Myra Breckinridge (film)

Myra Breckinridge
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Sarne
Written byMichael Sarne
David Giler
Based onMyra Breckinridge
by Gore Vidal
Produced byDavid Giler
Robert Fryer
StarringMae West
John Huston
Raquel Welch
Rex Reed
Farrah Fawcett
CinematographyRichard Moore
Edited byDanford B. Greene
Music byJohn Phillips
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • June 24, 1970 (1970-06-24)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$4 million (US/Canada)[2]

Myra Breckinridge is a 1970 American comedy film based on Gore Vidal's 1968 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Michael Sarne, and featured Raquel Welch in the title role. It also starred John Huston as Buck Loner, Mae West as Leticia Van Allen, Farrah Fawcett, Rex Reed, Roger Herren, and Roger C. Carmel. Tom Selleck made his film debut in a small role as one of Leticia's "studs."[3] Theadora Van Runkle was costume designer for the film, though Edith Head designed West's costumes.[4]

Like the novel, the picture follows the exploits of Myra Breckinridge, a transgender woman who has undergone a sex change operation. Claiming to be her own widow, she manipulates her uncle into giving her a position at his acting school, where she attempts to usurp Hollywood's social order by introducing femdom into the curriculum.

The picture was controversial for its sexual explicitness (including acts like female-on-male rape), but it, unlike the novel, received little to no critical praise and has been cited as one of the worst films ever made.[5] In subsequent decades the film has developed a cult following.[6]

  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey (2002). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
  2. ^ Solomon p 231. Please note figures are rentals not total gross.
  3. ^ "Myra Breckinridge". TV Guide. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  4. ^ Chierichetti, David; Head, Edith (March 4, 2003). Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer. HarperCollins. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-0601-9428-4.
  5. ^ Moran, Leslie J.; Christie, Ian; Sandon, Emma (December 6, 2012). Law's Moving Image. Loizidou, Elena. Routledge Cavendish. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-1353-1172-8.
  6. ^ Moran, Leslie; Loizidou, Elena; Christie, Ian; Sandon, Emma (December 6, 2012). Law's Moving Image. Routledge-Cavendish. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-1353-1172-8. Retrieved October 17, 2023.