The VITO Project Queer Film Club is excited to serve you a fabulous VICTOR VICTORIA EXTRAVAGANZA! Join them at The Cinema Museum for an afternoon of classic movies, on-stage performances, live music, bubbles, delicious food, outrageous outfits, and the jolliest and most fabulous crowd in London.
A musical double bill featuring the rarely seen original German version, followed by the Julie Andrews classic. The two gender-bending classics inspired many imitators, but that have rarely been equalled. There’s added genre-bending, gender blending, and high glamour (yet low cinematic intermission) from the fabulous Shandy Leer and Sarah Rose, performed in Diamanté-vision™.️
Go DRESSED TO THRILL – prizes to be won for the best costume! Remember: Reduce, reuse, re-SPARKLE and BE THERE! Shady dames (from Seville and elsewhere) are welcome.
Delicious vegan food and cakes provided by the Electric Elephant Café available at the venue. Refreshments are available at The Cinema Museum bar.
Online tickets only. No tickets at the door.
Timings for the event are as follows:
2:30 pm: Doors/bar open for socialising
3 pm: Performance by Shandy Leer and Sarah Rose
3:30pm Viktor und Viktoria (1933) (100 min + 10-min intro)
5:20 pm: 30-min break
5:50pm: Victor/Victoria (1982) (134 min + 10-min intro)
The event ends: at 8:15 pm (approximate)
Tickets: £14
Advance tickets may be purchased online or directly from the Museum by calling 020 7840 2200 during office hours.
https://ticketlab.co.uk/events/CinemaMuseum#/
Film Programme details
VICTOR AND VICTORIA (Viktor und Viktoria) (1933, 90 mins)
Director: Reinhold Schünzel
This musical sex farce was the most successful film of its year at the German box office and is a remarkable example of late Weimar popular cinema. It also marks the end of the decadent sexual freedom which so characterised the period, as 1933 would bring the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of Hitler’s ascension to power. Not screened in the UK for decades and not officially available in this country in any format, this original movie inspired the Julie Andrews remake and the British comedy FIRST A GIRL (1935).
In this delightful musical comedy, aspiring singer Susanne (Renate Müller) takes over one night for her sick colleague, the slapstick drag performer Viktor (Hermann Thimig), at a small cabaret in Berlin where he works as a female impersonator. By chance, Susanne is then “discovered” by an agent, who thinks she′s a man. She becomes famous and goes on tour to London. But love interferes, and things get very complicated when the local womaniser Robert (dashing Anton Walbrook of THE RED SHOES fame) suddenly finds himself strangely fascinated and attracted by the ‘fake’ Viktor. German with English subtitles.
VICTOR/VICTORIA (1982, 134 mins)
Director: Blake Edwards
The 1982 version was adapted by director Blake Edwards (BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, THE PINK PANTHER) from the 1933 German film as a starring vehicle for his wife Julie Andrews (MARY POPPINS, THE SOUND OF MUSIC). This return to musical comedies proved Andrew’s biggest hit in many years, bringing her first Best Actress Oscar nomination since 1966 and the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.
Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) struggles to find work as a British soprano in the Paris nightclubs of the 1930s. While trying to scam a free meal, Grant meets cabaret performer Toddy, who comes up with the idea that changes everything. Toddy acts as her manager and bills Grant as a male ‘female impersonator’. When the nightclubs eat it up, the duo make it big time and even a Chicago mobster (James Garner) is enamoured with Grant. But keeping the truth secret is not an easy task.
This joyfully camp and colourful musical comedy sizzles with classic moments and still stands as one of Hollywood’s most unabashedly queer popular entertainments ever. Don’t miss seeing it on the big screen with an appreciative audience.
THE VITO PROJECT LGBTQ+ FILM CLUB BOOKING DETAILS
Event format at all screenings: Doors open for socialising one hour before start times. Each screening is preceded by an introduction and followed by a panel discussion. Snacks and refreshments are available.
Location: Cinema Museum: 2 Dugard Way, London SE11 4TH
Venue accessibility: The Cinema Museum is level access. There is a lift and an accessible toilet large enough for a motorised wheelchair, with an easy lock and handrails. Some of the interior doors are heavy. There is parking available at the Cinema Museum. The building does not have a hearing loop. Please send us a message if you have any questions.
On Social: Facebook @VITOProject, Instagram@vitofilmclub, Twitter @TheVITOProject
For information about Cinema Museum, visit www.cinemamuseum.org.uk or telephone 020 7840 2200
For further information about The Vito Project LGBTQ+ Film Club, contact:
VITO Film Club mailbox vitofilmclub@gmail.com
