‘Queen of the Deuce’ Review: A Fun Footnote About a Behind-The-Scenes Mogul of the Sexual Revolution
Over half a century ago, movies were changing at warp speed, with censorship boundaries falling and artistic ones expanding, as remembered from such game-changers as “Bonnie and Clyde,” “I Am Curious (Yellow)” and “2001: A Space Odyssey.” You probably do not remember the likes of “Whip’s Women,” “Come Ride the Wild Pink Horse,” “Once Upon a Body” or “Scare Their Pants Off!” — and good luck finding them now, since many such disposable late-1960s “adults only” features are assumed lost now. But they, too, made the ’60s “swing,” while making fortunes for individuals like the subject of “Queen of the Deuce.”
Valerie Kontakos’ documentary is about a singular character, one Chelly Wilson. She was the unlikely queenpin of the 42nd St. porn emporiums that flourished for a couple decades, until home video and other factors led to their gradual demise. Entering the biz when softcore had not yet turned...
Valerie Kontakos’ documentary is about a singular character, one Chelly Wilson. She was the unlikely queenpin of the 42nd St. porn emporiums that flourished for a couple decades, until home video and other factors led to their gradual demise. Entering the biz when softcore had not yet turned...
- 5/23/2024
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Sure, HBO series “The Deuce” may have piqued some interest in the history of classic porn cinema, but now the outrageous true story of Times Square staple Chelly Wilson is getting the spotlight.
Documentary “Queen of the Deuce” centers on Wilson’s personal history before building a porn theater in the notorious Times Square vicinity known as the Deuce. Wilson’s reign ranged from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s as she earned a reputation as one of the savviest and most enigmatic figures on the scene.
Greek-born Wilson escaped the Holocaust in WWII, emigrated to the U.S., and married a slew of men while being openly gay. Her legacy in the world of adult cinema is examined by filmmaker Valerie Kontakos (“Mana”), who has written, directed, and produced the documentary.
“Queen of the Deuce” is further produced by Ed Barreveld and Despina Pavlaki, who also co-wrote the...
Documentary “Queen of the Deuce” centers on Wilson’s personal history before building a porn theater in the notorious Times Square vicinity known as the Deuce. Wilson’s reign ranged from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s as she earned a reputation as one of the savviest and most enigmatic figures on the scene.
Greek-born Wilson escaped the Holocaust in WWII, emigrated to the U.S., and married a slew of men while being openly gay. Her legacy in the world of adult cinema is examined by filmmaker Valerie Kontakos (“Mana”), who has written, directed, and produced the documentary.
“Queen of the Deuce” is further produced by Ed Barreveld and Despina Pavlaki, who also co-wrote the...
- 4/18/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Cinephil has sold Valerie Kontakos’ documentary “Queen of the Deuce,” which charts the rise of Chelly Wilson, the queen of the porn industry in 1970s New York, to several key territories. The film premiered at Doc NYC and is now playing in the International Competition at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival.
Greece’s Ert, Canada’s Doc Channel, Switzerland’s Radio Télévision Suisse and Israel’s Channel 8 came on board at the funding stage. It has now been acquired by Spanish streamer FilmIn, Swedish broadcaster Ur, and U.S. theatrical distributor Greenwich Entertainment.
The film follows Wilson from pre-World War II Greece to New York, where she rose to become a major figure on the porn circuit in Times Square from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. She is shown to be a trailblazing, taboo-breaking entrepreneur and an unconventional matriarch. It is presented as an empowering story of survival,...
Greece’s Ert, Canada’s Doc Channel, Switzerland’s Radio Télévision Suisse and Israel’s Channel 8 came on board at the funding stage. It has now been acquired by Spanish streamer FilmIn, Swedish broadcaster Ur, and U.S. theatrical distributor Greenwich Entertainment.
The film follows Wilson from pre-World War II Greece to New York, where she rose to become a major figure on the porn circuit in Times Square from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. She is shown to be a trailblazing, taboo-breaking entrepreneur and an unconventional matriarch. It is presented as an empowering story of survival,...
- 3/11/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
In Valerie Kontakos’ fourth feature, “The Queen of the Deuce,” the New York native, Athens-based director and NYU Tisch School of the Arts alumna, gives an alternate take on cultural history as seen through the eyes of Chelly Wilson, queen of the porno industry in 1970s New York and unconventional feminist, against the backdrop of the rise of feminism, the sexual revolution and gay pride. The film plays in the International Competition at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival.
Kontakos says she knew Wilson through her mother, whose brother was a producer of Greek films who, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, would provide Wilson with Greek family films for her Sunday programs. “When I turned 15 or 16, I said to [my mother]: ‘Now that I can work part time, I am going to get myself a job because I want to start making my own money and I want to be independent.’ And,...
Kontakos says she knew Wilson through her mother, whose brother was a producer of Greek films who, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, would provide Wilson with Greek family films for her Sunday programs. “When I turned 15 or 16, I said to [my mother]: ‘Now that I can work part time, I am going to get myself a job because I want to start making my own money and I want to be independent.’ And,...
- 3/7/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
"She was a force of nature!!" A festival trailer has debuted for an indie documentary film titled Queen of the Deuce, made by filmmaker Valerie Kontakos. This is premiering at the Doc NYC Film Festival in New York City - with its world premiering happening today (November 11th). It might play at other festivals, but this is the initial unveiling so far. Intro from Doc NYC: Chelly Wilson was a Christmas-celebrating Jewish grandma, a lesbian who married men, and the proud owner of porn theaters in 1970s NYC. Through audio recordings, Chelly recounts her pre-war escape from Greece through her unlikely motherhood and rise to wealth as a shrewd businesswoman on "The Deuce," aka New York City's infamous 42nd Street filled with pornographic offerings from the 60s to the 80s. Fascinating WWII and NYC archival footage illustrate this entertaining story of a family and its matriarch, a truly unique character with chutzpah in spades.
- 11/11/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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