''Striporama'' (also known as ''Striporama of Burlesque'') is a 1953 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Jerald Intrator and starring a number of

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

comedy, dance and striptease acts popular during the early 1950s including Georgia Sothern,

Lili St. Cyr Marie Frances Van Schaack (June 3, 1917 – January 29, 1999), known professionally as Lili St. Cyr, was a prominent American burlesque dancer and stripper.. Early years St. Cyr was born Marie Frances Van Schaack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, o ...

Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up model, pin-up photos.Jeanne Carmen Jeanne Laverne Carmen (August 4, 1930 – December 20, 2007) was an American model, actress and trick-shot golfer. Early life Carmen was born in Paragould, Arkansas. As a child, she picked cotton before running away from home at age 13. As ...

Plot

A meeting of the "Council of Culture" is taking place in New York City. The council is collecting various art forms for inclusion in a time capsule, However, the council members refuse to consider having mention of burlesque entertainment in their time capsule. News of the decisions reaches a trio of burlesque comics (Jack Diamond, Mandy Kay and Charles Harris), who disrupt the council's meeting by imitating gangsters. The three funnymen take out a movie projector to offer evidence of the artistic value of burlesque entertainment. The remainder of the film is a plotless revue that features such acts as stripper Rosita Royce dancing with a number of trained birds, the Apache-style dance duo of Marinette and Andre, a male bodybuilder dubbed "Mr. America" who flexes his muscles and plays the harmonica while balancing a blonde woman on his shoulders, a number of routines featuring solo women (including Lili St. Cyr) in various acts of undressing, and several comedy sketches including Diamond, Kay and Harris.

Cast (as themselves)

* Georgia Sothern * Jack Diamond *

Jeanne Carmen Jeanne Laverne Carmen (August 4, 1930 – December 20, 2007) was an American model, actress and trick-shot golfer. Early life Carmen was born in Paragould, Arkansas. As a child, she picked cotton before running away from home at age 13. As ...

as Venus Beauty *

* Mandy Kay * Rosita Royce * Charles Harris * The Venus Beauties * Marinette and Andre *

Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up model, pin-up photos.Film Journal International review
/ref> In the film, Page appears twice: in a comic sequence where she is the shared dream of roommates Diamond and Kay, and later as a harem girl who enjoyed an extended bubble bath. ''Striporama'' also saw an early appearance by actress Jeanne Carmen, who had a dialogue-free bit part as a streetwalker that circled the Marinette and Andre dance number.

Release

''Striporama'' was originally released in adults-only theaters that specialized in

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

Reception

In a contempary review''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "''Striporama'' is the closest thing to a burlesque show, placed on celluloid, that has been concocted of late, It has all the moss-covered burley comedy skits and routines, and also the strippers and a line of show gals, latter being surprisingly comely. Color of a sort has been added. This all adds up to a very strange conglomeration, but it will do business via the readily exploitable stripper angle. This is one of the few so-called burley pictures that even partly lives up to its sexy lobby display. Some of the stripping sequences have been done with liberal use of closeups. A few of the sexy incidents and the gags are put over with all the adroitness of a sledgehammer. A few of the strippers suffer from being captured too closeup. One of the best parts of this is termed a specialty, "Cinderella's Love Lesson," which is merely Lili St. Cyr doing a modified, original strip. Of the principal strip artists, Rosita Royce and Georgia Sothern shape best. Jack Diamond plays straight, with Mandy Kay and Charles Harris handling the burlesque comic routines."

Rediscovery

Over the years, the last five minutes of original footage became lost. As a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

film, it had been available from several home video labels. In May 2001, the film had a theatrical re-release in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Modern appraisal

Critics who reviewed ''Striporama'' nearly a half-century after it was created compared its rediscovery to its time capsule plot device. David Sterritt, writing in the ''

Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...

'', noted the film was “quite tame despite its lurid title, containing little that would push the boundaries of today's PG-13 rating.” Michael Atkinson, writing in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', found the film “occupying a nudity-free yet salacious middle ground between, say, ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

'' (the “Beautiful Girl” fashion show is echoed here) and progressive seaminess like

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novelist. In the 1950s, Wood directed several B movie, low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult c ...

and Stephen Apostolof's ''

Orgy of the Dead ''Orgy of the Dead'' is a 1965 American erotic horror film directed by Stephen C. Apostolof (under the alias A. C. Stephen) and written by cult film director Ed Wood, who also adapted the screenplay into a novel. The film belongs to the genre of ...

''.”

Armond White Armond Allen White (born 1953) is an American film and music critic who writes for ''National Review'' and ''Out''. He was previously the editor of '' CityArts'' (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly '' New York Press ...

, reviewing the film for the ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...

'', considered the film “a shabby camp experience, but as a relic of what show business and movies used to be, it instructs one on changing tastes in sex and humor.”New York Press review

References

External links

* {{Bettie Page 1953 films 1953 comedy films Films about striptease American comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films about burlesque American dance films 1950s dance films 1950s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films