Quite simply a ‘doozy’ of a film experience… With his flamboyant persona and acerbic delivery, in-the-closet comedian and actor Paul Lynde became one of America’s best-known television personalities in the 60s and 70s. Along with recurring roles in the likes of Bewitched and his coveted position in the ‘centre square’ on glitzy game show Hollywood Squares, Lynde would also lend his distinctive voice to a series of villainous characters in animation studio Hanna-Barbera’s productions.
In Doozy, artist-filmmaker Richard Squires creates animated anti-hero ‘Clovis’ to look through the lens of one of Hollywood’s hidden queer histories by re-enacting some of the wilder episodes from Lynde’s colourful life. The film uses Clovis to contemplate the uncomfortable parallel between cartoon villainy and hysterical masculinity; the use of voice to signify ‘otherness’ and the frequently uneasy relationship between character and actor. Creative documentary Doozy mixes original animation, re-enactment, archive and expert testimony into a unique new work.
Doozy received its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in 2018 and has since screened at the Rotterdam International Film Festival 2019. Funded by Wellcome, Arts Council England and Kingston University.
Doozy will appear in select cinemas across the UK from 23 April – 10 May
Screenings:
- 23 April – Fabrica, Brighton – Q&A with Jamie Wyld
- 25 April – Close-Up Cinema, London – Guest Prof Sophie Scott
- 30 April – Exeter Phoenix – Q&A with Dr Benedict Morrison
- 4 May – Flatpack Festival, Birmingham – Q&A with José Arroyo
- 7 May – University of Warwick – Q&A with Dr Julie Lobalzo Wright
- 9 May – Phoenix, Leicester – Guest Prof Paul Wells
- 10 May – Birkbeck Cinema, London – Guest John Airlie
Tickets for any of the above shows can be purchased on the relevant cinema’s website or via the official site.
