This special limited edition embossed slipcover is limited to 2,500 units and is only available here at VinegarSyndrome.com!
The American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) represents the world's largest theatrical catalog of exploitation cinema. Their home video line presents a diverse selection of movies, ranging from new preservations of classics from the vast library of Something Weird to the wildest in shot-on-video (SOV) titles. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line!
Spearheaded by filmmaker Ray Harrison, the Gay Girls Riding Club (GGRC) took California’s 1960s underground gay scene by storm with drag spoofs of classic Hollywood films. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? AND THE FILMS OF THE GAY GIRLS RIDING CLUB collects the joyous, ambitious, and wig-filled GGRC films on home video for the first time ever. From WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, shot only a few months after the release of WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, to ALL ABOUT ALICE, the GGRC’s feature-length roast of ALL ABOUT EVE, these pioneering DIY movies are essential snapshots of mid-century drag culture that would feel right at home with the dreamy work of Mike and George Kuchar. AGFA, in partnership with the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, is thrilled to present these overlooked chapters of queer cinema -- preserved from the only known 16mm film elements in existence.
Films included: ALWAYS ON SUNDAY (1962, 8 mins), WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1963, 31 mins), THE ROMAN SPRINGS ON MRS. STONE (1963, 19 mins), SPY ON THE FLY (1967, 43 mins), ALL ABOUT ALICE (1972, 75 mins)
directed by: Ray Harrison
starring: Claire Brennen, Felix Silla
1962-72 / 176 min / 1.33:1 / English Mono
Additional info:
Overall rating: 4.508772 / 5 from 57 reviews.
This special limited edition slipcover features a collection of pioneering DIY movies from the Gay Girls Riding Club, preserved from the only known 16mm film elements. The collection includes films such as 'What Really Happened to Baby Jane?' and 'All About Alice', offering a vibrant and entertaining snapshot of mid-century drag culture.
Review topics: ["set","film","collection","fun","release","camp","slipcover","history","movie","features","fan","agfa","irony","shorts","exception"].
"These five films, spoofing famous Hollywood movies and characters, are a lot of fun and very entertaining. It’s great to see these early works of underground queer culture preserved on disc. A big thank you to AGFA for releasing these GGRC films. The slipcover is also great and adds a nice touch to the package. Overall, this is a great purchase and one I highly recommend."
"Wow this release was so fun fun. Like usual AGFA puts together a terrific package which is pretty much the history of the Gay Girls Riding Club and director Ray Harrison's fun campy films. All are worth watching but All About Alice was my favorite. It's amazing what this company digs up and releases. As always we got another gem."
"Pride deserves an extension this year, and I'm manefesting that by taking in this incredible time capsule of mid-century queer culture. For context, this drag camp send-up of 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane' was not only made mere months after the movie was released, but quite a few years before Stonewall. Its drag culture finding a lane in the time of Kenneth Anger and the Kuchar Brothers, with the incredible ambition to make it happen. This was 1963 and renegade underground drag collective Gay Girls Riding Club (GGRC) were making parody shorts (on film!) of popular movies at the time. The use of the source material manages to boast both stylistic contemporary irony with a very sincere reverence. It's really amazing this got made. Largely silent (barring the narration and the score, very Anger-esqe use of the source material) there's so many inventive camera movements and fun tricks here. In perhaps the truest of all underground fashion, very little of the GGRC's information exists today beyond the films and a few small blurbs and ads from the time. But their prolific creation speak to enginuity and community."
"silly silly silly fun"
"Essential viewing for any queer gettogether. The energy of these films is just so affecting, you'll want to grab a camera and make your own gay spoofs of Hollywood classics."
"I always have fun with these types of AGFA collection releases. From the crazy slipcover to the films contained within, this is another collection of material that I'm excited to really spend some time rifling through."
"AGFA has the best collections hands down. I WILL own them all one day."
"I think i may find more to appreciate in this collection than I do to enjoy, but its still a valuable piece of film history. A window into gay culture in the 60s and 70s. Worth watching."
"Beautiful collection of 60s-70s short camp films and a release that’s packed with features. Another nice AGFA release and the artwork is cool too, well worth picking up. The transfers looks great too. All around a nice package."
"Another great release from the good folks at AGFA/Something Weird - packed full of amazing extra features! This collection is definetely worth getting if you like it gritty, odd and obscure!"
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