
Divertido y sin sentido.
Si me lo imaginé muy película de los 80's
Si me lo imaginé muy película de los 80's
March 4, 2024
It’s an Ed Wood book. What more can you ask for?
February 17, 2026
a professional
killer knows squat about how
to run carnivals
killer knows squat about how
to run carnivals
January 26, 2026
Muy entretenido. Rápido de leer.
Glen y Glenda, los quiero mucho.
Glen y Glenda, los quiero mucho.
September 16, 2017
Picture a Venn diagram of the intersection of Literature and Pulp Fiction. In that overlap you'll find Raymond Chandler, Jim Thompson, perhaps grandfather Poe. But take a closer look and you'll see '69 Chrysler 300 crashing straight through the crisp lines of the diagram and out into the great indeterminate blank beyond. For some reason you're in the backseat, wearing a fluffy, floor-length pink marabou negligee. Buckle up, because Ed Wood is in the driver's seat.
I hope, for your sake, you've seen "Ed Wood", It's a perfect film, and essential preparation for reading this book. Because the protagonist of this book isn't really Glen the transvestite assassin. It's Ed Wood.
Transvestite assassin? you ask. Why not? Hired by a shadowy "syndicate" (and I like to imagine here The Syndicate from The X-Files, portentously dispatching orders to their transvestite hit-man via glossy black rotary telephone), Glen becomes Glenda to carry out his hits. As he lovingly details each garment of his murderous wardrobe, you can't help but appreciate the way he flaunts danger as he flouts it. And this quirk supplies a convenient ex post facto justification - when his targets inevitably deride and mock his transvestite self, he can respond to their taunts in an commensurate fashion - cold-blooded murder.
Now lest you think the transvestite lifestyle doesn't seem well-suited for a life of crime, consider this: when your bosses inevitably turn on, and frame you for murder (yes, they frame him for murder - a hired killer. Talk about putting a hat on a hat), who is better equipped to live a life in disguise? Most of this book is about our heroes efforts to escape the authorities by going incognito. And if you're Ed Wood, what's the best way of hiding from the authorities? Why, purchasing a travelling circus of course.
And it goes on like this. There just isn't any way to accurately capture Wood's berserk aesthetic, any more than I can give an accurate summation of his writing style. For example, ruminating on blind fate: "The big man stirred the capsules in the fish bowl and your number came up." watching Ed heap up these piles of random dialogue is like watching someone trying to make sandcastles from pancake batter.
Of course, in the postmodern age, the point isn't the text itself; no the real "story" is the story of the reader's reading of the text. I take it back, Ed isn't the protagonist, you are: watching the plot careen past the windshield while you make wisecracks from the back seat, and Ed winks at you in the rear-view mirror.
I hope, for your sake, you've seen "Ed Wood", It's a perfect film, and essential preparation for reading this book. Because the protagonist of this book isn't really Glen the transvestite assassin. It's Ed Wood.
Transvestite assassin? you ask. Why not? Hired by a shadowy "syndicate" (and I like to imagine here The Syndicate from The X-Files, portentously dispatching orders to their transvestite hit-man via glossy black rotary telephone), Glen becomes Glenda to carry out his hits. As he lovingly details each garment of his murderous wardrobe, you can't help but appreciate the way he flaunts danger as he flouts it. And this quirk supplies a convenient ex post facto justification - when his targets inevitably deride and mock his transvestite self, he can respond to their taunts in an commensurate fashion - cold-blooded murder.
Now lest you think the transvestite lifestyle doesn't seem well-suited for a life of crime, consider this: when your bosses inevitably turn on, and frame you for murder (yes, they frame him for murder - a hired killer. Talk about putting a hat on a hat), who is better equipped to live a life in disguise? Most of this book is about our heroes efforts to escape the authorities by going incognito. And if you're Ed Wood, what's the best way of hiding from the authorities? Why, purchasing a travelling circus of course.
And it goes on like this. There just isn't any way to accurately capture Wood's berserk aesthetic, any more than I can give an accurate summation of his writing style. For example, ruminating on blind fate: "The big man stirred the capsules in the fish bowl and your number came up." watching Ed heap up these piles of random dialogue is like watching someone trying to make sandcastles from pancake batter.
Of course, in the postmodern age, the point isn't the text itself; no the real "story" is the story of the reader's reading of the text. I take it back, Ed isn't the protagonist, you are: watching the plot careen past the windshield while you make wisecracks from the back seat, and Ed winks at you in the rear-view mirror.
April 30, 2013
I became fascinated with the life and movies of movie director Ed Wood, Jr. After reading his biography and seeing several video documentaries, I was anxious to read one of his books. I believe he is credited with over 140 paperback books, all quite lurid.
"Killer In Drag" was the first one I read. I seems to have been written in a non-stop stream, as if he had five bottles of vodka and wrote the book over three days without sleeping. It had the same weird quality as his movies. I tried to read the counterpart to this book, "Death Of A Transvestite", but could only get halfway through it. It was even more rambling and lacked the fun characters that Killer had.
I doubt I need to read anymore of Woods books. But I do recommend this one if you are a fan. If you are not a fan, it would be wise to stay away. Ed Wood's world is not a pretty one.
"Killer In Drag" was the first one I read. I seems to have been written in a non-stop stream, as if he had five bottles of vodka and wrote the book over three days without sleeping. It had the same weird quality as his movies. I tried to read the counterpart to this book, "Death Of A Transvestite", but could only get halfway through it. It was even more rambling and lacked the fun characters that Killer had.
I doubt I need to read anymore of Woods books. But I do recommend this one if you are a fan. If you are not a fan, it would be wise to stay away. Ed Wood's world is not a pretty one.
March 3, 2015
Este fue uno de los libros que no elegí en el club de lectura (¡Hola, Amiges!) y que luego me recomendó mi amiga Caro (¡Hola, Carito!).
De Ed Wood solo sabia que había dirigido la supuesta peor película de todos los tiempos y que Johnny Depp lo interpretó en su biografía, de la que he visto partes solamente.
Es un relato Pulp con todo lo que eso lleva: el glamour y la miseria criminal, femme fatales portando revólveres en sus carteras, sexo con olor a perfume, whiski y cigarros, policias corruptos, persecuciones en el desierto.
Creo que Glen/Glenda estaria hoy muy cercano al mundo de los superhéroes, tanto por la influencia del pulp en los orígenes del cómic de "capas", como por la idea de una personalidad secreta que es más real y más interesante que aquella que la sociedad nos obliga a mostrar.
De Ed Wood solo sabia que había dirigido la supuesta peor película de todos los tiempos y que Johnny Depp lo interpretó en su biografía, de la que he visto partes solamente.
Es un relato Pulp con todo lo que eso lleva: el glamour y la miseria criminal, femme fatales portando revólveres en sus carteras, sexo con olor a perfume, whiski y cigarros, policias corruptos, persecuciones en el desierto.
Creo que Glen/Glenda estaria hoy muy cercano al mundo de los superhéroes, tanto por la influencia del pulp en los orígenes del cómic de "capas", como por la idea de una personalidad secreta que es más real y más interesante que aquella que la sociedad nos obliga a mostrar.
October 6, 2023
A truly bizarre “sequel” to Wood’s classic Glen or Glenda, only this time Glenda’s a contract killer on the run. The prose is pure pulp with all those great Wood touches (yes, there’s angora and awkward dialog). This book feels like it was made up as Wood wrote it, but that gives it a kind of crazy energy that works. This is only my second exposure to Wood’s writing, but I’m getting the feeling that he was a much more talented writer than film maker, and I’m saying this as someone who loves his films.
October 15, 2008
"Death of A Transvestite", the sequel to this classic is the better book, but read this one anyway. Wood spends too much time describing each ugly drag outfit his hit man "Glen" throws on. He's very careful in letting us know that Glen is still a masterful lady-killer when he's out of drag. Talk about sexually confused!
April 12, 2010
Nophoto-m-25x33 Oops, turns out "Death of a Transvestite" is a SEQUEL to this book. So for reference: if you're going to read these two books, read this one first! A lot less sleazy than "Death," and better paced.
February 16, 2015
Excelente, entretenido de principio a fin. Es fácil involucrarse al 100% en la historia, que cruda y oscura, se vuelve extrañamente cercana. Hartos giros inesperados, intrigas, acción, erotismo poco convencional... Recomendado de todas maneras!
March 12, 2012
Fun piece of trash pulp.
Caveat : cliffhanger ending.
December 5, 2012
Pretty bad. Lame plot & characterization draped over fetish. I'm kind of sympathetic but this was just useless.
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