Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers

Not lost - a complete print was shown at the 2024 SF Frameline festival. The opening scene has quite a "twist" that will set the tone for the rest.

The title comes from an apparent random Bible quote. A later scene involves Mary Poppins haranguing crowd with a long random list of Bible quotes in no relation at all. If you don't know scripture well you'll miss that it's all genuine - and shows how ridiculous it can be to quote a single phrase out of context. Probably not the filmmakers entire point but it's a subtext.

Holly Woodlawn is so eminently watchable - gifted facial expressions and body humor. Memorable slapstick involving phone booths! It's the debut film for Lily Tomlin's voice, and packed with other first timers.

The musical numbers don't all work but the ones that do will stick with you. The bizarre "memory" scenes during Holly's phone conversations are a joy to behold. Beware the full moon!

There's an abundance of insider jokes regarding character names - skillfully first revealed quite a way into the film - more subtext.

The ending is abrupt but really after seeing a photo montage including a little person cowboy in a meat market what's left to say?

Worth a repeat viewing for sure.

Can it be that Holly Woodlawn is approaching sixty !? Well, why not, as Jane Fonda returns post sixty-five, along with contemporaries Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford and Billy Cosby. I suppose those others have used their talents to become film legends, names on the lips of virtually everyone past age forty (or thirty). But Holly, alas, a unique player at at turning point of gay/women's liberation, is just (for now) a memory.

Well that is too bad, and if we can get more people, ANYONE, to take a peek at this delightful, silly and charming (very) little film, Holly might manage a well-earned comeback. The film is (was) just a daydream, but boy far more entertaining than films costing literally a hundred times its tiny budget. So although we cannot bring back hilarious co-star Tally Brown, we should revive this little gem!