- Accidental Innuendo: Dr. Alton's description of Anne's anatomy is rather... detailed. It can give the impression that Alton had a crush on her, and can make you wonder just how far he went in teaching her to be a woman in every way.
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
- Every single time Bela Lugosi appears, he is sitting in a chair in a room full of horror-movie props, while giving bizarre monologues with very little relation to the previous scene. During the notorious "pull the string!" moment, there is also Stock Footage of stampeding buffalo superimposed over Lugosi.
- Not to mention the Disney Acid Sequence where the devil ends up raping a woman in a sofa...
- Ending Fatigue: Kind of — in the scene when Glen tells the truth to his girlfriend, the music at the end of the scene gives the impression that this is the end of the movie, but then...Inspector Warren: Is that the end of the story?
Dr. Alton: Not quite. I'll get back to it in a minute.- Of course, Dr. Alton did say that he was going to tell two stories, but the audience may have forgotten this by this point, or they might assume that this is the end of the first story, even though it isn't.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: The Scientist is without a doubt the most popular character in the film. Ed Wood seems to have predicted this, as his actor was marketed as the star of the film.
- Fair for Its Day: A mixture of Values Dissonance and better knowledge about the topics of crossdressing and sex-changing has led to the film being very poorly aged, though considering it was made in the 1950s, it was actually very forward-thinking.
- It manages to avert Trans Equals Gay, a trope that is still persistent to this day, but does so in a way that implies that homosexuality isn't "normal," but crossdressing is.
- Glen's story ending with him "curing" his crossdressing comes of as rather ignorant today, but unlike other, similar examples of this trope it is said that this should only be done under certain circumstances and with the patient's consent. His "condition" is also treated more akin to a drug addiction than a mental illness, and is seen more as a symptom of a problem than a problem in and of itself, which mostly explains the portrayal of crossdressing in the film — that is, the movie argues that crossdressing is usually harmless, but if it is hurting you and/or the people closest to you, you should stop it. Considering that Ed Wood himself continued to crossdress long after making this film, one can also imagine that he would probably have shown Glen continuing to do so if he could, but the political climate of the time (and The Hays Code) simply wouldn't permit it.
- Anne's story, which has her leave the army and becoming a housewife has some strong Stay in the Kitchen vibes, but it is still a clearly positive portrayal of a transgender woman, and Dr. Alton feels that letting her transition was the best solution to her problems. Considering that the movie was made around the time when the fact that sex changes existed was front page news, this is quite remarkable.
- The portrayal of indigenous people can also come off as rather racist, as they are treated as more "primitive" than the "normal" people in the civilized world. Though while Dr. Alton sees them as less civilized, he doesn't look down on them for that, and actually argues that - in certain ways - they may be more "natural" than people in modern societies have become.
- Fridge Brilliance: From a Meta perspective, it makes sense that the Scientist is so surprised when the erotic scene starts. He is supposedly reading the story from his book, and this part wasn't in Ed Wood's original script. The Scientist understands that he is supposed to be all-knowing, and is shocked to see the plot go Off the Rails for five minutes.
- Genius Bonus: The phrase "snails and puppy dog tails" is a phrase from an old English nursery rhyme with titles varying from "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" to "What Little Girls Are Made Of," which humorously talks about the differences in boys and girls. Famously, girls are said to be made of "sugar, spice, and everything nice" note and boys are supposedly made of "slugs, snails and puppy dog tails."
- Harsher in Hindsight: The ending, where Glen and Barbara - played by Ed Wood and his real-life girlfriend Dolores Fuller - get married and live Happily Ever After becomes this when you consider that Ed and Dolores never got married, and separated a few years later.note Then a few years after that, Wood married Norma McCarty, with that marriage not even lasting a full year, in no small part due to Wood's cross-dressing (albeit primarily because of his alcoholism).
- Heartwarming Moments: When Glen decides to come clean to Barbara, she initially seems like she's going to reject him... but then decides to at least try and make their relationship work, offering him her angora sweater as a sign that she accepts him. It's a surprisingly touching moment.
- Ho Yay: Surprisingly little, though there is some of it in Glen's dream.
- One of the things he sees is a Damsel in Distress being rescued... by another woman. There is more Les Yay later - with some I Have You Now, My Pretty undertones - as a woman attacks a lady resting on a couch, tying her up with ropes and a mouth gag.
- Satan transforming into Barbara and seducing/mocking Glenda actually manages to be both Ho Yay and Les Yay at the same time.
- Memetic Mutation: PULL THE STRING!!
- Beware of the big green dragon...
- Narm Charm: Bela Lugosi's scenes have no connection with the plot, but every single line he delivers is fantastic.
- The scene where the suicide note is read out is actually rather effective, despite the seemingly random shot of a radiator and the fact that you can see that the "corpse" is breathing.
- The speech about the Big Green Dragon actually becomes rather creepy when it is said by Satan, who stares at the viewer and apparently communicates with them telepathically.
- Questionable Casting: As Look Back in Angora stated, "Only Ed Wood would have cast Dracula...as God!"
- Though in fairness, Lugosi does a pretty good job. The problem is that his scenes are utterly bizarre and that his character only seems to exist to give him somebody to play.
- Took the Bad Film Seriously: Ed Wood, of course. He took what could have been a simple exploitation film and tried to turn it into a great, character-driven story with a plead for acceptance, but he didn't quite have the talent or the budget to really pull it off.
- Unintentional Period Piece: Pretty much unavoidable, as the film was deliberately made as a portrait of the then-present day. For instance, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone today who remembers a time when airplanes and cars were seen as unnatural.
- Values Resonance: While the film does have some Values Dissonance, some of its messages are still relevant.
- The suicide scene arguably hits harder today than it did back then. The movie portrays Patrick/Patricia as a Justified Criminal who really didn't deserve to die like that, but a modern audience might see him/her more like a victim of discrimination who couldn't take it any more.
- In general, the portrayal of crossdressing is rather nuanced. It is said that people do it for a variety of different reasons, and that they should be judged on a case-by-case basis, as even people who seem very similar can require completely different kinds of help.
- Vindicated by History: To a certain extent. It is still not seen as a good movie, but it is at least somewhat appreciated for having a very brave message that was ahead of its time.
