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| 1940-2023 |
--Raquel Welch
If a man were going to become a woman, he would want to become the most beautiful woman in the world. He would become Raquel Welch.
--Robert Fryer, producer of the film version of Gore Vidal's novel Myra Breckinridge
I can't recall what Gore Vidal thought of Raquel Welch in Myra Breckinridge, his transgender comedy, though he wrote off the film itself as "an awful joke." The movie managed to piss off everyone including the White House which demanded that old clips of Shirley Temple be excised from the movie because it demeaned her position as a delegate at the United Nations. So it had that going for it. Still the film seems even more relevant to our time than the late 60s.
--Jeffrey St. Clair, journalist
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| Raquel and an up-and-comer |
Fame is a fickle food
Upon a shifting plate
--Emily Dickinson
Yeah, Gore Vidal looked thrilled in that photo too.
ReplyDeleteDebra, it's nothing to do with Raquel. Gore's just deep in thought, wondering when they're finally going to come out with a film version of The City and the Pillar.
DeleteAfter following a few links in Wikipedia I found out where the band Steele Dan got their name from.
ReplyDeleteIt saves on electricity, Mike.
DeleteHi, Kirk!
ReplyDeleteYep, someone died... again. It might surprise you to learn that I was not a big fan of Raquel Welch and did not regard her as "the most beautiful woman in the world." I suppose she just wasn't my type.
I saw Raquel Welch in Fantastic Voyage, One Million Years B.C., Lady In Cement (starring Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome), Myra Breckinridge, KC Bomber and Mother, Jugs & Speed, the latter starring Bill ("Ford wants to be your car company," "J-E-L-L-O") Cosby.
Thanks for getting the word out within hours of Raquel's death. She was a 20th century icon, but not my particular cuppa tea. Enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Kirk!
Shady, nothing you say surprises me.
DeleteDon't forget Harvey Keitel and Larry Hagman were also in Mother, Jugs, and Speed. Regardless of the quality of the screenplay, the casting director should have received some sort of Oscar, or at least an A for effort.
I was a bit surprised to learn she was still alive, well, only just dead. I didn't realise the quote from Welch was a quote until the last line. I thought you were writing about yourself, lol.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, my parents were neither conservative nor traditional, though both would have been loathe to admit it.
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ReplyDeleteShe was an interesting person. I'm curious to know what's true and what's not true regarding the stories about her. I thought Myra Breckinridge was so bad it was embarrassing. But I loved that it pissed off the White House.
ReplyDeleteMitchell, I see the movie as an entertaining misfire. Entertaining because Gore Vidal's novel does make itself known from time to time, and whatever Vidals thoughts on the subject, I thought Raquel did a terrific job. Unlike the person who directed this movie, she really got what the novel and the Myra character was all about (though I do admit the idea that Raquel Welch transitioned from Rex Reed requires a Golden Gate Bridge-sized suspension of disbelief.) Mae West singing an Otis Redding song is an added treat. Maybe she should have thought about a second career as a rock star. She could have opened for David Bowie.
DeleteA misfire because all that was required was a straightforward adaption of Vidal's novel in order for it to be provocative. Instead it looks like an episode of The Monkees. Maybe Mae should have also sung "Daydream Believer". Jump cut and other kinds of fast cut editing became increasingly popular throughout the 1960s, and this movie OD's on them, especially in regard to all those old movie clips scattershot throughout the film. I mean, if you're going to mock old movies you better damn make sure your own movie is above mockery, and this movie isn't.
But the biggest misfire of all is John Huston. Loved him in Chinatown, and of course he's one of the great Old Hollywood filmmakers (who kept on making quality movies long into the New Hollywood period.) But his parody of an aging western star is plumb loco! Rooster Cogburn should have run him out of town for that performance.