The Queen (1968 film)

The Queen is a 1968 American documentary film directed by Frank Simon and narrated by Flawless Sabrina. It depicts the experiences of the drag queens organizing and participating in the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest held at New York City's Town Hall.[1][2] The film was screened at the International Critics' Week section of the 1968 Cannes Film Festival; however, the festival was ultimately curtailed and ended due to ongoing civil unrest in France before any awards could be given out.[3]

The Queen
Four images showing stages of Flawless Sabrina getting into drag against a black background
Directed byFrank Simon
Produced by
Narrated byJack Doroshow
Cinematography
  • Frank Simon
  • Ken van Sickle
  • Robert Elfstrom
  • Alfons Schilling (add)
  • Joseph Zysman (add)
Edited by
  • Fred Shore
  • Geraldine Fabrikant
Distributed byGrove Press
Release date
1968
Running time
68 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

First released in the United States in June 1968 to generally positive reviews, it was subsequently screened in France (November 1968), Netherlands (1969), Denmark (1969), and Finland (1969). The film was revived in January 2013 at New York Film Forum, followed by a 4K restoration screened during the 2019 Melbourne International Film Festival.[4]

In 2020, Kino Lorber released a Blu-ray of the restored version of The Queen, with bonus additional footage, an interview with Flawless Sabrina, and Queens at Heart as additional features.[5][6]

Synopsis

Jack, a 24-year-old gay man living in New York and working as a drag queen named Flawless Sabrina, is the mistress of ceremonies for the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest. The competition operates on a points system: a maximum of five points each for walk, talk, bathing suit, gown, make-up and hair-do; and ten points for beauty.

In between rehearsing and performing, the contestants discuss topics such as draft boards, sexual identity, sex reassignment surgery, transgender identities, and being a drag queen. One contestant, Pepper LaBeija recounts receiving a draft notice and being turned away because of his feminine appearance, despite requesting to serve and protect his country.

Jack's protégé, Richard, performs under the name Rachel Harlow and enters the contest. Also competing is Crystal LaBeija (who would later become the founder of the House of LaBeija). Rachel and Crystal both make it into the top five, with each finalist completing a final runway walk into the audience, which includes Andy Warhol, George Plimpton and Terry Southern.[7] Crystal places fourth, to her displeasure, and storms off the stage. Rachel is ultimately crowned as the winner.

Some contestants are shown protesting Rachel's win; Crystal states that the contest was fixed and that she may sue Sabrina. As they leave the building, Crystal runs into Rachel and Sabrina on the stairs where Sabrina denies the allegations. The film closes on Rachel out of drag, walking through the Port Authority Bus Terminal and twirling her crown on one hand.

Reception

Critical response

The documentary originally opened to generally positive reviews in June 1968, when first released in the United States, with subsequent releases across Europe in 1968 and 1969.[8]

In January 2013, The Queen was revived at the Film Forum in New York, then restored in 2019 by Kino Lorber for screenings at the IFC Center and Melbourne International Film Festival.[9]

In a 1968 The New York Times review, Renata Adler called the film an "extraordinary documentary" that "shows us another America."[2] Andrew Sarris from Village Voice stated "The drag queen contestants are eminently likable in curiously peripheral ways."

In a retrospective piece written after the film's restoration, Jerry Portwood of Rolling Stone described the film as "extraordinary because it captures so much, doubling as a time capsule of a generation's innocence and fashion-forward sophistication. You can tell why it functioned as a template for many future gender-nonconforming people looking for some sort of pre-internet guide through the confusing maze of sexuality and gender."[10]

The film's concluding scene featuring Crystal LaBeija has led to The Queen become a "cult favourite"; Crystal's speech was sampled in the track "Ambience 001" in Frank Ocean's album Endless, and drag queen Aja (who would later join the House of LaBeija) impersonated LaBeija in season three of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars.[4]

The Queen has often been compared to Paris Is Burning, a documentary focusing on the New York City drag ball scene of the 1980s, which includes in its cast members of the House of LaBeija.[4][11]

References
  1. "The Queen (1968)". AFI Catalog. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  2. Adler, Renata (June 18, 1968). "Screen: 'Queen' of Drag Is Crowned". The New York Times. Vol. CXVII, no. 40323 (Late City ed.). p. 37. ProQuest 118270872.
  3. "7e Selecion de la Semaine de la Critique - 1968". archives.semainedelacritique.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  4. Portwood, Jerry (2019-12-16). "Why 'The Queen' Documentary Is an Essential Queer Time Capsule". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  5. Stiffler, Scott (February 22, 2020). "'The Queen' earns its crown in drag herstory pantheon". Los Angeles Blade. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  6. Schaefer, Stephen (June 1, 2020). "Stephen Schaefer's Hollywood & Mine". Boston Herald. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  7. The Queen, retrieved 2021-01-17
  8. "Film Review: The Queen (4K Restored) ★★★★". The Queer Review. 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  9. "The Queen". MIFF 2019. 2019-08-03. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  10. The Queen, retrieved 2019-11-19
  11. Brody, Richard (26 June 2019). ""The Queen": The Documentary That Went Behind the Scenes of a Drag Pageant Years Before "Paris Is Burning"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-01-17.

Further reading
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