The 1970 20th Century-Fox production of Gore Vidal’s novel, Myra Breckinridge, has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years, despite losing money at the box office during its initial release. The original book was written as a satire and dealt with the gender reassignment of its main character, Myra (formerly Myron). Raquel Welch was eager to play both parts, thinking the acting challenge would propel her into the ranks of a serious actress. She should have thought a little more about that.
Over the title sequence, the Shirley Temple song “You’ve Got To S-M-I-L-E” from “Stowaway” (1936) is played after being set-up by an actual clip from the movie. Many classic films from the Fox library were used throughout to add extra humor and also as a way to avoid showing the hardcore situations that were occurring in the film’s storyline.
Raquel dances down Hollywood Boulevard to the vocal talents of six-year old Shirley. It boggles the mind.
One other Shirley clip was included but did not remain in the film. After the preview in San Francisco, the White House insisted that the footage inserted from “Heidi” (1937) be removed. Shirley, who had just finished her stint as United Nations General Assembly Delegate, had some political clout! While she was probably not happy about the “Stowaway” clip, the one from “Heidi” that showed her getting squirted by a cow was used to suggest…well, you can fill in the blank. The same person who resigned from her position as chair for the San Francisco Film Festival for showing “Night Games” wanted nothing to do with the X-Rated “Myra Breckinridge.” It was one of two films with an X rating to be released by Fox that year, the other being “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.” Loretta Young successfully sued to have her clip removed. You go, Loretta! It was a slippery slope; 20th Century-Fox owned the classic films, lock, stock, and barrel, so the ability of a star to successfully launch a lawsuit was not a slam-dunk in those days. Laurel & Hardy and Judy Garland weren’t able to protest; they were dead and gone by the time of the film’s release.
The cover of Vidal’s novel featured the rotating Las Vegas showgirl from the Sahara Casino that was found on the Sunset Boulevard billboard just outside the Chateau Marmont Hotel in. Hollywood. Another reason this film fascinates me! An early scene in the movie shows the advertisement and then pans to the right to show the hotel.
That’s Raquel Welch and Rex Reed on the Chateau Marmont’s penthouse balcony.
For one horrific scene in the movie and the majority of the publicity, Raquel donned an outfit that resembled that of the showgirl. This was going to get her taken seriously?
Until I saw this movie, I was not aware that the Chateau had its name painted prominently on the side of the building.
Sadly (for me at least), that’s the last we see of the real hotel. The interiors were shot on a studio soundstage.
They did a good job of capturing the essence of the room.
The real penthouse, which shows a much longer entry hallway:
Almost convincing, other than the non-vintage details of the sliding glass door hardware and the very flat-looking backdrop beyond the balcony.
“Myra” is also known for casting a very young Tom Selleck as one of the men Mae West’s character, casting agent Letitia van Allen, is “auditioning.”
Pre-Magnum P.I. mustache, of course.
The seventy-seven year old West performs (?) two musical numbers. For the first, “You Gotta Taste All the Fruit,” she is reclined the entire time, showing slight hip and arm movement. Other than that, she appears embalmed.
Mae changes costumes and actually stands up for “Hard to Handle,” eventually made more famous by The Black Crowes.
For this one, she suggestively grabs her body and undulates her hips. For the first film she’d made since 1943, West was giving it her all.
The aforementioned scene that made “Myra” legendary for its bad taste was the rape scene between Myra (Raquel) and her unwilling partner, aspiring actor, Rusty (Roger Herren). I have to ask again: this was the film that was going to get Raquel taken seriously and show her acting chops? As you can tell, I am having a difficult time comprehending what would have lead her to believe that.
Thanks to the miracle of Photoshop, I was able to stitch these two panorama shots from the movie together to yield some vintage views of Sunset Boulevard:
Same view, facing east, circa 2022:
1970:
The Imperial Gardens (neon sign below the billboard) was once The Players, owned by Preston Sturges. Now, it’s a Pink Taco restaurant. Similar view, facing west, circa 2022:
That’s a lot of territory for one post! Thanks for sticking around til the end!
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