Surrealist filmmaker David Lynch called this one of his favorite films. He used the "howling wind" sound effect in Eraserhead (1977).
In March 1981, Paramount placed a full-page page ad in the New York Times announcing the reissue of Glen or Glenda. It was heralded as a lost trail-blazing masterpiece in the tradition of Cidadão Kane (1941), Monstros (1932), O Poderoso Chefão (1972) and Napoleão (1927). A big New York premiere was scheduled for the reissue, but the date, April 1st, made film buffs suspect that the whole thing was an April Fool's Day joke. Paramount abruptly canceled the premiere the night before, citing the attempted assassination of then-president Ronald Reagan on March 30th. The film was quietly put into limited re-release the next month, and started appearing in TV "bad movie" film festivals soon after.
Bela Lugosi was broke and an addict at the time so readily took on a role in the film, even though, according to Delores Fuller, he hated transvestites. Reportedly, he was paid $5000, but it was probably closer to $1000.
Shot in just four days.