Lust in the Dust
| Lust in the Dust | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Bartel |
| Written by | Philip John Taylor |
| Produced by | |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Paul Lohmann |
| Edited by | Alan Toomayan |
| Music by |
|
Production company | Fox Run Productions |
| Distributed by | New World Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million[1] |
Lust in the Dust is a 1984 American Western comedy film directed by Paul Bartel, written by Philip John Taylor, and starring Tab Hunter, Divine, Lainie Kazan and Cesar Romero.
Plot
[edit]Dance-hall girl Rosie Velez, lost in the desert, is helped to safety by gunman Abel Wood. In the town of Chili Verde, at the saloon of Marguerita Ventura, word of a treasure in gold brings Abel into conflict with outlaw Hard Case Williams and his gang.
Cast
[edit]- Tab Hunter as Abel Wood
- Divine as Rosie Velez
- Lainie Kazan as Marguerita Ventura
- Cesar Romero as Father Garcia
- Geoffrey Lewis as Hard Case Williams
- Henry Silva as Bernardo
- Courtney Gains as Richard "Red Dick" Barker
- Gina Gallego as Ninfa
- Nedra Volz as Ed "Big Ed"
- Woody Strode as Blackman, Hard Case Gang
- Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez as Mexican, Hard Case Gang
Production
[edit]The title was taken from the nickname given to King Vidor's 1946 film Duel in the Sun.[2]
John Waters was asked to direct, but refused because he did not write the script.[3]
Edith Massey was cast as Big Ed, but died shortly after her screen test.[3] Bartel was uneasy about casting her because he thought it would look too much like a John Waters film without John Waters.
The role of Marguerita was originally set for Chita Rivera.[4] Principal photography took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[5]
In the original script, Rosie was supposed to die but the filmmakers changed their mind during filming.[1]
Critical reception
[edit]Variety described the film as "a saucy, irreverent, quite funny send-up of the Western" and said that it "takes some of the old-time conventions – the silent stranger, the saloon singer with a past, the motley crew of crazed gunslingers, the missing stash of gold – and stands them on their head with outrageous comedy and imaginative casting."[6] Kenneth Turan of California Magazine called it "raunchy but irresistible,"[7] while Stephen Schaefer of US Magazine said "Lust in the Dust is a wicked must" and described it as "a happy hoot", concluding that it "knows how to mine the gold quickly and leave 'em laughing."[8] George Williams of The Sacramento Bee described the film as "an irresistibly funny spoof on those Clint Eastwood-Sergio Leone movies called Spaghetti Westerns" and stated that the actors "all give us the feeling they're having a lot of fun — and we can't help but join in." Most of the mirth comes from the situations and the characterizations."[9] Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "a gun totin' rootin-tootin' New Mexico-style cowboy yarn loaded with surprisingly good performances" and praised Kazan's acting in particular.[10]
Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times Times said that the film's satire was "limp", and that it resorted to "dumb, sniggering sexual innuendo,"[11] while Vincent Canby of The New York Times described the film's jokes as "witless and private".[12] Critic Rex Reed opined that the film "produces the kind of green reaction you get from eating a rancid burrito." Addressing Canby and Reed's reviews, Peter Travers of People Magazine said "Well, what did they expect from a whacked-out Western parody starring has-been '50s hunk Tab Hunter and 300-pound female impersonator Divine—High Noon?" and that the film delivers "tacky, hit-and-miss hilarity" with moments that offer "more laughs than a barrel full of teenage sex comedies." He praised the performances and concluded that "those in search of a smattering of cheap laughs will find Lust in the Dust the perfect oasis."[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b OUTTAKES Taylor, Clarke. Los Angeles Times December 23, 1984: o41.
- ^ The Western will never bite the dust Scott, Jay. The Globe and Mail; Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]July 7, 1979: P.29.
- ^ a b Lust in the Dust (1985), swampflix.com, February 13, 2018
- ^ Not Simply Divine. Simon and Schuster. August 10, 1994. ISBN 9780671884673.
- ^ Latin from Manhattan danced to Hollywood Thomas, Bob. The Globe and Mail June 22, 1984: E.4.
- ^ Variety Staff (December 31, 1983). "Lust in the Dust". Variety.
- ^ Turan, Kenneth (March 10, 1985). "Lust in the Dust". The Los Angeles Times. p. 317.
- ^ Schaefer, Stephen (March 25, 1985). "Lust in the Dust is a wicked must". US Magazine. p. 76.
- ^ Williams, George (February 8, 1985). "Wild, lust peek into the dusty old west". The Sacramento Bee. p. 108.
- ^ Stack, Peter (March 17, 1985). "Lust in the Dust is a wicked must". The Chicago Tribune. p. 299.
- ^ Benson, Sheila (March 8, 1985). "'LUST' GETS LOST IN ITS OWN DUST". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (March 1, 1985). "SCREEN: BARREL'S 'LUST IN THE DUST'". The New York Times.
- ^ Travers, Peter (March 18, 1985). "Screen: Lust in the Dust". People. p. 12.
External links
[edit]- 1985 films
- 1985 comedy films
- 1980s English-language films
- 1980s Western (genre) comedy films
- 1980s parody films
- American Western (genre) comedy films
- American independent films
- American parody films
- Films directed by Paul Bartel
- New World Pictures films
- 1980s American films
- English-language independent films
- English-language Western (genre) comedy films