There's nothing like discovering that a place I once considered a dangerous dumping ground for humanity actually represented resistance, resilience, and survival. The first time I walked down 42nd Street was in the 1980s, when it had become, as someone said, “more dangerous than being a soldier in Vietnam.” I should have known there was much more to the story of The Deuce, as 42nd Street is called, than the drug addicts, sex workers, peep shows and street violence that plagued it at the time.
In the documentary Queen of the Deuce, director, writer and producer Valerie Kontakos reveals the importance of a pioneering woman, tough Greek immigrant Chelly Wilson, in its development as a porn mecca. She also puts into perspective how Wilson's success represented much more than simply making a lot of money in a business that the average American considers immoral or distasteful.
Director: Valerie KontakosWriters: Valerie Kontakos, Despina Pavlaki, Christos AsteriouStars: Chelly Wilson, Bondi Walters, Don Walters
In interviews with her children and grandchildren, as well as in images of Chelly herself, the public gets to know this tenacious, larger-than-life woman in a way that demands respect, if not outright awe. A Sephardic Jew born in Thessaloniki, Greece, she escaped to New York just before other members of her family were sent to and killed at Auschwitz. The short story is that she went from selling chestnuts to buying buildings and building an empire built from porn cinemas and a hugely successful Greek restaurant, Mykonos.
Throughout all of this, she supported charities and Greek culture in the US through events and fundraisers. She was married twice, but had two lovers who lived with her and, for the time being, she was "out and proud" of herself. She lived above one of her theaters, in a sprawling, well-appointed fortified apartment where she was courted, with parties that included people from all walks of life, from the most famous to the most infamous. Truly, his is a story that has to be seen to be believed.
Chelly Wilson is someone who survived and thrived in the face of loss and adversity. Do those of you who were in New York remember that many of the porn movie theaters were named after Greek gods? They were all owned by Chelly. Owning one of the first movie theaters to show gay pornography, she was also responsible for building, if not a “safe space,” then certainly a space of exploration for members of the LGBTQ community who still lived in fear of being arrested for its orientation. She had a long-term impact on the normalization of sexuality and sex work.
So everything went off the rails in the end? Well, yes, but she's not the only one responsible for the chaos in that part of town in the '80s. That was the result of many things happening at once at that time. It would have been nice, however, to have seen a happy medium rise from the ashes of 42nd at the height of danger and the sterile homogenization and “health” of Disney and the other corporations that took over and “reinvented” those blocks. from the city.
As for the way Queen of the Deuce is told, it is presented with a balanced mix of interviews and older material from the period, and those who discuss her clearly have a great deal of respect and love for her as foul-mouthed, emotional, and intense. as she was. The passion shown by those who speak serves to keep us engaged and involved in her incredible story.
The animation, contributed by animator and illustrator Abhilasha Dewan, adds a light and charming touch to the film's funniest and most dramatic moments, including capturing the euphemistic "beaver" and "pickle," terms for the genitals on display. variously on screen in porn. Films.
Chelly Wilson died after multiple heart attacks in 1994, and of course, little of what she built still remains on 42nd Street except the buildings themselves. It is wonderful that through this documentary, the audience, assuming they control their judgment and let themselves be guided by the focus of their curiosity, can learn about the influence of a powerful and unapologetic woman in a colorful corner of American history.
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