warholstars.org

home - news - about - superstars - interviews - articles - soup can - films - art - timeline - abstract expressionism - sources - citations

The Filming of Women in Revolt

See also: "Women in Revolt"

back to MARCH 1970: PRODUCTION BEGINS ON WOMEN IN REVOLT

SPRING 1971: HOLLY WOODLAWN IS FILMED FOR WOMEN IN REVOLT

to filmography

The filming of Women in Revolt took place over a period of time lasting at least a year and overlapped with the filming of L'Amour which was shot in approximately September 1970. (LD339). According to Village Voice film critic, Jim Hoberman, at least one of the scenes in Women - the exterior shot where "Jackie and a feminist comrade (Prindeville Ohio) retaliate against a taunting construction worker (Frank Cavestani) by attempting to administer an enema" - was filmed as late as March 1971, although the film first went into production in March 1970. (LT39-41) The July 29, 1970 issue of Variety reported that the film was "already in the can." (LT39). Yet, according to Holly Woodlawn, she shot her first scene in the Spring of 1971:

Holly Woodlawn:

"We began shooting Women in Revolt in the spring of 1971 on the fashionable Upper East Side in a swank, upscale apartment. My first scene was with Martin Kove, who later became successful in his role on the TV series Cagney and Lacey... I later found out that Martin had no clue as to who or what I was. He had just come out of the service and was trying to break into acting when his uncle introduced him to Paul [Morrissey]. Martin didn't have a clear idea as to what the Warhol crowd was about. Nor did he realize that I wasn't an authentic woman. Nobody bothered to tell him." (HW184/85)

Although Holly dated her involvement in Women in Revolt from Spring 1971, there are release forms in existence dated March 2 and March 14, 1970 for Holly and Penny Arcade (a cabaret entertainer who appears very briefly in the film). There are also lab bills for a project named Fem dated March 23, May 8 and June 8, 1970. (LT42)

The film went through various name changes. Documents found in Andy Warhol's Time Capsule No. 40 indicate almost 80 possible names including Pearls Before Swine, Make Date and Andy Warhol's Earthwomen. (LT39) On June 25, 1971, a payment of $1,000 was made by Warhol's company for the rights to use a song titled Give Me the Man in a film titled Sisters, apparently another name for Women in Revolt. (LT42) Paul Morrissey was filming Heat in Los Angeles when this payment was made, while Warhol stayed in New York. (BC131) On July 22, 1971 Variety reported that the film was ready for release - now titled Sex, the same name that was used when it premiered at the first Los Angeles Filmex film festival in November 1971. However, when it later opened on December 17, 1971 at the Cinema Theater in Los Angeles, it was called Andy Warhol's Women. (LT39) It was first shown in New York on February 16, 1972 at the Cine Malibu which Warhol had rented because no distributor was interested in taking the film. (LT39/BC85)

In 1978, author Patrick S. Smith separately interviewed Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis for a book he was writing on Warhol's art and films. Jackie said that it took two and a half years to make Women in Revolt whereas Holly told Smith that it took approximately a year to film with "about three weeks of filming days," but "months in between." (PS272/527)

Gary Comenas
warholstars.org

back to MARCH 1970: PRODUCTION BEGINS ON WOMEN IN REVOLT

to SPRING 1971: HOLLY WOODLAWN IS FILMED FOR WOMEN IN REVOLT

to filmography

home - news - about - superstars - interviews - articles - soup can - films - art - timeline - abstract expressionism - sources - citations