The Night They Raided Minsky's (The Night They Invented Striptease) (1968)

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Narrator Rudy Vallee announces that he knows we are a "real high class audience," thus he has "some swell story to tell." Thus begins The Night They Raided Minsky's, set in the rarefied world of burlesque in the 1920s. Amish girl Rachel Schpitendavel (Britt Ekland) comes to New York in hopes of… More Narrator Rudy Vallee announces that he knows we are a "real high class audience," thus he has "some swell story to tell." Thus begins The Night They Raided Minsky's, set in the rarefied world of burlesque in the 1920s. Amish girl Rachel Schpitendavel (Britt Ekland) comes to New York in hopes of securing work as a dancing interpreter of religious stories. She gets a job at Minsky's burlesque house, where the dance numbers are "Biblical" only when some gum-chewing stripper performs Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils. The many subplots leading up to Rachel's accidental invention of the striptease during a midnight Minsky's show involve many: top banana Chick Williams (Norman Wisdom) and womanizing straight-man Raymond Paine (Jason Robards Jr.); Billy Minsky (Elliot Gould), whose efforts to stage girlie shows at the National Winter Garden are looked down upon by Minsky Sr. (Joseph Wiseman), who holds the lease on the theater; gangster Trim Houlihan (Forrest Tucker), who intends to shut down Minsky's if he can't get a piece of the action; Ekland's preacher father Harry Andrews, who shows up in New York just in time to see his daughter bare all in front of a cheering audience; and Vance Fowler (Denhom Elliot), self-appointed protector of public morals, whom Paine hopes to embarrass by having Rachel perform her religious dance. A straightforward adaptation of Rowland Barber's novel The Night They Raided Minsky's would seem to be called for here, but novice director William Friedkin and film editor Ralph Rosenblum seem determined to turn the film into a kaleidoscope Hard Day's Night clone. Happily, producer Norman Lear is able to accommodate several nostalgic re-creations of such burlesque chestnuts as "Crazy House" and "Meet Me Round the Corner," as well as six delightful in-period songs penned by Bye Bye Birdie's Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, the best of which is the ribald "Perfect Gentleman." Bert Lahr makes his last appearance on screen in the role of washed-up funnyman Professor Spats; he died during production, and had to be extensively doubled throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: William Friedkin
Written By: Arnold Schulman, Sidney Michaels, Norman Lear
Genres: Drama, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 22, 1968 Wide
On DVD: May 20, 2008

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It truly captures the spirit of an entire way of life that no longer exists.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Robert C

A very lovingly made homage to both vaudeville and burlesque. Not overly glamorized into the typical slapsticky chuckle-fest that you might expect. While there is some of THAT...there is also a bit of the seedy and slightly dark underbelly of "the business" thrown into… More
A very lovingly made homage to both vaudeville and burlesque. Not overly glamorized into the typical slapsticky chuckle-fest that you might expect. While there is some of THAT...there is also a bit of the seedy and slightly dark underbelly of "the business" thrown into the mis, but done so in a way that doesn't make it feel gratuitous. The acting is good, especially Britt Ekland who gives a GREAT performance. Some of the cinematograpy and editing are genious and the costumes and set designs are SPOT ON. All of these things REALLY serve to convey the look and feel of the era and make what could easily have been just another rambunctious romp through the "Roaring 20's" look and feel (at times) more like archival footage brought to life.

Cast

            Jason Robards as Raymond Paine

            Britt Ekland as Rachel Schpitendavel

            Norman Wisdom as Chick Williams

            Forrest Tucker as Trim Houlihan

            Harry Andrews as Jacob Schpitendavel

            Joseph Wiseman as Louis Minsky

            Denholm Elliott as Vance Fowler

            Elliott Gould as Billy Minsky

            Jack Burns as Candy Butcher

            Bert Lahr as Prof.Spats

            Gloria Le Roy as Mae Harris

            Eddie Lawrence as Scratch

            Dexter Maitland as Duffy

            Lillian Hayman as Singer In Speakeasy

            Will B. Able as Clyde

            Frank Shaw as Immigration Officer 2

            Chanin Hale as Valerie

            Ernestine Barrett as Minsky Girl

            Kelsey Collins as Minsky Girl

            Marilyn D'Honau as Minsky Girl

            Kathryn Doby as Minsky Girl

            Joanna Lehmann as Minsky Girl

            Dorothea MacFarland as Minsky Girl

            Billie Mahoney as Minsky Girl

            Carolyn Morris as Minsky Girl

            June Eve Story as Minsky Girl

            Helen Wood as Minsky's Girl

            Herbie Faye as Waiter

            Richard Libertini as Pockets

            Judith Lowry as Mother Annie

            Joe E. Marks as Costume Shop Proprietor

            Rudy Vallee as Narrator

            Mike Elias
            
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