Growing up, there were many things I glimpsed on TV or in movies that were from a time way past my own, that stuck in my head and floated around in there without any context like individual clouds. Some of those things were old black and white images of women gyrating nude or mostly nude on a stage, or lying seductively in huge oysters, or dancing with large feathered fans they maneuvered tactfully about their naked bodies. As far as I knew, they were just old-time strippers. I was a child of the 80s and 90s, and don’t know exactly where I saw those snippets of old motion picture from the early 1900s – perhaps on a TV show or a movie that for whatever reason had to use some of that archive footage of those dancing beauties; or perhaps I just caught something more modern that simply re-enacted what those women did all those years ago. Maybe it’s just become part of America’s collective unconscious. At any rate, as I matured I learned those women weren’t simply strippers; they come from that institution known as burlesque, a subject matter director Leslie Zemeckis explores through her wonderfully rich documentary called Behind the Burly Q.
Before the advent of TV, the burlesque show enjoyed enormous popularity in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Troupes would put on shows comprised of dancers, comedians, acrobats and satiric skits. All the performers experienced fame, but nobody more so than the sultry dancers. They were stars, as extravagant and bold as WWE wrestlers, with their elaborate outfits (before they were stripped off of course), their signature moves and their larger-than-life names: Tempest Storm, Lily St. Cyr, Georgia Sothern, Bingo Bingler, and Taffy O’Neill to name a few. And with their pasties, g-strings (or without them) and bawdy humor, they entertained the masses during periods when in-your-face entertainment was hard to come by. In a way, they were the unsung heroes during some of America’s turbulent times. When the Depression struck and all a man had to his name were the 15 cents for admission, burlesque was there to help them forget their troubles for a little while. When World War II broke out, the soldiers sat back for some laughs and sexual teasing – it was so provocative at times they couldn’t help but lewdly express their enthusiasm if you catch my drift.
Leslie Zemeckis captures the many facets of burlesque through a film edited to make every moment like a burst of celebratory fireworks. It contains photos, archive footage, and interviews with former burlesque dancers, historians, specialists, along with comedians and an acrobat who were an integral part of the shows. The film is fast moving, fun and hectic, what I imagine a burlesque show was like. But Zemeckis doesn’t stray from the dark, sad and frightening side of the milieu. One of the women featured in the film was once raped by five assailants before she ventured into burlesque where she tried, in her mind, to seek out a father figure in the men she performed in front of. Others went into it to escape their overbearing households. The dancers drank heavily and some of them became crazy. Some just tried making most of their pretty faces and/or incredible bodies in a business that yielded some serious money for such assets. Whatever the reason for their doing it, burlesque changed their lives.
As the film confirms for us, these women who made their money by essentially stripping were more than just strippers. They were women with incredible histories. Some might say they were artists turning a job into a national phenomenon. Still, some might say it was just smut they provided the masses. Even so, their stories are fascinating, and it’s mesmerizing to see the women interviewed speak about their lives in burlesque with such glee (and some tears), these women who were at the time of the filming in their seventies or eighties, though as electric as they probably were in their heydays. They are part of the remaining few who lasted from that niche in American entertainment, and Leslie Zemeckis has made a fun and energetic film honoring them and their world of burlesque.
DVD Bonus Features
The DVD contains three featurettes. One documents a reunion among the burlesque performers featured in the film. The second showcases memorabilia and costumes. And third one takes you into a behind-the-scenes look at the origins and making of the film. Other features include bonus interviews, a burlesque timeline and a photo gallery.
"Behind the Burly Q" is on sale April 12, 2011 and is not rated. Documentary. Written and directed by Leslie Zemeckis. Starring Alan Alda, Beverly Arlynne, Joan Arline.
