The Queen

Two years before the Stonewall Uprising, forty before RuPaul, filmmaker Frank Simon profiled Flawless Sabrina (Jack Doroshow), drag star, hostess, and mentor to many in the drag world as she emcees the 1967 Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant.

In one way a typical backstage documentary, this ground-breaking film captures an era where drag (and queer sex) was still criminalized, yet the concerns of its protagonists are day-to-day—boyfriends, sex, the other contestants, the Vietnam draft, whether to get surgery.

Contestants compete before a panel of judges that includes Andy Warhol and Larry Rivers. The climax comes when Crystal LaBeija (who will become the founder of the legendary House of LaBeija, featured in Paris Is Burning (1990, dir. Jennie Livingston)) storms off after placing fourth. “This is why all the true beauties didn’t come. They told me, Sabrina, that you had it fixed for Harlow [Rachel Harlow, a white contestant]. Everyone knew that you had it fixed for Harlow for weeks and weeks.… I didn't say she wasn't beautiful, but she wasn't looking beautiful tonight!”

A vibrant piece of queer history, The Queen can now be seen in full resplendence thanks to a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, courtesy of Kino Lorber. Part of our Restorations & Rediscoveries series.

more info at this website: kinolorber.com/film/the-queen