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This article is about the film. For the novel, see Myra Breckinridge.

Myra Breckinridge
Myra Breckinridge film poster
Directed by	Michael Sarne
Produced by	David Giler Robert Fryer
Written by	Novel: Gore Vidal Screenplay: David Giler Michael Sarne
Starring	Raquel Welch Mae West John Huston Farrah Fawcett Rex Reed
Music by	John Phillips (song)
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	June 24, 1970
Running time	94 min. 91 min. (cut version)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$5,000,000 (approx.)
IMDb profile

Myra Breckinridge was an American film released in 1970. It was based on the 1968 novel of same name by Gore Vidal, and was directed by Michael Sarne, with Raquel Welch in the title role. It also starred John Huston as Buck Loner, Mae West as Letitia Van Allen (spelled Leticia in the film), Farrah Fawcett, Roger Herren, and Roger C. Carmel. Theadora Van Runkle was costume designer for the film, but Edith Head designed Mae West's costumes. It was one of two films with an X rating to be released by 20th Century Fox in 1970 (the other being Beyond the Valley of the Dolls). In 1978, the studio submitted a cut version running 91 minutes to the MPAA, and the film was re-classified with an R. Both versions are available on the DVD, though the uncut print is now unrated. A commercial and critical flop upon release, it is now been re-evaluated and considered way ahead of its time. Many critics have re-evaluated this film calling it a "trendsetter" far ahead of its time and in fact very well made. It has been shown ocassionally on late night cable channels and achieved something of a cult following. Raquel Welch had huge success as a sex symbol in the 1960s and was hoping that her role would help her get more interesting parts but the film probably destroyed any aspirations she had of being taken seriously in Hollywood. Mae West came out of retirement and was in her 70's when the film was made. Mae West's appearance in this film generated a storm of publicity for the film. Her performance was cited as outstanding by numerous fan magazines in the 1970's. Mae Wests performance resulted in her becoming a pop "diva" of the 70's and regenerated her career considerably. Gore Vidal has since disowned the film and said it was unwatchable. The film contains several clips taken from old Hollywood films from the 40's which the producers did not get permission to use and a number of legal cases resulted.

The film takes liberties with the original text by revealing the novel's late-chapter plot twist -- that Myra was a man who had a sex change operation -- in the opening moments of the film, via a framing sequence at the start of the film where Myron is having his sex change operation and a sequence at the end of the film where Myron wakes up only to find out that he hasn't had the surgery yet.

Further changes include the decision to have Myra be somewhat schizophrenic in terms of imagining her former male self existing beside her and having several conversations with people while in the persona of her male self. The film also breaks the fourth wall in terms of having "Myra" being inspired by Raquel Welch herself.

The film was released after the destruction of the Hays Code in 1968. Consequently, the studio had the freedom to exploit some of the novel's more burlesque episodes, including the infamous infirmary/rape scene. In this scene Myra blackmails a male student into letting her tie him up to the examination table. She then shocks him by using a strap-on dildo to anally rape him. Afterwards, she even makes him thank her for the trouble she has taken. This constituted the first time a non statutory female on male rape was filmed in a mainstream American film.

• Raquel Welch - Myra Breckinridge
• Rex Reed - Myron Breckinridge
• Mae West - Leticia Van Allen
• John Huston - Buck Loner
• Farrah Fawcett - Mary-Ann Pringle
• Roger C. Carmel - Dr. Randolph Montag
• Roger Herren - Rusty Godowski
• George Furth - Charlie Flager Jr.
• Calvin Lockhart - Irving Amadeus

Filming of the movie was also filled with controversy, due to Michael Sarne being granted complete control over the project. Sarne quickly went overbudget due to his unorthodox techniques, which included spending up to seven hours at a time by himself, "thinking," leaving the cast to wait around on set for him to return so that filming could commence. ^[1] Additionally, Sarne spent several days filming tables of food, for a dream sequence which, in addition to being non-essential to the plot, only appears in the film for a few seconds.^[1]

1. ^ ^{a b} The Agony Booth