Will there ever be a restored "Whorehouse" dvd?

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

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

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

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

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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.

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

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.

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

"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.

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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.")

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