Remembering Our Rich Cinematic Drag History

Lifted from a posting on Tumblr…

Not like that film was a one-off either.

I would like to add The Birdcage (1996) to this list of drag queen movies (mind you, it's based on La Cage Aux Folles, a French stage play from 1973 that was later made into a 1978 film*).

Which starred Nathan Lane as a drag queen just two years after he had voice Pumba in The Lion King:

And we ESPECIALLY need to remember Victor Victoria from 1982 (during the REAGAN administration), an absolutely joyful film is SET IN THE 1930S and stars everyone's favorite curtain-sewing nanny as a struggling soprano who decides to pretend to be a boy doing drag (DOUBLE THE DRAG FOR YOUR MONEY). I mean look at this photo:

* I love the Birdcage, but to this day I think the original La Cage still outshines it for the sheer comedic timing of the leads.