MovieChat Forums > The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970) Discussion > From the Ed Wood School of Movies

From the Ed Wood School of Movies

posted 11 years ago by Raysand
7 replies | jump to latest

I can't believe that the real Christine Jorgenson didn't disown this movie. It's something out of Ed Wood: a truly horrible movie. A talented director could have made an amazing movie out of Christine's extraordingary life, since the material is truly fascinating. What I've seen of the movie, I've seen on Youtube and that's enough. Just a few observations:

a) If Christine had her sex change in 1952, why are the characters in this movie dressed in 1960's styles?
b) Why did they use a man to play the part of Christine? They should have used a woman, dressed her like a man, and then after her sex-change she would have been more convincing as a woman. The actor playing Christine looks too masculine to play Christine. He looks like a big beefy guy in drag. Christine was a passable transsexual, not a masculine looking drag queen.
c) The acting is bad, the script is horrible. It's campy, etc.. There are just too many things to even list, so I will leave it at this: probably one of the worst movies of the century.

[–] smjensen312-158-669840 11 years ago

It was common in that era to have characters dressed in contemporary clothing and hairstyles, irrespective of the period in which the film was set. I think they chose a man to play Christine because she started out male herself, and her transformation was the source of her fame.

I heard that Christine Jorgensen tried to sue Warner Brothers. She certainly knew this film was a fiasco. But once she sold the film rights, she signed away control over the film's content.

[–] solex10 9 years ago

It was Edward Small Productions that she tried to sue for this POS,most likely, since it was that company that got United Artists to distribute it (and without the 'Entertainment from Transamerica Corporation' byline under the company's logo.)

[–] Simplythebest11962 9 years ago

It definitely seemed more like a bizarre abstract movie that was all over the place, literally.

It wasn't hard to follow, but @ the same time, it seemed more like a soap opera than an actual bio.

I also agree with you that it was goofy having a man portray a transsexual.

It would've made MORE sense to just have a woman playing the role of "female" Christine than having a guy play the role because as you stated, just seemed like a guy in drag & made it hard to take the role seriously.

I also didn't like the fact there was a boobs scene.

The movie didn't need to have boobs in it.

It would've been fine WITHOUT the nudity.

It's a good thing!-Martha Stewart

[–] simonrosenbaum 9 years ago

How ridiculous to say they should have used a woman to play the part when the story is about a MAN becoming a woman. It would have been less believable and a cop out to use a woman.

[–] Simplythebest11962 9 years ago

by simonrosenbaum » 10 minutes ago (Wed Jun 24 2015 01:36:47)
IMDb member since October 2002
How ridiculous to say they should have used a woman to play the part when the story is about a MAN becoming a woman. It would have been less believable and a cop out to use a woman.

In that movie, Transamerica a REAL woman played the role of a transsexual "man," so it's not such a ridiculous concept.

[–] schultzalan-1 8 years ago

I have to admit that her possibly disowning this movie crossed my mind before as well. THis movies is so bizarrely directed that one has to wonder what she thought when she first saw this movie. For me, as a bad movie lover, it is wonderously bizarre at times. But it really does take a serious subject and treat it with a certain amount of exploitation.

a. You have to wonder why they made this film the way they did. Christine was born in 1926. And yet, her childhood looks like it was set in the 1950s with kid actors from the 1970s who look like they were hired directly from the show "The Brady Bunch".

b. That's not that surprising given how low budget this film truly was. What is surprising is that they couldn't find an actor who fit what Christine Jorgensen actually looked like in real life. That's part of the problem.

c. You are quite possibly right about that.

[–] BugisStreetAnnie (1294) 5 years ago

Famed '70s gay male porn star, Jack Wrangler, said he auditioned for the part of Christine and was thrilled when he didn't get it. Ironically he also said it was the best role that he lost. That made me wonder if he actually saw the movie after it was made.