[Dixielandjazz] Sophie Tucker documentary reviewed -- Palm Springs Desert Sun, January 8, 2015

[Robert Ringwald]

‘Outrageous Sophie Tucker’ Has Producers’ Tunnel Vision
by Bruce Fessier
Palm Springs Desert Sun, January 8, 2015
‘The Outrageous Sophie Tucker’. Nation: U.S. Screening time: 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan.
9, Annenberg Theater; 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, Palm Canyon Theatre. 96 minutes.
Director: William Gazecki. Cast: The story is primarily told by producers and co-authors
Lloyd and Susan Ecker with substantial interviews from Barbara Walters, Tony Bennett,
Carol Channing, Michael Feinstein and Shecky Greene.
Story line: This is a documentary on vaudeville star Sophie Tucker -- “the last of
the red-hot mamas” -- and how she never prospered in film, radio or television, but
survived as a legendary performer through social networking with the technology of
her time: letter writing to everyone she ever met.
Scorecard: 6 (out of 10): The rare archival footage of vaudeville and Tucker performing
on her friend Jimmy Durante’s television show makes this worth a viewing, but this
film seems to go on longer than the history of vaudeville. The Eckers were big fans
of Bette Midler and, through her Tucker routines (sadly omitted from this film),
they became huge fans of Tucker. They discovered Tucker’s showbiz scrapbook, which
was prodigious, and, because of their love of Tucker, they feel compelled to share
much of it. There are some fun revelations, such as the fact that Tucker was good
friends with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who was a cross-dresser. He once asked
if he could have one of Tucker’s dresses, Susan Ecker says, and Tucker replied, “You’ll
never fit into it.” But the Eckers spend too much time in front of the camera, like
talking heads, and Lloyd Ecker just doesn’t have the presence to make the material
as compelling as it could be. The best moments are when Shecky Greene, Tony Bennett
and Barbara Walters tell their stories about Tucker. It’s shocking to discover at
the end of the film that Gazecki has footage of stars such as Kaye Ballard and Connie
Stevens talking about Tucker and they’re relegated to film footnotes. The Eckers
are fans more than detached observers and Gazecki should have used less of them and
more of other sources to dispassionately tell Tucker’s warts-and-all story.
-30-

-Bob Ringwald
Bob Ringwald Solo Piano, duo, Trio, Quartet
Fulton Street Jazz Band
916/ 806-9551
Amateur (ham) Radio station K 6 Y B V

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