Divine Madness (1980)

In 1980, the head usher at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium gives his crew a pep talk: he wants tonight's "Betty Midler" show to go smoothly. He's a little worried about risque language, ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writers:

Jerry Blatt, Bette Midler,

Stars:

Bette Midler, Jocelyn Brown, Ula Hedwig

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bette Midler	...	Herself / The Divine Miss M
Jocelyn Brown	...	The Harlettes
Ula Hedwig	...	The Harlettes
Diva Gray	...	The Harlettes
Irving Sudrow	...	Head Usher
Tony Berg	...	Band Vocals
Jon Bonine	...	Band Vocals
Joey Carbone	...	Band Vocals
Randy Kerber	...	Band Vocals

Storyline

In 1980, the head usher at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium gives his crew a pep talk: he wants tonight's "Betty Midler" show to go smoothly. He's a little worried about risque language, Liberace recently gave him a scare. Then, boom, there she is, with her backup trio, "The Harlettes," going from rock to ballad to medley, from "Big Noise From Winnetka" to "I Shall Be Released." It's a concentration of camp: she imitates Sophie Tucker, she's mermaid Dolores Delago, and between every song, it's non-stop movement and lots of raunchy patter.

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Plot Keywords:

concert film | crude humor

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Taglines:

Bette Midler is Divine Madness

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Genres:

Documentary | Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 November 1980 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Divina Loucura

Filming Locations:

Pasadena Civic Auditorium - 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ladd Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 94 minute theatrical cut of this film was edited from around ninety hours worth of footage or one million feet of film.

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Connections

Featured in Get Bruce (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Fire Down Below"
Written by Bob Seger
Performed by Bette Midler

User Reviews

fond memories

Yes I was a very naughty girl to watch this at age 12 - but come on, it was on network television where I lived and starting at 10 pm...

I fell in love with her here. Her comedy flare, her emotional rendering of some songs, her sheer mad-rock ones of others. It made me want to see "The Rose" (which I did) sing "Shiver Me Timbers" all day long and expect ever grander things from her Live (which eventually I got). She seems to exude so much emotion one minute, then so much raunchy humor the other. I just loved the fact that the concert/performance was introduced the way it was. And her hairdo has never quite been the same again, has it? Though myself, ultimate 80s girl-fashion victim went to the altar of sacrifice in that respect, too - just because on top of everything she did so damned well, she just looked so gorgeous.

Perfect intro to her many talents!