Saturday, August 15, 2009

Sextette


Out of all the bad films that a connoisseur of bad cinema can see in their lives, one that is a must see is this disastrous piece of trash from the 70s. It is hard to find these days, but when you find it, snag it like the holy grail it is and watch it. It's precious.

A very very VERY old Mae West, like 84 years old old, stars as Marlo Manners. Marlo is one of World's biggest stars and largest sex symbols. She is at a hotel celebrating the honeymoon (her 6th marriage) to Sir Michael Barrington (played by a pre James Bond Timothy Dalton). A comedy of errors and wackiness ensues as the honeymoon is interrupted by Marlo's past and her current career. She must screen test, model costumes, hide her revealing memoirs, avoid being whacked by her former mob boss husband, and save the world at an international summit all at the same time.

And it's a musical.

And it also stars Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Walter Pidgeon, Rona Berrett, Regis Philbin, George Raft, and Alice Cooper.

Got a headache yet?

How about Timothy Dalton singing and wooing Mae West?


The film is filled with the trademark sarcastic comments and sexual innuendo that West is famous for, but at the age of 84, it comes off as your grandmother hitting on your 20 year old best friend. It's disturbing and icky.

A lot of stories about the production of the film have been around for years, and they are delicious. One involves the fact that Mae had a cane concealed in her dress to lean on or had various cast members help hold her up. Another one is how she could not remember her lines, so she had an earpiece under her wig to feed her lines. One problem: she also picked up police frequencies and at one point even said on the set 'There is a 608".

Then there is also the one she was waiting in an elevator for hours for the crew to call her out. yes, they forgot about her.

Again, this is a must see film. Need one more reason?


Trust me, this one is a crapy fest keeper.

2 comments:

  1. The screenplay was adapted from West's own play "Sex" from the '20s. It must have played SO much differently back then, when she was actually alive...

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