by Mark Deming
synopsis
Legendary cheesecake model Bettie Page made one of her rare film appearances in this picture, which captured a vintage burlesque performance on celluloid. In a harem girl's outfit, Page performs "the dance of the four veils," while famed ecdysiasts Lily St. Cyr and Chris La Chris also show off their charms. In between dance numbers, comic Bobby Shields, female impersonator Vickie Lynn, and acrobatic dancer Twinnie Wallen keep the audience entertained. Varietease was directed by Irving Klaw, a noted photographer of "art studies" whose B&D oriented snapshots of Ms. Page became infamous collectors items in later years.
