27 thoughts on “TBT: Victor/Victoria (1982)

  1. I think the film holds up, maybe has come of age in this era. All the cast did a sterling job. Garner can play pretty much anything, partly because he takes the work more seriously than he does himself. Andrews probably found her role a relief after some of the more sugary roles she’d had.

  2. Thank you thank you thank you for reviewing this! It’s one of my favorites, and it DOES hold up beautifully. The Deco era is gorgeously represented, and Julie’s voice when she was in her prime – miraculous.

  3. One of my all-time favourites <3 I’m planning to recreate the Le Jazz Hot costume this year.

    I think the big coat in the exhibit is the one she takes off right at the beginning of the number.

    1. One of the things I love about that costume is the layers. The final glittering fringe dress underneath is absolutely a knockout and shows off Julie’s legs so beautifully. Side note, I love how they went full Jean Harlow with the character of Norma…only without the class.

    2. I did the Le Jazz Hot ensemble and performed it as a drag number.
      In fact, I was privileged to perform it as part of the half-time entertainment at the Historical masquerade at Costume-Con 23 in Ogen, Utah!

      The marabou-edged coat appears at the very beginning (slow intro) part of the performance in the film.
      One challenge in building the ensemble for live performance is that it had to actually be built in layers that could be shed: the fringed leotard, a sleeveless sheath over that with a trimmed skirt, and then the wrapped coat over that.
      I suspect the costume transitions in the film may have actually had two dresses — the fringed leotard, and then the sheath-over-leotard as an actual garment rather than layers.

        1. I have a recording of it, but haven’t put it on Youtube because I wasn’t sure what the soundtrack licensing would do to it. Maybe just add ads.

          1. I was wondering if you would comment! I remember seeing the photos from that performance. And thanks for the clarification about the robe. I couldn’t place it when I found the photo, so it was a complete mystery as to where it was in the film, without re-watching the whole thing again.

                1. Waiting to hear if you liked it. (Curse the videographer who skipped rehearsals and failed to set the white balance!)

      1. Yeah, I was trying to mentally track how they did the Le Jazz Hot costume, because the camera cuts away as she climbs the stairs, and the next cut she’s in the full-fringe outfit. My brain parsed it as a fringed and sequined under dress and a black sleeveless kind of belted peignoir over it, which she ditches at the top of the stairs. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was 3 separate layers, though.

        1. I did it as a modified unlined cocoon coat for the opening (silver “liquid metal” knit wrong-side-out), over a sleevless shift with a big skirt, fastened at the waist, over the fringed, sequined, and stoned leotard.
          Nude fishnets over nude stockings to make the legs pop visually on stage.

        2. ANd here’s a clip of just the performance from the film.

          Wish I could have afforded a chorus line for my production ;-)

        3. I still suspect there were two versions, one with the overlayer stitched in place, and one without, of the fringed leotard.

  4. If you want to watch Viktor und Viktoria, which has its own, different charms, you can rent it from Kino Lorber and watch on the Kino Now app.

  5. “Oh, god… there’s nothing more inconvenient than an old queen with a head cold.”

  6. I simply love this movie from King Marchand’s gay bodyguard to Victoria growing up with tons of brothers to the double entendre of ‘Gay Paris. Wish that Julie and Robert did more films together. And this was a reunion of sorts as Julie and James made Americanisation of Emily.

  7. I share the love for this movie. My only reservation is how crassly annoying Warren’s character is allowed to be. If her performance were a (dumb) person instead of a cartoon, the film would gain nuance. And, Victor’s triumph would be the greater.

  8. LOVE THIS MOVIE from the first time I saw it at the movies. I wore out my VHS version of it and now I have a DVD it is in regular rotation. The music by Mancini is so extra. I love Crazy World. I love it all. Gorgeous costumes.

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