I saw this with my family in Forest Hills in 1968, and I recall how at the time the film was advertised as Bert Lahr's last great performance because he was supposed to have a major role in this valentine to the late, great days of the Burlesque shows that Lahr came out of. It's true he appears in the film, and that he died while it was being made, but his part was cut to ribbons due to his death (obviously not enough of his role had been completed before he died, like John Candy in his last film and Spencer Tracy in his last film). But Lahr does have a final moment that always haunted me. More of that anon.
The story (how true it is I can't answer) is how the tradition of the strip tease was created at the Minsky Burlesque House in New York City. The film follows the arrival of Britt Eckland (Rachel Schpitendavel) in Manhattan - she is an Amish girl who is running away from her way of life (and her stiff-necked father, Harry Andrews (Jacob Schpitendavel)). She accidentally meets Lahr ("Professor Spats"), who takes her to Minsky's to see if she can get a job there. The theater is run by Elliot Gould (Billy Minsky) who is the son of the owner Louis Minsky (Joseph Wiseman). Gould gives her some work, and she soon is being pursued by the two lead comedians in the show (Jason Robards - Raymond Paine; Norman Wisdon - Chick Williams). Robards makes the biggest impression on her - getting her into bed. In the meantime Gould is being annoyed by Denholm Elliot (Vance Fowler) who is head of a moral crusade organization. He's also under pressures from his father Louis, who disapproves of the sexual content of the burlesque shows. When Andrews shows up, he is full of righteous fury towards the evil city and the evil theater as well. Eckland is now a chorus girl.
SPOILER COMING UP
When a furious Andrews finds his daughter on stage in a "skimpy" costume, he rips off part of it in disgust in front of the bored audience. This causes the audience to take notice. Eckland notices this too, and starts continuing to rip off her costume. It is the invention of the strip tease - and Elliot, of course, sends a signal for a raid by the police. The film ends with most of the cast under arrest, except for Robards, who leaves with deep regrets (more in a moment) and Lahr. Lahr enters the empty theater after the arrests, picks up a prop from the stage floor, and walked off stage. And the movie ended.
You'd have to see the film fully to understand that Lahr's final appearance, silent as it was, was moving. Professor Spats (for whatever remained of Lahr's part) was a fragment of the past of burlesque - a once great clown of the show when it was a family entertainment. His last moment on stage alone, with no audience to see him, marked the end of his era.
Robards played his role with real enthusiasm, as a second-rate comic and singer (a burlesque "Archie Rice") who is also lecherous. He has some good numbers, including the tune I quote in the Summary Line. He does deflower Eckland, but in getting to know Eckland he also realizes she is out of her depth in the atmosphere of Minsky's. She really is a decent girl. He is opposed to her staying, and becoming part of the chorus line. And then comes her final act - inventing the strip tease. Robards is thoroughly ashamed of himself at the end, in helping bring this about. He leaves looking at Eckland as at a lost innocence.
The show also includes a proper atmosphere for the burlesque theaters of the 1910 - 1930 period. Originally a junior partner to vaudeville, it degenerated into salacious jokes and bawdy skits (and sexually alluring acts like strip tease and fan dancing). The audiences were mostly unemployed types who were more frequently asleep in the audience than watching the stage. Some great talents did arise (Lahr, Abbott & Costello, Gypsy Rose Lee, Phil Silvers, Rags Ragland), but they were exceptions. It was end of the line entertainment, and it annoyed many people who were not fanatics like Denholm Elliot in the film. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia did close down the New York burlesque theaters in the 1930s (so - they reopened in New Jersey). The film does recapture the spirit of that time, and that, with Robarts, and Lahr's farewell to the screen, is definitely worthwhile as a film to watch.
The story (how true it is I can't answer) is how the tradition of the strip tease was created at the Minsky Burlesque House in New York City. The film follows the arrival of Britt Eckland (Rachel Schpitendavel) in Manhattan - she is an Amish girl who is running away from her way of life (and her stiff-necked father, Harry Andrews (Jacob Schpitendavel)). She accidentally meets Lahr ("Professor Spats"), who takes her to Minsky's to see if she can get a job there. The theater is run by Elliot Gould (Billy Minsky) who is the son of the owner Louis Minsky (Joseph Wiseman). Gould gives her some work, and she soon is being pursued by the two lead comedians in the show (Jason Robards - Raymond Paine; Norman Wisdon - Chick Williams). Robards makes the biggest impression on her - getting her into bed. In the meantime Gould is being annoyed by Denholm Elliot (Vance Fowler) who is head of a moral crusade organization. He's also under pressures from his father Louis, who disapproves of the sexual content of the burlesque shows. When Andrews shows up, he is full of righteous fury towards the evil city and the evil theater as well. Eckland is now a chorus girl.
SPOILER COMING UP
When a furious Andrews finds his daughter on stage in a "skimpy" costume, he rips off part of it in disgust in front of the bored audience. This causes the audience to take notice. Eckland notices this too, and starts continuing to rip off her costume. It is the invention of the strip tease - and Elliot, of course, sends a signal for a raid by the police. The film ends with most of the cast under arrest, except for Robards, who leaves with deep regrets (more in a moment) and Lahr. Lahr enters the empty theater after the arrests, picks up a prop from the stage floor, and walked off stage. And the movie ended.
You'd have to see the film fully to understand that Lahr's final appearance, silent as it was, was moving. Professor Spats (for whatever remained of Lahr's part) was a fragment of the past of burlesque - a once great clown of the show when it was a family entertainment. His last moment on stage alone, with no audience to see him, marked the end of his era.
Robards played his role with real enthusiasm, as a second-rate comic and singer (a burlesque "Archie Rice") who is also lecherous. He has some good numbers, including the tune I quote in the Summary Line. He does deflower Eckland, but in getting to know Eckland he also realizes she is out of her depth in the atmosphere of Minsky's. She really is a decent girl. He is opposed to her staying, and becoming part of the chorus line. And then comes her final act - inventing the strip tease. Robards is thoroughly ashamed of himself at the end, in helping bring this about. He leaves looking at Eckland as at a lost innocence.
The show also includes a proper atmosphere for the burlesque theaters of the 1910 - 1930 period. Originally a junior partner to vaudeville, it degenerated into salacious jokes and bawdy skits (and sexually alluring acts like strip tease and fan dancing). The audiences were mostly unemployed types who were more frequently asleep in the audience than watching the stage. Some great talents did arise (Lahr, Abbott & Costello, Gypsy Rose Lee, Phil Silvers, Rags Ragland), but they were exceptions. It was end of the line entertainment, and it annoyed many people who were not fanatics like Denholm Elliot in the film. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia did close down the New York burlesque theaters in the 1930s (so - they reopened in New Jersey). The film does recapture the spirit of that time, and that, with Robarts, and Lahr's farewell to the screen, is definitely worthwhile as a film to watch.