Zac Baldwin's Blog: Errant Thoughts - Posts Tagged "acting"
Raquel Welch-more than just a sex symbol
If people recognize the name Raquel Welch, they almost immediately dismiss her as "just a sex symbol".
That is like calling Robin Williams just a comic. They were those things, of course, but so so much more!
In the movies in the '60's, nudity was suddenly allowed and a lot of filmmakers went crazy, stuffing nude scenes into anything that remotely (or not so remotely) fit. As a sex symbol, Ms. Welch was under tremendous pressure to appear completely nude and she amazingly never succumbed to that pressure.
From 1966 to 1972 (4 years before Pam Grier hit the scene; 35(!) years before Angelina Jolie's first action role - Tomb Raider), Ms. Welch was a kickass woman, starring in action films as the lead character - where the story was about her and not some man she was with!
In "Fathom" (1966) she is described as a female James Bond; in the western "Hannie Caulder" (1971) she was a gunslinger looking for revenge.
She was a tough detective in Fuzz (1972). She ended this amazing action span playing a roller derby queen in Kansas City Bomber (1972) (where she did all her own stunts).
Most of them had weak directors and writers (see my other blog about not blaming the stars for bad movies), but Kansas City Bomber still holds up as a fun movie.
In all of them, and all her other roles, Ms. Welch never walked through them - she gave good, sometimes great performances. I think she would be regarded as a better actress if she had had better support from behind the camera.
Unafraid that people did not regard her as a great actress, she produced and starred in challenging acting roles: Legend of Walks Far Woman (1982)
and a woman dying of ALS in Right to Die (1987) - she is great in both, but I complain again about the lack of behind-the-camera support.
Other examples of her being way beyond just a sex symbol: she sued a movie studio for "agism" and won (and of course was blackballed for many years after that).
She starred and conquered Broadway and Las Vegas.
So for just a sex symbol, she seems to have accomplished one helluva lot and has my undying admiration.
That is like calling Robin Williams just a comic. They were those things, of course, but so so much more!
In the movies in the '60's, nudity was suddenly allowed and a lot of filmmakers went crazy, stuffing nude scenes into anything that remotely (or not so remotely) fit. As a sex symbol, Ms. Welch was under tremendous pressure to appear completely nude and she amazingly never succumbed to that pressure.
From 1966 to 1972 (4 years before Pam Grier hit the scene; 35(!) years before Angelina Jolie's first action role - Tomb Raider), Ms. Welch was a kickass woman, starring in action films as the lead character - where the story was about her and not some man she was with!
In "Fathom" (1966) she is described as a female James Bond; in the western "Hannie Caulder" (1971) she was a gunslinger looking for revenge.
She was a tough detective in Fuzz (1972). She ended this amazing action span playing a roller derby queen in Kansas City Bomber (1972) (where she did all her own stunts).
Most of them had weak directors and writers (see my other blog about not blaming the stars for bad movies), but Kansas City Bomber still holds up as a fun movie.
In all of them, and all her other roles, Ms. Welch never walked through them - she gave good, sometimes great performances. I think she would be regarded as a better actress if she had had better support from behind the camera.
Unafraid that people did not regard her as a great actress, she produced and starred in challenging acting roles: Legend of Walks Far Woman (1982)
and a woman dying of ALS in Right to Die (1987) - she is great in both, but I complain again about the lack of behind-the-camera support.
Other examples of her being way beyond just a sex symbol: she sued a movie studio for "agism" and won (and of course was blackballed for many years after that).
She starred and conquered Broadway and Las Vegas.
So for just a sex symbol, she seems to have accomplished one helluva lot and has my undying admiration.
