This campy follow-up to ‘Baby Jane’ is even more queer—but is it any good?
Welcome back to our queer film retrospective, “A Gay Old Time.” In this week’s column, we’re revisiting 1968’s, The Killing Of Sister George, a campy, lesbian follow-up to Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?It’s almost ironic how much of queer culture (particularly gay male) gravitates around women.
So much of the entertainment—and camp!—that we consider staples for our community is about larger-than-life female characters, actresses, and singers performing at the very peak of (and often beyond) their abilities.
We love our women overflowing with emotion, older broads vibrating with rage, and quick-witted lines of dialogue that seep into our vernacular.On the other hand, the pieces of entertainment that are about women that love other women tend to be much more subdued and restrained emotionally and tonally (see Carol, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Desert Hearts and The Children’s Hour).
It’s not as often that the grand over-the-top style of camp overlaps with lesbian themes and sensibilities. This week we’ll take a look at an early example that tries to blend both, to many varying results.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.The 1968 film The Killing Of Sister George is a reunion of the director-writer team behind What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (one of the most essential entries in the queer cinema canon) and its unofficial follow-up that we recently discussed, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte.
