Striporama
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Jerald Intrator
Bettie Page
Jack Diamond
Mandy Kay
Charles Harris
The Venus Beauties
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In New York City, the Council for Culture, comprised of four men, concludes their meeting about what to include in a show business time capsule by unanimously voting to exclude burlesque. When Charles, the friend of Brooklyn vaudeville comedians Jack and Mandy, shows them the entertainment newspaper headlines, he suggests that the council's decision may undermine their careers by destabilizing the burlesque industry. Charles asks Jack and Mandy to dress like gangsters and meet him in twenty minutes. Jack and Mandy then hold the council members at gunpoint to capture the council's attention while Charles insists that burlesque is authentic theater. To further convince the council, Charlie runs a film of a variety of burlesque performances: The opening entertainment features nine dancers, each of whom carries a letter of the alphabet. Combined they spell out the world "burlesque." This is followed by Georgia Sothern, who introduces her "g-string quartet," a striptease dance in which she appears in different costumes representing "the baby-doll type," "the slow and easy type," "the wild and woolly type" and "the literary genius." The next number is the scene of a woman in silhouette undressing in front of a window. A comedy sketch follows featuring Mandy as a hunter who encounters Charles. Charles bets him money that he can force him to say the phrase "no I haven't." Mandy loses when he unwittingly states the phrase after Charles tells a story, but when Mandy tries to outwit his friend Jack using Charles' trick, Mandy loses a second time. The skit is followed by a violent "Apache" pas de deux, which is danced by Marinette and Andre on a Parisian set. The dance number is followed by another comedy skit featuring Mandy, Jack and Charles in which the men attempt to perform sleight-of-hand with eggs and hats. Rosita Royce then performs a striptease dance while six white doves are perched on her arms and one dove perches on top of her head. This is followed by a story featuring a Middle Eastern pasha and his harem. The pasha announces that he is holding a celebration for the American sailor who saved his life during World War II. He then offers one of his daughters in marriage to the sailor, who is instructed to select a daughter from the four who will dance for him. However, the pasha cautions him that he cannot change his mind after rejecting any daughter. The sailor rejects daughters Blossom, Twilight and Zelda the Tigress, all of whom perform belly dances for his entertainment. The pasha then announces his last daughter as his greatest treasure. Elsewhere in the palace, Betty Page takes a luxurious bubble bath. However, the sailor discovers that this is not the fourth daughter, Rachmones, whom the sailor discovers is the homeliest of them all. The next sketch features the body builder Mr. America, who proves his strength by dancing and playing the harmonica while a woman sits on his shoulders and lifts a man with a harness using only his teeth. The last dance sequence features a woman dressing to go out for the evening, but taking off her gown and fur coat when she gets a call that cancels her plans. [Finally, the council agrees to include burlesque in the time capsule.]
Director
Jerald Intrator
Cast
Bettie Page
Jack Diamond
Mandy Kay
Charles Harris
The Venus Beauties
Marinette And Andre
Pat Lombard
Nola Lee
Betty Tunell
Doris Mackenzie
Anne Slayton
Jack Lalanne
Georgia Sothern
Rosita Royce
Lili St. Cyr
Crew
Franz Bibo
Allan Bodian
Allan Bodian
John S. Carroll
William Durban
Ralph Friedman
John Hall Jr.
Jerald Intrator
Jerald Intrator
Alvin Karp
Stanley Kotis
Francis Lee
Frank Lemon
Martin J. Lewis
Alfred L. Meyers
Sanford Tillis
Howard Warren
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to NYSA, an alternate title for the film was Striporama of Burlesque. Although the opening credits contain a 1953 copyright statement, the film was not listed in the Catalog of Copyright Entries. The opening credits included the following acknowledgment: "Quotation by George Santayana from Atlantic Monthly." However, neither the exact quote nor further publication information has been ascertained. The final scene with the "Council for Culture," as mentioned in reviews, was missing from the viewed print. Body builder Jack LaLanne, who made his feature film debut in the picture, was credited onscreen only as "Mr. America."
Reviews and information in the file for the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library variously indicated that a segment titled "Cinderella's Love Lesson," featuring Lili St. Cyr, May have been part of the original feature, or May have run as a separate short following Striporama. However, St. Cyr is not listed in the film's onscreen credits.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1954
Released in United States 1954
