Vegas in Space Movie Review
The making of Vegas in Space reveals how difficult assembling a truly independent film really is. The enormously talented, much-missed Doris Fish (1952–91) spent the last nine years of his life helping writer/director Philip R. Ford complete the project, three years before its premiere. It may have seemed like a fun thing to do after a successful party given by future cast member Ginger Quest, but raising even a tiny budget like $60,000 meant that Fish/Ford films had to shoot film, stop, make money, edit film, stop, make money, mix film, stop, make money…for many years. Under these trying circumstances, Ford was able to accomplish wonders and he assembled a lively cast of San Francisco drag queens who paid affectionate homage to the colorful science-fiction epics of the early ‘60s. Fish and Miss X, who also wrote the screenplay with Ford, have the film's most prominent roles as Captain Dan Tracey/Tracey Daniels and Vel Croford, Empress of Earth/Veneer, Queen of Police. Also worth noting are the late “Tippi” as the petulant Princess Angel and Lori Naslund in a brisk performance as Lieutenant Steve/Debbie Dane. Executive producer/production designer Fish worked hard on the film's makeup and wigs, costumes, and miniatures; not bad for the extremely skilled, very funny Fish, who could work droll wonders with the simplest dialogue. Although Vegas in Space IS the “easy-to-understand-no-hidden-meaning-entertainment” that its filmmakers hoped it would be, it is, sadly, NOT the camp classic it might have been. The rollicking, unforced humor of the live stage appearances of drag queens Fish, “Tippi,” and Miss X has not been effectively captured on film. Vegas in Space is a time capsule of the year 1982 in the same way that a daguerreotype preserves people's images from the year 1842. We can see what everyone looked like, but not the unique undercurrents that made them precious beyond their own era. Note: Vegas in Space received some technical support from San Francisco's Film Arts Foundation and was virtually complete when Troma Films picked it up for “distribution.” Aside from its premiere at San Francisco's Castro Theatre, this seems to have consisted mainly of late night USA telecasts and its Troma Team Video release. Composer Timmy Spence sings the title song with Katie Guthorn.
1994 85m/C Doris Fish, Miss X, Ginger Quest, Ramona Fischer, Lori Naslund, Timmy Spence, Silvana Nova, Sandelle Kincaid, Tommy Pace, Arturo Galster, Jennifer Blowdryer, Freida Lay, Tippi; D: Phillip R. Ford; W: Phillip R. Ford, Doris Fish, Miss X; C: Robin Clark; M: Ramona Fischer, Timmy Spence. VHS