Quentin Crisp Movies
An offbeat writer and storyteller, Quentin Crisp was primarily known for his autobiography, entitled The Naked Civil Servant, which was adapted to film in 1975 and starred John Hurt. Born Denis Pratt near London, England, Crisp was, at various points in his early adulthood, a prostitute and an artist. As a young man, Crisp made his homosexuality public knowledge and soon after appeared in public in makeup and high-heeled shoes. His sexuality was very much a part of his artistry, both in the visual arts and the printed word. In the late '70s, Crisp began appearing in a one-man show that he would continue to fine-tune until his death in late 1999. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1998
Sara Moore made her directorial debut with this campy comedy, issuing a barrage of bitchy bits in a surreal send-up of homosexual histrionics, starring noted activist-author-actor Quentin Crisp, who previously portrayed Queen Elizabeth in Orlando. The aging, gay guru Malcolm (Crisp), aka the "Greta Garbo of Queerdom," has a cinema memorabilia collection (Vivien Leigh's pillbox, Gloria Swanson's false teeth, Nancy Sinatra's boot trinkets) given him by Homo Heights gay mafia head, the exuberant, ebullient drag queen Maria Callous (Stephen Sorrentino), a media manipulator who keeps tab on the public pulse by bugging apartment complexes. Stifled by the controlling Callous, Malcolm wants out and plots an escape with his friend, gay gal cabdriver Clementine (Lea DeLaria). The outrageous and furious Callous, however, intends to make Malcolm happy again with "an icon for an icon," and she gathers a gang of gay ghetto leaders for a meeting. They reject Hayley and Juliet Mills, and Grace Jones, before choosing the perfect icon -- Carol Channing (seen in a brief cameo). As for Clementine's lost love Stella (Lynn Sain), the lesbian said the better, since Stella left Clementine for the alcoholic Blanche (Michelle Hutchinson), and Clementine would like to pour Blanche back into the bottle to win back Stella. Further, Stella is now pregnant by tomcat Cruise (Tim Tucker), whose boyfriend, journalistic jackdaw Tootsie (Grant Richey), is hatching a plan to outline Malcolm's escape attempts in an investigative exposé that could soon spur Callous into fierce fulminations. Drag queens Queenie (Emil Herrera) and Paprika (Daniel Alexander Jones) spice up the subplots. Shown at the 1998 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Quentin Crisp, Lea DeLaria, (more)
A young man's girl friend has an affair with his best friend and he goes off the deep end in this drama. All of the characters are in their 20s and live in New York. The angry young man is the macho Nick Adams who has spent one month out of town. Upon his return he notices that Mary, his girlfriend is acting oddly. She finally confesses that Sid, Nick's good buddy, made a pass at her. At first, Mary swears that nothing else happened, but Nick is suspicious and begins interrogating all of his neighbors about Mary's behavior. Eventually Mary confesses that she did indeed sleep with Sid. Nick cannot believe that she would willingly cheat on him and so goes to Sid to beat him up for raping Mary. Unfortunately, Sid is accompanied by a thuggish friend who beats Nick up. Nick retaliates by hiring his own thugs, but they mess up and mistakenly brutalize Nick's roommate instead. Nick's rage seems boundless and eventually he causes Mary to leave him and his friends to avoid him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Rodrick, Jennifer Anne Thomas, (more)
- 1995
- PG13
- Add To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar to QueueAdd To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar to top of Queue
Patrick Swayze plays Vida Boheme, a classy and long-reigning drag queen. With his understudy Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes), Vida wins a New York drag stage contest and an all-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood. But when Miss Chi Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo) cries at having lost the contest, soft-hearted Vida cashes in the airline tickets so the three of them can take a car out West. The film becomes a strange sort of buddy road movie, with the three cross-dressers traveling across the American heartland in a shiny yellow Cadillac. First they tangle with Sheriff Dollard (Chris Penn). He stops them for a minor traffic violation, puts the moves on Vida, and Vida knocks him out, so they flee. Later, they are stranded by car problems in a small town in Nebraska. Renting a room in a hotel, they put some life into the town and its annual strawberry festival. They provide a mousy local woman, Carol Ann (Stockard Channing), with new role models of assertiveness. They also insist on chivalrous treatment from the local good old boys and give lessons on courting to a teenage girl. This film was released on the heels of the more outrageous Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which featured Terence Stamp as a drag queen. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, (more)
Based on Vito Russo's groundbreaking 1981 work of film history, The Celluloid Closet gathers clips from dozens of mainstream Hollywood films to illustrate how the movies have dealt explicitly -- and more importantly, implicitly -- with gay and lesbian themes. Layered between the clips are interviews with filmmakers whose works have touched on that subject. The popular films of the Golden Age could only hint at homosexuality and often portrayed gays as simpering characters, objects of scorn or merriment, or insidious villains. With the strictures of the old Production Code loosening, bolder presentations were possible, but often over the objections of studio executives who feared a public backlash against a film that dealt with a long taboo subject. Among the films discussed are Philadelphia, The Children's Hour, Making Love, Rope, and Spartacus. Gore Vidal, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, and director John Schlesinger are among the film's strongest interview subjects. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
The colleagues, collaborators, and former lovers of a recently deceased theater personality gather together for an impromptu memorial service in this drama featuring the final full-length feature performance of actor Quentin Crisp. Heartfelt pathos blends with over-the-top comedy when the driving force behind a controversial theater group dies. Frank David Niles was the heart and soul of the "In Your Face" theater company, and now his friends and colleagues are determined to give him a proper send off. In addition to marking Crisp's final full-length feature performance, Red Ribbins also marks the return to the big screen for former The Devil in Miss Jones star Georgina Spelvin. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Independent filmmaker Sally Potter's gender-bending epic, which views four centuries of sexual politics through the eyes of a sex-switching main character, is based on the 1928 novel by Virginia Woolf. The androgynous title character is played with delicate quietude by Tilda Swinton. The story begins during the reign of the aging Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp, in a droll turn recalling his The Naked Civil Servant). Queen Elizabeth takes a shine to the attractive young Orlando and seeks out his sexual favors. In return, Elizabeth grants him a large estate, commanding him, "Do not fade, do not wither, do not grow old." Orlando takes the queen at her word and doesn't. When Elizabeth dies, Orlando becomes attracted to Sasha (Charlotte Valandrey), the daughter of a Russian diplomat, but she rebuffs his advances. Crushed, Orlando accepts an ambassadorship to Constantinople. After witnessing the killing of a man in battle, Orlando undergoes a change of sex, becoming a woman and returning to England, where she hobnobs with 18th-century geniuses like Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and John Addison. Walking through a garden labyrinth, the time frame shifts to the 19th century, and Orlando falls in love with a handsome American (Billy Zane). Now in the 20th century, Orlando gives birth to his child and continues on. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, (more)
- 1990
- NR
- Add Resident Alien: Quentin Crisp in America to QueueAdd Resident Alien: Quentin Crisp in America to top of Queue
A charming portrait of Quentin Crisp, who has (very deliberately) become the closest thing this century has to an Oscar Wilde. Crisp moved to New York City at the age of 73 and has many devoted friends and admirers who sing his praises. Indeed, pop star Sting literally "sings" of Quentin in his hit "Englishman in New York." Other fans who make appearances in the film include John Hurt, Fran Lebowitz and director Paul Morrissey. Of course, not everyone loves Quentin, as we learn primarily in a segment from the Sally Jesse Raphael show. He is not only a frequent target of homophobic attacks but is described by one homosexual as a "gay Stepin Fetchit." Overall, though, this is certainly a sympathetic documentary which may even provoke a grudging admiration from the viewer. ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Quentin Crisp, John Hurt, (more)
In this update of James Whale's classic The Bride of Frankenstein, pop star Sting furthers his burgeoning film career by portraying cinema's signature mad scientist. Disgusted by his dim-witted and ugly original creation (Clancy Brown), Dr. Frankenstein sets out to animate an improved version. Though lovely on the outside, Eva (Jennifer Beals) begins her new life as little more than an animal. With the help of his trusty housekeeper (Geraldine Page), however, Frankenstein soon grooms the beautiful zombie into a reasonable facsimile of an upper-class debutante. He's unprepared, however, when his ward displays a mind -- and sexual urges -- of her own. Meanwhile, the good doctor's discarded original creation assumes the name of Viktor and takes to the road. Befriended by an enterprising dwarf named Rinaldo (David Rappaport), Viktor becomes a circus performer but continues to pine after his bride. Connected to her psychically, he soon makes his way back to the scene of their mutual creation. There, he finds the girl embroiled in a love triangle between a callow suitor (Cary Elwes) and Frankenstein himself. In addition to its iconic '80s leads, The Bride boasts a famous supporting cast that includes gay memoirist Quentin Crisp and '60s model Veruschka. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sting, Jennifer Beals, (more)
- 1981
Each installment of An Evening With presents a performer, band, group, or other public figure in a setting aimed to please fans looking for a representative sampling of what a particular person or group of people does best. In this installment, famed author Quentin Crisp performs before a live and appreciative audience. Crisp specializes in applying his dry wit to everyday topics, such as style and personality development. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1976
This is one of the most surreal versions of the popular Shakespearian play on film. It approaches the story of the troubled prince from a Freudian perspective. Hamlet is seen a schizophrenic (played by identical twins). The Oedipal overtones of his relationship with his mother, Queen Gertrude, are stressed, and the film also contains broad hints of homosexuality. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Meyer
Based on Quentin Crisp's autobiography, the once-controversial picture The Naked Civil Servant stars John Hurt as Crisp, a flamboyant character who publicly declared his homosexuality during the brutally homophobic and misogynistic England of the 1930s and '40s -- a time when this alternative lifestyle was still an offense punishable by imprisonment in Great Britain. (The man dyed his hair and wore makeup in an era when women were looked on with disapproval for such behavior!) Director Jack Gold handles the material with taste, discretion, and a generous supply of humor; it thus might seem bizarre to a contemporary viewer that anyone could be offended by this, but remember that the world was a different place in 1975. More than a few PBS subscribers threatened to yank their support when this British TV film was first offered to American viewers in the spring of that year. Fortunately, many others were willing to see beyond the film's controversial subject matter and revel in the excellence of the production and its participants; one of the film's biggest and most influential fans was none other than Milton Berle. Carl Davis, best known for his symphonic silent-movie restoration scores, composed the music. Hurt drew equal controversy later that same year for his work in another British drama-turned-PBS special -- when he played the psychotic Caligula in Herbert Wise's epic miniseries I, Claudius. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Patricia Hodge, (more)
