Will there ever be a restored "Whorehouse" dvd?

[nealb1]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 12:35pm

The film version of "Best Little Whorehouse In Texas" was a huge hit when it came out in 1982 - grossing over $100 million at the time. But, it had a lot of problems during the filming - producers/writers getting canned, constant rewrites, etc.

Quite a few musical numbers were completely cut out and various characters in the film were heavily edited during post production with practically no screen time in the final cut of the film - especially the character of Dulcie Mae, played by Louis Nettleton. A dear friend of mine was one of Mona's girls in the film. Yes, she was a whore! Ha, ha..

Sometimes when the film airs on tv, Burt Reynolds sings a song that isn't on the dvd.

What are the chances that Universal will go back into their vaults and re-release "Whorehouse" as a special edition with all the cut footage?

Discuss.........
Updated On: 5/27/09 at 12:35 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 12:40pm

So many good songs were cut.

Girl, You're A Woman
Doatsy Mae
The Bus From Amarillo

I don't even know if these songs were ever recorded for the movie, but if they were I would love to see an extended cut.

[nealb1]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 12:44pm

Yeah, there were a lot of changes for the big screen.

And, I love the fact that Dolly included her "I Will Always Love You" in it. When she sings it to Burt at the end, it's so simple...so touching....so beautiful. Then Whitney got a hold of it for "The Bodyguard," and made Dolly even richer than she all ready was.

So many people think of Whitney for that song, but Dolly wrote it....many, many years ago. And, thanks to Whitney, Dolly is laughing all the way to the bank!



Updated On: 5/27/09 at 12:44 PM

Posted: 5/27/09 at 12:51pm

I wish they would have gone with the original casting- Willie Nelson as the sheriff.

[nealb1]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 12:58pm

Charles Durning did get an Oscar nomination for his role in the film.

[madbrian]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 1:21pm

Rather than a restored DVD of the movie, I'd prefer a revival starring Reba.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 1:23pm

Reba cant act...I'd rather see Emily Skinner as Miss Mona.

[bschneid76]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 7:51pm

I would love to have a restored version. They show the full Aggie Song at Musical Mondays and it makes the sequence 1000 times better than what was in the final cut of the film!

I love Charles Durning! Dolly is adorable. I also like Dom Delouise too.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 7:57pm

Neal,
At Sidetracks bar in Chicago they play what appears to be a extended version of the Aggie number. Some parts of it has the edititng count numbers ( I forget what that is officialy called), and appears to be from a rough cut of the film. Also.. just so you know.. it is one of the films up for consideration this year for the Outfest sing-a -long at the Ford theater here in LA. It was also on the list last year but they ended up choosing South Park and it was poorly attended. Hopefully they learned their lesson.

Updated On: 5/27/09 at 07:57 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 5/27/09 at 11:10pm

Had no idea about an extended version of the Aggie number. My friend David was one of the Aggies in the movie, and he did mention that it was cut down in the final version.

Thanks for all the info!

[VinnieRattolle]

Posted: 2/27/10 at 3:32pm

I'd LOVE to see an extended version, or at least some deleted scenes on DVD. As little screen time as Lois Nettleton has, I wonder why they didn't chop her out of the film altogether. The problem is Universal doesn't generally put much care into releases of older films. It's a wonder that the original DVD (which is now out of print) had a few bloopers and a vintage featurette. They could have included "The Best Little Special in Texas," but didn't bother.

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think the missing songs from the play were ever filmed. "Lil' Bitty Pissant Country Place" and "The Aggie Song" both had additional verses that were cut (does anyone HAVE the extended "Aggie Song" mentioned above?), and Reynolds' ballad "Where Stallions Run" was chopped altogether (as mentioned, the song is included in TV prints). Parton also recorded an original song called "Down at the Chicken Ranch," which I gather was supposed to appear in the film (probably over the end credits since it describes the plot of the movie) but it only made it to the trailer. A few alternate shots also appear in TV prints, most notably during "20 Fans" (where they've substituted alternates for nude shots).

Maybe with a remake in the works, they'll release a special edition. But I'm still not holding my breath.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/27/10 at 5:04pm

This is one of the few stage-to-screen musicals that, despite what was cut from the stage production, still worked very well on the big screen. I'd rather see a more faithful adaptation of course, but I did enjoy what they made. My one major quibble is with the Melvin P. Thorpe wig. Yes, he is supposed to be eccentric and over-the-top, but that wig didn't represent that AT ALL. He looks more like the result of incestuous parents who was kept hidden in the basement his entire life in the back woods of Kentucky. Now, perhaps there may have been some sort of bizarre rights issue with making the character look more like the real Marvin Zindler, but I can't imagine any decision being worse than what they came up with. That was just embarrassing and not in a good way.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 2/27/10 at 5:23pm

<<--- still wanting Ken Russell's The Boy Friend on DVD!!

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/27/10 at 9:25pm

As I posted earlier, my friend Annie was one of Miss Mona's gals, and when the dancers were invited to a screening of the film before it was released, 2 big dance numbers were cut out. They spent months rehearsing them, and a long time filming them, only to be wound up on the editing room floor.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/27/10 at 10:22pm

I didn't know that "Doatsy Mae" and "The Bus From Amarillo" were filmed at all!!! "Doatsy Mae" is my favorite song from the musical!

In the movie, I HATED the fact that Jewel was called "Porky" and didn't really mind it.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/27/10 at 11:33pm

I love seeing Jerry Mitchell dancing around in his jockstrap!I think he's the tallest Aggie. He stands out! :)I really do love that movie. I'd love an expanded version.

[romantico]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 12:27am

I always laugh my a$$ off when I see this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCDoBvG1HoI

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 9:45am

Just redo the whole thing. The original was a dog.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 10:29am

nealb1---I'm trying to figure out what the "two big dance numbers" were that were cut. Having done the stage show before, I can only think of one dance number that wasn't in the film: 24 Hours of Lovin'. Maybe they filmed that with Terresa Merritt?

Can't think of what the other one would be.

I'm not as big a fan of the film, because of the way they treated the whores (no pun intended). They're basically chorus girls in the film. In the stage show, they were more developed, especially Angel and Shy (who aren't even mentioned in the movie). We actually follow Shy toward the beginning of the story as she is the "new girl" in the house. We get to see it through her eyes, ultimately ending in the song "Girl, You're a Woman." That whole subplot was cut, making room for the Burt and Dolly Show.

I do think the film succeeds on many levels, and it wasn't a dud. I just don't like it anywhere near as much as the stage show.

As far as a special edition DVD? I doubt it. They didn't even do a video restoration on the first one. It was treated as a bargain-bin "catalogue" title. Universal hasn't been nearly as good with their catalogue stuff, aside from the classic horror titles, which they keep restoring and repackaging every other year.

[midnghtdolphin]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 11:11am

imdb says they're remaking it for 2011.

[Marquise]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 11:22am

I know that Universal has enough interest in the property (they produced it on Broadway as well) to green light a remake.

I'm just waiting for the Universal Studios theme park ride based on it.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 2:21pm

Whenever I think of this film, I think of Pauline Kael's review of it in the New Yorker.

She mentions that when the football team and the whores go off together, the only black player goes off with the only black whore and she wrote: "what an orderly universe they live in..."

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 6:09pm

"imdb says they're remaking it for 2011."

Yes! And hopefully they will base it more faithfully on the Broadway play than the "Dolly and Burt Show" adaptation. Although you can bet good money "I Will Always Love You" will stay in the remake.

... AND that actually raises the possibility of a "special edition" DVD of the original movie to coincide with the release of this remake. Case in point: Universal's recent remake of "The Wolf Man" prompted a fancy "legacy series" 2-disc release of the original Lon Chaney Jr. version.

So ... if they go ahead with the remake as planned (And why not? Universal owns the rights already, having produced the original Broadway show) ... I would look for a "new" DVD of the "old" film then.

Hopefully with the deleted scenes ... if they exist.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/1/10 at 9:22am

Imdb has falsely raised my hopes one too many times. I'll believe it when I see the trailer. Until then, I don't put much stock into what is announced on imdb. For example, Stphen King's The Talisman has been listed for about 5-6 years now. The latest is it will be a TV mini-series in 2012. Meanwhile the sequel, Black House, is listed as a film release for 2011. Yeah, right. Whatever.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/1/10 at 1:24pm

I knew someone in the film -- one of the few who'd also done the Broadway production (though not an original) - and he said they filmed "Girl, You're a Woman." But he never mentioned "Doatsey Mae," and I don't really think it would've worked with Nettleton. The character was radically changed for the film. Is anyone sure about this?

Doatsey Mae is a perfect song. Counterpoint thematically -- the plain girl who wishes to be known for her sexuality -- it's easily cut, as it's sung by a minor character. But it manages to make the entire show suddenly deeper. (Sort of like "The Miller's Son.")