The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
 Theatrical release poster | ||
| Starring |
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| Directed by | Colin Higgins | |
| Produced by |
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| Editing by |
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| Music by |
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| Cinematography | William A. Fraker | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures | |
| Released | Jul 23, 1982 in {{{4}}} | |
| Runtime | 114 minutes | |
| Country | United States | |
| language | English | |
| Budget | $20.5 million – $35 million | |
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas musical comedy film co-written, produced and directed by Colin Higgins (in his final film as director). An adaptation of the 1978 Broadway musical of the same name, the film stars Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Jim Nabors, Charles Durning and Dom DeLuise.
Despite mixed reviews, Durning was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Texas governor. Golden Globe Award nominations went to the film for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) and Parton for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical). It was the fourth highest-grossing live-action musical film of the 1980s, and the top grossing of 1982.[4]
Plot
Ed Earl Dodd, the Sheriff of Lanville County, Texas, has been in a 12-year relationship with Miss Mona Stangley, who runs the "Chicken Ranch", a brothel outside the town of Gilbert in his jurisdiction. He does not interfere with her business, which has been a fixture of the town since 1910, regardless of legality. Occasionally interrupted by Deputy Fred Wilkins, the pair have a pleasant arrangement as secret lovers. Almost everyone in town approves of Miss Mona, a public-minded citizen who regularly donates to charity and, except for her line of work, is decent and law-abiding.
Mayor Rufus P. Poindexter and insurance salesman C.J. Vernon inform Ed Earl that consumer advocate and television personality Melvin P. Thorpe, who moved to Texas from New Jersey six years earlier, has announced his intention to do an exposé about the Chicken Ranch on his weekly program The Watchdog Report. After visiting Thorpe in his downtown Houston studio, Ed Earl is shocked when Thorpe reveals to the audience during his show, "Texas has a whorehouse in it." While filming a segment in the Gilbert town square, Thorpe accuses Ed Earl of taking payoffs and bribes to protect Miss Mona's business. Ed Earl responds by insulting Thorpe and threatening to physically assault or even incarcerate him should he, his crew, or his chorus of singers named the Dogettes, ever reappear in Gilbert.
The Chicken Ranch is such an institution that the winner of the annual football rivalry between the University of Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies on Thanksgiving Day traditionally comes to "celebrate" its victory as arranged by the alumni association of the winning school. Thorpe's negative publicity, coupled with the footage of Ed Earl insulting him, puts an undesirable spotlight on the place, so Ed Earl asks Miss Mona to shutter the property for at least two months until the TV attention subsides. She complies, closing the bordello to her regular customers but allowing the football players to have their party.
Thorpe and his crew sneak onto the property, break into the house, and catch the winning Aggies and State Senator Charles Wingwood, a 1949 Texas A&M University alumnus who represents the 19th Congressional District where the Chicken Ranch is located, on tape in mid-debauch. The next day, Ed Earl and Miss Mona have a fight over what happened. Mona chastises him for being unavailable to shield her during Thorpe's raid, even going so far as to call him childish and insult his standing; in turn, he responds, "It's a hell of a lot better than bein' a whore."
Without telling Mona his intentions, Ed Earl travels to Austin to appeal to the Governor of Texas. The politician, who will not make a decision on any issue without first seeing the results of opinion polls, listens to Ed Earl's eloquent appeal to keep the Chicken Ranch open. However, when the polls say a bare majority of Texans disapprove of the place, he orders the sheriff to close it down. While leaving the capitol building, Ed Earl confronts a jubilant Thorpe, yanks off his wig, and punches him out as a crew films the confrontation.
At his office, Ed Earl calls Mona to tell her to permanently close down the whorehouse, and apologizes for their earlier fight. After hearing the news, the sex workers leave the Chicken Ranch the next day. Miss Mona is disconsolate, until learning about Ed Earl's attempt to keep the brothel open.
As Miss Mona is departing the Chicken Ranch for the last time, Ed Earl stops her and proposes marriage. She turns him down, knowing that having a wife who had once been the madam of a notorious whorehouse would hurt his chances of running for the state legislature. Ed Earl insists he wants to marry her, regardless of what people will think or say. To make his point, he tosses her luggage into his pickup truck, then picks up Miss Mona and installs her in the passenger seat. They drive away together.
Deputy Fred becomes the new Sheriff, while Ed Earl and Miss Mona marry. Ed Earl later successfully runs for the Texas state senate.
Adaptation
The book of the play was restructured to make it a vehicle for Parton and Reynolds.
The plot is basically the same as that of the stage production, with one significant difference. In the original, Ed Earl and Miss Mona had a one-night stand 15 years earlier, but in the film, they maintain an ongoing affair.
The relationship in the film brings about not only the accusatory scene, when the sheriff – disappointed that Mona has broken her promise to close the Chicken Ranch down long enough for things to cool off – calls her a whore, but also the happy ending, when he proposes marriage to Mona even though that might endanger his chances to be elected as a state legislator. The epilogue comments state that he is elected anyway.
Music
See also: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (soundtrack) Much of Carol Hall's original Broadway score is performed. However, eight songs, "Girl, You're a Woman", "Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin'", "Doatsy Mae", "The Anglette March", "The Bus from Amarillo", "No Lies", "Good Old Girl" and "Finale", were omitted. Two additional Parton compositions appear: "Sneakin' Around", a duet with Parton and Reynolds, and a two-stanza rendition of Parton's 1973 composition "I Will Always Love You". The film version of "I Will Always Love You" — the original recording had been a U.S. country chart-topper for Parton in the spring of 1974 — was released as a single in July 1982, and again reached number one on the U.S. country singles chart. It was also a mid-level hit on Billboard pop and adult contemporary charts. An altered version of Hall's "Hard Candy Christmas", in which Parton sings both the chorus and the verses of the song (as opposed to the film, which is partially sung by the brothel ladies), was also released as a single, reaching the top ten on the country singles chart in late 1982.
Parton wrote several new songs that were filmed but ultimately unused, including "Where Stallions Run" and "A Gamble Either Way". The former was restored for the ABC network television broadcast, as the film was too short for its time slot after the censors finished their edits and additional material was needed. "A Gamble Either Way" replaced "Girl, You're a Woman" and was sung by Parton after Mona interviewed "Shy" (Andrea Pike) for a job at the Chicken Ranch. The characters of Shy and Angel from the Broadway show were significantly reduced in the film; their footage was eventually removed entirely. "Down at the Chicken Ranch" was written for the trailer. Parton recorded two of the deleted songs, "A Gamble Either Way" and "A Cowboy's Ways" (a reworking of "Where Stallions Run"), and featured them on her 1983 album Burlap & Satin.
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