Internationally, Burlesque is undergoing a renaissance. Burlesque dancers and companies are springing up in urban centers, and a search on most popular networking websites will bring up countless modern dancers, comedians, and enthusiasts eager to share their passion for the days of the striptease and the baggy pants.
While researching for his one man show, No Sleep ‘Til Minsky’s, C. Glen Williams watched hours of classic burlesque films. Here at last is his list of five essential films for the aspiring burlesquer. The dancer, the comic, the singer and the M.C. will all find something on this list to give them inspiration and guidance. Note that all of the listed films are tied to classic burlesque of the 50’s, 60’s, and earlier. Modern burlesque troops such as the Suicide Girls have plenty to offer, as well, but they are the subject of another list.
Varietease and Teaserama – This double feature DVD from Something Weird Video holds special interest for fans of classic pin-ups as well as of burlesque. Not only does it feature big-name burly-q dancers Tempest Storm and Lili St. Cyr, but both movies feature the Queen of Curves herself, Bettie Page. The films themselves are part of the first generation of burlesque films and present largely faithful representations of the burlesque show.
The style at the time had directors setting up their cameras on sound stages and filming burlesque stage shows act for act. Not only do you get to see Bettie Page recreate her famous jungle girl pin-up character in a striptease and Lili St. Cyr changing costumes, but you also get to see Twinnie Wallen do her contortionist act, a singer belting his way through “Broken Toy,” and Joe E. Ross of “Car 54, Where Are You?” providing classic baggy pants antics.
Bettie Page fans will also want to pick up this DVD for an amazing special feature. Included in the bonus tracks, you’ll find Bettie Page in two scenes from the lost burlesque film, Striporama! More stripteases? Sure. But one of them just happens to be Bettie Page’s only known speaking role in a comic sketch.
Lady of Burlesque – This particular flick has been released on DVD by several distribution companies, and it has also been released under the name The G-String Murders and Striptease Lady. It stars Barbara Stanwyck as Dixie Daisy, a warm and caring burlesque stripteaser with a tough exterior who gets wrapped up in a string of murders backstage at the theatre.
Why should burlesquers care about a sanitized, mainstream burlesque murder mystery? For one thing, the movie is based on the novel The G-String Murders written by classic burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee, and her experiences backstage inform the relationships between the characters in the story. For another, an excellent supporting cast features comics and dancers who really worked on the burlesque stage in its golden age. And, finally, the movie is just plain entertaining.
Best of Burlesque – This 2-DVD set is yet another release from the exploitation cinema gurus at Something Weird Video, and if there’s one thing this company knows how to do right, it’s creating DVD compilations. In this case, burlesquers will find full-length features A Virgin in Hollywood and Too Hot to Handle, along with a cornucopia of short features and trailers.
The included shorts are where this compilation truly shines. Lili St. Cyr appears in full color, as does Tempest Storm. Comedian Little Jack Little shares the stage with Inez Claire in “Tomb Itmay Concern,” and classic baggy pants comics perform some of the most well-loved of the great burlesque sketches.
Opening the box, burlesquers will find not only two DVD’s, but also a booklet featuring an interview with Lili St. Cyr herself, and two pairs of 3-D glasses. Those glasses are required for viewing the set, because A Virgin and Hollywood and four of the included short subjects are presented in their original stereoscopic 3-D, allowing you to see burlesque acts that seem almost to pop out of the screen at you.
Dream Follies and Dreamland Capers – This big bad burly-q double feature may lack the sheer star power of some of Something Weird Video’s other offerings, but it makes up for it in sheer burlesque goodness. The two films are both built around dream themes. Burlesquers will see dancers stripping, variety acts competing with the girls for eyeballs, and outrageous baggy pants comics.
People interested in the history of comedy will want to pay particular attention to Dream Follies. The comic cast features Sally Marr and her son, the incomparable Lenny Bruce, in his film debut. The humor is broader and more slapstick than Bruce would engage in in his later career, but in his performance one can see the beginnings of the onstage style that would make him famous. It is a rare look into the pre-fame career of one of the fathers of modern American comedy.
A Night At the Opera – A lesson in history. The famed Marx Brothers are often thought of as a Vaudeville act, but in truth they found their home on the burlesque stage. There, Groucho’s subliminal double entendres would earn them snickers instead of ejection from the theatre, and Chico and Harpo could chase the girls to their hearts’ content. Their leap to film saw their naughty antics continuing as they took out their hostility on anybody who crossed their path.
A Night at the Opera came as the Marx Brothers moved from Paramount to MGM and saw a considerable cleaning-up of their character, if not their act. The mischief and mayhem continues, but the previously anarchic brothers more solidly landed on the side of love and justice. With a script by George S. Kaufman and a healthy dose of improvisation by the Marx Brothers, the film went on to become one of their greatest successes and is listed at 85 on AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies. For burlesquers, this film represents the initial evolution of burlesque into the mainstream as three unapologetic burlesque comics bring their act to the Hollywood screen and secure their places in the history books.
