Myra Breckinridge (film)

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This article is about the film. For the novel, see Myra Breckinridge.
Myra Breckinridge

Myra Breckinridge film poster
Directed by Michael Sarne
Produced by David Giler
Robert Fryer
Written by Novel:
Gore Vidal
Screenplay:
David Giler
Michael Sarne
Starring Raquel Welch
Mae West
John Huston
Farrah Fawcett
Rex Reed
Music by John Phillips (song)
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) June 24, 1970
Running time 94 min.
Edited version:
91 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $5,000,000 (approx.)
IMDb profile

Myra Breckinridge was an American film released in 1970. It was based on the 1968 novel of same name by Gore Vidal, and was directed by Michael Sarne, with Raquel Welch in the title role. It also starred John Huston as Buck Loner, Mae West as Letitia Van Allen (spelled Leticia in the film), Farrah Fawcett, Roger Herren, and Roger C. Carmel. Theadora Van Runkle was costume designer for the film, but Edith Head designed Mae West's costumes. The picture has been placed in the infamous catalogue as being one of the worst films ever made.

Contents

[edit] Background

It was one of two films with an X rating to be released by 20th Century Fox in 1970 (the other being Beyond the Valley of the Dolls). In 1978 the studio submitted a cut version running 91 minutes to the MPAA, and the film was re-classified with an R. Both versions are available on the DVD, though the uncut print is now unrated. A commercial and critical flop upon release, it is now been re-evaluated and considered way ahead of its time.[citation needed] Many critics have re-evaluated this film calling it a "trendsetter" far ahead of its time and in fact very well made.[citation needed] Others contend that it's an inept mess, far too pleased with itself and lacking an ounce of wit. It has been shown occasionally on late night cable channels and achieved something of a cult following. Raquel Welch had huge success as a sex symbol in the 1960s and was hoping that her role would help her get more interesting parts but the film probably destroyed any aspirations she had of being taken seriously in Hollywood. Mae West came out of retirement and was in her 70s when the film was made. Mae West's appearance in this film generated a storm of publicity for the film. Her performance was cited as outstanding by numerous fan magazines in the 1970s. Mae West's performance resulted in her becoming a cult icon of the '70s and regenerated her career considerably.[citation needed] Gore Vidal has since disowned the film and said it was unwatchable. The film contains several clips taken from old Hollywood films from the '40s which the producers did not get permission to use and a number of legal cases resulted.

[edit] Plot analysis

The film takes liberties with the original text by revealing the novel's late-chapter plot twist -- that Myra was a man who had a sex change operation -- in the opening moments of the film, via a framing sequence at the start of the film where Myron is having his sex change operation and a sequence at the end of the film where Myron wakes up only to find out that he hasn't had the surgery yet.

Further changes include the decision to have Myra be somewhat schizophrenic in terms of imagining her former male self existing beside her and having several conversations with people while in the persona of her male self. The film also breaks the fourth wall in terms of having "Myra" being inspired by Raquel Welch herself, and in having Myra address the audience directly several times.

The film was released after the destruction of the Hays Code in 1968. Consequently, the studio had the freedom to exploit some of the novel's more burlesque episodes, including the infamous infirmary/rape scene. In this scene Myra blackmails a male student into letting her tie him up to the examination table. She then shocks him by using a strap-on dildo to anally rape him. Afterwards, she even makes him thank her for the trouble she has taken. This constituted the first time a non statutory female on male rape was filmed in a mainstream American film.

[edit] Cast (In Order of Appearance)


[edit] The production

Filming of the movie was also filled with controversy, due to Michael Sarne being granted complete control over the project. Sarne quickly went overbudget due to his unorthodox techniques, which included spending up to seven hours at a time by himself, "thinking," leaving the cast to wait around on set for him to return so that filming could commence.[1] Additionally, Sarne spent several days filming tables of food, for a dream sequence which, in addition to being non-essential to the plot, only appears in the film for a few seconds.[1]

There were also reports of conflicts between Raquel Welch and Mae West, who came out of retirement to play the Leticia character. Furthermore, some actors from 1940s and 1950s films that were used as stock footage were upset that footage from their old films were inserted to the movie to punctuate some of the jokes as well as in the film's climactic rape sequence. Some stars, including Loretta Young, Betty Grable, and Shirley Temple successfully sued to have footage of them removed from the film.

The film, while not a box office hit, briefly revived interest in Mae West's career and has become a cult classic[citation needed]. Because of the film's adult themes, it has rarely been shown on television, though in recent years, the film has aired on Fox Movie Channel. It was recently released on DVD with minor changes -- to make the film's ending (that Myron never had his sex change) clearer, the ending sequence was changed to black and white format.

[edit] Trivia

  • In 1993, looking back upon his career, Vidal wrote that although he had "never seen it, I do know that despite the iconic presences of Raquel Welch and Mae West, the film was so bad that the book stopped selling for a decade."
  • The movie was the big screen debut of Tom Selleck, who has a small part as one of Letitia's "studs".
  • When the film was released, "TIME" made their now infamous comments that "Myra Breckinridge is about as funny as a child molester. It is an insult to intelligence, an affront to sensibility and an abomination to the eye."[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The Agony Booth
  2. ^ "Some Sort of Nadir" - TIME, July 6, 1970.