When Chaz Bono’s appearance on Dancing with the Stars generated terrific controversy in some circles a few months ago, it brought up the realization that every generation for the past half century has seemed to have its own transgendered celebrity stirring up gossip and hullabaloo. A generation earlier, it had been Dr. Renee Richards who, after having played professional tennis on the men’s circuit, wanted an equal chance to play against women after her sexual reassignment surgery. But the controversy actually began with the first American to undergo one of these operations, Christine Jorgensen. The story of her unhappy youth that led to her submitting to the first gender modification operation in Copenhagen forms the crux of The Christine Jorgensen Story.
The Christine Jorgensen Story (MGM MOD)
Directed by Irving Rapper
Studio: MGM/UA
Year: 1970
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 89 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English
Subtitles: none
MSRP: $19.98
Release Date: available now
Review Date: November 14, 2011
The Film
2.5/5
Through his entire youth and young adulthood, George Jorgensen (Trent Lehman as a child, John Hansen as an adult) realizes he’s not like other boys. He can’t quite put his finger on his problem until he begins reading a book by Dr. Estabrook (Will Kuluva) who believes the glands have a major impact on one’s sexual feelings and identity. After having him undergo tests which reveal George’s body secreting many times the usual amount of estrogen, he comes to the conclusion that George is indeed a woman trapped in the body of a man. Estabrook connects George with Dr. Victor Dahlman (Oscar Beregi) in Copenhagen who’s been studying theoretically the procedure for gender reassignment surgery though it hasn’t yet been attempted on anyone. George becomes the test case for the operation, and when he emerges as “Christine” (named for the deceased daughter of his Aunt Thora – Joan Tompkins – who’s been his surrogate mother in Denmark), she finds she has many adjustments to make in order to become accustomed to her new body and her new gender. An American journalist Tom Crawford (Quinn Redeker) arrives to interview the new celebrity but stays when his feelings begin to deepen.
Made with utmost seriousness as a celebrity movie biography of the period, the film has the best of intentions, but its standard issue script by Robert E. Kent and Ellis St. Joseph and the harrowingly old-fashioned direction by Irving Rapper (who had guided Bette Davis to some of their most stellar moments in 1940s melodramas) were the worst possible choices for a story this unusual, one that needed a much fresher and more innovative approach if it was to be a picture that would appeal to anyone interested in going to a movie in 1970 about the world’s most famous transsexual. One could easily mistake this movie for a Ross Hunter production with its syrupy music, glossy visuals (the inevitable love scene between Christine and her boy friend happens before a blazing fire complete with moody lighting and soft-focused visuals) and overly dramatic, stagy dialogue (Christine’s phony-baloney reticence to act on her feelings after going through so much to become what she’s always wanted and with a handsome man eager to explore the feelings with her is simply ludicrous). The script builds in the expected clichés: scenes where the young George is teased unmercifully by playground boys (directed stodgily by Rapper and with mostly very untalented children), scenes with the boy’s father (John W. Himes) pushing his son to be rough and praising him for a black eye as a sign of impending manhood, and dismal flashbacks detailing his harassment in the army as he’s prodded to visit a prostitute. Though the film covers the period between 1933 and 1953, apart from a couple of vintage cars, there’s nothing about the production that suggests that era, and the hair styles and clothes are wildly modern and inappropriate.
John Hansen as George/Christine does the best he can under the circumstances. Rapper has directed him to play scenes as George with a breathy, urgent voice that’s pretty laughable (supposedly to suggest his internalized femininity?), but otherwise, his acting is strong enough to carry the movie, quite a feat when having to spout some of that embarrassingly actory dialogue as Christine wrestles with her new identity in the second half of the movie. He never does, unfortunately, suggest for a moment a woman once he transforms into Christine (he’s too muscular for one thing, and the loss of muscularity and the widening of the hips which they claim is happening is never visually present; he’s a man in a dress and wig and never looks any different than that). Joan Tompkins as Aunt Thora, Ellen Clark as George’s mother, Joyce Meadows as fashion model Tani, Bill Erwin as George’s pastor, and Lynn Harper as his sister Dolly all play their roles as George’s rocks of support without nuance but with sincerity. John Himes as George’s father pushes too hard to register his paternal disappointment, and Elaine Joyce gives a zealous, incendiary caricature of a performance as a screechingly bigoted model who gives George grief. Rod McCary as George’s homosexual boss who puts the moves on him thinking he’s gay as well is practically sedate in comparison.
Video Quality
3/5
The film is presented in its theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. All of the various pictorial qualities vary as the picture runs: sharpness is generally acceptable but can waver on occasion, color and flesh tones are reasonably consistent, but contrast seesaws wildly throughout the presentation making some scenes very murky and unappealing for no reason. Black levels are only fair, and details can be lost in some shadows. The film has been divided into 9 chapters.
Audio Quality
3/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound mix is decoded by Dolby Prologic into the center channel. As with many mono mixes of the time, the sound quality is fairly undistinguished with dialogue clear enough, and music and sound effects mixed rather blandly. The volume levels of the music sometimes rise to levels where there is some slight distortion present, and there is fairly consistent hiss present throughout.
Special Features
0/5
There are no bonus features on this made-on-demand disc.
In Conclusion
2.5/5 (not an average)
The Christine Jorgensen Story seems so old fashioned a piece of filmmaking that one questions its authenticity as it runs. It deals with a provocative subject in the most generic possible way, but those interested in the results might want to sample the disc.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
