Diagonaldi Very well executed

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

InSearchOfMaeWest By R. Mark Desjardins (Vancouver, B.C. Canada) Dinah East is one of those rare cinematic romps that appeals to absolutely everybody; hot- blooded heterosexuals, lusty lesbians, horny homos, titillating transvestites, and even nefarious necrophiliacs! Written and produced by Gene Nash in 1970, starring renown transvestite, Jeremy Stockwell, and featuring Andy Warhol alumni, Ultra Violet, the film parallels several key aspects of Mae West's career. It is this connection, however tenuous, that makes this long unavailable camp classic so controversial. Advertisements for Dinah East claim the movie was pulled from distribution after Mae West filed a successful lawsuit stating the film slandered her name, and then proceeded to buy and destroy as many prints of the film she could find. However, the following facts seem to be at odds with these claims. In 1982, Gene Nash told the LA Times that he had given Mae West and Paul Novak a private screening of the film in 1970. West found the film entertaining and made a few suggestions to "beef up the dialog" which Nash was unable to do, as the filming had wrapped up. Certainly Variety would have run a story on any Mae West lawsuit. Stanley Musgrove who was her publicist at the time would have brought the topic up with friends, and Kevin Thomas who was a film critic at the LA Times would most likely have known about any such lawsuit as well. Since no word of this was ever brought forth, it is highly possible that West never brought about a lawsuit. The Mae West overtures aside, Dinah East stands on its own merits. The characters are colorful and engaging, the sets are over the top and the scene set in a gay bar complete with a nude go-go boy in a cage is delightfully wacky. Good humored fun and a sensitive examination of a subject that would have been handled in a tacky way by a less enlightened director. What is not generally known about Gene Nash is that he had a show business background and worked with Eddy Cantor in his later years, once filling in for him and nobody noticed the difference. Nash also produced, directed as well as wrote the movie screenplay and all of the songs for the film, What Am I Bid?, featuring the legendary country and western entertainer, Leroy Van Dyke. Other stars who appeared in the film include Al Hirt, Tex Ritter and Faron Young. My request for information about Gene Nash went unanswered by Paula Stewart, credited as Co-Producer of Dinah East. Stewart, currently a weekly host on KCLA FM in Los Angeles, is working on a biography of Lucille Ball. Dinah East is a blast from the past that is still fun and essential viewing for today's jaded sensibilities.

miriamwebster Can't speak to the version pictured here as I'm not sure I've seen it but it sounds suspiciously like a bootleg version that's been floating around Internet for years.Several people who have reviewed it have commented on the atrocious transfer, which was case with disc I saw--everything reduced to fuzzy pastels, suggesting it was duped from multi-generational video that wasn't very good to start with. Plus, I may be one of the few people who actually saw this in a theater in 1970 and DVD version I viewed was obviously missing numerous key scenes, if not entire reels. "Plot" now simply lurches from one incomprehensible sequence to the next and makes no sense.This seems to be one of those movies that has been out of circulation so long that it has somehow built up a reputation way beyond its actual merits. Not even enjoyably cheesy, it's simply a totally amateurish sexploitation cheapie that can't begin to hold a candle to the campy heights of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Myra Breckinridge or The Christine Jorgensen Story, films to which it is frequently compared, usually by those who haven't seen it. Charm-free cross-dresser that plays Dinah is on sleepwalk mode, Warhol protégé Ultra Violet appears absolutely bored with her small cameo and most of cast looks like they were recruited from happy hour at a Santa Monica Blvd. hustler bar.Despite its rep, this curio is just not very much fun and is frequently flat-out dull. Not that this review will probably discourage anyone who wants to see for himself. But you've been warned.

lmiller-12 I, too, saw this film in Boston in 1970. For many years I have sought out the film or even any mention about it. About a year ago, I read a footnote in one of the movie review books, that Mae West instituted legal action against the film shortly after its release. Apparently the settlement resulting from that action included the permanent withdrawal of the film from distribution. During Ms. West's lifetime there were recurrent, albeit ridiculous, rumors that she was a male. This film, in a kind of docudrama, relates the life of an actress, Dinah East, whose male gender was only revealed after her/his death. I had hoped it might reappear now that Mae West is dead, but so far that is not the case. I would like to receive more information on all of this from anyone who knows more than I do about it. Meanwhile, I eagerly await its reappearance.

mdm111-1 I saw this movie in 1970 in Boston,Massachusetts, and I absolutely loved it. I wish it were available on VHS as I feel it was so ahead of its time it would now be a great inspiration for young movie makers. It also would be greatly appreciated by the gay and lesbian film goers and film buffs.