This documentary film, directed by Leslie Zemeckis, explores the heyday of burlesque includes dozens of interviews with exotic dancers of the time, including April March, Lorraine Lee, Taffy O’Neill, Blaze Starr, Tempest Storm, Beverly Arlynne, Kitty West, Alexandra the Great '48, and many others; Mike Iannucci, burlesque performer Ann Corio's husband and producer of “This Was Burlesque”; journalists and authors Nat Bodian, Rachel Schteir, and Janet Davis; and actor Alan Alda, whose father Robert Alda was a burlesque singer and straight man. The film discusses the rise and eventual fall of the golden era of burlesque, featuring profiles on several famous performers, including Sherry Britton, Sally Rand, Lili St. Cyr, Rose La Rose, and Gypsy Rose Lee.
Reception
Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 78% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 27 reviews, with an average score of 6.5/10.[4] Emily Hourican of the Irish Independent lauded the film as "an absorbing, moving and cleverly constructed look at the tradition of American burlesque."[5] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times was less enthusiastic, claiming the film "settles too easily for an editing formula which alternates talking heads, too cursory performance footage and montages of headlines and photographs."[6] Ronnie Scheib of Variety said the film's "stories run from raunchy to touching to funny to flat-out incredible.”[7]
Book
In 2013, Skyhorse Publishing released a companion book by Zemeckis, also called Behind the Burly Q.
