/ Gene Tierney and Ona Munson in Josef von Sternberg's Shanghai Gesture (1941) /
(Note: I wrote the review below for the DVD of Shanghai Gesture for the Nude magazine website several years ago now. I thought I'd dust it off, tweak it a bit and revive it here. The film is truly berserk, haunting and highly recommended -- especially with a stiff drink in your hand)
/ Ona Munson and Maria Ouspenskaya in Shanghai Gesture (1941) /
The seven films Josef von
Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich made together are like intoxicating fleurs du mal: erotic, dark, witty, sublime, and modern.
Together they honed Dietrich's complex, sultry and feline persona and brought a
whiff of genuine Weimar decadence to mainstream Hollywood. After their personal
and professional relationship imploded with The Devil is a Woman in 1935 Dietrich went on to work with
major directors like Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock and tour her
acclaimed one-woman cabaret show around the world well into her 70s. For von
Sternberg - who'd antagonised a lot of people in his 1930s heyday with his
volatile tyrannical temperament - his post-Dietrich career was one long, humiliating
decline.
/ Almost ridiculously beautiful colour portrait of Gene Tierney on the set of Shanghai Gesture /
1941's Shanghai Gesture represents one of von Sternberg's last gasps before losing
creative autonomy. (During the filming of 1952's Macao, he'd be sacked
midway through production and replaced by Nicholas Ray). A torrid and baroque
study in vengeance and corruption, the film sees Von Sternberg re-visiting the
locale of Shanghai Express, his 1932 triumph with Dietrich. Sir Guy Charteris (Walter
Huston), a rich white industrialist with a murky past, is seeking to gentrify
Shanghai (he calls it "the cesspool of the Far East"). When
gorgon-like dragon lady Mother Gin Sling (Ona Munson) learns he intends to
close her gambling den she starts plotting her revenge. Meanwhile, slumming
rich girl Poppy (the exquisite Gene Tierney) becomes ensnared by the toxic
allure of the casino ("It smells so incredibly evil ..."), addicted
both to gambling and the heavy-lidded charms of Dr Omar (a torpid Victor Mature
in a burnoose and fez).
/ Gene Tierney, Victor Mature and Phyllis Brooks. It has to be said, Mature is insanely sexy as Dr Omar. No man ever looked better in a fez /
/ Kiss me, you fool. Who could resist? / Von Sternberg was Hollywood's most seductive visual stylist. Here he evokes a
sensual and depraved Shanghai of the imagination, an underworld of
opium-scented exotica. Mother Gin Sling's vice palace is a glittering Art Deco
inner circle of hell, where the beautiful and the damned drink cocktails of
brandy and sulphur and gamble away their souls. A Chinese New Year parade is
depicted as a macabre carnival; Mother Gin Sling's climactic New Year's Eve
party culminates with the surreal sight of terrified female "white
slaves" being hoisted skyward in cages.
/ This scene is genuinely surreal and will have you rubbing your eyes in amazement /
The overripe, purple dialogue occasionally threatens to tip
the film into kitsch (Dr Omar calls Poppy "my plucked bird of
paradise"; Mother Gin Sling snaps at someone, "Stop behaving like a disabled flamingo!"). But even in a scratchy, muffled DVD transfer, Shanghai Gestureis a hypnotic, shimmering spectacle and its treatment of
miscegenation and colonialism is way ahead of its time. And as portrayed by
Munson (best-remembered as bordello madam Belle Watling in Gone with the Wind) with a purring voice, serene mask-like face
and Medusa hairstyle, Mother Gin Sling is a mesmerising villainess.
/ Ona Munson: compelling and unforgettable as Mother Gin Sling in a role that feels like it could have been intended for Marlene Dietrich (or Anna May Wong). The whole persona of Mother Gin Sling also feels informed by Gale Sondergaard in The Letter (1940) from the year before /
/ Gale Sondergaard as the inscrutable and sinister Mrs Hammond in The Letter (1940) /
Munson obviously made an impression as the brassy but warm-hearted Belle in Gone with the Wind (interesting bit of trivia: the part of Belle was supposedly offered to both Mae West and Tallulah Bankhead beforehand), but in the larger role of Mother Gin Sling she truly seizes the moment. Munson’s life and career were both disappointing and ended in tragedy (she committed suicide at the age of 51 in 1955). This is the performance to remember Ona Munson for. Late in the film, Munson has an incredible monologue in
which she divulges how she came to be Mother Gin Sling (“... they sewed pebbles
into the soles of my feet so I couldn’t escape ...”). It’s an acting tour de
force, which can be favourably compared to Elizabeth Taylor’s similarly lurid and
climactic monologue in Suddenly Last Summer.
/ The sardonic and evil Mother Gin Sling smiles as Poppy comes unglued /
/ Watching Shanghai Gesture at home, while Lydia Lunch glares from above (as you can see, both my TV and CD player are 1990s relics) /
The annual Anti-Valentine’s Day Dr Sketchies always rock –
and this year’s was no exception. The Royal Vauxhall Tavern sold-out in advance and it felt really
buzzing to play for such a rowdy and enthusiastic capacity crowd. (This was
also the first Dr Sketchy since November 2012 – we didn’t do a Christmas one,
sadly – so it also felt like a promising start to the New Year).
True to the anti-Valentine theme, the Scottish-accented emcee
Ebenezer Valentine was in antagonistic and lairy mode throughout (think: aggressive character out of
Trainspotting). The night boasted three models and performers:the exquisite showgirl deluxe Annette Bette; Violet Strangelove performed two tableaux vivants that fit in with
the anti-Valentine’s theme: angrily popping balloons in the first, then eating Häagen-Dazsice cream
straight from the tub and crying in the second; and finally male model Les (he
goes by just one name, like Madonna, Prince or Cher, apparently). He posed as
the anti-Cupid, armed with a toilet plunger (to pluck-out cupid’s arrows with).
AnnetteBettè (a petite Ann-Margret-style redhead) has performed at a
few Dr Sketchy’s before and is always good value. She certainly didn’t
disappoint this time. In fact, she was wilder and more abandoned than ever! She
emerged onstage wearing a sensational pink rubber dress with a heart print motif,
moodily smoking a cigarette (the smoking ban be damned!). Her undulating dance
climaxed with a big chunk of white cake somehow materialising. Annette crammed
it hungrily into her mouth and then – in uncontrollable delight – began
mashing the cake into her cleavage before flinging handfuls of cake and frosting
into the startled audience, and then finally stripping down to just her g-string
and heart-shaped red pasties. Brilliant! (Before the next act Dr Sketchy
promoter Clare Marie had to sweep up the crumb-y debris off the stage
floor).
At Home with Mamie Van Doren. Doesn't this photo have a Diane Arbus vibe? Every aspect is so pristine: her platinum
blonde bouffant hair, her white dress and pumps, the all-white Atomic-era
minimalist decor of her living room. But there's a subliminal bat squeak of
alienation about the photo (maybe the way Mamie is isolated in the shot,
emphasising her loneliness) that evokes Arbus. It reminds me a bit of this:
/ Blaze Starr at Home. Photographed by Diane Arbus in 1964 /
Anyway, anyone who follows this blog in even the most perfunctory way knows
that the luscious Mamie Van Doren is essential to my aesthetic philosophy (my pantheon also includes
the likes of Jayne Mansfield, Esquerita, Ann-Margret, Serge Gainsbourg, Eartha
Kitt and Ike and Tina Turner). I play at least one track by her every time I DJ anywhere.
I’ve already done a bit of a Valentine to La Mamie on this blog before, but while
I was going through some ancient files on my PC I stumbled across this tribute
I wrote in 2007. At the time a Gawker-style London website was due to launch
and they were looking for potential writers. They were asking us to write a
series of short blog entries on pretty much anything as sample pieces for their
consideration. The website never got off the ground and the two guys behind it
were prats (in other words, I didn't get shortlisted!). But I wrote this: In the fifties Mamie Van Doren was the bullet bra’d, tight-sweatered
reigning starlet of B movies. Her film titles alone tell their own story: Sex
Kittens Go to College, The Las Vegas Hillbillies, Voyage to the Planet of
Pre-Historic Women. Think women-in-prison flicks, lurid juvenile delinquent
dramas (“desperate stabs from the jukebox jungle!”), low-budget sexploitation,
the drive-in circuit.
Discovered by Howard Hughes, the platinum blonde starlet was groomed as
a Marilyn Monroe successor. Don’t dismiss Van Doren as another Monroe manquée,
though: she exuded her own sleazy, rock’n’roll appeal,portraying tough pony- tailed teenaged bad
girls well into her late 20s.
Now 77(she's now actually 82) , Van Doren is more than the Jayne Mansfield who survived to old
age. The woman who, in the 1960s, penned salacious kiss-and-tell memoirs like
My Naughty, Naughty Life and I Swing now blogs about current events and
politics. She’s a wise, witty and incisive writer, and maintains her own
entertaining website herself.
Van Doren’s blogs are anti Iraq, anti Bush, impeccably left wing, but as
a younger woman she considered herself a Republican. Her political awakening
came when, her film career long snuffed out, she travelled to the frontlines of
Vietnam in the early 70s to entertain American troops and witnessed horrors.
Today Van Doren seems blissfully unconcerned about acting her age. She continues to party at Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion. On her website she sells autographed "nipple prints" (she applies lipstick to her nipple and blots it into paper) and posts her own home-made soft porn short films. The "dumb blonde" is having the last laugh.
/ No one comes off well being compared to Marilyn Monroe. Ideally the likes of Van Doren and her contemporary Jayne Mansfield would be appreciated as talents in their own
right /
I’ve probably posted this clip before, but it captures Mamie in her fleshy, blowsier
1960s element so here it is again. I played “Take It Off” by The Genteels (one
of the archetypal tittyshaking tunes) towards the end of the night while Les the male model posed. Here’s
Mamie shaking it like a Poloroid to it in the 1964 film 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt.
Another fun musical number (and another great acrylic wighat) from 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt. Boy, this movie looks rancid.
Jungle Madness - Martin Denny Là-bas C'est Naturel - Serge Gainsbourg Vírgenes del Sol - Yma Sumac Black and Tan Fantasy - Duke Ellington Safari - The El Capris I Can't Sleep - Tini Williams and The Skyliners The Slouch - Ray Gee and His Orchestra Kansas City - Ann-Margret Spring, Sprang, Sprung - Jack Fascinato Begin the Beguine - Sammy Davis Jr Commanche - The Revels You'd Better Stop - LaVerne Baker Wiped Out - The Escorts Baby Come Back - Esquerita He's the One - Ike and Tina Turner Torture Rock - Rockin' Belmarx Torture - Kris Jensen There'll Be No Goodbyes - Susan Lynne Night Scene - The Rumblers Bewildered - Shirley and Lee Endless Sleep - Jody Reynolds Strollin' - The Shades That's A Pretty Good Love - Big Maybelle Khrushchev Twist - Melvin Gayle Rompin' - Jerry Warren Cherry Pink - The Bill Black Combo Shangri-la - Spike Jones New Band Make Love to Me - June Christy The Beast - Milt Buckner You're My Thrill - Dolores Gray Misirlou - Martin Denny Kiss - Marilyn Monroe Unchain My Heart - Florence Joelle Madness - The Rhythm Rockers Jaguar - The Jaguars Bang Bang - Janis Martin Drums A Go-Go - The Hollywood Persuaders Dragon Walk - The Noblemen Boss - The Rumblers I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield - The 5,6,7,8s Take It Off - The Genteels Seperate the Men from the Boys - Mamie Van Doren The Strip - The Upsetters Ice Man - Filthy McNasty A Guy Who Takes His Time - Mae West Big Man - Carl Matthews Pussycat Song - Connie Vannett Sweet Little Pussycat - Andre Williams My Pussy Belongs to Daddy - Faye Richmonde Let's Go Sexin' - James Intveld
Little Girl - John and Jackie
Nosey Joe - Bull Moose Jackson
Beat Party - Ritchie and The Squires
Crawfish - Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin
Pass the Hatchet - Roger and The Gypsies
/ 1960s beefcake model Rock Granger demonstrating How to Stuff a Mesh Posing Pouch: I also love his old school tattoos (check out the classic Sailor Jerry-style one of the hula girl on his forearm) /
Joe Pop (the main man behind weekly
queer rock’n’roll club night Wild Thing, every Wednesday night at The Retro Bar
in Charing Cross) is currently holidaying in San Francisco, so for this Wild
Thing Phil Clark and I were drafted to fill in behind the decks.
/ The flyer the fabulously talented Joe Pop designed for this Wild Thing night / I had been looking forward to DJ'ing at this
Wild Thing for ages, but unfortunately it turned out to be a messy night bedeviled
by some catastrophic technical glitches! Phil DJs at The Retro Bar regularly
and as he put it, the geriatric PA is pretty much glued together by dirt! Thank
Christ Phil has technical expertise about these things otherwise there might not have been any music at all (I’m not of much assistance in these circumstances. I'm more of a sensitive
artiste who just turns up and hopes the decks work). I was playing CDs and he was using vinyl; Phil was
getting no audio at all from one of the turntables and had to pry open the back
of the decks to locate loose wires and attempt to reconnect them (I stood
there holding a flash light and watching the sweat beads pop out on his head.
It was like an action movie where someone has to defuse a bomb). Then, once he
got that working, we realised the speakers were well and truly BLOWN on one
side of the room: no matter how loud we cranked up the volume, people were
comfortably talking over the music
without even having to raise their voices (while we in the DJ booth could
barely hear what we were playing). Meanwhile, on the other side of the room by
the bar, the audio was blisteringly loud, muddy and fuzzy! I compensated by playing
a mostly noisy punk set. If The Retro Bar
wants to hold club nights with DJs, the management should consider getting the basics
right first and invest in a decent sound system.
Anyway, Phil and I soldiered on (the
complimentary beers certainly helped) and perversely, it turned out to be a
good night in spite of everything. My friends Paul and Dez were there (once I realised the sound wasn't working I texted another friend not to come!), and we had one garrulous eager beaver coming up with multiple song requests (I wouldn't normally play Vince Taylor's "Brand New Cadillac" unprompted), who at least danced around enthusiastically. (He also asked for The Cramps: I compromised by playing the original version of "Goo Goo Muck" by Ronnie Cook and The Gaylads, which he seemed to dig. I'm not a people pleaser!).
I’m actually really happy with my set (I wanted
it to be confrontational, aggressive and punk-y, which I think it was), even if
only punters on one side of the bar got to hear it! (The emphasis was on Los Angeles
punk in particular, one of my favourite schools of punk: the mighty X, The Germs, The Alley Cats. I remember someone
pointing out years ago, New York and London had hip, credible lineages to draw on: New
York punks could reference the Velvet Underground and the Warhol scene, whereas
London punks had the likes of Roxy Music and Bowie. In their recent past, Los
Angeles punks had howlingly naff soft rockers Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt – no wonder they
were so nihilistic and angry! They had a lot to rebel against. If you're interested in exploring the original Los Angeles punk subculture, I highly recommend the awesome CD Jon Savage Presents Black Hole: Californian Punk 1977-1980, compiled by the author of England's Dreaming).
/A tender love song via Turbonegro /
/ Did anyone ever have better hair than Billy Fury? /
From the book Rock’n’Roll Confidential by Penny
Stallings:
“In the years that preceded the beat explosion of the sixties, the British rock scene consisted mostly of Elvis imitators – pretty boys like Adam Faith, Tommy Steele and Billy Fury, with vaselined pomps, pink socks and guitars they couldn't play ...”
What an unfair assessment of Billy Fury! Stallings’ book
came out in 1984, and fortunately Fury (born Ronald Wycherley, 17 April 1940 –
28 January 1983) has been more generously reappraised since his premature death
as perhaps the greatest British rockabilly singer. But hey, I am a lurid sensationalism
freak so rather than argue about Fury’s musical merits, this time I’m going to
ask: was Billy Fury gay? Let’s have a heated debate! Toparaphrase that great thinker Homer Simpson,
“If celebrities didn’t want us picking through their garbage and spreading
rumours that they’re gay, they shouldn’t have expressed themselves creatively.”
Fury has been dead for so long (and his heyday even longer
ago), he’s remembered today primarily by rockabilly enthusiasts. The rockabilly
contingent particularly reveres Fury for his vicious 1960 debut The Sound of Fury, widely regarded as the most authentic and unvarnished rock’n’roll album
to emerge from the UK in that era (it still sounds brooding, frantic and sexy
today). The combination of Fury’s snarling delivery and the cover image of the sullen
blond Liverpudlian rocker in a sparkly lamé suit (deliberately referencing Elvis
Presley’s famous Nudie gold lamé suit from the cover of his 50,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong
album)
is timelessly irresistible and (much as
I hate the word) iconic.
The quality ain't great -- but explosive, grainy fragment of a raw Billy Fury tearing his way through "Don't Knock Upon My Door from The Sound of Fury on TV in 1958.
The Sound of Fury peaked at number 18 -- apparently not a big
enough hit to please the suits. Afterwards Fury was discouraged from recording his
own original material, and steered towards a more commercial teen idol / romantic
balladeer direction. While it’s an undeniable shame Fury wasn’t permitted to
record more of his own rockabilly material and had to compromise his artistic ideals
(and it did him no favours with tiresome rock purists), his subsequent lush pop
ballads like “Last Night Was Made for Love” and “Halfway to Paradise”, packed
with drama and yearning, are actually pretty great and were chart successes.
/ A far smoother, more show biz Billy Fury by the early 1960s in variety performer / crooner mode /
In 1962 Fury made his film debut in Play It Cool (directed
by a very young Michael Winner, the notorious celluloid hack who died recently and
was responsible for some of the worst films ever made). I haven’t seen Play it
Cool since the 1990s, but I recall it as barely serviceable drive-in / B-movie schlock.
(Imagine the worst Elvis vehicle, relocated to London and with a bargain basement budget). Fury was no
actor, and looked tangibly uncomfortable onscreen – and yet still managed to
exude heavy-lidded erotic magnetism even while lip-synching to his corniest
songs.
You can watch the whole film above. Be warned: it's no great shakes!
Offstage, there certainly were romances with women, which
were publicised in the press – but did Fury have a secret life? People who
encountered Fury often described him as shy, remote, sensitive and depressed
(and an enthusiastic pot smoker). With the game-changing arrival of fellow
Scousers The Beatles and the ensuing turbulent youth quake as the 1960s
progressed, popular tastes changed dramatically and Fury was suddenly
yesterday’s man. It didn’t help that health problems forced Fury to stop
touring. His heart had been weakened by a childhood bout with rheumatic fever:
it left him with delicate health, and he apparently knew he was destined to die
young. Like Brigitte Bardot and Doris Day, once he was out of the limelight
Fury focused his attention on animal rights (he was particularly keen on horses and birds). At a particularly low point in the late 1970s
Fury was forced to declare bankruptcy. By the early 80s a broke and ailing Fury hit the comeback
trail. Photos and Youtube clips depict him as still handsome, but with a deep orange
fake tan (perhaps to make him look healthier than he really was) and unbecoming
blow-dried hairdo (he should have stuck with his impeccable quiff). Towards the end, Fury re-recorded his classic 1960s hits for the tacky K-tel label. I once bought this version by mistake (the CD cover misleadingly had a photo of the young Billy Fury). Late-period
Fury’s voice was still beautiful, but weakened and drained of energy -- almost
eerie, a ghost of his former self. Billy Fury died of a heart attack at the tragically early age of 42.
The gay theory could certainly be linked to Fury’s
connection to manager Larry Parnes, one of the first great pop impresarios in
British music -- who happened to be unapologetically gay. It was Parnes who discovered
the teenaged Wycherley, re-christened him
and groomed him for stardom. Famously, Parnes built his own star system
of early British rock’n’roll idols, giving his cute protégées what now sound
like outrageously campy and suggestive names (Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Vince
Eager, Dickie Pride and Lance Fortune). Parnes also set the template for Brian Epstein with The
Beatles and Kit Lambert with The Who later on, creating the
enduringly popular theory that gay managers have an innate insight into what appeals
to teenage girls.
Fury never managed to crack the international market. I only
became aware of his existence once I moved to London in the early 1990s and was
instantly attracted to Fury’s soaring voice and dreamy heartthrob looks. For
kitsch reasons, I valued Fury as the British Elvis manqué, the male equivalent of
pouting platinum blonde sex bomb Diana Dors (the British Marilyn Monroe or
Jayne Mansfield).
/ Eddie Cochran and Billy Fury backstage in 1960 (I played tracks by both of them at this Wild Thing) /
In those pre-internet days I was able to earn extra money
writing for music and men’s print magazines. The journalist John Gill and I
were both contributors to the now-defunct Vox magazine. Gill kindly referenced
and acknowledged my MAXIMUMROCKNROLL interview with maverick British queercore
musician Tongueman (RIP, Spud Jones) in his 1995 book Queer Noises: Male and
Female Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century Music. When I was sent a
complimentary copy, I was surprised to read:
“Another pop figure from the 1960s who is now known to have
been gay is Billy Fury, one of the many Elvis Presley clones that were factory
farmed by the British music industry in the wake of rock’n’roll. Unlike many of
his contemporaries, however, Fury did write a number of his remarkable nineteen
chart hits. At this remove, however, Fury is probably more memorable for the
fact that he was managed by queer entrepreneur Larry Parnes than for his impact
on the history of rock’n’roll."
He’s “now known ...?” Is he? I would have loved for Gill to
pursue this further, because Fury’s homosexuality (or bisexuality) is far from
common knowledge and still feels un-documented.
As well as rockabillies, Fury is also lovingly remembered by
Morrissey fans. Always a connoisseur of homo-erotic images and firm male flesh,
Morrissey’s infatuation with Billy Fury is perhaps inevitable. “He’s virtually
the same as James Dean,” Morrissey told Sounds in June 1984. “He too was
entirely doomed, which I find quite affectionate ....”
From the biography Morrissey: Scandal and Passion by David
Bret:
“Liverpool-born Billy Fury was an ethereal-looking young man
who had always wanted to be a rock star and enjoy the hedonistic lifestyle that
went with it. Perhaps terrified of his sexuality becoming public knowledge, he
had more or less taken over Johnnie Ray’s “tears on my pillow” mantle, and
found fame with heartfelt ballads such as “Halfway to Paradise” and “I’d Never
Find Another You.” Morrissey included Fury’s photograph on the sleeve of The
Smiths’ “Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me” (but wisely refrained from
etching “Eaten by Vince Eager” on the vinyl, a reference to one of Fury’s
stable mates, when warned of the possible repercussions). He also championed
Fury in “Paint A Vulgar Picture.” Both tracks were recorded in the spring of
1987 for Strangeways Here We Come.”
Ideally a thorough, warts-and-all biography will eventually emerge
about Fury which sets the record straight. A true unsung pop hero, his life and career certainly warrant
one. His surviving family seem to keep a tight grip on protecting Fury’s image,
though, and this looks unlikely. Anything that deviates from the official line
certainly would be unlikely to receive their authorisation.
Let’s give the last word to Jake Vegas. In December 2011 my
friend Ms Mansfield and I went to Boz Boorer's Christmas party at a pub in West
Hampstead. It’s not a neighbourhood I’m familiar with at all. As soon as we
left the tube station and crossed the street, we were confronted with a huge
and beautiful spray-painted mural of Billy Fury! I later learned the location was chosen
because Fury recorded many of his biggest hits at the Decca studios, which used to be nearby. It
prompted a quick photo session!
/ The glamorous Ms Mansfield in front of the Billy Fury mural in West Hampstead. Shame about the location of the black garbage bag. [Update as of 2017: I've passed the Billy Fury mural a few times this year and sad to report it's now hopelessly defaced by graffiti!] /
/ The original photo the mural is based on /
How to be timelessly cool: Ms Mansfield and Jake at the club night More Than Vegas circa 1995 ...
Ms Mansfield and Jake at Boz Boorer's Christmas party in December 2011
Afterwards at Boz’s party Ms Mansfield and I mentioned the Billy
Fury mural to Soho habitué and sleazy blues shouter Jake Vegas. Without a trace of
sentimentality he recalled, “I met Billy Fury once in the 1970s. He was as camp
as Christmas.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Joe Pop has already used Billy Fury's image on a Wild Thing flyer
Further reading:
Nice, thorough documentary about Billy Fury on Youtube
Little Girl - John and Jackie Wiped-Out - The Escorts Heartbreak Hotel - Buddy Love Muleskinner Blues - The Fendermen
Little Queenie - The Bill Black Combo You Give Me Worms - Turbonegro (for Eric) Nothing Means Nothing Anymore - The Alley Cats Pillowcase - The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black Johnny Hit and Run Pauline - X Boss - The Rumblers What Do You Think I Am? Ike and Tina Turner Brand New Cadillac - Vince Taylor Handclappin' Time - The Fabulous Raiders Gonna Type a Letter - Billy Fury C'mon Everybody - Sid Vicious Mean Muthafucking Man - Wayne County and The Electric Chairs Punks Get off the Grass - Edith Massey Goo Goo Muck - Ronnie Cook and The Gaylads I Don't Care - The Ramones Contact - Brigitte Bardot Margaya - The Fender Four Batman - Link Wray and The Raymen Breathless - Arlie Neaville Treat Me Right - Mae West Rockin' Out the Blues - The Musical Linn Twins Woo Hoo - The Rock-A-Teens Forming - The Germs Someone to Love - Les Ritas Mitsouko (for Gibran) Tongue-Tied Jill - Charlie Feathers Can't Stop Thinking About It - The Dirtbombs Suey - Jayne Mansfield Sweetie Pie - Eddie Cochran
Night of Open Sex (1983)
-
*Night of Open Sex* (*La noche de los sexos abiertos*) is a 1983 Jess
Franco movie that springs a few surprises. It’s not quite what it initially
appears ...
We will endure
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Cookie is not going to get into the election results. Nope. Not going to
do it.
Suffice it to say that I have blocked a whole bunch of people on Facebo...
LIPSTICK 1976
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Spoiler Alert: Crucial plot points are revealed in the interest of critical
analysis and discussion
*Lipstick* is a dramatized exposé and social critique ...
Grace Jones
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Artist: Grace Jones
LP: 7" single
Song: "I've Seen That Face Before (Liber Tango)"
[ listen ]
The incredible Grace Jones turned 76 one month ago today. ...
Forrester Millard by AMG Athletic Model Guild
-
One of Bob Mizer's earliest models, and one of his favorites. This image
was photographed circa 1950 (possibly earlier). Forrester would make a
retur...
National Silent Movie Day: Manhandled (1924)
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Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, is National Silent Movie Day. New York City's
beloved Film Forum is celebrating with a screening of Allan Dwan's 1924
silent...
This Halloween:
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Since the grocery store opened across the street and they have one of those
safe trick-or-treating parties, I no longer feed the hordes of begging
adults, ...
Marlene Dietrich - Nino Za
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Carte postale des années 30 représentant une caricature de Marlene Dietrich
par le dessinateur italien Nino Za (1906-1996).
Some Girls Ask For Diamonds. Others Ask for Furs.
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Mr. Kitsch texted me on the way home from work today and asked if I needed
anything at the store.
I replied "After the day that I've had? Just a big pi...
Béatrice Dalle Day
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'Driving south on the A7 from Lyon to Marseille, I find my thoughts turning
to some of the scenes associated with the name of Béatrice Dalle. They
incl...
A BOGUS SPEECH BY A BOGUS PRESIDENT
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Yesterday, Obama spoke in New Orleans at the 10 year anniversary of
Katrina. I'm not quite sure why we celebrate disasters' anniversaries, but
it was a cha...
DJ. Journalist. Greaser punk. Malcontent. Jack of all trades, master of none. Like the Shangri-Las song, I'm good-bad, but not evil. I revel in trashiness