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Just got back from the opening screening of the documentary film "Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinnegar".
It really is as good as everyone's been saying - a superb look at the golden age of women's wrestling in this country, what the big name performers endured back in the day, and where they are now. Really worker-positive and made with respect, with lots of GREAT old footage. WOW!
Terriffic anecdotes in there about stiff work and physical punishment back in the day. Unfortunately, plenty more stories about worse punishment being dealt out by abusive husbands, who all the women seem to have endured and thankfully survived. Man.. tough though. The women being SURVIVORS was certainly a point of emphasis.
Favorite story in the whole film - a worker recalling her first rookie days, and meeting Mae Young for the first time. Mae in men's pants, smoking a cigar like an old pro, greeted her with "What are you lookin' at FUCK FACE?" Sooooo KILLER!!!
Director Ruth Leitman, along with the Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Gladys "Kill 'em" Gillham (who steals the show!) and Ida May Martinez were all on hand for a Q&A and meet-and-greet after the screening. Good question came from the audience to Moolah and Mae, asking since they had firsthand dealings with the WWE Divas, if they thought any of them could have ranked back in the day. Still being on Vince's payrole, Moolah gave the political answer she was supposed to, but without a lot of heart in it. After watching the film, even the non-wrestling literate could see that an Ella Waldek would fucking kill anyone in the ring today. A follow up question from a young girl asking how the new wrestlers took bumps without destroying their implants was chuckled at but never answered. Pretty damn funny...
Someone else asked about the rings and if it hurt to land on them, and Ms. Martinez was quick to comment that American rings had spring, but lucha rings in Mexico were stiff as hell and really punishing on the body. I was really impressed with Martinez, who was renowned for her dropkicks in the 50's, then went on to become an honored nurse who actually treated one of the first recognized AIDS patients. She's also a perorming yodeller and gave us a quick sample of her skills!
I also had the pleasure of giving copies of HOODTOWN to both the director and to Moolah. I just LOVE the idea of The Black Spider reading Christa's novel on the plane!
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| | Posted 4/9/2005 3:01 AM - 8 views - 2 comments
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