The Christine Jorgensen Story
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Christine Jorgensen Story |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1970 |
| length | 98 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Irving rapper |
| script |
Robert E. Kent Ellis St Joseph |
| production | Edward Small |
| music | Paul Sawtell , Bert Shefter |
| cut | RA Radecki |
| occupation | |
| |
The Christine Jorgensen Story is the filmed biography of Christine Jorgensen , a well-known American transgender person . The film, released in 1970, contains not only the biographical facts but also additional fictional elements.
production
A film for the planned biography was announced in 1960. The producer Edward Small then acquired the film rights in 1968, a year after the biography was published. Jorgensen later claimed, citing the contract, that she was entitled to 10% of the total revenue and that she was entitled to 3.5% of the production costs.
George / Christine is portrayed in the film by 18-year-old actor John Hansen . About the casting, Jorgensen later said: "Every impersonator in the world fell in love with Hollywood and wanted to be Christine". Irving Rapper said that Small hired him to direct because he needed someone who had the sensitivity to do it. Jorgensen was on hand to advise on the shooting.
The film was shown for the first time in June 1970 in the USA. In Denmark, the film was released on October 29, 1970 under the title "Christine Jørgensens historie". The film was also released in Brazil and Italy. The Italian title “Il primo uomo diventato donna” (“The first man who turned into a woman”) is incorrect in terms of content, since Christine Jorgensen was only the first US American transsexual to appear in the media.
The film was never released in German-speaking countries.
reception
The reactions of the critics were different. Gary Arnold described the film as a unfortunately consistently ordinary feature film on a rather unusual topic. Howard Thompson called the film a neatly told story, which simplifies parts of the autobiography and everything seems "too good to be true", as does the appearance of the actors. Lee Pfeiffer praises the main actor, who manages to play Christine without appearing absurd, but complains about Hollywood's "glassy ceiling", which made it difficult for homosexual actors like Hansen to get a good role offer afterwards.
background
Jorgensen later tried after Small's death in January 1977 to obtain an injunction so that the film would not be marketed by his estate administrators. She also claimed that Small had diverted $ 100,000 for her own use. And she feared that United Artists wanted to market the film as a B-movie .
Individual evidence
- ^ "Christine Jorgensen celebrates 26 years as a woman" by Elaine Markoutsas in the Chicago Tribune of January 14, 1979, pk3
- ^ "Type Casting Given New Twist by Duo: Players Picked City by City", Rosenda Monteros in 'Seven', Los Angeles Times of January 29, 1960, p. A7
- ^ "Miss Jorgensen's Story Sold", by Betty Martin in Los Angeles Times, January 4, 1968, p.15
- ↑ a b "aimed AT FILM PRODUCER'S ESTATE: Christine Jorgensen Denied Court Order" by Jeffrey Perlman in Los Angeles Times September 3, 1977, p 13
- ↑ Youth, 18, Accepts 'Christine' Role, Los Angeles Times, October 16, 1969 p. D13
- ↑ Miss Jorgensen Operates On a Sense of Humor, by Carol Kramer in Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1970, p. 125
- ^ "The Problems of Directing 'Christine': Rapper Directs 'Christine'", by Kevin Thomas, published in Los Angeles Times on April 24, 1970, p. H1
- ^ "'Christine'" by Gary Arnold in The Washington Post, July 13, 1970, p. C5
- ^ Howard Thomson: Screen: "Jorgensen Story". In: New York Times. July 25, 1970, p. 12 , accessed April 15, 2018 .
- ↑ Lee Pfeiffer: DVD REVIEW: "THE CHRISTINE JORGENSEN ... In: . Cinema Retro Jan. 4, 2017, accessed on 15 April 2018 .
- ^ "Notes on People," New York Times, Sep. 8, 1977, p. 62
Web links
- The Christine Jorgensen Story in the Internet Movie Database (English)